Community Informatics for Community Development: the “Hope or Hype” Issue Revisited

2007 ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Pitkin
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Community Informatics

scholarly journals Sociocultural Animation

2008 ◽  
pp. 464-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Foth
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Regional Economies ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Digital Divides ◽  
The Media ◽  
Widespread Availability ◽  
Global Computer

The emergence of global computer networks and the widespread availability of advanced information communication technology (ICT) since the mid-nineties has given rise to the hope that the traditional disadvantages faced by regional economies and regional communities could be alleviated easily and swiftly. Yet, the experience of both researchers and practitioners in community informatics and community development tells a different tale. Although the potential of ICT is in fact realised in some situations and locations, and does provide a means to ensure sustainability in some regional communities, elsewhere it has not achieved change for the promised better. Too many communities are still faced by a centralised structure in the context of commerce, service provision or governance and by various degrees of digital divides between the connected and disconnected, between the media literate and illiterate, between young and old, between consumers and producers, and between urban and rural.

Challenges to Community Informatics to Bridging the Digital Divide

2005 ◽  
pp. 86-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Songan ◽  
Khairuddin Ab. Hamid ◽  
Alvin W. Yeo ◽  
Jayapragas Gnaniah ◽  
Hushairi Zen
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Rural Families ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Community Practice ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Institute Of Technology

Community Informatics (CI) is the application of ICT to overcome the “digital divide” both within and among communities (Gurstien, 2000). Taylor (2004) further asserts that CI is a connection between theory and practice in community networks. In this case, CI refers to the use of ICT for community practice, which Glen (1993) elaborates as encompassing concepts of community development, community service delivery and community action. With the emergence of CI, it is possible for remote communities to enjoy the benefits of ICT for economic and social development. For example, in India, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation established six Village Information Shops, which enabled rural families to access and exchange a basket of information using ICT (Balaji & Harris, 2000). In Costa Rica, there is a project involving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to implement “digital town centers” in remote villages (Harris, 1999).

scholarly journals Sociocultural Animation

2005 ◽  
pp. 640-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Foth
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Regional Economies ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Digital Divides ◽  
The Media ◽  
Widespread Availability ◽  
Global Computer

The emergence of global computer networks and the widespread availability of advanced information communication technology (ICT) since the mid-nineties has given rise to the hope that the traditional disadvantages faced by regional economies and regional communities could be alleviated easily and swiftly. Yet, the experience of both researchers and practitioners in community informatics and community development tells a different tale. Although the potential of ICT is in fact realised in some situations and locations, and does provide a means to ensure sustainability in some regional communities, elsewhere it has not achieved change for the promised better. Too many communities are still faced by a centralised structure in the context of commerce, service provision or governance and by various degrees of digital divides between the connected and disconnected, between the media literate and illiterate, between young and old, between consumers and producers, and between urban and rural.

scholarly journals Is Community Informatics Good for Communities? Questions Confronting an Emerging Field

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy R Stoecker
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Participatory Process ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Empowerment Model ◽  
Good For ◽  
Development Approach ◽  
Information Focus

This paper addresses a number of questions confronting the emerging field of community informatics. First, is it a field of study or a field of practice? Second, is the focus of community informatics on communities, information, or technology? Third, does community informatics serve elites, academics, community workers, or community workers? The paper moves from these questions to develop an empowerment model for community informations, emphasizing a community development approach combined with an information focus and a participatory process. It concludes with the question of whether community informatics should strive to be a supporting field rather than develop as an independent arena of study or practice.

Challenges to Community Informatics to Bridging the Digital Divide

2008 ◽  
pp. 2121-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Songan ◽  
Khairuddin Ab. Hamid ◽  
Alvin W. Yeo ◽  
Jayapragas Gnaniah ◽  
Hushairi Zen
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Rural Families ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Community Practice ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Institute Of Technology

Community Informatics (CI) is the application of ICT to overcome the “digital divide” both within and among communities (Gurstien, 2000). Taylor (2004) further asserts that CI is a connection between theory and practice in community networks. In this case, CI refers to the use of ICT for community practice, which Glen (1993) elaborates as encompassing concepts of community development, community service delivery and community action. With the emergence of CI, it is possible for remote communities to enjoy the benefits of ICT for economic and social development. For example, in India, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation established six Village Information Shops, which enabled rural families to access and exchange a basket of information using ICT (Balaji & Harris, 2000). In Costa Rica, there is a project involving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to implement “digital town centers” in remote villages (Harris, 1999).

scholarly journals Facebook’s “Free Basics”: For or against community development?

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moonjung Yim ◽  
Ricardo Gomez ◽  
Michelle S Carter
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Informed Decisions

A recent discussion on a prominent community informatics (CI) listserv revealed arguments for and against the Facebook’s Free Basics platform among researchers in the field. To continue and enrich the conversation, this study first examines the contrasting stances revealed in the CI listserv discussion and derives the CI researchers’ major concerns about the platform. Under the light of these concerns, we then explore the nature of Facebook’s Free Basics in relation to community development through analysis of one of the forefront services that Free Basics offers, i.e., Facebook. Specifically, we examine relationships between uses of Facebook and information technology (IT) identity formation and social capital. We argue that although projects operated by private companies may possess potential for supporting community development, much consideration is needed in embracing the technology solutions due to the risks and restrictions they can impose on its users. We also suggest the CI researchers to open the next round of discussion regarding ways to thoroughly assess possible flaws of Free Basics and help users of the platform make more informed decisions. IT identity is a new theory that can help shed new light on the challenges of using platforms such as Free Basics and their contribution to community development.

scholarly journals Analysing Urban Community Informatics from a Resilience Perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Heeks ◽  
Angelica V. Ospina
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Urban Community ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
Community Informatics ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Research And Practice

The concept of resilience – the capacity to cope with, adjust to and potentially transform amid change and uncertainty – is of increasing interest and activity within community development.  It therefore presents a new lens that may be used to understand and guide community informatics.  Yet resilience is a concept that has often been well-understood but poorly-applied or, when applied, has been poorly-understood.  The purpose of this paper is therefore to develop a well-conceptualised model of resilience that can be applied in both community informatics research and practice.  The model presented here sees communities as systems and resilience as a set of foundational and enabling system sub-properties.  It is used as the basis for analysing ICT interventions in urban communities; showing how ICTs largely strengthen community resilience but may also weaken some aspects.  The paper demonstrates the viability of the developed resilience model to both understand and evaluate community informatics interventions, and it argues that this provides a broader and deeper understanding of those interventions than other perspectives can offer.  Further practical application of the model is, however, required.

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