"We present our experience of gender as female ICT4D researchers. We highlight our field experiences and comment on our perceptions of how being a woman and performing our female identity has influenced our own ICT4D research. We discuss how gender tensions are further compounded by the researcher
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s own physical and social characteristics, such as race, age, social class, and skin color. We apply the lens of reflexivity and performativity to examine critically and explore analytically our field experiences. We end with practical observations about our collective experience." (Abstract)
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"In responding to some of the major narratives in the literature on information communication technologies and development, this article attributes the relatively poor ICT policy outcomes in Africa, particularly regarding the deployment of information and communication technologies for poverty allev
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iation, to the paucity of critical research that acknowledges the political dimensions of policy reform and economic regulation. Such research would be able to more meaningfully inform and capacitate policy formulation, regulatory practice, and business operations to produce positive growth and development outcomes. The essay argues that the purely economic analyses of ICT sector reform that dominate the literature on Africa fail to explain why, in the face of global evidence of the success of the reform paradigm of regulated competition—which has successfully driven increased penetration of information and communication technologies at lower and lower prices across the world—in Africa, communications sector reform has been so uneven and often resisted. Political economy approaches that highlight the political context in which economic reforms take place seem to have greater explanatory value. Rather than focusing on market reforms only, analyses of the interaction of state and market, and the interplay between various sector institutions may better explain how reform is faciliated or constrained." (Abstract)
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"This collection of essays by those engaged in using mobile phone technologies for social change provides an analysis of the socio-economic, political and media contexts faced by activists in Africa today. The essays address a broad range of issues including inequalities in access to technology base
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d on gender, rural and urban usage, as well as offering practical examples of how activists are using mobile technology to organise and document their experiences. They provide an overview of the lessons learned in making effective use of mobile phone technologies without any of the romanticism so often associated with the use of new technologies for social change. The examples are shared in a way that makes them easy to replicate. The intention is that the experiences described within the book will lead to greater reflection about the real potential and limitations of mobile technologies." (Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Update July 6, 2010)
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"There are increasing numbers of mobile-based projects, and donors such as the World Bank infoDev and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation continue to invest in mobiles for development (M4D). A scan of projects in the 14 focus countries for this study indicated that the most common sectors for inve
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stment are health, socio-economic development, and agriculture. There is evidence that governments are interested in using mobiles as service providers, yet there remain few actual manifestations of such intent in developing countries. Most examples are found in Asia, where concepts have been proven, and more mature mobile markets are seeking new revenue streams. Up to this point, mobile operators have tended to support M4D through concessions such as free or subsidized shortcodes and SMS tariffs, which have been negotiated as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. A feature of CSR initiatives in health, education, and child protection, for example, is that they rarely exploit technical resources held by companies. CSR departments tend to be poorly integrated with the core business, and have small budgets and limited decision-making power. Some operators would like to develop services that have a developmental impact, but also a return on investment – M4D that is revenue generating and scalable. As one interviewed thought leader in the M4D space indicated, operators are happy to work towards achieving development goals but only by “doing business as usual”." (Executive summary, page 2)
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"In the developing world, mobile phones have revolutionised telecommunication and have reached an estimated average 49.5 per cent penetration rate at the end of 2008 – from close to zero only ten years ago. This is not only faster than any other technology in the past, but the mobile phone is also
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the single most widespread ICT today, states the first section of this report. Then, it introduces the new ICT Development Index (IDI), aimed at capturing the level of advancement of ICTs in more than 150 countries worldwide. The Index also measures the global digital divide and examines how it has developed during the five-year period from 2002 to 2007. The results suggest that globally the digital divide is as prevalent as before, but is slightly closing between countries with very high and low ICT levels. In combining prices for fixed and mobile telephony, and broadband internet access, a new ICT Price Basket provides for the first time a measurement tool for assessing ICT affordability globally. It compares prices among countries for using the three technologies in US$ values, in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) values, and as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI). The results reveal that while fixed telephone tariffs are relatively cheap in most countries, tariffs for broadband internet access are often prohibitive and thus a major impediment for less developed countries." (CAMECO Update 1-2010)
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"Web 2.0 for development (Web2forDev) is a way of employing web services to intentionally improve information-sharing and collaborative production of content for development. It is about how development actors can relate and connect to other stakeholders, produce and publish their own material, deci
