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Exploring the Digital Divide in an

Australian Regional City: a case study
of Albury
a a a
John Atkinson , Rosemary Black & Allan Curtis
a
Charles Sturt University , Australia
Published online: 09 Jan 2009.

To cite this article: John Atkinson , Rosemary Black & Allan Curtis (2008) Exploring the Digital
Divide in an Australian Regional City: a case study of Albury, Australian Geographer, 39:4, 479-493,
DOI: 10.1080/00049180802419203

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 Australian Geographer, Vol. 39, No. 4,
pp. 479
493, December 2008

Exploring the Digital Divide in an

Australian Regional City: a case study of
Albury

JOHN ATKINSON, ROSEMARY BLACK & ALLAN CURTIS,

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Charles Sturt University, Australia

ABSTRACT The ‘digital divide’ is generally considered to be the gap between people who
have access to information and communication technologies (ICT) and those who do not,
and an issue of significant social justice. This paper presents findings from research that
explored the digital divide within the regional city of Albury. The study focused on
assessing whether there was a digital divide; identifying strategies to address any divide;
and developing a methodology that could be used to explore the digital divide in other
contexts. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a
telephone survey of city residents. Findings demonstrated that a digital divide existed in
that there were differences in computer access in relation to income and different locations
within the city, and for access to the Internet by age, education and income levels. Overall,
the patterns indicated that those with lower education and income and the elderly reported
lower levels of access to ICT. Drawing on the research findings we suggest some practical
ways of addressing the digital divide that could be applied to other similar locations where a
digital divide exists, such as providing technical support and training, improved access to
and awareness of ICT services, and facilitating access to ICT services such as the provision
of appropriate hardware and software for disadvantaged groups. Our view is that the
mixed-method approach we employed provided helpful, reliable information at reasonable
cost and could be considered by other researchers and local governments.

KEY WORDS Digital divide; regional centre; initiative; rural; Albury; Australia.

Introduction
The ‘digital divide’ is a term used to describe differences in people’s access to
information and communication technologies (ICT) (van Dijk & Hacker 2003). In
this paper, we use the term ‘digital divide’ to differentiate between those people
who have physical access to computer and Internet resources and those who do not.
The existence of a digital divide is a topical issue because it identifies advantaged
and disadvantaged individuals and groups within a community in terms of access to
ICT services. At a basic level this includes being able to communicate via e-mail
and/or access Internet information and services. In particular, it identifies those

ISSN 0004-9182 print/ISSN 1465-3311 online/08/040479-15 # 2008 Geographical Society of New South Wales Inc.
DOI: 10.1080/00049180802419203
 480 J. Atkinson et al.

people who do have access to ICT services and thus have an advantage over those
people who are not able to access digital resources (Gibson 2003; Moss 2002;
Kvasny & Keil 2006). As an ever-increasing number of resources, information and
services are placed on the Internet and there is more electronic communication, the
issue of equal access to ICT services by all individuals is a significant issue of social
justice, particularly as many of these services are provided commercially.
In Australia, even though there is an increase in computer usage and Internet
access across metropolitan and rural/regional areas, the digital divide within these
areas is still not decreasing (Gibson 2003). This paper investigates the extent and
nature of the digital divide in an Australian regional city, namely Albury, New
South Wales. Albury, which has a population of 47 100, has a diversified and
expanding economy that includes substantial retail, manufacturing, health,
education, and construction industries. Except for its higher percentage of
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population born in Australia (85.4 per cent), compared to the national average
(70.9 per cent), the demographic make-up of Albury is very similar to the rest of
Australia (ABS 2006). The local government, Albury City, has a strong vision and
interest in the city becoming a ‘knowledge’ city, with two universities and two
technical and further education institutions (TAFEs). This element of the city
vision was recently celebrated with the opening of an AUS$14 million library and
museum that includes a technology centre. The research reported in this paper was
undertaken in partnership with Albury City to contribute to a social services study
of the city. In particular, the council wanted to identify the ICT services available in
Albury; assess the extent of any digital divide in Albury; and identify ways to
address any divide that existed.
In the following sections we provide a brief literature review to assist in defining
the digital divide and identify factors affecting people’s access and use of ICT;
describe the mixed-method approach used to explore the digital divide in Albury;
summarise key findings for each research question; and conclude with some
strategies that could be applied in cities like Albury to address the digital divide.

