Determinants of Internet Use in Iraq - Research Paper Example

Determinants of Internet Use in Iraq Abstract The internet is considered to be today’s most advanced technology and key to progress of mutual exchange of goods, services, technologies etc. on the one hand, and thoughts and ideas on the other. Since its introduction during the late 1960s, the internet has been able to come up with several conditions of development both for the developed and developing nations around the globe. Not all nations though welcome this particular tool of world connection. Iraq is facing huge challenges in increasing internet penetration and usage and changing the traditional way of communication. However, this is a difficult task. Many factors define this transition process. This issue and more shall be better presented within the study. Through a proper approach of methodological procedures, this study aims to have a practical sense to explain the fact about the determinants of Internet use in Iraq. The results of this study indicate that while the people of Iraq are eager to adopt this technology in order to reach out to the world, a number of factors like lack of adequate resources, not enough encouragement from the government and some social inhibitions are not allowing this technology to become people in the public domain. Keywords: internet usability, internet users, internet in Iraq, benefits of using internet, purposes of using internet, modern media, social advancement, modern progress through internet. JEL Classification Numbers: C25, C35, D12, L86, L96 1. Introduction The reason why the Internet seems all-powerful can be explained by two unique characteristics that no other previously existing information and communication mechanisms possess: First, Internet contains the biggest resource of information in the whole world; Second, it enables people to get an interactive mechanism to directly communicate with each other (Guangdong, 1998). The foundation of why people get online and use the internet is determined by many factors. Many scholars have attempted to reveal the decision factors behind internet use to understand people’s needs and behavior in the age of information technology. Fundamental human needs such as communication, learning, entertainment, and sharing information and resources were most cited as some of the key factors that play major role in people decision to connect to the internet. People need to interact with each other through the internet and share their experiences and knowledge as in real life. Social networks, virtual worlds, or services built on existing communication/social protocols and services in the internet provide very attractive tools for human social activities on the web. Moreover, the internet help people to learn from others through training courses, social news, online journals, and from education institutions such as universities and collages online. As well the internet provide a mean form people to have fun and enjoy movies, shopping, games and other activates that increase there satisfaction in their leisure time. Yet, people use the internet also to make a living through many businesses and services. Ranging from entrepreneurs to large corporations everyone can find his stream of revenue and makes money. E-commerce industry is becoming more significant than ever. 1.1 Background of The Study Internet has been considered as a revolutionary concept and a huge matter of development in the current society of human civilization. Internet became the main sharing tool around the whole world. Internet makes it possible to create good infrastructure and massive development for many countries that are interconnected around the globe. Internet is considered today as a practical key to human development and social advancements causing massive innovation in the world at present. Internet systems are now among the most impressive innovations that communication engineers have introduced to the world. However, not everyone accepts the internet in a free manner as an appropriate medium for communication and knowledge dissemination. Such inhibitions about internet don’t allow them to embrace the entire process in a much more welcoming manner. Likely, there are cultures around the world that are not able to see the importance of the internet immediately. In this research we seek to answer some key issues. How are they able to mandate the existence of internet in their community and how are they able to control its effects to the people of their nation? How the cultural and traditional preferences of the people in Iraq practically become effective contributors to the situational use of internet in the country? These particular considerations are to be given proper attention within the discussion that is to be presented through the context of this research. 1.2 Statement of the Problem To serve as practical guide towards the completion of this research, the following questions shall be used to make the presentation of the ideas to be used in this research and to come up with a rather practical approach aiding the readers with the right kind of knowledge that they ought to know about the issue on the use of Internet in Iraq: First: The internet is today’s cradle of global development. It provides a wide array of consideration in the process by which people are interconnected towards each other in the society. How does Iraq fit into the whole picture of development considering this particular fact regarding the Internet? Second: Keeping a good chance of developing towards a more industrialized nation is one of the most important concerns of both the well developed and the developing countries today; that it has already been recognized as a particular trend that allows humans to progress further at present. Does Iraq try to fit in to the situation and jump into the trend of development through the internet or does it remain traditionally laid to its roots of progress? 1.3 Approaches and Solutions To solve the issues that are given proper focus in this research, we utilize different procedures of data collection that allow handling the different factors analysis using logit regression analysis techniques. These research materials are to be paired with a defining process/methodology that would further enhance the strength of the research materials in becoming more related to the issue being dealt upon in this study with regards the internet and its determinants of usability in Iraq. 1.4 Expectations This study, seek to provide a practical explanation on the different determinants of internet usability in Iraq could already be identified and established for the sake of public knowledge and understanding. Moreover it is we aim to present a practical and proper implication to policy decision makers in ICT sector in a effort to enhance their vision on developing internet adoption. 