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de on levels of access to information and redistribute pieces of content released by others. This publication, a result of the Web2forDev conference at the FAO headquarters in Rome in 2007, shares learning and reflections from practice and considers the ways forward for using Web 2forDev. Eight case studies are presented and discussed. For instance, one interesting experience is the Kenyan website 'Ushahidi' (meaning 'witness' in Kiswahili) as an example of 'crowdsourcing' crisis information: people who witness acts of violence report the incidents they have seen, the incidents are placed on a map-based view on the website for others to see and in most cases are verified by local groups working on the ground. At the post-election violence in Kenya in early January 2008, local radio stations used Ushahidi as an information source. It is also expected to serve in other countries as a tool from early conflict warning to tracking a crisis situation as it evolves. A practical section called "tips for trainers" provides descriptions and links to further information ("where to get started") on blogging, twitter, wikis, social networking, RSS feeds, tagging and social bookmarking. In addition, various articles discuss lessons learnt and challenges identified." (CAMECO Update 4-2009)
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"The IFAP Annual World Report 2009 offers an overview of major international and national policy documents and highlights the most important trends of the information society during the last year. Information Society Policies. Annual World Report 2009 was written by researchers from the Information
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Society Research Institute of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. According to their analysis, the most important effect of the information society is probably the fact that it eliminates several historical divides. Social differences caused by the unequal distribution of ICT tools are being eliminated by the same tools, which causes a paradoxical situation. The Report outlines cultural and geographical aspects of the digital divide and highlights solutions offered by the information society, such as broadband Internet and mobile technology. It also analyses the link between social and technological changes, which vary from country to country. Among the most significant trends introduced in the Report are some important technical achievements that are likely to change people’s lives in several aspects. Information society strategies increasingly focus on e-government, which is becoming more and more socially oriented. The authors of the World Report examine the e-government aspects that proved to be the most important last year: the breakthrough of social networking, the increasing importance of open source software and of the green IT. No information society strategy today can disregard these trends. The last section provides an overview of the worldwide penetration of ICT tools, both globally and regionally, showing the social and policy challenges faced by particular regions." (UNESCO Communication and Information Sector's News Service, 22-02-2010)
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"This report presents a review of empirical research on the impacts of public access to ICTs in order to document what is known about this approach to ICT service delivery. The results show that there is limited conclusive evidence on downstream impacts of public access to ICTs. The evidence that do
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es exist suggests that the public access ICT model is not living up to the expectations placed on it. This is not necessarily because public access has had no impacts, but because its impact is particularly difficult to identify and measure. As a model, public access to ICTs has experienced success and failure, leading to both reinforcement of the belief that the model should be expanded and strengthened; as well as claims that public access ICTs are ultimately ineffective or even counter-productive from the development perspective. Four main types of evidence are identified: evidence on venue performance and sustainability, users, usage patterns and downstream impacts. Assessment of this evidence indicates that trends are most apparent in the first three areas, while evidence of downstream impacts remains elusive. Most studies show that sustainability is a critical challenge especially in low resource, low income environments where commercial services are not viable. They also show that users are primarily young males with relatively high socio-economic statusand prior access to the Internet. Users tend to engage in social and personal activities as opposed to economic activities, for example. Findings on downstream impacts fall on both sides of the equation, some studies conclude that impacts are high in a variety of areas, development of ICT skills, job creation, civic engagement etc; others find limited impacts." (Abstract)
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"In conclusion and above all, we can see that ICT4D 2.0 is about reframing the poor. Where ICT4D 1.0 marginalised them, allowing a supply-driven focus, ICT4D 2.0 centralises them, creating a demand-driven focus. Where ICT4D 1.0 – fortified by the "bottom of the pyramid" concept – characterised t
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hem largely as passive consumers, ICT4D 2.0 sees the poor as active producers and active innovators. Three overarching questions for this next phase therefore emerge. How can the poor be producers of digital content and services? How can they create new incomes and job through ICTs? And how can we recognise and scale the ICT-based innovations they produce?" (Page 29)
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"This guide provides an overview of relevant and innovative examples of how mobile telephones have been successfully integrated into development projects and processes; and a three stage process to help Plan staff and other development practitioners identify the key social, economic and technical fa
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ctors and issues they need to consider when planning to use mobile technologies. The information provided and analysed here is derived from a literature review and interviews with people in the field. A list references is provided at the end of this guide. It is hoped that this blend of examples, learnings and reflections will support Plan’s staff and partners to make well-informed decisions about integrating mobile technologies into their work." (Introduction, page 1)
