Title: Research: Mobile Phone Appropriation in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Author: Anne-Ryan Heatwole
Source: MobileActive.org
Date (published): 20/09/2011
Date (accessed): 21/09/2011
Type of information: blog post/research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"A research study on the role of mobile phones in the slums (favelas) of Rio de Janeiro investigates the power structures of how mobile phones influence social interactions and values among favela residents. Written by Adriana de Souza e Silva, Daniel M. Sutko, Fernando A. Salis, and Claudio de Souze e Silva, "Mobile Phone Appropriation in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" offers a new perspective on the role of mobile phones in low-income areas. The authors point out that Brazil is in a unique position as it has both high-income and low-income residents living in very close proximity. They say:

Studies of developing countries often exclude Brazil because the country is considered an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank (Donner, 2008), but this classification ignores Brazil’s extremely uneven income distribution (UDNP, 2008), which results in roughly 10 percent of the population earning 46 percent of the overall income, while 50 percent makes only 13.3 percent (IPEA, 2005: 52). Despite this income distribution, there are about 203 million cell phones in Brazil (as of December 2010), making Brazil the fifth largest country worldwide in terms of cell phone absolute numbers, with a 104 percent cell phone penetration rate (Teleco, 2011).

The study's focus on favela residents looks at how mobile phones play a role in both low- and high-income populations. "
"This qualitative case study describes the social appropriation of mobile phones among low-income communities in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) by asking how favela (slum) residents appropriate cell phones. Findings highlight the difficulty these populations encounter in acquiring and using cell phones due to social and economic factors, and the consequent subversive or illegal tactics used to gain access to such technology.

Moreover, these tactics are embedded in and exemplars of the cyclic power relationships between high- and low-income populations that constitute the unique use of mobile technologies in these Brazilian slums. The article concludes by suggesting that future research on technology in low-income communities focus instead on the relationship of people to technology rather than a dichotomization of their access or lack thereof."

Title: Global Dialogue on Exploring the Results of Governmental Open Source Software Policies: Brazil Experience
Publisher: The World Bank Group
Date (published): 17/12/2009
Date (accessed): 12/12/2009
Type of information: conference webcast
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and media files)
Abstract:
This learning and knowledge sharing event was organized by the Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (GICT) Department and the ECSPE e-Government Practice Group (e-Gov PG) of the World Bank, in collaboration with the e-Development Thematic Group (e-Dev TG), to explore the results of Open Source policy initiatives and identify lessons learned, and facilitate knowledge transfer among the interested countries and developers of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) solutions.

Currently, 40 client countries are implementing large-scale projects to support public financial management (PFM) reforms through a lengthy and costly process of modernizing existing infrastructure or developing new information system solutions as they seek to improve effectiveness of their PFM practices, reduce corruption, and ensure sustainability of information and communication technology solutions. Similarly, a large number of education, health and other sector projects with substantial ICT components are being implemented in all regions. These meetings are designed to promote knowledge and experience-sharing across member countries to better understand the challenges and opportunities in using FLOSS in public sector reform projects.