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WGS Seminar |
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| Category: | Seminar | |
| Date & Time: |
Friday , 11/30/2012 from 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM |
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| Location: | Larts 121 | |
| Admission: | Free! | |
| Sponsored by: | Provost's Departmental Seminar Series Program | |
| Contact: |
Cristina Mehrtens cmehrtens@umassd.edu 508-999-8303 |
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| Description: |
Speaker: Paola Prado, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Journalism and Digital Media in the Communication Department at Roger Williams University
Case Study: "The Girls of El Seybo: Logging in to a Different Mañana" Abstract: This exploratory study examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the lives of girls in a remote rural village in the Dominican Republic. A number of studies have examined gender differences in Internet use in the developed world, yet little is known about the impact of Internet adoption among girls in traditional rural societies. The village of El Seybo in the Dominican Republic, where the roles of women are largely limited to the duties prescribed by marriage and motherhood, provides the locus of our case study. Informed by the growing literature on globalization and ICT adoption in the developing world, this study examined what it means for girls in this remote rural setting to gain access to the Information Society. Using grounded theory, data collected in 20 individual in-depth interviews with girls and young women between the ages of 13 and 25 was examined within the context of their lives and that of their community. The findings indicate that the girls of El Seybo are bridging the digital divide by relying on affordable public Internet access points to connect to the World Wide Web. Empowered with digital literacy and online access that makes it possible for them to overcome the geographical boundaries and resource limitations that result from poverty, the girls of El Seybo provide evidence that digital inclusion offers a tool for social change. |
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