ISSN: 0268-1102 (Print) 1554-0170 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.

com/loi/titd20

Extending Human Capabilities through

Information Technology Applications and
Infrastructures

Sajda Qureshi

To cite this article: Sajda Qureshi (2010) Extending Human Capabilities through Information
Technology Applications and Infrastructures, , 16:1, 1-3, DOI: 10.1080/02681101003704374

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02681101003704374

Published online: 23 Apr 2010.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 1171

View related articles

Citing articles: 6 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=titd20
Information Technology for Development
Vol. 16, No. 1, January 2010, 1–3

Editorial
Extending Human Capabilities through Information Technology
Applications and Infrastructures

Many studies explore the ways in which information technology can bring about improvements
in people’s lives by considering aspects of how it is used, applied in various communities and
countries and how it affects certain key economic indicators such as growth. In particular, it
appears that human development can be enabled through access and use of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) by enabling personal freedoms to be achieved. Sen
(1999) suggests that in order to achieve Development, people need to be able to extend their
capabilities so that they can access resources, earn an income and achieve their personal
goals. The freedom of choice to be able to take opportunities that will enable people to earn
an income is according to Sen (1999) alleviating poverty in developed as well as countries
that are considered developing. Income is needed in order to enable people to get an education,
healthcare and achieve other personal goals. Yet a key aspect of Sen’s capability perspective is
that income is only a means to achieve the ends that people want to pursue if given the freedoms
to do so. This is central to an understanding of development as a means of offering people the
freedom to achieve their aims.
One of the ways in which people can increase their means to achieving their freedoms is
through access to information and knowledge by reaching others who share their skills and
expertise. The process of using ICTs to connect with people in disparate parts of the world
to access the information or knowledge needed to achieve personal ends is called Knowledge
Networking (Qureshi, Keen and Kamal 2009). According to Qureshi et al. (2009) knowledge
networking is the process by which people in geographically dispersed communities access
and share knowledge, information and skills to achieve their ends. For example knowledge
networking takes place when people are able to seek employment opportunities, a farmer is
able to find out what seeds will increase production in his soil, people are able to alert each
other of threats to their security and provide medical advice in ways that would not have
been possible without access to the technological infrastructure. The success of knowledge
networking has come about through the use of low cost technologies for conversation and
communication. These technologies enable talent pools comprising of experts, entrepreneurs,
farmers and business people to be accessed and activated through communication. In particular,
mobile phones enable these talent pools to be activated towards joint effect by allowing people to
access knowledge and resources otherwise unavailable to them.
Sen’s argument goes a step further to state that actions taken to assist people should also
consider disparities within communities and families as it is the process of social inclusion
that enables freedoms to be achieved. He suggests that actions by governments need to be
careful to take into account the disproportionate use of resources in families that tend to
exclude the elderly and girls from the resources that should be made available to them. This
leads to deprivation in sectors of society that often go undetected until they show up in child
mortality and morbidity statistics. Deprivation according to Sen can take place on a number
of levels: lack of political freedom, access to healthcare or education can reduce the quality
of life and longevity of a person even if they have an income. Hence Development is not just

