Dear Colleagues, After giving this some serious consideration I have decided to provide a few possibly off-topic studies that seem to show dramatic changes in the way society deals with government when a reasonable ICT infrastructure in put in place. Please note - The following studies are all based on experiences here in the United States but I believe the same results could be expected anywhere this type of connectivity is put in place.
As quoted from the report I have linked to below, "75 million Americans used the Internet in the last campaign to get political news and information, discuss candidates and debate issues in emails, or participate directly in the political process by volunteering or giving contributions to candidates." This report can be found here: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/150/report_display.asp As quoted from the report I have linked to below, "The July 2003 survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that 97 million adult Americans, or 77% of Internet users, took advantage of e-gov in 2003, whether that meant going to government Web sites or emailing government officials. This represented a growth of 50% from 2002. At the same time, citizens who contact government said they are more likely to turn to traditional means - either the telephone or in-person visits - rather than the Web or email to deal with government. Of the 54% of Americans who contacted government in the past year, the telephone or in-person visits were preferred to the Web or email by a 53% to 37% margin." This report can be found here: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/128/report_display.asp As quoted from the study I have linked to below, "As wired Americans increasingly go online for political news and commentary, we find that the Internet is contributing to a wider awareness of political views during this year's campaign season." This report can be found here: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/141/report_display.asp I would also like to offer one more report (again, if this is completely off-topic I apologize) that I feel is very important. This report deals with the measurable effect ICT can have on raising the poverty level when implemented correctly. http://www.muniwireless.com/reports/docs/CivitiumPEC.pdf I sincerely hope you find this information useful. Respectfully, Ken DiPietro New-ISP NextGenCommunications ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For past messages, see: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
