AD+PR Ph.D. Student Works to Bridge the Digital Divide
Doctoral student, Moldir Moldagaliyeva, discusses her research of the digital divide in central Asia
By: Zoe Schantz
In a time where technology use is most popular, second-year doctoral student, Moldir Moldagaliyeva, is on a mission to understand disparities in technology access. Exploring how culture, technology and communication intersect, Moldagaliyeva has made the digital divide the forefront of her research.
Hailing from Kazakhstan, Moldagaliyeva worked at NITEC, a national IT company in Kazakhstan. Her work there consisted of online advertisements, promotional campaigns, conducting seminars in rural areas and creating digital learning tools to promote electronic government services. This experience was a motivator in her current studies.
Since 2020, Moldagaliyeva has been part of MSU’s ADPR community. Completing her master’s in advertising and public relations in 2022, she is now working toward her Ph.D. in the Information and Media Program. Since 2022, Moldagaliyeva has been on a research team led by three faculty members, Dr. Saleem Alhabash, Dr. Anastasia Kononova and Dr. Patricia Huddleston. This research studies global counterfeit purchase behaviors across 17 countries, giving insight into how common it is for people to buy counterfeit goods and what motivates them to do so. This year, she has been working with the Graduate Office of Well-Being as a Leadership Fellow. Her project “MomSpartans” helps to support international graduate student moms in navigating academic, family and immigrant life all at once.
Moldagaliyeva’s main research focus is the digital divide and digital literacy. Her study explores smartphone use among Central Asian adults aged 50 and older.
“The digital divide, in simple words, refers to the gaps that exists in access to, usage of and skills related to digital technologies,” Moldagaliyeva said. “With the wide use of smartphones, the digital divide has been decreased significantly, specifically in terms of access. The study scope includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.”
Moldagaliyeva was motivated to study Central Asia as she says she believes the region is underrepresented and understudied in the communications field worldwide. Moldagaliyeva wanted to contribute to the study of non-Western countries and says she feels there is too little research being conducted in places like Central Asia.
“Studying the digital divide allows us to gain a better understanding of the reasons behind unequal access to and usage of technology,” said Moldagaliyeva. “This knowledge can help us work toward solutions to bridge the gap and ensure that everyone has equal access to technology and its benefits. It is also essential to ensure that no one is marginalized in terms of their technology adoption and usage.”
Learn more about Moldagaliyeva and her research at https://comartsci.msu.edu/our-people/moldir-moldagaliyeva.