Inequality Measures Applied to the Diffusion of Mobile Communications within the European Union

Mobile communications has recently been popular in innovation diffusion studies: Researchers have conducted studies on a nation, a multi-nation, and on a worldwide level. However, although some of the diffusion studies have examined cross-country diffusion processes, there is a lack of research investigating how the disparity of diffusion processes of a given set of countries has evolved. The aim of this study is to empirically measure, whether the diffusion of mobile communications in the European Union has converged or diverged. In this study, this process is quantified by penetration rates of mobile communications subscribers. Subsequently, the annual dispersion is captured by appliance of inequality measures: It is first depicted by Lorenz curves and subsequently measured by GINI coefficients. The tentative results of the study indicate a clear tendency of equalization, measured by the Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients: Thus, the European Union member countries have converged in terms of mobile communications penetration, as foreseen by the learning effect. Key-words: Mobile communications, innovation diffusion, European Union, inequality measures

A spatial model of the diffusion of mobile communications within the European Union

Innovation diffusion studies have been popular. However, usually the focus has been on two dimensions: Either the innovation's diffusion is studied on the micro level by examining the individual's adoption of an innovation, or on the macro-level by modelling the sigmoid diffusion curve. The third dimension of the diffusion of an innovation, spatial diffusion, has gained less attention. Spatial diffusion models mostly base on the effect of distance on an innovation's diffusion process. Generally, it is seen that the innovation is adopted later in places further away from the innovation centre, even though there are also other, mainly complementary, hypotheses about the diffusion of an innovation. One common approach for studying the spatial diffusion of an innovation, the spatial gravity model, builds on the distance of places in explaining the diffusion process. As the name of the model implies, the hypothesis is that the diffusion is due to different pulling forces of regions. In other words, regions adopt the innovation at a different time because of a different pulling force. In this study, a gravity-based spatial diffusion model is employed for studying the spatial diffusion of mobile communications within the European Union. The model considers the diffusion process on a national level, the adoption units being the member countries of the European Union. The countries' annual penetration rates of mobile subscribers are used as the diffusion data. Also, a variable testing the effect of the country's economic situation, measured by GDP per capita, on the spatial diffusion process is included in the model. Moreover, by extrapolating the model may be used for forecasting purposes, thus giving annual information about the diffusion of mobile communications in the near future. The European Union is a leader in the mobile field. This kind of first-mover position makes the studying of its diffusion process interesting: The results might give information, which could be utilized in controlling the followers' diffusion processes. Also, if there is a significant effect of the economic situation on the diffusion process, it comes with some interesting implications: If an economic recession is found to hinder the diffusion of mobile communications, is the current timing of launch of the third generation the optimal one, noting that the EU simultaneously faces a slowdown in growth? For judging this, the effect of different economic growth scenarios on the diffusion of mobile communications could be estimated, as the model might be used for forecasts.

The Territorial Availability and Diffusion of Broadband in Finland: Lessons From Finnish Broadband Policy

Most countries dispose towards the development of the information society (IS). Due to increased political interest, there has also been a growing need to collect and compile IS statistics for informed decision-making. Thus, various indicators have been collected and different indices developed to measure IS, to monitor its development and to compare countries in terms of IS performance. Although there is no unambiguous definition of what IS is actually composed of, the availability and use of information and communications technology (ICT) is seen to be an established part of it. This article examines the case of one IS indicator: the measurement of the availability of broadband in Finland from the year 2001 to 2004. The focus is on the overall sensibility of the indicators approach, the evolution of territorial differences at different spatial scales, and the effectiveness of the broadband policy in Finland in years 2001-2004. The analysis shows that the indicators of the availability of broadband might be misleading for purposes of policy formulation and monitoring. The results also indicate that the Finnish broadband policy has resulted in regional differences and spatially uneven impacts in terms of availability. This article is an outgrowth of the ESPON project “Identification of Spatially Relevant aspects of the Information Societyâ€.

Measuring the Information Society in Europe: From Definitions to Description

Information Society (IS) indicators describe the level of information society development achieved in a particular society in quantitative terms. They can serve a range of purposes related to providing a view of the society’s state: for example, following the evolution of IS or benchmarking IS with other territories. By considering changes over time, IS indicators also comprise a critical tool in the monitoring, evaluation and improvement of IS policy. Inevitably, the primary benefit of indicators lies in this capacity to guide policy-makers into proactive thinking i.e. to focus their attention on future priorities. The aims of this article are to examine how the evolution of the information society has been measured, and to relate European territories with each other by these measures. Constructing a comprehensive set of IS indicators requires a sound definition of the Information Society to establish meaningful benchmarks and to measure change. The task becomes complicated as it seems that IS is more or less ‘undefined’ at the moment. This means that IS is what one wants it to be: countries held as “information societies†are those countries, which people think of being such – and not defined by, for example, achieving a level measured by some quantitative IS-related indicators. Tentative results show that despite this lack of a clear and single definition of Information Society (IS) one can derive some conclusions about what IS consists of by taking a look at previous IS projects having collected IS indicators. They indicate three different levels of IS. These levels range from the narrow technological and the intermediate techno-economic definitions to the broad, all-inclusive IS definition. The indicators used to measure IS can also be grouped by a lifecycle model. While there seems to be a lack of available consistent territorial data on IS, there is plenty of data available on the national level. Using this data and background variables the European state of IS is analyzed from a territorial perspective. This article is an outgrowth of the ESPON project “Identification of Spatially Relevant aspects of the Information Societyâ€.

Telecommunications networks and services in Estonia. Lessons to other European countries.

