"This book discusses how digital inequalities today may lead to other types of inequalities in the Global South. Contributions to this collection move past discussing an access problem - a binary division between 'haves and have-nots' - to analyse complex inequalities in the internet use, benefits,
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and opportunities of people in the Global South region. Using specific case studies, this book underlines how communities in the Global South are now attempting to participate in the information age despite high costs, a lack of infrastructure, and more barriers to entry. Contributions discuss the recent changes in the Global South. These changes include greater technological availability, the spread of digital literacy programs and computer courses, and the overall growth in engagement of people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and languages in digital environments." (Publisher description)
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"Was hilft gegen die Landflucht? Digitale Strategien können ländliche Räume vitalisieren. Die Autorin begibt sich auf einen Landspaziergang durch zukünftige digitale Welten: Glasfaser, Offene Daten und Sensoren im Internet der Dinge tauchen ebenso auf wie smarte Mobilität, Roboter in der Gesund
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heitsvorsorge und smarte Bürger. Die ländlichen Orte stehen vor der Entscheidung, sich auf den digitalen Weg zu machen, ohne dabei ihre Traditionen und Eigenheiten aufzugeben. Das Buch ist eine Einladung, den eigenen Platz in der digitalen Welt zu finden im Sinne von Eigenheit, Freiheit und Gemeinwohlorientierung. Denn ohne digitales Land ist auch kein Staat zu machen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Que se haya establecido en primer lugar el uso de la aplicación WhatsApp nos muestra la importancia de las redes en la comunicación personal, afectiva, familiar, en el trabajo, la economía y la organización de las personas. El Facebook denota la importancia e las redes abiertas, sin embargo, ta
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mbién las características como medio de información y el grado de apertura de la población a la información global. En tercer lugar, la importancia del Google y el YouTube como plataformas de exploración de información más especializada en salud, tutoriales para actividades manuales, información agropecuaria, muestra nuevas formas de búsqueda y de adquisición de conocimientos y habilidades en diferentes temas de interés, sin límite. Otras formas de acceder a vincularse de manera colectiva e individual, como la información de otras organizaciones, el correo electrónico, aunque han mostrado numéricamente menos representatividad, su uso no es menos importante, ya que por una parte se trata de contenido local nacional y por otra de comunicación personalizada. Respecto a las brechas del uso del Internet frente al nivel de educación alcanzado, estas pueden ser disminuidas gracias a las herramientas, como el uso de mensajes de voz, por lo que llamamos a los jóvenes a darse la tarea de encontrar la manera de transferir estos conocimientos a las personas con mayores dificultades. De manera que se independicen para atender sus propias necesidades de comunicación. Al mismo tiempo que el estudio ha encontrado relaciones de solidaridad entre familiares y vecinos, que llevan más allá del uso individual de estos medios, por lo que alentamos a mantener estos mecanismos de colaboración. La radio y la televisión son todavía importantes medios de información, sin embargo, la tendencia en la propia comunidad Macharetí muestra que puede ser complementario al uso del internet, lo que en los próximos años ayudaría a disminuir la brecha generacional entre los distintos medios de difusión y comunicación." (Conclusiones, página 79-80)
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"This is a timely and much-needed collection that fills an important gap in the literature. It offers excellent conceptual tools and a selection of case studies that provide a useful map of the digital divide across the African continent and between Africa and the rest of the world. I especially app
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reciate the editors’ efforts to address African issues on their own terms and to problematize interpretive paradigms from the global north. It is a book that many will look forward to reading." (Pier Paolo Frassinelli, Professor, School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, South Africa)
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"The term “Africa Rising” is used in popular and academic discourse to describe economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Increased mobile phone ownership and access to the Internet figure prominently in this optimistic narrative. However, aspects of this story are being questioned, in particular w
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hether this economic growth benefits Africa’s rural areas. In this article, we extend this critique to the optimism surrounding access to the mobile Internet by detailing rural women’s experiences with mobile devices. Drawing on data from our long-term fieldwork in Western Kenya, we describe how secondhand handsets, misinformation about social media, and gendered allocations of time constrain women’s access to the mobile Internet. We then discuss how the materiality of mobile phones, seasonal changes, and other factors must be considered when developing technological interventions in rural areas. We conclude that rural women’s lived realities merit more attention within growth narratives about Africa." (Abstract)
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"The volume examines the risks and opportunities of a digital society characterized by the increasing importance of knowledge and by the incessant rise and pervasiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs). At a global level, the pivotal role of ICTs has made it necessary to rethink
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ways to avoid forms of digital exclusion or digital discrimination. This edited collection comprises of chapters written by respected scholars from a variety of countries, and brings together new scholarship addressing what the process of digital inclusion means for individuals and places in the countries analyzed. Each country has its own strategy to guarantee that people can access and enjoy the benefits of the information society. While this book does not presume to map all the countries in the world, it does shed light into these strategies, underlining what each country is doing in order to reduce digital inequalities and to guarantee that socially disadvantaged people (in terms of disabilities, availability of resources, age, geographic location, lack of education, or ethnicity) are digitally included." (Publisher description)
