DOCSLIB.ORG

©2016 Yu Zhang All Rights Reserved

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
©2016 Yu Zhang All Rights Reserved ©2016 YU ZHANG ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DIGITAL CAPITAL AND SOCIAL ELITES IN CHINA By YU ZHANG A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Communication, Information, and Library Studies Written under the direction of John V. Pavlik, Ph.D. And approved by New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION DIGITAL CAPITAL AND SOCIAL ELITES IN CHINA by YU ZHANG Dissertation Director: John V. Pavlik, Ph.D. Digital communication in China has seen huge development over the past decades, and promised great potential in networking and mobilizing various social groups, and even bringing along social and political changes. Interestingly, as a highly visible social force in the digital era, elites are oftentimes invisible in literature, or haven’t been paid as much attention as they deserve. This research works to make this up by examining how elites construct, transform, and mobilize their identities both online and offline. The discussion is framed around classic social capital theories, which emphasize the importance of norms, resources, and network in the social structure. In order to better serve my discussion on digital communication, I propose the term “digital capital,” which is a resource generated by symbolic exchange in the digital network, and can possibly be converted into economic, social, and cultural capital both online and offline, to refer to the digital representation of social capital. The microblogging service sina weibo is the main site formy case study research. By analyzing the most popular online campaign, online legends, and online popular talks over the past few years in China, I argue that social elite exists in the social hierarchy as a fluid continuum that connects with and permeates into higher and lower levels by going beyond others’ expectations and extending its ability to mobilize withinthe huge network around it. According to Lin (2001), higher initial statuses, higher level of ii education, and stronger extensity of ties, all add to one’s ability to accumulate network resources. And more network resources to use, a wider radius of trust within the network, and better ability to mobilize around different identities as a responsible social being are key requirements for someone to become elite. Interestingly, the Internet has created a better chance for ordinary people to cross the boundary and get close to, or even enter, the elite circle. A good amount of clicks online can easily build up a huge network for an ordinary person to gain more access to social resources and more ability to mobilize around different social groups. Only if the grassroots power is able to construct overarching identities in the society and comply with the rules or expectations the public has set for him/her, can the society witness a boundary-crossing moment taking place. Therefore, top-down agenda and bottom-up force will collaborate within the social structure to initiate collective agency. Many cases have evidenced that, besides the nature of connecting similar people to generate more bonding digital capital within the network, the Internet has also boosted the network’s capability in bridging different social identities for collective actions with instrumental purposes. But these single cases do not really indicate a more democratic society in China. Social elites, though oftentimes regarded as resources for ordinary people to retrieve more information, are indeed more of a regulation for Chinese citizens in terms of exerting subtle influence on how they think and speak. In this sense, I argue, what digital communication has brought to Chinese society is networked citizenship, where Chinese citizens are still being passively included in a huge network, only in the name of empowerment. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 years at Rutgers have not only taught me how to become a better academic researcher, but also guided me to become involved with many inspiring and loving individuals. I would not have completed this study without their guidance and advice. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. John Pavlik, for his continuous encouragement, patience, care, and support during my graduate study. He is always there whenever I need professional opinions or feel lost or distracted. Millions of thanks to other members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Susan Keith, Dr. Louisa Schein, and Dr. Khadijah White. Dr. Keith’s warm encouragement helped me through the first couple of years as an international graduate student to take part in academic activities, and I benefit so much from her careful instructions on every detail of my work and plan. Dr. Schein inspires me in looking into China studies from different perspectives, and introduces me to various names, scholars, and institutions. By talking to them, I gradually understand what I am interested