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The Digital Divide

The situation in PNG

Implications for Journalism Education

What to do next?

STATE OF JOURNALISM IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

PATRICK MATBOB

  • Patrick Matbob is a lecturer in Journalism at Divine Word University in Madang, Papua New Guinea.
  • He began working as a print journalist in 1985.
  • In 2000, he resigned to pursue journalism studies at Divine Word University and joined the teaching staff in 2001.
  • He holds an MA in Journalism Studies from Cardiff University, Wales.
  • His research interests include journalism, media and communications, PNG governance and elections, China in the Pacific and West Papua.

patrick.matbob@gmail.com

pmatbob@dwu.ac.pg

DIGITAL DIVIDE

Internet is considered a mechanism for:

Internet can deepen inequalities and increase social exclusion.

- poverty alleviation

- empowerment of minorities

- economic development

- promotion of democracy

Reagan Shade, 2003

cyber-enthusiasts

VS

Research so far

cyber-sceptics

Definition

Initially - Physical access

- gaps being addressed

SECOND DIVIDE

ORIGINAL DIVIDE

- gaps widening

More recently - Social, psychological, cultural aspects

Country Overview

Differences in use: skills + social issues + impact and consequences

"Disparity between those who have access to the technologies and the Internet and those who do not"

Coleman, 2015

Selwyn, 2004

Van Dijk, 2010

DIGITAL LITERACY

Reagan Shade, 2003:108

  • One of the most extensive island nations in the South Pacific.

Access to ICT = Use of ICT = Meaningful use of ICT (Engagement)

Selwyn, 2004

  • Total land area of 462,840 km2.

Selwyn, 2004

ICT and Internet can:

- promote social connections

- increase political and civic participation

- ease education access

  • Extremely diverse country: geographically, biologically, linguistically, and culturally. Independent from Australia since 1975.
  • Constitutional parliamentary democracy.

Who is included and who is excluded?

Skills

Van Dijk, 2010

  • Estimated population of 7.6 million, from which 6.6 million are rural population.

Operational (basic use of the technology and Internet)

Who is connected?

MEDIUM RELATED

  • GDP per capita is 1,767 USD. Around 40% of the population live on less than 1.90 USD a day.

Formal (navigation and orientation)

"ACCESS"

  • Literacy rate for youth and adults goes from 60% to 76%.
  • Physical technological devices
  • Quality of these technologies
  • Cost
  • Time
  • Environment

  • Income
  • Level of education
  • Gender
  • Race
  • Age
  • Geography
  • Linguistic background

Information (ability to access the information needed)

Selwyn, 2004

CONTENT RELATED

Reagan Shade, 2003

Selwyn, 2004

World Bank, 2009, 2011, 2015

Strategic (efficient use - achievement specific targets, solutions, improving status, etc)

Digital Divide and Higher Education

Different levels of digital skills

Higher Education

Radovanovic, Hogan, Lalic, 2015

Rooney, 2004

DIGITAL LITERACY is crucial to become engaged with the new information age and knowledge-based society.

Kolodziejczyk, 2012

Information and Strategic the most important

--

strongly condition the position of people in their social life and in the labour market

  • 26 institutions of Higher Education - 6 Universities (4 public and 2 private)

Information and Communication Technologies

Issues when trying to integrate the new technologies into the teaching and learning practices

  • Enrollment 2% of the estimated 600,000 young people at university age (17-24).

Do PNG journalism students have these crucial skills?

  • Educator's reluctance
  • Legitimacy, authority, expertise

World Bank, 2015

  • Some tertiary institutions do not have free Internet access for students, limited availability of computers, and academic staff admit they have no experience with Internet.
  • Relearning skills

Technology challenges the traditional power structure

  • Mobile Phone Subscription 45% - 112%
  • Sources not validated by academia: Wikipedia
  • Fixed broadband subscriptions 0,18% - 31%
  • Less than 40% of students own a computer.
  • Internet Users 9,4% - 85%
  • Students take away status power from professors.
  • Uncertain infrastructure
  • Households with a computer 3,6% - 80%
  • Fixed broadband Internet sub-basket 446$/month - 62$/month
  • Lack of knowledge

Suggestions to bridge the Digital Divide in PNG

"right now, the quantity and quality of graduates is far short of what is needed – due to inadequate resources and a range of governance and general service quality issues”

  • Political power and different understanding of priorities

(Garnaut & Namaliu, 2010, p. 1, in Kolodziejczyk, 2012).

Infrastructure VS training

Parent and Cruickshank, 2009

  • Redefinition of appropriate pedagogy
  • Libraries - mobile libraries - Internet advisor
  • Sharing devices and connections

James, 2012

Implications for Journalism Education

  • Training and support

Radovanovic, Hogan, Lalic, 2015

  • Change of perceptions

Radovanovic, Hogan, Lalic, 2015

Goh and Kale, 2015

Print journalism

VS

Digital Journalism

Reinvent curriculum for Journalism Education!!!

1.1 Billion users of online news (2014)

  • Adapting journalism education curriculum

Goh and Kale, 2015

  • 1st year course on information retrieval (cross-cutting across curricula)
  • Multimedia consciousness
  • "Digital Journalism Competences"

Radovanovic, Hogan, Lalic, 2015

  • Engage audiences with relevant content across new digital media platforms.

350,000 Facebook users in PNG

What about information and structural skills?

- Multimedia competences

- Collaboration and team work

- Analysis and Problem Solving

- Independent decision-making

- Flexibility

- Digital literacy: technological + content skills

Consumption VS Production

Schradie, 2011

  • Passive consumers --- Active producers

Further research

Very necessary to find out the real issues affecting Papua New Guinea.

Selwyn, 2004

  • Conditions of EFFECTIVE ACCESS = Meaningful engagement

Reagan Shade, 2003

  • Bottom-up approach
  • Free from Western perspective and created according to Papua New Guinean cultural terms

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Implications for Journalism Education

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