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SOCIAL MEDIA & DEMOCRACYCASE STUDY ON USHAHIDI IN AFGHANISTAN

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USHAHIDI

Ushahidi is a tool that is build for democratizing information, increasing transparency and lowering the barriers for individuals to share their stories.

First website created by a community of Kenyan bloggers, developed into a free software platform

Egypt

http://www.u-shahid.org/cr/

Afghanistan

http://www.fefa2010.com/

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USHAHIDI PLATFORM

Combines existing technology

• Open source software

• PHP (Kohana PHP5 framework)

• Built-in support for SMS gateways

• Clickatell for sending• FrontlineSMS for receiving

• Google Maps API for geocoding

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SMS REPORTING AND FEEDBACK CYCLE

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RESEARCH TOPICS• Ushahidi

• Theoretical propositions on

• IT system performance• Democracy• Media effects on society & democracy• Internet effects on society & democracy

• Influence of

• Societal factors• Design decisions• Deployment decisions

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SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEM

Socio-technical levels (Whitworth, 2009)

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WEB OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

Web Of System Performance (Whitworth, 2009)

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WHAT IS A DEMOCRACY?

Dennis and Snyder (1997): “All democracies share certain important precepts – open debate with sufferance of unpopular opinions, and decisions taken by honest voting and thereupon accepted.”

Tocqueville, Democracy in America

• Importance of associations

• Importance of free press

• Third wave of democratization

1. Industrial revolution

2. Post WWII era

3. ICT revolution

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MEDIA SYSTEM DEPENDENCY THEORY

MSD theory (S. J. Ball-Rokeach & DeFleur, 1976)

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INFLUENCE ICT ON DEMOCRATIC GROWTH

Hypothetical Model for the influence of Communication Technologies and Endogenous Sociocultural Structures on Democratic Growth Based on Relationships Identified by MSD theory (Groshek, 2009)

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ALIVE IN AFGHANISTAN

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ALIVE IN AFGHANISTAN

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ALIVE IN AFGHANISTAN

Alive in Afghanistan

• Presidential elections of 2009

• Parliamentary elections of 2010

Afghanistan

• 42 % below national poverty line

• 18 % literacy rate (age >15)

• Important media: Radio and Mobile Telephony

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ALIVE IN AFGHANISTAN

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ALIVE IN AFGHANISTAN

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SOCIETAL FACTORS INFLUENCING SUCCESS• Level of Education

• Literacy• Digital literacy• Concepts of democracy, participation, etc.

• Location: Urban/Rural

• Wealth

• Age: Junior/Senior

• Trust in Government: Sociopolitical (in)stability, corruption

• Level of democracy

• Level of development

• Cultural factors: Religion, emancipation, importance of family

• Level of Communication Infrastructure

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DESIGN & DEPLOYMENT DECISIONS• Good Partnerships

• Marketing of the platform

• Creating alternative ways to interact

• ‘Social’ rules: Policies on crowdsourcing, privacy, community building, etc.

• Contingency planning

• Estimating feasibility of citizen-reporting

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Hypothetical Model for the influence of Communication Technologies and Endogenous Sociocultural Structures on Democratic Growth Based on Relationships Identified by MSD theory (Groshek, 2009)