A Mobile User Interface For Low-Literacy Users In Rural South Africa

Information and Communication Technology services for socio-economic development of low-literacy users in rural communities in developing regions are new research contributions that seek to alleviate poverty in underserved communities. The intended users are still new to these technologies and can be described as novice users. This study was conducted to design a mobile user interface to enable low-literacy users in Dwesa community in South Africa to have access to mobile commerce services. We applied different ethnographic research methods through a usercentred design approach to actively involve the target users in the design process. This helped to identify the users’ needs and also meet users’ expectations. The usability of the mobile user interface was evaluated with the target users in the community. The user evaluation shows that the users have positive attitudes and perception of the system. The study found that the user interface conforms to the users’ cultural experience and preferences and they are also positive in their intent to use the user interface

A model for user requirements elicitation specific to users in rural areas

Dwesa is a rural town situated in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province that has been selected as a testing site for an e-commerce project to address some of the challenges faced by the community. These challenges include difficulties stemming from poverty, poor access to public services, unemployment and low levels of literacy. The Siyakhula Living Lab project’s aim is to develop an e-commerce platform that will 'connect' the residents with the necessary access to services and markets by providing them with the necessary tools that can help in alleviating some of their challenges. In order for the project to achieve its objectives, a deeper understanding into the needs of the prospective users is required. User requirements elicitation deals with the process of interacting with the prospective users to understand and document their needs. This research aims at evaluating existing requirements elicitation techniques and methodologies in the context of rural information technology implementations. The primary objective is to develop a model for user requirements elicitation in Dwesa. Many requirements elicitation techniques and frameworks exist, but few have been evaluated in the context of rural software implementations. Requirements elicitation techniques should not be applied simply as steps to gather information. Instead this research project proposes a model that can be applied to assimilate the contribution of knowledge regarding the stakeholders, problem and solution characteristics, and other characteristics into the software development process for the effective elicitation of requirements

A hermeneutic inquiry into user-created personas in different Namibian locales

Persona is a tool broadly used in technology design to support communicational interactions between designers and users. Different Persona types and methods have evolved mostly in the Global North, and been partially deployed in the Global South every so often in its original User-Centred Design methodology. We postulate persona conceptualizations are expected to differ across cultures. We demonstrate this with an exploratory-case study on user-created persona co-designed with four Namibian ethnic groups: ovaHerero, Ovambo, ovaHimba and Khoisan. We follow a hermeneutic inquiry approach to discern cultural nuances from diverse human conducts. Findings reveal diverse self-representations whereby for each ethnic group results emerge in unalike fashions, viewpoints, recounts and storylines. This paper ultimately argues User-Created Persona as a potentially valid approach for pursuing cross-cultural depictions of personas that communicate cultural features and user experiences paramount to designing acceptable and gratifying technologies in dissimilar locales

Selecting Requirement Elicitation Methods for Designing ICT Application in Minority Community

In recent years, Information and Communication Technologies or widely known as ICT has rapidly acquired a place in society. ICT facilitates communities in terms of providing the latest information updates on various fields such as business, education, sports and many more. Various ICT applications have been developed to cater these arising needs. In ensuring the developed ICT applications achieving its purposes, user requirements must be fulfilled. Thus, gathering requirements from communities during system development is an important phase. A suitable elicitation technique is needed as this will determine the quality and accuracy of the requirements gathered which ensures success of the developed system. The same applies when developing systems for minority communities. Hence, this paper explores the existing requirement elicitation techniques to gain insight for constructing a suitable requirement elicitation technique for minority communities. As a result, a proposed framework for eliciting requirements in the minority community will be discussed

Uso de la representación visual en el manejo de recursos naturales

El uso creciente de la representación visual en la gestión de los recursos naturales se señala como una herramienta prometedora para mejorar la comunicación con el flujo bidireccional de información entre las partes interesadas. Algunos objetivos son la transferencia de conocimiento científico a grupos no científicos y el estudio de la percepción que las comunidades locales tienen sobre su medio ambiente. Ambos tienen una importancia crítica en los países en desarrollo. El objetivo de esta tesis fue obtener mayor conocimiento sobre algunos temas y preocupaciones relacionadas con el uso de material fotográfico como sustitutos de las áreas de pastizales naturales entre los pastores y los extension advisers. La tesis desarrolló estudios en dos áreas principales de pastizales del Perú. El primer estudio se realizó en Azangaro, Puno, en el Altiplano peruano. Este estudio exploró la confiabilidad y validez del uso de material visual en la realización de evaluaciones sobre conceptos comunes utilizados en el manejo de pastizales por extension advisers, cuyo papel en la cadena de transferencia de tecnología es importante en esta área. La segunda área de estudio fue el SAIS Pachacutec, que involucra una importante área de pastizales en Junín, ubicada en la región montañosa central del Perú. Se investigaron dos temas principales de investigación en esta área. Primero, hubo comparaciones en el uso de diferentes técnicas (enfoques aleatorios y participativos) para el muestreo visual en pastizales. Y segundo, se exploró el uso de material fotográfico combinado con la metodología Q para obtener percepciones ambientales entre los pastores y las administraciones locales.Beca otorgada por el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) y el CGIAR Sytemwide Livestock Programme (SLP) en el marco del proyecto "Virtual Laboratory on Systems Analysis in mixed Crop-Livestock Systems".Tesi

Use of visual representation in natural resource management

The increasing use of visual representation in natural resource management is signed as a promising tool for enhancing the communication with bidirectional flow of information among stakeholders. Some targets are the transfer o f scientific knowledge to non-scientific groups and the study o f perception that local communities have about their environment. Both of them have critical importance in developing countries. The objective of this thesis was to get further knowledge on some topics and concerns related to the use o f photographic material as surrogates of natural grassland areas among shepherds and extension advisers. The thesis developed studies in two main grassland areas of Peru. The first study was carried out in Azangaro, Puno, in the Peruvian High Plateau. This study explored the reliability and validity o f the use of visual material in performing assessments about common concepts used in grassland management by extension advisers, whose role in the chain o f technology transfer is important in this area. The second area o f study was the SAIS Pachacutec, which involves a significant grassland area in Junin, located in the central mountain region of Peru. Two main research topics were investigated in this area. First, there were comparisons in the use o f different techniques (random and participatory approaches) for visual sampling in rangelands. And second, the use o f photographic material combined with Q methodology was explored for the elicitation of environmental perceptions among shepherds and local administrations. Implications o f results for future use of visual representation in natural resource management are discussed

Sustainable energy for whom? Governing pro-poor, low-carbon pathways to development: lessons from solar PV in Kenya

Using a combination of insights from innovation studies, sociotechnical transitions theory and the STEPS pathways approach, this paper analyses the evolution of the Kenyan photovoltaics (PV) market. Considered by many to be an exemplar of private sector led development, the Kenyan PV market has witnessed the adoption of more than 300,000 solar home systems and over 100,000 solar portable lights. The notion of an entrepreneurially driven unsubsidised solar market has proved to be a powerful narrative amongst development actors who, paradoxically, have provided millions of dollars of funding to encourage the market’s development. We argue that this donor support has been critical to the success of the market, but not simply by helping to create an enabling environment in which entrepreneurs can flourish. Donor assistance has been critical in supporting a range of actors to build the elements of a PV innovation system by providing active protection for experimentation, network-building, and the construction of shared visions amongst actors throughout supply chains and amongst users.This analysis gives important clues for designing climate and development policies, with implications for the governance of energy access pathways that are inclusive of poor and marginalised groups in low income countries