Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide?
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University of Akron / OhioLINK
2014
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1380134647 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-akron13801346472021-08-03T06:19:53Z Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? Ferguson, David Public Administration Public Policy Readability digital divide municipal websites The adoption of information technologies as a platform for disseminating government information has influenced traditional roles of public service delivery and citizen participation. There is concern whether the readability of government websites where public information found is creating digital inequalities of opportunities that perpetuate the digital divide. This study aimed to access the readability level of a sample of municipal websites in the U.S. to determine if municipal websites are being written at too high of a level for citizens to comprehend. The research utilized population data from the 2010 U.S. Census of municipalities to create a data set for analyzing readability of websites. This dissertation sought to answer six research questions. What is the readability ease score and grade level of a sample of municipalities’ websites with population greater than 5,000 citizens? Are the states’ mean Flesch-Kincaid reading grade levels different from the national average reading grade level Do municipal websites’ main pages read at the targeted state’s standard reading grade level? Is the mean Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level of the city webpages within the state equal to the targeted state’s standard reading grade level? Is there difference between the FKGL score mean difference among cities (small, medium, and large)? Do city websites offer audio or visual portals? Implementing new writing strategies that focus on high readability of text and issues of communication with the audience can assist in guiding decisions that improves effectiveness of municipal websites’ online instructions and text. The findings revealed that municipal web pages are being written at levels greater than the national average reading grade level. In addition, the majority of municipal websites are absent of audio visual alternatives to text. This can impose a significant challenged to (all) citizens trying to access important information that can influence their lives economically, socially, and politically. Today, being able to access information from e-government websites is more important than ever, given the world we live in. Identifying high readability of text and issues of communication can assist in guiding decisions that improves effectiveness of municipal websites’ online instructions and text. 2014-05-16 English text University of Akron / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1380134647 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1380134647 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Public Administration Public Policy Readability digital divide municipal websites |
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Public Administration Public Policy Readability digital divide municipal websites Ferguson, David Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? |
| author |
Ferguson, David |
| author_facet |
Ferguson, David |
| author_sort |
Ferguson, David |
| title |
Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? |
| title_short |
Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? |
| title_full |
Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? |
| title_fullStr |
Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Grade-Level Readability of Municipal Websites: Are They Creating Digital Inequalities of Opportunities that Perpetuate the Digital Divide? |
| title_sort |
grade-level readability of municipal websites: are they creating digital inequalities of opportunities that perpetuate the digital divide? |
| publisher |
University of Akron / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1380134647 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT fergusondavid gradelevelreadabilityofmunicipalwebsitesaretheycreatingdigitalinequalitiesofopportunitiesthatperpetuatethedigitaldivide |
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