Information and Communication Technology — Africa

 

Annenberg School for Communication

Filters

2006 - 200992010 - 20127
16
16
Reset filters

Settings

Search results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 16
  • Publication
    Facilitating Better Governance through E-Government Initiatives: Successful Case in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (2009-07-01) Thomas, Carlos A; Mbarika, Victor W; Nwogu, Rufus; Musa, Philip F; Meso, Peter
  • Publication
  • Publication
    Community- Based Information Technology Access: The Case of Cybercafe Diffusion in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (2006-01-01) Mbarika, Victor W; Kah, Muhammadou; Samake, Kibily; Sumrall, Jeffrey
  • Publication
    Immediacy and Openness in a Digital Africa: Networked-Convergent Journalism in Kenya
    (2012-10-01) Mudhai, O.F.
    Before the US crackdown on WikiLeaks website from 2010, the narrative of freedom dominating discourses on uneasy deployment of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in journalism was more prevalent in Africa – and developing regions – than in advanced democracies. Little wonder WikiLeaks did not, at least initially, include African media partners in their potent 2010 ‘cablegate’ exposés. From the 1996 Zambian government ban of the Post online to the recent onslaughts on bloggers in parts of the continent, ICT uses in journalism have reflected national contexts, with restrictions often resulting in self-‐censorship, as well as innovations that borrow from and build on global developments. This ‘glocal’ context perspective defines the review here of the new media use in journalism in Africa with an examination of Kenyan media coverage – mainly between 2005 and 2010 constitutional referenda. The focus is on coverage by two leading newspapers in their strive to keep up with emerging alternative spaces of networked online expression. The aim here is to determine the extent to which the coverage reflects immediacy and openness in a networked and converged environment, with implications for democracy. The article employs comparative approach and qualitative content-‐genre analysis.
  • Publication
    IT Education and Workforce Participation: A New Era for Women in Kenya?
    (2006-01-01) Mbarika, Victor W; Payton, Fay Cobb; Kvasny, Lynette; Amadi, Atieno
  • Publication
  • Publication
    Social Media and Post-Election Crisis in Kenya
    (2008-01-01) Makinen, Maarit; Kuira, Mary Wangu
  • Publication
    The Democratic Effects of the Internet , 1994 to 2003: A Cross - National Inquiry of 152 Countries
    (2009-01-01) Groshek, Jacob
    Since its inception and subsequent diffusion, the Internet has been lauded as a potent democratizing agent. Using macro-level panel data from 1994 to 2003, this study examined 152 countries and found that increased Internet diffusion was a meaningful predictor of more democratic regimes. This was shown to be most true in developed countries, where nonlinear fixed effects regression models showed the highest coefficient estimates and largest observed associations. Consistent with media system dependency theory, greater effects were also demonstrated for countries that already were at least partially democratic where the Internet was more prevalent and thus more likely to fulfill a greater number of information functions. In addition, Internet diffusion and democracy demonstrated a positive, statistically significant relationship (but with a marginal observed association size) in developing countries where the average level of sociopolitical instability was much higher. The Internet therefore should not be employed as a modern ‘mobility multiplier’ because of the strong associations and positive relationships it has shown with democracy but it should also not be ignored due to the democratic potential these results suggest.
  • Publication
    ICTs Policies: E-Democracy and E-Government for Political Development
    (2007-08-01) Amoretti, Francesco
    ‘Electronic democracy’ is a concept with a relatively long history. It has been a central feature of the technological Utopias since the 1960s. Today, the trend is spreading worldwide, as public funding is made available for the exploration of the potential of new technologies to provide new channels of access to political information and participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, whereas e-democracy in Western nations is a tool for resolving the perceived crisis of liberal democracies, in the developing countries it is a tool to build democracy. This assumption is clearly important in the action plans and policies of International Organizations (World Bank, OECD, United Nations) which have assumed a leadership role in the reform of political institutions. This paper will focus on theoretical and methodological issues, such as the prevalent meaning(s) of e-government and e-democracy and their ideological roots in the context of political development.
  • Publication