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Introduction: digital inclusion: empowering people through information and communication technologies (ICTS) / Massimo Ragnedda and Bruce Mutsvairo -- Digital inclusion in advanced countries. Reducing and preventing digital discrimination: digital inclusion strategies in Europe / Massimo Ragnedda -- Not so ubiquitous: digital inclusion and older adults in Australia / Sue Malta and Raelene Wilding -- Digital inclusion in international perspective: an asset-based approach to digital inclusion research in t US context / Bianca C. Reisdorf and Colin Rhinesmith -- Digital inclusion in BRICS countries. From access to proficiency: reconceptualising digital inclusion in a rural area in South Africa / Lorenzo Dalvit -- Mapping the evolutive trajectories of China's digital divide: a longitudinal observation / Jianbin Jin, Fanxin Meng, Anfan Chen, Lin Shi, and Tao Wang -- Changes in knowledge acquisition according to the proximity with digital media networks / Andrea Limberto -- Digital inclusion in the Middle East. Digital inclusion in Jordan: opportunities and hurdles / Hanna Kreitem -- An explanatory analysis of Facebook's effect on social cohesion in Iran / Hamid Abdollahyan and Mahin Sheikh Ansari -- "Nothing is ever truly new": the persisting digital exclusion in Israel, 2002-2013 / Amit M. Schejter, Orit Ben-Harush, and Noam Tirosh -- Digital inclusion in Africa. LCT and development: narrowing the digital divide and the knowledge gap of ICT users in Cameroon and Ghana / Kehbuma Langmia and Christiana Hammond -- Kenya's digital divide: challenged, evolving, and persistent / Norbert Wildermuth -- Afterword, why digital inclusion now? / Gerard Goggin

In the contemporary picture there is conjoint consensus amongst all the policy makers from across the sphere that devoid of ICT and digital inclusion; the growth of an individual is stalled. Specially in developing economy like India, where poverty eradication and employment generation are foremost objectives; digital inclusion is a must. Considering factors like lack of infrastructure, primary education and availability affordable technologies and others, the strategic intervention and collaborative efforts by government and non-government organizations is indispensable. Present study provides an analysis of secondary data in order to investigate the current status of digital inclusion and digital divide of Indian population. Further it also illustrates the strategies to eradicate the digital divide and cites example from successful digital inclusion campaigns from other parts of world.

LEFIS organized a meeting in July 2007 in Jaca (Spain) to discuss the status and the perspectives of e-Government especially applied to the legal aspects of society. As it is known the potential benefits of e-Government are numerous and they include greater efficiency, improved public services, enhanced engagement with citizens. Yet progress has been relatively slow, particularly when compared with other sectors such as e-Commerce. From the presentations of some experiences focused in particular on digital divide, e-Participation, form of government, role of citizens, planning methodology in proposing solutions for citizens, the book highlights some problems and solutions to help overcome barriers.

This collection presents policy and research that addresses digital inequalities, access, and skills, from multiple international perspectives. With a special focus on the impact of the COVID-19, the collection is based on the 2021 Digital Inclusion, Policy and Research Conference, with chapters from both academia and civic organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed citizens' relationship with digital technologies for the foreseeable future. Many people's main channels of communication were transferred to digital services, platforms, and apps. Everything 'went online': our families, friends, partners, health, work, news, politics, culture, arts and protesting. Yet access to digital technologies remained highly unequal. This brought digital inclusion policy and research to the fore, highlighting to policymakers and the public the 'hidden' challenges and impacts of digital exclusion and inequalities. The cutting-edge volume offers research findings and policycase studies that explore digital inclusion from the provision of basic access to digital, via education and digital literacy, and on to issues of gender and technology. Case studies are drawn from varied sources including the UK, Australia, South America, and Eastern Europe, providing a valuable resource in the pursuit of social equity and justice. ​ This is an open access book.

