"Through the methodological framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), the report measures the extent to which 144 economies, from both the developed and developing worlds, take advantage of ICTs and other new technologies to increase their growth and well-being. The NRI identifies the most r
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elevant factors driving ICT readiness and impacts, providing policymakers, business leaders, and civil society at large with a useful tool for designing national strategies for increased networked readiness and for benchmarking their country’s performance against other relevant comparators. The Global Information Technology Report 2013 features the latest computation and rankings of the NRI, and in referring to this year’s theme, dives deeper into the connection between ICTs and economic growth and job creation. As in previous years, it also showcases a number of ICT development stories of particular interest. In addition, the report includes detailed profiles for the 144 economies covered this year together with data tables for each of the 54 indicators used in the computation of the NRI." (Back cover)
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"Bamako adults are avid news users; 92.5% say they receive news from television, radio, the Internet or newspapers at least once a week; 78.4% report they receive news from these sources at least once a day. Mobile phone, radio, and television ownership is widespread in Bamako. Nine in 10 Bamako adu
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lts say they have a mobile phone in their household, 86.6% report owning a radio, and 83.8% say they have a working television. Bamako adults are most interested in the topics of religion (93.1%), health and healthcare (89.8%), and education (89.0%). Bambara is the preferred radio broadcast language. It is also the most commonly understood language (99.3%), and the language the majority of those adults (99.4%) report they would understand in a newscast." (Page 1)
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"Considering the lessons learned from US engagement in Iraq and especially Afghanistan, military engagement can only be sustained with the support of local populations. The concept of “winning hearts and minds” has emerged as an essential component of the counterinsurgency-counterterrorism doctr
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ine. Therefore, it is essential to monitor public reaction to any foreign intervention on a constant basis to measure the effectiveness of a given military campaign. ConStrat monitored social media content—in Arabic, French and English—related to the French intervention in Mali and the unfolding of the terrorist attack in southwestern Algeria. The three media environments were diverse both qualitatively and quantitatively." (Introduction)
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"The current UIS Questionnaire on Media Statistics provides information for three UNESCO frameworks, namely the Media and Information Literacy Framework, the Media Development Indicators Framework and the Framework for Cultural Statistics. The questionnaire collects data for reporting global progres
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s on Action Lines C2, C3, C8 and C9 of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in UNESCO’s fields of competencies. In particular, Action Line C9 recommends appropriate policies to foster and sustain media and information development. This document provides country profiles for each of the countries that participated in the two pilot surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012." (Background, page 3)
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"This book is about the workings of networks of the mobile in Africa, a continent usually associated with the ‘global shadows’ of the world. How do changes in the possibilities for communication, with the recent hype of mobile technology, influence the social and economic dynamics in Africa’s
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mobile margins? To what extent is the freedom associated with new Information and Communication Technologies reality or disillusion for people dwelling in the margins? Are ordinary Africans increasingly Side@Ways? How social are these emergent Side@Ways? Contributions to answering these and related questions are harvested from ethnographic insights by team members of the WOTRO funded ‘Mobile Africa revisited’ research programme hosted by the African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands." (Publisher description)
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"This article highlights the influence that new ICTs and Computer Mediated Communication is having on the newsroom cultures among community radio journalists in Africa, especially the use of mobile phones and the internet. The discussion is based on findings from a research study that investigated t
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he impact of ICTs on community radio using regional case studies from three African countries – Mozambique, Uganda, and Mali. We argue that the integration of ICTs impacted journalism practice positively as it improved information gathering, processing, distribution, storage, and engagement with the communities, particularly through the use of mobile phones and the internet. However, the synergy with rural community radios that tend to be located in remote areas is yet to be felt in the three countries. While the community radio stations in semi-urban areas or those situated in areas with fairly good infrastructure have better capacity for integration of ICTs and their sustainability, the rural-based community radio stations are greatly inhibited in their integration of new ICT due to lack of the electricity or regular power supply, the high fees charged by the service providers (internet and telephone), as well as the high cost for the ICT equipment, maintenance expenses and operational costs. The article calls for more support for infrastructural development to rural-based community radio stations to close the rural–urban gap and to enable the journalists working there to benefit from ICT integration like their counterparts in the semi-urban and urban community radios." (Abstract)
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"There are over 250 radio stations in Mali, and two TV stations that serve a population of 16 million, of whom one of every five own a TV set. The author argues that Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM must use the opportunity of a new political dispensation and usher in urgent reforms if its rich histo
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ry of media proliferation, political pluralism and democracy are to be consolidated. He further makes the case for the urgent need by the new Malian government to revisit state policy on the digital switch over, an eminent process that Mali must undertake. Failing which, all the gains that the country has made could be lost." (www.afrimap.org)
