CATEGORY A –ACCESS

Information Technology (IT) is rapidly becoming an ever-present tool in every sector of our society, so it is important to gauge the accessibility of information technology tools to the public and the tools being used for access. Access may be at home or via work, school, or public access sites at a library, community center or Internet café. The level of access is a function of availability, cost, understanding, skill level, perception and needed application. This category looks at ownership and home use, public access and level of use.

a) Information Technology in the Household

What basic information technology systems do residents have access to at home?

These indicators will measure the percentage of residents who have home access to specific information technologies. National studies illustrate that people are more likely to have meaningful access to computers and the Internet when the technology is available in their homes. We recognize that many people are able to experience meaningful access at public sites, work, and school, and the next section contains indicators focused on access outside of the home. Demographic information will be collected for this survey, allowing us to look at home access by neighborhood, ethnicity, age of respondents, and income level.

INDICATOR

This indicator will be an aggregation or an index of the results of a survey question asking about Information Technology in the household. Data for the following will be presented on a graph: Telephone; Cell phone; Pager; Television; Computer; and Internet. Data for computers in the household will be broken down by computers that have been purchased or updated in the last 3 years and those that have not. Data for Internet connection will be broken down by speed / type of connection (14.4, 28.8, 56K, cable, DSL, other).

b) Barriers to Access

What are the barriers to ownership of computers and the Internet for residents?

INDICATORS

Graph of the most significant barriers to ownership as determined by a survey of those who do not have computers and the Internet in their home.

Tracking the annual cost for functional access
(Price out a functional package of computer, software & Internet).

The Information Technology Indicators Project is part of the City of Seattle Department of Information Technology Community Technology Program in cooperation with the volunteer Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB).

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