IFAP Information Society Observatory

Title: Are Mobile Phones Pushing Cyber Cafes Out of Business?
Author: Oluniyi Ajao
Source: ICTWorks
Date (published): 10/05/2010
Date (accessed): 10/05/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
When last did you visit a cyber cafe?
Eight years ago, my answer would have been “right now”. I would have been writing/reading this on a computer in a cyber cafe. Right now however, I am lying somewhere comfortable in my home, whilst punching the soft keys on my laptop.

A few years ago in Accra, one could count more than ten Internet cafes between Vodafone (then Ghana Telecom)’s Head Office around Kwame Nkrumah Circle and BusyInternet on Ring Road Central. There were: True Internet, WWWPlus Mega Cafe, Krofa Internet Cafe, Java Internet Cafe, and several others, whose names I do not remember at this time.

Sadly, most of them have closed shop. Whilst several reasons could be offered for the failure of these enterprises, one cannot overlook the solid impact of mobile phones and mobile internet technologies

Title: Connect to the bottom of the pyramid. South Asian and African countries share notes on mobile services for socio-economic development

Author: M. Somasekhar
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Date (published): 10/05/2010
Date (accessed): 10/05/2010
Type of information: aricle
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
How much time do you think it takes a poor person in one of the least developed places in any South Asian country to reach a telephone — either fixed or mobile?

The answer is about five minutes. This facilitates chat and basic communication for people who fall under the category of bottom of the pyramid (BoP). At the other end of the spectrum are people who have access to broadband services, high-speed Internet connectivity and e-commerce on their mobile phone.

This is a typical scenario in many South Asian and African countries where telecom and the Internet promise to usher in dramatic changes in the quality of life of the people. The challenge is to come up with suitable applications to harness this power to help the poor people.

So, in addition to talking, can such technology help them transfer money, pay utility bills, get information on health/ farming, or book tickets and so on?

via http://lirneasia.net/

Title: It’s Different. African Open Source Technology and ICT4D
Author: Nana Kwabena Owusu
Source: www.233tech.com
Publisher: Ignite
Date (published): 16/04/2010
Date (accessed): 07/05/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
An interesting conversation sparked by a blog post on the Ushahdi blog is the main reason for this post. The post by Erik Hersman raises issues about open source software and tools created in Africa and ICT for Development (ICT4D). In the post Erik contends that although it is great that these tools are being used for development oriented Non Profit work, the technology (tools and software) themselves should be separated and not classified as ICT4D tools.

via http://twitter.com/ICT_Works

Title: India: Community Radio Stations Multiply, but Will They Thrive?
Author: Sushmita Malaviya
Source: AudienceScapes
Publisher: InterMedia
Date (published): 05/05/2010
Date (accessed): 06/05/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
From modest beginnings nearly a decade ago in the academic community, India now boasts 70-plus community radio stations (CRs) run by universities as well as NGOs and agricultural agencies. But visits to seven CRs, as part of a study sponsored by the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), showed that they face common challenges to sustainability and growth: time-consuming licensing processes, weak transmission power, the need for more human resource training, and the perennial search for a viable CR business model.

Title: On Love and Hate for 160 characters
Author: Oliver Christopher Kaigwa Haas
Source: Appfrica.net
Publisher: Appfrica International
Date (published): 03/05/2010
Date (accessed): 06/05/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
“SMS till you drop!” A phrase that reflects well, the growing popularity of the 160-character text message in Africa. As is often the case with the implementation of simple technologies in low-resource settings, the creativity that has stemmed out of the use of SMS on this continent is truly amazing. As mobile phones become increasingly ubiquitous across Africa, SMS technology is being used to provide a host of innovative services in the health, financial and education sectors. While I am very excited about these developments, I have recently become increasingly sceptical about the potential for SMS to bring about a true revolution in end-user mobile technologies and applications in Africa.

Title: United Nations e-Government Survey 2010: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis
Author Editor:
Pages: 140 pp.
ISBN: 978-92-1-123183-0
Publisher: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Date (published): 13/04/2010
Date (accessed): 06/05/2010
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and pdf)
Abstract:
The 2010 United Nations e-Government Survey: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis was completed in December 2009 and launched in early 2010. The report presented various roles for e-government in addressing the ongoing world financial and economic crisis. The public trust that is gained through transparency can be further enhanced through the free sharing of government data based on open standards. The ability of e-government to handle speed and complexity can also underpin regulatory reform. While technology is no substitute for good policy, it may give citizens the power to question the actions of regulators and bring systemic issues to the fore. Similarly, e-government can add agility to public service delivery to help governments respond to an expanded set of demands even as revenues fall short. Since the last edition of the survey, in 2008, governments have made great strides in development of online services, especially in middle-income countries. The costs associated with telecommunication infrastructure and human capital continue to impede e-government development. However, effective strategies and legal frameworks can compensate significantly, even in least developed countries. Those who are able to harness the potential of expanded broadband access in developed regions and mobile cellular networks in developing countries to advance the UN development agenda have much to gain going forward.

Contents:
Foreword, acknowledgements and contents
Introduction
Part 1: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis
Chapter 1: Stimulus funds, transparency and public trust
Chapter 2: Roles for e-government in financial regulation and monitoring
Chapter 3: E-service delivery and the MDGs
Part 2: The state of e-government around the world
Chapter 4: World e-government rankings
Chapter 5: Citizen empowerment and inclusion
Chapter 6: Measuring e-government
Notes and references
Statistical annex

Title: A New ICT Maturity Model for Education Institutions in Developing Countries
Author: Julian M. Bass
Pages: 43 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-905469-12-3
Source: Development Informatics Working Paper Series, Paper No. 44
Publisher: Centre for Development Informatics, Institute for Development Policy and Management, SED, University of Manchester
Date (published): 26/04/2010
Date (accessed): 06/05/2010
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf, 456 KB)
Abstract:
There is increasing interest in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education institutions in low-income countries. Developing ICT infrastructure is disproportionately expensive in developing countries and sustainable interventions are difficult to achieve: in part because leaders of educational institutions and donors have often not had the opportunity to develop ICT infrastructure planning and implementation skills. There has been a lack of concrete guidance regarding the stages of development needed to make efficient use of resources and maximise the chances of sustainable investments.