Background
It is unclear when the term ‘digital divide’ was first coined, but it has been in
common use in the literature since the mid-1990s. The US National Telecommu-
nications and Information Administration (NTIA), the principal adviser on
telecommunications and information policy issues to the US president, has
generated a number of reports including one specifically on the digital divide
(NTIA 1999). The NTIA (1999) defines the digital divide as ‘the divide between
those with access to new technologies and those without’ and although it is fairly
general it has been used in part by many subsequent authors (Leigh & Atkinson
2001; Lloyd & Hellwig 2000; Rooksby et al. 2002; Stone 2001).
Davison and Cotten (2003) argue that a gap in the digital divide is determined
not only by access to the Internet but also by access or lack thereof to ICT and
media. Their view is that access to the Internet is only one aspect of the digital
divide, and that the quality of connection and auxiliary services, processing speed,
capabilities of the computer used, and other factors also contribute. A more
encompassing definition should also include training, as the digital divide is
generally used to ‘describe an individual or community’s lack of access to
computers, training and on-line resources’ (Digital Divide Council 2002a). Clearly,
 Exploring the Digital Divide 481

social and cultural considerations (Pinkett 2003) shape the digital divide and, in
turn, are influenced by differential access to the benefits of ICT (Greco & Floridi
2004). The reality is that much of the research into the digital divide is based on
surveys determining the level of diffusion of computers and Internet access into the
community (Korupp & Szydlik 2005; Kvasny & Keil 2006).
The presence of a digital divide in a community can create cohorts of ‘haves’ and
‘have nots’, in terms of access to and usage of ICT. For example, access to a
computer and the Internet can facilitate more sophisticated levels of communica-
tion and access to electronic information than would otherwise have been possible.
Even basic access to ICT services will allow individuals to use electronic mail
communications, while the availability of more advanced ICT services will increase
that level and sophistication of access (Parker 2000). Access to ICT services would
benefit disadvantaged groups such as students from lower socio-economic house-
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holds, thereby allowing access to reference materials, or the elderly and/or disabled
to keep in touch with relatives and friends. Further, the availability of broadband
technology can mean that communication can move from e-mail to voice and video
communication which would benefit these latter groups.
The literature has identified a range of socio-demographic characteristics of
individuals with different levels of access and use of ICT. Some of these factors may
be causally linked to the digital divide and others simply correlated. The nature of
the relationship between these characteristics and access and use will determine the
extent to which these factors are constraints that can be addressed directly.
According to Servon (2002), income level affects a person’s access to the Internet
and the use of a computer. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS
2007) indicate that households with particular characteristics are less likely to be
connected to a computer and/or the Internet. These characteristics are: lower
household incomes, no children under 15 years of age, and located in non-
metropolitan or remote areas of Australia.
Gartland (2004) argues that age is one of the more ‘visible’ divisions associated
with the digital divide. Typically, the younger generations are more willing to adopt
new innovations and therefore have embraced ICT more than the older generations
(ABS 2007). However, Morry (2002) shows that the relationship between age and
access to the Internet applies only to those aged 65 years and older. This is
confirmed with the ABS data (ABS 2007) which indicate that in Australia Internet
users are normally between 15 and 54 years of age (ABS 2007), with only about 20
per cent of those aged more than 65 years accessing the Internet (ABS 2007).
Disability can also contribute to the existence of a digital divide. For example, in
the USA people with disabilities were 50 per cent less likely to have access to the
Internet than those without disabilities (NTIA 2000). The NTIA report also
showed that 60 per cent of people with disabilities had never used PCs compared to
an average of 25 per cent for those without a disability (NTIA 2000). The fact is
that people with disabilities are constrained by their ability to use ICT equipment
because this cohort is generally from lower income levels, has limited previous
technology training, and has less-developed language skills (Kearns 2001).
Riley (2004) found that females use the Internet less often than males, with the
ABS (2007) confirming that 53 per cent of Australian males use the Internet at
least once a day compared with only 47 per cent of females, although, Lloyd and
Hellwig (2000) found that the effect of gender is decreasing. Others (Stone 2001)
have argued that gender continues to be a factor because men and women use ICT
 482 J. Atkinson et al.

