Paris, 8 March 2004
EFITA newsletter / 149 / European Federation for Information
Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment
Ambient Intelligence @Work workshop
10 March 2004 - Brussels
See: http://www.amiatwork.com
Operational Research and Artificial Intelligence for Electronic Services
20th European Conference - Island of Rhodes (EURO 2004), July 4-7, 2004.
See: http://www.euro-rhodes2004.org/
Contact: Nikos Matsatsinis
mailto:nikos@dias.ergasya.tuc.gr
Automation Technology for Off-road Equipment
October 7-8, 2004 - Kyoto, Japan
See: http://www.asae.org/meetings/atoe04/index.html
2004 CIGR International Conference - Session III "Information Technology
for Agriculture"
Beijing, October 11-14, 2004
Observe the deadline for submission of abstracts: April 1, 2004 !!!!!!
See: http://www.2004cigr.org
Internet in American rural communities
Internet penetration has grown in rural communities, but the gap between
them and suburban and urban communities has remained constant over time.
Historically, Internet penetration rates have been lower in rural areas than
in other kinds of communities. When the Pew Internet & American Life Project
first began surveying the Internet landscape in early 2000, 41% of rural residents
were online, while 51% of urban residents and 55% of suburban residents were
online. Rural Internet penetration climbed to 52% by the middle of 2003. However,
urban and suburban penetration rates have risen as well. Rural Internet penetration
has remained roughly 10 percentage points behind the national average in each
of the last four years.
The Project found in survey data collected between March and August 2003, suburban
and urban residents remain more likely to use the Internet:
- 67% of urban residents use the Internet.
- 66% of suburban residents use the Internet.
- 52% of rural residents use the Internet.
>>> Rural Americans are less wealthy and older than those in other
parts of America and that could account for some of the difference
in Internet penetration between community types.
Statistical analysis to identify the principal drivers for Internet penetration
suggests that some differences in Internet adoption between rural areas and
other locales are related to low-income households in rural areas. Living in
a rural area in itself has little or no influence as to whether one goes online.
However, low-income residents of rural areas are less likely to be online than
low-income people living in urban or suburban areas. Some 47% of rural residents
have household incomes of $30,000 or less, compared to 29% of suburban residents
and 39% of urban residents. Middle and upper income people in both rural and
other areas are equally likely to be Internet users.
At the same time, some of the gap between rural areas and the rest of the country
can probably also be explained by other demographic realities such as the fact
that rural residents as a group are older and have lesser levels of education
than those in urban and suburban areas. Senior citizens (those 65 and older)
account for a relatively larger percentage of the rural population (22%) compared
to the urban (14%) and suburban populations (16%). In rural areas, seniors are
unlikely to go online. Only about 17% of rural seniors go online, making up
about 6% of rural Internet users. Meanwhile, rural areas hold comparatively
fewer young adults, the most likely age group to go online. The age of the rural
population may be one major reason why penetration rates are lower in rural
communities.
>>> Many rural residents say they have less choice than others about
the way they access the Internet.
About 29% of rural Internet users say the Internet Service Provider they use
is the only one available to them. In contrast, 7% of urban users reported a
single ISP, and about 9% of suburban users were serviced by a lone ISP.
>>> Rural communities hold larger portions of relative Internet
newcomers than do urban and suburban communities. Yet rural Americans are often
enthusiastic adopters.
About 20% of rural Internet users — more than 4 million people — have been online
less than three years. In comparison, 16% of urban users have less than three
years online, and 12% of suburban users have less than three years online. Unlike
other newcomers to the Internet, many rural residents are enthusiastic users
of the Internet at an early stage in their adoption of the technology: 45% of
rural newcomers go online daily, whereas 40% of urban newcomers and 46% of suburban
newcomers go online daily.
>>> Broadband adoption is growing in all types of communities, but
broadband users make up larger percentages of urban and suburban users than
rural users.
From 2000 through 2003, the use of cable modems, DSL connections, and other
broadband connections grew quickly in each community type, but rural areas hold
significantly smaller proportion of broadband users. In a survey in the spring
of 2003, we found that 31% of those who use the Internet from home had a broadband
connection. Here is the big picture about broadband adoption in different community
types from 2000 to mid-2003:
- In urban communities, the number of home broadband users grew from 8% to 36%
of the online population.
- In suburban communities, the number of home broadband users grew from 7% to
32% of the online population.
- In rural communities, the number of home broadband users grew from 3% to 19%
of the online population.
