Internet on the Outstation provides a new take on the digital divide. Why do whole communities choose to go without the internet when the infrastructure for access is in place? Through an in-depth exploration of the digital practices occurring in Aboriginal households in remote central Australia, the authors address both the dynamics of internet adoption and the benefits that flow from its use. The book challenges us to think beyond the standard explanations for the digital divide, arguing that digital exclusion is not just another symptom of social exclusion. At its heart, Internet on the Outstation is a compelling examination of equality and difference in the digital age, asking: Can internet access help resolve the disadvantages associated with remote living?Internet on the Outstation is the result of a multi-year research collaboration, which included a trial of internet infrastructure, training and maintenance in three small Aboriginal communities (known as outstations). During the research phase, Ellie Rennie, Eleanor Hogan and Julian Thomas were based at the Swinburne Institute for Social Research in Melbourne. Robin Gregory and Andrew Crouch worked at the Centre for Appropriate Technology, an Indigenous-owned research and training organization in Alice Springs. Alyson Wright worked for the Central Land Council, the representative body for traditional owners of the central Australia region.
MULTIFILE
Within the context of the information society, access to computers and the internet has been considered to be a new fault line in social exclusion. This has resulted in numerous initiatives on e-inclusion. There is however a second development, that of evidence-based practice, the approach that wants results of effectiveness studies to be an important inspiration for practice. Where these developments intersect, we find the issue of whether e-inclusion interventions are effective, of whether they reach their aim. It is common to label projects as "good practice", but do we have an assessment framework to justify using labels such as "good" or "best"? Does providing excluded citizens with access to computers and internet indeed help them to become socially included? And can we distinguish different types of initiatives and assess them according to their effectiveness?
The impact of organized youth sport on youth development depends on various conditions in the pedagogical climate, such as how sport is delivered by youth sport coaches. While this is broadly acknowledged and provides a basis to improve youth sport and its developmental outcomes, little is known about the pedagogical perspectives of youth coaches on their practice. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 32 youth sport coaches in diverse youth sport contexts in the Netherlands. Reflexive data analysis is employed to garner insights into coaches’ role perceptions, coaching goals, and underlying values. The findings show that while youth coaches focus on sport-centered activities, many foreground non-sport dimensions such as life mentoring and working towards social inclusion as critical elements of their work, reflected in five pedagogically-oriented goals: discipline, autonomy, resilience, social abilities, and aspirations. Underlying these goals are pedagogical values such as building and maintaining caring relationships with participants. These goals and values echo scientific literature on pedagogical sport climate conditions (e.g. positive youth development), and challenge notions of youth sport as a performance-oriented and uncaring setting. The results contribute to existing knowledge about youth coaches’ pedagogical orientations, and inform the development of strategies to stimulate positive sport practices and developmental outcomes for participants.
Digital innovations in the field of immersive Augmented Reality (AR) can be a solution to offer adults who are mentally, physically or financially unable to attend sporting events such as premier league football a stadium and match experience. This allows them to continue to connect with their social networks. In the intended project, AR content will be further developed with the aim of evoking the stadium experience of home matches as much as possible. The extent to which AR enriches the experience is then tested in an experiment, in which the experience of a football match with and without AR enrichment is measured in a stadium setting and in a home setting. The experience is measured with physiological signals. In addition, a subjective experience measure is also being developed and benchmarked (the experience impact score). Societal issueInclusion and health: The joint experience of (top) sports competitions forms a platform for vulnerable adults, with a limited social capital, to build up and maintain the social networks that are so necessary for them. AR to fight against social isolation and loneliness.