tools differently (Servon 2002). For example, men participate more in work-related
or financial online services, while women access health-related sites and local
content more than their male counterparts (Lenihan 2000).
Feldman (2004) found that poor English-language skills affect Internet access.
According to Kearns (2001) much of the Internet is in the English language and
this can present a barrier to those of a non-English-speaking background. Taik
(2001) also argues that the Internet has been overwhelmingly dominated by the
English language and North American culture, since the early 1990s; however, this
dominance is shrinking as non-English markets such as China and India continue
to expand rapidly (Press et al. 2003).
Curtin (2001) suggests that the level of education is another key factor predicting
Internet access, although Novak and Hoffman (1998) assert that both education
and income are the key demographic variables affecting access to the Internet.
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Keller (1995) aslo indicate that education and income are the most likely
determinants in which sections of society will access electronic media. In Australia,
higher academic qualifications have been linked to higher levels of Internet access
at home (Curtin 2001).
In summary, the literature suggests that in Australia there are a number of
variables that affect individuals’ access and usage of ICT and the Internet, these
being age, education, income, disability and gender. In recognition of these
disparities, governments around the world, including Australia, have initiated
programs to address this issue, commonly known as the digital divide.
In Australia the ‘Networking the Nation’ program was established and funds a
number of large and small initiatives around the country (Rooksby et al. 2002).
This initiative includes the CTC@NSW program (CTC@NSW 2007) that
establishes community tele-centres in communities of fewer than 3000 people
(Rooksby et al. 2002); the ‘Reach for the Clouds’ wired housing scheme (Meredyth
& Thomas 2000); and the Access@schools program, set up to provide Internet
access and training through Victorian public schools (Multimedia Victoria 2007).
At the local government level, there have been few Australian initiatives to address
the digital divide.

Methodology
This study was undertaken in 2005 and adopted a mixed-methods approach that
employed semi-structured interviews, focus groups and a telephone survey.
Neuman (1997) and Sarantakos (1993) suggest that the use of multiple methods
leads to increased understanding and triangulation of data that increases
confidence in the reliability of findings. In this study we began with semi-structured
interviews with key informants, moved to focus groups with key community groups
and used these data to inform the development of the interview schedule for the
telephone survey of Albury residents. Community groups have been identified by
Albury City as groups of individuals with common socio-demographic character-
istics (e.g. gender and age). These community groups were invited by Albury City
staff to participate in semi-structured interviews and the focus groups. Typically the
focus groups included between 6 and 10 people.
Semi-structured interviews with key informants (Creswell 1994; Neuman 1997)
provided much of the background information about the nature and use of ICT
services in Albury. Key informants were identified for each of the principal ICT
 Exploring the Digital Divide 483

