Internet Counts Measuring the Impacts of the Internet (1998) / Chapter Skim
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4. INDICATORS OF INTERNET IMPACTS
4. INDICATORS OF INTERNET IMPACTS
Pages 20-63
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From page 20... ...
This environment includes governmental policies and regulations, the county's telecommunications infrastructure, and the general environment that affects the offer and use of Internet sentences, such as economic conditions, level of education and literacy, and population characteristics. The demand side includes those who use Internet services for example, individuals and organizations-and the way in which Internet services are used and the factors that affect their use.
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From page 21... ...
For example, Internet suppliers deliver content, which in turn influences the orgaruzations and institutions using the Internet. But impacts also affect the institutions, which look for different content and service supply and then change their use, which in turn infers or requires changes in the environment.
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From page 22... ...
Lack of access to these fundamentals limits Internet access in many African countries. Obviously, the ability to invest in computers, communications, electricity, and so forth depends in part on a country's wealth and the rate of generation of new wealth.
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From page 23... ...
The relevant indicators for a supportive economy and infrastructure then include: GNP per capita number of telephones number of telephones per capita indicators of penetration of telephone service in rural areas indicators of penetration of electrical power in rural areas density of population in rural areas percentage of population in urban areas Hoof course, telecommunications policies and other such countr~r-specific conditions that impact Internet use directly must be taken into account. lathe committee used data Tom Jensen on Internet connections, store and forward capability, and dial-in access and the CIA web site.
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From page 24... ...
In the countries visited by the committee in Africa, the governments can be described as passive with regard to the Internet, only sometimes initiating reforms. While no formal barriers to market entry exist, some problems were cited by Senegalese ISPs with regard to laws and rules governing Internet supply and use.
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From page 25... ...
In some countries, universities or NGOs may start Internet access for the public on a nonprofit basis and then reduce their services as other, usually for-profit, ISPs come into the market.'4 As user sophistication and the availability of Internet applications increase, ISPs are offering more content-providing services, such as Web hosting, development and design, and electronic commerce. i4Unless explicitly noted otherwise, the term ISP in this report refers to any organization providing Internet access atldior other Internet-related technologies and applications.
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From page 26... ...
total number of modems connected to ISP servers for dial-up access total number of leased lines to customers total number of points of presence (POP s) total number of secondary-city POPs percentage of population within local calling area of POP Quality of Internet Service The quality of Internet service that is offered can be measured by such indicators as thei S
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From page 27... ...
The potential impact of such organizations suggests another indicator: · number of members in an information industry association or ISP association A related issue is the profitability of ISPs and the degree to which they are able and whiling to invest earnings in expansion. With a few exceptions, the provision of Internet services in Africa, as in the United States, is not yet profitable or financially viable.
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From page 28... ...
- rip It is clear that any analysis of the competitiveness of an ISP market should reflect the unique situation in African countries. An analysis is nonetheless important, and suggested indicators include the: number of ISPs offering All Internet service percentage of nonprofit ISPs number and percentage of profitable ISPs prices charged by ISPs for Internet access total fiends invested by ISPs in expansion total ISP revenue Sustainability In addition to financial indicators, such as the cost of Internet service to providers and consumers or the profits to providers, there are more general economic considerations.
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From page 29... ...
Thus, there is a need for economic indicators that go beyond those directly associated with costs and profits for providers and users. For example, analysts may wish to look at the subsidy flow that will be required to sustainably institutionalize the Internet in African countries.
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From page 30... ...
. · number of ISPs offering user training · number of institutions that monitor their own traffic, use, and number of hits on pages average number of years of schooling of adult population literacy rate number of infonnation technology courses offered in universities average salary of Web designers and other ISP employees Related to the issue of development of indigenous skills is the development of indigenous information sources in the form of Web pages, databases, news sources, electronic commerce hosting, and others.
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From page 31... ...
the Internet is oRen divided into three classes, a tr~chotomy first proposed by Matrix Information and Directory Services (1994~: the Core Internet, consisting ofthose who can provide or distribute information over the Internet, the Consumer Internet, consisting of people who can receive information over the Internet, and the Matrix, consisting of users with access to electronic mail systems who can exchange mail with Internet users, including most propnetary, corporate enemas! systems.
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From page 32... ...
Interviews by the committee in Senegal, Ghana, and Kenya suggested that there may be hundreds of people who access electronic mail by traveling physically to a facility (school or university, information center, cybercafe, business center, etc.) and picking up paper copies of incoming messages and leaving paper copies of messages to be sent out.
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From page 33... ...
It also may be useful not only to measure the gross rate of change but also to take into account the rate of turnover, or the number of subscribers who cancel their subscriptions. Thus, the relevant indicators are the: rate of change in the number of subscribers turnover rate Related to the rate of change of the user base and the rate of change in total Internet use is the change in use reliance by subscribers.
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From page 34... ...
, 1 993, Measunng the Impact of Information on Development. International Development Research Center, Ottawa.
