Internet Diffusion and Adoption in Cuba

The purpose of this paper is to examine Internet adoption at a time of increasing change for the Cuban marketplace. As the Cuban economy begins to open to new business formats one key driver of economic will be access to communications networks. This paper explores the penetration of Internet connectivity in Cuba as relations with the United States thaw. The theories of diffusion of innovations, cultural dimensions of adoption and market and political realities are employed to better understand the pace of Internet adoption as the Cuban economy continues to develop

Soft Power, World System Dynamics, and Democratization: A Bass Model of Democracy Diffusion 1800-2000

This article uses Polity IV data to probe system dynamics for studies of the global diffusion of democracy from 1800 to 2000. By analogy with the Bass model of diffusion of innovations, as translated into system dynamics by Sterman, the dynamic explanation proposed focuses on transitions to democracy, soft power, and communication rates on a global level. The analysis suggests that the transition from democratic experiences (\'the soft power of democracy\') can be estimated from the systems dynamics simulation of an extended Bass model. Soft power, fueled by the growth in communications worldwide, is today the major force behind the diffusion of democracy. Our findings indicate the applicability of system dynamics simulation tools for the analysis of political change over time in the world system of polities.Democracy, Bass, Communication, System Dynamics, Power, Diffusion

The Effect of Content on Global Internet Adoption and the Global “Digital Divide”

A country’s human capital and economic productivity increasingly depend on the Internet due to its expanding role in providing information and communications. This has prompted a search for ways to increase Internet adoption and narrow its disparity across countries – the global “digital divide.” Previous work has focused on demographic, economic, and infrastructure determinants of Internet access difficult to change in the short run. Internet content increases adoption and can be changed more quickly; however, the magnitude of its impact and therefore its effectiveness as a policy and strategy tool is previously unknown. Quantifying content’s role is challenging because of feedback (network effects) between content and adoption: more content stimulates adoption which in turn increases the incentive to create content. We develop a methodology to overcome this endogeneity problem. We find a statistically and economically significant effect, implying that policies promoting content creation can substantially increase adoption. Because it is ubiquitous, Internet content is also useful to affect social change across countries. Content has a greater effect on adoption in countries with more disparate languages, making it a useful tool to overcome linguistic isolation. Our results offer guidance for policy makers on country characteristics that influence adoption’s responsiveness to content and for Internet firms on where to expand internationally and how to quantify content investments.Internet, technology adoption, economic development, two-sided markets, network effects, technology diffusion, language, content

ICT Diffusion at Developing Countries: The Role of Governance Types and Mechanisms

The diffusion process of information and communication technology for mobile telephones, personal computers and internet users seems to follow the Bass’ diffusion model in most nations, but some of the factors affecting diffusion speeds are still unidentified. We focused on three geographical regions, of mostly developing nations namely: Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central America/Caribbean to compare diffusion speeds. We included economic wealth, social infrastructures, and governance mechanisms to measure their impact in the diffusion speed for a period of 20 years. Based on secondary data, we conclude that geographical location, financial status, social infrastructure and governance mechanisms impact diffusion speed of three ICT products (PC, mobile phones and Internet). Along with the economies, we discovered that the types of government (democratic, autocratic and communist), follow the same diffusion shape, but the speed of diffusion is greatly altered by governmental intrusion in this matter. Governance mechanisms also affect diffusion speed

Videoblogging as an online news phenomenon : an exploratory study

This study explores the emergence of videoblogging as an online news phenomenon and investigates how this new technology is being adopted as a innovative mode of news diffusion. Rogers\u27 diffusion of innovations theoretical framework is being used to analyze the characteristics of this innovation and that of its adopters with particular reference to online news diffusion. Findings indicate that the early adopters tend to be predominantly young male adults located in the higher income regions of the world. Video content posted is predominantly related to arts and entertainment with a substantial minority related to current affairs and politics. While the majority of videos posted are produced by videobloggers themselves, a substantial minority of videos consist of images shot from television screens, extracted from other digital sources, or downloaded from other websites. Based on these findings, the impact of videoblogging in the online media environment is also discussed

The global event? The media, football and the FIFA World Cup

An examination of the FIFA World Cup as media mega event and the role played by television in this process

Information Technology and the Future of the Chinese State:: How the Internet Shapes State-Society Relations in the Digital Age