providers in Albury and included Albury TAFE; the Community Education

Centre in Wodonga; Retro Café in Albury’s CBD; the Internet café, Albury CBD;
Age Concern, Albury CBD; and the Community Centre in the Albury suburb of
Lavington. Each interview lasted about an hour, was audio-taped and occurred in
the informant’s workplace. Based on the findings of the literature the interview
questions focused broadly on the services available on site, the service users, users’
and interviewees’ perceptions of the services and the interviewees’ understanding
of the digital divide and its impact on the community. Interview data were
transcribed and analysed using the NVivo software package. NVivo was selected
because it could create nodes of associations without affecting the original
transcribed data. The process of coding the data involved identifying ideas and
themes and then associating these with a specific node. In NVivo a node is a
means of representing a specific idea and/or theme identified with the transcribed
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data. Where necessary, new nodes were created until all the data had been coded.
The nodes that were appropriate to addressing the specific research questions
were then examined. Using various tools within the NVivo package it was possible
to display the ideas and themes in order to compare and contrast the associated
data.
Focus groups are a time-efficient way of gathering useful information from
reasonably homogenous groups (Kreuger 1988; Morgan 1988). Given the
interaction that occurs between participants, focus groups also represent a way of
stimulating discussion and ideas that other methods cannot match (Patton 1990;
Stewart & Shamdasani 1990). Community groups were selected for focus groups
after consultation with Albury City staff. Our intention was to include community
groups identified in the literature as those often disadvantaged by the digital divide.
Focus groups in the Albury study included:
. disabled community members*people entitled to a disability pension;
. Indigenous groups;
. primary school children*up to grade six;
. youth*14
19 years of age;
. women;
. seniors*two groups, one from Age Concern and the other from Mirambeena,
a neighbourhood house.

The aim of each focus group was to develop an understanding of the issues that
affect their respective cohort’s access and usage of ICT services in the Albury
community.
To ensure that community group members were at ease, each focus group session
was conducted at a venue familiar to group members. For example, the Indigenous
focus group was conducted at an Albury City meeting room during one of the
Indigenous group’s regular meetings; the primary school children focus group was
conducted at the ‘Out of School’ premises; and the youth focus group was
conducted at the Retro Youth Café (an Internet café for people aged 15
25 years,
supported by Albury City). Each focus group session lasted for approximately 60
minutes and was audio-taped. The focus group questions were broadly around the
topics of barriers to ICT access, locations of current access to ICT and locations for
ICT training. The focus group data were transcribed and analysed using the NVivo
software.
 484 J. Atkinson et al.

A telephone survey is an effective method of gathering information from a large

sample that if soundly implemented can allow researchers to make reasonable
claims about the likely characteristics or behaviour of the larger population sampled
(de Vaus 1991; Lavrakas 1993; Neuman 1997). In this case, the telephone survey
used a random sample of 256 residents across the 10 Albury City zone areas (see
Table 1) by using an experienced university CATI (computer-assisted telephone
interviewing) facility. A zone area is a local government term used to define the type
of building construction permitted in those areas. It was proposed to gather similar
numbers of respondents from each zone, but the response rates were different. The
aim of the telephone survey was to gather information about ICT access, ICT
training and knowledge, and background demographic information that would be
used to explore factors affecting ICT access.
It is difficult to determine the percentage of the Albury population with access to
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a telephone service; however, as a benchmark, in the State of Queensland about 95

per cent of the population can be reached by telephone (ABS 2003). Given that the
Albury population reflects the national socio-demographic average, it can be
surmised that Albury has similar percentage access to telephone services. Those
without access to a landline telephone are likely to be itinerants or those with lower
incomes. Home owners/occupiers are also likely to be middle-aged but it is possible
for telephone interviewers to stratify their interviewees. All research methods have
their limitations and it needs to be acknowledged that people participating in
telephone interviews may not be representative of the wider population. However,
the representativeness of the telephone interview sample can be tested by
comparing the sample and the wider population using census data. Comparisons
of the ABS data for age and income suggest that the telephone survey was
representative. For example, the ABS data indicated that the median age for Albury
City was 36 years (ABS 2006), compared to the median age of the telephone
respondents of 40 years. The median income level for survey respondents was
AUS$27 000
44 000 per annum which was very similar to the median income for
Albury of AUS$36 475 in 2003 (ABS 2006). A total of 835 telephone calls were

TABLE 1. Location of 2006 Albury City telephone survey respondents by designated zone
area (N256)

LGA planning area % of respondents in each

designated zonea

Rural NW 10.2
Springdale 12.2
Lavington 6.7
Norris Park 10.6
Thurgoona 12.2
North Albury 4.7
Glenroy 11.0
East Albury 8.6
Central Albury 7.5
West Albury 4.3
South Albury 6.3
Rural East 5.9
a
Note: Non-response rate of 75 per cent for the overall telephone survey.
 Exploring the Digital Divide 485

made as part of the survey, with 33.5 per cent of people agreeing to participate in
the research (see Table 1).
Telephone survey data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics as well as
modelling more complex comparisons using the ‘Splus v6.2’ software. Backwards
stepwise logistic generalised linear modelling (GLM) and the Tukey multiple
comparison method were also used to explore relationships between variables.

