"As academia, development experts and policy-makers have continued to search for the right mix of technology, methodology, easy-to-use and understandable scientific elements and infrastructure that would suit the nation’s peculiar circumstances towards meeting her developmental needs. This situati
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on, no doubt, calls for adaptation of social media’s unique opportunities and adjustment of its weaknesses to aptly blend with the forces of innovation and ability of cultural and behavioural changes. Concerted efforts are required of the Nigerian government and its agencies in awakening the consciousness of the citizenry to integrate social media culture into the mainstream of Nigerian culture so as to produce positive changes that are evidences of sustainability." (Abstract)
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"For more than half a century, North Korea’s leaders have relied on a domestic media monopoly to control what information North Koreans can access and how narratives around that information are presented. But the situation on the ground is changing, thanks in large part to North Koreans’ expandi
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ng access to unsanctioned foreign media and information sources. InterMedia’s A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment documents this evolution based on research among recent North Korean defectors, refugees and travelers abroad. The project’s assessment of the current state of the media environment in North Korea suggests that substantial numbers of North Koreans are able to access various forms of foreign media. These include foreign TV and radio broadcasts, and particularly foreign DVDs brought into the country from China by cross-border traders and smugglers. Other vectors for information from abroad include smuggled mobile phones capable of receiving foreign signals, and the exchange of illicit foreign content on otherwise legal MP3/MP4 players and USB drives." (www.audiencescapes.org, June 18, 2012)
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"The Report is composed of four thematic parts. Part 1 describes the conceptual framework and relates the findings of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2012. In addition, Part 1 features selected expert contributions on the general theme of hyperconnectivity. Part 2 includes two case studies showi
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ng the efforts that two countries, Azerbaijan and Mauritius, are making to develop ICT and fully leverage their potential benefits. Part 3 comprises detailed profiles for the 142 economies covered in this year’s Report, providing a thorough picture of each economy’s current networked readiness landscape and allowing for international comparisons of specific variables or components of the NRI. Part 4 includes data tables for each of the 53 variables composing the NRI, with rankings for the economies covered as well as technical notes and sources for the quantitative variables used." (Executive summary, page xi)
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"Based on a representative survey of online news consumers across five countries – UK, US, Germany, France and Denmark – the report is the start of an ambitious project to track changing digital news behaviour over the next decade. Key international findings: There are significant differences in
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how regularly people keep up with the news across our surveyed countries. More than 9 in 10 Germans access the news at least once a day compared with only 3 in 4 people in the United Kingdom. The rapid switch from print to digital in the United States is not being replicated exactly in European countries. Germany is showing the strongest allegiance to traditional viewing and reading habits and has the lowest levels of internet news use. In the UK, news about politics is perceived to be less important – and celebrity news more important – compared to the other countries surveyed. There is more interest in business and especially economic news in the UK and the US than in the European countries surveyed." (Publisher description)
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"Conclusions: Television remains the most important medium by far, both in terms of overall reach and as a news source. Internet access - heavily driven by mobile take-up - has reached critical mass, especially among key demographics. This phenomenon is national in nature and not just confined to mo
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re affluent urban areas. Given the heavy reliance on mobile for Internet access; Internet content needs to work well on mobile platforms. Any communications strategy for Indonesia has to take into account the large and growing role of social media, especially among the young." (Slide 40)
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"We find that among both the general population and the technologically savvy youth, television – and especially the state-controlled broadcaster – was among the most often used news sources (with the Internet being the most important news outlet for the youth). This finding is surprising given
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that – in general – in Middle Eastern societies “traditional state control of the information media has often meant that more reliance is placed on oral and unofficial means of communications, in the mosque, the coffeehouse, or the marketplace” (Fandy, 2000, page 378). This finding is especially surprising among our technologically savvy, educated and metropolitan youth the demographics of whom overlap with the profile of those who took to the streets in the post-election protests in Iran and who might be more likely to distrust the government and its sources. These results may indicate that perhaps this young population is not uniformly politicized, mistrustful of governmental sources, or primed for revolutionary action. Several of our other findings underlie this idea. Contradicting the claims that Twitter played a central role in the uprisings in Iran and despite the evidence that 90% of Twitter users in Iran live in Tehran, Twitter was the least prevalent new media platform used by both the general population and the youth samples." (Summary, page 38)
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"Digital media should be a part of any communications strategy for Nigeria. Previously ¡§underserved¡¨ groups entering the digital mainstream fast. Internet outreach should be mobile-centric. Take advantage of penchant for information-sharing. But don't forget the continued primacy of broadcast
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media!" (Conclusions, page 42)
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"This report evaluates the risks and vulnerabilities of mobile phone services and apps in 12 specified countries: the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus, the People’s Republic of China, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Libya, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom
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of Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Tunisian Republic, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Rather than focus on a single innovation, this study analyzes multiple mobile technologies – including operating systems, applications and mobile protocols – to determine their capacity to protect security and privacy and to combat censorship and surveillance. Throughout this study the protection of mobile phone users was of paramount importance." (Executive summary)
