Evolution of computing in spanish-speaking countries : A panel presentation

Two decades ago, people used computers as an information resource for many fields. These fields include library information, climatic information, medicine, transportation schedules, banking, and other areas. The use of international networks at that time enabled people to communicate globally in a rapid and accurate fashion not only to experts, but to the public also. In regions such as South and Central America, however, the uses of information resources were not as widespread as they were in developed countries. Indeed, estimates showed that Latin America contained two percent of the world’s informatics equipment. At that time, computers appeared in commercial and governmental agencies as well as universities that used global networks such as the internet, BITNET, FidoNet, and other similar networks. In the mid-1980s, of course, the world wide web was only a dream and the individual use of computers was almost non-existent. The emergence of web-based technology in the 1990s caused a worldwide transformation in the use of computers and their applications, particularly in Latin America. Their natural associations with Spain and Portugal and their strong desire to be at the forefront of informatics changes, Latin American countries developed a new resurgence – a small renaissance – thrusting many of these countries into a modern technical society with accelerated growth and educational promise. This panel attempts to emphasize the progress of computing in representative Spanishspeaking countries and to celebrate the computing achievements made there. The distinguished panelists will bring forward ways in which computing had emerged and the way the computing evolution affected computing education in the regions. The summaries of their dialogue follow.2nd IFIP Conference on the History of Computing and EducationRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Latin American perspectives to internationalize undergraduate information technology education

The computing education community expects modern curricular guidelines for information technology (IT) undergraduate degree programs by 2017. The authors of this work focus on eliciting and analyzing Latin American academic and industry perspectives on IT undergraduate education. The objective is to ensure that the IT curricular framework in the IT2017 report articulates the relationship between academic preparation and the work environment of IT graduates in light of current technological and educational trends in Latin America and elsewhere. Activities focus on soliciting and analyzing survey data collected from institutions and consortia in IT education and IT professional and educational societies in Latin America; these activities also include garnering the expertise of the authors. Findings show that IT degree programs are making progress in bridging the academic-industry gap, but more work remains

People’s Initiatives to Use IT for Development

human development, technology

Chinese and North American Culture: a New Perspective in Linguistics Studies

We explored the two cultures in the two countries. There has been discussed on Chinese culture and North American culture. Chinese language, ceramics, architecture, music, dance, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts, philosophy, business etiquette, religion, politics, and history have global influence, while its traditions and festivals are also celebrated, instilled, and practiced by people around the world. The culture of North America refers to the arts and other manifestations of human activities and achievements from the continent of North America. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

FORMALIZING INFORMALITY: THE PRAEDIAL REGISTRATION SYSTEM IN PERU

The Praedial Property Registration system has been presented as an alternative system to traditional registries for the formalization of immovable property. Much of the earlier design and pilot work for the Praedial Property Registration system was done by the Peruvian private organization, Instituto Libertad y Democracia (ILD). They claim that in Peru they "have formalized over 150,000 properties much more quickly, and at dramatically less costs, than traditional titling and registration programs" in three-and-a-half years during the early 1990s. This property formalization system has been trademarked as PROFORM. It is being offered to other countries as a quick and inexpensive way to convert informal property in the hands of a large proportion of the population into legally recognized private property, and as a source of capital for the grassroots development of these countries. This study assesses the functioning of this system in Peru and its replicability in other countries. There is no easily accessible documentation on how this property formalization program has actually functioned in Peru, and it is therefore difficult for development agencies to determine its applicability elsewhere. This assessment of the Registro Predial in Peru is an attempt to document the functioning of an important component of this formalization program. The study examines different aspects of property formalization and related institutions and processes. The scope of this assessment, therefore, includes not only the Registro Predial registration system, but also the titling process (prior to registration) and the credit worthiness and credit opportunities for titled and registered property in both urban and rural areas in Lima that fall under the jurisdiction of the Registro Predial. The study also examines the concepts and legal framework of titling, registration, ownership rights, and possession rights within the Peruvian context.Land titles--Registration and transfer--Peru, Land tenure--Government policy--Peru, Land administration--Peru, Land Economics/Use,

How does Latin America fit into high technology?

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Understanding the digital divide: A literature survey and ways forward

The term digital divide was introduced in the mid-1990s and defined as the gap separating those who have access to new forms of information technology from those who do not. The digital divide remains an important public policy debate that encompasses social, economic and political issues. This paper presents a literature review and classification scheme for digital divide research. The review covers journal articles published between 2001 and 2010 in three types of journals: (1) Information technology & information systems, (2) Economics and business & management and (3) Social science. A classification of digital divide literature and a comprehensive list of references are provided. The results show that the digital divide is a multifaceted phenomenon, due to the many dimensions of determinant factors. Recent studies have included socio-economic, institutional and physiological factors in order to gain a greater understanding of the digital divide. Among other findings, they show that technological determinism is not sufficient to explain the emergence of the digital divide. Moreover, several types of technologies were investigated, both from empirical and conceptual standpoints. The Internet is the most commonly studied technology. The divide in access and usage are discussed at the global, social and democratic levels by employing a quantitative method, either a survey or data analysis, as the main method. However, there is less discussion in developing countries and at the level of the organization (i.e. SMEs, the private sector and the public sector). The qualitative research method could be seen as a complementary method to fill the gap in the current research. The choice of policies which have been recommended to the policy maker and national regulatory agency (NRA) are also presented and discussed at the end of this paper. Several initiatives made at the country and regional levels and by international organizations have also attempted to create a combined policy. This may suggest that the combined policy is the current trend among digital divide policies. Therefore, there is a need for future research to examine these determinants through the context of global, social and democratic divides. The results would provide some insight into how diverse people in different areas adopt ICTs. --Digital divide,Literature review,Future research