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"Strategic Considerations for a Mali Communications Strategy: Don't forget the importance of local language to reach broad cross-section of the population. Broadcast media remain paramount; on a national radio is likely to be the key medium. Digital is still mostly a niche phenomenon." (Slide 39)
"S
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trategic Considerations for Communicating With Somalis: Role of foreign media remains extremely important. Radio is still the most widely used news medium, across all regions. Heavy access to and usage of alternative platforms opens up additional opportunities. Any communications strategy must include digital and mobile, with potentially greater short-term payoff than elsewhere in Africa." (Slide 54)
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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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"This article is a political economy critique that contributes to current scholarship on community radio and development by examining the question of the management of six networks from Mali, Mozambique and Uganda. This discussion argues that understanding the models and functions of management comm
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ittees will go a long way towards contributing to conversations on how community radios could achieve social, institutional, financial and ideological sustainability. The article also examines how management committees approach their work in the age of new Information Communication Technologies (especially mobile phones, computers and the Internet), and whether there is a gender digital divide within such committees. At the centre of the current discussion, therefore, is an attempt to understand the flow and contestation of power within community radio management committees." (Abstract)
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"Mali’s media remain significantly underdeveloped in terms of business management, audience research and long-term sustainability. Many media organizations remain dependent on donor funding and have done little to develop business models to attract other sources of revenue. There are more than 50
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professional associations and networks that help with training and advocacy, yet they are affected by conflicts of interests that undermine their efforts. There is no school of journalism, and media-related trainings are short-term and often centered around the shifting priorities of donors. There is no union to protect the rights of journalists and to help them in circumstances of legal persecution or harassment. It is also clear that donor priorities and programs are not doing enough to ensure the continued development of a strong independent media system. Over the past 20 years, funding has shifted from programs designed to strengthen independent media to programs that see media as tools to disseminate development information." (Conclusion, page 33)
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"Although Islam is not new to West Africa, new patterns of domestic economies, the promise of political liberalization, and the proliferation of new media have led to increased scrutiny of Islam in the public sphere. Dorothea E. Schulz shows how new media have created religious communities that are
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far more publicly engaged than they were in the past. Muslims and New Media in West Africa expands ideas about religious life in West Africa, women's roles in religion, religion and popular culture, the meaning of religious experience in a charged environment, and how those who consume both religion and new media view their public and private selves." (Publisher description)
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"The African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI) was a 42-month action research project implemented by Farm Radio International (FRI) in partnership with World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. An estimated 40 million farmers in five
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different countries were served by the AFRRI partnership with 25 radio stations. Farmers engaged in the design and development of farm radio programming were almost 50 per cent more likely to take up agricultural practices deemed to improve their food security than passive listeners. Those in what AFRRI deemed "active listening communities" (ALCs) were 10 times more likely to adopt the practice than those farmers who had no access to the farm radio programs. Farmers demonstrated increased knowledge of agriculture innovations as a result of listening to AFRRI radio programs, with up to 96% of some radio listeners scoring at least 60% on a follow-up knowledge quiz about the promoted farm practices [.] Farmers participate in selecting the focus – or topic – of the radio campaign, choose the time of broadcast, and are intimately engaged in the ongoing development of the farm radio programming over a set number of weeks; including as central agents of the knowledge-sharing process. Lively and entertaining formats are designed to attract listeners. [.] This report presents and discusses the key findings from an in-depth evaluation of 15 round-two Participatory Radio Campaigns (PRCs) – three PRCs in each of the five countries involved in AFRRI. AFRRI examined a mix of radio stations – community, associative, commercial, and state. Tools used for this evaluation included 4,500 household surveys (300 per radio station) in 90 communities, farm visits and field measurements, key informant interviews, and collection of secondary data (from other sources, such as national agricultural extension services)." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"Farmers require varying marketing information, depending on their location, local market conditions, crops, production activities, and cultural practices. Radio has the capacity to reach a large audience, and can provide an integrated approach to market information, incorporating all these elements
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in its programming. Radio can help farmers link to new markets and buyers, strengthen their ability to negotiate prices and help them adapt crops to meet demand. Private sponsorship that emerged in response to the popularity of MIS radio programs suggests a sustainable funding model is possible. A survey of approximately 1000 household representatives living in listening communities showed that an average of 64.8% of respondents were aware of the MIS radio programs, and 84% of those who listened found the MIS radio programs to be 'very useful." (Executive summary, page 5)
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