Impacts of Public Information Infrastructure Access

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

This project investigates the impacts of public provision of information infrastructure on the diversification of online population, the adoption of information technology by population segments without previous Internet experience, and the development of skills and networks which can assist small city communities in an increasingly information-driven economy. The project will address these topics through an assessment and evaluation of online usage, non-usage and consequences in the City of LaGrange, Georgia. Through public provision of easy-to-use Internet access, the city aims to increase its online population and overcome economic, social and psychological barriers to online take-up. The city also seeks to spur a greater proportion of its residents to develop information access and Internet skills that can contribute to its new information-based economic strategies. The project will analyze and assess the effects of LaGrange's ambitious information infrastructure initiative using varied methodological approaches. A panel of household users and nonusers of the WorIdGate public information utility will be tracked and comparisons will be made with online users in the city who access the Internet in other ways. Particular focus will be placed on understanding effects among users with no prior Internet experience, versus those with prior experience and nonusers who did not take up the service. Detailed case studies will be conducted with a smaller subset of households to support in-depth learning of how the system is used and to guide subsequent questionnaire design. Interviews will also be conducted with city officials, community and business leaders, and the information utility managers to probe the city's decision-making processes, expectations, experience, and learning in offering a public information utility. There is an increasing concern in the United States about people and communities who are on the wrong side of the "digital divide" and, in response, a growing number of experiments to find ways to bridge this. In this context, the project will provide guidance for decision-making regarding the development, deployment and use of information technology. The project will allow a detailed exploration of current, divergent theories and perspectives on the effect and benefits of information technologies. Results will include presentations and publications to academic, policymaking, and practitioner communities.