Digital inclusion is an opportunity to fill the digital divide, the inequity preventing access to technological resources which support participation in online learning. Specific to financially disadvantaged students, this interpretive qualitative study examines how factors of digital inclusion influence one's decision to pursue an online health…

The health of rural communities depends, in part, on the education level of rural adults. Economic vitality is impacted by degree completion, and the rate of degree completion by rural adults lags behind that of their urban and suburban counterparts. Low completion rates suggest that there are conditions for rural students that prevent them from…

Over the last decade, personal health records (PHRs) have been increasingly recognized and actively promoted by the U.S. federal government and experts as a tool for improving healthcare and containing skyrocketing costs in the U.S. More recently, the 2010 health reform legislation includes PHRs as an important means to improve the quality and…

Despite efforts to introduce information and communication technologies to women, internet access rates for women and the benefits they can draw from using ICTs still are not on par with men. This dissertation examines why the gender digital divide persists in America, who are the women at the lower end of the digital divide, and why they are…

The development of low cost and practical information and communication technologies (ICT) has led to increased pressure on social workers and other human service providers to insure their clients are not digitally disenfranchised. In fact, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Standards for…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify future trends and barriers that will either facilitate or impede the narrowing of the digital skills divide among older adults during the next 10 years. Methodology: To address the research questions, this study used a modified version of the Delphi process using a panel of experts who…

In this study, I investigate the digital literacy practices of adult immigrants, and their relationship with transnational processes and practices. Specifically, I focus on their conditions of access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their life trajectories, their conditions of learning in a community center, and their…

This study examined whether a quality professional development course, "Infusing Technology", influenced the use of technology by elementary and middle school teachers in West Virginia. "Infusing Technology" was designed to help school-based team learning communities use technology in their instruction while engaging students…