A confessional account of community entry: doing critically reflexive ICT4D work in a deep rural community in South Africa*

ABSTRACT

In this paper I reflect on the community entry phases of doing a critical ethnography in a traditional Zulu community in a deep rural part of South Africa. I present my reflections in the form of confessional narratives on community entry and on how an Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) project was introduced in the community. Drawing on a basic principle of doing social science research, I ask: In what ways should I achieve self-emancipation, in order to ensure the on-going emancipation and empowerment of the people I engage with? I also ask: How should one do critically reflexive community entry and ICT4D project introduction in communities that embrace a people-orientated worldview? The paper is practice-orientated in that it demonstrates critical self-reflexive community entry in a particular ICT4D project situation, how community entry encounters informed follow-up work, and how cultural interpreters empowered me to do community entry successfully. Methodologically, the paper contributes by demonstrating the value of using narrative examples to represent virtuoso expertise of how I developed knowledge of self-reflexivity while excavating hidden social meanings from an ICT4D project situation.     

The Architecture of Global ICT Programs: A Case Study of E-Governance in Jordan

The focus of this paper is on e-governance policy initiatives in Jordan as a case study of the architecture of ICT programs and of the global transformation of government. We find that global ICT programs introduce new and universal modes of organising centered on innovation and technology initiatives situated across various boundaries, territories and organisational domains and implemented through a novel mix of policy instruments, international institutions, business interests and techno/managerial concepts. Global ICT programs include the development and use of portals, interactive applications an also other ICT programs which aim at the electronic provision of government's services. We conclude that casting these issues as global ICT programs could cater for a much broader inter-disciplinary significance to guide the policy direction of future e-governance initiatives and to evaluate the extent to which the architecture of global ICT programs can contribute to the ambitious targets set by the Millennium Development Goals.     

Factors affecting the adoption of information and communication technology in small and medium enterprises: a perspective from rural Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can play an important role in the national economy of developing countries. The adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) has enabled local SMEs to participate in the international market. However, little research has addressed issues related to SMEs adopting ICTs, especially in rural areas of Middle Eastern developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. Using the extended technology-organization-environment framework with personal innovativeness, this study examined the factors that influence the adoption of ICTs among SMEs in rural areas of Saudi Arabia. The study found that relative advantages, top management support, culture, regulatory environment, owner/manager innovativeness and ICT knowledge had a significant relationship with ICT adoption among SMEs in Saudi Arabia, whereas compatibility, complexity and a competitive environment had no significant relationship with ICT adoption. The findings of this study will potentially help SME managers/owners and the Saudi government in the successful adoption and diffusion of ICT in SMEs located in rural areas in Saudi Arabia.     

Content creation for ICT development projects: Integrating normative approaches and community demand

This paper discusses why concerns about the importance of content provision for ICT community development projects, such as tele-centers, must go beyond international initiatives such as the World Bank Development Gateway. The authors emphasize the importance of grassroots research, such as community needs assessments, for the generation of contextually appropriate content through ICT, including the role that local universities may play as facilitators in the identification and processing of this content. After providing a brief case study of a tele-center research project in India, the paper concludes that awareness raising about the value of information and the integration of information services within the local communication structures constitute a basic foundation for locally relevant content generation and use.     

An in-depth study of the ICT ecosystem in a South African rural community: unveiling expenditure and communication patterns

There is no doubt of the contributions made by mobile phones and mobile network operators in increasing access to communications in rural areas of developing countries. Yet how affordable is this ubiquitous access in such an ICT ecosystem? Using data from two stratified random surveys conducted in a South African rural community, this paper provides a unique in-depth picture of the expenditure and communication patterns of its dwellers. Results show a high access ratio of people using mobile phone services weekly and a high proportion of disposable income dedicated to a very constrained set of mobile phone services. Factors such as mobile phone charging and the extra charges added by airtime resellers contribute to increase the communication costs. This data and its analysis can be used by the following: regulators and government agencies to better design their policy implementations to provide universal service and access; competing industry players to understand the dynamics within rural communities to better target their products; civil society organizations to use it as a case in their efforts to make affordable communications a constitutional right.     