Bis Ende 20 werden 0 Prozent aller Chinesen über einen Internetzugang verfügen. Die Möglichkeiten für eine größer werdende Anzahl von Chinesen, online zu kommunizieren und zu konsumieren, hat eine Reihe von Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern dazu inspiriert, sich mit Themen wie Zensur, Überwachung und Nutzung von sozialen Medien zu beschäftigen. Ein Großteil dieser Forschung baut auf der Prämisse einer antagonistischen Beziehung zwischen Staat und Gesellschaft auf. Allerdings weiß man bisher nur wenig darüber, welche Auswirkungen die staatlich geförderten und internetbasierten Kommunikationskanäle zwischen Regierungsbeamten und chinesischen Bürgern auf die Transformation der autoritären Einparteienherrschaft in China haben. Der vorliegende Artikel beschäftigt sich mit dieser Frage, indem er Chinas E-Government-Strategie einerseits zu globalen Entwicklungen in Beziehung setzt, andererseits im Kontext der sich verändernden Anreize untersucht, die politische Reformen in China in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten ermöglicht haben. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Bemühungen der chinesischen Einparteienregierung, die Interaktion zwischen Staat und Gesellschaft zu digitalisieren, großes Potenzial dafür birgt, das Wesen des chinesischen Staates zu verändern. Allerdings stellen diese Veränderungen keinen Paradigmenwechsel dahingehend dar, wie China regiert wird. Der wichtigste Aspekt dieser Veränderungen ist, dass sie die Möglichkeit bieten, das oftmals als „Diktatoren-Dilemma“ bezeichnete Problem zu lösen: Menschen in nichtdemokratischen Regierungssystemen haben Angst davor, den Herrschenden gegenüber ihre Meinung auszudrücken, und entziehen so dem Staat eine wichtige Informationsgrundlage. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Entwicklung hochintegrierter E-Government-Plattformen, wie sie sich die Technokraten der Kommunistischen Partei Chinas vorstellen, bestehender institutioneller Logik folgt und dringende Probleme zu lösen vermag. So wird die Chance darauf erhöht, dass diese Plattformen nachhaltig eingeführt werden

America's Hispanic Children: Gaining Ground, Looking Forward

The purpose of the study was to "widen the lens" by highlighting the positive trends among Hispanic youth. More young Latino children are enrolling in center-based care programs which are more likely to be of a higher educational quality than home-based care and other alternatives. Other highlights include Latino students posting solid gains on national assessments in key subject areas, more Latinos than ever before earning a high school diploma, and a record number of Hispanics enrolling in two- or four-year colleges. A greater sense of responsibility among Latino youth was also revealed in the study, indicated by falling teen pregnancy rates -- declines have been greater in the last four years for Latinas than other ethnic groups -- and a decrease in smoking and binge drinking habits among high school seniors. Latino teens' use of technology is also promising. While less likely to own a cell phone than their peers, they are avid users of smartphones and tablets. The Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends Project reported Hispanics are the only group to see poverty rates decline and incomes increase, but despite these gains, Hispanics have the largest number of people living in poverty when compared with other minority groups. "Nearly one-third of Latino children live below the poverty line, and a roughly equal share, while not poor by official definition, has family incomes just adequate to meet basic needs," the Child Trends study states

Africa's Internet Stakeholding and Place in the Global Governance Forum

On June 20, 2012, the America’s Cable News Network (CNN) posted a piece titled: “It’s Europe and America’s Internet. Africans just live in it.”1 The story captures a prevalent view about Africa’s niche in the creation, innovation and adoption contexts of the Internet. It also raises questions about the ability of the continent to contribute significantly to global discussions when compared to Europe and especially North America, where the United States is not only the pioneer of the Internet but also a superintendent of the critical resources that sustain the system. Analysis of Africa’s interests suggests a less consequential but growing profile. Recommendations for progress were composed from the juxtaposition of the results of analysis with the insight of experts from focus group discussions. One striking recommendation counsels that focus should be on being equally well off as a stakeholder rather than on equalized participation in the global debates which the United Nations is trying to promote

Role of Civil Society Under Autocratic Regime: Evaluating Activists\u27 Role in a Nondemocratic Setting to Promote Sociopolitical Awareness

Activism in Cuba is perceived as an anti-government ideology that deviates from the monolithic, homogeneous socio-political norm. The Cuban government repudiates ideological diversity by implementing repressive regulatory tactics through internet monitoring to criminalize dissenting discourse. The focus of this research will be on cyber-activism in the context of an authoritarian regime. Netnographic methods, coupled with social network framework, will be implemented to collect and analyze qualitative data on the adaptive civil disobedience strategies used by activists to circumvent censorship. Semi-structured interviews rendered insights of social media experiences to express dissent and denounce human rights abuses in Cuba. This research proposes to explore the mechanisms through which activists and the Cuban government resist and contest the legitimacy of ideological differences. This research contributes to the literature of Cuban civil society, activism work in nondemocratic settings and activism’s proliferating organizational strategies in the digital world