Additionally, in October 2002, about 25% of rural Internet users said they did
not think that a high-speed connection to their home was available. Only 5%
of urban users and 10% of suburban Internet users said broadband is unavailable.
>>> A portion of rural Internet users depend on Internet connections
at places other than work or home. They are more likely than suburban or urban
users to say they depend on another place for going online.
Some 22% of Internet users say they go online from at least one other place
besides work or home. In some cases, though not most, the people who go online
in a third place depend on that connection as their exclusive point of access.
Some 8% of rural users say they only log on to the Internet from some place
other than work or home, such as a library, a school, or a friend’s house. Just
3% of suburban users do and 5% of urban users depend on some place other than
work or home for their Internet connection.
>>> Rural African-Americans are significantly less likely than rural
whites to go online, possibly because of differences in income and education.
There is a large gap between rural African-Americans and rural whites. While
54% of rural whites go online, 31% of rural African-Americans do so. This disparity
can probably be traced to income and education. Over 70% of rural African-Americans
live in households with incomes under $30,000 a year, compared to 44% of rural
whites.
>>> Rural users pursue many of the same online activities as urban
and suburban users, but they are more likely to look for religious or spiritual
information and less likely to engage in transactions.
While the differences are not gaping, rural users are less likely than urban
and suburban users to have bought a product online, made a travel reservation,
or done their banking online. Even rural users who have been online a few years
or more are still less likely to have ever performed transactions over the Web
than their urban and suburban counterparts.
Compared to their urban and suburban counterparts, rural users:
- Are less likely to bank online — 28% bank online, while 35% of urban users
and 35% of suburban users bank online.
- Are less likely to have bought a product online — 57% have done so, while
63% of suburban users and 61% of urban users have bought a product online.
- Are less likely to have made a travel reservation online — 49% have done so,
while 58% of suburban users and 60% of urban users have made a travel reservation
online.
Meanwhile, rural users are more likely than their counterparts to search for
religious or spiritual information. Some 35% of online rural Americans have
sought religious and spiritual information online, compared to 27% of those
who live outside rural areas. Among rural users, gathering religious or spiritual
information is more popular than banking online (28%), looking for a place to
live (26%), and downloading music (26% in June 2003; 13% in November-December
2003). Rural users with three years or more online are more likely than others
to seek health information online. Almost three-quarters of experienced rural
users have done so, while 68% of similarly experienced suburban users and 64%
of similarly experienced urban users have sought health information online.
>>> Rural users’ online connections to groups are more likely to stretch
beyond their physical community.
In February 2001, the Pew Internet Project asked Internet users about their
experiences with online groups. That survey revealed that urban and suburban
users’ online communities are more localized than rural users’. While 15% of
suburban users and 19% of urban users say that most members of their online
group live “in my local community,” only 8% of rural users’ say that most of
their group’s members live in the same local community. Rural users’ online
community connections are more likely than those of urban and suburban users
to be directed beyond their physical location. Half of rural users say that
most of the other members of their online group live “all over the country.”
By comparison, 42% of suburban users say so, and 39% of urban users say so.
Not surprisingly, then, rural users are more likely than others to say that
the Internet is more useful for becoming involved in things going on outside
their local community. Some 77% of rural users say so, while 66% of suburban
users and 64% of urban users say so.
>>> Rural Internet newcomers are wary of technology, but those with
experience embrace it.
Rural newcomers are more likely to hold mixed feelings about computers and technology
than are urban and suburban newcomers. Fully half of rural residents say that
they hold “mixed feelings” toward computers and technology, whereas 32% of urban
users say this and 27% of suburban users say this. But rural users with some
experience with the technologies are more likely than others to say they like
them.
See: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=112
This is a novel solution to an all too familiar situation...
See: http://leeb1977.freewebspace.com/boredmeeting_1_.swf
Contact: Mick HARKIN
mailto:harkin@iol.ie
Right Brain versus Left Brain?
While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make
clockwise circles with it.
Now, while continuing to do this, draw the number "6" in the air with
your right hand.
Your foot will change direction - and there's nothing you can do about it!!
Biometrically yours,
Contact: Mick HARKIN
mailto:harkin@iol.ie
About the EFITA mailing list
Please note that you can use this moderated list (>2700 subscribers)
to announce any event / product / web site / joke… related to IT in agriculture,
environment, food industry and rural areas, and send me all e-mail addresses
of people, who might be interested in these matters.
If you do not wish to receive our messages, please see: http://www.efita.net to remove your e-mail address
from our mail list.