Governance lessons from the experience of telecentres in Kerala

Telecentres are seen as essential components of governance reform in the international development community and great optimism has been expressed in academic and policy literature regarding their developmental potential. The scope of our paper is to move beyond the confines of conventional governance ideology and to propose a broader conceptual lens through which to study the complexity of issues that need to be addressed in order to make telecentres sustainable. Following several years of experience with these projects, evidence shows that their long-term survival depends upon how interactions are managed between a host of players including the government, private entrepreneurs, international donors, telecommunications suppliers, local companies, civil society organisations and individual community members. This paper proposes that the sociology of governance approach is highly relevant for a study of telecentre sustainability. This theoretical approach is used as a lens through which to investigate issues regarding the sustainability of the Akshaya telecentre project in Kerala in terms of interactions between various groups of players. We adopt a practical reflexive-interpretive methodological approach to encourage the development and reshaping of theoretical ideas about governance through our empirical data. We identify five critical issues currently affecting sustainability of the Akshaya project focusing on how relations and exchanges have been managed over time. Our analysis has important theoretical and policy implications for the Akshaya project and more generally for telecentre initiatives launched as part of governance reform in developing countries.     

ICT4D research: reflections on history and future agenda

Research on the use of ICTs for international development, or information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research, has a history going back some 30 years. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the ICT4D research field at this important juncture in time, when ICTs are increasingly pervasive and when many different disciplines are involved in researching the area. The paper first provides some reflections on the history of the field broken down into three phases from the mid-1980s to the present day. This is followed by a detailed discussion of future research agenda, including topic selection, the role of theory, methodological issues and multidisciplinarity, and research impact. ICT4D research started largely in the academic field of information systems but it is concluded that the future lies in a multidisciplinary interaction between researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers.     

Does information and communications technology affect economic growth? Empirical evidence from SAARC countries

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on economic growth (gross domestic product) for member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) using annual data for the period 1990–2014. The study has employed augmented Cobb–Douglas production function by incorporating ICT along with capital and labor. We have taken teledensity (number of fixed and mobile phones per 10,000 people) as the proxy of ICT. This study has included only four SAARC countries (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan) due to data constraints. Our findings reveal a positive and statistically significant effect of ICT on economic growth using panel data techniques. However, the impact of ICT on economic growth is highest for India followed by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan respectively. This study has crucial policy implications for SAARC countries as they have started giving due significance to the issues related to ICT these years.     

Establishing the Usability of a Virtual Training System for Assembly Operations within the Automotive Industry

Virtual training systems deliver training within a virtual environment (VE) using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technologies. However, to be fully accepted as a valid tool for training within the automotive industry, evidence is required on the ability of these systems to deliver effective and efficient training to the relevant users. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of the first prototype of the virtual training system (VTS) developed within the VISTRA (Virtual Simulation and Training of Assembly and Service Processes in Digital Factories) project (FP7‐ICT‐285176), using real end users from the OPEL automotive plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany. Two separate and independent studies were employed that used objective and subjective methods of investigation to establish performance and usability measures. The objective results show that virtual training was effective in reducing error during task performance when compared to traditional training. The subjective results concluded that the opinions of the participants were mainly positive concerning the overall use of the VTS for assembly operation training; however, a number of issues were highlighted and reported to the developers for further advancement of the system.     

Towards gender equal access to ICT

Despite the great strides in information and communication technology (ICT) and the global and far-reaching effects of its spread, women in the Arab Gulf region, in general, and in Oman, in particular, are at a higher risk of being marginalized from today's knowledge-based economy, due to factual findings related to a traditionally male-dominated ICT sector, unequal access to training, the lack of Arabized Internet content and training, and the lack of awareness and policy advocacy, among others. This research aims to provide a gender-sensitive assessment of the ICT space in Oman and the status of women within it, and to develop the seeds of an information base that provides gender analysis of the opportunities and challenges in the ICT space. Survey results show that socio-cultural norms, the innate character issues of Omani females, access and training, and career counseling are mostly the factors that inhibit them from entering and adopting a career in ICT. The analysis and recommendations presented in this research are intended to assist policymakers who are willing and committed to reorienting ICT policy to take account of the needs, aspirations, and constraints of women in Omani society. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Understanding factors influencing information communication technology adoption behavior: The moderators of information literacy and digital skills

