Introduction to the proceedings of ICTD2009

Welcome to the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2009). It is with great pleasure that we present the ICTD2009 proceedings, which include all of the full papers presented at the conference in Doha, Qatar, held on 17-19 April 2009

New media practices in India: bridging past and future, markets and development

This article provides a review of the academic and popular literature on new media practices in India, focusing on the country’s youth's use of mobile phones and the Internet, as well as new media prosumption. One particular feature of the Indian case is the confluence of commercial exploitation of new media technologies and their application for development purposes in initiatives that aim to bring these technologies to marginalized segments of the Indian population. Technology usage in turn is shaped by the socioeconomic location of the user, especially in regards to gender and caste. The potential of new media technologies to subvert such social stratifications and associated norms has inspired much public debate, which is often carried out on the Internet, giving rise to an online public sphere. In all of the writings reviewed here, the tension surrounding new media technologies as a meeting place of the old and the new in India is paramount

Community design: a collaborative approach for social integration

This paper describes a successful case of collaboration among a south-north project team, a Community Multimedia Centre (CMC), and community beneficiaries, for the design and implementation of a small-scale project to improve CMC services for the local community of Quelimane, in Mozambique. The project is part of RE-ACT, a broader scale research and development project which aimed to investigate the social meanings and understandings attributed by different stakeholders to Mozambican CMCs, and use these insights to co-design and implement CMC services with inherent relevance for the local communities. The case reported is considered the most successful of nine action research and co-design projects implemented through RE-ACT. The services designed for the Quelimane CMC can be considered a success not because of perfect alignment with initial goals but rather due to responsiveness and flexibility in the implementation approach: activities and goals were constantly revised by teams to cope with emerging challenges, while at the same time keeping a clear orientation towards set targets. The paper discusses five underlying factors thought to heighten the chances of success of action research and co-design projects involving local communities, ranging from local proactivity and initiative, to commitment to project success, and high perceived self-efficacy of local stakeholders

Exploring employment opportunities through microtasks via cybercafes

Microwork in cybercafés is a promising tool for poverty alleviation. For those who cannot afford a computer, cybercafés can serve as a simple payment channel and as a platform to work. However, there are questions about whether workers are interested in working in cybercafés, whether cybercafé owners are willing to host such a set up, and whether workers are skilled enough to earn an acceptable pay rate? We designed experiments in internet/cyber cafes in India and Kenya to investigate these issues. We also investigated whether computers make workers more productive than mobile platforms? In surveys, we found that 99% of the users wanted to continue with the experiment in cybercafé, while 8 of 9 cybercafé owners showed interest to host this experiment. User typing speed was adequate to earn a pay rate comparable to their existing wages, and the fastest workers were approximately twice as productive usi

Open ICT ecosystems transforming the developing world

To be published March 2010 in open access journal "Information technology and information development (ITID)"The ICT ecosystem is understood to be more than just a technological system; rather, it is a social system within which ICTs are embedded. The paper argues that open Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ecosystems provide the space for the amplification and transformation of social activities that can be powerful drivers of development. The argument suggests that development research should focus on new social activities enabled by different configurations of ICT ecosystems, and their connection to particular social outcomes

Reducing the risk of e-mail phishing in the state of Qatar through an effective awareness framework

