Digital Inequality : Studies in Cultural Communication

Tracing the development of new technological skills and digital cultures, this book looks at the rise of new digital divides and reveals how these inequalities affect cross-cultural communication from a cultural discourse studies perspective in various ethnic and cultural groups across the world.

The authors discuss the development of multicultural societies across the globe under new challenges brought by digitalization, such as digital exclusion, new professional and personal demands in terms of digital engagement. In addition to highlighting digital inequalities in access, use and benefits of using ICTs, case studies from different national contexts demonstrate the ways minority ethnic and cultural groups are adapting to the new digital environment; explore the transformations that multicultural affairs and communication undergo in the new digital setting; and analyse policy measures aimed at fostering digital inclusion of minor groups. The book advances knowledge of the digital divide, showing its development from a technological access- and skill-based problem into a social and culture-oriented one.

This resourceful text will be of interest to students and scholars of social inequality, digital media and communication studies and anyone interested in learning how multicultural discourses are developing in varied national contexts today.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Anna Gladkova is Leading Researcher and Deputy Dean for International Affairs at the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia. She is also Co-Chair of the IAMCR Digital Divide Working Group, International Council member and IAMCR Ambassador in Russia. Dr. Gladkova has published and edited collections on ethnic media, multicultural affairs, digital inequalities and digital divides.

Elena Vartanova is Professor, Dean and Chair in Media Theory and Economics at the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia. She is also Academician of the Russian Academy of Education and President of the National Association of Mass Media Researchers. Her research interests focus on the impact of digital technologies upon journalism and media systems, issues of media economics and media management, digital divide, transformation of media systems under national and global tendencies, and so on.

Shi-xu is Distinguished Professor and founding Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Discourse Studies, Hangzhou Normal University/Communication University of Zhejiang, China. He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Multicultural Discourses and the General Editor of Routledge Cultural Discourse Studies Series.

Contributor Bios

Gifty Appiah-Adjei is a Senior Lecturer and a researcher with the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at University of Education, Winneba in Ghana. She has a PhD in Applied Communication (University of Ibadan, Nigeria) and MPhil in Communication and Media Studies (University of Education, Winneba – Ghana). Her research interest includes Digital Media Technologies, Ethnic Journalism and Artificial Intelligence.

Rainbow Sackey is a Research Fellow at the Center for Communication, Education, Research and Professional Development at the School of Communication and Media Studies, University of Education, Winneba. He holds a Masters of Philosophy in Communication and Media Studies. His research interests include Ethnic Journalism, Media Convergence and Journalism Education.

Elizabeth Owusu Asiamah is a Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the School of Communication and Media Studies, University of Education, Winneba. She holds a Masters of Philosophy in Communication and Media Studies. Her research interests include Digital and New Media, Ethnic Journalism and Popular Culture.

Belinda Osei Mensah is a Research Fellow in the Center for Communication, Education, Research and Professional Development at the School of Communication and Media Studies, University of Education, Winneba. She holds a Masters of Philosophy in Communication and Media Studies. Her research interests include Strategic Communication, Ethnic Journalism and Popular Culture.

Afonso de Albuquerque is Full Professor at the Cultural and Media Studies Department, Fluminense Federal University. Currently, he is the Coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology in Informational Disputes and Sovereignty, backed by Brazilian research agency CNPq.

Evandro Bonfim is Collaborator Professor of Ethnology and Anthropological Linguistics of National Museum and member of International Decade of Indigenous Language in Brazil.

Lucineide Magalhães de Matos is Substitute Professor of the Digital Media course/UFSB and Post-doctoral student at InEAC-UFF, backed by Brazilian research agência CNPQ. INCT/InEAC/UFF Postdoctoral Researcher.

Madhumita Das is a Senior Research Fellow (UGC-NET) and Ph.D. student at School of Journalism and New Media Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India. Her doctoral work examines digital divide among women. Her research interests include media and information literacy, gender and media, digital divide, and political communication.

K. S. Arul Selvan is Professor and Director at School of Journalism and New Media Studies, IGNOU, India. He serves as the editor for “IGNOU Journal of Media and Empowerment”. He has been a member of the curriculum committee of UNESCO on MIL for Teachers in 2010 and 2020.

Emiliana De Blasio is Professor of Sociology of Communication, Open government and Gender politics at LUISS University, Italy. She is the Director of the Observatory on Gender, Inclusion and Democracy and Rector’s Delegate for Diversity and Inclusion at LUISS University, Italy, where she teaches Sociology of Communication, Open Government and Gender Politics. Her works adopt an intersectional perspective on media, culture, and the public sphere.

Donatella Selva is Associate Professor of Digital Media and Cultures at the University of Florence, Italy, and Senior Member of the Observatory on Gender, Inclusion and Democracy. Her works focus on the intersection between technology and social, political and cultural processes. Together with E. De Blasio, she has recently published Gender and Culture Wars in Italy.

