Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
Regional Community and Information and Communication Technology: an
historical reflection
Janet Toland
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract: This paper will examine the recursive relationship between the soft networks created
by social capital and the hard networks created by Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs).
The setting for this research is regional New Zealand. One urban and one rural region
have been studied over the twenty year period, from 1985 to 2005. In the regional setting tacit or
soft knowledge is more easily transferred than in a national context. This is because social
interaction and exchange of information is easier and cheaper in the regional context. These soft
social networks take time to develop, and are likely to have a significant influence on the use of
regional ICT networks. The focus of the research is on the interplay between these soft social
networks and the hard ICT based networks operating within the regional setting.
Historical methods involve the collection of both primary and secondary sources of data,
which are then analysed to establish relationships between cause and effect. Historical methods
enable the researcher to examine the way in which such factors develop over time.
Keywords: Historical methods, learning region, regional development, New Zealand
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
Introduction
The central research question is:
How can ICT enhance the efforts of regions to obtain sustainable economic success by
improving the quality of information flows between stakeholders within a regional setting?
Historical methods are being used to investigate how information and communication
technologies (ICTs) can contribute to regional development in New Zealand by improving the
quality of information flows between regional stakeholders. These regional information networks
build up over a period of time, and historical methods provide the long term view. Data is being
collected from one urban and one rural region over the twenty year period from 1985 to 2005.
The research is investigating the contribution that ICTs can make to development of
“Learning Regions” in New Zealand. The term “Learning Region” is widely used in the field of
economic geography to identify regions that have been economically successful over a period of
time, and that have successfully adapted to changed circumstances (Cooke, 1996; Florida, 1995;
MacLeod, 2000; Storper, 1995). Such regions are characterised by the following factors: a
competitive strategy based on learning; intense intra-regional linkages; capacity for innovation;
creativity in both arts and sciences; efficient information flows; and regional norms and values
that provide stability.
A framework was developed by reviewing the literature that covered the concept of the
learning region and identifying common terms and themes. These terms were ranked according to
how often they were mentioned, and grouped into seven categories. These categories are
presented as the 7-I framework, shown in Table 1. The framework groups characteristics that a
learning region should possess into 7 categories: informing; interconnecting; innovating;
interacting; infrastructure; industry and income. This framework was used as a basis for data
collection and analysis. This paper focuses on the two categories most relevant to the
development of hard and soft networks; Interconnecting and Interacting. The presence of well
developed soft networks in terms of good social capital has been shown to have a strong influence
on the take up of hard ICT based networks, and as these ICT networks become established they
will in turn help to build up the soft networks (Simpson, 2002).
INTERCONNECTING
INFORMING
INNOVATING
INTERACTING
INFRASTRUCTURE
INDUSTRY
INCOME
The existence of networks between businesses, customers,
suppliers, community groups and local authorities
Features related to learning such as the presence of
embedded tacit knowledge, transfer of best practice, and
presence of knowledge workers
Evidence of ability to create or adopt innovations, the
presence of entrepreneurs, and a competitive culture
The presence of strong social capital, high levels of trust, a
common regional culture, and professional networks
Hard infrastructure in terms of transport and
telecommunications links, plus soft infrastructure in terms of
regional norms and conventions
The presence of lean organisations with a decentralised
organisational culture
Economic features such as per capita income and
employment levels
Table 1: The "7-I" Framework
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
Research Methodology
Historical methods consist of a collection of techniques and approaches which draw on
both traditional history, and social research. Historical methods provides a powerful set of tools
for addressing broad, big picture questions (Neuman, 2003). Historical research is carried out for
three main reasons: to describe past events; to determine the causal structure of events; and
finally to evaluate the outcomes (Edwards, 2001). It is with the second of these reasons,
determining the causal structure of events that the use of historical methods becomes of particular
relevance to the information systems researcher. This involves analysing multiple forms of
causality from the decisions of individual actors to the decisions of major institutions.
