Title: Delivering Coherent ICT Policies in Developing Countries
Authors: Richard Heeks, Ping Gao & Angelica Ospina
Pages: 4 pp.
Source: e­Development Briefing No. 14
Publisher: Centre for Development Informatics, University of Manchester
Date (published): 09/04/2010
Date (accessed): 14/07/2010
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
We could trace the origins of information and communication technology (ICT) policies in developing countries to the 1970s – for example in India – when there were a few focused on helping develop the local IT industry. Or one could go decades further back to find roots in policies on media and telecommunications. However, documents called "national ICT policy" only really started to be made in the 1990s and early 2000s.
What have they achieved?

Title: Unveiling the Links between ICTs & Climate Change in Developing Countries: A Scoping Study
Authors: Angelica Valeria Ospina & Richard Heeks
Pages: 59 pp.
Publisher: Centre for Development Informatics, Institute for Development Policy and Management, SED, University of Manchester
Date (published): 26/04/2010
Date (accessed): 14/06/2010
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
This document responds to the need to explore further the links between ICTs, climate change and development, as these fields become increasingly interlocked due to the magnifying effect of climate change on existing development challenges and vulnerabilities.

This scoping study targets an audience of development strategists and practitioners – working on ICTs-for-development (ICT4D), on climate change, on disaster response, and other focal areas – interested in gaining a better understanding of the current trends and perspectives in ICTs-and- climate change research, with a focus on developing countries. It seeks to raise awareness on the potential and challenges associated with the use of these tools from a developing country perspective. And it seeks to identify emerging issues and research gaps that require further academic analysis and/or multi-stakeholder collaboration.

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: 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: Where a Cellphone Is Still Cutting Edge
Author Editor: Anand Giridharadas
Source: The New York Times
Publisher: The New York Times Company
Date (published): 09/04/2010 (A version of this article appeared in print on April 11, 2010, on page WK4 of the New York edition.)
Date (accessed): 28/04/2010
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
What if, globally speaking, the iPad is not the next big thing? What if the next big thing is small, cheap and not American?

America went into a frenzy last weekend with the iPad’s release. But even as hundreds of thousands here unwrap their iPads, another future entirely may be unfolding overseas on the cellphone.

Forgotten in the American tumult is a global flowering of innovation on the simple cellphone. From Brazil to India to South Korea and even Afghanistan, people are seeking work via text message; borrowing, lending, and receiving salaries on cellphones; employing their phones as flashlights, televisions and radios.

Title: Open Access and Open knowledge production processes: Lessons from CODESRIA
Author: Francis B. Nyamnjoh
Pages: 6 pp.
ISSN: 2077-7205
e-ISSN: 2077-7213
Source: The African Journal of Information and Communication, Issue No 10 (2009/2010)
Publisher: Learning Information Networking and Knowledge (LINK) Centre, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand
Date (published): 25/02/2010
Date (accessed): 28/04/2010
Type of information: peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
It is common in discussions of open access to limit the issue to publications and dissemination. This conflates accessibility with recognition and representation, and supposes that competing and conflicting knowledge systems and ideas would be equally available and affordable if room were created for multiple channels of accessibility. Such enthusiasm and euphoria, while understandable, do not adequately account for the prevalent power relations that structure knowledge production into interconnecting hierarchies at local and global levels.
CODESRIA has some lessons to draw on from its experience of the past 37 years – lessons about the need to privilege and prioritise recognition and representation of the perspectives, epistemologies, and contextual and methodological diversity that inform knowledge production globally and locally; and lessons about the need to widen our understanding and discussion of ‘open access’ to go beyond just enabling access to knowledge and research results through a multiplicity of dissemination possibilities. It is important to discuss opening access up to different races, places, spaces, cultures, classes, generations, disciplines and fields of study.
This review presents CODESRIA, and its ever-evolving publications and dissemination policy, as a possible model to inform and inspire institutions interested in a comprehensive idea of open access in an interconnected world of local and global hierarchies, where producing and consuming difference is part and parcel of everyday life.

Title: Wireless Networking in the Developing World, 2nd edition: A practical guide to planning and building low-cost telecommunications infrastructure
Pages: 425 pp.
Publisher: Hacker Friendly LLC
Date (published): 05/01/2008
Date (accessed): 05/04/2010
Type of information: training course material
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf, 5,1 MB)
Abstract:
The overall goal of this book is to help you build affordable communication technology in your local community by making best use of whatever re- sources are available. Using inexpensive off-the-shelf equipment, you can build high speed data networks that connect remote areas together, provide broadband network access in areas that even dialup does not exist, and ulti- mately connect you and your neighbors to the global Internet. By using local sources for materials and fabricating parts yourself, you can build reliable network links with very little budget. And by working with your local commu- nity, you can build a telecommunications infrastructure that benefits everyone who participates in it.

