ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods

Prevailing discussions in the digital divide field have focussed on the roles which technology access and usage play in achieving economic well-being in the developing countries. However, rising global inequality has given rise to a sub-class of citizens in the developed economies, classified as the...

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Main Author: Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
Other Authors: Arul Indrasen Chib
Format: Theses and Dissertations
Language:English
Published: 2018
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75942
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-759422020-10-28T08:52:32Z ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi Arul Indrasen Chib Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication Prevailing discussions in the digital divide field have focussed on the roles which technology access and usage play in achieving economic well-being in the developing countries. However, rising global inequality has given rise to a sub-class of citizens in the developed economies, classified as the working poor, for whom the impact of ICTs differs from those observed in developing economies. This thesis makes use of Amartya Sen’s capability approach, as a theoretical framework to examine the dependent variables of well-being, where one’s sense of employability was posited as personal economic well-being, for self-perceived employability has been found to be positively correlated with employment outcomes (Fugate, Kinicki, & Ashforth, 2004; Koen, Klehe, & Van Vianen, 2013; McArdle, Waters, Briscoe, & Hall, 2007). In addition to self-perceived employability, self-perceived empowerment is presented as an indication of non-economic well-being. The independent variables are examined with Selwyn’s (2010) digital divide assessment framework guiding the factor analyses to refine the ICT measures of access, usage and appropriation (the predictors) into more granular sub-factors that are based on the participants’ attribution of these ICT assets to his or her outcomes of self-perceived employability and empowerment. Hierarchical regression techniques reveal that, instead of access, higher-order levels of ICT usage and appropriation are positively associated with the dependent variables of personal well-being. The findings challenge traditional digital divide paradigms which advocate that access to technology is a sufficient condition to resolve problems of inequality. This thesis contributes to the discussion on digital divide from multiple perspectives. Firstly, it broadens the field’s scope to include marginalised citizens, in developed countries, who are affected by rising inequality. Secondly, it offers a theoretical insight into the non-economic outcomes of personal well-being, e.g. psychological empowerment, when considering divide outcomes, and thirdly, it provides conceptual clarity to the polysemy of the digital divide inequalities by providing an analytical and methodological measurement guideline to what exactly are the three levels of the digital divide. Lastly, the thesis’ results provide a basis for policy recommendations to improve both the economic prospects and the non-economic well-being of those marginalised constituents of society, through higher-order ICT skills’ training. Doctor of Philosophy (WKWSCI) 2018-08-13T06:08:46Z 2018-08-13T06:08:46Z 2018 Thesis Loh, Y. A.-C. (2018). ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75942 10.32657/10356/75942 en Nanyang Technological University 222 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication
Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
description Prevailing discussions in the digital divide field have focussed on the roles which technology access and usage play in achieving economic well-being in the developing countries. However, rising global inequality has given rise to a sub-class of citizens in the developed economies, classified as the working poor, for whom the impact of ICTs differs from those observed in developing economies. This thesis makes use of Amartya Sen’s capability approach, as a theoretical framework to examine the dependent variables of well-being, where one’s sense of employability was posited as personal economic well-being, for self-perceived employability has been found to be positively correlated with employment outcomes (Fugate, Kinicki, & Ashforth, 2004; Koen, Klehe, & Van Vianen, 2013; McArdle, Waters, Briscoe, & Hall, 2007). In addition to self-perceived employability, self-perceived empowerment is presented as an indication of non-economic well-being. The independent variables are examined with Selwyn’s (2010) digital divide assessment framework guiding the factor analyses to refine the ICT measures of access, usage and appropriation (the predictors) into more granular sub-factors that are based on the participants’ attribution of these ICT assets to his or her outcomes of self-perceived employability and empowerment. Hierarchical regression techniques reveal that, instead of access, higher-order levels of ICT usage and appropriation are positively associated with the dependent variables of personal well-being. The findings challenge traditional digital divide paradigms which advocate that access to technology is a sufficient condition to resolve problems of inequality. This thesis contributes to the discussion on digital divide from multiple perspectives. Firstly, it broadens the field’s scope to include marginalised citizens, in developed countries, who are affected by rising inequality. Secondly, it offers a theoretical insight into the non-economic outcomes of personal well-being, e.g. psychological empowerment, when considering divide outcomes, and thirdly, it provides conceptual clarity to the polysemy of the digital divide inequalities by providing an analytical and methodological measurement guideline to what exactly are the three levels of the digital divide. Lastly, the thesis’ results provide a basis for policy recommendations to improve both the economic prospects and the non-economic well-being of those marginalised constituents of society, through higher-order ICT skills’ training.
author2 Arul Indrasen Chib
author_facet Arul Indrasen Chib
Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
format Theses and Dissertations
author Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
author_sort Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
title ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
title_short ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
title_full ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
title_fullStr ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
title_full_unstemmed ICTs for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
title_sort icts for employability and empowerment : an analytical framework for addressing the digital divide in urban livelihoods
publishDate 2018
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75942
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