9,702 research outputs found

    Broadband Internet and Social Capital

    Full text link
    We study how the diffusion of broadband Internet affects social capital using two data sets from the UK. Our empirical strategy exploits the fact that broadband access has long depended on customers' position in the voice telecommunication infrastructure that was designed in the 1930s. The actual speed of an Internet connection, in fact, rapidly decays with the distance of the dwelling from the specific node of the network serving its area. Merging unique information about the topology of the voice network with geocoded longitudinal data about individual social capital, we show that access to broadband Internet caused a significant decline in forms of offline interaction and civic engagement. Overall, our results suggest that broadband penetration substantially crowded out several aspects of social capital.Comment: Internet & Society; Economic

    Surfing Alone? The Internet and Social Capital: Evidence from an Unforeseen Technological Mistake

    Get PDF
    Does the Internet undermine social capital or facilitate inter-personal and civic engagement in the real world? Merging unique telecommunication data with geo-coded German individual-level data, we investigate how broadband Internet affects several dimensions of social capital. One identification strategy uses panel information to estimate value-added models. A second exploits a quasi-experiment in East Germany created by a mistaken technology choice of the state-owned telecommunication provider in the 1990s that still hinders broadband Internet access for many households. We find no evidence that the Internet reduces social capital. For some measuresincluding children's social activities, we even find significant positive effects.Internet, social capital

    Surfing Alone? The Internet and Social Capital: Evidence from an Unforeseeable Technological Mistake

    Get PDF
    Does the Internet undermine social capital or facilitate inter-personal and civic engagement in the real world? Merging unique telecommunication data with geo-coded German individual-level data, we investigate how broadband Internet affects several dimensions of social capital. One identification strategy uses panel information to estimate value-added models. A second exploits a quasi-experiment in East Germany created by a mistaken technology choice of the state-owned telecommunication provider in the 1990s that still hinders broadband Internet access for many households. We find no evidence that the Internet reduces social capital. For some measures including children’s social activities, we even find significant positive effects.internet, social capital

    An Economist's Guide to Digital Music

    Get PDF
    In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry

    A Model of Attitudes toward the Acceptance of Mobile Phone Use in Public Places

    Get PDF
    Since the first commercial launch of cellular telecoms by NET in Tokyo Japan in 1979 and the launch of the NMT system in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 1981, the mobile phone has undergone continual incremental innovation for changing market needs. This study investigates the factors affecting the attitudes towards the social acceptance of mobile phones in public places and how this attitude affects its usage. Theories on innovation and technology acceptance were reviewed, and studies relating demographic factors to technology acceptance were examined. A model was proposed relating the usage frequency and attitudes towards acceptance of mobile phone in public places to demographic factors, such as country, age, education, gender, and work status. A survey was conducted among mobile phone users, and the sample consisted of 1079 respondents in the United States, France, Italy, Turkey, and Finland. A structural equation model was developed to analyze the survey data. Results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes about mobile phone use in public places depend on country, and age factors. This attitude in turn significantly affects the usage frequency of mobile phones. In addition, usage frequency also is affected by gender and work status. Implications of the findings for both academicians and practitioners are discussedAttitudes about Mobile Phone Use, Simultaneous Relationships, Demographic Factors, Mobile Phone Voice Messaging, Mobile Phone Text Messaging

    An Economist’s Guide to Digital Music

    Get PDF
    In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads and audio-streaming. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry.music, internet, file-sharing, peer-to-peer, piracy, digital rights management, copyright, e-commerce

    The Cultural Lives of Californians: Insights from the California Survey of Arts and Cultural Participation

