Category Archives: internet

Kent County Council explores how digital technology can help vulnerable people

August 30, 2013   Carers, disability, internet

A CHARITY providing advice to disabled people across Dartford and Gravesend is celebrating after winning an iPad Mini.

12:34pm Friday 30th August 2013 in News By Alan Woods

Clinical design director Dr Robert Stewart presents the iPad to Sophie Turley. Clinical design director Dr Robert Stewart presents the iPad to Sophie Turley.

The Centre for Independent Living Kent (CiLK) was one of several organisations attending Kent County Council’s (KCC) Care in the Digital Age Conference.

KCC social care staff came together with voluntary organisations, care homes and service users to explore how new digital technology can be used to connect vulnerable and isolated people in the community.

CiLK were the lucky winners of an iPad, which was offered as a competition prize by the upcoming carers social network Yecco.

Project manager at CiLk Sophie Turley said: “Winning the amazing iPad mini is enabling us to connect with our members, like minded organisations and the local authority in new and exciting ways.

“It will allow us to take the internet out to our members and demonstrate how Yecco and other sites can help to simplify and enhance their networks of support creating greater independence.”

Yecco was among the organisations exhibiting at the conference last month and uses a social network to connect the person being cared for with their families and professionals.

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Internet and Disability in the USA

August 23, 2013   Blind, Carers, disability, internet

Inequality and the Internet: Why Some Remain Offline

Published: August 22, 2013
For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow @andyrNYT.

Your otherwise excellent article about the digital divide (“Most of U.S. Is Wired, but Millions Aren’t Plugged In,” Business Day, Aug. 19) missed an opportunity to discuss the significant digital divide between people with disabilities and those not (yet) disabled.

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Older women remain least likely group to get online

August 23, 2013   Carers, internet

Older women remain least likely group to get online

Source : Laura Grigg \ Age UK

Published on 23 August 2013 12:30 AM

Older woman using an ipad

Older women are the least likely group in society to use the internet, despite potentially having the most to gain from it, new statistics from the ONS reveal.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of women aged 75 and over, or two million people, have never been online despite it offering them advantages including being able to keep in touch with friends and family more easily.

Older men, whilst not as likely to be online as their younger counterparts, are more likely to use the internet than older women, with 59%, or 1.2 million, having never used the internet.

Separately it is also estimated that 46% of women in the same age group admit to feeling lonely– something which could potentially be addressed by using technology.

For example, new research shows that older people who are offline are twice as likely to say they are lonely compared to those who are online.

Despite these benefits, many older people are not aware of how the internet could improve their lives.

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