A Case Study of Ecotourism in the Kelabit Highlands : Is it Sustainable?

The purpose of this study was to examine ecotourism in the Kelabit Highlands, Malaysia, in terms of the sustainability of the industry. The empirical material, which is based on interviews carried out in the field, is analysed within the context of sustainable development theory in order to examine the central and most critical factors in determining the long-term future of ecotourism in the Kelabit Highlands, and in particular how these factors are likely to affect tourism patterns and the structure of the tourism industry in this region. The central conclusion drawn is that the geographic isolation of the area and the logging of the Kelabit communal forests are the two most critical factors impacting upon the tourism industry in the Kelabit Highlands. These two issues will be central in determining the future direction of tourism in this area and ultimately if ecotourism in the Kelabit Highlands is sustainable

Youth and telecentres in community building in rural Peninsular Malaysia

This paper aims to investigate the factors that affect telecentres in community building in the perspective of youth in rural Peninsular Malaysia. The perspective of youth on developing a model for telecentres in community building is important as: 1) youth are at the forefront of adoption of new technology, 2) youth as a group are the highest number of users of telecentres, and 3) youth are tasked with the responsibility of building up the community in the near future. This paper employed a cross-sectional survey method to achieve the study objectives. Data collected were from 313 youth randomly selected from the users of Medan Info Desa (MID) and Program Internet Desa (PID) telecentres in rural Peninsular Malaysia. The results of the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses show that the proposed model explains 47% variability on the influence that telecentres have in community building from the point of view of youth. Furthermore, all independent variables including information, telecentre and community characteristics were significantly related to the influence telecentres have in community building; characteristics related to information form the more powerful predictor. Possible measures that the government and donor agencies can implement as implied from these findings are also discussed

Box items or part of the report

Annexure 44 of final repor

Articles in the press about MSSRF's RKCs

Annexure 43 of final repor

Design and Build OLAP Business Intelligence for Village Sustainable Development Planning

The Indonesian government-year period 2014–2019, endorsed the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) with the concept of building Indonesia from the rural area. One of the RPJMN focus is the development of rural and border areas brings a new paradigm for the village development. This village development paradigm change requires the support of village information system. Village Information System and Rural Areas (SIDeKa) has developed and implemented in dozens of villages in the some district as a pilot project. The transaction data and information in the village have captured accurately using SIDeKa. These data and information becoming crucial sources for development planning in the next phase. This paper describe design and build OLAP Business Intelligence for development planning at village and supra village (district) that integrates SIDeKa’s data from all villages and aligns the development planning with the vision, mission, and objectives of rural development. This paper presents model/architecture for ETL, star schema, and new measures that capture spatial and temporal dimensions. OLAP Business Intelligence will be useful for Village Sustainable Development Planning

IDRC annual report 2001-2002

Print version has parallel text in English and Frenc

Globalisation, Technology and Identity: A Feminist Study of Work Cultures in the Localisation Industry

This work is a feminist study that aims to address a gap in knowledge about the working lives and learning of those employed in electronic, globalising industries, such as localisation. While much is known generally about the under-representation of women in SET (Science, Engineering and Technology), there has been less detailed study that explores the gendering of working lives in electronic knowledge industries which are a crucial part of the technological globalising process. Taking the localisation industry as a case, the present work addresses this lack. Localisation involves making an electronic product or website linguistically and culturally appropriate for people to use in another country/region and language. Workers in the industry adapt printed and electronic texts (and products) for distribution in overseas markets. The study is based on interviews with 10 workers and company owners from the UK, continental Europe, Ireland and South America. A critical feminist approach supports the analysis of interview data using CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis), and participant observation at a conference to reveal power relations which are seemingly hidden in the virtual sphere. Remote forms of working, mediated through the use of ICTs (Information and Communications Technologies) predominate in the industry. The findings are presented in three areas of analysis. Firstly, in relation to workers’ identities the study revealed that technology was a discursive resource used symbolically. While technology represented quality, domestication was used antithetically to indicate its lack. In the analysis this constituted a technologisation of identities. Secondly, workers’ learning trajectories revealed tensions in between knowledge work and accreditation. In relation to technology per se, image creation was central to localisation and the separation of the image from work practices concealed workers’ contributions. In this way the emotional labour invested in the production of the localised image was hidden. Thirdly, the study revealed ways in which global structures interacted with industry boundaries and intersected gendered cultures with implications for professional learning