Digital inequality is one of the most critical issues in the “information age”, few studies have examined the social inequality in information resources and digital use patterns. In the rural areas, such information communication technology (ICT) facilities could not guarantee that users can easily access information technology and overcome the so-called “digital divide.” This research aims to discover the psychological factors that influence information and communication technology (ICT) adoption behavior, as well as confirm whether “information literacy” and “digital skills” have moderator effects in the research model. Using a survey of 875 participants and a structural equation modeling approach, we find that task characteristics and social interaction improve media richness, media experience, and media technostress, which in turn enhance ICT adoption behavior. The proposed theoretical model shows that the impact of ICT adoption behavior is moderated by information literacy and digital skills. The findings of this research can offer guidelines for policy makers and educators who evaluate a community's ICT adoption behavior so as to provide proper access to ICT and promote its visibility by incorporating ICT in educational activities.     

How ICT4D Research Fails the Poor

Research can improve development policies and practices and funders increasingly require evidence of such socioeconomic impact from their investments. This article questions whether information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) research conforms to the requirements for achieving socioeconomic impact. We report on a literature review of the impact of research in international development and a survey of ICT4D researchers who assessed the extent to which they follow practices for achieving socioeconomic impact. The findings suggest that while ICT4D researchers are interested in influencing both practice and policy, they are less inclined toward the activities that would make this happen, especially engaging with users of their research and communicating their findings to a wider audience. Their institutions do not provide incentives for researchers to adopt these practices. ICT4D researchers and their institutions should engage more closely with the users of their research through more and better communications with the public, especially through the use of information and communication technologies.     

Understanding the role of ICT and study circles in enabling economic opportunities: Lessons learned from an educational project in Kenya

In this paper, we explore how the combination of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and self‐organised study circles improves rural communities' ability to enhance their economic opportunities. We present the case study of an adult study‐circle project in the Kwale County of Kenya with the objective of providing rural communities with viable and sustainable livelihoods. Study circles can be seen as a democratic and emancipatory method for learning, where community groups regularly meet for participatory discussions to educate themselves on a variety of topics of their own interest. The main goal of the study‐circle members was to increase economic opportunities using ICT and, more specifically, to start micro‐businesses, improve production efficacy and methods, and obtain employment. Using the capability approach and affordances as theoretical lenses, our analysis of the explorative case study shows that the outcomes of the study circle were dependent on various conversion factors and facilitating conditions, such as resources, skills, socio‐cultural norms, and infrastructure. The main contributions from our work are represented by the five practical lessons learned from the study‐circle members' goals (starting micro‐businesses, product efficiency, and obtaining employment) from the self‐organised training approach (study circles) and from our theoretical approach (combining the capability approach and affordances).     

Good governance,development theory,and aid policy: Risks and challenges of e-government in Jordan

Poor governance is among the most important causes of state failure and underdevelopment. Hence innovations and reforms in the governmental and bureaucratic apparatus are an important prerequisite for development. E-government policy initiatives have gained international validity by the donor community as a catalyst for such reforms. To be sure, the characteristics of the state model implicit in e-government applications and the economics of transition from a backward state organization to e-government are equally relevant for the success of the initiative. This study focuses on the analysis and early design of e-government solutions in a less-developed country: Jordan. It shows that implementing a general standardized ICT portfolio to support good governance proves to be a difficult task and that there are a number of risks emerging from development aid policies aimed at good governance. The paper provides suggestive evidence that e-government and the view of the minimal state put forward by international development agencies might not be conducive to rapid late development. The New Institutional Economics provides an illuminating framework for this purpose. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

ICT‐supported pedagogical policies and practices in South Africa and Chile: emerging economies and realities

South Africa participated in all three of the Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES). In the first international study, South Africa was the only developing country, and therefore, stark contrasts were found in the international study between South Africa and the other participating countries. Chile participated in the SITES 2006 as one of a few developing countries making the comparison with South Africa possible. Despite similarities in their contexts and economies, their approach to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education appears to differ. This difference raised questions about differences in policies and their implementation at school level. This research conducted in South Africa found that the Chilean strategy for developing and implementing their ICT in education appear to be very different with regard to its design, the organization, the strategies adopted, the resources used and, most importantly, their approach to teacher development for implementing ICT. A number of lessons are revealed for the South African policymakers and others from similar developing contexts.     

