Interdisciplinary Idea to Interdisciplinary Effectiveness: Values, Conflicts, and Reward

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Interdisciplinary Idea to Interdisciplinary
Effectiveness Values, Conflicts, and Reward

• Mary Stansbury
• Kent State University

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Research Area

• Digital Divide aka Digital Inclusion

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My interest

• Inequities are wrong
• Opportunity
• Openness
• Quality of life

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Research Connections

• Digital Inclusion
• First Group of Projects
• LIS, Political Science
• Second Group of Projects
• LIS, Nursing, Communication Studies, Adult
  Literacy, Sociology

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Group 1 Research Project Premises

• More than access
• Low-income not understood
• Uninformed policy-making
• Consequences are dire

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Group 1 -- Team

• Stansbury LIS
• Mossberger Political Science
• Public Administration
• School-to-Work
• Empowerment Zones
• Tolbert Political Science
• Civic Participation
• Research Methods

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Group 1 Values, Conflict, Reward

• Values, Conflict
• Do some good
• But do some good right

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Group 1 Values, Conflict, Reward

• Values, Conflict
• But do some good right
• Working through the disparities of research
  paradigms (including doctoral students)
• Working through the differences in personal
  approach
• Hallway talk

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Group 1 -- Rewards

• Grants received
• Semester off for research (3 of 3)
• Multiple papers and articles

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Group 1 -- Rewards

• Book
• Virtual Inequality
  Beyond the Digital Divide
• 2003, Georgetown University Press
• Reviews in Pol. Sci. v. LIS

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Group 1 -- Rewards

• Tenure and Promotion (3 of 3)
• Kent State U. Boyer Model for TP
• Institutional support at all levels for
  interdisciplinary research

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Project Methodology

• National telephone survey
• Targeted low-income
• Extensive questionnaire
• Rigorous analyses

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Access Divide -- Probabilities

• Least likely to have Internet at home
• Poor
• 39 for low 63 for high
• Older
• 43 for 61 year olds 67 for 28 year olds

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Access Divide -- Probabilities

• Least likely to have Internet at home
• Less educated
• 44 for high school 65 for college
• Democrats
• 54 64 for Republicans

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Access Divide -- Probabilities

• Least likely to have Internet at home
• African Americans
• 37 54 for Whites
• Latinos
• 41 54 for Whites

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Access Divide

• Sees libraries as community gathering places
• Poor
• Women
• Latinos
• African Americans

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Skills Divide

• Features of the Skills Divide
• Basic skills
• Applications-related skills
• Information literacy skills

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Whats the probability that. Someone with low
education has low computer skills? 55 20 if
high education
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Skills Divide -- Probabilities

• Most likely to need assistance
• Poor
• 42 for low
• 30 for high

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Skills Divide -- Probabilities

• Most likely to need assistance
• African Americans
• 45
• 34 for Whites

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Recommendations
1. Take advantage of the opportunities in
attitudes and interest.
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Recommendations

• 2. Program support is needed.
• Technical support
• Grant-writing and evaluation

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Recommendations
3. Skill acquisition within context of everyday
problem solving.
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Group 2 -- Premises

• Inequities are wrong
• Resolution through collaboration
• Health information literacy is critical
• Electronic resources may not be sufficient

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Group 2 -- Team

• LIS
• Nursing
• Communication Studies
• Adult Literacy
• Sociology
• College Research Coordinator

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Group 2 -- Values

• Do Good
• Do Good Right
• Less conflict
• More difficult to make choices
• Larger group and different personalities

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Group 2 Projects, Culture

• Grant Proposals
• Research Agenda Planning

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Questions or Comments?

• Mary Stansbury, PhD
• mstansbu_at_kent.edu
• 330-672-0015