The first information systems researchers to use historical methods were Mason,
McKenney & Copeland (1997a; 1997b) who developed a seven-step approach for applying the
historical method to MIS research
1. Begin with focussing questions;
2. Specify the domain for the enquiry;
3. Gather evidence using both primary and secondary sources;
4. Critique the evidence;
5. Determine patterns using inductive reasoning;
6. Tell the story;
7. Write the transcript.
Their seven step model has been adopted for this research and is explained in more detail in the
following reference (Toland & Yoong, 2007).
Two contrasting regions of New Zealand were selected for study: Southland is located in
the South Island of New Zealand and has a mostly rural economy; Wellington is in the North
Island and includes a major city plus suburban areas. In order to cover the period from 1985 to
2005 data was collected at three intervals throughout the period, the years of 1985, 1995 and
2005. For each of these years data collection was carried out by searching for relevant articles in
three daily newspapers and one national weekly magazine. In New Zealand there are no national
newspapers, each region has its own newspaper(s) and the focus is on local events. The decision
to use regional newspapers was taken as they provided a rich source of information about
historical events in both regions. The use of newspapers for historical research does raise
questions about whether such materials are a good source for historical truth, as reporting can be
biased and inaccurate. Some steps were taken to address this by cross checking events across a
range of publications, and against national statistics, but it does need to be acknowledged that
newspapers like many other sources of data can be fallible.
Each publication was scanned for material relevant to the factors identified in the “7-I”
model. Abstracts of relevant articles were entered into an Access database and grouped according
to the relevant year and “7-I” code. This process resulted in a database that held over 3000 items.
As the process of analysing and writing up the findings took place the initial coding was refined
and some articles were reassigned to different categories or classified as irrelevant.
Interconnecting
Analysis of the regional newspapers revealed four significant trends around the area of
“Interconnections”. There was evidence of a strong push to develop international trading linkages
with new partners in Asia, Russia and the Middle East. Information technology was making a
major impact on organisational form. New Zealand was becoming more connected as access to
both national and international information networks increased. Throughout the period both the
business and community sectors provided examples of clusters, joint ventures and networks. The
following sections provide a more detailed analysis of each of these four trends.
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
Building international trade links
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
UK
9%
7%
6%
6%
5%
Australia
15%
20%
21%
21%
21%
Japan
15%
16%
16%
13%
11%
USA
14%
13%
10%
14%
14%
Korea
3%
3%
5%
5%
4%
China
2%
1%
3%
3%
5%
Other
42%
40%
39%
38%
40%
Table 2: Exports to major trading partners as a percentage of total exports (from NZ Statistics)
From the 19th century New Zealand’s traditional export market was the UK. From the late
1950s the prospect of the UK joining the European Economic Community (EEC) and adopting
the Communities’ protectionist policies began to be a concern. The objective for New Zealand
became diversification both in terms of markets and the range of goods exported. In the early
1950s 90% of New Zealand’s exports went to The UK, however by the time the UK joined the
EEC in 1973 less than 20% of exports went there (Hawke, 1994). As Table 2 shows this trend
continued, over the period studied, exports to the UK continued to drop while exports to the
ASEAN countries such as Korea, China and Japan increased. Efforts to develop these new export
markets were evident through newspaper reports of trade visits to and from other countries.
In 1985 New Zealand hosted trade delegations from the Soviet Union, China and Iran,
and trade delegations from New Zealand visited Japan and Bahrain. At the same time there was a
drive to reduce the dependence on exports of primary products which were declining in value and
to develop potential in new sectors such as construction and consultancy.
By 1995 exports to Asia (including Japan) accounted for 38.2% of all exports
(NZStatistics, 1996) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was now warning exporters not to
become so obsessed with Asia, that they missed opportunities in their traditional European
markets. The move into new markets was reflected in increased export income. Articles discussed
initiatives to strengthen trade links with China, Japan, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and
Vietnam.
By 2005 China was New Zealand’s fourth largest trading partner displacing the UK
(NZStatistics, 2006). Though primary goods such as dairy products, meat and forest products still
made up the bulk of exports and Australia was still our most important trading partner, markets
had diversified to include countries such as the USA, China, Japan and Korea
The emergence of the networked organisation
In 1985 the use of ICT was beginning to have a major impact on organisational form with
a wide range of business and government organisations setting up networks to link their branch
offices around the country. Articles reported on ten different organisations that were either
implementing or considering implementing a network.
