IS BULGARIA AN EQUITABLE INFORMATION SOCIETY?

ACADEMIC ESSAY

ADVANCED THEORETICAL DEBATES: NEW MEDIA AND SOCIETY MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES YANA HRABROVA NATOVA

Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

Abstract: In this essay I would attempt to describe the historical evolution and spread of the esociety in Bulgaria. I would further try to give explanation of the reasons behind the slow tempt of development of the information society in Bulgaria and support my claim through statistics and theories which apply both to Bulgaria in specific and to the universal type of information society. For the purposes of my essay I would follow the historical development of Bulgaria starting from the period before 1989 and finishing with the situation of today. To further explain why Bulgaria is not an equitable information society per se I would rely both on data and on social and economic context.

The information society is a result of a societal evolution based on three main stages. Starting with the first industrial revolution in the late 18th century which was characterized by the birth of new technologies such as the steam engine, the spinning machine, metallurgical process on the court and in the broader replacement of hand tools with machinery; going through the second industrial revolution from the late 19th century which included the development of electricity, the internal combustion engine, artificial chemicals, effective casting process of steel and the start of communication technology which heralded the spread of the telegraph and the invention of the telephone; we reach the late 20th century which carries the largest and most pervasive technological revolution in the history of mankind and information: the arrival of the Internet. Which resulted in a fundamental restructuring of the capitalist system and encountered a

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14 new social structure, a new form of development: postindustrial or information or network society as Bell and Webster put it. This new phenomenon began as a computer network which appeared about 30 years ago on a project of the military department of the United States in an attempt to create a network linking computer networks of military bases in other radio or satellite communication. This experimental network bore the name ARPAnet and was destined to serve the research of military and civil institutions and in particular the development of the network. Later the project outgrew its military purposes and reached the public. Today the Internet is a collection of computer networks, which include different topology and type of networks as ARPAnet, NSFnet, Nysnet, local networks, regional networks, university networks, computer networks of research institutes and a number of networks of military departments. Thus, access to information and knowledge became the main engine of economic growth. Knowledge economy came to replace our traditional notion of labor and capital as the main drivers of the common market and power struggle. The fall of almost all physical barriers to the dissemination of information and the increasingly globalizing world add absolutely new, qualitatively, features to the information society: global access, use of information and communication networks and services without national, geographical, political or other constraints. In Bulgaria the creation and development of an information society was and still is a rather slow and filled with obstacles process. Before 1989 my countrys place within the socialist division of labor in the former COMECON defined its access to technology and information. The import of computers, software and all technology products was limited and some were even banned. Of course, there was black market import, but due to the peculiar

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14 economic situation and the limited number of items it was almost impossible to buy technology of any sort. Due to this ban on Western products on the market, Bulgaria relied mainly on the research provided by the Soviet block, or had to violate the laws and import illegally. In fact, such was the case with most countries in the COMECON, what made Bulgaria differ was its role in the production and design of microcomputers for the other countries from the entire COMECON. Our government invested impressive amounts of money into the building of research centers, import of the required machinery for the production of microchips and computers. Even the education system was alternated to the needs of the market. Universities had special programs for the education of computer engineers. As a result by the middle of the 1980s Bulgarian microelectronics factories and computer industries produced for the entire Soviet Union. This changed after the collapse of socialist system in Bulgaria. The fall of the bans showed that what my country produced as quality technology was far less effective and far more expensive than the western rival production and this applied not only to computers, but to all sorts of technology. Therefore, after 1990 production in the sector shrank over 40 times. If we trace the development from policy point of view we would notice a significant difference in the policies in the years before and after 1998. Before 1998 there were no specialized policies in regard to the information society. This was due to two main reasons. During the high points of technology production in Bulgaria all activities of such kind were supervised by the state security services and financing was never transparent, because of different party officials being involved. When the old regime collapsed the people who knew the details