Findings
The findings for this research are addressed in terms of the three research
questions:
(1) What are the ICT services currently available in Albury?
(2) Is there a digital divide in Albury?
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(3) What needs to be done to address a digital divide in Albury?

What are the ICT services currently available in Albury?

The data collected through the key informant interviews, focus groups and the
telephone surveys were used to describe the ICT services available in Albury. Our
study found that there was limited access to computing and Internet resources
beyond the home in the Albury City area. The main public access to ICT was
through public libraries, community centres and Internet cafés. One of our key
informants, Carina, described the services provided by the two public libraries:
CARINA: Ok, what we’ve got at both Albury and Lavington libraries;
we have public access internet PC, so we have three at both libraries. We
also have stand alone PCs that provide information using CD-ROMs . . .
we also have two PCs that provide word processing services to the public.
The services offered in the libraries are provided free of charge to the public. Other
than public libraries, the Retro Youth Café in the city centre offers Albury residents,
particularly young people, free access to computing and Internet resources. The
Youth Café has three PCs connected to the Internet via broadband and allows
anyone using the café to access these resources during normal business hours.
The community centres located in the residential areas of Albury City offer basic
computing and Internet resources. For example, Thurgoona Community Centre
has two PCs connected to the Internet but only via a slower dial-up service:
CAROL: Well, the service to the community [is] . . . an internet link up
and two computers that you can type on, so people can come in here and
get on the internet and research and find things, and also if they wanted to
do they could put an address here and pick up and send out email for
themselves.
The Internet cafés offer Albury residents the most comprehensive range of
computing and Internet resources. The Lan Mine (a public-access Internet café)
is a popular ICT service for young people in Albury City although there are other
Internet cafés including one provided by a Service Club and the Retro Café (an
Albury City initiative). In addition to being able to use a computer for word
processing and to access the Internet, it is possible to burn CDs and DVDs, scan,
 486 J. Atkinson et al.

fax, photocopy and play computer games. However, these commercial services can
be expensive:
DAVID: I guess we started up Lan Mine because we saw a need for a
gaming café. We have seen the services in Melbourne and wondered why
there wasn’t any in Albury. I guess our customer’s age bracket is sort of
about 15
25 year old male for the games and there’s really not a lot to do
in Albury especially for the under 18’s. So it’s something for the kids to
do. It’s $5.50 per hour now.
There is a wide range of training services in Albury where residents can access and
learn about ICT. The main training providers of ICT are two universities, two
TAFE institutes, the Continuing Education Centre (CEC), two public libraries,
Age Concern and a number of private service providers. In the majority of cases,
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the users of these services are required to pay to access and use them. Albury TAFE
and Charles Sturt University are the only organisations that provided a compre-
hensive choice of certified ICT courses. Albury TAFE is able to offer a wide range
of courses ranging from the basic to diplomas, and diplomas that are linked to
university degrees:
GAIL: We run [a] two year diploma here as well, we run Networking in
Digital Media, and in Web Development, so there’s three main areas. The
diploma is actually linked to the Charles Sturt University degree. So it’s an
integrated diploma degree, with the students concurrently studying a
subject at Charles Sturt University, while studying our diploma.
For more basic computing skills, Albury residents can enrol into courses offered by
the CEC in Wodonga (a rural city 10 km from Albury). In terms of the services that
the CEC provides there is no equivalent organisation for residents in the Albury
community. Alternatively, the two public libraries in Albury City offer a number of
ICT training sessions. Age Concern (or Open Age Learning) provides elderly
members of the community with access to many facilities, including computer and
Internet access and training. In addition, a number of private training providers in
Albury City focus on providing ICT services to local business. These providers
were not targeted in this research, but it is acknowledged that they do provide
important services to the local community.
HELEN: We run short courses in basic computing skills and sometimes
not totally basic . . .