By 1995, most large organisations already had a computer network and the emphasis was
on upgrading existing systems. Many of the upgrades were necessary due to the increase in
network traffic caused by Internet usage; others were due to the switch to new multimedia based
systems.
In 2005 the trend for spending significant amounts on upgrading IT infrastructure
continued, for example a District Health Board and a Government Department both announced $4
million upgrades. Some of the upgrades involved integrating information and making it available
in electronic form, others focused on improving network capacity.
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
Gaining access to national and international networks
In 1985 what the press termed the “information explosion” was beginning to impact New
Zealand with the increasing availability of information at the international, national and regional
levels. The information flow worked both ways; as well the explosion of international
information entering the country, New Zealand was also able to send its own domestic
information out to the rest of the world. A significant trend in New Zealand was the widespread
adoption of Videotex1 systems across a wide range of sectors including agriculture, tourism,
finance, horse racing and public libraries.
By 1995 the Internet had taken over from Videotex as the main conduit for information
exchange and its use was growing rapidly. It was being used as both an information provider and
a marketing tool. The availability of the Internet was increasing especially in Wellington where
Victoria University offered Internet access to the local business community through its subsidiary
Netlink, and the first Internet Café and the first Internet Bar were opened.
In 2005 the Government launched an innovative Digital Strategy (NZGovernment, 2005)
which included the development of two major national networks. A shared voice and data
network would link up all government agencies with the dual aims of cutting costs and enabling
collaboration and the Advanced Network would provide gigabyte data links between universities
and research institutes in order to facilitate collaboration in research and the development of elearning. The 2006 census reported that 60.5% of people throughout the country now had home
access to the Internet, in Wellington this was 65.5% and in Southland 53.1%.
Networks, joint ventures & clusters
In Wellington 1985 saw local business folk proposing a regional development
organisation to promote the areas business interests, and moves were underway to establish a
“high technology zone” in one part of the region. The local Chamber of Commerce hosted a
breakfast for representatives from the local authorities, central government, managers from local
high technology companies and the media. Local MPs arranged a series of meetings with
organisations with stakes in high technology, and pushed the idea of making the local Institute of
Technology, a centre for research to assist local manufacturers. In Southland there were also a
number of examples of networks mostly focussed around rural issues.
At both the national and regional levels, alliances were being formed in order to help
school leavers find jobs. In Wellington the Chamber of Commerce was urging the business
community to give educationalists a clear idea of what they look for in school leavers in order to
help combat unemployment. Schools, colleges and local employers were collaborating in order to
help school leavers find jobs.
There were some examples of New Zealand companies collaborating with international
partners, for example in Wellington a computer software company formed a joint venture with a
Chinese Aeronautics company which opened up the potential for multi-million dollar contracts
throughout China and South East Asia.
1995 saw mergers in Wellington as the Manufacturers Association joined up with the
Chamber of Commerce there was also talk of combining the five local Polytechnics and the
Teacher Training College into one regional tertiary institute. Wellington also provided examples
of a range of different networks, for example a group of independent wholesalers who worked
together to increase their buying power, and a virtual consulting group who used email to
communicate. In Southland business and education centres were being encouraged to develop
mutually beneficial partnerships, such as the programme at a local college which placed 96
students in work programmes with local businesses.
1
Videotex delivered information (usually pages of text) to a user in computer-like format, typically to be
displayed on a television
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
In 2005 a number of clusters were active at both the national and regional levels. At the
national level a taskforce consisting of representatives from industry, government and universities
was established to address the ICT skills shortage. Agricultural technology companies were also
collaborating to sell dairy production and processing knowledge to China. There was interest in
using clustering to enable cost savings when sourcing goods and services, the Trade and
Enterprise Board was exploring the possibility of electronics and ICT companies, jointly sourcing
components in order to compete with Asia. In Southland two district health boards were using the
Oracle Financial and Procurement system in order to pool their purchasing of clinical supplies.