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

about those production and export projects used this knowledge to their advantage and much of the funding went into their personal bank accounts. Therefore, it was politically impossible to gain support for specialized government spending on the very same companies and projects that were commonly believed to have seized public funds in the beginning of the transition. The other main obstacle to the creation IS policies was that the government was not prepared for the unexpected change from an economy that had a strict plan of development to a market that was uneven and filled with political turmoil. In a period of seven years after 1990, Bulgaria changed seven different governments which significantly delayed the development of the market and economy of the country. The outcome was instability and chaos. Still, though, the idea of an information society was not absolutely forgotten. The development of IS was still in discussion and major companies and players in field continued their struggle to preserve it. But no laws or detailed strategies ever saw realization. In the period government policies were focused on funds, rater than on the actual usage of modernized technology. After 1998 the situation lightened and things began to change. As the table shows funding changed and found place in the budget of a separate ministry.

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999* 2000* 2001

National Scientific Research Fund (in mln ECU) 1,767 2,553 2,327 2,609 1,369 0,358 0,438 0,295 0,217 * 0,149

National Fund Structural and Technology Policy (in mln ECU) 2,900 3,223 n.a 1,821 1,372 0,358 0,439

Table: Financing through state funds for science and technology policy * Included in the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science . The first document after 1989 that was directed toward the creation of internet society was the National Strategy for Development of High Technologies. The goal of the strategy was to foster the further development of high tech industry in Bulgaria. In it there were several priorities that were set. It puts focus on microelectronics, telecommunication equipment, information technologies, energy generation and efficiency, biotechnologies etc. The government ensured its part in three main areas: policy and governance, modernization and reforms, facilitation and mediation between companies, academia and international programs. The establishment of High Technology Parks was the main aspect of the strategy. As the government puts it, the strategy was designed to facilitate the creation of separate zone, which include land, buildings and infrastructure. These zones were to be managed by legal entities whose aim was to create an environment suitable for high technology development.

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

By establishing this strategy the priorities for the creation and facilitation of an information society were stated. Amongst the priorities and goals of the government were the overall legal frameworks, which of course had to be harmonized with the framework of the EU; also the ensuring of equality of access to quality communication and information services and finally unobstructed use of information communication technologies on all levels of social life. The subject of funding and legislative reforms was also included. Amongst them fell topics like access to information, telecommunications, electronic trade, development of internet as a global communication environment, electronic media etc. What makes the strategy so important in the development of the information society in Bulgaria is that it included all aspects of social life: government (establishment of uniform information and communication environment for all government institutions), economy (introduction of ICT in banking, transport, energy and agricultural sectors), education and scientific research, the priorities included the introduction of ICTs in labor market institutions, social safety nets, healthcare and culture, as well as in electronic media. The steps that followed were the foundation of National Program for the Development of IS and the adoption of National Strategy for Electronic Commerce in June 2000. These two allowed Bulgaria the chance to participate in the global e-commerce transactions and to be an ecommerce leader of South East Europe.

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14
Reasons behind your choice not to use Internet I dont know how to use the Internet I dont know what Internet is I am not interested I dont have enough time in front of a computer It is too expensive I dont know foreign languages I fear to use technology Result in percents 56.4 31.3 29.8 24.4 21.3 13.8 8.5

Table: Vitosha Research 2005, Reasons behind your choice not to use Internet (%) Of course, the creation and adoption of policies and frameworks doesnt necessarily ensure that an information society is equitable. There are different obstacles and obstruction in regard to the different demographic factors. Amongst the strongest factors for computers to enter into households are the level of education and whether there is or there is not a student/ pupil member of the family. This combined with the effect of the network the extent to which the Internet and computers are used within the social surrounding of the individual the extent of willingness of the same individual to buy and use the same tools for communication as his peer can either grow or not. The relative price of Internet access/usage is a factor with decreasing importance but still is of major importance to the extent and frequency of usage to Bulgarian people. In 2005 only one third of the population pointed the price of internet services as a main reason for them not to get connected. Of bigger importance is the lack of interest or the inability to use the Internet properly. If we look at the diagram below we could easily point out a conditional level between BGN 400-500 above which the usage of Internet per week is far denser than with households with lower income.

