An assessment of digital divide in the PRC

Mingte LU, Ping LIN, Guo Ling LAO, Xue Feng ZHANG

Research output: Book Chapters | Papers in Conference ProceedingsConference paper (refereed)Researchpeer-review

Abstract

As the most populous country in the world, the PRC has seen a drastic increase in Internet users in recent years with the latest count Of 25.6 million at the end of June 2001. However it is known that some groups in the PRC are not enjoying the benefits of Internet use, creating the so-called "digital divide" phenomenon. This means that for a number of reasons, these groups in the society cannot or will not be able to access the Internet to reap many potential benefits it can offer. This paper provides findings of a preliminary analysis on digital divide in the PRC using past Internet surveys together with economic and demographic data of the PRC. Obvious hurdles to Internet use, such as illiteracy, cost of Internet access, lacking of infrastructure will be examined with near-term technology advancements considered so to assess the magnitude of the digital divide at the present time and in the future. Suggestions to alleviate digital divide are then discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIssues and trends of information technology management in contemporary organizations
PublisherIdea Group Publishing
Pages458-461
Number of pages4
ISBN (Print)1930708394
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2002

Bibliographical note

Paper presented at the International Conference of the Information-Resources-Management-Association, May 19-22, 2002, Seattle, Washington. ISBN of the source publication: 1930708394

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