2. Literature Review Internet has brought about a wide variety of changes in the way we conduct business, communicate with each other, carry out banking transactions, impart education, do the shopping, watch videos, data streaming etc. With globalization and liberalization policies spreading across to all corners of the globe, the reach and utility of internet has indeed crossed many barriers. But at the same time with the disturbing news of online frauds, deceptive videos, data and identity thefts, the security of online transactions has also come under scrutiny from time to time. 2.1 The Effects of Internet in General In “Interface Culture” a book by the well-known scholar Steven Berlin Johnson (1997) showed that one of the greatest advancements that the human society ever jumped into for the past ten decades was the development of the cyberspace or the Internet. With the introduction of the cyber world, everything changes. It just happens that with just one click of a button, an individual could already be wired through to the world. Interface Culture focuses of technological advancements of communication, particularly the internet, and how it affects the society at present. The said book by Johnson has been mainly a rhetorical writing that helps the readers understand the reality of “Interface” and the great impact that it has upon the lives of those who are directly linked to the said technological development. The interface avant-garde has quite been the core idea of the discussion that Johnson has presented in this book. The use of GUI’s (Graphical User Interface) have made it possible for certain individuals, even those who are not specifically involved in the usage of the Internet has caused much individual advancements among people in the society. It is mainly pointed out in this book that the changes that the introduction of the cyber world has radically performed social connection among races around the globe. Among the said advancements, Johnson focused on the social impact of the said Interface. Cultures from around the world are already wired together and are thus able to learn about each other with just a click of the button. It could not be denied that it is through the Internet that people are educated about what happens on the other side of their own share of the globe. 2.2 Digital Divide and the Determinants of Internet Use in Iraq The World Wide Web has become a main source of social and economic development (Crandall and Jackson 2003).Internet access became a necessity. Consequently, many scholars tried to investigate the determinants and factors that control internet usage and access around the world and in every aspect and field. In their study of the Chilean Internet population Mendoza and Alvarez de Toledo,(1997) found that Internet user are young, male and highly educated. Internet usage is one aspect of the digital divide; earlier research implies that Internet use is affected by social and demographic characteristics, attitudes toward the Internet and social supports, (Atkin et al., 1998; Lin, 1998; Rogers, 1995; Zhu He, 2002). Large differences of different type and nature exists between population groups of users and non-users of the Internet services. Internet use may be an indicator of changes in society and Internet users and non-users may be differentiated according to their social demographics, attitudes toward the Internet, and social support that they receive (Rhee and Kim, 2004). Prior research on the adoption of new technology has focused on an individual's economic characteristics, perceived attributes of innovations, situational factors, and the characteristics of innovations that influence adoption are identified as critical factors in using internet (Rogers, 1995, Zhu and He, 2002). In the meanwhile, Busselle et al. (1999) founds that in the early stage of diffusion, the young, educated, and affluent were the typical adopters of the new information and communication technology. However, according to predictions made by (Rogers, 1995), demographics tend to be less important when innovations have reached a critical mass on their diffusion curves. Empirical result from studies of adoption of new technology suggests that those who adopt new communication technologies are more fashionable, better educated, and younger than non-adopter counterparts. (Atkin, 1993; Atkin and LaRose, 1994; Dutton et al., 1987; Garramone et al., 1986; James et al., 1995; Leung and Wei, 1998, 1999; and Li and Yang, 2000). Researchers have identified several reasons for the expanded demand for the new internet technology. Higher education brings about a responsiveness of benefit from the use of the new technology, and higher incomes enable people to purchase new technological devices that are financially unreachable to others. As well, young people are more adventuresome when it comes to trying new technologies (Lin, 1998). The factors that impact uses of the Internet are diversified. Economic factors such as income level, availability and price structures of services, bandwidth and supporting infrastructures are critical to the individuals’ decision to use the internet (Kshetri 2001). For instance, bandwidth prices are a main determinant of Internet adoption. For example, 50 percent of the worldwide bandwidth capacity is in North America compared to only 3 percent in the Middle East and Africa (Frontline.net 2001). The technology capability and creation and its multiple use explains the difference in its utilization rate. Moreover, the lack of intraregional infrastructures in developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America means that even Internet communications with neighboring countries have to be routed through the U.S. or other industrialized countries in Europe, further increasing the costs. When high bandwidth is available and reasonably priced, as in South Korea, it becomes a driver of more rapid Internet diffusion. Another category of factors include socio-cultural factors An examination of the ‘values’ and ‘culture’ inherent in the Internet helps predict the degree of acceptance or rejection of the Internet in a society. An important component of the value system is related to skills required to use the Internet. Literacy and computer skills are almost the prerequisites to Internet use. A large proportion of the population in developing countries is illiterate and still higher proportion lacks computer skills. Thus, illiteracy and other important factors explain the fact that penetration of such technology is slower