There are numerous calls for information policies that will serve U.S. poor people equitably. However, very little is understood about what poor people know about or might want or need from advanced information technologies, and how policies can be shaped to serve their needs as they define them. This one-year research project will provide empirical data on the penetration of computers and on-line services in low-income communities in Austin, Texas, how this community's computers are being used, and what low-income citizens know about and want from electronic information resources. The project team will conduct its research in both English and Spanish, using principles of participatory action research, a kind of investigation that involves the research subjects in the design and evaluation of the research parameters. The project will begin with discussions among public housing residents who participate in Family Learning Center programs, after-school education programs located in public housing complexes in East and Southeast Austin. The residents will help the researchers develop surveys and approaches to assessing information resources available or desired in surrounding low-income neighborhoods. Through the surveys, participants for small focus groups will be identified and recruited. After introductions to computer networks, these focus group participants will be asked about how they might use networks and what kinds of access they believe their communities need. Focus group participants will meet with City of Austin officials to assess opportunities for participation in the City's policymaking with respect to telecommunications. The research team will attempt to understand and document what obstacles there are to such participation, what values and needs low-income citizens bring to this issue, and how well the City's policymaking process serves the assessed needs and values of low-income neighborhoods. The project will include a participatory evaluation process. Results of the study will be published in a scholarly journal and configured for access on the World-Wide Web so that researchers, citizens, and policymakers throughout the US will have access to them. The project sponsor will also plan a public conference for fall 1996 on equity on the information superhighway.