in and good at. Dr. White always gives detailed feedback on my research, and shares her valuable experiences with me regarding how to make the dissertation writing journey more smooth yet fruitful. I consider myself very lucky to have found this helpful and caring committee. Their support meant very much to me, especially in my most difficult days. The faculty of the School of Communication and Information (SC&I) of Rutgers University has provided great resources and help throughout my graduate study. Special thanks to our previous faculty member Dr. David Karpf, from whose class I first got the idea of studying citizenship and elites in China, and learned how to do political communication in media studies. I also would like to thank Dr. Jack Bratich, Dr. Montague Kern, Dr. Deepa Kumar, Dr. iv Regina Marchi, Dr. Marie Radford, Dr. Craig Scott, and Dr. Todd Wolfson for inspiring my research in different ways. I have also benefited by talking with many scholars outside of SC&I. Thank you, Dr. Paul Schalow, Dr. Richard Simmons, Dr. Mary Trigg, Dr. Xun Wang, Dr. Haiqing Yu, and Dr. Xian Zhou, for enriching my insights in new media and China by bringing in your perspectives from various disciplines. I wouldn’t have gone this far without the friendship I have gained during the past 7 years. My cohort graduate students, Katie McCollough, Sheena Raja, Dr. Aaron Trammell, Dr. Heewon Kim, Dr. Jonathan Bullinger, and Dr. Stephen DiDomenico, your lovely support has helped me so much in going through the first few semesters. To my other friends in Rutgers, Dr. Chang Liu, Zhe Li, Dr. Jing Ning, Si Sun, Jing Wang, Yuan Yuan, Ying-Chao Kao, Dr. Zhenhong Bao, Dr. Baiyang Liu, Dr. Qibin Zhou, Dr. Hong Yang, Dr. Zichao Gu, Dr. Dong Dai, Dr. Wenqin Wang, Dr. Xiangyue Wu, Dr. Gang Liu, and many others: I am so grateful that I met you here, so that my Ph.D. journey was full of joy. I would also like to thank SC&I, the Graduate School of Rutgers-New Brunswick, and the Chinese Scholarship Council, for their financial support in my earlier years of graduate study. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my family, especially my mom and husband, who have shared so much love, and helped me with anything they could do. And to my children, Lilianna and Brayden, you make each and every day amazingly beautiful, and make me have faith in myself. v DEDICATION To my father, Jianguo Zhang. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION………………………………………………………ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………..…………………………………………………..iv DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………..vi TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………vii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………….…………….viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS…………………………………………………………………...ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….1 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW—WHO ARE ELITES?..........................................14 CHAPTER 3. METHODS………………………………………………………………….….47 CHAPTER 4. CONSTRUCTION OF ELITES’ IDENTITIES……………………………...61 CHAPTER 5. TRANSFORMATION AND MOBILIZATION OF ELITES’ IDENTITIES…………………………………………………...103 CHAPTER 6. IMPLICATIONS ON CITIZENSHIP IN CHINA……………………….....140 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….….170 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………180 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………..….195 vii List of Tables Table 1 China’s Internet Growth 1997-2014…………………………………………...…………5 viii List of Illustrations Image 1 Size of Internet users in China and Internet penetration rate…………..……………….15 Image 2 Distribution of major ICTs by income group of economies……………………………20 Image 3 China’s digital divide in urban and rural netizen structure…………………….……….22 Image 4 China’s digital divide in netizens’ education levels……………………………………23 Image 5 China’s digital divide in netizens’ income levels………….…………………………...24 Image 6 Reasons that prevent Chinese from using the Internet…………………………………25 Image 7 Increase of active weibo users month by month………………………………………..58 Image 8 Lin’s (2001) social capital model of status attainment…………………………………65 Image 9 One post from the online campaign of “Raise Your Hand, Rescue a Child”……….….67 Image 10 Yu’s weibo page with profile picture……………………………………………….…74 Image 11 Yu’s post with whole picture of the woman in profile picture………………………..75 Image 12 Chen’s weibo page with profile information and a typical post………………………82 Image 13 Chen’s weibo page with profile picture………………………………………….……83 Image 14 Han’s weibo page with profile picture…………………………………………….…..86 Image 15 Weibo influence index for Han………………………………………………………..87 Image 16 Pop-up window to send Han flowers on weibo…………………………………….…89
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Digital Infrastructure Overcoming the Digital Divide in China and the European Union
