DOCSLIB.ORG

Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society Volume 2 December 2008 An Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society Regional Analyses from Asia Information Society for the South Series Volume 2 An Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society Regional Analyses from Asia IT for Change Information Society for the South Series Volume 2 An Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society: Regional Analyses from Asia Editors Anita Gurumurthy Parminder Jeet Singh Anja Kovacs Editorial and Production Assistance Adithi N Rao Design Krupa Thimmaiah December 2008 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-share Alike 2.5 India Licence Published by: IT for Change Bangalore, India www.ITforChange.net Printed at National Printing Press, Bangalore Table of Contents Introduction 5 1. An Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society: Perspectives from East Asia Angela M. Kuga Thas 11 2. What Women Want from IT: Views from Western Asia Deborah L. Wheeler 51 3. ICTs and Women’s Empowerment: Findings from South Asia Mridula Swamy 79 Author and Editor Profiles 111 An Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society 4 Introduction About This Collection This document is the second in the series of publications from IT for Change under the ‘Information Society for the South’ research umbrella. The series is an attempt to build a body of critical work that offers analytical and conceptual tools to understand and engage with the structural changes that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are bringing about in society. This collection of papers comes out of a project undertaken as part of the regional activities of the Gender Caucus1 of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Advocacy on gender issues in the WSIS Phase One deliberations focused on women’s equal participation in the information society and the mainstreaming of gender perspectives, which found reflection in the ‘Geneva Declaration of Principles 2003’.2 Towards Phase Two of the WSIS held in 2005, the need for concepts to make the connections between the local and global emerged as an important gap required to be filled. Contextualising gender and making the case for gender equality in relation to the emerging information society as a global public policy issue were two sides of the gender advocacy coin. This collaborative research project, conceived in the build-up to the second phase of the WSIS, sought to address this policy advocacy imperative. It offers an analytical framework for women’s empowerment in the information society that is grounded in the particularities of the Asian region, capturing the question of the ‘opportunity structure’ for gender equality in the information society and also problematising the notion of ‘access to ICTs’. The fact that women’s ‘access’ to information and communication technologies is mediated by various factors – caste, religion, ethnicity, income, education, age, etc. – has been well established. However, it was felt that ‘access’ needs to be unpacked further and located in the context of the Asian experience. There was a need to analyse whether and how ICTs do, and can potentially, bring about structural transformation in gender relations and therefore, the conditions framing such access needed to be explored. IT for Change coordinated this effort, and also provided the broad conceptual framework. The research also fed into a wider consultation process to shape the directions for policy advocacy in the second phase of WSIS. The diverse contexts of Asia were sought to be captured through sub-regional analysis. The specific objectives of the research were defined as follows: z To attempt a systematic mapping of women and ICTs in Asia, looking at the individual and structural aspects influencing women’s agency and choices. z To provide a gendered analysis of the key individual and structural-institutional dimensions of women’s empowerment vis-à-vis information society possibilities. It was decided that for the purposes of the research, four thematic areas that are key to understanding women’s empowerment in relation to the information society context would be useful entry points to 5 An Empowerment Approach to Gender Equality in the Information Society examine ‘empowerment’: identity, control and ownership of technology within emerging knowledge paradigms, collective action, and ICTs-induced institutional transformation. Through these thematic areas, the papers examine both individual and structural dimensions of social change in the emerging information society. Broad indicators to unpack each were evolved, even though some did overlap between the themes. The indicators, outlined below, were meant to serve as exploratory pegs: Identity in the information society: z How do ICTs enable/constrain women’s ability to maintain control over their bodies and sexuality? z How can ICTs enable/constrain women’s ability to challenge stereotypes and social and religious norms that confine their choices? z How are new technologies redefining, if indeed they are, women’s identities (self-perception and social status)? z How do ICTs perpetuate/challenge existing stereotypes of ‘women’s work’ and in the process restrict/enhance opportunities available to them? z How can women be enabled to feel more comfortable in availing and optimising opportunities that become available through ICTs in widening spaces of engagement and for individual agency? Control and ownership of technology within emerging knowledge paradigms: z Do new technologies in their very design