This month SAGE Journals New Media & Society have published an Special Issue on Vulnerable People's Digital Inclusion in a Perplexed Milieu of Intersectional Vulnerabilities; now all articles are available to browse online.
About New Media & Society and the Special Issue
New Media & Society is an international journal that provides an interdisciplinary forum for the examination of the social dynamics of media and information change. New Media & Society engages in critical discussions of the key issues arising from the scale and speed of new media development, drawing on a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and on both theoretical and empirical research.
This special issue constitutes a timely and diverse collection of papers that present original insights into the digital inclusion of those who experience socio-demographic, economic, geographic, political or other vulnerabilities. Collectively, it contributes to the exploration of the nature and role of digital inclusion in the lives of vulnerable groups or communities whole also considering the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and today's heightened necessities for and dependencies on digital inclusion.
The case of Somali women refugees fostering digital inclusion in Kenya
One of the articles published in the special issue is on the case of Somali women refugees fostering digital inclusion in the volatile context of urban Kenya by Dr. Holly Ritchie. As an expert on the topic, the article takes an institutional perspective to bridge the divide. Ritchie examines the growing influence of informational communication Technologies (ICTs) in less defined refugee contexts and the role of social groups in her article. Based on an empirical case study of Somali refugees in Kenya, the article examines the basic use of ICT by refugee women and the local socio-economic dynamics in processes of inclusion.
From a micro-institutional perspective, the discussion looks at the emerging impact of mobile technology on precarious refugee women standards related to mobility and work, and the evolution of new digital standards. The article highlights the strategic role of women's groups and proactive group members as ‘institutional entrepreneurs’, in helping the levels of ICT adoption among group members, motivated by connection, protection and collective entrepreneurship, with possible effects far outside the group. However, in a transient and fragile refugee context, there are limitations civil society can lead to exclusion of more isolated populations without formal institutional support.
Interested in the discussion and findings?
Read the full article here