<incom> ICT&S Researcher conducted a survey in the Republic of Yemen

[Geert Lovink]

http://www.icts.sbg.ac.at/content.php? 
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March 19, 2007

ICT&S Researcher conducted a survey in the Republic of Yemen	
Research and teaching assistant and doctoral student Robert Bichler on  
the Internet situation in Yemen

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have a major impact  
on western societies concerning economy, politics and culture. These  
technologies are the main driving forces for societal progress and  
prosperity within such societies. But this development is still very  
limited and huge regions of the world are totally cut off from the  
global flow of information and have not yet arrived at the so-called  
information age.
In February 2007 Robert Bichler, research and teaching assistant at the  
ICT&S Center, conducted a survey on the Internet situation in the  
Republic of Yemen. For this purpose 219 questionnaires were handed out  
to predominantly male Internetcafé visitors. Furthermore with the help  
of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and SOUL (an  
independent NGO dealing with issues concerning Yemeni women and  
children) Robert got the opportunity to distribute 50 questionnaires to  
Yemeni women. In addition Expert-Interviews with Yemeni decision-makers  
from governmental institutions, Universities, business companies and  
NGOs were carried out to gain a broader picture. To top the research  
off Robert interviewed 6 Internetcafé managers on there views of  
Internet use in Yemen.

Based on these findings sustainable strategies for the use of ICTs  
especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) will be identified and  
recommendations for the implementation of such technologies will be  
formulated.