alienate women? How can women shape the design and nature of ICTs (and create new technologies) to suit their needs? z How can ICTs enable/constrain women’s ability to impart and secure knowledge? z Do existing technology paradigms allow for an equitable information society? How do alternate paradigms – Creative Commons licenses, open content and open access paradigms – further women’s interests? Collective action in the information society: z What role do ICTs play in women’s ability to organise and engage in collective action towards the realisation of their rights? z How do ICTs enable/constrain women’s ability to be represented/participate in decision making bodies and influence decisions that affect their lives? ICT-induced institutional transformation: z What are the gender dimensions of ICT-induced institutional transformation around us – in work and business as well as in governance, health, education, media, social organisation, etc? 6 Introduction For instance, why and how do citizen’s media allow for more equitable inputs from women, how and under what circumstances do ICTs contribute to the productive potential of women in their work spaces?. z How can such change be directed towards engendering institutions in ways that empower women? For instance, how can e-governance bring the interface between public authorities and the community closer to the community? Insights from the Papers about ICTs and Women’s Empowerment in Asia The three papers in this collection have been contributed by Angela Kuga Thas, Deborah Wheeler and Mridula Swamy, who examine the South East Asian, West Asian and South Asian contexts respectively. The papers are based on primary and secondary data. Kuga Thas and Swamy have used statistical data and some case studies, while also engaging in policy analysis; Wheeler, in addition to analysing statistics, has employed personal interviews to look at the interdependencies between individual choice and structural change, exploring the role of macro dimensions in defining micro outcomes as well as the place of policy in inducing transformatory change for women’s empowerment. The papers collectively speak to some key insights summarised as follows: The Empowerment Potential The research papers show how ICTs create new social spaces for women and open up avenues for women’s expression, expanding their social networks and economic opportunities. Virtual freedoms translate into ‘real’ life gains in terms of enhanced confidence and by ending isolation. Cyberspace thus become a space for the creation of new identities – where the transgression of traditional boundaries creates a flux that redefines gender norms. This may happen through avenues for discovering, interacting with, learning about, and changing attitudes toward, the opposite sex in certain cultures, like in Islamic societies. Inside- outside divides significant to women’s realities in the Asian context seem to get destabilised in the spatial reconfiguration of the information society. The information society thus presents new ontological possibilities for emancipation. The research opens up the connections between ‘collective appropriation’ (as against ‘individual consumption’) of ICTs and collective action. Women’s control over technology seems to strengthen their identity, stimulate individual and collective action and transform their status and roles in the community. The emerging public sphere has the potential to foster new sub-cultures or counter-publics through various means like professional and solidarity networks, subaltern media etc., and thus opens up spaces for feminist consciousness. By shaping the content that is shared through technology, grassroots movements and collectives can challenge negative stereotypes in mass media and violence against women in virtual spaces. Through greater networking, ICTs seem to enhance women’s capabilities to assert political claims. ICTs also seem to enable women to capture and share the realities
Load more

Recommended publications
  • An Investigation of E-Government Adoption in Bahrain and Evaluate the Key Determining Factors for Strategic Advantage Ali Mohame
    An Investigation of e-Government Adoption in Bahrain and Evaluate the key Determining Factors for Strategic Advantage Ali Mohamed Abbas Kamali http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9438-4062 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements of London South Bank University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2018 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my father Mohamed Abbas Kamali and my mother Sakina Mohamed Gulom, for their support and encouragement morally. To my brothers and sisters for their unlimited support and encouragement. To my wife Khayria Mukhtar Mohamed, for her support and motivation throughout the PhD journey. I DECLARATION I declare that the ideas, results, analysis, findings and conclusions reported in this thesis are entirely my own efforts, except where otherwise acknowledged. I also declare that this work is original and has not been previously submitted for any degree award. Many researchers conducted in the field of e-Government services according to literature studies, but this work is totally different because the original idea and work proposed by myself along with my supervisory team. January, 2018 II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to who helped and supported me during my PhD. I am greatly indebted to my main supervisor Professor Shushma Patel (Interim Dean of Engineering and Professor of Information Systems) for her guidance and support, valuable advice, and perceptive suggestions throughout the duration of research and writing-up process for my PhD. I would also like to extend my appreciation to my second supervisor Professor Amare Desta (Professor of Information and Knowledge Management) for his support throughout my Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Being the Number of Sent Packets That Were Acknowledged As Received