There were also examples of joint ventures most of them led by either national or local
government, one was being set up to market Kiwi IT services to British firms. In Wellington
there was a joint venture between the Chamber of Commerce and a council sponsored body
representing retail interests in the central business area.
Summary
As Table 3 shows the data collected provided evidence that New Zealand did become
more “Interconnected” between 1985 and 2005. Trade opened up to include new markets in Asia
though traditional trading partners such as Australia and the UK were still important. Information
technology had a major impact on organisational form as both private and public sector
organisations became more networked. Information technology also enabled New Zealand to
become more connected to the outside world, firstly through Videotex, then the Internet and most
recently through advanced networks. Some evidence was also found of organisations
collaborating through clusters, joint ventures and networks in order to gain a competitive
advantage. Victoria University in Wellington was a key player in opening up access to the
Internet, and the residents of Wellington had higher than average access to the Internet, while in
Southland access was less than average. Outside of these issues no major differences were found
between the two regions, most trends observed were taking place across the entire country.
1985
1995
2005
International
trade links
Networked
organisation
Growing trade
links with AsiaPacific region
Almost 40% of
exports are to
Asia
Australia still
most important
trading partner
Organisations link
up branch offices to
networks
Networks upgraded
due to increasing
use of Internet
Focus on
integrating
information and
improving network
capacity
National &
international
networks
Videotex is widely
hyped
Networks, joint
ventures & clusters
Hi-tech zone mooted
in Wellington
Internet is being used
commercially
Mergers
Digital Strategy
promotes use of
broadband &
advanced research
network
Joint sourcing for
cost savings
Table 3: Summary of subcategories for Interconnecting
Interacting
Three major trends were identified for this category. The most significant trend was
around the area of regional community which included factors such as crime levels, the growth
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
and/or decline of community spirit, and initiatives by local government to develop their regional
communities. The activities of voluntary, professional and women’s groups are discussed in the
second section. The third section reports on the growing pressure from Maori and Pacific
Islanders to address issues relevant to their communities; from 1995 onwards the growing Asian
population was also included in this category. The following sections provide a more detailed
discussion of these three factors.
Regional community
At the national level two major reports on the state of the nation were released in 1985.
The Statistics Department released the results of a survey of carried out in 1981 to assess the
quality of everyday life in New Zealand, the results showed that most people were happy with
their lives, and content with their jobs. Relationships with both family and neighbours were good,
with more than 70% having at least weekly contact. Most New Zealanders also trusted the police,
one third of the 7000 respondents reported belonging to a job related organisation such as a trade
union or professional organisation. Only 5% belonged to an interest or a pressure group and 10%
were members of a cultural organisation. The Social Monitoring Group also released their first
report which took a broad look at social trends and revealed that from birth onwards, inequalities
are evident among children based on family, social and economic circumstances, with Maori and
Pacific Islanders being particularly disadvantaged (New Zealand Planning Council, 1985).
The difference in attitudes between rural and urban New Zealand is illustrated by the
example of the Homosexual Law Reform Bill which was proposed by the MP for Wellington, and
strongly opposed by the MP for Southland, who organised a national petition against it. A local
council in Wellington was the first employer in the country outside Central Government to
appoint an equal opportunities officer, and in Southland the traditional rural culture was given as
the reason for the region having the highest percentage of Scouts in the country.
In 1995 Wellington seemed to have become more culturally diverse with Greek, Polish
and Italian festivals taking place. In Southland cultural diversity was not so evident but there
were some indications of liberalisation; School Principals opposed the reintroduction of corporal
punishment and the local access radio channel introduced a “Wimmin” programme. Wellington’s
Public Libraries were the busiest in the country per head of population with 2.4 million visits to
the 13 outlets in 1994, while the problems of the rural economy saw Southland take the record for
the busiest Citizens Advice Bureau. Concerns about crime rates were a major issue in both
regions. Following a national trend the crime rates in both Southland and Wellington had reduced
from the previous year, but there were increases in violent crime.
