A global network of people using mobile technology for social impact.
Is the dramatic increase in Internet use associated
with a commensurate rise in democracy? Few previous studies
have drawn on multiple perception-based measures of governance
to assess the Internet’s effects on the process of democratization.
This paper uses perception-based time series data on “Voice &
Accountability,” “Political Stability,” and “Rule of Law” to pro-
vide insights into democratic tendency. The results of regression
analysis suggest that the level of “Voice & Accountability” in a
country increases with Internet use, while the level of “Political
Stability” decreases with increasing Internet use. Additionally,
Internet use was found to increase significantly for countries
with increasing levels of “Voice & Accountability.” In contrast,
“Rule of Law” was not significantly affected by a country’s level
of Internet use. Increasing cell phone use did not seem to affect
either “Voice & Accountability,” “Political Stability” or “Rule
of Law.” In turn, cell phone use was not affected by any of
these three measures of democratic tendency. When limiting our
analysis to autocratic regimes, we noted a significant negative
effect of Internet and cell phone use on “Political Stability” and
found that the “Rule of Law” and “Political Stability” metrics
drove ICT adoption.
MobileActive has aggregated dozens of videos focused on the use of mobile phones in civil society on our new MobileActive YouTube channel.
The MobileActive channel features playlists about mobile phones used in a variety of different fields. On the Mobile Phones in Advocacy playlist, you can watch videos about Greenpeace Argentina's work to pass the Ley de Bosques (Forest Law) by using mobile phones and an advertisement for FishMS, a South African SMS infoline that allows users to text in the names of fish and get a rating about their environmental sustainability. Watch the Mobile Phones in Global Development channel for videos on mobile banking, the Village Phone program, and the growth of mobile phones in the developing world. Check out the Mobile Phones in Human Rights playlist for a variety of videos of human rights abuses taken on mobile phones, including the mobile videos of Egyptian police brutality by blogger Wael Abbas.
Other MobileActive YouTube playlists include Mobile Phones in Citizen Media, Mobile Phones in Disasters and Relief, Mobile Phones in Education and Learning, Mobile Phones in Elections and Participation, Mobile Phones in Poverty Alleviation, and many others.
Check out the new MobileActive YouTube channel and add your videos on the mobile revolution!
On Monday, June 26, people's organizations and prominent individuals will file an impeachment complaint against Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for crimes that include foisting a de facto dictatorship, curtailment of civil liberties, the mass killing of activists and other acts that aimed to cover-up her tracks in the fraud she committed in the 2004 elections. A vigil has been arranged jointly by the mass movement outside Congress and the congressional opposition so that the said impeachment complaint would be filed ahead of any sham impeachment complaint that may be lodged by allies of Mrs. Arroyo. (Last year, a lawyer was the first to file such a complaint, but it was so weak the opposition had to amend it. Congress rejected the amendments and voted on the basis of the lawyer's week complaint. Nobody wishes the lawyer to mke a repeat.) Mobile phones are endlessly buzzing, in an effort to mobilize thousands, if not tens of thousands, to form a human barricade just outside Congress. The barricade would start in the form of a vigil starting tonight, and ends with the filing of the impeachment complaint at the opening of Congress' office hours at 8:00 am tomorrow.
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