Estonia has shown somewhat remarkable developments in the telecommunications – or more precisely, building up an efficient network of modern information and telecommunications technologies (ICTs) for the Information Society. This paper takes a look at the development of telecommunications infrastructure networks and services in Estonia. The study also evalu-ates what other countries could learn from Estonia. More specifically, by this study we at-tempt at answering whether Estonia is as successful as data suggests, what the factors behind this success are, and whether there are lessons to be learned for the entire European territory. The paper introduces to the development of the telecommunications infrastructure and ser-vices in Estonia, by presenting facts and figures, and comparing the progress of the country with that of other European countries. It also discusses the measures that have helped Estonia on the road to Information Society. The results show that in summary the success of Estonia seems to have been a result of three things: Proximity of Finland and Sweden, active regula-tion and relative early liberalization, and a competition and entrant friendly market environ-ment. The paper is an outgrowth of the ESPON (European Spatial Planning Observation Net-work) project 1.2.2 “Telecommunications Services and Networks: Territorial Trends and Ba-sic Supply of Infrastructure for Territorial Cohesion” (see: http://www.espon.lu).

Fine-grained Patterns of the Digital Divide: Differences of Broadband Access within Finland

Access to the Internet plays a central role in the development of an information society. However, because of the required telecommunications infrastructure is very expensive to build, and telecommunications services are also relatively expensive, there is no sufficient demand for a market-based provision of relevant telecommunication infrastructures in many areas. As a result, some citizens and organisations are left without an (up-to-date) access to the Internet. This gap between social groups with and without access to the Internet, which is also often linked with a lack of motivation to use it, is referred to as Digital Divide. Several governments have implemented programmes aimed at diminishing this Divide, by means of providing access to the Internet in regions where the market does not provide it, and by enhancing the citizens? ?information society? skills and motivation. There are a variety of technologies available for connecting to the Internet. The traditional narrowband means include modem and ISDN. For faster connections in terms of data transfer rate, various broadband technologies have been introduced. Actually, these broadband connections, which usually offer a fixed pricing scheme, are often seen as the embodiment of an information society. Lately, also mobile connections have become a feasible in creating an access to the Internet, as their speed has increased to the level of the traditional modem connection, and their data transfer prices have been reduced. The aim of this paper is to explore spatial patterns and differences in internet access in Finland. Availability of all possible technologies (traditional, broadband and mobile) are investigated in detail. The findings are compared with demographic characteristics of the relevant regions. Not surprisingly, the tentative results support the view that regions with higher population densities have a better access to the Internet. With regard to the debate on the Digital Divide, it is especially interesting to observe that variations in access to the Internet do not follow administrative borders, but are much more fine-grained. Clearly, this has implications for effective and righteous information society policies, and for an evaluation of the effectiveness of such policies. The paper in an outgrowth of the project ?Telecommunications Services and Networks and Territorial Cohesion? funded from the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) programme (see www.espon.lu). Key words: internet access, digital divide, telecommunications infrastructure, spatial differences, ESPON

Broadband strategies in thin milieux: comparing nordic experiences

Broadband infrastructures with a high transmission capacity are seen as a key precondition for the development of an information society, and therefore, their supply and availability have become important issues in public policies. The paper analyses the policy strategies applied in Finland and Sweden for promoting territorial rollout of broadband infrastructures. The experiences of these two countries can be seen to be of scientific interest and political relevance especially for the following two reasons: Both countries have been forerunners in the development of information society in general, and telecommunications in particular. Secondly, these two countries are sparsely populated, which is a most relevant conditioning factor in the rollout of broadband infrastructures characterised by nodal features. Despite the above-mentioned similarities of the two countries, they have applied quite different strategies in the rollout of broadband. In Sweden, the public sector has taken a more interventionist role than in Finland. This implies the question whether and how this difference can be seen in the territoriality of broadband supply. The paper attempts to answer this question, and provide conclusions for effective policy strategies. The paper is an outgrowth of the ESPON (European Spatial Planning Observation Network) project 1.2.2 “Telecommunications Services and Networks: Territorial Trends and Basic Supply of Infrastructure for Territorial Cohesion” (see: http://www.espon.lu).

EXPLORING POSITIVE ONLINE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE FORMATION: A STUDY OF FOOD WASTE SHOPPERS

This qualitative study investigates the formation of positive online customer experiences in the context of online grocery shopping. This study analyzes customers’ written descriptions of the causes of their positive experiences when visiting an online store. Data were collected with an online survey of 581 respondents. The case company is a Finnish online retailer, Fiksuruoka Ltd. Fiksuruoka’s business idea is to sell food waste; its product range consists of surplus groceries that are in danger of being disposed of. The findings show that four main themes contribute positively to the online customer experience. Positive customer experiences were explained by factors related to 1) the shopping process and online store features, 2) shoppers’ finds, 3) pricing, and 4) the shopping context (food waste). Under these themes, 17 subthemes were identified. The findings emphasize the smoothness of the shopping process and low prices in a positive customer experience. It is also essential that the online store foster feelings of success, enjoyment, and self-satisfaction among customers. The joy of discovery and the ability to act for a good cause were identified as essential contributors to a positive online customer experience

Music Piracy Neutralization and the Youth of the 2010\u27s

In this qualitative research, music piracy among the youth was studied by applying Sykes’ and Matza’s neutralization theory. The key objective of the study was to find out how youths view music piracy, and how they give accounts for it using techniques of neutralization. According to the conducted semi-structured interviews, youths do acknowledge the ethical and economic problems of music piracy. However, piracy is still exercised, and in order to justify this, multiple neutralization techniques are used. The most characteristic of the employed techniques was “claim of normalcy”, with “denial of victim” and “justification by comparison” also appearing frequently. In order to prevent piracy, these techniques need to be countered. The industry needs to effectively voice that “common” does not equal “right”. Recognized artists with reasonable “victim status” should relay the message