This book is not a guide to configuring a radio card in your laptop or choosing consumer grade gear for your home network. The emphasis is on building infrastructure links intended to be used as the backbone for wide area wire- less networks. With that goal in mind, information is presented from many points of view, including technical, social, and financial factors. The exten- sive collection of case studies present various groups␣ attempts at building these networks, the resources that were committed to them, and the ultimate results of these attempts.

Other editions, translations here.

Title: Tuned In To Student Success: Assessing the Impact of Interactive Radio Instruction for the Hardest-to-Reach
Authors: Jennifer Ho, Hetal Thukral
Pages: 18 pp.
ISSN: 1554-2262
Source: Journal of Education for International Development 4:2, December 2009
Publisher: Educational Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP)and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Date (published): 22/12/2009
Date (accessed): 29/01/2010
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
A review of recent research was conducted to assemble evidence on the impact that Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) may have on improving student learning outcomes. IRI is an instructional tool designed to deliver a family of active learning packages via radio broadcast using a dual-audience approach. IRI exposes students to regular, curriculum-based learning content while modeling effective learning activities and classroom organization techniques for teachers. As IRI continues to be called upon to improve teaching and learning in low-resource and hard-to-reach areas, a better understanding of the empirical data available is critical to guide the way forward. IRI has been implemented by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in over 50 countries over the past 30 years. This paper is a review of existing student and teacher data collected by EDC’s IRI projects. Effect sizes are used to summarize what is known about the effect of IRI on student learning gains in Grades K-4 for English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Local Language. In all, student test results from 13 projects, ranging from Nicaragua in 1977 through Indonesia in 2008, are reviewed, as are teacher observation outcomes from Mali and Madagascar.

Title: An Analysis of the Research and Impact of ICT in Education in Developing Country Contexts
Authors: Nitika Tolani-Brown, Meredith McCormac, Roy Zimmermann
Pages: 12 pp.
ISSN: 1554-2262
Source: Journal of Education for International Development 4:2, December 2009
Publisher: Educational Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP)and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Date (published): 23/12/2009
Date (accessed): 29/01/2010
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Despite evidence of increased usage of information and communication technology (ICT) in educational programming, extant evaluations on the impact of ICT on educational child outcomes are sparse and often lack the methodological rigor necessary to guide policymakers towards sound, evidence-based practices. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has conducted a global analysis of research undertaken to date on the deployment of ICT solutions to support education goals in developing countries. The present study is comprised of two phases. First, a series of in-depth, structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders, including policymakers and academicians, researchers, users and developers of ICT solutions. These interviews touched upon the challenges associated with developing, implementing and evaluating ICT solutions within educational settings, perceptions on the utility and future of ICT solutions and extant gaps in the usage of ICT solutions within developing countries. Second, AIR conducted a detailed literature review of published and unpublished evaluations on the educational impacts of ICT solutions. This paper reports on the demonstrated and measurable impacts of ICT on students and generates an innovative and rigorous research agenda addressing salient issues such as impact and effectiveness, return on investment, and total cost of ownership.

Title: Science and Innovation for Development
Author Editor: Gordon Conway and Jeff Waage, with Sara Delaney
Pages: pp.
ISBN: 978 1 84129 0829
Publisher: UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS)
Date (published):
Date (accessed):
Type of information:
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf, 29,1MB!)
Abstract:
Scientific education, knowledge and research are crucial to solving development challenges.

Science as a tool for providing evidence and discovering solutions has been neglected recently by many key decision makers, Science and Innovation for Development aims to play a part in changing that.

Download by chapters:
INTRODUCTION

* Contents, foreword by Professor Calestous Juma, preface, about the authors (PDF 418KB)

Part 1: MOBILISING SCIENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT

* Chapter 1 - The Nature of Science and Innovation (PDF 1.15MB)
* Chapter 2 - Appropriate Innovation (PDF 1.72MB)
* Chapter 3 - Building Partnerships for Innovation (PDF 2.31MB)

PART 2: SCIENCE AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

* Chapter 4 - Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (PDF 4.71MB)
* Chapter 5 - Combating Hunger (PDF 2.38MB)
* Chapter 6 - Improving Health (PDF 3.84MB)
* Chapter 7 - Achieving Environmental Sustainability (PDF 2.71MB)

PART 3: THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

* Chapter 8 - The Science of Climate Change (PDF 4.86MB)
* Chapter 9 - Adapting to Climate Change (PDF 5.16MB)

PART 4

* Conclusion (PDF 324KB