Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Many of these countries have an inadequate telecommunications infrastructure.
For example, less than 25 percent of the people in the following countries have
cell phones: North Korea, Eritrea, Cuba, Kiribati, Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi,
Ethiopia, Tuvalu, and Djibouti [64]. Many poor people have no access to newspa-
pers, radio, or television [62].
3. The primary language is not English.
English is the dominant language for business and scientific development, giving
English-speaking countries a comparative advantage with respect to competing in
the global marketplace.
4. Literacy is low, and education is inadequate.
Half the population in poorer countries has no opportunity to attend secondary
schools. There is a strong correlation between literacy and wealth, both for individ-
uals and for societies [28].
5. The country's culture may not make participating in the Information Age a prior-
ity [65].
10.5.2 Social Divide
Even within wealthy countries such as the United States, the extent to which people
use the Internet varies widely according to age, wealth, and educational achievement.
Pew Internet polled Americans to find out how many made use of the Internet in the
year 2008. Online access varied from 93 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds to 27 percent of
those 76 and over [66]. A 2011 study revealed that fully 96 percent of adults living in
households with annual incomes of at least $75,000 used the Internet, compared to 63
percent of adults living in households with annual incomes less than $30,000. While 94
percent of those with a college degree used the Internet, only 42 percent of those who
dropped out of high school went online [67].
10.5.3 Models of Technological Diffusion
New technologies are usually expensive. Hence the first people to adopt new technolo-
gies are those who are better off. As the technology matures, its price drops dramati-
cally, enabling more people to acquire it. Eventually the price of the technology gets low
enough that it becomes available to nearly everyone.
The history of the consumer VCR illustrates this phenomenon. The first VHS VCR,
introduced by RCA in 1977, retailed for $1,000 ($3,562 in 2009 dollars). In 2009 you
could buy a VHS VCR from a mass-marketer for under $30. That means between 1977
and 2009, the price of a VCR in constant dollars fell by more than 99 percent! As the
price declined, more people could afford to purchase a VCR and sales increased rapidly.
The VCR progressed from a luxury that only the rich could afford to a consumer product
found in nearly every American household.
Technological diffusion refers to the rate at which a new technology is assimilated
into a society. Two different theories predict how a new technology is acquired by people
 
 
 
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