95,901 research outputs found

    Time for action! ICT integration in formal education : key findings from a region-wide follow-up monitor

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    This paper is a report on the key findings of a region-wide monitoring study conducted in Dutch-speaking schools in Belgium. First, we elaborate on the building blocks of the instrument, which has been updated and improved since its first deployment in 2007. In particular we focus on the core indicators, along with the multi-actor approach, the sample design and the ways in which new phenomena such as media literacy and gaming have been operationalized. Secondly, we highlight the main trends and patterns within pre-school, primary and secondary education. The first descriptive analyses show quite disappointing results with regard to ICT use at the micro level and the available infrastructure, while headmasters, teachers and pupils reported positive perceptions of different aspects of ICT integration. These results indicate an urgent need to take appropriate action. Therefore, the final part of the paper examines how ICT integration could be improved via structural changes and appropriate policymaking with regard to budgeting, teacher training and the particular role of ICT coordinators in schools

    The Central African Republic's infrastructure : a continental perspective

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    Between 2000 and 2005, infrastructure contributed less than 1 percentage point to the Central African Republic's annual per capita GDP growth, despite substantial spending in the road sector. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.5 percentage points. The CAR has made significant progress in the transport, water, power, and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors. But the high cost of fuel, which raises transportation and energy costs, has been a vexing issue across all infrastructure sectors. The CAR's most pressing infrastructural challenge lies in the transport sector, which relies heavily on neighboring countries and could benefit from improved road conditions and enhanced performance at the port of Douala in Cameroon. In the power sector, the country suffers from a deteriorating infrastructure stock that it can no longer afford to maintain, and an inefficient and unreliable power supply. Additional challenges include a need for improved infrastructure in the water and sanitation and ICT sectors. Addressing the CAR's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditure of 346millionperyearoverthenextdecade.Thenationalreadyspendsaround346 million per year over the next decade. The nation already spends around 134 million per year on infrastructure, with 37millionayearlosttoinefficienciesofvariouskinds.Ifthoseinefficiencieswerefullyeliminated,thecountrysannualinfrastructurefundinggapwouldbe37 million a year lost to inefficiencies of various kinds. If those inefficiencies were fully eliminated, the country's annual infrastructure funding gap would be 183 million per year. Improvements in funding, coupled with the prospect of an economic rebound and prudent policies, could lift the country from its fragile state back to and beyond the prosperity standards it once enjoyed.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Energy Production and Transportation,Infrastructure Economics,E-Business

    Creating competitive advantage : policy lessons from history

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    This paper reviews selected aspects of the history of UK supply-side policy in terms of their productivity implications. An important change after the 1970s which improved productivity performance was the adoption of policies to end protectionism and strengthen competition. A review of horizontal industrial policies shows weaknesses in education, infrastructure, taxation and, especially, land-use planning but, on the positive side, a regulatory stance conducive to the rapid adoption of ICT. A big implication is that any return to a more active industrial policy should be designed to minimize adverse effects on competition

    Do rural infrastructure investments benefit the poor? Evaluating linkages : a global view, a focus on Vietnam

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    What are linkages between rural infrastructure investments, and household welfare? In the past, most of the evaluations to assess the effectiveness of a project, focused on physical outputs, and success of project implementation. In recent years, more attention has been given to the impact of investments, particularly its effect on the poor, both in economic, and non-economic terms. The author presents findings from a survey of the existing literature on such impacts. Although evidence exists for improved household welfare from rural infrastructure investment, little evidence was found of studies that provided concrete linkages between specific investments in rural infrastructure, and increased welfare of the rural poor. This is due in part to the complexity, and oftentimes the concurrent nature of interventions, that make attributing welfare improvements, to a particular project, virtually impossible. The evidence is presented in this three-part paper. Part I gives examples of past, and current attempts to assess the impact of rural infrastructure projects, and provides suggestions for future evaluations. Part II discusses in detail some observed economic, and non-economic impacts on the poor, from different rural infrastructure interventions. Part III presents lessons learned from the literature on how to maximize the impact of rural infrastructure interventions on household welfare. Specific project, and country examples from the literature, and new data from a recent qualitative study in Vietnam, are presented as evidence for, and illustration of key ideas, and issues.Environmental Economics&Policies,Decentralization,Health Economics&Finance,ICT Policy and Strategies,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Environmental Economics&Policies,ICT Policy and Strategies,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Agricultural Research,Engineering

    ECOWAS's infrastructure : a regional perspective

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    Infrastructure improvements boosted growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by one percentage point per capita per year during 1995-2005, primarily thanks to growth in information and communication technology. Deficient power infrastructure held growth back by 0.1 percent. Raising the region's infrastructure to the level of Mauritius could boost growth by 5 percentage points. Overall, infrastructure in the 15 ECOWAS countries ranks consistently behind southern Africa across many indicators. However, there is parity in access to household services -- water, sanitation, and power. ECOWAS has a well-developed regional road network, though sea corridors and ports need attention. Surface transport is expensive and slow, owing to cartelization, restrictive regulations, and delays. There is no regional rail network. Air transport has improved despite the lack of a strong hub-and-spoke structure. Safety remains a concern. Electrical power, the most expensive and least reliable in Africa, reaches 50 percent of the population but meets just 30 percent of demand. Regional power trading would bring substantial benefits if Guinea could become a hydropower exporter. Prices for critical ICT services are relatively high. Recent panregional initiatives have improved roaming. New projects are underway to provide access and improved services to unconnected countries. Completing and maintaining ECOWAS's infrastructure will require sustained spending of $1.5 billion annually for a decade, with one-third going to power. Although the necessary spending is only 1 percent of regional GDP, some countries'share is between 5 and 25 percent of national GDP. Clearly, external assistance will be needed.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Airports and Air Services,Infrastructure Economics,Transport and Trade Logistics,Roads&Highways

