2019 TPRC Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award

The Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Committee has awarded Burcu Baykurt the 2019 TPRC Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award Winner and Jacob Manlove the runner up. Burcu Baykurt wrote (Dis)connecting the Digital City which examines how the connectivity infrastructures of the digital city are laid over uneven terrains and the ways residents react to those changes. Assessing the Need for a Measure of Broadband Adoption Inequality, written by Jacob Manlove, proposes the use of the absolute value index which distinguishes between no mobile use, mobile only, fixed only, and use of both as a measure to study inequality in broadband adoption in contrast to a simple percentage indicator of adoption. This can be helpful for developing state policies based on a more nuanced understanding of broadband access inequalities.

[Adrianne B. Furniss is the Executive Director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]