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Report: The digital inclusion role of rural libraries: social inequalities through space and place
Abstract: A great deal of scholarship on broadband deployment and federal policies has positioned rural America through a deficit framework: rural parts of the country have older populations (and therefore not tech savvy), are poor (and therefore justifiably ignored by the market), too remote (therefore outside of legitimate profit-making enterprise), and losing population (and therefore significance). This research examines rural Internet connectivity through the lens of local libraries lending hotspots for Internet connectivity. Qualitative data gathered in 24 rural communities in Kansas and Maine undercut simplistic notions regarding how communication systems operate in environments ignored by normative market operations. Financial precarity and pressures from social and economic institutions compel rurally based individuals and families to assemble piecemeal Internet presence and connectivity. The public library plays a crucial role in providing Internet resources and stands out in the rural environment as a site that straddles public trust and local.
TIPI Partners with Glasshouse Policy in Support of Closing Rural Connectivity Gap in Texas
In support of closing the rural connectivity gap in Texas, Glasshouse Policy partnered with AARP, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), and the...
TIPI Research Projects Help Boost Rural Entrepreneurship in Texas
To help support entrepreneurs and small-business owners — key drivers of prosperity in rural Texas — the IC² Institute at The University of Texas at Austin is funding...
Nordic Media Welfare State. The Case of Finland: Variant or Deviant?
TIPI Guest Lecture with Marko Ala-Fossi 2019-05-03, 3:30 p.m. University Lecturer, Adjunct ProfessorFaculty of Information Technology and Communication...
TIPI Presents at Information Wars: Social Media and Politics in Russia & Eastern Europe Symposium
This symposium encouraged a fruitful conversation about the role and impact of mainstream and social media—and in particular about information and disinformation wars—in political battles, trajectories, and outcomes in Russia and Eastern Europe. Speakers discussed the ways in which these processes and networks have had global impacts, such as in the 2016 US elections and beyond.
TIPI Brown Bag Lunch Featuring RTF & Journalism Doctoral Student Presentations
2019-06-03, 11:30 a.m., CMB 3.112 Join us for a special brown bag lunch featuring RTF & Journalism doctoral student presentations. Richelle Crotty & Alexis...
Injustices of Digital Disruption: More Tepid Policy or a Radical Democratic Turn?
2019-04-04, 3:30 p.m., BMC 5.208 This lecture examines a fundamentally important question for the future of society. Is there ever likely to be an effective challenge...
Beyond the Written Text: Visual Communication & Academic Research
Nico Carpentier is Docent at Charles University in Prague, Professor at Uppsala University, and Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB – Free...
TIPI Wraps Up Final Phase of Data Collection for the IMLS Grant
TIPI is wrapping up the final phase of data collection as part of its IMLS grant examining rural libraries, hotspot lending programs, and local connectivity. We...
The Ethical Operating System: How Not to Regret the Things You Build
The current wave of computational propaganda has taken the world by surprise. Technology firms, policymakers, journalists and the general public are scrambling to respond to the societal threats posed by disinformation and politically motivated trolling. This talk outlines one method for responding to these issues. It describes and presents the Ethical Operating System (ethicalOS.org), a toolkit for anticipating future uses of technology.