CARINA: . . . so for members of the public . . . we provide basic internet

awareness, we provide family history on the net services, training services
or training sessions, how to use email, training sessions.

DAVID: Open Age Learning and activities club provides a whole range
of leisure, recreational and educational opportunities for mostly older
adults so they are really sort of leisure activities I guess . . . There for $10
you can be a member. That enables you access to all our educational,
recreational and leisure activities but there is an additional fee of $30 a
semester where you can do almost anything you can think of, including
computer classes, and accessing the internet and doing word documents.
 Exploring the Digital Divide 487

Analysis of the telephone survey data established that the level of home computer
access in Albury (84 per cent) was significantly higher than for all Australian
households (70 per cent) (ABS 2006). The majority of telephone survey
respondents used a computer from their own home (86.4 per cent) although a
substantial proportion (39 per cent) accessed computer facilities from their
workplace (see Table 2). With further reduction in the cost of ICT, it is expected
that there will be an increased level of access to computer resources in the home
environment.
Internet access is lower than for home computer access, but the level of Internet
access in Australia continues to rise, up from 16 per cent in 1998 to 60 per cent in
2006 (ABS 2006). The telephone survey data suggested there was a similar level of
home Internet access in Albury (66.3 per cent) compared to the rest of Australia
(60 per cent) (ABS 2006). Interestingly, public libraries and Internet cafés were
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used by a small proportion of respondents (see Table 2).

In summary, free Internet services were available only from the two public
libraries and the Retro Café in Albury, both of which are supported by Albury City.
All other Internet-provided services, including those at a Service Club, Lan Mine,
TAFE and universities, require some fee-for-service payment. Therefore, it is not
surprising that the majority of Albury residents will access the Internet either from
home or their place of employment.

Is there a digital divide in Albury?

The telephone survey data showed there is a high level of computer ownership
among Albury households, but residents of some zone areas had significantly lower
levels of access to home-based ICT resources. For example, residents of the
Glenroy and Rural East zones had significantly lower levels of access to computers
(82 per cent and 67 per cent, respectively) and access to the Internet (64.2 per cent
and 53.3 per cent, respectively) compared to other areas of the city (see Table 3).
Although it is difficult to confirm, anecdotal evidence suggests that the differences
between these two zones and other zones in Albury are because these residents tend
to be from lower socio-economic groups.
Analysis of the telephone survey data established a significant inverse relationship
between respondent’s age and their access to the Internet (see Table 4).
Information provided by focus group informants confirmed this finding but
suggested that there was a complex interaction between age and income and that
both were major barriers to the older cohort accessing ICT services. Older
informants said that their age made it difficult to understand ICT and, given their
limited incomes and the cost associated with these technologies, they found it
difficult to access ICT services. Members of this cohort also mentioned their lack of
personal ‘comfort’ or the extent they often felt uncomfortable approaching ICT and

TABLE 2. Place of Internet access in 2006 for Albury City telephone survey respondents
(N 256)

Home School Workplace Public library Internet café Friend/relative/

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) neighbour (%)

66.3 5.1 29 2.4 1.6 3.5

 488 J. Atkinson et al.

TABLE 3. Access to a computer and the Internet in 2005 for Albury City telephone survey
respondents by zone area (N256)

Zone area % access to a computer % access to the Internet

Rural NW 96 88.5
Springdale 84 74.2
Lavington 88 88.2
Norris Park 96 92.6
Thurgoona 100 96.8
North Albury 100 100
Glenroy 82 64.2
East Albury 86 81.8
Central Albury 84 78.9
West Albury 90 90.9
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South Albury 94 87.5