In 2005, articles again discussed crime levels and initiatives to address them, such as the
education and social services centre being set up by an ex-gang member in Wellington. In
Southland four local authorities collaborated to produce a community outcomes report which
promoted the Southlands a great place to live, with a diverse economy and a well educated and
skilled community (Our Way Southland, 2005). It should be noted that there was no mention of
information technology in the report; it does not seem to have been perceived as a tool that could
assist with achieving community outcomes.
Voluntary, professional social and women’s groups
1985 articles mentioned a wide range of different voluntary groups from the New
Zealand Computer Society to the Red Cross to the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers.
Nationally Women’s issues were to the fore, the government had appointed a Minister for
Women’s Affairs, who was busy collating information from forums held countrywide to identify
women’s’ priorities and concerns such as job sharing, flexible working hours and part time work.
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
The level of voluntary activity in Southland was particularly high, with rural women’s groups
being particularly active.
In 1995 voluntary groups were still very much in evidence articles mentioned Grey
Power, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Residents Associations, Homeless Shelter’s, Women’s
Groups and Employment Trust. Women’s groups were active in both regions, in Wellington a
new Women’s Centre was officially opened and 135 business women attended a seminar on
entrepreneurship. In Southland the Women Interested in Self Employment (WISE) group held its
first meeting.
In 2005 women’s groups, particularly rural women’s groups were again significant.
In Southland the activities of several different groups for rural women were noted including
Women in Dairying, Rural Women New Zealand, Women in Farming and Rural Women in
Business. Rural Women NZ celebrated its 80th birthday and the Chairwoman reflected that
although today the organisation was talking about getting broadband into rural areas many of the
issues discussed by the group had remained the same over the years such as health, isolation and
school closures. Many rural women now had full time jobs off the farm and used information
technology, such as the Women in Dairying web site as a way of keeping in touch with their
peers.
Maori, Pacific Island and Asian Issues
Table 4 shows how the ethnic make up of the population changed between 1985 and 2005. The
country was becoming more ethnically diverse as both the Pacific Island and Asian populations
grew, particularly in urban areas.
1986
NZ
European 81.2
12.4
Maori
3.7
Pacific
Island
1.5
Asian
1996
NZ
71.7
14.5
4.8
1996Wellington
71.8
12.0
6.2
1996
Southland
84.4
11.0
1.16
2006
NZ
67.6
14.6
6.9
2006
Wellington
69.8
12.8
8.0
2006
Southland
78.6
11.8
1.7
4.4
5.27
0.67
9.2
8.2
1.2
Table 4: Ethnicity as a percentage of total population (from census information NZ Statistics)
In 1985 there was increasing pressure from the Maori and Pacific Island communities for
their voices to be heard. The Waitangi Tribunal was considering a claim to give equal status to
the Maori language in all spheres of public life, a claim that was eventually granted in 1987.
A Maori women’s Secretariat was to be set up within the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. In
Wellington both the Maori and the Pacific Island communities were attempting to have a bigger
say in the field of education. One very visible sign of the growing recognition of Maori culture
was the construction of Marae2 in central government offices and some educational institutions in
Wellington. In Southland the Maori community was also very active, particularly in looking after
their young people.
A 1995 National Business Review Poll showed that New Zealander’s were not too keen
on immigrants from the Pacific Islands and Asia, 57% of people thought there were too many
Pacific Islanders, and 51% too many Asians, there was much less resistance to white immigrants
from Australia, Britain and South Africa. A school in Southland was accused of racism and
treating Maori students differently, by a Maori teacher who claimed there was no support from
2
Traditional Maori meeting house
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
the Principal and other teachers; this was a symptom of a wider concern about Maori language
programmes being under threat in Southland
In Wellington Pacific Islanders were making a contribution to cultural life with a festival
in the City Centre and an art exhibition. Pacific Islanders were also becoming involved in local
politics with more Pacific Islanders standing for local elections. In Southland the focus was on
improving employment prospects for Pacific Islanders by running courses aimed at encouraging
Pacific Island people in business.
A 2005 conference for Pacific Islanders noted that the average weekly income for Pacific
people was $412 as compared to $637 for New Zealanders of European descent, and
unemployment was 6.5% as compared to 2.5%. Speakers urged Pacific Islanders to break the
cycle of dependency on the state, develop more political clout and start up their own businesses.