than in developed nations. Moreover, Internet tends to favor the English-speaking population because most of the software and interfaces used in the Internet are in English. Also, a large proportion of the WWW content is in the English language. For instance, a survey conducted in 1998 found that about 85 percent of the texts on the WWW were in English (Nunberg, 2000), which decreased to about 80 percent in 1999 (Nua Internet Surveys, 1999a). Many people in the East, thus, tend to doubt the integrity of information originating from the Western world and view the use of English as a vehicle for executing an electronic “Pax Americana” (Shabazz, 1999). Lack of alternative and formation of habit in the long term reduces the effects of such resistance factors. A new study by (Ruderfinn, 2009) on Intent Index shines some light on the intent and motivations for going online, while also proposing a new perspective on demographics. The study shows that 63 percent of Americans go online to try to change others' opinions or express their contrasting views on the discussed topics. The reasons for going online don't vary too much with age, as young people show the same motivations as seniors, with 82 percent using the web to have fun and 80 percent to socialize. This homogenization makes the research firm claim that regular demographics are becoming increasingly irrelevant in the online world. Some of the top reasons for going online are learning, for 88 percent of the individuals looked at, having fun, for 82 percent, and socializing, for 81 percent of them. Communities are a big part of the Internet's draw, with 72 percent of those surveyed going online for this reason. Social networks are the preferred mediums for communities, with 41 percent using them, while only 34 percent express themselves by posting comments or opinions (Kathryn and Gary, 2004). Songan and Noor (1999) Internet usage in higher education in Malaysia and found is significant factor for use while gender is not. Ono and Zavodny (2003) on the other hand found that women were significantly less likely to use the Internet in the mid-1990s, but came to conclusions that after the 2000’s there is very little reason for concern about sex inequalities in Internet access and usage. Culture is also important; in fact Gong et al. (2007) investigated the role of national culture on internet use and access using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (power distance, uncertainty, individualism, masculinity, long-term orientation) and education. In general, the digital divide can be explained by different functions of the Internet. First of all, there is an instrumental function of the Internet which is news and information gathering. This is perhaps the most important function of the Internet use. The second function is communication; third, transaction (i.e. Internet shopping and banking), and fourth, entertainment. These functions are primarily engaged by different population subgroups based on their own needs and motivations (Kyung, 2004). Thus, whatever motivations there may be in using the Internet; they can be differentiated by various characteristics of the user population (Rogers, 1995). Internet usage is more likely to expand among younger people who are the main participants in it. In the process of socializing, young people are commonly exposed to new technologies and tools, which they can easily assimilate for their own various purposes (Atkin, Jeffres and Neuendorf, 1998). The young generation, with a better learning capability and as main consumers of most of the services such as entertainment is more prone to its use and development. The abovementioned background characteristic can be an obstacle in the introduction of new technologies. For example, basic (elementary) English language knowledge is needed for Internet use. This education policy may also influence the age difference in Internet use. Another factor is educational level, which determines the capacity for Internet use. A well-educated group is more open to using the Internet than those with low levels of education. Income level is another criterion in the adoption of the Internet because of the increased purchasing power to buy computer equipment and meet the costs of Internet access (Zhu and Zhou, 2002). Since the objective of this study is to identify the key determinants of internet use in Iraq, we will test a number of hypotheses. The focus is in particular on the following three hypotheses: Hypothesis1: People with higher educational standards and literacy rates are more likely to use the internet. Hypothesis2: People in urban areas are more likely to use the internet. Hypothesis3: People’s careers have a strong relation to the use of internet. 2.2 Iraq Internet Policy Iraq developed different procedures for increasing the use of internet in the society to benefit from the advancement in the global communication system available by the internet. No matter, it should be considered that in Iraq, their conservative values still count as much as that of their willingness to progress further towards development. Hence, besides the need to be informed, the Iraq policy on Internet usage defines other determinants of internet usability in the country. The following policies of internet usage in Iraq are to be presented below [based from the draft of the Iraq Internet Usage Policy released in June 2003 found at: http://pws.prserv.net/sadowsky/papers/iraqpolicy.pdf.] Internet service pricing control: This general policy on internet service control gives a proper vision as to how the internet service should be provided by the telecom companies in Iraq. They are supposed to follow the guidelines provided by the government and thus should be able to comply with the jurisdiction of the law that they are under. Viewing internet as proper tool for social and national development, the government should empower its people and provide proper funding to make it easier for the people to gain the basic knowledge and training assistance they need to become computer and internet savvy. Websites produced by the Iraqi government and other institutions created for public knowledge should be presented in the Arabic language and English as well; this will increase the usability of internet for the locals who usually do not understand English fluently. Policies on computer and online crimes: Every fraudulent ways of using the Internet needs to receive proper attention and proceeding that would control the situation from happening. Laws on licensing, privacy and ownership: People who own their internet shops in Iraq are required to have proper licensing, allowing them to operate with business motivations and expectations; this