"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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"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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"Electronic Government (e-Government) is becoming a global phenomenon that is increasingly attracting the attention of community citizens including politicians, economists, decision and policy makers amongst others. Once only regarded as a means for modernizing the public sector and increasing gover
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nment productivity and efficiency, e-Government is presently recognized as a driver and a key enabler of citizen-centric, cooperative, and seamless modern governance implying not only a profound transformation in the way government interacts with the governed but also the reinvention of its internal processes and how organizations carry their business both internally as well as externally while interacting with the other segments of the community. Based on the literature, it is frequently claimed that the availability of an effective e-Government assessment framework is a necessary condition for advancing e-Government proper implementation. The objective of this article is to develop an e-Government appraisal framework encompassing several components such as people, technology, processes, and strategic planning. The article examines the relations and interactions of these components in an emerging e-Government environment using a case study on an agency affiliated to the government of Egypt as a primary step in the process of testing the framework presented." (Abstract)
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"This book examines, from theoretical and empirical perspectives, the claims that new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are catalysts of democratic change in Africa. Contributors do so from optimist, pragmatist-realist, and pessimist stances through analyses of various forms of evide
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nces—including words and deeds of various political actors and organizations or institutions, from government units to political parties and party leaders to civil society organizations and minority or marginalized groups. The main focus is, therefore, on the interrelated concepts of e-participation and e-democracy." (Preface)
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"Entwicklungsländer und moderne Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT): Wie geht das zusammen? Dieses oft diskutierte, aber selten detailliert untersuchte Thema wird in diesem Buch vor allem anhand Afrikas südlich der Sahara behandelt, einer Weltregion mit erheblichen Entwicklungshemmn
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issen. Im Fokus steht dabei die besonders voraussetzungsreiche Internetnutzung. Tatsächlich sind die Hürden für einen entwicklungsförderlichen Einsatz moderner IKT und speziell des Internets dort weiterhin sehr hoch. Die Ergebnisse der materialreichen Studie, für die auch Forschungen vor Ort durchgeführt wurden, verweisen indes nicht bloß auf Potenziale der IKT für Entwicklung, sondern sie zeigen auch, dass sich die Internetnutzung in Subsahara-Afrika bereits vielfältig darstellt und derzeit dynamisch entwickelt. Nicht nur mit Blick auf die schwerpunktmäßig untersuchten Felder (Demokratisierung, Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung) bestehen erhebliche Chancen und Bedarfe für einen Ausbau der Informationsgesellschaft in dieser Weltregion. Vorschläge, wie darauf politisch reagiert und Entwicklung durch Vernetzung gefördert werden kann, bilden einen weiteren Schwerpunkt des Bandes." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This book brings together some of the most outstanding and novel papers on media and development presented at the AMIC Annual Conferences in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2004. It features over a dozen contributions from around the region, providing a wealth of fresh case studies as well as breaking ne
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w ground in highlighting emerging frontiers of media development discourse in Asia, comparing regional development along multiple dimensions and frameworks and pointing the direction towards further media initiatives at a national level. The papers selected are grouped into three key themes: media and development; new narratives and political discourse; and media impacts and capacity building. Part I addresses macro-level impacts and policies pertaining to media and development in Asia. Part II deals with more direct media issues such as new narratives and emerging forms of political discourse and groupings in Asia. Part III shifts the focus to traditional media impacts on youth and tribal audiences, as well as new media impacts on the education and business sectors. The contributors to this book have highlighted not just an interesting range of media and development issues in Asia, but have also introduced a good variety of media research methods. These include quantitative assessments of media impacts in society, comparative and longitudinal frameworks for evaluating regional ICT competitiveness, structural analyses of political and activist communication systems, in-depth case studies of individual organisations, and broad-based surveys of stakeholders in ICT4D." (Publisher description)
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"The iConnect website and monthly e-Bulletin is a major source for information on the application of knowledge and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in sustainable development. In 2005, as part of an effort to get more ‘southern voices’ into the current global discourse on ICT fo
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r development, iConnect formed a team of six coordinators in Africa who regularly commission articles by local journalists on the impact and the use of ICTs for development. The articles, written from a southern perspective, appear regularly on the iConnect website in English, French and Spanish." (Back cover)
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