    Digital Infrastructure Overcoming the digital divide in China and the European Union Shenglin Ben Romain Bosc Jinpu Jiao Wenwei Li Felice Simonelli Ruidong Zhang Digital Infrastructure Overcoming the digital divide in China and the European Union Shenglin Ben Zhejiang University, CIFI Romain Bosc CEPS Jinpu Jiao Zhejiang University, CIFI & Shanghai Gold Exchange Wenwei Li Zhejiang University, CIFI Felice Simonelli CEPS Ruidong Zhang Zhejiang University, CIFI Supported by Emerging Market Sustainability Dialogues November 2017 The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute based in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound policy research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe. The views expressed in this book are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed to CEPS or any other institution with which they are associated. ISBN 978-94-6138-646-5 © Copyright 2017, CEPS All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the Centre for European Policy Studies. Centre for European Policy Studies Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: (32.2) 229.39.11 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ceps.eu Table of Contents Preface ...................................................................................................................................................... i Executive
    [Show full text]
  • Roots of Tomorrow's Digital Divide: Documenting Computer Use And
    China & World Economy / 61–79, Vol. 21, No. 3, 2013 61 Roots of Tomorrow’s Digital Divide: Documenting Computer Use and Internet Access in China’s Elementary Schools Today Yihua Yang,a Xiao Hu,b Qinghe Qu,b Fang Lai,c, d Yaojiang Shi,e, * Matthew Boswell,c Scott Rozellec Abstract This paper explores China’s digital divide, with a focus on differences in access to computers, learning software, and the Internet at school and at home among different groups of elementary school children in China. The digital divide is examined in four different dimensions: (i) between students in urban public schools and students in rural public schools; (ii) between students in rural public schools and students in private migrant schools; (iii) between migrant students in urban public schools and migrant students in private migrant schools; and (iv) between students in Han-dominated rural areas and students in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. Using data from a set of large-scale surveys in schools in different parts of the country, we find a wide gap between computer and Internet access of students in rural areas and those in urban public schools. The gap widens further when comparing urban students to students from minority areas. The divide is also large between urban and rural schools when examining the quality of computer instruction and access to learning software. Migration does not appear to eliminate the digital divide, unless migrant families are able to enroll their children in urban public schools. The digital divide in elementary schools may have implications for future employment, education and income inequality in China.
    [Show full text]
  • Internet Diffusion and Digital Divide in China: Some Empirical Results Wei Ge University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
    Association for Information Systems AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) Americas Conference on Information Systems AMCIS 2003 Proceedings (AMCIS) December 2003 Internet Diffusion and Digital Divide in China: Some Empirical Results Wei Ge University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Hemant Jain University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2003 Recommended Citation Ge, Wei and Jain, Hemant, "Internet Diffusion and Digital Divide in China: Some Empirical Results" (2003). AMCIS 2003 Proceedings. 135. http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2003/135 This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in AMCIS 2003 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact [email protected]. INTERNET DIFFUSION AND DIGITAL DIVIDE IN CHINA: SOME EMPIRICAL RESULTS Wei Ge Hemant Jain School of Business Administration School of Business Administration University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee [email protected] [email protected] Abstract The paper presents some empirical results of Information & Communication Technology diffusion within China and across countries in Asia. The paper finds that China and most developing countries in Asia are bypassing fixed-line telephone infrastructure by adopting wireless technology. The results also show that the market potentials of mobile phones are greater than fixed-line telephones in these developing countries. Keywords: Internet, diffusion, China, bass diffusion model Introduction Over the past decade, a rapid development has taken place in the field of information and communication technologies1 (ICTs). Recent technological advances in the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) have opened up a new digital world.
    [Show full text]
  • China & Technical Global Internet Governance: from Norm-Taker to Norm-Maker?