Using an online tool to support school‐based ICT policy planning in primary education

An important step towards the successful integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools is to facilitate their capacity to develop a school‐based ICT policy resulting in an ICT policy plan. Such a plan can be defined as a school document containing strategic and operational elements concerning the integration of ICT in education. To write such a plan in an efficient way is challenging for schools. Therefore, an online tool [Planning for ICT in Schools (pICTos)] has been developed to guide schools in this process. A multiple case study research project was conducted with three Flemish primary schools to explore the process of developing a school‐based ICT policy plan and the supportive role of pICTos within this process. Data from multiple sources (i.e. interviews with school leaders and ICT coordinators, school policy documents analysis and a teacher questionnaire) were collected and analysed. The results indicate that schools shape their ICT policy based on specific school data collected and presented by the pICTos environment. School teams learned about the actual and future place of ICT in teaching and learning. Consequently, different policy decisions were made according to each school's vision on ‘good’ education and ICT integration.     

‘You can't not go with the technological flow,can you?’ Constructing ‘ICT’ and ‘teaching and learning’

This paper seeks to show how ‘policy’, ‘management’ and ‘information and communications technology’ (ICT) were constructed for schools in England between 2000 and 2003 and to discuss some effects of these constructions on teaching and learning in the institutions involved in the InterActive Education Project. It argues that their contribution collectively constituted ‘ICT’ as a particular kind and form of challenge for schools, and that recognising the nature of this constitution is crucial to understanding the relationship between ICT and teaching and learning. Informed by an abductive methodology, this paper draws on analyses of policy documents and interviews with the head teachers of the educational institutions taking part in the InterActive Education Project to show how the possibilities and opportunities of using ICT were shaped by those constructions. It suggests that the main policy framing ICT in education over the period in question, the National Grid for Learning, had the provision of hardware and infrastructure as its main target, but offered little advice on how they might be used. This constituted the core of the management problem of ICT for schools. The final section of the paper outlines some of the mechanisms through which schools addressed these issues and discusses some possible implications for what counts as ‘teaching and learning’ with ‘ICT’.     

Mobile communities: How viable are their business models? An exemplary investigation of the leisure industry

Communities (especially Virtual Communities) of Interest have been the focus of substantial discussion in academic literature. This paper addresses Communities of Interest within the leisure industry and discusses possible business models for the parties operating the platform. The described community platform is an innovative value added service concept for a mobile coordination support for individuals—A Mobile Community Support System. In this paper we extend the discussion about mobile communities to hybrid communities. The communities are hybrid in two ways: they use two different access channels, the Web and mobile devices, and they are built on real-world leisure communities that constitute themselves in the form of buddy lists in the virtual world of an ICT supported platform. We briefly depict the state of the art of IT in the leisure industry and describe the empirical aspects of the project objectives of the MCOR (Mobile Community Online Reservation) system. We conclude with some final remarks about design considerations and a blueprint for future research. Felix Hampe holds a chair for Corporate Communication Systems and is Director of the Institute for IS Research at the Faculty of Informatics of the University of Koblenz-Landau in Germany. He studied at the Free University of Berlin and worked later for the University of Bielefeld and the Philipps-University of Marburg prior to his appointment to Koblenz. In 2004/2005, he spent one year as a visiting professor at the University of South Australia, School of Computer and Information Systems. Beside his research interest in application aspects of communication systems, Professor Hampe started very early research in the area of mobile applications and especially mobile commerce. He was cofounder and board member of the Mobile Application Research Center (MARC), a German network for joint research on mobile business. Professor Hampe authored several international conference articles in the area and served for many international conferences.     

Students' perceptions of ICT-related support in teaching placements

Abstract Recent research has shown that students' use of information and communications technology (ICT) on teaching practice is necessary for effective future use of ICT in the classroom. However, this paper reports that there are a number of factors affecting the use of ICT by student-teachers in their school placements. All 110 student-teachers attending one university's eight Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses completed a questionnaire on their attitudes to ICT in learning and teaching and their initial experiences of the application of ICT in schools. In-depth interviews with the student-teachers, as well as univer-sity tutors and teachers, revealed a range of issues that reflected how student-teachers perceive their school-based ICT training and what they think could improve their experiences. Recommendations are offered for the improvement of the ICT school experiences for student-teachers until teacher training is completed and improved ICT infrastructure is in place in schools. The overriding conclusion is that schools must be supported and resourced properly, and teachers must have effective ICT training, before improvements in school-based ICT development for student-teachers can be achieved.