Enabling the Expansion of Microfinance using Information and Communication Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 157-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narima Amin
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Smart Cards ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency

This chapter looks at the origins and evolution of microfinance and explores some of the challenges faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs). It examines the costs and benefits of using ICTs as a means of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of MFIs enabling expansion and outreach to remote populations. Specific technologies such as smart cards, PDAs, and MISs are explored in detail and case studies are provided. MFIs can also use ICTs to facilitate income-generating opportunities for borrowers, and the case of Village Phone will highlight this potential. It is hoped that this chapter will advance the case for the continued use and research into the synergistic combining of microfinance and ICTs.

Enabling the Expansion of Microfinance using Information and Communication Technologies

2008 ◽  
pp. 3658-3680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narima Amin
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Smart Cards ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency

This chapter looks at the origins and evolution of microfinance and explores some of the challenges faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs). It examines the costs and benefits of using ICTs as a means of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of MFIs enabling expansion and outreach to remote populations. Specific technologies such as smart cards, PDAs, and MISs are explored in detail and case studies are provided. MFIs can also use ICTs to facilitate income-generating opportunities for borrowers, and the case of Village Phone will highlight this potential. It is hoped that this chapter will advance the case for the continued use and research into the synergistic combining of microfinance and ICTs.

scholarly journals A review of the use of information and communication technologies for dietary assessment

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (S2) ◽  
pp. S102-S112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Ngo ◽  
Anouk Engelen ◽  
Marja Molag ◽  
Joni Roesle ◽  
Purificación García-Segovia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Dietary Assessment ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Digital Photography ◽  
Smart Cards ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Personal Digital Assistants ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Information And Communication

Presently used dietary-assessment methods often present difficulties for researchers and respondents, and misreporting errors are common. Methods using information and communication technologies (ICT) may improve quality and accuracy. The present paper presents a systematic literature review describing studies applying ICT to dietary assessment. Eligible papers published between January 1995 and February 2008 were classified into four assessment categories: computerised assessment; personal digital assistants (PDA); digital photography; smart cards. Computerised assessments comprise frequency questionnaires, 24 h recalls (24HR) and diet history assessments. Self-administered computerised assessments, which can include audio support, may reduce literacy problems, be translated and are useful for younger age groups, but less so for those unfamiliar with computers. Self-administered 24HR utilising computers yielded comparable results as standard methods, but needed supervision if used in children. Computer-assisted interviewer-administered recall results were similar to conventional recalls, and reduced inter-interviewer variability. PDA showed some advantages but did not reduce underreporting. Mobile phone meal photos did not improve PDA accuracy. Digital photography for assessing individual food intake in dining facilities was accurate for adults and children, although validity was slightly higher with direct visual observation. Smart cards in dining facilities were useful for measuring food choice but not total dietary intake. In conclusion, computerised assessments and PDA are promising, and could improve dietary assessment quality in some vulnerable groups and decrease researcher workload. Both still need comprehensive evaluation for micronutrient intake assessment. Further work is necessary for improving ICT tools in established and new methods and for their rigorous evaluation.

Managing the ‘fit‘ of information and communication technology in community health: A framework for decision making

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Jayne Cardno
Keyword(s):  
Community Health ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Community Health Services ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Additional Value

The ‘fit‘ of information and communication technologies (ICT) in community health is important in meeting the needs of patients, carers, staff and organizations in the delivery of services. A good fit leads to greater efficiencies and effectiveness in ICT use. A multi-step research project was conducted to look not only at the role of ICT but at how to manage ICT and make a good ICT fit to enhance community health services. Telehealth was identified as the application of ICT to enhance population health, health promotion and health-service delivery. A participatory process was identified as critical to determining needs and potential uses as well as to the successful design and implementation of ICT in health. There was additional value in ensuring a diversity of desired outcomes which balance costs and benefits while fostering capacity and technical sustainability.

scholarly journals Importancia de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación en la primera infancia

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Javier Macías Arias ◽  
Blanca Celina Meza Cruz ◽  
Sandy Raúl Chun Molina ◽  
Gregorio Isoldo Mendoza Cedeño
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Nature Of Technology ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Native Nature ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Sobre Todo

La tecnología avanza notablemente en  el  mundo, las  tecnologías de la información y comunicación (tics) han causado revuelo en la primera infancia, los niños de hoy tienen un alto grado en el manejo de la tecnología pero es preciso direccionarlos en un buen camino. Los niños se consideran nativos naturaleza de la tecnología pero debe ser acompañado pues trae consigo necesidad de conocimiento y en ocasiones se puede utilizar de forma inadecuada, es por esto que se debe capacitar en las tics, ya que hacen parte de la vida. Las tics cobran la mayoría de la parte del tiempo en infantes y adultos, sobre todo en los juegos pero es necesario darles tiempo para explorar y en compañía de sus padres se puede lograr una mejor comprensión del mundo del internet y las Tics, como consecuencia de la necesidad de información en la actualidad se han originado por parte de los docentes un interés por beneficiar a niños y niñas con el uso continuo de las Tics, donde los padres   se hagan participes de dicho proceso y esto contribuya a mejorar no solo la parte académica de los estudiantes sino que al mismo tiempo se cree una cultura de pensamiento dirigida al mundo  Las tecnologías de la información en la infancia  de  la  internet  donde  se  aborden    competencias    que  se  puedan  desarrollarse    con la integración y acceso a las tics desde la primera infancia. Palabras claves: Niños, enseñanza, competencia, información    The technologies of information and communication in early childhood Abstract Technology advances greatly in the world, technologies of information and communication technologies (tics) have caused a stir in early childhood, children today have a high degree in technology management but we must address them in a good way. Children are considered native nature of technology but should be accompanied it brings need for knowledge and sometimes can be used improperly, is why should be trained in tics, and that are part of life. The tics charge most of the time in infants and adults, especially in games but you need to give them time to explore and accompanied by their parents can gain a better understanding of the world of Internet and tics, as a result of the need for information today have originated by teachers an interest benefit children with continued use of tics, where parents become participants in this process and this will help to improve not only academics students but at the same time a culture of thinking led to the world of the internet where skills that can be developed with integration and access to early childhood tics from addressing believed.  Keywords: Niños, enseñanza, competencia, información

