Proceedings of the 3rd International IDIA Development Informatics Conference, 28-30 October 2009978-0-620-45037-9 -
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INTRODUCTION
A substantial amount of literature is emerging about mobile phones being the ‘the next big thing’ indevelopment both globally and in Africa. Output by authors such as Scott
et al.
(2004), Heeks andJagun (2007), Vodafone (2004) and Bertolini (2004), among others, have delivered positivist verdictson not only the growth of mobile phones in Africa, but also their precise impact on the livelihoods of ordinary citizens - the majority of which are poor. Scott
et al
. (op. cit.) attempt to explain the shiftsfrom traditional roles of mobile phones as intermediaries of social networks to economically-basedtools. By any account, this is a notable discovery for both mobile phone users and policy makers. Butwhile this progress is commendable, profound challenges are still faced by fundamental developmentsectors such as the security sector. On this, Goodspeed (2007: 3) argues that Africa will always befaced with political instability and crises as long as “… the frequency of armed conflicts, acceptedgauges of life expectancy, infant mortality, general health levels, education, corruption, incidence of mass murder, international crime, human rights abuse,…” remained. For Goodspeed, “…unlessthere is major change, Africa is likely to be a cauldron of war and a source of infectious instability for decades”. The question remains whether the usage of the mobile phone can be a contributingcatalyst to change in the security sector particularly during emergency situations. The above caseshave generated much hype around how mobile phones have delivered some social and economicimpact, yet this technology has yet to prove that its function can also provide substantial changewithin insecure emergency cases.Security issues contribute to development at many levels. For this reason, any efforts directedtowards a reduction of insecurity, by engaging both preventative and ameliorative measures of emergency response, will serve to deliver development, which Africa desperately requires. And if information and communication technologies (ICTs) form part of ‘the next big thing’ on developmentboth at policy and individual levels, it is necessary to investigate how this innovation is interactingwith citizen security during emergencies, including within non-mainstream regions such as ruralareas. More specifically, there is a need to determine how new technology usage has included acuteemergency responses from both demand and supply sides in these underdeveloped areas of Africa.
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