    Nigeria's infrastructure : a continental perspective

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    Infrastructure made a net contribution of around one percentage point to Nigeria's improved per capita growth performance in recent years, in spite of the fact that unreliable power supplies held growth back. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by around 4 percentage points. Among its African peers, Nigeria has relatively advanced power, road, rail, and ICT networks that cover the national territory quite extensively. Extensive reforms are ongoing in the power, ports, ICT, and domestic air transport sectors. But challenges persist. The power sector's operational efficiency and cost recovery has been among the worst in Africa, supplying about half of what is required, with subsequent social costs of about 3.7 percent of GDP. The water and sanitation sector has inefficient operations, with low and declining levels of piped water coverage. Irrigation development is also low relative to the country's substantial potential. In the transport sector, Nigeria's road networks are in poor condition from lack of maintenance, and the country has a poor record on air transport safety. Addressing Nigeria's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditure of almost 14.2billionperyearoverthenextdecade,orabout12percentofGDP.Nigeriaalreadyspendsabout14.2 billion per year over the next decade, or about 12 percent of GDP. Nigeria already spends about 5.9 billion. It is well placed to raise the funds needed for infrastructure, given the strength of the national economy, abundant oil revenues, and efforts at electricity cost recovery and other improvements to operations and management.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Public Sector Economics,E-Business,Town Water Supply and Sanitation

    Strategies Information and Communication Technology Managers Use to Build Employee Competencies

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    The World Economic Forum (WEF) found that Botswana\u27s information and communication technology (ICT) networked readiness index (NRI) had declined from position 89 in 2012 to 104 in 2015. A decline in Botswana\u27s ICT NRI resulted in a modest gross domestic product (GDP) growth increasing from 4.2% in 2012 to 5.0% in 2015. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies ICT service provider managers use to build employee competencies to address ICT infrastructure performance deficiencies. The target population for this study consisted of over 120 managers from 2 ICT service providers located in Gaborone and Francistown in Botswana. The conceptual framework for this study was information technology (IT) competency model. Face-to-face interviews with 15 managers and a review of 12 company documents were gathered and all interpretations from the data were subjected to member checking to ensure the trustworthiness of the study findings. The thematic analyses of participants\u27 interviews and company documents resulted in the emergence of 3 common themes: developing professional employee competencies through training, promoting knowledge acquisition and skills transfer, and developing budgets for funding the development of employee competencies. Participants cited training and professional development as a reason for ICT infrastructure performance deficiencies. Social implications from this study include developing strategies business managers can use to build employee competencies to improve ICT infrastructure performance, which could result in improved services to citizens and enhanced national development, social transformation, and economic diversification

    The use of ICT and e-learning by work-based learning providers 2006: survey, waves 1 and 2

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    The report presents the findings of the 2005-06 survey of technology use and implementation by work-based learning providers in England

    Connecting South East Asia: a Blueprint for ASEAN Connectivity

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    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries, consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, met in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration. The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration, aiming to create an ASEAN Community by 2015. Recently, the Member Countries of the ASEAN have accepted the concept of ASEAN Connectivity, which emphasized on the three pillars regional cooperation of security, socio-cultural, and economic integration. In particular, ASEAN Connectivity is expected: (1) to enhance trade, investment, tourism, and development, (2) to narrow development gaps, and (3) to facilitate people-to-people contacts. As a preparation to adapt with a new system, Indonesia is geared to improve its domestic connectivity as a prerequisite of regional connectivity. In Indonesia's view, regional connectivity should help empower and develop the local economies, as an effort to narrow the development gaps within ASEAN. To fulfill these goals, Indonesia needs to strengthen its physical connectivity through better transportation infrastructure. However, to support trade facilitation, good transportation infrastructure alone is not sufficient. It needs to be enhanced with ICT infrastructure, which is crucial in supporting trade facilitation through its ability to facilitate information exchange and to reduce the cost of doing business. This paper aims to explore how Indonesia's domestic connectivity coops with the concept of ASEAN connectivity. Some data and various existing policies in their effort to accomplish ASEAN connectivity will be explored. With the new legal framework in ICT and transportation, the performance of the ICT and transportation system in Indonesia is expected to ameliorate, hence supporting the development of other sectors, and this will ultimately lead to the realization of ASEAN Connectivity

    Evaluating ICT integration in Turkish K-12 schools through teachers' views

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    The current study aims to explore ICT integration in Turkish K-12 schools purposively selected as a representation of F@tih and non-F@tih public schools together with a private school. A convergent mixed methods design was employed with a multiple case strategy as such it will enable to make casewise comparisons. The quantitative data was collected through e-capacity measurement scales. Concurrently, the qualitative data was gathered through three open-ended questions. The evaluation results illustrate that a private school outperformed all public schools, including F@tih and non-F@tih schools. However there are some promising results indicating that F@tih project has made some significant inroads into improvement of ICT related school conditions, specifically ICT infrastructure of public schools. Yet, the findings also illustrate that ICT coordination and support, ICT vision and policy and teachers’ ICT training and their ICT use are policy domains that should be addressed and improved in both F@tih and non-F@tih schools
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