    Dimming the Internet Detecting Throttling as a Mechanism of Censorship in Iran Collin Anderson? [email protected] Abstract. In the days immediately following the contested June 2009 Presidential election, Iranians attempting to reach news content and so- cial media platforms were subject to unprecedented levels of the degra- dation, blocking and jamming of communications channels. Rather than shut down networks, which would draw attention and controversy, the government was rumored to have slowed connection speeds to rates that would render the Internet nearly unusable, especially for the consump- tion and distribution of multimedia content. Since, political upheavals elsewhere have been associated with headlines such as \High usage slows down Internet in Bahrain" and \Syrian Internet slows during Friday protests once again," with further rumors linking poor connectivity with political instability in Myanmar and Tibet. For governments threatened by public expression, the throttling of Internet connectivity appears to be an increasingly preferred and less detectable method of stifling the free flow of information. In order to assess this perceived trend and begin to create systems of accountability and transparency on such practices, we attempt to outline an initial strategy for utilizing a ubiquitious set of network measurements as a monitoring service, then apply such method- ology to shed light on the recent history of censorship in Iran. Keywords: censorship, national Internet, Iran, throttling, M-Lab 1 Introduction "Prison is like, there's no bandwidth." - Eric Schmidt1 The primary purpose of this paper is to assess the validity of claims that the international connectivity of information networks used by the Iranian public has been subject to substantial throttling based on a historical and correlated set of open measurements of network performance.
    [Show full text]
  • State Power 2.0.Pdf
    STATE POWER 2.0 Proof Copy 000 Hussain book.indb 1 9/9/2013 2:02:58 PM This collection is dedicated to the international networks of activists, hactivists, and enthusiasts leading the global movement for Internet freedom. Proof Copy 000 Hussain book.indb 2 9/9/2013 2:02:58 PM State Power 2.0 Authoritarian Entrenchment and Political Engagement Worldwide Edited by MUZAMMIL M. HUSSAIN University of Michigan, USA PHILIP N. HOWARD University of Washington, USA Proof Copy 000 Hussain book.indb 3 9/9/2013 2:02:59 PM © Muzammil M. Hussain and Philip N. Howard 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Muzammil M. Hussain and Philip N. Howard have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Wey Court East 110 Cherry Street Union Road Suite 3-1 Farnham Burlington, VT 05401-3818 Surrey, GU9 7PT USA England www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Howard, Philip N. State Power 2.0 : Authoritarian Entrenchment and Political Engagement Worldwide / by Philip N. Howard and Muzammil M. Hussain. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4094-5469-4 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-4094-5470-0 (ebook) -- ISBN 978- 1-4724-0328-5 (epub) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom on the Net 2019
    Bahrain Not Free 29 100 A Obstacles to Access 16 25 B Limits on Content 835 C Violations of User Rights 540 Last Year's Score & Status 29 100 Not Free Overview Internet freedom in Bahrain remains restricted. While no internet shutdowns were reported during the coverage period, numerous websites continued to be blocked, social media users were arrested and jailed, and the level of self-censorship and state surveillance remained high. Journalists and activists who work online, including those abroad, continued to face extralegal intimidation, and reports continue of their severe abuse while in custody of Bahraini authorities. The government works to manipulate and control online information. Bahrain was once viewed as a promising model for political reform and democratic transition, but it has become one of the Middle East’s most repressive states. Since violently crushing a popular prodemocracy protest movement in 2011, the Sunni-led monarchy has systematically eliminated a broad range of political rights and civil liberties, dismantled the political opposition, and cracked down harshly on persistent dissent in the Shiite population. Key Developments June 1, 2018 – May 31, 2019 In contrast to past years, no restrictions to connectivity were observed during the reporting period (see A3). In April 2019, authorities announced progress on plans to establish a single national broadband network, which is expected to be completed later in 2019 ( see A4). Video recordings and live-streamed video of government proceedings were censored or removed on several occasions, apparently to prevent users from viewing potentially controversial or embarrassing remarks by officials (see B2). In May 2019, the cybercrime directorate of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) declared the accounts of several Bahraini activists and journalists to be malicious, and a few days later sent SMS messages and tweeted to users to warn them that following “malicious” social media accounts could result in prosecution (see B5, C7).
