ICTD Theory & Models
Assessing the digital divide: E-Governance and M-Governance in a hub and spoke model
2008, Gyanendra Narayan, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries
The author discusses the role that can be played by mobile governance (m-governance) in bridging the digital divide and proposes a new model for disseminating services. The primary problems hindering the growth of the digital revolution lie in aspects such as social barriers, cost and the availability of services. The mobile phone does solve some of these issues, but cost is still a major burden in this case.
Telecentre initiatives in rural India: Failed fad or the way forward?
December 2006, Czech Conroy, Telesupport Initiative Working Paper 4
This article reviews nine telecentre initiatives in India based on key themes identified from the extant literature on the topic. It concludes that the supply led and technology centred approach to telecentres does not cater to the information needs of the rural people.
Decrypting e-governance: Narratives, power play and participation in the Gyandoot Intranet
2007, T T Sreekumar, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries - Vol. 32
This study takes a critical look at the view that e-governance is an administrative innovation facilitated by the application of ICTs. It argues instead that e-governance should be conceived as a complex social process involving attitudinal change as well as a transformation of the traditional forms of governmentality. The empirical part of the study comes from field research conducted in Madhya Pradesh, India on Gyandoot, an intranet based government to citizen (G2C) service delivery portal.
Telecentre tales: Indian telecentre forum
August 2007, id4online
This is a write-up of the Indian Telecentre Forum of the eIndia 2007 conference, in which government officials, local and global industry leaders, researchers and others met to discuss the present and future state of telecentre movement in India and around the world. The forum had a particular focus on the Government of India's Common Service Centres (CSCs) scheme and other initiatives in India.
Innovation and its social impacts:The role of ethnography in the evaluation and assessment of ICTD projects
2006, Balaji Parthasarathy & Janaki Srinivasan
Innovations in Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are being increasingly deployed in a range of sectors, from government to medicine, to foster social change, especially in less affluent regions. Even as there emerges an inter-disciplinary field of ICT for Development (ICTD), there are many conceptual issues that need clarification. One such is methodological, or the question of how to evaluate and assess the impact of ICTs on developmental outcomes. This paper will argue that there are at least three aspects to assessing ICTD projects: ICTs, development, and the question of ICTD for whom.
Using stakeholder theory to analyze telecenter projects
2007, Savita Bailur, MIT Press Journal
Involving stakeholders is often seen as a means to more successful information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects. Hence, it can be appropriate to research ICT4D projects by taking both the perspective of stakeholder theory and using the tools of stakeholder analysis. This paper uses the example of telecenter projects to illustrate the application of a stakeholder perspective, selecting the specific case of the Gyandoot telecenters in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Towards bridging the digital divide in India: Challenges and opportunities from a national perspective.
Abdul Jaleel Tharayil & Rajeev K R
In a developing country like India, advances in ICTs have brought a lot of opportunities and perhaps a whole lot of challenges as well. One of the main challenges is the frightening gap between the information have-s and information have-nots -what is known as the digital divide. The paper highlights the concept of digital divide in general and the Indian scenario in particular and suggests measures to reduce this divide especially the role that can be played by rural libraries towards this end.
Policy Implications of the Digital Opportunity Index analysis for India
Policy Implications of the Digital Opportunity Index Analysis for India: Capabilities of Measurement and Importance of Extending DOI to a Regional Level
2006, Payal Malik
This policy paper argues for the development of regional Digital Opportunity Indices to guide and evaluate ICT policy in diverse regions in India. The Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) "is a composite index that measures ICT diffusion using diverse set of indicators that reflect a profile of a forward-looking Information Society."
Social impact and diffusion of telecentre use: A study from the Sustainable Access in Rural India project (SARI)
2006, Rajendra Kumar and Michael Best, The Journal of Community Informatics
In a study of social diffusion of telecentreuse in rural south India, the authors find that these centres are being used only by a relatively small proportion of the village households despite their having been in operation for well over a year. Based on a survey of the telecentre users, they find that these users are, in general, young, male, school or college students, relatively more educated, belong to relatively higher income households, and come from socially and economically advanced communities.
ICT for development: Hope or hype?
November 9, 2006, Athar Osama, Scidev.net
The author contends that serious problems of development must first be confronted before the potential of ICT for development can be fulfilled. Despite the many examples of 'successful' projects, mainly in India, the myths of ICT in development abound.