ISSN 0268-1102 print/ISSN 1554-0170 online

# 2010 Commonwealth Secretariat
DOI: 10.1080/02681101003704374
http://www.informaworld.com
2 Editorial

a process of increasing personal freedoms to achieve better livelihoods but also a process of
social inclusion through which people can have access to the resources they need as they
develop their capabilities to lead better lives. The papers in this issue reflect the ways in
which capabilities are being developed through Information Technology applications and infra-
structures. They highlight the pervasive nature of IT infrastructures and attempt to illustrate how
these applications can be a means to enabling human freedoms to be achieved. They also suggest
that there is a role for IT in bringing about processes of social inclusion.
This issue also marks the transfer of publication from Wiley Blackwell to Taylor & Francis
who will be publishing the Information Technology for Development Journal. Taylor & Francis
have an established record of publishing in this area and are committed to helping take the
Journal to the next level. We welcome their participation in this Journal and look forward to
their continuing support.
As Information technology infrastructures continue to become more pervasive, the first
paper by Jeffrey Kottemann and Kathleen Boyer-Wright entitled “Socioeconomic Foundations
Enabling E-Business and E-Government” investigates four key national factors. They hypoth-
esize that e-readiness is associated with e-business and e-government development: national
economic prosperity, technological innovativeness, institutional maturity, and Internet service
provider competition. Using hierarchical regression with cross-sectional data on 122 countries,
they show that these factors are independently associated with success in the e-government and
e-business areas. Through their analysis using regression, they provide evidence of the model’s
applicability to both developed and developing nations, and illustrate where the four factors can
serve as parsimonious indicators for e-readiness and as key areas for public policy. They also
present an analysis suggesting the model’s applicability to countries across a range of socioeco-
nomic development and provide recommendations for policy makers relating to eGovernment
and institutional development.
The second paper entitled “Increasing Interactivity in Distance Education: Case Studies
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka”, authored by Annika Andersson and Mathias Hatakka provides a
unique perspective into how ICTs are a means towards enabling people to lead more productive
lives. The authors argue that that e-learning involves a shift in the educational structure from
traditional transmission of knowledge to interactive creation of knowledge. They investigate
two case studies of distance education programs in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that use different
technologies for implementing interactivity. One case uses Internet and computers while the
other uses video and mobile phones. The findings are analyzed using Structuration Theory to
uncover the norms and beliefs of that emerge from the interactions between participants. The
findings from both cases show that students participated with each other using the technologies
in a manner that entailed the transmission of information and work practices and also involved
the creation of interactive structures. The authors conclude that peer collaboration and the use of
self-assessment tools enable students to take more ownership of their learning. At the same time,
the authors found the idea of a classroom with an instructive teacher to be deeply rooted in the
students’ minds.
Workshops can be a method for formulating policies to develop ICT infrastructures in areas
requiring government interventions. The third paper entitled “A Constructive Technology
Assessment approach to ICT planning in developing countries: Evaluating the first phase, the
Roundtable workshop” is authored by Nicolaas Moens, Jacqueline Broerse, Lisette Gast and
Joske Bunders. The authors suggest that while Information and communication technology
(ICT) might play an important role in development, there are many failed implementations
as there is limited knowledge of how to apply ICT in a development context. They offer the
Roundtable (RT) workshop as a participatory approach based on constructive technology
assessment. This paper develops an evaluative framework to assess the effectiveness of the
 Editorial 3

RT workshop through an interpretive study based on quantitative and qualitative data from case
studies. The study shows that the RT workshop is a useful and robust methodology to
integrate ICTs in priority areas of sector development like agriculture, education, and health.
Empowerment, reflexive learning, and networking are key elements to generate owned up
ICT projects that are moulded to local needs. In a cross-case analysis relevant contextual
factors are identified that can be used to assist in such development efforts.
The final research paper in this issue is entitled “Bridging the Generation Gap in ICT Use:
Interrogating Identity, Technology and Interactions in Community Telecenters” by Arlene
Bailey and Ojelanki Ngwenyama investigates the role of public access to ICTs in enabling
social inclusion. The authors explore the issues related to the generation gap in the use of
information and communication technologies through an examination of relevant literature
and findings from empirical field research in community-based telecenters in a developing
country. Their findings show that intergenerational interaction is a key issue and social relations
and interactions are explored through an analysis of social networks in conjunction with social
identity theory and social representations theory. A conceptual framework is developed of the
impact of intergenerational interactions at telecenters on community development that entails
insight into the social identity, social interactions and social representations of the interactions
using the ICTs. This research has implications for community development programs to support
social inclusion.
The paper in the Journal’s “View from Practice” Section is by Hans Brechbühl, Robert
Bruce, Scott Dynes and M. Eric Johnson and is entitled “Protecting Critical Information
Infrastructure: Developing Cyber Security Policy”. While IT infrastructures are creating
opportunities for people to participate in the global economy, they also pose threats to those
hoping to make their way out of poverty using these infrastructures. The authors argue that
multinational corporations that are seeking to do business in developing countries, have to be
certain that the ICT-based capabilities they require are going to be available and secure. This
means that countries that want to attract foreign investments must have a robust approach to
cybersecurity—it is becoming part of the package that corporations must and will consider.
The authors discuss the elements of a successful information security policy for developing
countries, based on field studies of information security practices and policies at U.S. firms as
well as on literature research. These elements include shared behaviors, pervasive relationships,
and trust resulting from increased dialog and necessity and not necessarily from any formal
governing structure. The authors present a network model of the interactions required for
effective cybersecurity and provide guidance to ICT Ministers in developing countries about
the multidimensional aspects of cybersecurity policy concerns.

References
Qureshi, S., Kamal, S., & Keen, P. (2009). Knowledge networking to overcome the digital divide. In W.R.
King (Ed.), Knowledge management and organizational learning (p. 215). Annals of Information
Systems 4. Springer Science and Business Media, LLC.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom (p. 366). New York: Anchor Books.

Sajda Qureshi
Editor-in-Chief