    [Show full text]
  • Mobilizing Through Online Media
    REPORT ARAB POLITICS BEYOND THE UPRISINGS Mobilizing through Online Media Why the Internet Still Matters for Change in the Middle East MAY 9, 2017 — MARC LYNCH PAGE 1 Social media had a starring role in the Arab uprisings of 2011. But since then, authoritarians have cracked down on online activists, and even on casual dissent on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, numerous reactionaries have shown they can use the web just as effectively as the liberals who were its first adopters in the region. Together, these events have unraveled the once-popular narrative that the Internet has an inherent bent toward democracy. Still, state control of communications has been forever disrupted, and online platforms continue to provide the region’s most resilient sites for political and social engagement. Usually, they do not directly lead to mass action. However, such a metric underestimates social media’s significance. The Internet’s churn often occurs beneath the surface: ideas ferment, identities evolve, and coordination happens across geographical and social divides. Authorities may infiltrate and imprison, but online media will certainly be central to the next wave of change, whatever form it takes. As autocratic regimes have regained their grip on power following the extraordinary moments of early 2011, many politically engaged Arabs have retreated into online spaces to rethink, reshape, and recreate forms of contentious political action. The severe increase in state surveillance and repression of the Internet over the last five years has shaped the way online media is used in Arab countries. But such repressive measures cannot erase the generational impact of the massive increase in the availability and use of social media.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Bradford Ethesis
    Factors affecting the adoption of internet banking in the Kingdom of Bahrain Item Type Thesis Authors Janahi, Yusuf M.A.M. Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 03/10/2021 18:09:32 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/15884 University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF INTERNET BANKING IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN Overcoming Barriers to Adoption Through the Use of Biometrics YUSUF MOHAMED ABDULLA MOHAMED JANAHI Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATICS UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD 2016 Janahi, Yusuf Mohamed Abdulla M. “FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF INTERNET BANKING IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN” Abstract The emergence of the Internet in business as a marketing tool and as a communication medium is one of the existing challenges for the banking industry. Because of this evolution, the banking industry has adopted Internet banking both for financial transactions and for the provision
    [Show full text]
  • FINAL Completed Thesis
    The Localisation of International News Agency Reports in English Newspapers in the Middle East Author Mohamed, Ali Published 2014 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Languages and Linguistics DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/1462 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367979 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au The Localisation of International News Agency Reports in English Newspapers in the Middle East Ali Mohamed BA, English Language and Literature, University of Bahrain 2003 MA, Applied English Language Studies, University of Bahrain 2007 School of Languages and Linguistics Arts, Education and Law Griffith University Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2013 Statement of Originality This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. _____________________________ Ali Mohamed Abstract This thesis investigates the process of producing localised news reports by English newspapers in the Middle East instead of them using the actual news articles that they obtain from the international news agencies. The production of English news in the Middle East is a subject that has hardly been studied so far and this study is an attempt to shed light into how English news is produced and received in this part of the world. Since most news articles about international events reach the Middle East through the various international news agencies, news editors in the English newspapers in the region are faced with the task of fending off the ideologies that contradict with the local interest.
