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Since its introduction, the Internet has grown into a worldwide system that individuals must use to navigate work and daily life. There are barriers to using the Internet including cost, literacy, computer knowledge, and computer ownership. United States policy, as issued by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is that home broadband Internet access should be universal. However, for large swathes of the District of Columbia, predominantly the low-income areas in Wards 5, 7, and 8, the service area for home broadband has been severely limited. Results from national surveys suggest that individuals in less affluent areas will not have home Internet. The same research also found a strong relationship between income and education and Internet use. This study sought to examine Internet use by low-income working age District adults in the context of income, education, and perception barriers regardless of location of Internet access. For the purposes of this study, Internet use is seeking information on the Internet. This quantitative study used survey methods to collect data from 363 participants. Study participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 with incomes from under $10,000 per year to over $50,000 year and were residents of the District when taking the survey. The results identify connections between individual characteristics and Internet use by working age adults in the District of Columbia. For the study population there was not a relationship between age, income, education, or perceptions of the Internet and Internet use.
Advisor: | Stork, Elizabeth M. |
Commitee: | Levine, Barbara, Wood, David F. |
School: | Robert Morris University |
Department: | Information Systems and Communications |
School Location: | United States -- Pennsylvania |
Source: | DAI-A 82/5(E), Dissertation Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Information science, Adult education, Computer science, Information Technology, Web Studies, Social research, Public policy, Public administration |
Keywords: | Digital divide, Internet use, Workforce development, Low-income working adults, Washington D.C., Computer knowledge, United States , Telecommunications, Income-education relationship, Income-age relationship |
Publication Number: | 28152078 |
ISBN: | 9798691232299 |