Extending the Social Identity of Information Systems

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-33
Author(s):  
Pratim Datta ◽  
Victor W. Mbarika ◽  
Chitu Okoli
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sub Saharan

Although Benbasat and Zmud’s (2003) pronouncement of an “identity crisis” within the information systems (IS) discipline has been mitigated in the industrialized world, the authors are concerned that the crisis still looms large in the developing world. The author’s objective is to theoretically underpin how the discipline can extend its social presence in developing countries to help sustain life. These arguments are contextualized with an in-depth examination of an area for which information systems research has much to offer: telemedicine. Telemedicine is an information systems intensive method concerning the remote delivery of healthcare. Telemedicine is fundamental to any healthcare solution in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)— a capital-starved society, home to 33 of the 48 least developed countries of the world, and suffering from a dire shortage of medical professionals. The social, political, and economic idiosyncrasies of SSA require a different lens to investigate telemedicine to induce social development. This paper proposes a research framework for telemedicine transfer in the context of SSA with propositions pertinent to the developing world. The authors draw on thorough implications of this research agenda as a stepping stone to recreate a social identity in developing nations plagued with more immediate concerns surrounding basic human sustenance.

scholarly journals Malavika Karlekar (ed.). Paradigms of Learning: The Total Literacy Campaign in India. New Delhi: Sage Publications. 2004. 356 pages. Paperback. Indian Rupees 375.00.

2003 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-169
Author(s):  
Samina Nazli
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Adult Literacy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Literacy Campaign ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Sub Saharan

Raising the standards of literacy in the developing world has been a major goal of the less developed countries since most of them became independent in the process of decolonisation that followed World War II. The Human Development Report 2004, brought out by the United Nations Development Programme lists some major improvements in increasing literacy levels of a number of countries between the year 1990 and 2002. For example, low human development countries like Togo increased their adult literacy rates from 44.2 percent in 1990 to 59.6 percent in 2002. Congo saw an increase in its literacy rate for the same period from 67.1 percent to 82.8 percent. The rates for Uganda, Kenya, Yemen, and Nigeria are 56.1 percent and 68.9 percent, 70.8 percent and 84.3 percent, 32.7 percent and 49.0 percent, and 48.7 percent and 68.8 percent respectively. If one examines the breakdown by region, the least developed countries as a group saw an increase in their adult literacy rates from 43.0 percent to 52.5 percent, the Arab states from 50.8 percent to 63.3 percent, South Asia from 47.0 percent to 57.6 percent, Sub-Saharan Africa from 50.8 percent to 63.2 percent and East Asia and the Pacific from 79.8 percent to 90.3 percent. If we look at the increase in the levels of literacy from the perspective of medium human development and low human development, the figures are 71.8 percent and 80.4 percent, and 42.5 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively.

Job Creation and Wages in Least Developed Countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Rud ◽  
Ija Trapeznikova
Keyword(s):  
Job Creation ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Wage ◽  
Micro Data ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Sector Model ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Least developed economies are characterised by poorly functioning labour markets: only a small fraction of workers is in paid employment, where productivity and wages are low. We incorporate a standard search framework into a two-sector model of development to assess the importance of different obstacles to job creation and productivity. The model provides new insights in the characterisation of poorly developed labour markets that are observed in the data, such as high wage dispersion. We estimate the model using micro data for six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and highlight the empirical relevance of labour market frictions, entry costs and skills.

Information communication technologies for gender and development in Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christobel Asiedu
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Information Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Development Literature

The information communication technologies for development literature (ICT4D) has identified information communication technologies (ICTs) as a significant tool for economic and social development of least developed countries. The discourse has marginalized radio and promoted ICTs. However, there are numerous challenges to using ICTs as a communication tool in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although investment in technology could create a much more effective use of ICTs, local appropriation should be at the center of any communication tool for development. This article discusses the widespread exposure to radio in SSA, and emphasizes the effectiveness of using radio to create indigenous knowledge, and in the process empower local women to actively frame their own messages and be active participants in development agendas. Combining radio and ICTs, also known as technological blending, would make certain that rural, poor and non-literate women are not only given meaningful access to new technologies, but also ‘brought into’ the development discourse, as active agents of social change.

scholarly journals Wpływ międzynarodowych instytucji finansowych na sytuację gospodarczą krajów najsłabiej rozwiniętych

2019 ◽  
Vol 19(34) (3) ◽  
pp. 57-66
Author(s):  
Jakub Kraciuk
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
International Financial Institutions ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The aim of the study was to show the impact of the activities of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on the economic situation of the least developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It was found that the operation of these organizations in accordance with the principles of the Washington consensus did not bring the expected results, and the credit aid of IMF and World Bank increased debt, but did not contribute to a significant GDP growth per capita in the analyzed countries. Therefore, it is necessary to change the rules of operation of international financial institutions towards least developed countries. The proposed adjustment programs are to generate economic growth, which will be subordinated to the needs of societies, and the choice of economic and social policy options should be adapted to the conditions of a given country.

A Disconnect in Stakeholders' Perceptions from Emerging Realities of Teledensity Growth in Africa's Least Developed Countries

2008 ◽  
pp. 2948-2962
Author(s):  
Victor W. Mbarika ◽  
Peter N. Meso ◽  
Philip F. Musa
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Geographical Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Research Show

With the dynamic and meteoric rise in teledensity diffusion across Sub Saharan Africa, one would expect a departure in the perceptions of stakeholders as they relate to the Bernt and Weiss framework that identifies organizational, financial, technological, and geographical factors as the key impediments to teledensity growth. The findings of this research show that there is disconnect between current happenings and perception of stakeholders. Specifically, there is no change in stakeholders’ perceptions with respect to the framework mentioned above. However, historical and recent teledensity data from Africa’s Least Developed Countries illustrate that the model is inconsistent with the emerging realities in these countries, and that it may be getting obsolete. This leads us to conjecture that in this new dispensation, there may be some emerging factors, issues, constraints, and opportunities that may be of greater importance to understanding telecommunications capabilities in these countries and the world at large.

A Disconnect in Stakeholders' Perceptions from Emerging Realities of Teledensity Growth in Africa's Least Developed Countries

2006 ◽  
pp. 263-282
Author(s):  
Victor W. Mbarika ◽  
Peter N. Meso ◽  
Philip F. Musa
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Geographical Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Research Show

With the dynamic and meteoric rise in teledensity diffusion across Sub Saharan Africa, one would expect a departure in the perceptions of stakeholders as they relate to the Bernt and Weiss framework that identifies organizational, financial, technological, and geographical factors as the key impediments to teledensity growth. The findings of this research show that there is disconnect between current happenings and perception of stakeholders. Specifically, there is no change in stakeholders’ perceptions with respect to the framework mentioned above. However, historical and recent teledensity data from Africa’s Least Developed Countries illustrate that the model is inconsistent with the emerging realities in these countries, and that it may be getting obsolete. This leads us to conjecture that in this new dispensation, there may be some emerging factors, issues, constraints, and opportunities that may be of greater importance to understanding telecommunications capabilities in these countries and the world at large.

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