scholarly journals Book Review : Handbook of Research on E-Planning - ICTs for Urban Development and Monitoring

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Nunes Silva ◽  
Alias Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Planning Development ◽  
Current Practices

This edited book preserits 23 chapters with 454 pages of literatures and case studies on the use of information and communication technologies in urban planning, development and monitoring. With its nomenclature E-Planning, the book provides a comprehensive and in depth elaboration on the theory, concept, methods and tools of the current practices of E-Pl an ning worldwide. ft is a very useful text for students, professionals, academics and government officers interested in learning and understanding about how different forms of E-Planning research have been developed and used.

Application of ICT in effective crisis management: A systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 591-606
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Fazeli, PhD ◽  
Azamossadat Hosseini, PhD ◽  
Farkhondeh Asadi, PhD ◽  
Hassan Haghighi, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Tools ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
And Control ◽  
Crisis Managers

Introduction: Effective crisis management can reduce the costs and consequences of a crisis and has a significant impact on saving human lives in critical situations. Proper use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can improve all crisis management phases and crisis communication cycles according to the needs of stakeholders. The purpose of this review article is to identify which ICTs have been used in effective crisis management and what managerial tasks they support.Method: A systematic review was conducted based on PRISMA protocol. The investigated articles that have been published in English were all indexed in PubMed, Science Direct, IEEE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases from 2005 to 2019. The keywords searched were “Crisis Management,” “Emergency Management,” “Information and Communication Technology,” and their synonyms.Results: A total of 1,703 articles were retrieved, and 81 articles that met the inclusion criteria were retained. In terms of content, there were 54 case studies/review articles, 38 proposals, and seven prototypes among which 18 case studies and proposals were the same. According to surveys, 18 ICT tools and technologies have been used in effective crisis management with the purpose of supporting managerial tasks such as situation assessment, decision-making, coordination/command and control, communication with the public, and supply of basic services in order to enable crisis management and logistics.Conclusion: This study showed that proper use of ICT can help crisis managers optimize their performance that will consequently result in effective crisis management and the reduction of casualties. In the crisis management cycle, several tools and technologies have been used for various purposes, however; some crisis managers’ tasks were still not taken into consideration sufficiently, and thus, some recommendations for further research in this field were provided.

Responsibility, Jurisdiction, and the Future of “Privacy by Design”

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ugo Pagallo
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Video Surveillance ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Smart Cards ◽  
The Other ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Privacy By Design ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The One

This chapter focuses on some of the most relevant issues in today’s data protection: responsibility and jurisdiction are examined in the light of the principle of “privacy by design.” On one hand, both from the substantial and procedural points of view, national legal systems determine differently rights and duties in the field of data protection. On the other hand, these divergences can be overcome to some extent, by preventing privacy infringements through the incorporation of data protection safeguards in information and communication technologies. Although it is unlikely that “privacy by design” can offer the one-size-fits-all solution to the problems emerging in the field, it is plausible that the principle will be the key to understand how today’s data protection-issues are being handled. By embedding privacy safeguards in places and spaces, products and processes, such as Information Systems in hospitals, video surveillance networks in public transports, or smart cards for biometric identifiers, the aim should be to strengthen people’s rights and widen the range of their choices. On this basis, we can avert both paternalism modelling individual behavior and chauvinism disdaining different national provisions of current legal systems.

The Leadership Role of the Ethicist

2015 ◽  
pp. 204-214
Author(s):  
Aimee van Wynsberghe
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Work Done ◽  
Research And Design

The pervasive presence of Information and Communication technologies has profound effects on cultural norms and values. This relationship is most commonly referred to in terms of values embedded in a technology (Nissenbaum, 2001). To mitigate potential threats to values, researchers from a variety of disciplines advocate in favor of incorporating ethics into research and design processes. As Boenink (2013) rightly points out, however, there is little work done that outlines exactly what it is that the ethicist does when engaged in ‘ethics in the lab'. This paper aims to fill the gap that Boenink has identified and to contribute to the ongoing discussions related to ethics in the lab. The following work will review what the ethicist does in terms of the tasks of the ethicist as articulated by van Wynsberghe and Robbins (2013) and will present two case studies as examples to illustrate the different role of the ethicist in each. The issue of central importance for this paper is how the ethicist's role differs from one case to the next and what guides this shift. For insight the paper looks to the work of Manders-Huits and Zimmer (2009) and their suggestion of the ‘leadership role'. Finally, it will argue that a virtue ethics approach should be taken in order to guide the ethicist in these divergent roles.

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