is professor in the Netherlands (Fontys) and UK (University of Southampton). Research interests are technology and quality of life (digital divide, internet and loneliness, assistive technology, accessibility), information management in social services (client index systems) and active citizenship. He has published widely on the application of technology in human services as well as on the dynamics between technology and social quality of society. Nick Gould is professor of social work at the University of Bath, UK. He has researched and published widely in the fields of professional learning, social informatics, mental health and evidence-based practice.Correspondence to Professor Jan Steyaert, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Studies, PO Box 347, 5600 AH Eindhoven, The Netherlands. E-mail: j.steyaert@fontys.nl
SummaryIn this article, the concept of digital divide and its relation to social exclusion is analysed. After describing the several facets of the digital divide, the question is asked whether the divide is widening or narrowing? The definition of digital divide is reconsidered and the article argues that access to the technology alone is but a very rudimentary indicator of actually making use of digital opportunities. This is expanded in the section on risks arising from digital exclusion. Finally, implications of this approach of the digital divide for social work and social care are considered.
This chapter will:• conceptualise social work as taking place within the 'digital society'; • explore how information and communication technology (ICT) impacts on the individual, families and communities;• argue that technological change has irretrievably altered the nature of the social world and, hence, practitioners need to understand it.
A B S T R A C T
Where the worlds of e-inclusion and evidence-based practice meetWithin 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? J a n S T e ya e r T The advances of information technology and the equally fast moving developments of communication technology resulted in society's housing infrastructure not only being served by a network of water, gas and electricity supply, but also by a similar network of information supply.
W H e r e T H e W O r L D S O F e -I n C L U S I O n a n D e V I D e n C e -B a S e D P r a C T I C
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