    [Show full text]
  • Samena Trends Exclusively for Samena Telecommunications Council's Members Building Digital Economies
    Volume 08, December, 2017 A SAMENA Telecommunications Council Newsletter www.samenacouncil.org SAMENA TRENDS EXCLUSIVELY FOR SAMENA TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL'S MEMBERS BUILDING DIGITAL ECONOMIES THIS MONTH PROMOTING 5G INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS MODELS Upgrade your Business with Batelco the leading Digital Solutions Provider From Business connectivity, cloud services to security solutions. We provide you with everything So that your idea doesn’t just change the world, it transforms yours too. Work better with Batelco’s Digital Business Solutions batelco.com/business VOLUME 08, DECEMBER, 2017 Contributing Editors Publisher Izhar Ahmad SAMENA Telecommunications Council SAMENA Javaid Akhtar Malik Subscriptions TRENDS Contributing Members [email protected] Alfa Editor-in-Chief A.D. Little Advertising Bocar A. BA Cisco [email protected] du Huawei SAMENA TRENDS Oman Broadband [email protected] Tel: +971.4.364.2700 CONTENTS 04 EDITORIAL 05 REGULATOR ACHIEVEMENTS 26 REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES Members News Regional News 61 SATELLITE UPDATES Satellite News 71 WHOLESALE UPDATES The SAMENA TRENDS newsletter is Wholesale News wholly owned and operated by The SAMENA Telecommunications Council 78 (SAMENA Council). Information in the TECHNOLOGY UPDATES newsletter is not intended as professional Technology News services advice, and SAMENA Council disclaims any liability for use of specific 87 REGULATORY & POLICY 21 SAMENA COUNCIL information or results thereof. Articles ACTIVITY and information contained in this UPDATES publication
    [Show full text]
  • Empirical Study with Relevance to Bahrain an Ical Study with Bahrain
    Global Journal of Enterprise Information System January 2010 -June 2010 Volume-2 Issue -1 ABSTRACT Online Shopping is growing globally. However, there may be notable differences in the way people engage the online marketplace based on such factors as age, gender, and educational background (among others). This research focuses Insight of Online on the expanding trend of electronic retail (e -tail) in Bahrain. It examines various factors such as Trend : availability, knowledge, awareness, security and Shopping Trend : An customer service which are expected to have an impact on online shopping popularity among different age groups an d their educational Empirical Study with background. The study challenges the growth of e - tail in Bahrain’s heterogeneous market and relevance to Bahrain highlights that the main dependencies that affect it can be either related to technology availability or lifestyle perspective of Internet users . The study hypothesizes that the highest online shopping activity is not sustained within a specific age group. Dr. Akram Jalal The research also discusses the advancement of Chair of MIS Department, College of Business and online shopping in a country like Bahrain and how Finance, Ahlia University, Kingdom of Bahrain the business trend can be transforming from r etail to e-tail. In conclusion it attempts to forecast the [email protected] move towards e-tail and highlights the underlying factors such as product variety, cost, security and customer service. Another area that is moderately Mazen AlAl----MaskatiMaskati explored is online banking usage which is an area that is closely related to e-tail as it requires similar College of Business and Finance, Ahlia University, mechanisms.
