Disability citizenship and digital capital: the case of engagement with a social enterprise telco

ABSTRACT

This paper uses as its base a key initiative involving a not-for-profit organisation (NPO), government start-up funding and a social enterprise which evolved through three phases. The purpose of the initiative was the development of a smart phone technology platform for people with disability. The paper’s purpose is to answer questions about the ways in which the mobile technology, seen here as assistive technologies, supported the development of disability citizenship and active citizenship. Data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted at three points in the 13-week programme during which participants with disability received customised support for their phone and training in its use, at no cost. Fifteen participants volunteered to take part in the research project, along with their significant other and service provider. Key themes were identified in the preliminary analysis. Exploring these using Ragnedda’s ([2017]. The third digital divide: A Weberian approach to digital inequalities. Abingdon: Routledge) three levels of digital divide, and Wilson’s ([2006]. The information revolution and developing countries. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) categories of access allowed a series of philosophical, ethical and human services management questions to emerge, challenging the optimism with which the digital economy is presented as a solution to issues of inequality. Although the mobile technologies were very successful as assistive technologies for some participants, the findings reinforced the potential for such technologies to further entrench aspects of social exclusion. They also identified ways in which the shift in the role of the NPO to social entrepreneurship, and its relationships with government and private enterprise, had the potential to undermine the exercise of disability citizenship by turning participants into consumers.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital economy
• disability
• active citizenship
• social enterprise
• mobile technology
• digital divide

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Simon Darcy is a Professor at the UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney. He specialises in developing inclusive organisational approaches for diversity groups and understanding the social impact of organisations and individuals. Simon's research has spanned sport, tourism, events, volunteers, transport, the built environment and disability services [email: [email protected]].

Hilary Yerbury is currently a visiting scholar in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney. Her background in European social and political cultures, information management, anthropology and development studies have given her a broad-based approach to the use of information in everyday decision-making and in social change. She has extensive experience in working with young people on development issues. Her research interests build on a long standing concern for the development of active citizens, with access to the information they need for everyday life [email: [email protected]].

Hazel Maxwell is a Senior Lecturer at the Sydney campus of the University of Tasmania. She researches in the areas of community sport, health promotion, social impact, social inclusion and diversity management [email: [email protected]].

ORCID

Simon Darcy http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5394-2566

Hilary Yerbury http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1525-3268

Hazel Maxwell http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0610-4698

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a University of Technology Sydney Partnership Grant.