    China & Technical Global Internet Governance: From Norm-Taker to Norm-Maker? by Tristan Galloway L.L.B(Hons)/B.A.(Hons) Deakin University Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University July, 2015 Acknowledgements My sincere thanks to Prof Baogang He, my principal supervisor, for his excellent advice and tireless support, without which the completion of this dissertation would have been impossible. I would also like to express my thanks to my associate supervisors, Prof Wanlei Zhou and Dr Xiangshu Fang, for their advice and support, and to other staff at Deakin University that have provided me with feedback, including but not limited to Dr Chengxin Pan and Dr David Hundt. I am grateful for the further feedback or insight received on elements of my dissertation by numerous academics at academic conferences, seminars and through academic journal peer review processes. I thank the staff and reviewers at China: An International Journal, for their feedback and advice on the joint article submitted by Prof Baogang He and myself that was published in late 2014; while the content and research of the dissertation’s chapters 7 & 8 are primarily attributable to the author, their quality has been improved by this feedback and through collaboration between myself and Prof Baogang He. Elements of the research in these two chapters, and elements of the dissertation’s arguments related to its theoretical perspective, have also been informed by the author’s Honours thesis, submitted to Deakin University in 2010. A professional editing service, The Expert Editor, provided copyediting and proofreading services for the dissertation, according to the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed national ‘Guidelines for Editing Research Theses’.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of the Development and Reform of the Telecommunications Sector in China”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No
    Please cite this paper as: OECD (2003-03-13), “Review of the Development and Reform of the Telecommunications Sector in China”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 69, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/233204728762 OECD Digital Economy Papers No. 69 Review of the Development and Reform of the Telecommunications Sector in China OECD Unclassified DSTI/ICCP(2002)6/FINAL Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 13-Mar-2003 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ English text only DIRECTORATE FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRY COMMITTEE FOR INFORMATION, COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS POLICY Unclassified DSTI/ICCP(2002)6/FINAL REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN CHINA text only English JT00140818 Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format DSTI/ICCP(2002)6/FINAL FOREWORD The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of telecommunications development in China and to examine telecommunication policy developments and reform. The initial draft was examined by the Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy in March 2002. The report benefited from discussions with officials of the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry and several telecommunication service providers. The report was prepared by the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) under the direction of Dr. Inuk Chung. Mr. Dimitri Ypsilanti from the OECD Secretariat participated in the project. The report benefited from funding provided mainly by the Swedish government. KISDI also helped in the financing of the report. The report is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD.
    [Show full text]
  • The Digital Divide: the Internet and Social Inequality in International Perspective
    http://www.diva-portal.org This is the published version of a chapter published in The Digital Divide: The Internet and Social Inequality in International Perspective. Citation for the original published chapter: Meinrath, S., Losey, J., Lennett, B. (2013) Afterword. Internet Freedom, Nuanced Digital Divide, and the Internet Craftsman. In: Massimo Ragnedda and Glenn W. Muschert (ed.), The Digital Divide: The Internet and Social Inequality in International Perspective (pp. 309-316). London: Routledge Routledge advances in sociology N.B. When citing this work, cite the original published chapter. Permanent link to this version: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-100423 The Digital Divide This book provides an in-depth comparative analysis of inequality and the stratification of the digital sphere. Grounded in classical sociological theories of inequality, as well as empirical evidence, this book defines “the digital divide” as the unequal access and utility of internet communications technologies and explores how it has the potential to replicate existing social inequalities, as well as create new forms of stratification. The Digital Divide examines how various demographic and socio-economic factors including income, education, age and gender, as well as infrastructure, products and services affect how the internet is used and accessed. Comprised of six parts, the first section examines theories of the digital divide, and then looks in turn at: • Highly developed nations and regions (including the USA, the EU and Japan); • Emerging large powers (Brazil, Russia, India, China); • Eastern European countries (Estonia, Romania, Serbia); • Arab and Middle Eastern nations (Egypt, Iran, Israel); • Under-studied areas (East and Central Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa).
