Keeping up with the digital world Digital Citizenship

Keeping up with the digital world Digital Citizenship Volume II Digital Access and DIVIDE By IVRose

Since the nine elements of digital citizenship have been clearly defined more especially digital access, now the focus is on the issues surrounding digital access. Due to the ever- developing technology, more computer aspects have gone vulnerable and there is more concerns one should consider. According to the IIE manual, “new technologies, access to data and information is critical. However, access is not universal. Moreover, it is not just about access as a means but also about access as a skill. In fact, the issue of access or the lack thereof, is known as the digital divide and is actually based on several gaps.

These “gaps” are the issues that concerns access under the umbrella of digital divide. Which includes: • Socio-economic divide • Divide in infrastructure • Divide in content • Gender divide • Skills divide • Universal access divide The role of the above mentioned issues is based on digital divide and its impact on people’s ability to influence their social, knowledge and human capital thereby hindering their ability to access data, information and knowledge that may enhance their own feelings of self-worth coupled with their ability to further themselves socially, economically, professionally and intellectually. Once the divide is overcome the technology can then be used to collate data for processing into information, resulting in knowledge being acquired and used in decision-making processes to improve the business.

SOCIAL CAPITAL REFERS TO “THE SHARED SIGNIFICANCE OF ALL SOCIAL NETWORKS (WHO PEOPLE KNOW) AND THE INCLINATIONS THAT ARISE FROM THESE NETWORKS TO DO THINGS FOR EACH OTHER (‘NORMS OF RECIPROCITY’). THE CENTRAL PREMISE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IS THAT SOCIAL NETWORKS HAVE VALUE”. IIE ( MANUAL)

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN DIGITAL DIVIDE AND SOCIAL CAPITAL AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE CONNECT TO SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS AND THE MORE WE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER WE CREATE A SOCIAL CAPITALT. HROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA WE CAN REALIZE CERTAIN BENEFITS LIKE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION, TRUST AND COLLABORATION. DIGITAL DIVIDE IS ABOUT HAVING ACCESS TO CONSTRUCT SOCIAL CAPITAL SIMULTANEOUSLY OBTAINING GLOBAL INFORMATION. DIGITAL ACCESS SHOULD BE BASED IF WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS A DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY AND HOW TO OVERCOME THE ASPECT OF NOT HAVING DIGITAL ACCESS, HENCE THE TERM DIGITAL DIVIDES. OCIAL CAPITAL INCREASES WHEN THERE IS NO DIGITAL DIVIDE, THUS IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE NEED TO BE DIGITAL CITIZENS. B ( ESTLER, L. 2008)

KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL ACCORDING TO INVESTOPEDIA KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL IS AN INTANGIBLE ASSET THAT COMPRISES THE INFORMATION AND SKILLS OF A COMPANY'S EMPLOYEES, THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH BUSINESS PROCESSES, GROUP WORK AND ON-THE-JOB LEARNING. (INVESTOPEDIA. 2016)

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIGITAL DIVIDE AND KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL KNOWING HOW THAT RESULTS FROM THE EXPERIENCE, INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, AND SKILLS OF THE EMPLOYEES OF ANORGANIZATION IN TERMS OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL, PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO BE EDUCATED IN ORDER TO BE A ASSET FOR BUSINESSES. BUSINESS NEED VALUABLE IDEAS, METHODS, PROCESSES AND OTHER INTUITIVE TALENTS TO SUCCEED IN THE KNOWLEDGE DEPARTMENT AND PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO BE EDUCATED IN THIS LINE OF WORK TO MAKE A SUCCESS AND TO IMPROVE DIGITAL DIVIDE. O. F ALL THE FACTORS OF PRODUCTION, KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL CREATES THE LONGEST LASTING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. IT MAY CONSIST ENTIRELY OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION (AS IN CHEMICAL AND ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIES) OR MAY RESIDE IN THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OR SKILLS ACQUIRED BY THE INDIVIDUALS (AS IN CONSTRUCTION AND STEEL INDUSTRIES). KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL.

HUMAN CAPITAL • ACCORDING TO INVESTOPEDIA HUMAN CAPITAL IS A MEASURE OF THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF AN EMPLOYEE'S SKILL SET. THIS MEASURE BUILDS ON THE BASIC PRODUCTION INPUT OF LABOUR MEASURE WHERE ALL LABOUR IS THOUGHT TO BE EQUAL. THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN CAPITAL RECOGNIZES THAT NOT ALLLABOUR IS EQUAL AND THAT THE QUALITY OF EMPLOYEES CAN BE IMPROVED BY INVESTING IN THEM; THE EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND ABILITIES OF EMPLOYEES HAVE ECONOMIC VALUE FOR EMPLOYERS AND FOR THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE. ( INVESTOPEDIA. 2016).

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN DIGITAL DIVIDE AND HUMAN CAPITAL • AS MENTIONED FROM ABOVE THE EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND ABILITIES OF EMPLOYEES HAVE ECONOMIC VALUE FOR EMPLOYERS AND FOR THEECONOMY, HENCE UNEDUCATED PEOPLE WILL NEVER LEARN , GAIN THEIR OWN SKILLS, MAKE USE OF THEIR ABILITIES AND KNOWLEDGE IF THEY NEVER GETEDUCATED. THIS CONTRIBUTE TO THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND IT WILL INCREASE THE ASPECT OF DIGITAL DIVIDEAND THAT’S WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO EDUCATE PEOPLE WHO ARE UNPRIVILEGED AND MAKE THE DIVIDE SMALLER.

HOW CAN GOVERNMENT ASSIST IN SOLVING ACCESS ISSUES • BY ADVISING THE GOVERNMENTS TO INVEST MORE MONEY AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMY ON TECHNOLOGY. • THE GOVERNMENT COULD IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF TECHNOLOGY. BY EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL DIVIDE AND BENEFITS OF USING DIGITALDIVIDE. • TO PROVIDE THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT TECHNOLOGY WITH INFORMATION THAT COULD HELP THEM TO LEARN AND GAIN KNOWLEDGE. • BY SUPPLYING AREAS WITH NO TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNET WITH ACCESS AND KNOWLEDGE.

REFERENCES • BESTLER, L. 2008. LAURA BESTLER. [ONLINE]. AVAILABLE AT: HTTP: //WWW. LAURABESTLER. ORG/IS-THERE-A-CORRELATION-BETWEEN-THE-DIGITAL-DIVIDEAND-COLLEGE-ACCESS/ [ACCESSED 6 SEPTEMBER 2016]. • DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP MODULE MANUAL. 2016 IIE ( MANUAL). • INVESTOPEDIA. 2016. HUMAN CAPITAL. [ONLINE]. INVESTOPEDIA, LLC. AVAILABLE AT: HTTP: //WWW. INVESTOPEDIA. COM/TERMS/H/HUMANCAPITAL. ASP[ACCESSED 22 SEPTEMBER 2016]. • INVESTOPEDIA. 2016. KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL. [ONLINE]. INVESTOPEDIA, LLC. AVAILABLE AT: HTTP: //WWW. INVESTOPEDIA. COM/TERMS/K/KNOWLEDGE-CAPITAL. ASP[ACCESSED 22 SEPTEMBER 2016].