PARTNERSHIP FOR PROGRESS ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
2015 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Creating Connections, Building Bridges: Advancing the Digital Divide Research, Policy, and Practice Agenda
21-22 October 2015
Arizona State University SkySong
Scottsdale (Phoenix), Arizona USA
In 1995, based on U.S. Census data collected in 1994, the
newly created U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) prepared and released the landmark report “Falling Through the Net: A
Survey of the ‘Have Nots’ in Rural and Urban America”. As a result, the
inequalities of online access began to be discussed as the “Digital Divide” was
recognized as a key challenge in countries around the world.
Twenty-one years after that identification of the digital
divide through social scientific research, the gaps persist and in many cases
grow. According to the latest available data from the International
Telecommunication Union, in all but 21 out of 228 countries around the world,
and even in the vast majority of developed countries, at least 20% of the
population does not benefit from even minimal access to the Internet at home.
Even within the top 50 countries in Internet access, 18 countries, ranging from
Bahrain to New Zealand to the United States, have 20-30% of their households offline
and in 11 countries, including Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Russia, 30-38% of
their populations have no Internet access at home. And, that trend continues
with even some developed and wealthy countries with Very High Human Development
according to the United Nations having around half their households without
Internet access (e.g., Greece with 44%, Saudi Arabia with 46%, and Puerto Rico,
a U.S. territory, with 51% offline).
While the digital divide has always impacted groups across a
wide range of ages, now, given the number of years the digital divide has
already persisted and its likely continuation into the future, these
experiences of inequality will affect individuals across their entire life
course. More than two decades of research, policy, and practice have taught us
that the digital divide is about gaps in access and connectivity; the skills
and digital literacy needed to interpret, understand, and navigate information
presented online; effective use by individuals and communities; the impact of
socio-economic factors on user behavior; the role of motivation, attitudes, and
interests; differences in patterns of usage; the ways in which people use the
Internet to create content; and the resulting socio-economic and cultural
effects. But, more than that, when fully assessed and understood, it is evident
that the digital divide has now taken its place alongside other long-standing,
persistent issues of social equity and social justice.
The interdisciplinary Partnership for Progress on the
Digital Divide (PPDD) 2015 International Conference brings together
researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to strategize actions and catalyze
solutions to this pressing societal concern. PPDD 2015 provides an extended,
in-depth opportunity to consider the current state and future possibilities for
research, policy, and practice that informs issues related to the digital
divide around the world. Further, the Conference works to identify new areas of
necessary, productive research focus to foster greater understanding and
enlighten policy and practice going forward so that all global citizens can
participate fully in the digital, networked age. As a major outcome of PPDD
2015, we plan to produce an edited volume of the top papers as well as special
issues of journals on specific themes within the digital divide area.
Hosted by the Arizona State University (ASU) School of
Public Affairs, PPDD 2015 will be held at ASU’s high-tech SkySong in the
Scottsdale area of Phoenix, Arizona, USA with complimentary transport to/from
discounted hotel room blocks in pleasurable Old Town Scottsdale, a 5-10 minute
drive from SkySong.
Involving scholars, policymakers and practitioners at all
stages of their careers, sessions at PPDD 2015 will include reports of research
from any discipline and any theoretical and methodological approach that
contributes to exploring the issues surrounding the digital divide as well as
discussions of policy and practice work, experiences, ideas, challenges, and
opportunities. In addition, there will be plenaries, including an opening
plenary luncheon on 21 October, and a keynote luncheon on 22 October.
The final session of PPDD 2015 is a highly interactive,
lively brainstorming and collaborative thinking dialogue among all presenters
and other attendees to create partnerships and inspire new ideas for digital
divide research, policy, and practice. All participants in PPDD 2015 will have
the opportunity to provide in advance position papers for this session that
will be made available prior to the Conference and permanently archived via an
e-book on the PPDD website.
If you would like to present and discuss your work during
PPDD 2015 and have it included in the online PPDD 2015 Conference Proceedings
and/or if you would like to provide a Position Paper for inclusion in the PPDD
2015 E-Book, please see the Call for Participation (
http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2015/cfp/)
for instructions on how to submit your work for consideration.
If you would like to just attend PPDD 2015 to explore the
issues and grow your knowledge and network of connections, please know that you
are very welcome and valued in the PPDD Conference Community.
Please join PPDD and an unprecedented broad
multi-disciplinary coalition of co-sponsoring organizations from academic and
practitioner communities to share your insights and expertise. Together, we
will enrich the dialogue, connect research, policy and practice, and advance
the agenda on the digital divide.
Please contact conference [at] ppdd [dot] org with any
questions.
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CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
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If you would like to 1) present and discuss your work during
PPDD 2015 and have it included in the online PPDD 2015 Conference Proceedings
and/or if you would like to 2) provide a Position Paper for inclusion in the
PPDD 2015 E-Book, we look forward with enthusiasm to your contribution and ask
that you please follow the instructions provided at
http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2015/cfp/
to submit your work.
1) Deadline to Submit Your Work for Consideration for
Presentation: 20 August 2015 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time
Notification of Acceptance: 27 August 2015
If you have visa or other time-sensitive concerns, please
submit your work as quickly as possible as directed below and email conference
[at] ppdd [dot] org to request an expedited review so you can receive
notification shortly after submission.
