1. ACCESS and DIGITAL DIVIDE / DIGITAL GAP

2. ICT are existing in and affecting every domain of life. Affecting personal life Giving new opportunities, also new responsibilities. Individuals have more ability - capability to control, direct their life. Affecting business life. Increasing ability to perform operational and managerial issues in business.

3. Bring  Easiness, facilities. Better, higher standard of living. ICT brought new benefits and opportunities to our lifes. To do the new things To do the things in new ways ICT are giving new benefits to individuals, to organizations, to societies. ICT – broad, effective. Cause change, transformation.

4. Education and Training  To gain new skills, to have better understanding, to have ability for reasoning, gaining ability to support decision making. Gaining knowledge – intrinsic good, inherently good.

5. ICT – powerful instruments ICT are instrumentally good  to have jobs. ICT are tools / instruments for a better life, to make life easier, to gain some skills on special areas, subjects. ICT  a tool for access to information, reaching and gaining knowledge getting news to send-receive information, views, opinions, ideas. Knowledge exchange, knowledge sharing to form associations for a common goal-interest Brought opportunity for distant learning.

6. Democratic societies are committed to the idea that every citizen is equal. Not only political equity, social and economic equality are also important. Knowledge and education have intrinsic values but also have instrumental values. Education is one of the most important mechanism to establish equality. ICT are important tools for education. People who have ICT more in their life seem have more chance for job skills, job opportunity. ICT also increases the possibility for participation  Participation of the citizens (in the decisions given) is one of the features of democratic societies. ICT enable people, give opportunity to send and receive information, to form associations / groups.

7. Digital divide/ digital gap is the divide between have and have not’s, the gap between people who have ICT and the people who don’t have ICT. There is an equality problem which seems not democratic. Inequalities exist between: Persons Regions Countries Continents Companies

8. To use ICT, it’s needed: Literacy Technological infrastructure Technology (Computer, software, Internet, radio, telephone, TV, fax) Having skills to use ICT Opportunity to pay subscription fees

9. According to the observations, surveys; Have’s – Have not’s Higher income Lower income Cities Rural areas Men Women Educated People who don’t have education opportunites White Blacks Companies which have No tech. or old tech. advanced tech. (inequality in competition. The ones which can not continue to run will cause unemployment, social and economic problems also.)

10. Some Statistics: In 2000, it was estimated that 361 million people, approximately 5.8% of the world population were online; the vast majority of those users lived in North America and Europe. In 2005; seven nations –Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and the United States- had an Internet penetration rate of higher than 60%. (Ethics and Technology; Herman T. Tavani, John Wiley&Sons, Inc., 2011 Chapter 10 “The Digital Divide and the Transformation of Work” p. 300-315)

11. In June 2008, it was estimated that there were more than 1,463 million Internet users. As of 2008, in countries such as Niger, Ethiopia, and the Congo, approximately 2 people per 1000 are Internet users, while the percentage of Internet users in Iceland and Norway is greater than 700 persons per 1000.

12. In Africa (which includes approximately 14 % of the world’s population) the Internet penetration rate is 5.3%, in North America, the Internet penetration rate is 73.6% (Internet World Stats, 2008) However, the Internet usage growth in Africa was 1,031.2% between 2000 and 2008. So it would seem that considerable progress has been made in bridging the global divide regarding Internet usage.

13. In 2004, in UK, approximately one half of all households were online, while only 3% of the poorest households were included in this number. (Tavani, from O’Hara and Stevens. Ethics and Technology p.302) Internet Penetration (% Population) Africa10.9% Asia 21.5% Europe58.4% Middle East29.8% North America77.4% Latin America/Caribbean34.5% Oceania/Australia61.3% (INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS as of June 30, 2010 http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Access 28.04.2011)

14. World Internet Usage Statistics As of December 31, 2011 Internet Penetration In World Internet Users Africa13.5% 6.2 % Asia 26.2% 44.8% Europe61.3% 22.1% Middle East35.6% 3.4% North America78.6% 12.0% Latin America/Caribbean39.5% 10.4% Oceania/Australia67.5% 1.1% (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Access 18.04.2012)http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

15. Top 10 Countries With The Highest Internet Penetration Rate: Falkland Islands100% Iceland93.2% Norway90.9% Greenland90.3% Sweden89.2% Saint Kitts and Nevis 87.2% Netherlands85.6% Denmark 84.2% Finland83.5% New Zealand83.1% (http://www.internetworldstats.com/top25.htmhttp://www.internetworldstats.com/top25.htm Access 28.04.2011)

16. What can be done to solve the problem? Government regulations: building infrastructure lower tax rates Kiosks for Internet usage Personal and organizational efforts Volunteer efforts UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force WSIS (The World Summit on the Information Society) 2003 in Geneva 2005 Tunis by UN

17. “We are also fully aware that the benefits of the information technology revolution are today unevenly distributed between the developed and developing countries and within societies. We are fully committed to turning this digital divide into a digital opportunity for all, particularly for those who risk being left behind and being further marginalized.” (Declaration of Principles, Article 10 Document WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/4-E12 December 2003)

18. As Tavani quotes from O’Hara and Stevens; “…regardless of whatever explanation we give for the ‘existence of a global digital divide, one thing is abundantly clear: inequalities to access to ICT (information and communication technologies) is tied closely to economic inequality.’ One obstacle to eliminating the global digital divide is that developing countries struggle with low literacy rates; many people in developing nations cannot read and write in their native language, let alone in English. Yet, much of the material on the Internet is in English.)…” (Tavani, Ethics and Technology p.302)

19. Another perspective for digital divide, as Tavani explains: “Torin Monahan (2001, 2005) questions whether discussing disparities regarding access to Internet technology in terms of a digital divide accurately captures the essential issues at stake. He suggests instead that we describe the problem as an analog divide, referring to divisions or inequalities that already existed prior to digital technology, and that continue to exist independently of that technology…” (Tavani, Ethics and Technology p. 303)

20. Bibliography: Computer Ethics; Deborah G. Johnson, Prentice-Hall Inc., 2009 (3rd edtn.) p. 218-224, Ethical Issues in Information Systems; Roy Dejoie-George Fowler-David Paradice, Boyd and Fraser Publishing Company, 1991 p. 53, 54 Ethics and Technology; Herman T. Tavani, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2011 third edition p. 300-315 http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/geneva/official/dop.html http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm http://www.tuik.gov.tr