Chapter 1:Introduction -- Chapter 2: Dirt Tracks off the Superhighway: How COVID widened the digital gap for remote First Nations communities in Australia -- Chapter 3: Policy interventions to address digital inequalities in Latin America in the face of the pandemic -- Chapter 4: Connecting Scotland: Delivering Digital Inclusion at Scale -- Chapter 5: Digital inclusion and learning at home: Challenges for low-income Australian families -- Chapter 6: How to make affordability-focused digital inclusion interventions more effective: Lessons from the Connected Students Program -- Chapter 7: Digital inclusion through distribution of iPads during the Covid19 pandemic? A participatory action research in a German secondary school -- Chapter 8:Infocomics vs Infodemics: How comics utilise health, data and media literacies -- Chapter 9: On creating creativity for future-proofing digital engagement, an evidence-based approach -- Chapter 10: Through Media and Digital Literacy Education towards Civic Participation of Disadvantaged Youth -- Chapter 11: Evaluating 'Meaningful Connectivity': Digital Literacy and Women in West Bengal, India -- Chapter 12: Developing and delivering and data literacy.

<div><p><em>In the contemporary picture there is conjoint consensus amongst all the policy makers from across the sphere that devoid of ICT and digital inclusion; the growth of an individual is stalled. Specially in developing economy like India, where poverty eradication and employment generation are foremost objectives; digital inclusion is a must. Considering factors like lack of infrastructure, primary education and availability affordable technologies and others, the strategic intervention and collaborative efforts by government and non-government organizations is indispensable. </em></p><p><em>Present study provides an analysis of secondary data in order to investigate the current status of digital inclusion and digital divide of Indian population. Further it also illustrates the strategies to eradicate the digital divide and cites example from successful digital inclusion campaigns from other parts of world. </em></p></div>

There is a large body of research that has examined digital inequities, inequalities, and divides—i.e., those countries, communities, and individuals digitally left behind or disadvantaged. Whereas we know quite a lot about what is lacking and for whom, there is less focus on what works to alleviate these inequalities and divides in a variety of cultural contexts. This thematic issue brings together scholarship on digital inclusion initiatives and research from over 20 countries and in the context of numerous aspects, including different types of initiatives as well as different types of target audiences for these initiatives. Each article provides unique insights into what does and does not work in various communities, making recommendations on what could be done to improve the examined initiatives. We hope that the breadth and depth of articles presented here will be useful not just for academic audiences seeking to broaden their understanding of digital inclusion and 'what can be done' rather than focusing on 'what is amiss,' but also for policymakers and digital inclusion initiatives who are eager to expand and advance their digital inclusion work within their communities.

This article aims at discussing e-government website usability in relation to concerns about digital inclusion. E-government web design should consider all aspects of usability, including those that make it more accessible to all. Traditional concerns of social exclusion are being superseded by fears that lack of digital competence and information literacy may result in dangerous digital exclusion. Usability is considered as a way to address this exclusion and should therefore incorporate inclusion and accessibility guidelines. This article makes an explicit link between usability guidelines and digital inclusion and reports on a survey of local government web presence in Portugal.

This research brings together digital inequality scholars from across the Americas and Caribbean to examine efforts to tackle digital inequality in Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, the United States, and Canada. As the case studies show, governmental policy has an important role to play in reducing digital disparities, particularly for potential users in rural or remote areas, as well as populations with great economic disparities. We find that public policy can effectively reduce access gaps when it combines the trifecta of network, device, and skill provision, especially through educational institutions. We also note, that urban populations have benefitted from digital inclusion strategies to a greater degree. This underscores that, no matter the national context, rural-urban digital inequality (and often associated economic inequality) is resistant to change. Even when access is provided, potential users may not find it affordable, lack skills, and/or see no benefit in adoption. We see the greatest potential for future digital inclusion in two related approaches: 1) initiatives that connect with hard-to-reach, remote, and rural communities outside urban cores and 2) initiatives that learn from communities about how best to provide digital resources while respecting their diversely situated contexts, while meeting social, economic and political needs.