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- Title
Diffusion of the Internet in Rural Communities: Methodological Dimensions and Empirical Insights.
- Authors
Butkevičienė, Eglė; Rinkevičius, Leonardas; Vaidelytė, Eglė; Baršauskienė, Viktorija
- Abstract
This article discusses the patterns of the Internet diffusion in rural communities. It explores the patterns of the Internet adoption at individual (micro) level (social characteristics of the Internet adopters, the role and social identity of change agents in the diffusion of the Internet) and the main institutional changes that are shaping, or shaped, by the diffusion of the Internet in the rural communities. Exploring patterns of the Internet diffusion at an individual (micro) level, authors follow theories which focus on adopter studies in explaining patterns of innovation diffusion. Identifying the ways in which different institutional spheres and mechanisms are shaping the diffusion of the Internet in rural communities, it is relevant to apply the theory of institutional isomorphism. Empirical evidence showed that Lithuanian rural population can be considered being in the early adoption phase. At the community level the key actors facilitating the diffusion of the Internet in rural communities are educational institutions, different NGOs, especially the Open Society Fund that held seminars for members from rural community organizations about the use of IT, and the public Internet access points in rural communities.
- Subjects
DIFFUSION of innovations; TECHNOLOGICAL innovations; INTERNET users; WORLD Wide Web; INTERNET; WIDE area networks; RURAL development; COMMUNITY development
- Publication
Social Sciences (1392-0758), 2008, Vol 59, Issue 1, p93
- ISSN
1392-0758
- Publication type
Article