Towards a Conceptual Framework for Social Wellbeing through Inclusive Frugal ICT innovation in Postcolonial Collectivist contexts

Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) researchers regard ICT innovation as critical to the social wellbeing of the marginalized in developing countries. However, an understanding of how various political, economic and socio-cultural contexts enable or constrain the influence of inclusive frugal ICT innovation on the marginalized in developing countries remains inadequate. Inclusive frugal ICT innovation refers to increasingly popular approach of creating goods and services using ICTs under constraints specifically to enhance the wellbeing of marginalized millions in developing countries. While Sen’s capability approach (SCA) is widely praised for its human centric view of wellbeing, it has been criticized for being individualistic as well as over-optimistic about human wellbeing in the context of disempowering sociopolitical contexts. This research proposes a conceptual framework that provides a holistic perspective of collective social wellbeing based on the pan-African concept of Ubuntu (shared interdependence). This framework makes use of the philosophical perspective of critical social research to better explain the interrelationship between inclusive ICT innovation aimed at empowering the marginalized through inclusion and the context and social wellbeing, particularly the pervasive postcolonial context

SILECT: System of Interactive Education for Learning and Earning using Computer Technology

System of Interactive Education for Learning and Earning using Computer Technology (SILECT) is an effective yet simplistic Information Communication and Technology (ICT) system that is proposed with the clear intention to teach numerals to marginalized group of people of developing world. The project develops on further based on four major underlying concepts namely learning by teaching theories; operant conditioning theories; neural network theories; people and participation concepts; and last but not the least Trainees as Trainers Model (TasT). After learning numerals as a preliminary phase, which supports the earning phase, trainees are capable of teaching others using the SILECT tool

The growth of ICT4D:impact in educational system in developing countries

Abstract. Problems in developing countries have been an issue for a long time. ICT4D was initiated to solve these problems, at least to ease the current problems to make living standard a bit better. ICT4D stands for information and communication for development, which uses advanced technology to bring opportunities for the people in many fields, such as in education. The term “developing countries” is hard to define, since it is defined by people from developed countries, but in this thesis, I will go through the definition and variables that defines the term. People think that money could solve the problem, but in fact it cannot stop the problems, but by using it to educate people, we can make use of the knowledge learned and thus improve people’s future. In this thesis, I will introduce ICT4D and the evolution of ICT4D, what kind of changes it has gone through to become what it is now. I will also define developing countries from few points of views and also defining human development index (HDI) and means for a better living standard. Next, I will talk about the education and how it could improve the living standard when implementing it properly and how ICT4D is having and could have an impact on the education in developing countries. Also, I will introduce few challenges that could be problematic but not impossible to solve and how huge of a digital divide is between developing and development countries. All of these affect the educational system in developing countries, and is considered as a highly important matters in digital economy, fortunately we have many movements such as ICT4D to tackle these issuesTiivistelmä. Kehitysmaiden ongelmat ovat olleet keskusteluaiheena jo pitkään. ICT4D-liike pantiin alulle ratkaisemaan näitä ongelmia tai ainakin helpottamaan nykyisiä ongelmia parantaakseen ihmisten elintasoa hieman paremmaksi. ICT4D tarkoittaa “tietoa ja viestintää kehitykselle”, jonka tarkoituksena on käyttää edistynyttä teknologiaa tarjoamaan mahdollisuuksia ihmisille monilla aloilla, kuten koulutusaloilla. “Kehitysmaat” käsitteenä on vaikea määritellä, sillä sana “kehitysmaat” ovat määritelleet maat, joissa teknologia on nykyaikaista ja arkipäiväistä. Tässä opinnäytetyössä käyn kuitenkin läpi ne muuttujat, jotka määrittelevät kyseisen termin. Monet ajattelevat, että raha voisi ratkaista näitä ongelmia, mutta tämä ei kuitenkaan ole totta, vaikkakin ongelmat helpottuvat hetkeksi, ongelma on vielä olemassa. Vain kouluttamalla ihmisiä ja hyödyntämällä nykyteknologiaa ja oppimaamme tietoa, voimme ratkaista ongelmia kehitysmaissa. Tässä työssä käyn läpi termin ICT4D:n ja sen evoluution, sekä millaisia ​​muutoksia se on käynyt läpi tullakseen sellaiseksi kuin se nyt on. Aion määritellä myös kehitysmaat muutamasta näkökulmasta ja myös inhimillisen kehityksen indeksin (HDI) ja keinoja paremman elintason saavuttamiseksi. Seuraavaksi opinnäytetyössäni puhun koulutuksesta ja kuinka se voisi parantaa kehitysmaiden elintasoa, kun sitä pannaan täytäntöön sopivalla tavalla ja miten ICT4D voi vaikuttaa kehitysmaiden koulutukseen. Aion myös esitellä muutamia haasteita, jotka voivat olla ongelmallisia, mutta joita ei ole mahdotonta ratkaista, ja miten valtava digitaalinen kuilu on kehittyneiden maiden ja kehitysmaiden välillä. Kaikki mainitut asiat vaikuttavat kehitysmaiden koulutusjärjestelmään, ja näitä pidetään erittäin tärkeänä digitaalitalouden aikana, onneksemme meillä on monia liikkeitä, kuten ICT4D, jotka ovat valmiita ratkaisemaan näitä ongelmia

Digital leisure for development: Reframing new media practice in the global south.

