http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/rpSlideshows?articleId=USRTXBP47#a=5 n information Inequality JacquI Le-Mon :http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/rpSlideshows?articleId=USRTXBP47#a=5 n information Inequality JacquI Le-Mon India: Poverty, Material Access, and the Information Poor Population


Issues to discuss… :Issues to discuss… India and Rural Poverty “Infotech Industries and Regional Disparities” Van Dijk and Accessibility Material Accessibility: Definition and Description Material Access and Improvement Libraries Schools Labor


About India: http://sasthamcotta.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/india_statistics.jpg :Though India is growing as a world power, the country still contains 1/3 of the world’s poor. About India: http://sasthamcotta.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/india_statistics.jpg


Population: Age and Education Statistics :Population: Age and Education Statistics Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.1% (male 190,075,426/female 172,799,553) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 381,446,079/female 359,802,209) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 29,364,920/female 32,591,030) (2009 est.) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61% male: 73.4% female: 47.8% (2001 census) School life expectancy: total: 10 years male: 11 years female: 9 years (2005) Education expenditures: 3.2% of GDP (2005) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html


Telecommunications and Internet Usage: :Telecommunications and Internet Usage: -Approximate current population in India: 1,166,079,217 (July 2009 est.) -In 2007, only 80 million Internet users were recorded. - There are two telephones per 100 people in India. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/india/didyouknow.html


More About India :More About India Since the early 1990’s what Fromhold-Eisebith calls “Infotech Industries” in India have increased rapidly. However, due to the uneven development of this boom, regional disparities are proving problematic (164). -India has over 35 % of world’s illiterate population -89% of rural households do not own telephones -52% of rural households do not have domestic power connection -Over half the workforce in India is agricultural, though software services and workers are increasingly important to India’s economy http://rupeenews.com/2008/03/24/india-as-a-world-power-part-1/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html


As according to Martina Fromhold-Eisebith: :“It has been expected that, due to the unresolved issues of development and labour market imbalances and the lack of basic infrastructure and social amenities in large parts of India, the actual socio-economic effects of market reform will most probably fall short of the expected benefits due to the limited opportunities for spread and trickle-down effects” (168). As according to Martina Fromhold-Eisebith:


Two poverty stricken areas: :Two poverty stricken areas: Agriculture Manual labor Tribal Communities and villages Software IT industry Rural Poverty Urban Poverty


Jan A.G.M. Van Dijk’s The Deepening Divide : Inequality in the Information Society :Access can be split into four forms: Motivational Material Skills Usage Jan A.G.M. Van Dijk’s The Deepening Divide : Inequality in the Information Society


Material Access: :Material Access: According to Van Dijk: “Material access is differentiated as physical and conditional access. Physical access is the entry to hardware, operational software, and service of computers, networks, and other digital technologies. Conditional access is the provisory entry to particular applications, programs, or contents of computers and networks” (48).


“Physical Access” :“Physical Access” Work School Public places (libraries and community access centers) Someone else’s house One’s own home In transit (mobile Internet)


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/world/asia/17india.html :http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/world/asia/17india.html India’s Rural Population and Material Access


Public Libraries :Public Libraries “For instance, the rural public library sector remains an area that is highly underdeveloped. In contrast, certain urban public library systems, in cities such as Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore, exhibit fairly well–developed infrastructures” (Pyati). National Knowledge Commission (NKC) Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF) Rural Public Libraries http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2588/2237


Rural Schools :Rural Schools Private schools are more common in areas with poor public schools performance. “While private schools are more likely to have an electricity connection and toilets for teachers, they are less likely to have libraries (book banks) and classrooms without mud floors” (Kremer, Muralidharan ). Rural Public Schools http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/world/asia/17india.html Public and Private Schools: http://www.dise.in/Downloads/DISEnstuudies/KarthiMuralidharanandMichaelKremer.pdf Infothela: http://www.pedicabblog.com/2009/04/rickshaw-bring-internet-access-to.html


Labor Market :Labor Market The following websites reveal how material access to computers can aid those with their information needs in rural India, including job portals and how India has worked to improve the working conditions in these areas. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4927436.stm http://online.wjs.com/article/SB125498624728372797.html http://www.cis-india.org/publications/cis/sunil/Public-access-to-the-internet.pdf http://www/nytimes.com/2005/06/16/technology/16compute.html


Bibliographic Sources: :Bibliographic Sources: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html http://rupeenews.com/2008/03/24/india-as-a-world-power-part-1/ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/world/asia/17india.html http://www.cis-india.org/publications/cis/sunil/Public-access-to-the-internet.pdf http://indiafocus.indiainfo.com/media/librarybooks/library/ Feather, John. The Information Society: A Study of Continuity and Change 5th Ed. Facet Publishing; London, 2008. Fromhold-Eisebith, Martina. “Infotech Industries and Regional Disparities.” Colonial and Post-Colonial Geographies of India. Ed. Saraswati Raju. Sage Publications; London, 2006. Kremer, Michael and Karthik Muralidharan. “Public and Private Schools in Rural India.” http://www.dise.in/Downloads/DISEnstuudies/KarthiMuralidharanandMichaelKremer.pdf Pyati, Ajit K. “Pubic library revitalization in India: Hopes, challenges, and new visions.” First Monday, Volume 14, 6 July, 2009 http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2588/2237 Van Dijek, Jan A.G.M. The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the Information Society. Sage Publications; London, 2005.