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Research Article
Digital preparedness versus the digital divide: A confusion of means and ends
Article first published online: 11 FEB 2008
DOI: 10.1002/asi.20793
© 2008 ASIS&T
Issue
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Volume 59, Issue 5, pages 785–791, March 2008
Additional Information
How to Cite
James, J. (2008), Digital preparedness versus the digital divide: A confusion of means and ends. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci., 59: 785–791. doi: 10.1002/asi.20793
Publication History
- Issue published online: 22 FEB 2008
- Article first published online: 11 FEB 2008
- Manuscript Accepted: 27 OCT 2007
- Manuscript Revised: 23 OCT 2007
- Manuscript Received: 2 JUN 2007
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Abstract
Composite indexes of digital preparedness, such as the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) and the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI), have caused a great deal of confusion in the more general literature on the digital divide. For whereas one would expect preparedness to be an input into the utilization of information technologies (the digital divide), the recent indicators add inputs and outputs, or means and ends. I suggest instead two separate indexes for means and ends, which can be more usefully related to one another in terms of productivity (one index divided by the other), or as dependent and independent variables (one index in a functional relationship to the other).