Digital inclusion is crucial to promote economic prosperity and social equality. However, gaps persist between individuals, organizations, and communities in their access and use of various digital technologies. In recent days, such inequalities have been exposed globally by the Covid-19 pandemic (Broom 2020), making the investigation of these inequalities more urgent and important. This special issue on digital inclusion aims to develop a better understanding of this important, yet under researched theme in the IS field. Information Systems and e-Business Management (ISeB) is an appropriate venue to publish digital inclusion studies, since the journal focuses on IS management research that advances the field fundamentally and significantly.1 Information and communication technologies (ICT) are key infrastructures enabling individuals, organizations, communities, as well as countries to participate in and benefit from today’s digital economy. They help people to stay connected, and facilitate the exchange of numerous types of human, natural, financial, health, and social resources. While global Internet penetration rate keeps increasing, the “digital divide” persists, and the ability to access and use ICT effectively remains inequitable (Callahan and Siefer 2019; Newman et al. 2017; Walsham et al. 2007). For instance, recent surveys from Pew Research Center suggest that Internet use varies widely between younger and older people, and people with different levels of education and income (Schumacher and Kent 2020). Even if people can access ICT, their understanding of technology-related issues vary significantly. People with higher levels of education and younger generations tend to be more digitally knowledgeable than their counterparts (Vogels and Anderson 2019). Digital disparities have been observed in the use of healthcare technologies, such as patient online health portal (Walker et al. 2019) and Google’s “suicide-prevention result” (Scherr et al. 2019). It is also possible that functionality of digital devices (e.g., smart phones) available to different types of users may create digital inclusion or exclusion, based on factors

中文翻译：

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数字包容特刊

数字包容对于促进经济繁荣和社会平等至关重要。然而，个人、组织和社区在访问和使用各种数字技术方面仍然存在差距。最近几天，Covid-19 大流行（Broom 2020）在全球范围内暴露了这种不平等，这使得对这些不平等的调查变得更加紧迫和重要。本期关于数字包容的特刊旨在更好地理解信息系统领域这一重要但尚未研究的主题。信息系统和电子商务管理 (ISeB) 是发布数字包容性研究的合适场所，因为该期刊侧重于从根本上和显着推动该领域的信息系统管理研究。1 信息和通信技术 (ICT) 是支持个人、组织、社区和国家参与并受益于当今的数字经济。它们帮助人们保持联系，并促进多种类型的人力、自然、金融、健康和社会资源的交流。尽管全球互联网普及率不断提高，但“数字鸿沟”依然存在，有效访问和使用 ICT 的能力仍然不平等（Callahan 和 Siefer 2019；Newman 等人 2017；Walsham 等人 2007）。例如，皮尤研究中心最近的调查表明，年轻人和老年人以及受教育程度和收入不同的人之间的互联网使用差异很大（Schumacher 和 Kent 2020）。即使人们可以访问 ICT，他们对技术相关问题的理解也存在很大差异。受教育程度较高的人和年轻一代的人往往比他们的同龄人更有数字知识（Vogels 和 Anderson 2019）。在使用医疗保健技术方面已经观察到数字差异，例如患者在线健康门户（Walker 等人，2019 年）和谷歌的“自杀预防结果”（Scherr 等人，2019 年）。不同类型用户可用的数字设备（例如，智能手机）的功能也可能会根据因素产生数字包容或排斥