Rural East 67 53.3

believed they were ‘stupid’ for not understanding how to use the technologies.
Finally, inadequate ICT training was identified as an issue for older members of the
community because they believed that many training organisations did not address
their specific needs. Surprisingly, youths aged between 13 and 19 years said they
were uncomfortable purchasing hardware and software from local businesses.
These young people said they lacked the knowledge and experience to know what
ICT they required and that local ICT vendors confused them with technological
jargon. This is an interesting response, as anecdotal evidence suggests this cohort of
people is very confident with adapting and using new technologies.
Approximately 16 per cent of the telephone survey respondents (similar to the
Australian average; ABS 2006) indicated that their income was below
AUS$40 000, the figure suggested by the ABS (2004) as being instrumental in
determining access to a computer and the Internet. When the GLM model
was applied across the data a significant relationship was found between the
independent variable ‘income’ and access to a computer (see Table 4). In
particular, those with lower income were less likely to own a computer, a finding
consistent with data provided by the ABS (ABS 2004).
Our analysis of telephone survey data indicated that income was linked with
levels of computer ownership, as well as a statistically significant relationship
between income and Internet access (see Table 4). This finding supports the views

TABLE 4. Summary of variables affecting telephone respondents’ access to a computer and

the Internet (N256)

Variables affecting respondents’ Access to Access to the

access to a computer and the Internet computer at home nternet

Education level No Yes

Age No Yes
Income Yes Yes
Disability No No
Gender No No

Note: Pr(Chi) values less than 0.05.

 Exploring the Digital Divide 489

of the majority of focus group participants who also identified income as a major
factor affecting both computer and Internet access.
Over half of the telephone respondents were female (62 per cent). Using
backwards stepwise logistic GLM, no significant relationship was found between
gender and computer access and/or the Internet (see Table 4). This finding is
consistent with much of the existing literature. Nevertheless, interviews with ICT
service providers in Albury indicated that single female sole parents may be
disadvantaged in their access to ICT.
Using backwards stepwise logistic GLM a significant relationship was found
between Internet access and the independent variable ‘level of education a person
has acquired’ (see Table 4). For Internet access, this correlation was significant for
respondents who had attained an education level of Year 9 or less (9.8 per cent of
telephone survey respondents), and for those with an education level less than Year
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12 (50.6 per cent of respondents). Further analysis identified a correlation between

people over 65 years with low levels of education (Year 9 or less) and limited access
to a computer and the Internet.
This research clearly indicates there is a digital divide in the Albury community.
The study findings indicate that a digital divide exists in Albury City based on
locality, age, income, and education levels of its population. In summary, our
findings indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between access
to the Internet and the variables of level of income, age and education. In contrast,
income was the only variable correlated to access to a computer. The findings also
indicate a spatial divide within the city, with residents in Glenroy and Rural East
zones experiencing lower levels of access to computers and the Internet, reflecting
the lower socio-economic status of some residents. These findings suggest that the
groups of residents currently experiencing a digital divide are the elderly, low-
income groups such as female sole parents, people with disabilities and Indigenous
people, and those with low education levels.

Conclusions and implications: What needs to be done to address a digital

divide in Albury?
This study provided a unique opportunity to undertake an in-depth investigation of
the digital divide in an Australian regional centre and makes an important
contribution to the Australian literature on the digital divide. The mixed-methods
approach employed proved to be a cost-effective and informative approach to
investigating the digital divide, and could be adopted by others.
The city of Albury offered a range of private and public ICT and Internet
facilities and services, though some of the most comprehensive range of services
were provided by commercial operators, rather than free, public services. The
findings of this study supported the literature that indicates that factors such as
income, age and education are influential in an individual’s access to the Internet
and computer ownership. In contrast to some of the literature, in this study gender
was not an influential factor in shaping ICT access. While there was a high level of
home computer and Internet access in Albury compared to the national average, a
digital divide existed among individuals living in lower socio-economic areas who
had lower levels of access to computers and the Internet; people over 65 years of
age, those on lower incomes (less than AUS$40 000), and with lower educational
levels (Year 9 or less) were significantly less likely to access the Internet. These
 490 J. Atkinson et al.

