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STS2320 Bruno André R. C. et al.

Figure 3. Future Skills Readiness Index and GTRI across the 20 countries

4. Discussion and Conclusion
This study comes with certain limitations that we wish to detail in this
discussion.
The occurrence of a major event that does not relate to technology uptake
will drive online activity (for a country) upwards. During the sampling period,
we identify two such events that may drive results. For example, the
implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25 May
2018. which was one of the most significant changes in data privacy regulation
of the past 20 years. Second, the recent spike in the price of Bitcoin (together
with other cryptocurrencies) has attracted attention in cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies use Blockchain technology, which results in a higher
frequency of Blockchain-related vocabulary use in online discussions. This
heightened level of activity however, does not relate directly to technology
adoption. Instead, it reflects a speculative environment of early-stage
developments along the hype cycle of the technology. In terms of validity of
results, we observe that Blockchain has a largely global impact in driving
results, while the GDPR topic features more prominently in Europe, Brazil and
in countries where international press has a strong presence. The sampling
period introduces a bias that inflates results for certain countries above their
true value. We recognise two factors that may drive the score of a country
upwards: elections and teacher shortages. Elections, local or national, also tend
to drive online activity upwards for a country. Limited access to the Internet
impacts the validity of our results. In the instance where only a small subgroup
of the population has access to the Internet, our sample ceases to be
representative. As is the case of Rwanda, where only 20 percent of the total

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