The Danish Research

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• The Danish Research

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Outline

• 50 interviews
• Review of 5 different weekly magazines covering a
  2 year period
• Highlights from two expert-interviews
• Reflections situation in Denmark today

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The Magazines

• Denmark
• (5.2 mil. inhabitants)

4
Choice of magazines

• 3 weekly magazines aimed at adult women, (weekly
  readers in brackets)
• Alt for Damerne (83.515)
• Femina (78.179)
• Hendes Verden (53.379)
• 2 weekly magazines aimed at families
• Familie Journalen (231.845)
• Ugebladet Søndag (98.503)

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Conclusion

• None of the magazines have ICT as a central theme
• The surveyed magazines span from those with
  practically nothing about ICT to magazines where
  ICT is a natural part of the terminology
• Strong women role models are portrayed as
  well versed in and using ICT a lot
• ICT is portrayed as an interesting subject
  primarily as a useful tool in the readers daily
  lives
• Occasionally the reader is encouraged to learn to
  use ICT more broadly, mostly by learning from
  their kids
• Adverts gradually have more web-references over
  time
• ICT is at the very least seen as making life a
  bit easier!

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Interviews

• of 50 Danish women
• conducted by our researcher
• Birgitte Nielsen

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Age
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Education
9
Employment
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Residence
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Conclusion - 1

• 46 out of 50 (92 ) are daily or almost daily ICT
  users
• Wide range of use
• from 1 - 60 hours a week
• The pc is used as a tool throughout the working
  day
• Private use is focused on
• using e-mail,
• downloading music files
• word processing
• home banking
• web shopping

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Conclusion - 2

• The use of the pc / internet seems not to be
  directly related to the levels of
• Age (35-55)
• Education
• Employment

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The Female Experts

• A brief overview

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Lisa Christensen

• School Headmaster for Rugkobbel School.
• The school
• Is one of the foremost ENIS partner schools in
  Denmark
• Is at the leading edge of the use of ICT in
  education
• Took part in the survey on interactive whitebords
  for the Danish Ministery of Education

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Ulla Gjørling

• Chief Consultant UNI-C, (The Danish IT Centre
  for Education and Research, a government agency
  under the Ministry of Education) 2000 2007
• Chief Consultant Niras, privat company, since
  2007.
• National investigator for uTeacher - a European
  project on teachers' professional profile in ICT
  for education
• Webmaster - Ladies Circle Danmark

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A few quotes

• The question was Is ICT a necessary evil?
• Lisa Christensen ICT is no longer a necessary
  evil, it has become an essential part of our
  daily lives.
• Ulla Gjørling It is by no means an evil rather
  it is simply a medium of communication between
  people. At no time have I experienced it as
  anything else.

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Is there technophobia with regard to ICT?

• Lisa Christensen
• I dont believe that there exists a feeling of
  being behind with regard to ICT. However, if
  there is a lack of interest and of seeing how and
  for what purpose one can use ICT, then there is
  no incentive, the process has to be bourne by a
  personal interest.
• Ulla Gjørling
• It is my conviction that this problem is becoming
  extinct.

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Are courses necessary?

• Lisa Christensen
• The issue of support for users new to ICT is only
  relevant for the existing generation of adults.
  The coming generations of young people become ICT
  users even before they get to schooling age, some
  even before pre-primary!
• Ulla Gjørling
• For the majority of people of middle-age and
  older it is necessary to take a course or some
  form of introduction to ICT. For the younger
  generations the necessary knowledge and skills
  are things they simply pick-up along the way.

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Overview

• Magazines
• The subject ICT/technology is covered only when
  it becomes a practical tool in daily life
• In some articles well-known female role models
  are presented as ICT competent examples
• Interviews
• The use of the pc / internet seems not to be
  directly related to age, education or employment
• The experts underline
• that women's use (or lack of use!) of technology
  is not related to technophobia but to the fact
  that training is needed and that this is an
  ongoing process
• That next generation is brought up with ICT
  technology and their attitude towards it is
  natural and relaxed

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Denmark and ICT at a glance

• Key statistics for ICT use in 2006
• 88 have access to a pc at home
• 83 have access to the Internet at home
• 76 use the Internet from home at least once a
  month
• 80 use the Internet for searching information
  and use of online services

Kilde Informationssamfundet Danmark - It-status
2006, udgivet af Danmarks Statistik og IT- og
Telestyrelsen.
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Denmark and ICT - 2

• 77 of the population own a pc
• 46 of the population own a laptop
• 10 of the population own a palmtop/ handheld
  computer
• 31 have a game console at home

Kilde Informationssamfundet Danmark - It-status
2006, udgivet af Danmarks Statistik og IT- og
Telestyrelsen.
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Is nothing then rotten in the State of Denmark?
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YES
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All Danes are not digitally literate

• Denmark has been named the best IT- enabled
  nation in the world
• Yet
• Four out of 10 Danes are still unable to use IT
  effectively
• The direct cost of this to the Danish economy is
  10 billion annually

Kilde Dagbladet Politikken 4.11.2007 T
Teknologisk Institut
25
40 ICT-illiterate

• This 40 of citizens are unable to
• Attach a file to an e-mail
• Login to and access their Internetbanking
• Use a digital signature
• Fill out their annual tax claim digitally/ online
• Order a ticket online

Kilde Dagbladet Politikken 4.11.2007 T
Teknologisk Institut
26
Who are the ICT-illiterates?

• ICT-weak Danes are primarily those who are
• From the elder generation(s)
• Lesser educated
• Grew up without a pc at home
• Even though the younger, technology-empowered
  generations, should escape these problems, the
  digital illiteracy issue will remain

Kilde Dagbladet Politikken 4.11.2007 T
Teknologisk Institut
27
Danes are slipping behind!

• If noting is done the Danish Institute of
  Technology predicts
• In 5 years (2012)
• 75 of Danes will have an ICT-competence well
  below what will be required in order to function
  as a capable citizen in a digitalised Denmark

Kilde Dagbladet Politikken 4.11.2007 T
Teknologisk Institut
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Thank you for your attention!

• Jan Brauer Kenneth Reimer