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Divide: Adoption of Internet in China
    1270 The Fourth International Conference on Electronic Business (ICEB2004) / Beijing Digital Divide: Adoption of Internet in China Kanliang Wang, Qing Liu The School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China [email protected] ABSTRACT With the development of information and communications technology (ICTs), Internet has been one of the major driving forces of the new economy. Nevertheless, access to the new technology remains extremely unequally distributed across and within societies, and there have a good deal of popular discussions about this “digital divide” in academia and business communities of every society. This study provides empirical evidence on China’s Internet development and diffusion in recent years. Findings show that there is a clear digital divide among the nation’s three economic zones, and while the growth rate for new Internet users is accelerating and the infrastructure of network is improving, the digital divide is growing narrower. In addition, by undertaking a set of regression analysis, the paper also finds that income and education play a critical role in shaping the divide. Based on the result, the paper offers some related policy suggestions to promote a wider diffusion of internet in poorer regions. Keywords: Digital divide, Internet, Gini coefficient 1. INTRODUCTION still do not see any positive role of ICTs in poverty alleviation. In his words, “the poor can’t eat high-speed Information technology is changing the way people Internet access, of course” [6]. Opportunity may be communicate, learn and work, and the competitive outweighed by considerable threat arising from their advantage enjoyed by those having Internet access is second-mover position on the adoption of new becoming increasingly obvious.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Infrastructure: Overcoming the Digital Divide in Emerging Economies
    www.G20-insights.org POLICY AREA: Digital Economy Digital Infrastructure: Overcoming the digital divide in emerging economies Ben Shenglin (Zhejiang University, Academy of Internet Finance) Felice Simonelli (Centre for European Policy Studies) Zhang Ruidong (Zhejiang University, Academy of Internet Finance) Romain Bosc (Centre for European Policy Studies) Li Wenwei (Zhejiang University, Academy of Internet Finance) Supported by: Emerging Market Sustainability Dialogues 3 April 2017| _________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Since the 1990s when the internet began to be commercialised globally, the debate on how to close the digital divide has attracted widespread attention. In this Policy Brief, we review the literature on the digital divide in emerging economies with a view to explaining: 1) how internet connectivity promotes social and economic inclusiveness, efficiency and innovation; 2) why the physical access to the internet alone is insufficient to capture the full benefits of digital technology and what other social conditions should be considered; and 3) how to further connect the unconnected population. The digital divide prevents societies from harnessing the full benefits that information and communication technologies can deliver. In this context, actions to foster physical access to the internet remain essential, but they are not sufficient to ensure a truly inclusive information society. Therefore, strong leadership is needed at the global and local levels, to ensure more coordinated
    [Show full text]
  • D3: Proceedings of the Digital Divide Doctoral Students
    Table of Contents Workshop invitation ................................................................................ section A [Introduction] What is the Digital Divide? Kate Williams (workshop chair) Information University of Michigan, USA [email protected] ...........................................................................................B [The Computer] Computers, System Design and the Digital Divide: Meeting Information Needs Kent Unruh Library and Information Science University of Washington, USA [email protected].................................................................................. C [Open Source] What is Open Source Software? Cliff Lampe Information University of Michigan, USA [email protected] ............................................................................................... D [Research Methods] Measuring the U.S. Digital Divide: Quantative Survey Methods Salvador Rivas Sociology University of Michigan, USA [email protected] ..............................................................................................E [Digital Divide Policy in the U.S.] Framing Federal Policies and Programs to Bridge the Technology Gap Dara O'Neil Public Policy Georgia Institute of Technology, USA [email protected] ..................................................................................F [Education and Learning] Justifying ICTs in schools: A Comparative Study of the Use of Digital Divide Categories in Educational Policies in Latin America Florencio Ceballos Schaulsohn Sociology Ecole de
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Telecommunications Service in China: Trade Liberalization, Subsidy, and Technology in the Making of Information Equality in the Broadband Era