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From page 35... ...
Costs can be divided into several categories, including fees paid to an ISP for access, fees paid to a telephone company, hardware and software necessary to access and utilize the Internet, and staff and personnel costs and other organizational costs necessary in an organization to enable people to use the Internet well. The prices charged by ISPs for Internet access depend on many factors, including, as mentioned earlier, the competitiveness in the ISP market, the country's GNP or general economic environment, and other telecommunications costs.
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From page 36... ...
Descriptive research is needed to identity the range of such costs for a developing country's organizations using the Internee, since such information is needed in Berms of policy to make the Internet more affordable. Some suggested indicators include the: 36
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From page 37... ...
This ability involves an understanding of various search engines and their advantages and limitations, as well as an ability to use the hypertext aspects of the World Wide Web effectively. One research project,23 for example, has estimated the ability of U.S.
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From page 38... ...
More importantly, there is considerable interest in Internet commerce, which may be electronic mail mediated and which has given rise to considerable effort to develop appropriate indicators. This section focuses primarily on the content of Web pages.
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From page 39... ...
In counting Web pages in Africa, search engines and software agents can play a critical role. It win be important to categorize Web pages to obtain meaningful indicators, differentiating by language, purpose (governmental, commercial, scientific, etc.)
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From page 40... ...
Similarly, without doubt the approach could be generalized to other sectors, and sites could be categorized according to quality in terms of private-sector development armor democratization and civil society. Finally, with regard to relevance, it is possible for a Web site to provide large quantities of information of high quality but still be of little relevance to Africa.
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From page 41... ...
Formal organizations lend themselves to the study of the organizational impacts of the Internet because of their more hierarchical structure and their more defined division of responsibilities. It is likely that in a formal organization a designated individual can be found to answer questions about the impacts of the Internet on the organization as a whole.
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From page 42... ...
An outward flow of information-for example, information about products, valuable scientific datawill help ensure that a country can becomes a leader in the information economy. Indicators in this regard include: · percentage of an institution's dissemination through the Internet percentage of total public information made available through the Internet number of Web server hits or requests fulfilled per month from domestic versus regional versus international sources number of electronic newsletters or bulletins produced number of subscribers to newsletters and/or bulletins The likely impacts that the Internet will have on the operations of any given organization are a function of how that organization and the individuals within it use the Internet and the importance they place on it.
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From page 43... ...
Thus, it has been suggested that organizations using Internet technology are becoming flatter and less hierarchical. Processes such as "just-in-time manufacturing," electronic commerce, and interfirm collaboration on product design are facilitated by Internet communications technology and are likely impacts of that technology (at least in technologically advanced countries)
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From page 44... ...
In business, for example, one study27 of Internet applications in productive enterprises focused on applications in: · production and operation · marketing · finance · accounting human resources management A recent study by the International Finance Corporation28 used ordinal values to ask users if the Internet had been not useful, slightly useful, useful, very useful, or indispensable in carrying out specific functions and how useful it would be in these functions within a year. A similar approach has been used to study Interpret use by financial services firms in camying out the functions of: advertising and public relations on-line customer services on-line financial transactions on-lines tools (e.g.
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From page 45... ...
By embodying decision rules or decision support within hardware and software, the decision processes can be improved or at least made more nearly standard and predictable. Examples of relevant indicators are: 45
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From page 46... ...
Are government agencies, political Darties and civil society organizations better able to involve citizens in governance. to provide high-quality services to citizens at low cost, to meet the changing needs of their electorates and institutions?
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From page 47... ...
Indeed, many of the most important impacts of the Internet in Africa may occur in the cultural, social, religious, and other institutions which are neither formal organizations nor markets. (ISPs in Africa repotted that many subscribers were people who used the Internet to communicate with family members abroad.
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From page 48... ...
The general approach used throughout this report seems widely applicabl~that is, measuring the penetration of the Internet into the group of people involved with the institution, seeking indicators of direct effects ofthis penetration, and then seeking indicators of indirect effects on the institution. INDICATORS OF SECTORAL IMPACTS The preceding sections considered indicators of Internet impacts related to the supply and use of the Internet by individuals and institutions; this section takes the discussion up one level to sectors and sectoral goals.
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From page 49... ...
While electronic mail and the Internet ong~nated in the United States with the Department of Defense, the academic sector has played a large role in its diffusion. Pr~vate-sector use has followed, and recently individual use has skyrocketed.
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From page 50... ...
The relevant indicator here is the: · number of subscribers in primary city and secondary cities INTERNET IMPACTS ON SECTORS AND TI1EIR RELATED DEVELOPMENT GOALS A sector is composed of formal organizations, markets, and other institutions. For example, the education sector is composed of schools, training facilities, and teachers and students.
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From page 51... ...