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"ICT4D provides an authoritative account of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in contemporary development practice. It combines theory with practical guidance – including both a conceptual framework for understanding the rapid development of ICT4D. Case studies provide d
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etailed examples of issues and initiatives from a variety of countries and organisations. ICTs are becoming increasingly significant in improving the impacts of development practice. However, ICT4D projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America have not always been as effective as their proponents had hoped. This book explores both the successes and the challenges facing such initiatives, and provides clear recommendations for how they can be developed in more sustainable ways for the benefit of poor people and marginalised communities." (Publisher description)
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"Following an initiative of the Committee on Economic Co-operation and Development, the Office of Technology Assessment (TAB) at the German Bundestag (i.e. the German parliament) has carried out a project on the relevance of the Internet and other new information and communication technologies (ICTs
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) for social advancement in developing countries. This final report documents the results of the project. [...] In the first place, the report analyses and discusses the use of ICT and how it can contribute to social development in the context of the situation in developing countries. Secondly, a more detailed examination is undertaken of contributions relating in particular to the areas of democracy, good governance and civil society, of industry and trade, and of education, research and technological development. Thirdly, the results of these analyses are used to draw conclusions about concrete and strategic courses of action and challenges for German development co-operation within the context of general issues relevant to research and education policy." (Preface)
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"This report analyzes the benefits of extending access to ICT in the developing world; of mainstreaming ICT applications, particularly in the area of e-government; and of trading services based on information technology. It also features at-a-glance tables for 150 economies of the latest available d
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ata on ICT sector indicators. Country ICT performance measures for access, affordability, and applications in government and business are also introduced, so that policy makers can assess their countries’ ICT capacities relative to those of other countries." (Foreword)
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"This unique book presents extensive analysis and discussion from the Pan-Asia ICT R&D Grants Programme covering 56 projects in 18 countries across Asia-Pacific. In addition to inputs from the ICT4D project heads, the book features insights from 6 ICT experts who personally visited these projects fo
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r assessments, as well as the key take-aways from a 3-day Learning Forum bringing all project heads and assessment experts together with donors and sponsors of this ambitious ICT4D initiative. What have been the key contributions of ICTs to development projects in healthcare, education, gender equity, agriculture, environment, disaster management and policy research? How can such ICT4D projects reach sustainability, replicability and scalability? What are the challenges involved in capacity building and execution for such social entrepreneurship projects? And what new horizons open up for these regional initiatives in the future? These are the key questions addressed in this publication. The book also provides valuable insights into the passion, motivation and experience shared readily by the ICT4D practitioners across the region. And on a lighter note, it also captures some of the amusing and humorous anecdotes along the way which make ICT4D such a human adventure at the end of the day! The book also has a companion CD and Web site with a wealth of information for ICT4D practitioners, donors and researchers, including video interviews, assessment surveys, and worksheets." (Back cover)
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"This report is an outcome evaluation of the UNDP MCO Samoa’s ICT for Development (ICT4D) project operating in the Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa from 2005-8. The consultant Robert Boase of Canada evaluated the project from November 18 to December 20, 2008 with one week missions to each country and
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writing up the report back in Samoa. General findings in this project are summarized below: ICT is still relatively new in the islands and it faces formidable challenges - ICT4D is both a great challenge and an opportunity; The vulnerability of the Internet hardware in these small island states due to cyclones, power surges and power outages that can damage network hardware such as a server; The limitation of human resources both for developing and servicing the ICT systems on the supply side and for using this technology by public servants and the general public on the other hand; The cost of developing, operating and maintaining these systems on limited government budgets; The sluggishness of the Internet both in connectivity and in data transfer that frustrates more sophisticated users and consumes inordinate amounts of time; The technology has jumped out ahead of many neophytes’ ability to use it. What is needed now is a focus on building computer literacy; It is premature to talk of these projects’ contribution toward the UNDP global objective of poverty reduction. The internet is still the domain of the educated and privileged in these societies; The intended outcomes for these projects are basically irrelevant to the actual situation on the ground; The delays in UNDP quarterly advances has impeded project implementation in all three projects; Project Managers’ accountability in the three projects was lacking. Without accountability projects tend to drift off target and fall behind schedule and this is what happened with all three projects." (Executive summary)
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