"The Arab Social Media Report (ASMR), produced by the Dubai School of Government’s Governance and Innovation Program, is the first in a quarterly series that will highlight and analyze usage trends of online social networking across the Arab region. In its inaugural edition, the report analyzes da
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ta on Facebook users in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to Iran and Israel. This is part of a larger research initiative focusing on social engagement through ICT for better policy in Arab states, which explores the use of social networking services in governance, entrepreneurship promotion and social inclusion. The initiative also studies the potential of Web 2.0 applications for increasing collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation, both between and among government entities, citizens and the private sector." (Page 1)
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"This document presents a ‘’state-of-the-art’’ review of branchless banking. It examines existing trends, extracts insightful lessons from past experiences and articulates the main challenges ahead with regards to the transformative role of branchless banking. It is also designed to link dev
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elopmental objectives with market player interests, thus paving the way for a meaningful intervention of German Development Cooperation in the branchless banking space. In many aspects, it will try to bring the market player perspective into the dialogue with public development cooperation." (Executive summary)
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"Internet censorship poses a large and growing challenge to online freedom of expression around the world. Censorship circumvention tools are critical to bypass restrictions on the internet and thereby to protect free expression online. Circumvention tools are primarily designed to bypass internet f
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iltering. Therefore, the core principle behind these technologies is to find alternative paths for data packets. These alternative paths use one or more collaborative servers in order to bypass the network of blocking mechanisms. This document provides a comparison among different circumvention tools, both in terms of their technical merits, as well as how users of these tools describe their experience with them. The countries included in this report are Azerbaijan, Burma, China and Iran." (Executive summary, page 9)
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"The Afghan media have flourished since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. Under Taliban rule, television was banned and there was only one government-controlled radio station. Today Afghanistan boasts over 75 TV stations, 175 radio station and hundreds of newspapers and magazines. However,
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according to pro-democracy groups, heavy handed government controls on radio, television and newspapers and the harassment and intimidation of journalists remain major problems. Radio is still the main channel for communicating news and information. But it is losing ground steadily to television, particularly in the towns and cities. As television ownership grows, the number of households with a radio set is declining. A media audience survey commissioned by USAID in 2010 found that 63% of all Afghans listen to radio regularly. The survey, conducted by Altai Consulting, found that only 48% of all Afghans watch television regularly. But it showed that once Afghans get a television in their home, they tend to abandon the radio. The Altai Consulting survey of 6,648 people in over 900 towns and villages indicated that 58% of households with a TV no longer possess a radio. Other recent audience surveys by BBC World Service Trust and the Asia Foundation indicate a slightly higher rate of radio listening than the Altai Consulting study. But all three point to a steady drift of broadcasting audiences from radio to television. It is therefore vital that humanitarian agencies communicate with the public through television as well as radio to ensure that they engage a wide audience." (Media overview, page 9)
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"This article outlines the potential mechanisms through which ICT could facilitate agricultural adoption and the provision of extension services in developing countries. It then reviews existing programs using ICT for agriculture, categorized by the mechanism (voice, text, internet and mobile money
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transfers) and the type of services provided. Finally, we identify potential constraints to such programs in terms of design and implementation, and conclude with some recommendations for implementing field-based research on the impact of these programs on farmers’ knowledge, technological adoption and welfare." (Abstract)
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"Podemos concluir que en nuestra área de estudio, diversos factores dificultan el uso intensivo del teléfono móvil. Entre ellos se encuentran la poca asequibilidad del servicio, las escasas habilidades para manejar el aparato, y la poca confianza que se tiene en los proveedores o compradores. Ade
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más, la nula disponibilidad de servicios de valor agregado brindados a través del móvil, ya sea por el Estado o por instituciones, limita la información relevante a la que se puede tener acceso. Más allá de lo económico, destacamos el uso del celular en su aspecto simbólico y de entretenimiento. En el ámbito simbólico, usar uno con más funciones otorga un estatus y una imagen de modernidad. Contar con crédito también otorga prestigio. Es notable el uso lúdico y de entretenimiento que le dan los niños y los jóvenes al celular y el hecho de que no lo usen tanto para comunicarse. Los niños juegan con el dispositivo familiar, mientras que los jóvenes lo usan mayormente para escuchar música y almacenar información. Para los jóvenes, la función comunicativa es restringida debido a la carencia de ingresos económicos propios. Finalmente, las estrategias alternativas de acceso a la telefonía móvil muestran cuán importante es acceder a este medio de comunicación en un contexto en el que los teléfonos fijos y públicos son escasos o inexistentes, y donde la señal celular no está del todo disponible." (Reflexiones finales, página 81-82)
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"Serbia has a strategy for switching over from analog to digital broadcasting, prepared with broad public consultation. The basic legal framework is in place, but implementation is not yet underway. Moreover, if fair access to digital licenses is to be ensured, a new media law—harmonized with the
