Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability

This study was motivated to investigate social inequality in developed nations, by studying the impact of ICTs upon the vulnerable unemployed and under-employed in Singapore. First, drawing upon Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we operationalize the dependent variable as self-perceived employabili...

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Main Authors: Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi, Chib, Arul
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/93595
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50188
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-935952020-03-07T12:15:51Z Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi Chib, Arul Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Social sciences::Economic development ICT Access ICT Appropriation This study was motivated to investigate social inequality in developed nations, by studying the impact of ICTs upon the vulnerable unemployed and under-employed in Singapore. First, drawing upon Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we operationalize the dependent variable as self-perceived employability, conceptualized as both a measure of well-being and a livelihood capability. Secondly, we used Neil Selwyn’s digital divide hierarchical impact assessment framework, to define and measure the ICT assets of access, usage, and appropriation. Primary data was gathered from 302 under-employed and unemployed workers in Singapore, a developed Asian economy. Regression analyses revealed that higher-order hierarchies of ICT usage and appropriation were associated with the dependent variable of employability, while access was not. We discuss the implications for development discourse in regions with ubiquitous access, advocating for policymakers to focus on ICT training. Further, we offer nuanced findings on vulnerability in developed economies as an enhancement to mainstream ICT4D scholarship, focused exclusively on poverty in developing countries. Accepted version 2019-10-17T04:13:12Z 2019-12-06T18:42:05Z 2019-10-17T04:13:12Z 2019-12-06T18:42:05Z 2018 Journal Article Loh, Y. A.-C., & Chib, A. (2019). Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability. Information Technology for Development, 25(3), 532-551. doi:10.1080/02681102.2018.1520190 0268-1102 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/93595 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50188 10.1080/02681102.2018.1520190 en Information Technology for Development © 2018 Commonwealth Secretariat. All rights reserved. This paper was published by Taylor & Francis in Information Technology for Development and is made available with permission of Commonwealth Secretariat. 39 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Social sciences::Economic development
ICT Access
ICT Appropriation
spellingShingle Social sciences::Economic development
ICT Access
ICT Appropriation
Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
Chib, Arul
Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability
description This study was motivated to investigate social inequality in developed nations, by studying the impact of ICTs upon the vulnerable unemployed and under-employed in Singapore. First, drawing upon Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we operationalize the dependent variable as self-perceived employability, conceptualized as both a measure of well-being and a livelihood capability. Secondly, we used Neil Selwyn’s digital divide hierarchical impact assessment framework, to define and measure the ICT assets of access, usage, and appropriation. Primary data was gathered from 302 under-employed and unemployed workers in Singapore, a developed Asian economy. Regression analyses revealed that higher-order hierarchies of ICT usage and appropriation were associated with the dependent variable of employability, while access was not. We discuss the implications for development discourse in regions with ubiquitous access, advocating for policymakers to focus on ICT training. Further, we offer nuanced findings on vulnerability in developed economies as an enhancement to mainstream ICT4D scholarship, focused exclusively on poverty in developing countries.
author2 Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
author_facet Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
Chib, Arul
format Article
author Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
Chib, Arul
author_sort Loh, Yvonne Ai-Chi
title Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability
title_short Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability
title_full Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability
title_fullStr Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability
title_full_unstemmed Tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability
title_sort tackling social inequality in development : beyond access to appropriation of icts for employability
publishDate 2019
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/93595
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50188
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