Book Summary: This book provides real-world advice and ideas drawn from case studies to help academic libraries support students academically, socially, and financially, especially those who are facing barriers.

I världens snabbt ökande digitalisering är behovet av digitala samhällstjänster stort. Problemet är att dessa e-tjänster inte är tillgängliga för alla individer, vilket de ska vara enligt DOS-lagen. Tidigare forskning har kommit fram till att användargenererad information utgör framtiden för myndigheters e-tjänster. En samhällsgrupp som behöver undersökas vidare är individer med funktionsvariation, som står inför en ökad risk att hamna i ett digitalt utanförskap.  Denna studie har haft som syfte att undersöka användbarheten hos en svensk myndighets e-tjänster utifrån synvinkeln av användare med funktionsvariation. Om en förbättringspotential skall uppnås i upplevandet hos gruppen, så anser jag att verktygen för evidensbaserade studier inom detta område behöver vässas och specificeras gentemot målgruppens krav. Genom användbarhetstest har studiepersonerna undersökt Försäkringskassans webbsida och e-tjänster. Efter testet har studiepersonerna genomgått semistrukturerade intervjuer för att nå deras djupare uppfattningar och upplevelser kring Försäkringskassans webbsida och e-tjänsterna samt deras användning av digitala samhällstjänster.  Resultatet visar att studiepersonerna är delvis tillfredsställda med Försäkringskassans webbsida och e-tjänster. Orsaken är att deras tjänster och information är mer lättillgängliga för studiepersonerna digitalt och för att de generellt känner tillit till Försäkringskassan, däremot visar resultatet att två av fem studiepersoner inte självständigt kan använda Försäkringskassans webbsida och e-tjänster, vilket medför att de är digitalt exkluderade från dessa. Studiepersonerna uttrycker att det finns begreppssvårigheter, avsaknad av uppläsningsfunktioner, uttröttande läsning och svårigheter att hitta rätt information.  Studiens slutsats är att Försäkringskassan behöver fortsätta att vidareutveckla sin tillgänglighet efter DOS-lagens krav, eftersom inte alla studiepersoner upplevde deras webbsida och e-tjänster som användbara och eftersom de inte heller uppfyllde alla steg i inkluderingsarbetet mot digitalt utanförskap. / In the world's rapidly increasing digitalisation, the need for digital community services is great. The problem is that these e-services are not available to all individuals, which they should be according to the Swedish law of accessible digital public service. Previous research states that user-generated information is the future of government e-services. A social group that needs to be investigated further are the functionally diverse, who face an increased risk of ending up in digital exclusion.  The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a Swedish authority's e-services from the point of view of users with functional diversity. For a potential improvement to be achieved in the user experience, I believe that the tools for evidence-based studies in this area need to be sharpened and specified in relation to the target group's requirements. Through usability tests, the study subjects have examined the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website and e-services. Following the test, the study subjects underwent semi-structured interviews to find out their deeper perceptions and experiences about the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website and e-services, as well as their use of digital community services.  The results show that the students are partially satisfied with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website and e-services. This is because their services and information are more easily accessible to the study persons digitally and because they generally feel confident in the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. However, the results also show that two out of five study subjects cannot independently use the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website and e-services, which means that they are digitally excluded from these. The study subjects express that there are conceptual difficulties, lack of reading aloud functions, tiring reading, and difficulties in finding the right information.  It is concluded that The Swedish Social Insurance Agency needs to continue further developing their accessibility in accordance with the requirements of the law of accessible digital public service, as not all study participants perceived their website and e-services as useful, nor did they fulfil all steps in the inclusion work against digital exclusion.

This research analyzes Finnish information and communication technology companies' sustainability principles with an emphasis on themes related to social sustainability. A broader focus is given to researching how class, education level, and low-income-related perspectives have been taken into account. The main theoretical framework adopted is resources and appropriation theory which examines societal categorical inequalities through the lens of the digital divide.The empirical material consists of eight corporate sustainability reports. Data is collected utilizing the document analysis method. The data analysis method chosen for this research is the thematic analysis method. Results are presented categorically with a focus on social sustainability.Low-income perspectives were clearly disregarded in the reports, raising a question regarding the authenticity of the underlying intention behind the implementation of these specified DEI measures.