    Get PDF
    Over the past two decades, numerous reports indicate that national rates of arts attendance have been declining. This downward trend is reflected in both survey data and in the day-to-day experiences of many nonprofit arts organizations. In California, attendance rates -- as defined by traditional measures -- have also declined. And yet, there is a sense that the arts and culture are flourishing as never before, with a renewed vigor and excitement. How do we understand this apparent contradiction?The trend in attendance figures, however, does not reflect Californians' participation in a wide array of arts and cultural activities. People's participation in arts and cultural activities, especially in ways that allow them to develop or release their own artistic impulse, is extensive -- and perhaps nowhere more so than in California.At the same time, California's cultural landscape is undergoing massive changes, affecting the ways people encounter, experience and engage with art. These changes include California's demographic shift to being a so-called "majority-minority" state and rapid technological advances that offer new opportunities for artistic expression and access. These changes pose challenges and exciting new opportunities for how artists and organizations create and share their expertise and work. But to understand these changes and their implications for the nonprofit arts field, a broader, more nuanced, more complete understanding of how Californians participate in arts and culture is required.The California Survey of Arts & Cultural Participation is a tool we developed to ask a wide range of questions about what Californians do to engage with arts and culture

    Who Participates in Popular Feasts and Festivals? An Empirical Approach from Cultural Economics Applied to the Carnival of Barranquilla (Colombia)

    Get PDF
    The empirical analysis of individual participation in local and popular feasts and festivals is a field little explored by cultural economists. This article proposes a methodological scheme to analyse the profile of the participants in local and popular feasts and carnivals, allowing the establishment of a taxonomy that captures the heterogeneity of the participants replicable to other festivities and carnivals around the world. Similarly, participation equations that allow the analysis of the influence of context variables on individual decisions to participate in these types of events are estimated. For this, the Carnival of Barranquilla, the largest and most representative popular celebration in Colombia and declared by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is used as a case study. The data were obtained from the Citizen Perception Survey of the Barranquilla CĂłmo Vamos programme, which evaluates the quality of life and the fulfilment of development plans in that city, and an empirical strategy is employed consisting of the estimation of a probit discrete choice model, which allows modelling the individual decisions of a time-intensive good, such as a carnival, with a strong influence of traditional variables, such as cultural capital and the availability of leisure time, and other context variables: location of people in the territory, stratification and poverty. The different profiles found offer information on the different strategies that can be implemented from public policy to stimulate greater participation by the population in popular festivities and festivals

    An Economist's Guide to Digital Music

    Get PDF
    In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry.Music; Internet; File-sharing; Peer-to-peer; Piracy; Digital Rights Management; Copyright; E-commerce

    Engaging with customer experience while visiting a shopping centre

    Get PDF
    This project aims to assess the perception of Centro Colombo customers regarding the different experiences promoted by this shopping centre. With a deeper knowledge about customers preferences, Sonae Sierra managers hope to channel their efforts on experiential strategy for attaining satisfied customers. The project entails an extensive literature review, along with external, internal and competitive analyses. This reviews and analyses were the foundations for the creation of this project’ survey. By examining customer’s responses to this survey, it was possible to identify the dimensions of customer experience which are the most esteemed by consumers and which should be improved. In addition, a statistical analysis was performed, and confirmed the existing relationship between a customer encounter with a positive experience in the shopping centre and consumers feeling engaged towards it. This project includes an improvement proposal gathering new experiences that seem promising both for customers and Centro Colombo’s managers.Este projeto tem como objetivo aferir qual a perceção dos clientes do Centro Colombo face às diferentes experiências promovidas neste centro comercial. Com um conhecimento mais aprofundado sobre as preferências dos seus clientes, os gestores da Sonae Sierra poderão direcionar os seus esforços, através de uma estratégia experiencial, para conseguir clientes mais satisfeitos. Este projeto exigiu uma revisão de literatura extensa, assim como analises externa, interna e competitiva. Esta revisão e analises foram os pilares para a criação do questionário deste projeto. Através dos resultados deste questionário foi possível aferir, entre as várias dimensões de experiências do consumidor, quais as mais relevantes para os clientes e aquelas as que devem ser melhoradas. Adicionalmente, foi também testado e confirmado que existe relação entre o cliente deparar-se no centro com uma experiência positiva e se sentir comprometido com o mesmo. Este projeto termina com uma proposta de melhorias, face a novas experiências do consumidor que apresentam características promissoras tanto para os consumidores como para os gestores do Centro Colombo
    • …
    corecore