Computer bargaining in México and Brazil 1970-1990: dynamic interplay of industry and politics

Theories of host country – TNC bargaining seek to explain dependency shifts based on positional assets and relative capabilities. This analysis of the efforts of México and Brazil to promote and direct the development of a national computer industry from 1977 to 1990 reveals a bargaining landscape that is more dynamic than the traditional bargaining model anticipates. This thesis explains the variable nature of bargaining gains and losses by analysing the on-going, complex interplay of political, industry and market forces. Despite industry characteristics that favoured foreign capital, both México and Brazil achieved bargaining gains in the computer industry. Brazilian state actors enticed national finance and industrial groups to invest in the industry, prompted the development of indigenous technological capacity, and limited the market influence of computer transnationals for more than a decade. With more limited policy ambition, support and duration, México had initial success prompting TNC minority joint ventures in microcomputers and extracting concessions from the TNCs for exports. In both cases, however, bargaining gains were not secure; shifts in dependency were not progressive and one-directional. In fact, the study exposes a reverse trend toward greater dependency on foreign capital in both countries. For this reason one may not employ either case to support the obsolescing bargain in high technology industries. This thesis highlights three factors neglected by the traditional bargaining construct: the dynamism of the global computer industry which opened and close

ICT in Latin America: A Microdata Analysis

This book is the final report of the ECLAC-IDRC project Observatory for the Information Society in Latin American and the Caribbean (OSILAC), Third Phase”. OSILAC III is a cooperating project between the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Division of Production, Productivity and Management, ECLAC-UN, which aims at understanding the dynamics of the ICT evolution and revolution and producing evidence on its potential to support socio-economic development, particularly in developing countries. As such, microdata analysis drawn from National Household Surveys and National Innovation Surveys in Latin America were used in the framework of the project in the attempt to reach those objectives Both statistical information sources provide attractive potentialities in order to investigate not only determinants of innovation activities and technology diffusion, but also its economic impacts.ICT, Innovation, Productivity

ICT Policy and Perspectives of Human Development in Latin America: the Peruvian Experience

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been considered as an important element for economic growth and social development. However, no consensus seems to exist about the proper roles and actual effects of information technology in dynamics of socioeconomic development. Many countries around the world have seen great opportunities in implementing initiatives that would increase the ICT adoption in different areas, especially in the government. Developed countries have exploited their ICT infrastructure for implementing success projects, while developing countries are launching their own ICT based initiatives hoping to achieve a considerable impact in the society in a relatively short term. The present research is oriented to study the implications of ICT policies for enhancing the quality of life in developing countries, especially in the Latin American countries. This paper reviews some important efforts in the deployment of ICT initiative in Peru. The contribution from a research perspective is to report on some key lessons learnt and propose a set of recommendations for future implementations in similar developing nations’ environments.Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been considered as an important element for economic growth and social development. However, no consensus seems to exist about the proper roles and actual effects of information technology in dynamics of socioeconomic development. Many countries around the world have seen great opportunities in implementing initiatives that would increase the ICT adoption in different areas, especially in the government. Developed countries have exploited their ICT infrastructure for implementing success projects, while developing countries are launching their own ICT based initiatives hoping to achieve a considerable impact in the society in a relatively short term. The present research is oriented to study the implications of ICT policies for enhancing the quality of life in developing countries, especially in the Latin American countries. This paper reviews some important efforts in the deployment of ICT initiative in Peru. The contribution from a research perspective is to report on some key lessons learnt and propose a set of recommendations for future implementations in similar developing nations’ environments.Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been considered as an important element for economic growth and social development. However, no consensus seems to exist about the proper roles and actual effects of information technology in dynamics of socioeconomic development. Many countries around the world have seen great opportunities in implementing initiatives that would increase the ICT adoption in different areas, especially in the government. Developed countries have exploited their ICT infrastructure for implementing success projects, while developing countries are launching their own ICT based initiatives hoping to achieve a considerable impact in the society in a relatively short term. The present research is oriented to study the implications of ICT policies for enhancing the quality of life in developing countries, especially in the Latin American countries. This paper reviews some important efforts in the deployment of ICT initiative in Peru. The contribution from a research perspective is to report on some key lessons learnt and propose a set of recommendations for future implementations in similar developing nations’ environments