For this project we were instructed to pick a partner and put our knowledge of research to the test. As a group we are required to choose two separate locations and include information such as demographics, population, language spoken, climate, technology usage/culture, and the locations digital divide. I chose Aruba as my location because of its interesting culture and hospitality. My partner Valarie Richmond chose Italy for its beauty and culture, but it is the motherland of her ancestors and a destination she hopes to visit one day.
The current population of Aruba is 106,239 with 44.8% of the population being urban and 55.2% being a rural population. The median age is 41 years old with a 76-year-old life expectancy rate.
The climate of Aruba is tropical and is surrounded by salt water with very mild seasonal temperatures. The white sandy beaches are a huge attraction to tourism.
Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers, and cold, rainy winters. Temperatures can vary from 32 °F on the Alps to 54 °F in Sicily, so average summer temperatures range from 68 °F to over 77 °F
With about 78.7% of Aruba’s population being from the ethnic Dutch background the remaining groups consist of Columbian, Venezuelan, Dominican, Haitian, and “other” at 5.1%.
Aruba’s official language is Papiamento, which is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean at 69.4%. Spanish is also used in Aruba at about 13.7%, English at 7.1%, Dutch at 6.1%, Chinese at 1.5%, other at 1.7% and unspecified at 0.4%.
Italian
Euro
In Italy, citizens are provided with access to medical care at little or no cost through the nation's healthcare system.
Aruba is a fast-developing country with fully managed networks including cyber security and its own mobile platform. Aruba offers Wi-Fi management in the cloud and is quite up to date with the latest technology for those that can afford it.
Aruba’s diverse culture has developed from the influence of many countries. Aruba is unique for its traditions. There are yearly festivals and carnivals, some people celebrating Christmas on December 24th and 25th and tons of similar food varieties. Aruba takes pride in having similar customs influenced by different countries.
Due to the lack of access to high-speed internet in rural areas and low-income families, Aruba does suffer from a digital divide. This divide can cause vulnerabilities between the country’s networks and systems from a cybersecurity standpoint. Aruba has addressed these challenges by creating a digital inclusion which provides access to the internet and computer for low-income families. Aruba’s government is also investing in a larger broadband infrastructure in rural areas in hopes to have high-speed internet everywhere.
By 2023, Italy had 50.78 million internet users and 78.19 million cellular mobile connections active, which is 132.6 percent of the population. However, more than half of the citizens in Italy lacked basic digital skills, making the country's ranking below the European Union's average of 54%. In order to bridge the digital divide, the government of Italy has put forth several objectives. These goals include raising the share of the population with basic digital skills to 70 percent, doubling the population with advanced digital skills, tripling the number of ICT graduates, increasing the share of SMEs using ICT specialists by 50%, and multiplying the proportion of people using digital public services to 64 percent.
I found researching Aruba very enjoyable because I went there for a trip during a special time in my life. I learned things during this project that I did not know of when I was a visitor there. I found it very interesting that their traditions are similar to my own and that the locals and I enjoy a lot of the same things. Understanding the culture of another country makes you think about the way you live and what your everyday normal is compared to other people. I was able to partner up with Valarie Richmond on our Brightspace discussion board. From there we exchanged numbers to collaborate our two locations and compare them through the internet, text messages and sharing our OneDrive files to create a joint global project. Sometimes we take things such as high-speed internet and access to the internet for granted when not everyone has access those resources. Learning how to research the demographics of unknown places can help put your own life into perspective and appreciate the little things a lot more.