In recent years, cyber crime has focused intensely on people to bypass existing sophisticated security controls; phishing is one of the most common forms of such attack. This research highlights the problem of e-mail phishing. A lot of previous research demonstrated the danger of phishing and its considerable consequences. Since users behaviour is unpredictable, there is no reliable technological protective solution (e.g. spam filters, anti-viruses) to diminish the risk arising from inappropriate user decisions. Therefore, this research attempts to reduce the risk of e-mail phishing through awareness and education. It underlines the problem of e-mail phishing in the State of Qatar, one of world s fastest developing countries and seeks to provide a solution to enhance people s awareness of e-mail phishing by developing an effective awareness and educational framework. The framework consists of valuable recommendations for the Qatar government, citizens and organisations responsible for ensuring information security along with an educational agenda to train them how to identify and avoid phishing attempts. The educational agenda supports users in making better trust decisions to avoid phishing that could complement any technical solutions. It comprises a collection of training methods: conceptual, embedded, e-learning and learning programmes which include a television show and a learning session with a variety of teaching components such as a game, quizzes, posters, cartoons and a presentation. The components were tested by trial in two Qatari schools and evaluated by experts and a representative sample of Qatari citizens. Furthermore, the research proves the existence and extent of the e-mail phishing problem in Qatar in comparison with the UK where people were found to be less vulnerable and more aware. It was discovered that Qatar is an attractive place for phishers and that a lack of awareness and e-law made Qatar more vulnerable to the phishing. The research identifies the factors which make Qatari citizens susceptible to e-mail phishing attacks such as cultural, country-specific factors, interests and beliefs, religion effect and personal characteristics and this identified the need for enhancing Qatari s level of awareness on phishing threat. Since literature on phishing in Qatar is sparse, empirical and non-empirical studies involved a variety of surveys, interviews and experiments. The research successfully achieved its aim and objectives and is now being considered by the Qatari Government

Использование цифровых технологий в целях повышения налоговых поступлений (на примере микробизнеса Танзании)

In spite of the importance of Micro Businesses (MBs) in forming a wide tax base, there isn’t a clear practical approach to tax administration of MBs in many developing countries. Specifically, there is limited information on how digital technology can address tax administration challenges for MBs. This paper explores the potentials of digital technology to enhance tax revenue collection and its administration to Micro Businesses in the Tanzanian context. The data on tax administration, challenges impeding tax administration to MBs, and the potential of digital technology used in tax administration were collected by questionnaire and interview. Interviews were conducted with 24 informants from Tanzania Revenue Authority, and 137 Micro Business candidates from various business sectors were provided with a questionnaire in Dar es Salaam, which is the head office of tax administration and the economic hub of Tanzania. Thematic approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data through SPPS. The findings revealed that the current tax practices to MBs do not comply with tax theories of low administration cost, wide tax base, and simple-to-administer tax procedure. The findings revealed that the challenges like lack of record keeping, lack of knowledge on tax payment procedures, unknown tax collection channels, and multiple taxes can be tackled by establishing strong relationship mechanisms between TRA and MBs and using digital technology solutions to tackle challenges. The study suggests some digital technology solutions to address the challenges. Leading to that practical aspect of tax administration that can guide policy makers and tax administrators was introduced.For citationOreku G.S. Application of digital technology in enhancing tax revenue collection: the case of micro businesses in Tanzania. Journal of Tax Reform. 2021;7(2):173–192. https://doi.org/10.15826/jtr.2021.7.2.097 Article infoReceived June 10, 2021; Revised July 10, 2021; Accepted July 28, 2021Несмотря на важную роль микробизнеса для формирования широкой налоговой базы, во многих развивающихся странах не сформировался ясный практический подход к его налоговому администрированию. В частности, нет достаточной информации о том, как можно решить проблемы налогового администрирования микробизнеса с помощью цифровых технологий. В статье исследуются возможности применения цифровых технологий для повышения сбора налогов и налогового администрирования микробизнеса в Танзании. Данные о налоговом администрировании, о проблемах, тормозящих налоговое администрирование микробизнеса и о возможностях цифровых технологий в налоговом администрировании получены путем анкетирования и интервью. Были проинтервьюированы 24 представителя налогового управления Танзании, проанкетированы 137 представителей различных сфер микробизнеса в Дар-эс-Саламе, являющемся экономическим центром и местом расположения налоговой администрации Танзании. Для анализа качественных данных использован тематический подход, для анализа количественных данных использована описательная статистика с применением пакета SPPS. Результаты показали, что текущая практика налогообложения микробизнеса не соответствует налоговым теориям о низких административных расходах, широкой налоговой базе и простоте налоговых процедур. Результаты показали, что такие проблемы, как отсутствие учета, незнание процедур уплаты налогов, неясные каналы сбора налогов и множественность налогов, могут быть решены путем построения прочных взаимоотношений между налоговой администрацией и микробизнесом, а также путем применения цифровых технологий. Для решения выявленных проблем предложены некоторые цифровые технологические решения. Представлены практические рекомендации по улучшению ситуации, которые могут быть применены в политике и налоговом администрировании.Для цитированияOreku G.S. Application of digital technology in enhancing tax revenue collection: the case of micro businesses in Tanzania. Journal of Tax Reform. 2021;7(2):173–192. https://doi.org/10.15826/jtr.2021.7.2.097 Информация о статье Дата поступления 10 июня 2021 г.; дата поступления после рецензирования 10 июля 2021 г.; дата принятия к печати 28 июля 2021 г.

