The+Global+Divide,+the+divide+among+countries

=Definition=

toc The **Global Divide**, is one of three distinct aspects that make up the Digital Divide, the other two being the Social Divide and the Democratic Divide: The democratic divide exists in our world today between those //who do// and //who do not// use the Internet as a political resource where the participation of civic engagement can occur (Manuel, 279). It can be defined as the divergence of Internet (which in turn limits access of information), and technological access between industrailized and developing countries(Castells, 273). This inequality gap between the rich and the poor can be seen as one of the most important and relevent issues concerning our generation. Due to the immence growth of technology, trade and investment flows, the globalization of production, distribution and marketing, people from all over the globe are interconnected like never before.

=Nations Most Affected*= • Central and South America • Africa • Asia
 * select regions

=Current Problems=

The gap between the richest and the poorest countries was not always as large as it is currently. It wasn't until the the mid 1970's that the problem began to escalate drastically. In the 1960's, the top 20% of the worlds people in the richest countries had 30 times the income (in terms of total GPA) of the poorest 20%. By 1997, the top 20% received 74 times the income of the bottom 20% as stated by the UN's Human Development Report (Lee, 3). Due to these numbers, people in developing countries are at a serious disadvantage as they are unable to afford necessary daily items, let alone products such as computers. However, though computers can be seen as a luxury item not requred to sustain life in many areas of the wolrd, they are also seen a a devise that allows Internet access which direclty exposes individuals to a wide range of data be it educational, recreational or informational. Being able to attain this assortment of information can be very advantageous in many realms however, individuals residing in developing nations do not have the means to gain access and can for this reason, not bennefit. In the year 2000, there was an estimated 377 million Internet users worldwide which translates into approximately 5% of the worlds population (5).

With the emergence of new technology, many specualted that devises such as the Internet would act as an aid towards economic growth for converting developing nations in such a way that they would be given the opportunity to catch up to the industrailized world. Digital networks have the ability to both broaden and enhance access to information and communication for isolated rural areas as well as poorer areas.However, being able to see the direction in which these new technologies are headed, it can be argued that these technologies such as the Internet, really only benefits the Industrailized countires as they are the ones who are able to afford such items and services (Castell, 275). The //knowlege gap hypothesis// can explain this.

=The Knowlege Gap Hypothesis=

The //knowledge gap hypothesis// states that there is a gap between the information "haves" and the "have nots". The information -rich "haves" are those individuals who have attained a superior level of education which includes access to resources such as computers and libraries. Generally speaking, it can be stated that much of the "haves" reside in industrailized countries. On the other hand, the "have nots" consist of the information-poor individuals who lack proper education and have limited or no access to resources. Again it can be stated that the "have nots" are primarily individuals who live in developing countries (Straubhaar, 390). For this reason, it is believed that even if the poorer are given access to the Internet through subsidizing computers or others means, and this access will be beneficial for them, the information rich will still benefit more, thereby continuing to widen the disparity between the two. (390)

=Possible Reasons for the Existence of the Global Divide=

• **Conquest & Settlement:** colonial systems persisted from the 16th century until the 1960's. They basically revolved around the extraction of natural resources, agricultural production for export as well as the exploitation of slave labour. There then began mass immigration to the America's due to European disease decimating a large portion of the native populations, was a major factor. This legacy of the colonial period is evident in present day and the principals echoe in the persistence of inequality within countries and the variation in economic performance between countries.


 * • International Trade & Capital Movement:** Trade flows played a considerable role in the rise of many nations such as the United Kingdom as a dominant martitime power. Several nations expanded and consolidated trade networks in such a way that provided markets for European producers while still importing items that were not available on a local scale.


 * • Technological & Institutional Innovation:** There was a great deal of technological advances in Western society in comparison to the remainder of the world following the 1820's. There were many areas that contributed to the gain of power in the West including military forces, an increase in shipping capacity as well as industrial production (Lee, 7).

=Responses to the Global Divide=

=Importance of Closing the Global Divide=
 * Cyber-optimists believe that technology and with it the Internet, will help eradicate poverty in developing countries as it will play a positive role in further educating and informing the people in hopes that this will transform developing nations into industrialized societies.
 * Cyber-pessimists believe that the Internet will provide a negative effect between countries especially between the North and South. Rather than benefiting everyone equally, these technologies will really only be beneficial for the rich (much to do with the //knowledge gap hypothesis)// and technologically savy which will only aid in widening the gap rather then aiding in its closure.

- In working towards closing the global divide, information as well as access to information will become availiable. The importance of having access to this information can lead to 4 qualities which over all can can aid in allowing developing nations to..... =Work Cited=
 * 1) - become more efficient in their ratio of output to cost.
 * 2) - become more efective in the quality and production of their services
 * 3) - have better abilities to contact new customers as well as reach the global market
 * 4) - be able to distribute the benefits of technology throughout their own society

Castells, Manuel. "An Introduction to the Information Age." The Information Society Reader. Ed. Frank Webster, Raimo Blom, Erkki Karvonen, Harri Melin, Kaarle Nordenstreng, and Ensio Puoskari. London and New York: Routledge, 2004. 273- 283.

Lee, Marc. "The Global Divide; Inequality in the world economy." Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, Behind the Numbers, Economic Facts, Figures & Analysis. 4th Volume, April, 2002.

Straubhaar, Joseph and Robert LaRose (2001). “Media Now”. Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. 4th Edition. Belmont: Wadswoth/Thompson