practically gives them the right of ownership. These are only a few among the policies that are established in Iraq to assure that the people benefit well from their use of the internet and to be given proper attention to with regards their needs of using the said connectivity in the world wide web. 3. The Data As discussed in the literature review part, Internet users differ from non-users in a number of characteristics such as age, education, income, profession, gender and location. Non-users of the Internet are more likely to be older individuals, and are more likely to have less education than Internet users. Non-users are more likely to be women than men at every age group and those living in rural areas are less likely to use the Internet compared with their urban residence counterparts. Based on this, a survey was developed to collect the most relevant data that represents these aspects. Before discussion of the methodology used and model specifications, we introduce the readers to the data, its sources and variable definitions, following parts provide the survey instrument used and some summery statistics of the data used in order to understand why people are using or not using the Internet. 3.1 Survey Instrumentation Through a survey and interview process, we aim to find proper ways of indication that there are indeed individuals in Iraq who use the internet for several reasons and that they are benefited by this particular connectivity to the world. It is expected that through this particular approach, the understanding of the different factors contributing to the use of internet in Iraq could be readily determined for examination and observation as to how much these determinants actually influence the perception of the people in Iraq towards the importance of internet for them [personally] and for their nation [in a more wider scope of consideration]. 3.1.1 The Questionnaire Collecting data for the study holds key to the success of any research study. If we are able to collect truthful and reflective data from the sample population, we improve the chances of making it a useful research activity. One important issue is quality of data; Data quality problems include inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and incompleteness of data. John (2008) states that, ‘we must confront the problem directly and obtain the requisite solution’. That refers to why the data were gathered from various governorates of Iraq when a total of 19800 questionnaires were distributed and 16800 were returned. A total of 966 questionnaires were not finished and were therefore discarded. This yielded a total of 15834 usable questionnaires. The questionnaire is a close-ended one (See Appendix1). The study uses multiple levels Likert's scale. This scale is widely used in such kind of researches. Table-1 categorizes the questions used in the questionnaire. The questionnaire had 11 questions in total. The six questions (Q1-Q5 and Q11) are asking the respondents about demographic information (Gender, Age, Education, Location Unemployed and Internet usage), while the last five questions (Q6-Q10) are as follows; Reasons for not having an internet connections Why do you use internet service? What is the technology type you used for connecting to the Internet Cost of obtaining internet connection? And what is internet Utility rate? Insert Table 1 about here 3.2 Data Collection The state Company for Internet Services through its branches in different province of Iraq is illustrated in Table 2. Iraq has been divided into five regions as follows; Baghdad the capital of Iraq, South of Iraq, South center of Iraq, North center of Iraq and finally middle Euphrates of Iraq for the purpose of distributing a questionnaire to a random sample of citizens in different age groups, gender and level of education. Data was collected in April 2009 on Internet use in Iraq, total observations 15835, 11 questions, no missing observations, Gender: male 9439, female 6396. Compared to the Iraqi population, of 30 million as per the statistics of 2005, this number is substantive enough. Cities have been surveyed as below in Table2. Insert Table 2 about here 3.3 Descriptions and Definitions of the Questionnaire Variables Table-3 contains a description of main factor variables used in this analysis. The variables as shown in the Table started from question-1 in the questionnaire and categorized here according to the main construct. In addition to the demographic constructs, this study has the construct utility, which includes utilization rate factors And efficiency constructs which include why the surveyor does not have internet services. Resources construct which include modes type .While cost construct include cost proposition and the suitablity. This constructs in this research model are better fitted to be aimed for this study and the requirements for the Iraqi case. The descriptions of the main factor variables are in details shown in Table-3, for better understanding of the variables we provide a description of some of these variables, for instance the variable ‘Age’ has been categorized into three group ages (12-25, 25-40, and +40). Same rule has been applied to ‘Education’ variable which is categorized into four different groups of educations level (Primary and Intermediate, High school and diploma, Bachelor degree, and the last group EDUC4 is for the group of the people who carry High diploma, Master and PhD degree. Insert Table 3 about here 3.4 Descriptive Statistics The two Tables below (Table 4 and Table 5), show respectively the description of statistics of the sub factors, and summary of statistics for the main factors that were used in this research to identify the impact of those factors on the Internet use in Iraq. However, according to Table 4 results, it illustrates high heterogeneity while data desperation is low in general. Yet, groups (illustrated in Table 5), show better heterogeneity in results and much less desperation which strongly suggest the adequate use of groups in analysis. Insert Table 4 about here Insert Table 5 about here Internet Users: Iraqis access the internet through identifiable procedures. In the survey performed in this study, it has been seen that there are those who use dial up connections while others use wireless access. Dialup users reached 10 percent while these who used wireless connection approached 67 percent. The dial-up is connection to internet using phone. The majority of users are those who use internet wireless connection either through Internet cafes or through the delivery line from the nearest Internet cafe to the house for 67 percent. In fact, internet café are convenient, cheap and an easy way to