2. Digital divide
The existing literature is oriented toward examining how Internet access and use may affect social
capital. The role of social capital in narrowing the digital divides has been frequently mentioned
but few studies have empirically examined how various types of social capital may affect people's
access and use of the Internet. Drawing on a two-wave national panel data set, this article aims to
fill this gap. Results demonstrate that social capital facilitates Internet access and .use
3. Human capital:
The term human capital is recognition that people in organisations and businesses are an
important and essential asset who contribute to development and growth, in a similar
way as physical assets such as machines and money. The collective attitudes, skills and
abilities of people contribute to organisational performance and productivity
4. Knowledge capital
Know how that results from the experience, information, knowledge, learning, and skills of
the employees of an organization. Of all the factors of production, knowledge capital
creates the longest lasting competitive advantage. It may consist entirely of technical
information (as in chemical and electronics industries) or may reside in the actual
experience or skills acquired by the individuals (as in construction and steel industries).
Knowledge capital is an essential component of human capital.
5. Social capital
is an economic idea that refers to the connections between individuals and entities that
can be economically valuable. Social networks that include people who trust and assist
each other can be a powerful asset. These relationships between individuals and
companies can lead to a state in which each thinks of the other when something needs to
be done
6. SOLUTIONS TO THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Researchers report a wide variety of factors which favour the increasing gap, such as, among others,
low income and other financial limitations, lower-quality or high-priced connections, low level of
education, lack of digital literacy, poor technical assistance, and limited access to quality ICT
content.
Governments should play the leading role in enabling creation and deployment of accessible e-
services and understandable ICT content. Moreover, they should facilitate the development of a
proper and non-discriminative environment for e-government through the regulatory frameworks,
strategic directions and Government guarantees
Cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the e-government field, such as central governments,
local public authorities, the private sector, academia, civil society, and international organizations is
a key factor. These stakeholders should act upon the guidelines within the commitments taken at the
Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.1The ICT applications and the implementation of e-
government strategies, promoting transparency in public administrations and democratic processes,
are an important part of the common vision and guiding principles. International collaboration,
together with provision of means of implementation, would take us one step further in bridging the
digital divide.
