Rethinking Digital Divides: a qualitative examination of technology, place, and capital in rural Ontario
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Authors
Walker, Kailey
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Rural Technology Adoption , Rural Digital Divide
Alternative Title
Abstract
This thesis investigates how urban-rural digital divides are imagined by Canadian broadband policies, and how these narratives compare to the lived experience of rural residents of Kapuskasing, Ontario. In doing so, this project critiques two underlying assumptions in federal policies: 1) that digital communication technologies ‘develop’ rural communities by superseding rural practices, and 2) that technology inherently fosters the skills necessary to overcome existing social inequalities. Of interest in this research are the patterns of technology domestication, and how ‘rurality’ might influence the practices of residents in these locales. The analysis reveals some of the ways in which rural residents have agency in processes of technology domestication and suggests that existing inequalities are as likely to shape the adoption, use, and outcomes of new digital technologies as they are to be overcome by them.
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Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
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Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.