Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2020 |
Outros Autores: | |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2592 |
Resumo: | The rapid adoption of mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, has led a number of researchers to investigate their impact on socioeconomic activity in the developing world. However, until the recent advent of smart communication devices, mobile phones were primarily a relations management technology that enabled people to stay connected with each other. In this article, we focus on this basic function and analyze how people use this technology as a tool to expand their social capital. We use a dataset containing more than three billion call detail records from Rwanda’s largest telecommunication operator, covering the whole country during the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 March 2015, and combine these records with data from the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda in 2015. We found that people’s calling patterns significantly correlated with the income level of their region, which also dictated the destinations of their calls, with middle-income regions acting as a link between the richest and the poorest regions. From these results, we propose a framework for understanding the role of mobile phones in the development of social capital. |
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Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Studycall detail records; mobile phones; telecommunications; network analysis; poverty; Rwanda; social capitalThe rapid adoption of mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, has led a number of researchers to investigate their impact on socioeconomic activity in the developing world. However, until the recent advent of smart communication devices, mobile phones were primarily a relations management technology that enabled people to stay connected with each other. In this article, we focus on this basic function and analyze how people use this technology as a tool to expand their social capital. We use a dataset containing more than three billion call detail records from Rwanda’s largest telecommunication operator, covering the whole country during the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 March 2015, and combine these records with data from the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda in 2015. We found that people’s calling patterns significantly correlated with the income level of their region, which also dictated the destinations of their calls, with middle-income regions acting as a link between the richest and the poorest regions. From these results, we propose a framework for understanding the role of mobile phones in the development of social capital.Cogitatio2020-05-14info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2592oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2592Social Inclusion; Vol 8, No 2 (2020): Digital Inclusion Across the Globe: What Is Being Done to Tackle Digital Inequities?; 168-1792183-2803reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttps://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2592https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592/2592Copyright (c) 2020 Alain Shema, Martha Garcia-Murillohttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessShema, AlainGarcia-Murillo, Martha2022-12-20T11:00:27Zoai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2592Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T16:21:56.974970Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
title |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
spellingShingle |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study Shema, Alain call detail records; mobile phones; telecommunications; network analysis; poverty; Rwanda; social capital |
title_short |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
title_full |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
title_fullStr |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
title_sort |
Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
author |
Shema, Alain |
author_facet |
Shema, Alain Garcia-Murillo, Martha |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Garcia-Murillo, Martha |
author2_role |
author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Shema, Alain Garcia-Murillo, Martha |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
call detail records; mobile phones; telecommunications; network analysis; poverty; Rwanda; social capital |
topic |
call detail records; mobile phones; telecommunications; network analysis; poverty; Rwanda; social capital |
description |
The rapid adoption of mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, has led a number of researchers to investigate their impact on socioeconomic activity in the developing world. However, until the recent advent of smart communication devices, mobile phones were primarily a relations management technology that enabled people to stay connected with each other. In this article, we focus on this basic function and analyze how people use this technology as a tool to expand their social capital. We use a dataset containing more than three billion call detail records from Rwanda’s largest telecommunication operator, covering the whole country during the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 March 2015, and combine these records with data from the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda in 2015. We found that people’s calling patterns significantly correlated with the income level of their region, which also dictated the destinations of their calls, with middle-income regions acting as a link between the richest and the poorest regions. From these results, we propose a framework for understanding the role of mobile phones in the development of social capital. |
publishDate |
2020 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2020-05-14 |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2592 oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2592 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2592 |
identifier_str_mv |
oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2592 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592 https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2592 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592/2592 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2020 Alain Shema, Martha Garcia-Murillo http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
rights_invalid_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2020 Alain Shema, Martha Garcia-Murillo http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Cogitatio |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Cogitatio |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
Social Inclusion; Vol 8, No 2 (2020): Digital Inclusion Across the Globe: What Is Being Done to Tackle Digital Inequities?; 168-179 2183-2803 reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
instname_str |
Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
instacron_str |
RCAAP |
institution |
RCAAP |
reponame_str |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
collection |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
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1799130665824813056 |