access the internet for users with low time use demand. The purpose of usage varied among the Internet users. A total of 56 percent spent time for general search and 19 percent for entertainment, email and chatting, and another 23 percent of internet users made use of it for special purposes. To understand the data further, the following Table 6 shall present the said statistics: Insert Table 6 about here Non-Internet Users: Non-internet users are those who never use internet services. Different reasons are given as explanation to their distanced behavior. ‘Do not know how to use’ and ‘lack of access’ are the key factors leading to non-use of internet. When non-users were asked to identify the greatest barrier that keeps them away from using the Internet, ‘Do not know how to use’, was the response received from many of them (Illiteracy in using this technology). In fact more than 45 percent of them cited it as a barrier. Lack of access to computers or the Internet was the second barrier cited by more than 31 percent people. Cost came as the third most important factor with more than 19 percent saying that due to the higher cost of the equipment they are not able to have an easy access to the internet. And the last in the category was ‘language’. As most of the people speak Arabic language, and do not hold much command in English, mostly used amongst the internet community. Summary of non-users are reported in Table 6. Insert Table 6 about here Internet Universal Access: As the study underlined that 65 percent of Iraqis feel it is very important that everyone has access to the Internet. Another 3 percent believe that it is somewhat important, whereas approximately 23 percent do not believe Internet access for all Iraqi is important at all. Most people seem to agree that barriers to the Internet should be removed, but there is no agreement on who should be responsible for the removal. About 23 percent do not know who should be responsible for removing barriers to the Internet. Of those who did express a view, the largest percentage indicated that individuals should be responsible for removing barriers. A slightly smaller percentage believes that the federal government should remove barriers or believe it is the responsibility of private industry such as Internet providers (Iraqi Ministry of Telecommunication, 2009). 4. The Methodology and Model Specification and Estimation There are different methodologies, both parametric and non-parametric which are used to investigate internet use. Descriptive and factor analysis were used before the multi-variant analysis. A factor analysis was also used to investigate significant factors that have had an influence on Internet use. As a third alternative, a multiple logistic regression analysis model has been constructed. The concepts included in the model above are used to investigate the determinants of Internet users and non-users 4.1 The Methodology In this study we utilize a parametric approach to estimate a model of internet use. Since we are primarily interested in whether an individual sampled is an internet user or not, in our analysis we use a simple binomial probit model to examine Internet use in Iraq. The model is written as: (1) (2) where P indicate probability of being an internet user, Y is dependent variable indicating internet use, X is vector of explanatory or conditional variables or indicators of internet use, is distribution variable, is vectors unknown parameters to be estimated, is a random error term and I indicate individual internet (non)user. The dependent variable representing internet use is dichotomous and written as: (3) where Y is not observable and defined based on Y*. It takes value one (Y=1) if Y*>1 implying the person is an internet user and zero (Y=0) if Y*=0 suggesting that the person is not an internet user. 4.2 Model Specification Based on the same methodology and findings in the literature we specify a model to identify the determinants of internet use and to estimate each impact on the probability of using internet. The model is specified as: (4) where Xj are J indicators or vectors of indicators of internet use. The indicators here are age, education level, employment, gender, modes of internet access, and reason for using internet, as well as location. After appending an error term the model specification is as follows: (5) where Edu, Emp, Pur and Loc represent education level, employment, purpose of use and regional location of users. The number of categories in each group of variables (J) may differ by the way the variable category is defined. 4.3 Model Estimation and Testing Since the dependent variable is not a continuous variable, we are not able to use ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation method. The models with dichotomous dependent variables are estimated using logit or probit models. The model is written as: (6) and estimated by maximum likelihood estimation method. The estimation method is iterative and estimation results are reported in Table 8. A battery of model specification tests can be used by likelihood ratio test (LRT) based on the log likelihood values obtained from different restrictive versions of the model. LRT will guide to selection of the final model specification. Insert Table 8 about here Since the slope parameter estimates are not directly interpretable, we compute marginal effects. The marginal effects representing expected changes in the probability of internet use as response to changes in the explanatory variables is computed and reported in Table 9. Insert Table 9 about here 5. Analysis of the Results As can be seen in the results from the internet use Binomial probity model (Table 8) women have significantly fewer users of the Internet than men. In fact, due to weak infrastructure of telecommunications in Iraq (Non-use of the Internet from home), the best way to use the Internet service is the Internet café which are not comfortable for women, because of cultural factor. Cost factor is found to have positive and significant value but not that large to slow internet use. Yet, it remains a main factor. As for age, Table 8 that second age group (25 to 40 year) is has most users. We can attribute that to willingness of youngsters to adopt new technology and services. There is no doubt, the Internet is new medium for life and is being promoted as the future way of information transfer and communication. However, internet requires high levels of education and skills to use this service in efficient way. This is proved by the results of the analysis in Table 8, which gives a strong positive effect of education factors on increasing the incentive for using this technology, especially if the level of