In Sweden, a government eID has long been a concept that has not been realized. The development of government eID in both Sweden and around the world has been problematic. Even if a government eID is developed, adoption of this can also be problematic. Therefore, this study examines the current situation in Sweden with eID and discusses the conditions needed and challenges with a government eID. This study resulted in three relationships that we believe are of great importance for eID in general and for Swedish government eID: 1) relationship between an individual and IT, 2) relationship between individual and organization and 3) inter-organizational relationships. These three relationships create conditions for continuous operation of the current eID in Sweden, but also discuss possible challenges within those relations and challenges a government eID can meet.

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Effective Health Systems make service provision easy for health workers, especially if they have access to the latest guidelines in a dynamic profession where new technologies are ever emerging. However, available data indicates that the health system in Uganda is constrained and still using old technologies despite the availability of newer technologies. As a result, this study sought to investigate the adoptability, cost effectiveness, and sustainability with regard to Personal Digital Assistants. The study, which was cross sectional in nature, was carried out in Mbale District in Eastern Uganda between 2008 and 2010. In depth interviews were conducted with health workers and key informants. Also, published and unpublished literature about theUganda Health Information Network was reviewed.The findings revealed that the use of Personal Digital Assistants also known as handheld computers can go a long way towards improving healthcare delivery in countryside health facilities. To health workers in remote places, the PDAs are a source of the latest clinical care guidelines for several diseases including HIV and AIDS as well as malaria. Health information systems have been improved and data collection and reporting have been eased by this technology. However, while evidence of viability of this technology exists, it still has challenges like power and delays in software updates among others.

We studied a live video conferencing project based in Ghana, because we wanted to determine whether this is one area where Information Communication Technology (ICT) can have an impact on communication for development. We also wanted to better understand whether live video conferencing is a viable way to go forward with Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) and, if so, what benefits it has to offer. To complement the study, we also looked at two other NGOs which are also using similar technology and have a purpose similar to the WPD live video-conference program, which is to create a space for knowledge and cultural exchange with the help of ICT. The additional programs will add a complementary comparative dimension to the analysis of the case study of WPD. It is important to have these two projects in mind since they use two vastly different methods and can provide a reflective understanding on how WPD can move forward as they are in a transitional phase and are currently exploring different ways to develop the project, mainly involving changes in management structure and technology. We studied the WPD project with the complementary information from the other two projects from an academic perspective to document and analyze the outcomes in order to determine which good practices are available when undertaking similar initiatives. From a theoretical perspective, we analyze the projects using research related to participatory communication, the public sphere, and the digital divide. From a practical perspective, we again examine issues related to the digital divide and the growing influence of communications technologies companies due to public-private partnerships.

Yes / Purpose: Digital Financial Services (DFS) have substantial prospect to offer a number of reasonable, appropriate and secure banking services to the underprivileged in developing countries through pioneering technologies such as mobile phone based solutions, digital platforms and electronic money models. DFS allow unbanked people to obtain access to financial services through digital technologies. However, DFS face tough challenges of adoption. Realising this, the aim of this paper is to identify such challenges and develop a framework. Design/Methodology/Approach: We develop a framework of challenges by utilising Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and Fuzzy MICMAC approach. We explored eighteen such unique set of challenges culled from the literature and further gathered data from two sets of expert professionals. In the first phase, we gathered data from twenty-nine professionals followed by eighteen professionals in the second phase. All were pursuing Executive MBA programme from a metropolitan city in South India. The implementation of ISM and fuzzy MICMAC provided a precise set of driving, linkage and dependent variables that were used to derive a framework. Findings: ISM model is split in eight different levels. The bottom level consists of a key driving challenge V11 (i.e. high cost and low return related problem) whereas the topmost level consists of two highly dependent challenges namely V1 (i.e. risk of using digital services) and V14 (i.e. lack of trust). The prescribed ISM model shows the involvement of ‘high cost and low return related problem (V11)’, which triggers further challenges of DFS. Originality/value: None of the existing research has explored key challenges to DFS in detail nor formulated a framework for such challenges. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper on DFS that attempts to collate its challenges and incorporate them in a hierarchical model using ISM and further divide them into four categories of factors using fuzzy MICMAC analysis.