    Universal Telecommunications Service in China: Trade Liberalization, Subsidy, and Technology in the Making of Information Equality in the Broadband Era Shin-yi Peng∗ I. INTRODUCTION II. DEFINING THE “COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY EXCLUSION” IN CHINA A. The Dilemmas B. The Digital Divide in China: From the Internal, Regional and International Perspectives III. UNIVERSAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE IN CHINA: LEGAL MECHANISMS FOR CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN CHINA A. Is Competition a Solution? When the Free Trade Principle Confronts Traditional Universal Service Mechanisms 1. From Monopoly (and Cross-Subsidization) to Competition (and Market Forces) 2. The WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunications: The Trends of Telecommunications Trade Liberalization 3. After the Break-up of the China Telecom Monopoly B. Is the “Universal Service” Subsidy a Solution? The Establishment of a Universal Service Fund 1. Universal Service Mechanisms in the Chinese Telecommunications Regulation 2. A Lesson from the U.S. Telecommunications Act of 1996 3. Information Inequality in the Broadband Era: When POTS is Not Enough in Developed Countries C. Is 3G Technology a Solution? The Development of Wireless Broadband Technology IV. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION In the Information Age, promoting access to communications technology is the primary policy tool to enable citizens to participate in economic, political, and social activities. At the 2000 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, the major concern expressed by developing economies was their inability to take advantage of emerging info-communications technology.1 This inability underscores the importance of greater “digital inclusion,” defined as ∗ Shin-yi Peng, S.J.D. 2000, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Member, New York Bar. Assistant Professor, Institute of Law for Science & Technology, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Infrastructure: Overcoming the Digital Divide in Emerging Economies
    www.G20-insights.org POLICY AREA: Digital Economy Digital Infrastructure: Overcoming the digital divide in emerging economies Ben Shenglin (Zhejiang University, Academy of Internet Finance) Felice Simonelli (Centre for European Policy Studies) Zhang Ruidong (Zhejiang University, Academy of Internet Finance) Romain Bosc (Centre for European Policy Studies) Li Wenwei (Zhejiang University, Academy of Internet Finance) Supported by: Emerging Market Sustainability Dialogues (EMSD), Economic Policy Forum (EPF), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH 3 April 2017 Abstract Since the 1990s when the internet began to be commercialised globally, the debate on how to close the digital divide has attracted widespread attention. In this Policy Brief, we review the literature on the digital divide in emerging economies with a view to explaining: 1) how internet connectivity promotes social and economic inclusiveness, efficiency and innovation; 2) why the physical access to the internet alone is insufficient to capture the full benefits of digital technology and what other social conditions should be considered; and 3) how to further connect the unconnected population. The digital divide prevents societies from harnessing the full benefits that information and communication technologies can deliver. In this context, actions to foster physical access to the internet remain essential, but they are not sufficient to ensure a truly inclusive information society. Therefore, strong leadership is needed at the global and local levels, to ensure more coordinated efforts among governments, local authorities and actors on the ground. Conversely, maintaining the status quo, while technology progressively pervades every sector of the economy, may critically widen disparities across countries and within national territories.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of ICT Connectivity for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Enhancing the Collaboration in China-Central Asia Corridor
    A Study of ICT Connectivity for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Enhancing the Collaboration in China-Central Asia Corridor Working Paper by the Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division !A Study of ICT Connectivity for the Belt and Road Initiative in China-Central Asia Corridor The secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations and serves as the main economic and social development centre for the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific. Its mandate is to foster cooperation among its 53 members and 9 associate members. It provides the strategic link between global and country-level programmes and issues. It supports Governments of countries in the region in consolidating regional positions and advocates regional approaches to meeting the region’s unique socioeconomic challenges in a globalizing world. The ESCAP secretariat is in Bangkok. Please visit the ESCAP website at www.unescap.org for further information. The shaded areas of the map indicate ESCAP members and associate members. Cover Image: Imaake/Shutterstock.com, Building city abstract top view. !1 !! !A Study of ICT Connectivity for the Belt and Road Initiative in China-Central Asia Corridor Disclaimer: This document has been issued without formal editing. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
    [Show full text]