education is higher education. As the results of the above analysis shows, career is also an important factor but less than education factor. Public sector employment shows a positive influence on using Internet service followed by the private sector. One of the most important factor that has a positive impact was need to internet “use for research purposes", whereas the need to use internet for entertainment showed a negative coefficient. As for the location (region), analysis shows that there was no significant effect of this factor on the use of the Internet. However, living in the provinces of southern of Iraq shows a negative impact on the use internet. Nevertheless, this can be attributed to issues such as illiteracy, lack of motivation, and lack of infrastructure of telecommunications. In the multinomial logit model results shows that men are most likely to have use to the Internet than women. Same as in binominal probity model, cost factor has positive significant effect on internet access but less than education and carrier factors as shows in Table 8. As our result in Table 8 illustrates, age has direct impact on Internet access with older people impact having lower impact. In other words, relationship of younger people with the Internet appears stronger. Moreover, the Internet user possesses a relatively higher level of education that of a non-user in addition the factor has most positive impact on internet use is (Edu4). This means that very high educated are more using internet than all other community users. This model also reemphasized the results we already obtained using the binomial probity model concerning location with southern province of Iraq enduring least usage. 5.1 Marginal Effects of User Characteristics With the existence of the sample population utilized in this particular study, it could be noted how the differences of characteristics of the sample population who participated for the study survey naturally created a great effect on the perception of the candidates with regards the different reasons behind their utilization of the Internet. Considerably, the individuals who came from the different walks of life directly gave an impressive effect on the results of the survey that has been performed. Truthfully, this particular fact has a definite mirroring effect on the process of identifying the different determinants of internet usage in Iraq. This basically gives a proper implication that whatever a person personally thinks and feels about a certain matter definitely affects the ways by which he tries to insist on the things or the activities that he ought to complete. In Iraq, it could be seen that using the internet is more of a challenge than that of a practically easy task to do. Because of the idea that Iraqis do not speak English, this makes it hard for them to actually decide on the major issues of whether they are to use the internet or not. Basically, the process of utilizing internet in the said country receives practical issues that need to be given particular attention that should be provided fine consideration by the government administration of the country. Through this consideration, the Iraqi government would be able to find the proper options needed to practically find perfect ways to assist in the process of making important adjustments in the internet systems utilized within the country to be able to meet with the proper demands and needs of the population that the said administration and IT system is serving at present. Certainly, it is through the separating option that has been used to set the categorized characteristics of the sample population to be able to seek the different elements of determinants of internet usage in Iraq. This has indeed been an effective approach for collecting and establishing the results of this particular research. Our probit model includes 17 independents variables (Table 9), including dummy variable for Gender with male coded 1 (Survey Question 1) .The Table above presents partial output from the Limdep logistic regressions. The sample includes 15834 respondents with valid data on internet use. To identify which of the coefficients differ significantly from zero, we examined column 5 in Table 9 that calculates the z-ratios of the coefficients. The z-ratios are calculated by taking the ratio of the coefficient and the standard error. The variables that are not exceeding usual significance levels are; The Intercept Age2 – Indicates category of 25 to 40 years Purpos2 – Indicates using internet for special purpose Purpos3 – Indicates entertainment and mail and chatting The rest of the variables show very strong level of evidence. Furthermore, we interpret the meaning and direction of the coefficients for each variable in the equation in terms of logged odds. The coefficients show that a 1-level Increase in Edu2 (High school and diploma) higher the logged odds of using internet by 0.145 (14.5%), 1- level Increase in Edu3 (BSc) will increase the logged odds of using internet by 0.229 (approximately 23%),1-Increase in Edu4 (the group of respondents that carry High diploma, MSC and PhD) will increase the logged odds of using internet by 0.354(approximately 35%). Furthermore, it can be noted that the impact of education factor increases with increasing level of education, as the level of higher education (PhD) have the greatest impact of the other levels of education. To continue interpreting the variables of our regression, we can see that; 1-Increase in purpose4 (the respondents that did no answer) lowers the logged odds of using internet by 0.776 (approximately 78%) 1-increase in cost higher the logged odds of internet use by 0.151(15%) It can be noted that the cost impact is not large as compared with other factors, the reason of that is the majority of the Internet users come from the government sector and they don’t pay for the use of the internet, partly because of the lack in electricity, poor Internet service and unavailability, 1-years Increase in Age3 (the category of more than 40 years) lowers the logged odds of using internet by 0.407 (40%), 1-increase in EMP2 (Public job) higher the logged odds of using internet by 0.130(13%), 1-increase in EMP3 (Private job) higher the logged odds of using internet by 0. 