Submissions that follow the instructions provided at
http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2015/cfp/
are welcome from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners at all stages of
their careers, from any theoretical and methodological approach, and across
multiple disciplines engaged in work that informs issues related to the digital
divide, including but not limited to:
- gaps in access and connectivity
- digital inclusion
- digital exclusion
- digital (dis)engagement
- challenges and opportunities
- social and cultural aspects of the divide
- the skills and digital/information literacy needed to
interpret, understand, and navigate information presented online
- effective use by individuals and communities
- the impact of socioeconomic factors on user behavior
- the role of motivation, attitudes, and interests
- differences in patterns of usage
- characteristics and conceptualizations of non-users
- the ways in which people use the Internet to create content
- different forms of capital and power relationships
- the impact of new and evolving technologies
- the mobile divide
- the interplay of influence with mobile technologies
- socioeconomic and cultural effects
- social equity, social and economic justice, and democracy
- the ethics of digital inequality
- community informatics
- social informatics
- social planning
- international development
- indigenous populations
- education
- ICTs and well-being
- health
- disability and accessibility
- politics, digital government, digital citizenship, smart
cities/citizens/government, civic engagement, adoption issues, and (in)equality
- global citizenship
- policy and its impacts, including
information/telecommunications policy, net neutrality, and open access
- public access initiatives
- practitioner-oriented topics considering aspects of
design, management, implementation, assessment, and collaboration
- the application of research to communities, practice, and
public and private sector initiatives
2) Deadline to Submit a Position Paper for the PPDD 2015
Conference E-Book: 7 September 2015 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time
All PPDD 2015 attendees may submit a position paper and all
submissions that follow the guidelines provided at
www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2015/cfp/
will be included in the PPDD 2015 Conference E-Book.
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HOTELS, VENUE, AND POST-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES
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On the PPDD 2015 Hotels, Venue, and Post-Conference
Activities page (
http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2015/hotelsvenue/),
you will find full details about our hotels, SkySong, and the Scottsdale area
as well as post-conference information if you are also attending AoIR IR16
and/or would like to take advantage of exciting opportunities to see digital
divide work in action in the Gila River American Indian Community and
experience the natural wonders of the American Southwest on a study tour to
Sedona and the Grand Canyon, both of which require registration by 31 August.
We have secured extremely low room rates at two quality
hotels with great amenities. You are strongly encouraged to make your
reservations at these hotels through the links provided below because other
area hotels have much higher rates with fewer amenities and only guests staying
at these two hotels within the PPDD 2015 room block will be provided with
complimentary daily roundtrip transportation to/from SkySong (i.e., if you do
not reserve your room through the links below, you will be responsible for your
own daily transportation to/from SkySong).
Hilton Garden Inn Scottsdale Old Town
Single or Double: $119USD/night (plus tax) including
complimentary continental breakfast, Internet access, parking, and more
Reservation Deadline: This special discounted room rate will
be available until 21 September or when the group block is sold-out, whichever
comes first.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Scottsdale Old Town
Single or Double: $109USD/night (plus tax)
Triple: $119USD/night (plus tax)
Quad: $129USD/night (plus tax)
All rates include complimentary hot breakfast buffet,
Manager’s Reception Tuesday-Saturday with beer, wine, soda and light snacks,
Internet access, parking, and more.
Reservation Deadline: These special discounted room rates
will be available until 14 September or when the group block is sold-out,
whichever comes first.
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REGISTRATION
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The PPDD 2015 Conference registration fee is $99USD and
includes full access to the Conference as well as lunch on 21 and 22 October
plus the Conference reception and banquet dinner after the Conference
programming on 21 October.
Please note that all presenters must register by 10
September to ensure their place in the PPDD 2015 Conference Program.
Please note the deadline to register for the post-Conference
Gila River Telecommunications Field Trip or Gila River Telecommunications and
Natural Wonders of the American Southwest Study Tour to Sedona and the Grand
Canyon is 31 August.
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YOUR PPDD 2015 CONFERENCE LEADERSHIP TEAM
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Conference Organizers
Susan B. Kretchmer, Partnership for Progress on the Digital
Divide
Rod Carveth, Morgan State University and Partnership for
Progress on the Digital Divide
Conference Host
Arizona State University School of Public Affairs
Karen Mossberger, Director
Europe Sessions Organizer
Grant Blank, Oxford University and Oxford Internet Institute
Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa Sessions
Organizer
Gerard Goggin, University of Sydney
Canada Sessions Organizer
Richard Smith, Simon Fraser University and Centre for
Digital Media
United States Sessions Organizer
Susan B. Kretchmer, Partnership for Progress on the Digital
Divide
Latin America and the Caribbean Sessions Organizer
Laura Robinson, Santa Clara University
Policymaker and Practitioner Liaison
Angela Siefer, National Digital Inclusion Alliance
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CO-SPONSORS
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American Anthropological Association Committee on the
Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing
American Political Science Association Information
Technology and Politics Section
American Public Health Association Health Informatics
Information Technology Section
Communication and Information Technologies Section of the
American Sociological Association
Community Informatics Research Network
International Association for Media and Communication
Research
International Association for Media and Communication
Research Communication Policy and Technology Section
International Association for Media and Communication
Research Digital Divide Working Group
International Communication Association
International Communication Association Communication and
Technology Division
International Communication Association Communication Law
and Policy Division
International Communication Association Mass Communication
Division
iSchools
National Communication Association
National Digital Inclusion Alliance
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PUBLISHING PARTNERS
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Information Technologies and International Development
Journal of Community Informatics
Online Journal of Public Health Informatics
Additional journals may be forthcoming
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SPONSORS
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The PPDD 2015 International Conference would not be possible
without the generosity of our Sponsors whose dedication to enriching the
dialogue and connecting research, policy, and practice leads the way in
advancing the agenda on the digital divide. Please join us in thanking them.
**Premier Sponsor and Conference Banquet Host**
**Premier Sponsor and Opening Plenary Luncheon Host**
**Platinum Sponsor**
**Gold Sponsor**
Arizona State University American Indian Policy Institute
