National digital content policies: A comparative study of Arab and other countries

摘要

The paper highlights a comparative analysis of the national policies pertaining to digital content within 10 countries, in addition to the European Union (EU), that were divided into two groups: Arab and non-Arab (Global Group). A prototype model of Policy Assessment Criteria (PAC) was developed to help enhance the quality of the national digital content policies that are mainly under construction. Based on 56 variables included in the PAC, a prototype model of a statistical indicator called Policies Quality Indicator (PQI) was also developed in order to measure the quality of the policies themselves, or, in other words, to identify the quality level of the conceptual framework of digital content policies that may be used on a global scale. In addition to developing both the PQI and the PAC, this paper sheds light on the global strategic planning trends in the field of Digital Content, especially through the comparison of a number of Arab policies to those of a set of developing and developed countries around the world.