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Between a Rock and a Cell Phone: Communication and Information Technology Use during the 2011 Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt

Between a Rock and a Cell Phone: Communication and Information Technology Use during the 2011 Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt

Andrea Kavanaugh, Steven D. Sheetz, Riham Hassan, Seungwon Yang, Hicham G. Elmongui, Edward A. Fox, Mohamed Magdy, Donald J. Shoemaker
Copyright: © 2013 |Volume: 5 |Issue: 1 |Pages: 21
ISSN: 1937-9390|EISSN: 1937-9420|EISBN13: 9781466631120|DOI: 10.4018/jiscrm.2013010101
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MLA

Kavanaugh, Andrea, et al. "Between a Rock and a Cell Phone: Communication and Information Technology Use during the 2011 Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt." IJISCRAM vol.5, no.1 2013: pp.1-21. http://doi.org/10.4018/jiscrm.2013010101

APA

Kavanaugh, A., Sheetz, S. D., Hassan, R., Yang, S., Elmongui, H. G., Fox, E. A., Magdy, M., & Shoemaker, D. J. (2013). Between a Rock and a Cell Phone: Communication and Information Technology Use during the 2011 Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (IJISCRAM), 5(1), 1-21. http://doi.org/10.4018/jiscrm.2013010101

Chicago

Kavanaugh, Andrea, et al. "Between a Rock and a Cell Phone: Communication and Information Technology Use during the 2011 Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt," International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (IJISCRAM) 5, no.1: 1-21. http://doi.org/10.4018/jiscrm.2013010101

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Abstract

Many observers heralded the use of social media during recent political uprisings in the Middle East, even dubbing Iran’s post-election protests a “Twitter Revolution”. The authors seek to put into perspective the use of social media in Egypt during the mass political demonstrations in 2011. We draw on innovation diffusion theory to argue that these media could have had an impact beyond their low adoption rates due to other factors related to the essential role played by social networks in diffusion and the demographics of Internet and social media adoption in Egypt, Tunisia and (to a lesser extent) Iran. To illustrate the argument the authors draw on technology adoption, information use, discussion networks and demographics. They supplement the social media data analysis with survey data collected in June 2011 from an opportunity sample of Egyptian youth. The authors conclude that in addition to the contextual factors noted above, the individuals within Egypt who used Twitter during the uprising have the characteristics of opinion leaders, that is, a group of early adopters with influence throughout their social circles and beyond. These findings contribute to knowledge regarding the use and impact of social media during violent political demonstrations and their aftermath.

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