42 research outputs found
Beyond digital natives.: Talking Ageism and Inclusion with Maria Sourbati - a podcast for Media Literacy for Senior European Citizens (MELISE)
No full textBeyond Digital Natives: Tackling Ageism and Inclusion with Maria SourbatiIn this episode of the MeLISe podcast, we talk with Professor Maria Sourbati about the evolving landscape of media literacy for older adults. Drawing on over 20 years of research and policy engagement, she discusses the challenges of digital and social exclusion, the myths surrounding ageing and technology, and the urgent need to rethink digital inclusion strategies. From critiquing AI-driven “solutionism” to spotlighting grassroots initiatives like Digital Brighton & Hove, Sourbati emphasizes that media literacy is not just about skills—it’s about equity, access, and social support. This episode unpacks why meaningful media literacy must be lifelong, inclusive, and grounded in the realities of ageing populations.Available on the following audio platforms: - IVOOX: https://lnkd.in/dQB8MRwg - SPOTIFY: https://lnkd.in/dTsUpBe
Introduction to the Special Issue:Interfacing Public Communications in the Digital Economy
No full textAge and the city:The case of smart mobility
No full textThis article investigates social inclusion from the perspective of smart mobility and transport, which are core aspects of smart city policy. More specifically, it discusses older people’s mobility practice in smart city environments as a phenomenon at the intersection of age, digital ICT and data. Drawing on mobility studies, communications and critical data studies the article uses the following questions to frame its analysis: How transport (and) mobility practices interact with mobile ICT use in smart cities? What do we know about the transport mobilities of older people? What do we know about the mobile media and ICT practices of older people? After introducing the concepts of smart city and smart mobility the article discusses these questions through literature review, secondary data, and examples from public transportation services in the city of London, one of Europe’s principal ‘smart’ cities. The analysis highlights age-bias in inherited transport systems, gaps in available data about older people’s mobility practices and their media and ICT use, and opportunities for more inclusive and sustainable smart transport
The digital switchover as an information society initiative: the role of public policy in promoting access to digital ICTs
No full textThe switchover to digital communications was launched as a major information society policy initiative across Europe, and was expected to be a key contributor to the spreading of internet access across all households. More than a decade after its introduction, and as the digital switchover is well-underway, digital television (DTV) is not delivering the promise of interactivity for all. Drawing on the principle of universal access as a politically determined and technologically bound concept, this article assesses the role of public policy in expanding and promoting the diffusion of new media technologies. More specifically, it reviews policy developments in the UK in order to examine the making of DTV as a universally available technology for broadcast transmissions; the lack of a commitment to support access to interactive services; and implications for end-users
Disabling communications? A capabilities perspective on media access, social inclusion and communication policy
No full textDigital information and communication technologies (ICTs) feature prominently in programmes to promote social inclusion and to implement extensive reform in public service provision across Europe. The transition to an all-digital communications environment and the digital ‘switchover' of public services bring to the fore a need to rethink access as a goal of public policy. This paper probes patterns of internet diffusion among disabled people using capabilities framework and resource-based models of access. The analysis highlights the multi-dimensional character of media access capability as the space to evaluate policies for social inclusion; the relational character of disability as a phenomenon of the interface between personal circumstances and structural disadvantage; a capability failure resulting from a gap in policy commitment to promote universal access for disabled people and other excluded groups; and a requirement for policies sensitive to the need for additional resources to equalize the media access capabilities of these individuals
Media literacy and universal access in Europe
No full textThe promotion of media literacy as way of increasing access to the range of services available via today's media and communication technologies is currently an emphasis in Europe's information society policy debates. The notion of media literacy heralds a shift in the communications policy arena, especially with regard to media access as a policy goal. Taking into account the situated origins of the inherited regulatory concepts of access, this article argues that the way in which we operationalize media access must reflect how individuals engage with convergent electronic media services. It proposes a context- and user-sensitive approach, where the situation of media (non)users is assessed in terms of the technological and social infrastructure needed to support their access to particular media services. Keywords Media access, media literacy, universal access, universal servic
“It could be useful but not for me at the moment”. Older people, internet access, and public service provision
No full textOlder people are commonly constructed as a group of heavy users of public services that misses out on opportunities presented online, mainly due to age-related barriers to accessing the internet. Drawing on a study of internet access in sheltered homes for older people, this article argues for the need to focus electronic service provision around the needs, preferences and abilities of the users of public services. A user-centred perspective in e-government and e-service provision requires an understanding of the socially shaped and locally situated nature of media use, which can in turn help prevent the tendency to see chronological age as the sole factor determining (non-) engagement with the internet. It also requires investment in making available assistance and support to access online digital media in order to prevent the disadvantaging of vulnerable service users. Keywords Age, e-government, e-public services, internet access, older peopl
Age and Technology in Digital Inclusion Policy: A Study of Italy and the UK
No full textThe role of media and communication technologies in increasing
the quality of life of the elderly is today a key topic in academic and policy
debates. This article discusses findings from a study into the way public policy
frames the role of technologies in later life. The aim of our study was to critically
investigate the policy discourses on ‘old age’ and on the role of digital ICT in fixing
challenges associated with ageing. Our focus was on digital inclusion policies of the
UK and Italy, two countries experiencing similar trends in population ageing but
different ICT diffusion patterns. We found that an age-based understanding of
digital technology use was quite common, as was an enthusiastic embracing of the
role of digital ICT in the implementation of Active Ageing and Information Society
goals. We also found that the understanding of the role of digital technology and its
relationship to (old) age has been changing over the last decade, starting to reflect
social complexity as ICT diffusion increases among older age groups
Age(ism) in Digital Information Provision: The Case of Online Public Services for Older Adults
No full textThe Role of Mobility Digital Ecosystems for Age-Friendly Urban Public Transport:A Narrative Literature Review
No full textWithin the context of the intersection of the global megatrends of urbanisation, ageing societies and digitalisation, this paper explores older people’s mobility, with a particular interest in public transport, and a strong consideration of digital/ICT elements. With a focus on (smart) mobility, the paper aims to conceptualise transport, one of the main domains of age-friendly cities as a core element of a smart, age-friendly ecosystem. It also aims to propose a justice-informed perspective for the study of age-friendly smart mobility; to contribute towards a framework for the evaluation of age-friendly smart transport as a core element of the global age-friendly cities programme that comprises mobility practices, digital data, digital networks, material/physical geographies and digital devices and access; and to introduce the term “mobility digital ecosystem” to describe this framework. The paper uses the method of a narrative literature review to weave together a selected range of perspectives from communications, transport, and mobility studies in order to introduce the embeddedness of both communication technology use and mobility practices into their material conditions. Combining insights from communications, mobility and transport and social gerontology with a justice perspective on ICT access and mobility, the paper then develops a framework to study age-friendly smart mobility. What we call a “mobility digital ecosystem” framework comprises five elements—mobility practices, digital data, digital networks, material geographies, digital devices and access to services. The paper contributes a justice-informed perspective that points towards a conceptualisation of age-friendly smart mobility as a core element of the age-friendly cities and communities in the WHO’s global age-friendly cities programme