    [Show full text]
  • What Women Want from IT: Views from Western Asia
    What Women Want from IT: Views from West Asia Deborah L. Wheeler December 2006 Bangalore, India IT for Change Research supported by WSIS-GC IDRC IT for Change, Bangalore Research supported by WSIS-GC and IDRC Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................................... 2 Gender and IT Access .................................................................................. 2 Qualifying Women’s IT Access.................................................................... 3 Regional Realities Challenge and Shape Women’s IT Practices.............. 4 Signs that IT Leads to Empowerment ......................................................... 6 The Macro-Picture of the Information Society in Western Asia....................................................... 7 Contextualising the Information Society in Western Asia: Voices of Empowerment ............................................................................................. 10 Kuwait .................................................................................................................................................. 10 Saudi Arabia ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Bahrain................................................................................................................................................. 16 Jordan..................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Arab Uprisings: Bahrain's Turn
    Arab Uprisings: Bahrain’s Turn February 18, 2011 POMEPS Briefings 2 Contents Fifth columns in the Gulf? . 3. Bahrain’s torture problem . 4. The Internet in Bahrain: breaking the monopoly of information . 6. Ahead of elections what do Bahraini Shias really want? . 8 Why the Bahrain elections matter . 1. 0 The siege of Bahrain . 1. 2 Crackdown in Bahrain . 1. 4 The Project on Middle East Political Science The Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) is a collaborative network which aims to increase the impact of political scientists specializing in the study of the Middle East in the public sphere and in the academic community . POMEPS, directed by Marc Lynch, is based at the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation and the Social Science Research Council . It is a co-sponsor of the Middle East Channel (http://mideast foreignpolicy. com). For more information, see http://www .pomeps .org . Online Article Index Fifth columns in the Gulf? http://mideast .foreignpolicy .com/posts/2010/05/24/fifth_columns_in_the_gulf Bahrain’s torture problem http://mideast .foreignpolicy .com/posts/2010/03/29/bahrain_s_torture_problem The Internet in Bahrain: breaking the monopoly of information http://mideast .foreignpolicy .com/posts/2010/09/21/bahrain_government_vs_the_internet Ahead of elections what do Bahraini Shias really want? http://mideast .foreignpolicy .com/posts/2010/10/22/ahead_of_elections_what_do_bahraini_shias_really_want Why the Bahrain elections matter http://mideast .foreignpolicy .com/posts/2010/12/01/bahrain_elections The siege of Bahrain http://mideast .foreignpolicy .com/posts/2011/02/18/the_siege_of_bahrain Crackdown in Bahrain http://www .foreignpolicy .com/articles/2011/02/17/crackdown_in_bahrain 2 Arab Uprisings: Bahrain’s Turn Fifth columns in the Gulf? Posted By Frederic M.
    [Show full text]
  • Kingdom of Bahrain State of the Nation Review of Internet Safety
    Kingdom of Bahrain State of the Nation Review of Internet Safety July 2010 Prof. Julia Davidson, Kingston University and Dr Elena Martellozzo, Middlesex University on behalf of The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain 1 1. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) staff who contributed to the planning and organization of the research. We are particularly grateful to the chairman Dr. Mohamed Al Amer for his support. We are grateful to Nick Truman, Internet Security Advisor for his assistance and invaluable support throughout this project; to Robert Middlehurst, Deputy General Director, for his support and constant encouragement; to Mohammed Mahmood, director of technical and operations, and Basil Al Arrayed, Director of Communications and Consumer Affairs for their help. We are also grateful to Ghada Ebrahim Alqassab, Reem Al Alawi, Rana Majed Sultan, Abdulelah Abdulla and Adel Darwish. We would like to thank Dr Khalid Al-Mutawah for managing and conducting the qualitative focus groups in the public schools and his colleagues Doctor Athraa Al Mosawi, Doctor Mohamed Baqer and Ghazwa B. Sulaibeekh from Bahrain University for their invaluable help with the data collection. We would also like to thank Mazen Khamis, Samuel, VK and Sundeep Mathias from Nielsen for their help and assistance with the survey data. The authors would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Internet Service Providers (Lightspeed, Zain, Mena and Batelco), Ministry Representatives (Education, Health and Social Development), The Sura Council, Bahrain Internet Society, Bahraini Society for Child Development NGOs, Child Protection Centre, all the schools that participated in the research and the invaluable support of the British Embassy in Bahrain.
    [Show full text]