To address these needs, a novel ICT Maturity Model is presented here that provides a developmental framework for education institutions in low-income countries. The Model is unique in defining the ICT infrastructure resource levels required to achieve primary organisational objectives expressed in the form of student learning outcomes. The Model consists of eight levels, with the lowest levels defining the infrastructure required to enable initial computer training. The highest level applies to institutions where e-research is widely practised across the curriculum. The levels in the Maturity Model show management, teaching and technical staff, and donors how to make most efficient use of ICT resources by maximising opportunities for student learning.

The Maturity Model has been derived from documentary sources and an analysis of selected schools, colleges and universities in Ethiopia. The surveyed institutions include five primary schools, one higher education preparatory school, six teacher education colleges and five public universities. The Maturity Model was used as a prescriptive, developmental tool in one of the teacher education colleges and one public university. In this mode, the Model was shown to prioritise capacity building and infrastructure development initiatives that contributed to improving student learning opportunities. Although developed and tested in the context of one country, it is hoped that the Model will be applicable across a range of developing countries.

See also:
Educator's guide to student questions for this paper.

Title: Review of E-governance for Development: A Focus on Rural India, 2009, Palgrave Macmillan, London ISBN 978-0-230-20157-6
Author: Chris Westrup
Pages: 2 pp.
ISSN: 1681-4835
Source: The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, (2010) 40, BR1, 1-2
Publisher: www.ejisdc.org
Date (published): 08/01/2010
Date (accessed): 03/05/2010
Type of information: peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Shirin Madon’s book is a welcome addition to a select corpus of monographs addressing issues in ICTs and development. It is fitting that Madon has written this book as it gives her space to articulate her position and findings on e-governance based on twenty years of fieldwork in India. This experience makes her well placed to address a key theme in the book understanding e-governance for development in relation to ‘historical processes of development and governance’ (p.166). The book sets out to question commonly understood assumptions about e-governance. First, that good governance is a key feature to achieve human development and second, that e-governance is supportive of good governance in a variety of ways including improving government’s efficiency and effectiveness; improving the relationships between government administration and citizens; improving transparency and accountability; and enabling access to information and participation in the processes of public policy. These are, as Madon notes, ambitious claims. Her approach is to critically review the relationship between governance and development which is then exemplified through description and analysis of three case studies of e-governance projects in the rural parts of the states of Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala in India.

Title: Digital Library Adoption and the Technology Acceptance Model: A Cross-Country Analysis
Authors: Jade Miller, Otto Khera
Pages: 19 pp.
ISSN: 1681-4835
Source: The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, (2010) 40, 6
Publisher: www.ejisdc.org
Date (published): 06/02/2010
Date (accessed): 03/05/2010
Type of information: peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
In this article, we examine, through the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), some of the features that inform user acceptance of a digital library system implementation at agricultural universities in two developing countries: Kenya and Peru. This is a study not only examining factors contributing to adoption of this offline digital library, but also a cross-site comparison, meant to examine the functionality in the developing world of a theoretical model developed in and based on conditions in the developed world. As we unravel predictors of technological acceptance of a digital library implementation in the developing world, we simultaneously investigate a broader question: not just questions regarding improved research in the developing world, but on it as well.
We analyze data from both sites on overall measures of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (two constructs of the TAM), and on individual measures making up the overall measures. We found the TAM to work well in describing factors that affect usage of digital libraries in developing countries, with perceived usefulness as the main predictor of intent to use this system (The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library, or TEEAL), and with relevance as the major constituent driver of perceived usefulness. Overall, we also found particular predictors of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use that are consistent across cultures (relevance, trust, and ease of access), while other constructs (social norm, domain knowledge, visibility, and self-efficacy) demonstrated predictive power in only one setting. While post-hoc analyses gave several clues as to drivers of these differences, this study cannot definitively address what causes differences in predictive power between sites. What is clear, however, is that application of the TAM to IT implementation in developing countries must be guided more by the specificities of local circumstances than by the performance of the TAM in highly-developed countries.

Title: Same but Different: Understanding Women’s Experience of ICT in the UAE
Authors: Shahper Vodanovich, Cathy Urquhart, Maha Shakir
Pages: 21 pp.
ISSN: 1681-4835
Source: The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, (2010) 40, 4
Publisher: www.ejisdc.org
Date (published): 07/02/2010
Date (accessed): 03/05/2010
Type of information: peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) have become a potent global force in transforming social, economic, and political life. Given the centrality and importance of ICTs, men and women need to have equal opportunities to access, use, and master them. In particular, it could be asked whether women in Islamic societies within the GCC region have equal access to these new technologies? What are some of the promising new social, economic and political opportunities for Islamic women in the ICT sector, or does ICT access and use by those women replicate patterns of segregation seen elsewhere in their societies? What are the barriers that women, especially those in the Islamic world, have to overcome to actively participate in the promise of these technologies? We use grounded theory as our preliminary research methodology to analyse interviews with women who work in the ICT sector in the UAE We discuss five major themes from the research: Westernization, IT as Modernity, Education, Government Initiatives, and Gender Perspective, and introduce a preliminary framework of the area. We conclude by discussing some inherent contradictions of women’s ICT use in a society that wishes to modernize, rather than Westernize, and how this is played out in our study.