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"This study explored the interplay between contextual and individual factors related to Internet adoption in isolated rural communities. By investigating 10 remote villages throughout Chile that received Internet access infrastructure in 2010-2011, we identified 3 areas in which contextual and indiv
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idual factors are intertwined. First, the geographical isolation shaped people's personality and attitudes towards new experiences, including digital technologies. Second, the communities' aging population also represented a strong challenge because they lack young people, a relevant technology socialization agent. Finally, jobs and economic activities are related to people's (lack of) motivations and needs towards digital technologies. When the Internet has reached the vast majority of the population, isolated communities confront specific challenges that we need to consider in policy-making decisions." (Abstract)
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"An emerging topic in the development field is how information and communication technology (ICT) can be used for economic and social development. The general approach relies on technological determinism, whereby the discussion revolves around how and to what extent will ICT support development. It
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assumes the benefits of ICT as inherent. This approach ignores that ICT is created and experienced within a socially divisive and complex space. A more critical and sociological analysis is needed for development studies to better understand the implications of ICT initiatives. In this article, I argue that Saskia Sassen's analytical framework of technology and society as embedded avoids this technological determinism and allows social theorists to account for social and material aspects of ICT. To support this alternative framework, I present a case study of a rural ICT initiative in Gujarat, India, and discuss how this reconceptualization reveals more nuanced understanding of ICT and society. Based on interviews and field research, I find that technology creates new social understandings for the rural ICT users, but also that society shapes the technology to make it inaccessible for them." (Abstract)
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"ICT Development for Social and Rural Connectedness provides an introduction to the concept of 'connectedness', and explores how this socio-psychological term has evolved during the age of the Internet. The book surveys the principles of ICT for development (ICTD), and closely examines how ICT has p
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layed a pivotal role in the rural community development of various countries. To highlight the continued benefits of ICT in these regions, the book presents an in-depth case study that analyzes the connectedness within the rural internet centers of Malaysia." (Publisher description)
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"This volume juxtaposes the global discourse on ICT-D and telecentres with in-depth empirical case studies on the pattern of access and use of telecenters in rural India to draw implications for policy and practice. It suggest that access and use of telecentres and their services are mediated by the
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multiple contexts in which they are embedded. While they provide opportunities for people to interact with new technologies, their impact has been mainly in terms of convenience provided by some of the services vis-a-vis existing alternate channels. Particular telecentre models have brought about some change, but this is only when there was a match between the services provided and the local demand for particular information and services. The delivery structure services in terms of user fee, need for reading and computing skills, and linkages with existing institutional context have further shaped access and use. The efficacy of telecentres in generating new jobs in rural areas, increasing efficiency and reach of e-Governance and other basic services, enhancing livelihoods and the well-being of the people, and overcoming the rural-urban divide has been limited." (Publisher description)
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"ICTs and Development in India' is a unique attempt to study the nature and consequences of the growing presence of Information Technology in development projects in India." (Publisher description)
"Increasing overall service coverage and promoting access to telecommunications services is economically beneficial. However, universal access policies for rural and low-income areas have not sufficiently evolved with the latest technolo gy and market trends. This study reviews and evaluates the wid
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e range of instruments available to policy makers and regulators and identifies those most likely to increase access. We also argue that establishing a conducive legal, regulatory, and institutional framework can enhance the effectiveness of the identified instruments. While no single instrument can provide a full solution to universal access, we conclude that a mix of measures can achieve specific policy objectives in a particular country environment." (Back cover)
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"This book brings together some of the most outstanding and novel papers on media and development presented at the AMIC Annual Conferences in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2004. It features over a dozen contributions from around the region, providing a wealth of fresh case studies as well as breaking ne
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w ground in highlighting emerging frontiers of media development discourse in Asia, comparing regional development along multiple dimensions and frameworks and pointing the direction towards further media initiatives at a national level. The papers selected are grouped into three key themes: media and development; new narratives and political discourse; and media impacts and capacity building. Part I addresses macro-level impacts and policies pertaining to media and development in Asia. Part II deals with more direct media issues such as new narratives and emerging forms of political discourse and groupings in Asia. Part III shifts the focus to traditional media impacts on youth and tribal audiences, as well as new media impacts on the education and business sectors. The contributors to this book have highlighted not just an interesting range of media and development issues in Asia, but have also introduced a good variety of media research methods. These include quantitative assessments of media impacts in society, comparative and longitudinal frameworks for evaluating regional ICT competitiveness, structural analyses of political and activist communication systems, in-depth case studies of individual organisations, and broad-based surveys of stakeholders in ICT4D." (Publisher description)
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