Similarly, the developmental goals associated with the education sector include increased literacy, a more educated populace, and higher national technical competency, which in turn lead to a more productive work force, job creation, capital formation, and a variety of other values. The committee noted a specific example of how the Internet is supporting broader development goals in Ghana.
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From page 52... ...
In the following three sections, impact indicators are suggested for three sectorseducation, the private sector, and government and civil society. The impacts on the developmental goals central to the sectors-that is, wider access to, and better, education; private ~ ~ ~ e ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -5iucn a suggestion was made by tanner Lotz ot~tne Berman M~mstry or Economic Cooperation and Development on the occasion of the presentation of initial research for this report in Toronto.
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From page 53... ...
That is, the potential impacts ofthe Internet on the development goals are considered but not the development goals themselves. Education Sectoral Goals With the proper skills, technical support, and financial resources, the Internet can become a catalyst for important changes at schools and universities.
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From page 54... ...
Some relevant indicators In this regard include the: · ratio of job placement of students with Internet expenence/tra~ning in school to overall placement · ratio of average starting salanes of individuals with Internet exper~ence/train~ng in school to overall starting salaries Inasmuch as universities are also centers of research, they stave not only to attract and educate the best students but also to attract the best scholars and researchers, often on a temporary basis. And as researchers increasingly are communicating, publishing, and conducting research via the Internet, they are attracted to research at institutions that have Internet services.
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From page 55... ...
It includes other formal organizations such as government agencies that regulate education, research organizations that conduct educational research, and financial organizations involved in school financing or in administering fellowships and scholarships. It _ includes other institutions, such as community institutions that relate to the schools (e.g.
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From page 56... ...
The impacts of the Internet on the private sector can be measured by seeking to understand the impacts on firms, especially firms engaged in manufacturing and trade; on markets for raw materials, intermediate goods and sentences, and final products; on such associations as trade associations and chambers of commerce that participate in the sector; on community institutions that relate to the industrial and trade sectors; and on the government agencies that serve and regulate the sector. Communications technologies would appear to be especially important in market institutions that depend heavily on information on supply and demand and on the capacity to analyze changes In a situation rapidly and accurately.
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From page 57... ...
rates of participation of African firms in international markets · rates of participation of foreign firms in African markets · numbers of Web pages providing information on a market · numbers of persons communicating about a market on the Internet · volume of transactions in a market using the Internet Comparable indicators can be derived to measure the impacts of the Internet on other African institutions. Increased information for buyers and sellers, in turn, has the potential to level the international playing field for developing countries by helping them to increase regional trade and their exports to Western countries.
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From page 58... ...
since acquiring Internet access rate of change in the value of a country's exports (imports) since acquiring Internet access · rate of change in the value of a firm's exports since acquiring Internet access number of companies reporting growth since availability of the Internet number of firms engaged in electronic commerce value of sales via the Internet Finds allocated by private companies to Internet-related training growth rates of private telecenters that provide Internet services The development goals related to private-sector expansion are like those discussed above: goods and services relevant to the needs of the population that are of good quality and equitably available at reasonable prices, with the creation of good employment opportunities, a good return on capital, and a minimum of negative externalities.
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From page 59... ...
To achieve this, top government officials must be much more proactive in extolling the economic benefit of, for example, electronic commerce, to their populations. Negative economic impacts of the Internet are a real possibility and must be monitored carefully.
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From page 60... ...
Government and Civil Society Sectoral Goals Governments, political parties, and other political entities can use the Internet to disseminate information, facilitate government responsiveness to citizens, and increase (or hinder) access to information by the entire electorate.
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From page 61... ...
The indicators above generally are intended to measure actions by governments that are considered "positive" in terms of democratization and civil society building. But it is also probable that some governments, particularly authoritarian ones, will take actions that would be considered negative by Western democratic standards, such as imposing sanctions on Internet access for political reasons.
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From page 62... ...
Relevant indicators are the: · number of independent sources of information and news provided via the Internet · number of newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations using the Internet to collect news · number of newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, and other media with Web sites · percentage of domestic and foreign readers Development Goals When considering the government sector, development goals center around democratization and civil society building in addition to the services governments typically provide, such as health services, law enforcement, and so forth. Democratization implies a transparent political process and the participation of informed citizens in the process of governance, especially in the election of governmental leaders, development of government policy, and oversight of governmental executive and judiciary functions.
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From page 63... ...
Comparably, the development of civil society involves the development of a network of noncommercial, nongovernmental orgaruzations, with memberships of informed and active people, that are able to articulate the positions of their members to the public at large, to elites, and to the various branches of government. Surveys of infonned persons could be used to obtain data on whether the Internet's impacts are perceived as beneficial or detrimental and on the magnitude of the impacts of the Internet on direct communication between government and citizens, media-intermediated contact between citizens and government, and on the role of civil society organizations in promoting public awareness and participation in government decisionmalcing.32 The Internet is a critical element of an information and communications revolution that is likely to prompt profound changes in interpersonal, intergroup, and interinstitutional relationships in Afiica.
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