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EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive—is still needed. Broadband internet has had by far the most significant growth among the available distribution platforms over the past five years. More than 23 percent of Serbian households had an internet connection at the end of 2009—more than doubling the number of such connections just four years earlier. The internet as a platform for activism is rapidly expanding, with the number of petitions, initiatives, and debates online growing considerably. The internet has also led to more diversity and to a plurality of voices in political life. All that said, Serbia remains a television nation, with almost all households owning a TV set and three quarters of the population still using television as their main source of information. Serbia’s private media sector continues to be plagued by opaque ownership structures, with the owners of various media hiding behind off shore–registered businesses. Additionally, there is no publicly available register of media owners. Without mechanisms to render media ownership transparent, Serbia’s media sector will not achieve its potential for independence and diversity." (Website Open Society Foundation, 19.12.2011)
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"In this report we describe the results of a survey of 98 bloggers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) carried out in May 2011 in order to study bloggers’ perceptions of online risk and the actions they take to address digital communications security, including both Internet and cell phone
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use. The survey was implemented in the wake of the Arab spring and documents a proliferation of online security problems among the respondents. In the survey, we address the respondents’ perceptions of online risk, their knowledge of digital security practices, and their reported online security practices. The survey results indicate that there is much room for improving online security practices, even among this sample of respondents who are likely to have relatively high technical knowledge and experience." (Introduction)
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"Freedom Fone allows anyone with a phone to access or contribute information on a specific issue 24 hours a day and seven days a week. It takes advantage of audio and text to address language and literacy barriers when reaching out to marginalised audiences that don't have access to other media. No
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internet access is required by either you or your audience for this. Freedom Fone uses interactive voice menus to deliver information to and record information from a caller. You will be familiar with this kind of menu already: "press 1 to access your account, press 2 to speak to a representative, press 3 to record a message...". We all sometimes have to deal with this kind of system when we dial a number to top up the credit on our mobile phone account, or to talk to a support person, etc. Freedom Fone enables you to design your own interactive menus to: share audio information with your audience; this audio information can take many forms including voice menu (press 1, press 2, etc.), educational dramas, short news items, or even a song; organise a poll to enable your audience to vote on an issue using their phone; collect SMSs from your audience - these might be updates about specific news events, alerts or similar time critical information; get your audience to leave audio messages to share their opinion on a particular topic or make reports in their own language." (Page 4)
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"This report focuses on South Africa and presents the results of a quantitative survey conducted on MXit, the most widely used social networking platform in the country. The first section discusses mobile internet use and social networking in the South African context, where computer and broadband i
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nternet use is low but access to mobile phones is high. The second section discusses the prevalence of chatting on MXit among adolescents and young people across all demographics in South Africa. The latter sections delve into an understanding of the behaviour of MXit users, including the reasoning behind the customary use of the phrase “Wots ur ASLR?” (What is your Age, Sex, Location and Race?). This paper is the beginning of an in-depth understanding of the digital behaviour and risks faced by MXit users, and may be used to inform future research in this regard." (Abstract)
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"The most popular types of social media in the UAE are generally the same as those used in other regions across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. These include social networks (Facebook), video-sharing sites (YouTube), and micro-blogging sites (Twitter), among others. UAE respondents were b
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oth generally skilled in the use of a variety of social media, and well aware of its potential ethical and practical limitations. It has served as a vital source and vehicle for news, information, business development, opinion sharing, cultural production, and entertainment. But residents were also well aware of its potential as a platform for making business and government practices more transparent, and its usefulness as a mobilizing platform for political change. Further research is needed to determine the larger impact of social media, particularly on UAE youth and women. Also, further research should be conducted to determine a more complete picture of its benefits, liabilities, and potential in an area that maintains one of world’s highest net migration rates. In the UAE, and perhaps the Gulf region at large, social media has established its place as an integral and interdependent actor in society." (Conclusion, page 22)
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"Vor dem Hintergrund der digitalen Medienentwicklung hat die Publizistische Kommission der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz unter Vorsitz von Bischof Gebhard Fürst in ihrer Sitzung am 17. und 18. Oktober 2007 beschlossen, ein medienethisches Impulspapier zu den Herausforderungen der digitalen Medienwelt
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unter dem Titel „Virtualität und Inszenierung – Unterwegs in der digitalen Medienwelt“ vorzubereiten. Der Text wurde am 29. Juni 2011 in Mainz vorgestellt. Die medienethische Schrift ist aufgrund des rasanten Wandlungsprozesses im Medienbereich als Werkstattbericht bzw. Impulspapier angelegt. Darin werden Trends und Tendenzen der digitalen Entwicklung und deren medienethische und medienpolitische Bewertung aus christlicher Perspektive aufgezeigt. Es soll so ein Beitrag zum aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Diskurs über die Chancen und Risiken neuer Medientechnologien geleistet werden. Das Impulspapier, das für eine Stärkung der Medienkompetenz plädiert, lädt zu einem konstruktiven Dialog ein und dient als Grundlage für eine weitere intensive Befassung mit medienethischen Fragestellungen. Communicatio Socialis lässt in diesem Heft Expertinnen und Experten aus verschiedenen Disziplinen und mit unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln das Impulspapier kommentieren. Kommunikationswissenschaftler, Theologen, Juristen und Journalisten wurden gebeten, folgende Fragen zu beantworten: Sind im Impulspapier die wesentlichen Probleme – hinsichtlich des von Ihnen zu bearbeitenden Themenfelds – erkannt? Teilen Sie mit Blick auf dieses Themenfeld die Analyse des Impulstextes? Wo sehen Sie Anknüpfungspunkte für eine weiterführende Diskussion? Wo sehen Sie Möglichkeiten einer praktischen Umsetzung der im Impulstext genannten Anregungen und Empfehlungen? Nachfolgend wird zunächst in einem kurzen Überblick über den Entstehungsprozess des medienethischen Papiers berichtet." S.395)
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