findings support and reinforce the literature that indicates the existence of a digital
divide raises issues of social justice and social equity which are of urgent concern,
given society’s increasing reliance on ICT services. This study illustrates that even
at a city-wide scale there are individuals and groups who are disadvantaged by
limited access to ICT services, suggesting that strategies need to be implemented to
address these issues of social equity.
Drawing on our research findings, discussions with Albury City staff and the
wider literature on the digital divide, we offer a number of strategies that could be
used to address the digital divide in locations like Albury. One such strategy could
focus on providing technical support and training to identified disadvantaged
groups within the community. Providing access to hardware and software resources
to the community can be achieved through facilities such as community centres,
public libraries and the youth cafés. Regular review of these types of facilities is
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needed to maximise the benefits that ICT can provide to the community. Any
review should also consider the training and support these facilities provide, as well
as the possibility of extending access to these facilities in areas of the city where
residents have significantly lower levels of access to ICT resources.
Some individuals or groups within society who have access to a computer and the
Internet require ongoing technical support. This support could be provided by a
local council employing an information technology support officer, as well as by
providing IT training that could be tailored to meet the needs of specific
disadvantaged groups. A technical support position could also enable a local
council to provide a more readily identifiable location for people to access support
services. Our view is that the role of a technical support officer would be more
educational rather than technical, with strong communication skills. To ensure that
this important resource has an impact on addressing the digital divide, the person
should be based in one of the disadvantaged zones in a city.
ICT technical support services could be provided as part of wider community
celebration events such as Seniors Week and Indigenous events. This strategic
approach would help ensure that technical advice and assistance is relevant to the
needs or abilities of particular community cohorts. For example, that the hardware
and software provided meets the needs of people with disabilities.
The support services provided by an information technology support officer
could be supplemented by coordinating additional assistance from student groups
at local universities and TAFE institutes. This would not only provide students with
hands-on experience but would also benefit members of the local community.
A second strategy could concentrate on improving physical access to ICT
services for the community. In this study some disadvantaged groups indicated they
found it difficult to physically access locations where ICT resources are located. In
particular, the distance of the ICT resources from car parking or public transport
was an issue raised by survey respondents in this study, and supported by the
literature, so it is important to locate such resources in convenient locations. A
second issue is that of providing appropriate hardware and software. For example,
some people with disabilities need access to voice-activated devices, larger screens,
special mouse devices and headsets. Similarly, software requirements include the
ability to display larger print on display devices and the ability to implement voice-
activated commands.
A third strategy could focus on improving the community’s awareness of ICT
services. One of the issues raised in this study was the lack of awareness by
 Exploring the Digital Divide 491

the community of the ICT services available in Albury, a point supported by

the literature. This suggests that both public and commercial ICT services need to
be widely promoted to the community.
A final strategy could concentrate on facilitating the community’s access to ICT
services. As this study demonstrated, access to ICT services is hindered by a
number of factors such as income, age and educational level. Primarily it is the cost
of hardware and software, but it also includes the lack of understanding of which
services best meet a particular person’s requirements. To assist disadvantaged
groups the cost of hardware could be reduced, for example, by recycling redundant
equipment.
The study results, together with the literature review findings, provide some
directions for future research. The review of the literature revealed a paucity of
published material available on studies of the digital divide in Australia generally
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and in particular in regional cities. There was also a lack of evaluation studies of
programs and strategies that have been implemented to address the digital divide,
and in particular in addressing issues of social justice and equity. Opportunities
exist for research into the level of access of ICT services for different socio-
demographic groups, what strategies are most effective in addressing the digital
divide, as well as comparative studies between countries.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of James Tan and Albury City
staff in this project.

Correspondence: John Atkinson, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury,

NSW 2640, Australia. E-mail: jatkinson@csu.edu.au

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