Transcript Document

ICT for Development
The technologies and their
uses
ICT4D Lecture 5
Tim Unwin
Outline
• Catching up!
• Introductory
 What do we understand by ICTs?
• Information
• Communication
• The technologies
 Production, consumption, exchange
 Their distribution
• Uses
Lecture 5
Catching Up
• Discussion Forum
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• Bibliographies
 Make sure you are working on these
• Be thinking about the web-groups you
want to work in
• Essays - do start work on them soon!
Lecture 5
What technologies?
• What do you understand by Information
and Communication Technologies?
Lecture 5
Defining ICTs
• Standard definitions:
 ICT (information and communications technology - or
technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any
communication device or application, encompassing:
radio, television, cellular phones, computer and
network hardware and software, satellite systems and
so on, as well as the various services and
applications associated with them, such as
videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are
often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs in
education, health care, or libraries.
(techtarget.com)
Lecture 5
The technologies
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
ICT Fig. 1: ICT for Development: Range of Technologies and Users Relevance
Definition: The term “Information and Communication Technologies” (ICT) refers to
technologies designed to access, process and transmit information. ICT encompass a
full range of technologies – from traditional, widely used devices such as radios,
telephones or TV, to more sophisticated tools like computers or the Internet. The mix
of technologies used should be determined mainly by the specific local context and
demand. (Weigel and Waldburger, 2004, p.19)
Lecture 5
Defining ICT4D
ICT4D (Information and Communications Technologies for
Development) is an initiative aimed at bridging the digital divide (the
disparity between technological "have" and "have not" geographic
locations or demographic groups) and aiding economic development
by ensuring equitable access to up-to-date communications
technologies. Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
include any communication device -- encompassing radio,
television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and
software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various
services and applications associated with them, such as
videoconferencing and distance learning. The United Nations,
through its UN Development Programme, actively promotes ICT4D
as a powerful tool for economic and social development around the
world.
(techtarget.com)
Lecture 5
Defining ICTs is problematic
• ICTs (adapted from Fillip)




capturing technologies (cameras, tape recorders)
storage technologies (film, CD-Roms, digital media)
processing technologies (software),
communication technologies (telephones, local area
networks)
 display technologies (monitors)
 GIS (combine many of the above)
• ICTs are not particularly new
 Need to be very specific about what we mean
 Invariably people claim to use inclusive definitions,
but then concentrate on computers and the Internet
Lecture 5
A framework for thinking about
ICT4D technologies
• Most definitions begin with the technologies
 And are thus ‘technology’ led
 Rather than seeing technologies as tools
• Let’s begin with information and communication
 And then see what technologies can help us enhance
these
 And use information and communication for
development purposes
• A focus on poor and marginalised communities
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Information
• What kinds of information are there?
• Examples of how information can be of
help to poor and marginalised people?
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Kinds of information
• Kinds of information
 ****
• Uses by the poor
 ****
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Relevant information
technologies
• Examples of information technologies
 ****
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Information
• Generally produced for a specific purpose
 By ‘someone’ for a particular reason
 Must be in a form that can be readily understood by intended
audience
 But often later used for different purposes
• Requires media for dissemination
• Rarely dynamic
 Can become out of date unless revised
• Needs to be readily findable and searchable
• Value in terms of supply and demand
 Relationships between these are not straightforward
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Communication
• How do we communicate?
 What kinds of communication are there?
• Examples of how communication can be
of help to poor and marginalised people?
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Kinds of Communication
• Kinds of communication
 ****
• Uses by the poor
 ****
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Relevant communication
technologies
• Examples of communication technologies
 ****
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Communication
• Involves interaction
 Synchronous and asynchronous
 Space-time implications
• Communicators must understand each other,
and must wish to be understood
 Languages, codes, rules of communication
• Uses many different senses
 Hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste
• Those who control the communication media
wield considerable power
Lecture 5
ICTs: The technologies
• Production
 Capital seeks to reduce production costs and expand
markets
 ICTs are products
 And yet are also capable of reducing costs and expanding
markets
 High innovation costs, and yet relatively low
production costs
 Technological innovation to ensure continued sales
• A challenge to sustainability
 Separation between
 Production of the enabling media
 Production of the content
Lecture 5
ICTs: The technologies
• Consumption
 Of both the technologies, and the messages transmitted
thereby
 Technologies allow new modalities of consumption
• Exchange
 ICTs enable exchanges of
 Information
 Finance
 Communication
 But little exchange value in themselves
 High costs of recycling
 Environmental costs usually not taken into consideration
Lecture 5
Distribution: ITU, 2003
Population
(millions)
Telephone
subscribers
per 100
people (2003)
Total Internet
hosts (2002)
PCs per 100
inhabitants
(2002)
Africa
825.45
8.65
243,171
1.28
Americas
[USA]
855.53
[292.30]
66.62
[116.43]
122,555,360
[115,311,958]
28.95
[65.89]
Europe
[UK]
795.13
[58.12]
96.28
[143.13]
18,358,507
[2,865,390]
21.44
[40.57]
Asia
[China]
[India]
3,621.14
[1,263.80]
[1,056.89]
28.52
[42.99]
[7.10]
13,390,474
[554,682]
[78,595]
4.36
[3.04]
[0.72]
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Distribution: the digital divide
• The ICT maps of Africa
 http://www.uneca.org/disd/ictmaps.htm
• Basic ICT indicators all show markedly uneven
distribution
 Spatially, and at different scales
 Socially
• The divide is in terms of
 Access
 Physical
 Cost
 Understanding
 Relevance
Lecture 5
Conclusions
• Need to shift the balance away from the
technologies themselves, and to an
understanding of information and
communication
• How can technologies facilitate these processes
for the poor and the marginalised?
• Emphasis on plurality of media to deliver most
appropriate solutions
• Will the existing power relationships really
enable the digital divide to be bridged?
Lecture 5