Carolina Escudero, professor and researcher, University of Missouri, United States. Her research focus on the relationship between journalists, media and emotion - and how it is influenced by the technological change and innovation. PhD. in Social Psychology (Argentina), Master in gender studies (Spain), bachelor’s in journalism (France).

Ivaylo Yoshkov is Department Member of the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Dr. Ivaylo Yoshkov conducts research in the fields of online journalism, social media, the roles of journalists and audiences in online communication, digital divide and digital sustainability. The first Bulgarian researcher to defend a doctoral thesis in the field of Online journalism, Dr. Yoshkov has participated in many conferences and projects both in Bulgaria and internationally.

Fahad Mahmood is communication enthusiast, journalist, strategist and content manager, working for sustainability. He is an established professional both in academia and in industry, having previously worked at IMC and other companies. He has been Assistant Professor of Digital Media Communication for more than 10 years, and he is currently also Doctoral Researcher in Communication, Journalism and related programs at Griffith University, Australia.

Lungile Tshuma is a Researcher in the Centre for Communication and Culture, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal. Prior to this, he was a senior post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Lungile’s research interests are in photography, memory, and journalism studies.

Trust Matsilele is senior lecturer in Journalism at the School of English and Media, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom. He has published on changing journalism ecologies, social media and protest cultures and on technology and higher education. Trust's research interests are in changing journalism ecologies, social media and protest cultures and the intersection of technology and society.

Padma Rani is Director and Professor of Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. She teaches courses on Defense Communication and Media Management & Media Policies. She was Visiting Faculty at Technische Hochschule Nurnberg Georg Simon Ohm, Nuremberg, Germany and Visiting Faculty on DAAD Scholarship at University of Applied Sciences. Bremen, Germany. Her research interests include sociology, media management, media and conflict, intercultural communication, human rights and more.

Gracy Samjetsabam is PhD Scholar based at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. Her research interests include literary criticism, comparative literature, cultural studies, critical theory, arts and humanities, creative writing, fiction, modern literature and culture.

Sangeeta Tripathi is a Professor of Mass Communication at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Oman, with an impressive background in Communication and Mass Media Research. She has previously worked at the Institute of Management Studies in Noida, India. She has been awarded the UN Gold Ambassador Award for cooperation with UN SDG-05 and three best paper awards for her research papers. She is currently working on two funded projects approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Oman.

Thulani Tshabangu a postdoctoral resercher in Indigenous Language Media in Africa at North West University, South Africa. His research interests include digital journalism, the political economy of alternative media in Africa, journalism innovation, ethnographies of media production and consumption, meaning making in the news media and critical discourse analysis.

Israel A. Fadipe is a postdoctoral fellow in Indigenous Language Media in Africa research at the North West University, South Africa. He specialises in communication, cultural and gender studies. He has written journal articles and book chapters in both local and international journals.

Abiodun Salawu is a Professor of Journalism, Communication and Media Studies and Director of the research entity of Indigenous Language Media in Africa at the North West University, South Africa. His major areas of interest include indigenous language media, development communication, critical studies and new media. He has to his credit numerous journal articles and book chapters.

Kuansong Victor, Zhuang is Visiting Fellow, University of Sydney, and International Postdoctoral Scholar at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. He was a Chevening scholar in 2013/14, and a 2022/23 Princeton University Fung Global Fellow. His research lies at the intersections of communications, media, and cultural studies, and disability studies, especially as it pertains to inclusion and the workings of technology. He hopes to use his research to contribute to current debates about how inclusion happens both in Singapore and around the world.

Gerard Goggin is Professor in the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Gerard has published widely on media, culture, technology, and disability. His books include Routledge Companion to Disability and Media (2020), Normality & Disability (2018), Disability and the Media (2005; with Katie Ellis), and with Christopher Newell, the two books Disability in Australia (2005) and Digital Disability (2003).

Mutiu Iyanda Lasisi is a postgraduate student at the Department of Media Communications, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Over the years, media research, journalism, big data, computational journalism, and development communications have been his areas of interest. He has more than 20 academic and technical publications in reputable journals and books.

Mustapha Muhammed Jamiu is a senior researcher at the Center for Geopolitical Communication and lecturer of Communication, Media, and Journalism courses at the Department of Mass Communication, RUDN University of Russia. Mustapha is also an Associate Professor of Digital Communication at MISIS University, Russian Federation. Beyond the university arena, Mustapha leads a research organization in Africa where he serves as the Executive Director at The Center for Research on Development of African Media, Governance and Society, CEREDEMS-Africa. His areas of interest include political communication, development communication, and media literacy.

Natalia Poplavskaya is an Associate Professor of Media and communication studies at the Department of Mass Communication of RUDN University, Head of the MA Program ‘Global and Digital Media’, and organizer of a series of international events for young media professionals. Her main areas of research are media discourse, comparative media studies, and intercultural communication.