Transforming a Rural Society:

1
Transforming a Rural Society

• Impacts of Broadband Adoption and Use in Rural
  New Brunswick Institutions
• By Amanda Marlin David Bruce
• Rural Small Town Programme, Mount Allison
  University

2
Outline

• Introduction
• Transformative changes
• Our methodology
• Transformations in
• Education
• Economic development
• Municipal government
• Health services
• Barriers
• Conclusions

3
Introduction

• The promise of broadband for Rural New Brunswick
• Government and private industry initiative
  brought broadband to rural communities
• New Brunswick Universities Research Consortium
• NBURC created to study impacts of broadband
• Current paper
• Impacts of broadband in rural institutions

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Rural New Brunswick
Source The Atlas of Canada
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Rural New Brunswick
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Transformative Changes

• Broadband
• Core community infrastructure
• Enhances community development
• A general purpose technology (GPT)
• GPTs are pervasive, evolve quickly spur
  innovation
• GPTs can transform relationships, behaviours
  norms and processes
• Transformations are slow
• New Brunswick is at the beginning

7
Methodology

• Goal
• To identify and measure the transformational
  changes taking place in rural institutions and
  organizations that can be attributed to the
  uptake of broadband technologies within rural New
  Brunswick.
• Narrative approach
• Avoids assigning attribution
• Focuses on how broadband is being used
• Records experiences, stories, etc.
• Qualitative

8
Methodology

• Community consultations
• Crucial in designing research projects that are
  appropriate and of benefit for the individual
  communities.
• Key informant interviews
• Voluntary, confidential, face-to-face
• Questions
• Characteristics of the organization or
  institution
• Internet use habits
• Impacts and changes due to broadband use
• Barriers and challenges
• Plans for the future

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Case Studies
Eel Ground Bouctouche Gagetown
Source The Atlas of Canada
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Eel Ground First Nation
Sources www.roybrothers.ca, www.eelgroundschool.c
a, Marlin (2006)
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Ville de Bouctouche
Sources www.sgrphoto.ca, strategis.ic.gc.ca,
ladecouverte.nbed.nb.ca
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Village of Gagetown
Sources http//www.gagetown99.com/,
www.static.flickr.com
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Transformations in Education

• Eel Ground School
• Impacts and transformations
• Videoconferencing, virtual story telling
• Electronic drawing table and smartboards
• World Cyberfair website competitions
• Online news shows and podcasts
• Transformative thinking
• Educating parents

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Transformations in Education

• Eel Ground School
• Measured outcomes
• Higher enrolment, higher attendance
• Decreased behavioral problems
• Taking responsibility and ownership of learning
• Leadership, motivation, confidence, skills

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Transformations in Education

• École Clément Cormier
• Impacts and transformations
• Students use the internet for research, class
  projects, online courses, e-mail
• Communication, document sharing
• Managing student grades, class lists and
  attendance
• Transformative thinking
• Desire for wireless access for true
  transformational learning

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Transformations in Education

• Gagetown School
• Impacts and transformations
• SmartTechnology interactive whiteboard
• GrassRoots Twin Schools
• Online collaboration with a Netherlands School to
  research the two cultures
• Book and video publishing
• Transformative thinking
• Include ICT across the curriculum

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Transformations in Planning and Economic
Development

• All offices use broadband technology
• Research, communication, sharing files,
  networking, etc.
• Increased productivity, efficiency and cost
  savings
• Transformative management systems
• Measure internal outcomes
• Track accomplishments
• Report progress and activities in a uniform
  fashion
• Information and idea sharing
• Financial accounting

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Transformations in Planning and Economic
Development

• People have a better understanding of town
  planning due to broadband
• Transformative thinking
• Websites that offer client services, searchable
  databases, libraries, public notices, forms, etc.
• Videoconferencing
• A word about Gagetown

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Transformations in Municipal Government

• Transformations
• Lacking due to lack of resources
• Communication, research, accounting, management
• Efficiency, productivity, cost savings
• Transformative thinking
• Plans for websites

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Transformations in Health Services

• Uses include e-mail, research, online
  presentations
• Increased efficiency, decreased travel time to
  meetings, etc.
• Gagetown has high definition video, file sharing
  and consultations with medical professionals in
  urban centres
• Transformative thinking
• Websites, tele-health, healthnet
• Videoconferencing, smartboards, etc.

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Barriers

• Lack of funding
• Lack of training and technical support
• Needing newer technologies such as wireless
  access
• Rural attitudes toward the internet

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Conclusions

• Evidence of transformations
• Mostly in schools, lacking in municipal
  governments
• Too soon to stimulate innovation and
  entrepreneurship
• Future plans for broadband use
• Curriculum development, websites, online
  management, e-governance, tele-health, etc.
• Barriers impeding transformations
• Lack of funding, training, older demographic
• Importance of institutions
• Vital for innovative, sustainable development of
  rural communities in New Brunswick

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Acknowledgments

• We wish to thank
• Industry Canada
• Statistics Canada
• Steering Committee
• (Industry Canada, Business New Brunswick,
  Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
• Community consultation groups
• Key informants