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Finding Empowerment: Appalachian Ohioans’ Experience with the Digital Works Computer Training Program

Sands, Melody Gail
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1573041551351926

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Communication Studies (Communication).
At least 531,000 rural Appalachian Ohio adults do not have broadband access which is indicative of the Digital Divide in the region. The cost or lack of availability of high speed broadband access, computer and Internet trainings, and employment, places those citizens at a disadvantage in their ability to improve their lives that are defined by poverty and unemployment. Improving their jobs skills in industries requiring broadband access is one way to stimulate demand for broadband deployment in rural areas as well as address unemployment. Jobs that require high speed Internet access create a pool of quality customers who would keep current with their monthly subscription fees, making the return-on-investment of expanding high speed infrastructure more acceptable for private service providers. A training program, Digital Works, was established to provide computer and Internet skills training to citizens of Appalachian Ohio so they could acquire jobs that would in turn stimulate demand for broadband. This qualitative research study explored the lived experience and meaning making of participants in the Digital Works training program and how it made an impact on their lives and communities. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants, trainers, and administrators in the Digital Works computer and Internet training program. A textual analysis of Digital Works and its parent program, Connect Ohio’s available organizational documents—budgets, websites, and authorizing legislation—as well as news articles about the program was conducted also.Over the course of this study, funding for both programs was not renewed by the state and federal funding agencies, as well as the national support organization, Connected Nation. Many of the participants’ interviews reflected their surprise and disappointment over losing this source of opportunity and hope. The present study found that participants who completed the Digital Works training programs benefitted beyond simply finding jobs directly related to the computer and customer services skills they learned. In addition to the economic advantages, participants also found deep value in the sense of self-worth, confidence, self-esteem and hope they derived from the program. Participants developed a strong family-like bond with other participants, stimulating community involvement in towns and villages where that citizen participation was lacking. The self-empowerment and community building that resulted from the presence of Digital Works have long-term ramifications for economic and community development efforts in this rural Appalachian region.
George Korn (Committee Chair)
352 p.
Communication
Digital Divide; Appalachian Ohio; Internet; employment

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sands, M. G. (2019). Finding Empowerment: Appalachian Ohioans’ Experience with the Digital Works Computer Training Program [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1573041551351926

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sands, Melody. Finding Empowerment: Appalachian Ohioans’ Experience with the Digital Works Computer Training Program. 2019. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1573041551351926.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sands, Melody. "Finding Empowerment: Appalachian Ohioans’ Experience with the Digital Works Computer Training Program." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1573041551351926

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.