Racism was still an issue, in Wellington a man was found guilty of harassment after
sending hate mail letters to Muslim women, and in the wake of race riots in Australia, posters
appeared around the city trying to incite similar riots. On a more positive note, an International
Festival to celebrate ethnic diversity was held in Wellington and in Southland a Multi-Nations
Council was working to make immigrants feel at home in the region.
2005 saw an increasing use of ICT by Maori with the launch of an online database
containing the names and iwi3 affiliation of 98,000 Maori which made it easier to keep in touch
with whanau4.
Summary
1985
1995
2005
Regional Community
General contentment with
the quality of life
Growing cultural diversity
especially in urban areas
Voluntary groups
Women’s groups and
rural groups
Women’s groups and
rural groups
ICT not mentioned as a
factor in improved
community outcomes
Use of ICT by women’s
groups to combat rural
isolation
Maori, PI & Asian
Pressure for the voice of
Maori to be heard
Increasing involvement of
Pacific Islanders in cultural
& political life
Use of ICT by Maori groups
Table 5: Summary of subcategories for Interacting
Table 5 summarises the findings of this section. There was evidence that attitudes in both
regions were becoming more liberal, this was particularly marked in urban areas such as
Wellington. The voluntary sector was active in both regions throughout the twenty year period,
but the rural women’s groups in Southland stood out as being particularly significant. The
involvement of Maori and Pacific Islanders in the political and cultural life of the country was
also growing. By 2005 information technology was being increasingly used by voluntary and
Maori groups. There were clear differences between the two regions, with Wellington being more
liberal and more ethnically diverse, while Southland had stronger, close knit networks in terms of
the rural women’s groups.
Conclusions
Was ICT helping to improve the quality of information flows between stakeholders in a
regional setting? Between 1985 and 2005 some real advances were made in some areas, but in
3
4
Similar to tribe or clan
Extended family
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Prato CIRN Community Informatics Conference 2009: Refereed Paper
others things remained relatively static. In terms of hard networks organisations became much
more interlinked, and information technology opened up access to the rest of the world. Trading
patterns also changed significantly. Attitudes became more liberal, and as the country became
more ethnically diverse, Pacific Islanders and Maori were increasingly involved in civic life. New
Zealand was reflecting the two macro trends identified by Manuel Castells as characterising the
Information Age; the globalisation of economy, technology and communication; and the parallel
affirmation of identity as the source of meaning (Castells, 1997).
In terms of the soft networks no clear linear development can be seen, at various points
throughout the twenty year period initiatives around establishing clusters, setting up high
technology zones or developing partnerships between education and business were discussed, but
there is no evidence that such initiatives built steadily over the years. So though the soft networks
formed by clusters, joint venture and networks were present no clear pattern of development
could be observed. Similarly though voluntary groups are important in both regions their
influence remained relatively static over the time studied. Twenty years is a relatively short
period of time in terms of historical studies, and possibly is not long enough to fully observe the
development of soft networks.
The general picture that emerges is of a clear linear progression in terms of the
development of hard networks, but a more circular pattern in terms of soft networks where the
same issues may be revisited a number of times over the years. Though there is evidence of a
relationship between the soft networks that existed at the regional level and the utilisation of hard
ICT networks within a region it is difficult to quantify. Rural women’s group’s might discuss
broadband as a potential tool for overcoming rural isolation, but that in itself did not directly
influence the rate of adoption of broadband in their region. However the awareness by
community groups of the potential contribution of ICT to regional development was significant.
In 1985 and 1995 ICT networks were mainly used by the government and private business, by
2005 ICT was widely used in the voluntary and community sectors. This trend was observed in
both regions (with the notable exception of the community outcomes report in Southland) and
was reinforced at a national level by the publication of the Governments Digital Strategy
(NZGovernment, 2005). Community groups were using hard ICT networks to complement and
reinforce existing soft networks.
The findings of the research so far show that hard and soft networks evolve differently
over time and that the relationship between the two is nuanced. Further research needs to be
carried out to fully understand the relationship between hard and soft networks in a regional
setting.
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