0.126 (12%),1-increase in EMP4 (Student) higher the logged odds of using internet by 0.070 (7%) which is obvious in the new era. For the dummy variable, we compare the odds of using internet, the comparisons involves male to female. The exponential logistic regression coefficients for the gender dummy variables are as following: Gender: The odds are 51.1 percent higher1 for male than female, in other way, the exponential coefficients represent the odds ratios of male to female is 1:51 male use internet per 100 female, which indicates that the odds of using internet for male people is about 51 male persons using the internet per 100 female persons. From the above analysis, we can deduce that the percentage of Internet usage among women is weak and women use less internet than men. And if we know that the ratio of women to men in Iraq is 3 to 1 according to the latest statistics of the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, this is because of the continuous wars hit Iraq. Furthermore, there are other social reasons, where the women in Iraq still suffer from some racial discrimination because of some traditions of tribalism, despite of the fact that Iraqi law does not discriminate between men and women, however, martial laws are still stronger than the law of the government in the treating women. In general, because of gender roles and domestic responsibilities that means housework and care-giving to children, T. Kennedy et al. (2003), talk about how much time women spend online. One expects that women have less opportunity to go online at home because of their domestic responsibilities, and therefore are online less than men. From the above discussion, we can infer that the size of digital divide in using the internet technology, on the basis of gender, is quite prevalent in Iraq. 5.2 Marginal Effect Calculations As the name itself signifies, marginal effect implies the reflection of something in influencing the final outcome. In general this influence is not the only reason in impacting the final outcome, but certainly has its role in shaping the final outcome. For the purpose of this study, we calculate the marginal effect (Table9), of the continuous independent variables on the probability of internet use at the sample mean by using the formula for the partial derivative: First: For Gender: the logistic regressions coefficient for male is equal 0.145, where the mean of gander factor is 0.595 which is the expected probability of participating and the probability of not participating will be equal to (1-0.595). Accordingly, (0.145 * 0.595 * (1-0.595) will give a value of marginal effect of male which equal to 0.034, an interpretation of this figure implies that an increase of 1 male will increases the probability of having internet by 0.034. Second: For Age3 (-0.121 * 0.085 * (1-0.085)) will give a value of marginal effect of Age3 which will be 0.0094, in another way, 1-increase in Age3 will decreases the probability of having internet by 1%. Third: For Edu2 (0.145 * 0.462 * (1-0.462). will calculate a value of marginal effect of Edu2 which is equal to 0.036, 1-increase in Edu2 level will increase the probability of having internet by 3.6%. Fourth: for Edu4 (0.354 * 0.096 * (1-0.096), will give a value of marginal effect of Edu4 that equal to 0.0307,1-increas in Edu4 level will increase the probability of having internet by 3.1%. Fifth: a surveyor with high degree of education Edu3 (0.229 * 0.262 *(1-0.262), will give a value of marginal effect by 0.044, this will increase the probability of having internet by 4.4%. Sixth: For Emp2 (0.130*0.368 * (1-0.368), will give a value of marginal effect of Emp2 by 0.030, a probability of being a government employee will increase the probability of having internet by 3.0%. Seven: For Emp3 (0.126 * 0.168 * (1-0.168), will give a value of marginal effect of Emp3 that equal 0.0104, a probability of being a private sector will increase the probability of having internet by 1.04% . Eighth: for Emp4 (0.070 * 0.366 * (1-0.366), will give a value of marginal effect of Emp4 that equal 0.016, the probability of being student will increase the probability of having internet by 1.6%. Ninth: for purpos4 (-0.776 * 0.085 * (1-0.085) will give a value of marginal effect of purpose 4 that equal 0.065, a marginal increase in that respondents that did no answer will reduce the probability of having the internet by 6.5%. 6. Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation 6.1 Summary and Conclusions In this phase, it could be noticed that this study has practically gained results on identifying the different determinants of Internet usage in Iraq. Answering to the particular options of understanding that has been originally aimed to be gained as an outcome of this research, the results practically gave a proper picture as to how much people in Iraq tries much to use the internet with all the adjustments in concern considered in this research. The said determinants could be noted as: age cohort, gender conservativeness, level of education, budget or financial capabilities, employment, and purposes and interests. These determinants have been practically discovered from the research handled herein. It is through the identification of these particular determinants that the researcher of this paper thinks that the entire process of adjusting internet usability in the country on the part of the administrators and the programmers of the said system in Iraq. The basic reasons to which people perceive internet usage as a particular important matter that is supposed to be given attention to by every nation has been presented through this study. It has been seen how the different situations in life among the individuals using Internet in Iraq has naturally affected they perception in using the worldwide web services to be able to connect with the world. Basically, from this study, it has been seen how even a non-English speaking country is able to pass through a very difficult chance of penetrating the internet. It has been seen too how the Iraqi society was able to become a member of the growing information outflow in the internet through converting texts of the websites into their own language, a matter that considers the idea of retaining cultural identity while meeting with the world’s demand of becoming digitally advanced through the aid of the worldwide web. In summary, the analysis used in this study showed that education level is most important factors that influence Internet use. Other characteristics, such as age, and utilization rate proved to be significant factors in Internet adoption as well. But cost level (affordability) has no strong effect on Internet adoption because the Internet is widely available to the public sector (government office Internet facilities) in Iraq, whereas it can be easily accessed internet cafés. Majority of internet users came from government sector whereas the student segment is using it less because of unavailability of this service in schools and universities. The weakness of governmental policy toward supporting internet use in school and universities need to be reviewed. Finally government needs to support communication infrastructure and increase internet diffusion through long-term policies and strict commitment. 