Systems for Challenged Network Environments.

Developing regions face significant challenges in network access, making even simple network tasks unpleasant and rich media prohibitively difficult to access. Even as cellular network coverage is approaching a near-universal reach, good network connectivity remains scarce and expensive in many emerging markets. The underlying theme in this dissertation is designing network systems that better accommodate users in emerging markets. To do so, this dissertation begins with a nuanced analysis of content access behavior for web users in developing regions. This analysis finds the personalization of content access---and the fragmentation that results from it---to be significant factors in undermining many existing web acceleration mechanisms. The dissertation explores content access behavior from logs collected at shared internet access sites, as well as user activity information obtained from a commercial social networking service with over a hundred million members worldwide. Based on these observations, the dissertation then discusses two systems designed for improving end-user experience in accessing and using content in constrained networks. First, it deals with the challenge of distributing private content in these networks. By leveraging the wide availability of cellular telephones, the dissertation describes a system for personal content distribution based on user access behavior. The system enables users to request future data accesses, and it schedules content transfers according to current and expected capacity. Second, the dissertation looks at routing bulk data in challenged networks, and describes an experimentation platform for building systems for challenged networks. This platform enables researchers to quickly prototype systems for challenged networks, and iteratively evaluate these systems using mobility and network emulation. The dissertation describes a few data routing systems that were built atop this experimentation platform. Finally, the dissertation discusses the marketplace and service discovery considerations that are important in making these systems viable for developing-region use. In particular, it presents an extensible, auction-based market platform that relies on widely available communication tools for conveniently discovering and trading digital services and goods in developing regions. Collectively, this dissertation brings together several projects that aim to understand and improve end-user experience in challenged networks endemic to developing regions.Ph.D.Computer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91401/1/azarias_1.pd

Theorising the design-reality gap in ICTD: matters of care in mobile learning for Kenyan community health workers

This thesis examines the sociomaterial relations of “design practice” in order to advance new perspectives on success and failure in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD). I conduct an ethnographic case study of an academic research intervention and update the widely-cited theory of design-reality gaps (Heeks, 2002). Using methods from classic actor-network theory and post-structural material-semiotic tools, the analysis: 1) disentangles the entwined sociomaterial practices around design, production, and use of technology; and 2) integrates these insights into more elaborate conceptualisations of gaps, sustainability, scalability, and project failure. In doing so, my study answers the research question: What are the sociomaterial relations of “design practice” in a globally-distributed, multi-stakeholder, and technologicallymediated ICTD project for poverty alleviation? My research narrative describes how an array of humans and non-humans participated as designers in a transnational, interdisciplinary Participatory Action Research project to train Kenyan health workers using mobile phones. At least six different patterns of sociomaterial relations operated through a given set of people and things, enacting the material-discursive apparatuses (Barad, 1998) of educational research, healthcare, the market, the state, and the local community. I assert that in this Participatory Action Research project for mobile learning, the design-reality gap was not so much a matter of geographic or socio-cultural divides, but was instead constituted as fluid space (Mol, 2002) separating the educational researchers’ designerly practices from the multiplicity of ways in which health workers, mobile phones, and other actors lived in relation to one another. I conclude that these ontological politics enacted design as an empirical matter of care – an affective and morally-charged sociomaterial practice with an ethico-political commitment to the marginalised (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2011). I therefore present a conceptual model of success and failure in participatory ICTD projects that explicitly incorporates the affective and material dimensions of care, and conceptualises social justice – not solely in terms of universal claims or global standards – but as embodied, sociomaterial enactments