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"This article discusses how ordinary Zimbabweans use jokes and mobile phones to construct their counter-publics. Jokes are an important part of the oral public sphere and have been used as outlets for political expectoration, to navigate and subvert state power and media censorship. Most of the joke
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s are often transmitted through mobile phones, which have become part of African social and cultural life. In view of restrictive media laws and an exclusive and dominant public sphere since the year 2000, jokes and mobile telephony have been used by some Zimbabweans to articulate their political views and to express dissatisfaction with the deteriorating economic and political situation in the country. In addition, the income status barrier to mobile phone ownership has been reduced tremendously, giving the mobile phone the potential to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor, urban and rural." (Abstract)
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"The notion that Zimbabwe is a radio-only market is outdated. With the strong growth in TV and New Media in urban areas, a multi-platform approach is needed to reach different demographics." (Conclusions, page 33)
"En 2010 el Foro desplegó una nueva investigación en la que han participado ocho países: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, México y Perú. El esfuerzo realizado por los equipos locales del Foro, con el apoyo inestimable de Fundación Telefónica y de Telefónica, ha permiti
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do que más de seiscientos colegios hayan tomado parte en ella, lo que ha supuesto encuestar a más de setenta y ocho mil menores de entre 6 y 18 años. Se ha puesto, además, un énfasis particular en que también los menores de los entornos rurales estuvieran debidamente representados en la muestra de estudio, lo que ha supuesto en muchos casos un trabajo adicional por parte de los profesores y de los equipos locales [...] los menores en los países iberoamericanos están creciendo en un contexto altamente tecnologizado, lo que plantea nuevas oportunidades y nuevos retos desde el punto de vista educativo y de la protección del menor. La importancia de éstos es tal que solo cabe una respuesta activa por parte de todas la instituciones involucradas en su educación: gobiernos, empresas, escuelas y, por supuesto, familias, deben sentirse interpeladas por la necesidad de formar a los menores en el uso responsable de las TIC. Únicamente el esfuerzo conjunto podrá conseguir minimizar los riesgos a los que se enfrentan con su uso y sacar el máximo provecho a las oportunidades que ofrece este nuevo escenario." (Introducción, página 12)
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"La rápida difusión de la telefonía móvil en los países emergentes está cambiando las relaciones entre los actores económicos, los modos de relación interpersonal y la dinámica política de estas sociedades de forma acelerada y difícil de predecir. A lo largo de la historia, la tecnología
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ha infl uido de forma decisiva en los procesos de desarrollo económico y cambio social. Y aunque la telefonía móvil no es una excepción, su rápida difusión se convierte en un reto para comprender cuáles son sus efectos sobre los modos de organización social y política, así como sobre las culturas y los procesos de desarrollo económico. Este libro pretende contribuir a la comprensión de este fenómeno analizando el impacto de la telefonía móvil en el desarrollo social y económico de América Latina en la última década. En el estudio, en el que han colaborado reconocidos especialistas, se analizan los resultados obtenidos en una amplia investigación que abarca análisis regionales y casos de estudio en Argentina, Brasil, Chile y Perú." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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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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"This survey is the second nation-wide media use study conducted in Timor-Leste. UNMIT commissioned this study to provide a comprehensive update of the findings from Foundation Hirondelle’s National Media Survey of 2006, also conducted by INSIGHT. The main objectives of the study are to: 1) assess
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the extent of media coverage and audience reach/access to information and types of media in Timor-Leste, as well as the reach and impact of non-media information sources; 2) provide updated baseline information to UNMIT, Government of Timor-Leste and other partners to improve future communication efforts; and 3) to evaluate the effectiveness of media campaigns conducted by UNMIT and the Government of Timor-Leste in order to improve future design. The study consists of two parts: first, a nation-wide survey of 2,500 randomly selected respondents in all 13 districts throughout the country; and, second, a series of nine focus group discussions (FGD) in seven districts to explore the survey findings. The survey represents the opinion of Timorese adults of 15 years of age or older and yields a maximum margin of error of +1.95%. Interviews were conducted in May 2010." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"This report uses AudienceScapes data from a nationally representative survey of Tanzania to describe how people of different social groups gather, share and access information through mass media. We also focus on whether the presence of mobile phones can further augment information dissemination us
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ing SMS and mobile radio. Media access and use trends are broken down by region and we profile both national and regional media outlets." (Page 5)
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"At first glance, mobile technology appears to have the potential to allow countries in Africa to technologically ‘leapfrog’ across the digital divide and provide much needed Internet access to a wide range of people currently unable to participate in the Information Society. This study investig
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ates whether this potential is being actualized through the survey of a non-purposive sample population living in Johannesburg, South Africa. Studies have shown that aside from being able to engage with the new technology, people must also perceive it as reliable and user friendly. As such, this article examines user’s attitudes and current behaviour with regards to this apparently highly accessible and relatively affordable medium. It also seeks to determine whether people believe that mobile technology could eclipse (or leapfrog) the use of computer technology for online activities – and if they believe that to be true, how have their usage patterns shifted, if at all?" (Abstract)
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"Empirische Forschung auf Basis standardisierter Verfahren greift häufig auf einen Satz von Konstrukten zurück, die immer wieder benötigt werden. Für deren Operationalisierung werden Skalen entwickelt, die regelmäßig eingesetzt und validiert werden. Dieses erste Skalenhandbuch für die deutsch
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sprachige Kommunikations- und Medienforschung enthält Angaben zu 76 Skalen unterschiedlichster Forschungsfelder. Zu jeder Skala sind - neben ihrem exakten Wortlaut - ausführliche Angaben zur theoretischen Einbettung des jeweiligen Instruments, seinen Einsatzmöglichkeiten in der Forschung und seiner Validierung enthalten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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