Inclusief User Experience (UX)-ontwerpen is het creëren van digitale diensten die toegankelijk zijn voor zoveel mogelijk mensen, ongeacht hun fysieke of mentale beperkingen, gezondheidsproblemen, leeftijd, achtergrond of gebruikscontext. Niet alleen is er de afgelopen jaren steeds meer aandacht voor digitale inclusie en toegankelijkheid, er komen ook nieuwe wetten die de digitale inclusie en toegankelijkheid verplicht stellen. Toch zijn digitale inclusie en toegankelijkheid vaak slechts een bijzaak in het ontwerpproces. Meestal wordt een digitale dienst in eerste instantie ontworpen en ontwikkeld voor een gemiddelde gebruiker en pas daarna uitgebreid met toegankelijkheidsfuncties voor andere gebruikersgroepen. Er zijn veel normen, richtlijnen en methoden voor toegankelijk en inclusief ontwerpen, maar vereisen vaak tijdrovend gebruikers- en contextonderzoek, specialistische kennis en veranderingen in de ontwerpprocesorganisatie. UX-ontwerpbureaus en UX-ontwerpopleidingen ontberen beproefde best-practices om een inclusief ontwerp van digitale diensten te kunnen garanderen. Daardoor kunnen ze te weinig inspelen op maatschappelijke behoeften en zijn ze niet voldoende voorbereid op de aanstaande wetgeving. Met het voorgestelde onderzoek willen we een beter begrip ontwikkelen van factoren die de ontwerpers en ontwerpprocessen belemmeren bij het creëren van toegankelijke en inclusieve UX-ontwerpen. Daarmee willen we ook de basis leggen voor verder praktisch onderzoek naar welke combinaties van tools, methoden en ontwerpbenaderingen het beste werken voor het bereiken van inclusieve ontwerpresultaten in alledaagse ontwerppraktijkomstandigheden. Het project is opgedeeld in drie fasen. Het eerste deel van het project is een verkennend onderzoek binnen UX-ontwerponderwijs. De tweede fase omvat onderzoek naar processen van betrokken UX-ontwerpbureaus en vergelijking van procesobstakels in ontwerponderwijs en professionele ontwerpprocessen. In de derde fase worden de resultaten van fase één en twee vertaald naar richtlijnen, tool- en methode-ideeën en gezamenlijke vervolgonderzoeksagenda. De resultaten worden uiteindelijk ook benut voor verbetering en actualisatie van de curricula van digitale (ontwerp)opleidingen, zoals Communication and Multimedia Design (CMD), teneinde meer inclusieve ontwerpers op te leiden.
The projectThe overarching goal of DIGNITY, DIGital traNsport In and for socieTY, is to foster a sustainable, integrated and user-friendly digital travel eco-system that improves accessibility and social inclusion, along with the travel experience and daily life of all citizens. The project delves into the digital transport eco-system to grasp the full range of factors that might lead to disparities in the uptake of digitalised mobility solutions by different user groups in Europe. Analysing the digital transition from both a user and provider’s perspective, DIGNITY looks at the challenges brought about by digitalisation, to then design, test and validate the DIGNITY approach, a novel concept that seeks to become the ‘ABCs for a digital inclusive travel system’. The approach combines proven inclusive design methodologies with the principles of foresight analysis to examine how a structured involvement of all actors – local institutions, market players, interest groups and end users – can help bridge the digital gap by co-creating more inclusive mobility solutions and by formulating user-centred policy frameworks.The objectivesThe idea is to support public and private mobility providers in conceiving mainstream digital products or services that are accessible to and usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their income, social situation or age; and to help policy makers formulate long-term strategies that promote innovation in transport while responding to global social, demographic and economic changes, including the challenges of poverty and migration.The missionBy focusing on and involving end-users throughout the process of designing policies, products, or services, it is possible to reduce social exclusion while boosting new business models and social innovation. The end result that DIGNITY is aiming for is an innovative decision support tool that can help local and regional decision-makers formulate digitally inclusive policies and strategies, and digital providers design more inclusive products and services.The approachThe DIGNITY approach combines analysis with concrete actions to make digital mobility services inclusive over the long term. The approach connects users’ needs and requirements with the provision of mobility services, and at the same time connects those services to the institutional framework. It is a multi-phase process that first seeks to understand and bridge the digital gap, and then to test, evaluate and fine-tune the approach, so that it can be applied in other contexts even after the project’s end.Partners: ISINNOVA (Italy), Mobiel 21 (Belgium), Universitat Politechnica deCatalunya Spain), IZT (Germany), University of Cambridge (UK), Factualconsulting (Spain), Barcelona Regional Agencia (Spain), City of Tilburg(Netherlands), Nextbike (Germany), City of Ancona (Italy), MyCicero (Italy),Conerobus (Italy), Vlaams Gewest (Belgium)
