Emergent Global Information Infrastructure/Global Information Society: Regime Formation and the Impact on Africa

This paper combines a theoretical perspective on globalization and the information society with a critical usage of international regime theory in order to contribute to a better understanding of the current historical period of transition from an international telecommunications regime to a new and complex regime aimed at providing governance for the global information infrastructure and global information society. The paper employs a case-study approach to explore some of the specific national responses (i.e. South Africa) to this regime transition, with an analysis of potential best practices and lessons learned for other emerging economies.public finance, macroeconomic policy, policy design, international economic order, economic integration

Beyond Being There, for All of Us : Exploring Webconferencing and Mobile Remote Presence Devices for Accessible Global Governance

United Nations efforts to support multistakeholder global governance continue to lag for persons with disabilities. Given the expense of face-to-face meetings, accessible ICTs could play an important role, enabling remote participation. However, what types of collaboration technologies best meet UN goals and those of remote participants? This study compares use of webconferencing technologies to mobile remote presence devices (MRP) in a UN conference in Mexico addressing Disaster Risk Reduction. It takes an exploratory action research approach working with UNISDR and the Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) Network #AllofUs to convene four remote hubs (Suva, Dhaka, Geneva, DC), each controlling their own MRP in Cancun and having access to the webconference, along with other remote participants around the world. We ask: Which technologies best support required conference tasks; and what social and technological challenges arise with their use? Under the conditions of this study, both technologies appeared to be complementary

Analyzing Trends and Topics in Internet Governance and Cybersecurity Debates Found in Twelve Years of IGF Transcripts

Internet Governance research generates substantial and innovative, interdisciplinary global scholarship. What are key topics and themes in this research area, and how do they relate to cybersecurity? This paper answers these questions by analyzing transcripts from twelve years of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF), asking: (1) What key themes, topics, and entities are discussed at IGF? (2) Which issues have remained consistent at IGF, and which have changed? And (3) to what extent is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework represented at IGF? Using the CRISP-DM approach to text mining, we find human rights as the most dominant IGF theme, followed by freedom of expression, with disability being a persistent issue. During entity extraction cybersecurity emerges prominently, as does blockchain and IoT. Topic Modeling illustrates the resilience of human rights, but also identifies the IANA transition, accessibility, and “fake news.” Finally, the NIST cybersecurity framework is represented clearly in the data

Prospects for the Digital Economy in South Africa: Technology, Policy, People, and Strategies

E-commerce, South Africa, Information policy, Digital economy, Information infrastructure

Webs of culture: Applying intercultural communication theory to understand distributed decision-making processes

The overarching research question in this paper is: What is the influence of high-versus-low context cultural orientations on effective participation in globally distributed collaboration using email? Two subsidiary research questions follow: (1) What discernable patterns of cultural variation are evident in the email messages, and (2) What is the effect of cultural variation on the contribution of Civil Society during the following stages of the decision-making process: (a) problem identification, (b) proposal making and generation of ideas, (c) response to ideas and deliberation, and (d) solution.To answer these questions, we will apply Edward Hall’s (1976) intercultural communication theory as the primary lens.Specifically, we will employ a cultural dimension called “context” which explains the variations in terms of high-context-versus-low context.Other literature in this domain will also be used to explore the various aspects of cultural impacts.The main objective of this paper is to propose a research design that uses content analysis to look at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) public archival email messages.From this source material, we will apply intercultural communication theory in order to provide descriptive statistical analysis and in-depth descriptions for each of the decision-making stages described above, from a cultural stance.At the completion of this study, we hope to be able to demonstrate specific impacts that high context and low context cultural backgrounds have on globally distributed collaboration, and to suggest some fertile areas for future research such as how to minimize the different cultures’ drawbacks and maximize their positive advantages to facilitate globally distributed collaboration

Technology and Grassroots Inclusion in Global Governance: A Survey Study of Disability Rights Advocates and Effective Participation

The effective participation of the disability community in global governance is essential to ensure that key development initiatives empower the world’s one billion people with disabilities. Technology can play an important role in the creation of a more inclusive global governance. This paper discusses the results of the first global survey of Disabled People’s Organizations’ (DPO) leaders on these issues. Three levels of analysis are reviewed, including: (1) accessibility and barriers to effective participation; (2) the role of low-cost accessible technological solutions for remote participation; and (3) the use of online technologies – in particular social media platforms – by DPOs to bridge the gap between disability grassroots and global governance processes. After mapping barriers to participation, the role of technology vis-à-vis these obstacles is reviewed. Although only a small number of international conferences offer accessible virtual participation, responses from DPO advocates that used this technology provide strong evidence of the potential that these tools have to improve accessibility in global governance. Furthermore, disability organizations all over the world have adopted social media platforms as channels to liaise with their constituents and involve them in policy-making processes

Introduction to Text Mining in Big Data Analytics Minitrack

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Introduction to Global Virtual Teams Minitrack

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Prospects for the digital economy in South Africa: Technology, policy, people, and strategies

This study explores the on-going development of a global digital economy through a case-study analysis of its impact on and prospects in South Africa. It argues that four factors are key to understanding the impact of the digital economy on a developing country: (i) the level of technology, including its information and communications infrastructure and system of production and distribution; (ii) the policy and regulatory framework and initiatives; (iii) the human capacity and income distribution; and (iv) the strategic approach of the state in response to dramatic global and domestic processes. The paper explores these four factors in the Republic of South Africa, with a focus on the period 1995-2000. Data for the study are drawn from survey research, published reports from national and international bodies, scholarly journals, structured interviews, and participant observation. Key findings of the study are as follows: an insufficient information and communications infrastructure remains a barrier to growth of the information economy in South Africa, especially in peri-urban and rural areas; awareness of the importance of the information economy is growing, but current human resources and development strategies are insufficient to meet human capital requirements; significant efforts have been made in order to re-orient the South African policy environment into one supportive of growth in a global digital economy; and South Africa’s role as a leading African and developing world economy places additional burdens on its need to engage in regional, and global policy formulation activities in support of the emergence of a new regime for global e-commerce that is supportive of the strategic goals of the developing world