Photoshopping of newlyweds, downloading the latest movies, teens flirting on social network sites and virtual gaming may seem like typical behavior in the West; yet in the context of a village in Mali or a slum in Mumbai, it is seen as unusual and perhaps an anomaly in their new media practice. In recent years, some studies (Ganesh, 2010; Mitra, 2005; Arora, 2010; 2012; Rangaswamy & Nair, 2012; Kavoori, Chadha & Arceneaux, 2006) have documented these leisure-oriented behaviors in the global south and argued for the need to emphasize and reposition these user practices within larger and contemporary discourses on new media consumption. Yet, for the most part, studies in the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Deve

eTourism for socio-economic development

Tourism has often been described as an economic driving force that contributes to rural and emerging economies development. However, when it comes to the social aspect of development the nature of this contribution is still debated by academics. Information and Communication Technologies can help enhancing the socio-economic contribution of tourism by fostering community-based tourism independent marketing and sales dis-intermediation. eT4D can be defined as the independent use of technologies by micro and small community based tourism firms to market and sell their products and services thus fostering local socio-economic development

XenITH: Xen in the Hand

Usability and portability have been key commercial drivers for increasingly capable handheld devices, which have been enabled by advances in Moore’s Law and well as in wireless systems. The nature of such devices makes them extremely personal, and yet they offer an untapped resource for new forms of peer-to-peer and cooperative communications relaying. Taking advantage of such capabilities requires concurrent resource control of the handheld’s computational and communications capacities. Virtualization platforms, such as the Xen system, have opened the possibility of multiplexing a handheld device in useful and unobtrusive ways, as personal applications can be used while additional services such as decentralized communications are also in operation. The purpose of this project is to experimentally demonstrate the ability of modern smartphone units to support a programmable network environment. We attempt to validate the system with a series of measurement experiments which demonstrate concurrent use of two operating systems, each using computational and network resources, in two virtual machines. Moreover, we demonstrate an acceptable level of user performance while maintaining a MANET using a programmable network router

Explaining online communities’ contribution to socio-economic development

In recent times, online communities are emerging as a potential source of information technology-led socio-economic development by enabling new generative mechanisms. Existing studies provide useful insights yet do not recognize the contributions of online communities in achieving socio-economic development. To address this knowledge gap, this paper documents a netnography study conducted on an online community for teaching the youth how to earn income online legitimately. We applied the theoretical notion of IT affordances to examine the possibilities for socio-economic action via online communities in the context of a developing country. Preliminary findings show how the online community contributes to socio-economic development by fostering collaboration, information sharing, and learning leading to income generation

Facebook’s “Free Basics”: For or against community development?

A recent discussion on a prominent community informatics (CI) listserv revealed arguments for and against the Facebook’s Free Basics platform among researchers in the field. To continue and enrich the conversation, this study first examines the contrasting stances revealed in the CI listserv discussion and derives the CI researchers’ major concerns about the platform. Under the light of these concerns, we then explore the nature of Facebook’s Free Basics in relation to community development through analysis of one of the forefront services that Free Basics offers, i.e., Facebook. Specifically, we examine relationships between uses of Facebook and information technology (IT) identity formation and social capital. We argue that although projects operated by private companies may possess potential for supporting community development, much consideration is needed in embracing the technology solutions due to the risks and restrictions they can impose on its users. We also suggest the CI researchers to open the next round of discussion regarding ways to thoroughly assess possible flaws of Free Basics and help users of the platform make more informed decisions. IT identity is a new theory that can help shed new light on the challenges of using platforms such as Free Basics and their contribution to community development

Ethische Fragen zur Digitalisierung im Globalen Süden: Perspektiven auf Gerechtigkeit und Gleichberechtigung

Digitalization and information and communications technology (ICT) influence and transform the world economy, our everyday life, politics, and our way of communicating. This entails opportunities and benefits as well as risks, challenges, and difficulties for all actors involved. Especially in the African context, but also in other countries of the Global South, there are important questions and aspects of digitalization which have to be addressed by technology assessment (TA) from an ethical point of view: questions of unequal power relations, neo-colonialism, (digital) illiteracy and language barriers, general barriers to access, and the gender digital divide. To broaden the perspectives of TA in global contexts, these issues should be discussed by different scientific disciplines, equally considering the positions of those affected. The inter- and transdisciplinary approaches in this TATuP special topic make a much-needed contribution to TA of digitalization in a global context.Digitalisierung und Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) beeinflussen und verändern die Weltwirtschaft, unser Alltagsleben, die Politik und unsere Kommunikation. Das birgt Chancen und Vorteile, aber auch Risiken, Herausforderungen und Schwierigkeiten für alle beteiligten Akteur*innen. Besonders im afrikanischen Kontext, aber auch in anderen Ländern des Globalen Südens, gibt es wichtige Fragen und Aspekte der Digitalisierung, die in der Technikfolgenabschätzung (TA) von einem ethischen Standpunkt aus adressiert werden müssen: Fragen zu ungleichen Machtverhältnissen, Neokolonialismus, (digitalem) Analphabetismus und sprachlichen Barrieren sowie zu allgemeinen Zugangsbarrieren und der digitalen Kluft zwischen den Geschlechtern. Um die Perspektive von TA in globalen Kontexten zu erweitern, sollten diese Fragen aus unterschiedlichen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen heraus diskutiert und die Perspektive derjenigen miteinbezogen werden, die im konkreten Fall betroffen sind. Die inter- und transdisziplinären Ansätze in diesem TATuP-Thema leisten einen wichtigen Beitrag zur TA der Digitalisierung im globalen Kontext