6.2 Recommendations For further developments in the upcoming researches on the same topic, it is hoped that the utilization of the Hetroscadasticity process would be used to calculate the results in consideration with the collected date used for the imposition of the outcomes of the survey and other possible interviews that may be incurred. It is believed that through the application of this particular process, the chances of coming up with a better sensed result would be much easier to encounter. The consideration placed upon this particular process is practically made possible simply because of the intensified approach that it has when it comes to dealing with collected reports. Through regression analysis process, the results garnered could be specifically separated from each other to have practical considerations on the major issues that are aimed to be carefully examined in the research being performed. References 1. Atkin, D., Jeffres, L., and Neuendorf, K., (1998). “Understanding Internet adoption as telecommunications behavior”. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 42(4), 475-490. 2. Busselle R.; Reagan J.; Pinkleton. B. and Jackson, K., (1999). “Factors affecting Internet use in a saturated-access population”. Telemetric and Informatics ,16, 45-58. 3. Frontline.net (2001), “Broadband in the Developing World”, Available at: http://www.pressroom.com/~screenager/broadband/Intro.html (Date of access: April 21, 2001). 4. Guangrong Ru (1998). “The Negative Impact of the Internet and Its Solutions” Chinese Information Center for Defense Science and technology, The Chinese Defense Science and Technology Information Monthly Issue 121, 5t. 5. 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UNCTAD (2000), “Building Confidence: Electronic Commerce and Development”, Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. 27. Zhu, J. H., & Zhou, H. (2002), "Diffusion, use and impact of the Internet in Hong Kong: A chain process model." Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 7(2), 1-26. Table1 categorizes the questions used in questionnaire Factor Questions Question Construct Utility What is internet Utility rate? Q10 utiliz Resources What is the technology used to connect to the Internet (modes)? Q8 modes Cost Cost of obtaining internet connection? Q9 cost Demographic factors Gender Q1 gender Age Q2 age Location Q11 locatnx Education Q3 educat Type of work Q4 employ Do you have internet Q5 intnet Efficiency why do you use internet Q7 purpos Why do not have internet Q6 nointe Table 2 Iraqi random observations Table 3 Description of main factor variables Variable ‘s name Description Category Question No Gender 0 for male and 1 for female demography Q1 AGE1 Less than 12 to 25, By years demography Q2 AGE2 25 to 40 ,By years AGE3 More than 40 ,By years EDU1 Primary and intermediate demography Q3 EDU2 High school and diploma EDU3 BSc EDU4 High diploma, MSC and PhD EMP1 Unemployed demography Q4 EMP2 Public EMP3 Private EMP4 Student INTNET 0 if he has internet and 1 do not have internet demography Q5 LOCATN1 Baghdad demography Q11 LOCATN2 South of Iraq LOCATN3 Region of south-central Iraq LOCATN4 Region of north-central Iraq LOCATN5 Middle Euphrates region NOINTN1 Do not know how to use Efficiency Q6 NOINTN2 Not available NOINTN3 Economic reasons NOINTN4 No answer PURPOS1 General search Efficiency Q7 PURPOS2 Special purpose PURPOS3 Entertainment and Mail and chatting PURPOS4 No answer MODES1 Dialup Resources Q8 MODES2 Broadband MODES3 Internet café MODES4 More than one way COST Costly cost Q9 SUITABLE Suitably UTILIZ1 Not at all Utility Q10 UTILIZ2 Rarely or sometimes UTILIZ3 Mostly UTILIZ4 Always online Table 4 Descriptive statistics of various characteristics of internet users in Iraq Table 5 . Summary statistics of data. Variable Mean Std .Dev. Minimum Maximum Cases IDNR 7917.500 4571.026 1.000 15834.000 15834 GENDER 0.595 0.490 0.000 1.000 15834 AGE 1.498 0.648 1.000 3.000 15834 EDUCT 2.277 0.866 1.000 4.000 15834 EMPLOY 2.804 1.041 1.000 4.000 15834 INTENET 0.742 0.437 0.000 1.000 15834 NOINTE 2.944 1.120 1.000 4.000 15834 PURPOS 1.974 1.117 1.000 4.000 15834 MODES 3.017 1.069 1.000 5.000 15834 COST 0.313 0.463 0.000 1.000 15834 UTILIZ 2.382 0.982 1.000 4.000 15834 LOCATN 2.877 1.335 1.000 5.000 15834 Table 6: Frequency distribution of Internet Users and Non-Users in Iraq Internet use in Iraq Non-internet use in Iraq Gender % Male 7637(64) Male 1792(44) female 4126(34) female 2279(56) Age % Less than 12 to 25 (56.1) Less than 12 to 25 (63.3) 25 to 40 (35.4) 25 to 40 (25.5) More than 40 (7.6) More than 40 (11.1) Education% Primarily and intermediate (13.4) Primarily and intermediate (33.5) High school and diploma (45.7) High school and diploma (47.6) BSc (29.6) BSc (16.4) High diploma (12.2) High diploma (2.6) Employment% Unemployed (6.7) Unemployed (18.4) Public (39.6) Public (28.8) Private (17.9) Private (13.8) Student (35.7) Student (39.0) Why do you use (do not use) internet% General search (56.5) Do not know how to use and not convinced (45.3) Special purpose (23.3) Not available (31.6) Entertainment Mail and chatting (19.1) economic reasons (19.1) No answer (1.1) No answer (4.1) Modes Dialup (10.5) Broadband (11.2) Internet cafe (67) More than one way (1.4) No answer (0.9) Cost of obtaining internet Costly (68.5) Suitable (13.5) utilization rate Not at all (1) Rarely or sometimes (45.5) Mostly (31 ) Always online (22.6) Location% Baghdad (20.3) Baghdad% (20.1) South (22.9) South (22.1) Middle Euphrates (20.1) Middle Euphrates (18) North (29.1) North (28.6) Muthana and dewaneaa (12.3) Muthana and dewaneaa (13.7) Table 8. Maximum likelihood probit model parameter estimates of internet use (N=15834obs). Variable Coefficient Std Err b/Std Err p[|z|>z] Mean of x Constant -0.040 0.059 -0.688 0.4912 Gender (male=1) 0.489 0.027 17.540 0.0000 0.595 Cost 0.151 0.029 5.087 0.0000 0.313 Age 25 to 40 , -0.032 0.037 -0.885 0.3760 0.328 Age More than 40 -0.407 0.056 -7.160 0.0000 0.085 Edu2 0.488 0.035 13.663 0.0000 0.462 Edu3 0.768 0.044 17.359 0.0000 0.262 Edu4 1.189 0.071 16.747 0.0000 0.096 Emp2 0.438 0.050 8.627 0.0000 0.368 Emp3 0.425 0.055 7.698 0.0000 0.168 Emp4 0.235 0.047 4.979 0.0000 0.366 Purpose2 0.087 0.037 2.330 0.0198 0.193 Purpose3 0.025 0.036 0.710 0.4777 0.169 Purpose4 -2.607 0.048 -53.671 0.0000 0.147 Locatn2 -0.030 0.041 -0.728 0.4668 0.226 Locatn3 0.071 0.044 1.613 0.1068 0.187 Locatn4 0.000 0.040 0.014 0.9886 0.256 Locatn5 0.043 0.048 0.909 0.3636 0.126 Log Likelihood -5348.303 LRT Table 9. Marginal effects from estimation of probit model of internet use Read More