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?

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 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

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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
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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 • Uses by the poor

information  ****
 ****

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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 • Uses by the poor

communication  ****
 ****

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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

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 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

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 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

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 Distribution: ITU, 2003

Population Telephone Total PCs per

(millions) subscriber Internet 100
s per 100 hosts inhabitant
people (2002) s (2002)
(2003)
Africa 825.45 8.65 243,171 1.28
Americas 855.53 66.62 122,555,360 28.95
[USA] [292.30] [116.43] [115,311,95 [65.89]
8]
Europe 795.13 96.28 18,358,507 21.44
[UK] [58.12] [143.13] [2,865,390] [40.57]
Asia 3,621.14 28.52 13,390,474 4.36
[China] [1,263.80] [42.99] [554,682] [3.04]
[India] [1,056.89] [7.10] [78,595] [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
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 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