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

Table: Vitosha Research 2004, Internet usage according to household income (%)

According to researches done in the period 2004-2005 the e-society index in Bulgaria increases far more intensely than it did before, but its markers remain low. Even though the number of computers per household has doubled for a year the extent to which the Internet is used is too small: users tend to confine themselves to the use of a limited amounts of applications and sites. Researches from this year show that of the population uses Internet, but there are still some percents of the population that remain restricted in their access. Under 2% of the nomad people in Bulgaria use Internet, people of Turkish descend under 5%, the lowest percentage of use is amongst pensioners 1.1%.

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

Table: National Statistical Institute of Republic of Bulgaria, Proportion of households with Internet access and access to broadband Internet.

(http://www.nsi.bg/otrasal.php?otr=17 )

Researches done by National Statistical Institute of Republic of Bulgaria show that Bulgarian users access Internet for three main reasons, entertainment, information and business. Financial transaction operations and online shopping are gaining trust, but are still rarely used in comparison to other countries. The main reason for this is the low level of awareness of the existence of these services and the general mistrust towards cyber space. There is an extremely low level of trust in electronic banking, though more and more banks offer the service. This has changed in the last year and the index had risen. See the table:

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14

Table: National Statistical Institute of Republic of Bulgaria, Proportion of people who have ordered / bought goods or used services for personal purposes on the Internet in 2012 and 2013 (http://www.nsi.bg/otrasal.php?otr=17 )

Having in mind all data mentioned above and relating it to the date to date reality we see Websters definition of society in practice. According to him quantitative changes in information are bringing into being a qualitatively new sort of social system, the information society. After the collapse of the old regime in Bulgaria there was an overflow of information and new technology. In the last twenty years there has been a slow but steady increase in the index of e-society in my country. It took us a couple of years to shake off from the old ways and to create a plan for development of a new and modern e-country. But if we take Bells view of the information society we see that it could be related only to the last 10 years of Bulgarias development. After 2002 the amount of technology imported into the country is over 40 times bigger, therefore, we have all the characteristics to be a BellYana Hrabrova Natova

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14 type information society, but still I believe Manuel Castells informational mode of development is what best fits Bulgarias case. In his book The Rise of the Network Society he talks about the 'new economy', which he claims is based on 'a new mode of development, informationalism, of which networking is a critical attribute. He also claims that uneven development of new technology leads to 'social polarization and social exclusion'. And I believe that this conclusion best fits what happened to Bulgaria in historical and social aspect in the last 20 years. Therefore, Bulgaria is no typical equitable e-society, although it shares more and more characteristics of the different theories. We all have access, but we still have to work on giving an equal knowledge base of use to everyone.

Bibliography: 1. Chobanova, Rossitsa. Information Society Development in Bulgaria. Sofia-2003 2. Varbanov, Rumen. Bulgaria in the European information space (Contents and

Introduction. Economic World Collection. issue: 88 / 2007. pages: 110, on www.ceeol.com

3. National Strategy for Information Society Development, adopted by the Government in 1999, updated in 2002. Source: www.mtc.government.bg 4. NSI (2002) Statistical Yearbook 2001, Bulgaria 5. Report of the European Commission on the progress towards accession by each of candidate countries, Brussels, 09.10.2002, SEC/2002/ 1400-1412 6. SIBIS, Topic report No.3 Security and Trust, RAND Europe, www.sibis-eu.org 7. EUROSTAT (2002), Statistical yearbook on candidate and south-east European countries, 1996-2000 Yana Hrabrova Natova

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Advanced Theoretical Debates: New Media and Society Master of Communication Studies Yana Hrabrova Natova Academic Essay 2013-14 8.

(my translation: Survey Findings on the Use of ICT by Households and Individuals). National Statistical Institute of Republic of Bulgaria. http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/ICT_hh2013_HI2EOPE.pdf 9. E-Bulgaria. Foundation Applied Research and Communication 2005 Report 10. Castells, Manuel. The Rise of the Network Society (The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume 1. Wiley-Blackwell; 2nd edition (January 15, 2000) 11. Webster, Frank. Theories of the Information Society. Third Edition. 2006

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