Women and ICTs in the Arab World

The digital divide manifests itself on the one hand in the lag in Arab world nations vis-à-vis other more developed countries and on the other hand in the existing inequalities between men and women. Although the United Nations and the World Bank publish a variety of reports on the differences between developed and developing nations, very little data is available to fully grasp the meaning of the gap between genders. In terms of information and communication technologies (ICTs), there are two distinct gaps that need to be recognized: the gap between Arab men and Arab women and the gap between Arab women and women from other nations around the world (Figure 1). Much differs in the lives of men and women. For decades, researchers have published comparative reports, attempting to explain what distinguishes men and women in socio-professional environments. According to Meyers-Levy (1989) men tend to be more comfortable with ICTs and partake more often in gaming and programming. When they use computers, women are more inclined to use them as communication tools. Given women’s presumed lack of experience with technology, their upbringing which is different from men’s, and that the studies they most often pursue are not technology-oriented, it is not surprising that women are generally less inclined to adopt new technologies. Those who nonetheless have tried their hand at browsing the Web were either witness to or victims of offensive language used during interactive discussion sessions; in some cases, they were harassed via e-mail. In order to avoid this unpleasantness, some women assumed male aliases (Herring, 2003). However, since 2000, when men and women reached parity in Web use (Rickert & Sacharow, 2000), it would appear that using the Internet is presently no more intimidating for females than for males. An abundance of other differences between men and women exist. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) acknowledged that there does not exist a society in which women benefit from the same opportunities as men. Everywhere in the world, women are poorer, less educated, and less valued than men. These and other inequalities reduce women’s ability to take advantage of the potential benefits of ICTs and to consequently contribute to their nation’s economic and social development which is in fact facilitated by these same technologies.

The Impact of Open Source Development on the Social Construction of Intellectual Property

This chapter discusses the impact that open source software has on our perception and use of intellectual property. The theoretical foundation of the paper is constructionist in that it holds intellectual property to be a social construction that is created and legitimized by narratives. In a first step, the chapter recounts the narratives that are usually found in the literature to justify the creation and protection of intellectual property. The two most important streams of narratives are the utilitarian and the natural rights arguments. In a second step, the paper proceeds to the impact that the use of information and communication technology (ICT) has on the narratives of intellectual property. From there, the chapter progresses to a discussion of the impact of open source software on these narratives. It will be argued that open source software changes our perception of intellectual property because it offers evidence that some of the classical narratives are simplistic. At the same time it will become clear that open source is not a frontal assault on intellectual property because it is partly based on ownership of intellectual artefacts. The conclusion discusses how this change of narratives caused by open source software may reflect on our institutions, laws, and regulations of intellectual property.

Social Institutional Explanations of Global Internet Diffusion

This study attempts to examine empirically how social institutional factors relate to Internet diffusion in 39 countries. Based on nine-year cross-country data, the analytical results show that the rule of law, educational systems, and industrialization significantly influenced the global Internet diffusion, while the economic system did not exert significant impact. Uncertainty avoidance as a national cultural phenomenon significantly inhibited the Internet diffusion. This significant and negative effect is particularly true with less developed countries (LDCs).

Offshoring

The changing economic and labor conditions have motivated firms to outsource professional services activities to skilled personnel in less expensive labor markets. This offshoring phenomenon is studied from a political, economic, technological and strategic perspective. Next, an analytical model is developed for achieving strategic advantage from offshoring based on global partnerships. The model studies the impact of offshoring with respect to the complexity and strategic nature of the tasks and presents a decision strategy for obtaining value through offshoring of increasingly complex tasks. The result is an integrated “24-hour knowledge factory” that is based on a sustainable global model rather than a short term fiscal model. This 24-hour paradigm embodies the shift-style workforce that evolved for the manufacturing sector during the Industrial Revolution and relies on a set of critical success factors in the current environment. A case example is provided from IBM to illustrate these underlying critical success factors.

Evolution of the Euro and Currency Competition in the Global ICT Age

This chapter focuses on the function of international currencies as foreign exchange vehicles, which has a character of the network externality. On January 1999, the euro was introduced in Europe where the functions of the euro are limed as a currency. After January 2002, the euro had perfect functions, while the competition between the euro and the U.S. dollar was keen as the dominant international currency. We present the currency competition model with a decreasing transaction cost that reflects the character of the network externality, to investigate the competition between the euro and the dollar. We suggest the impact of introduction of the euro is the determinant for competition winner between the euro and the dollar.

Establishing the Human Dimension of the Digital Divide

This chapter will explore the human dimension of the digital divide. It argues that existing digital divide research takes primarily a socio-economic perspective and that few studies have considered the social, psychological or cultural barriers that may contribute to digital inequality within community. This chapter will discuss an ongoing research project that explores the psychological factors that contribute to the digital divide. Using the Social Cognitive Theory, the research examines the Internet self-efficacy of Internet users and non-users in Brisbane, Australia and San Jose, California, USA. Developing a psychological perspective of the digital divide will expand current understanding of a phenomenon that has far reaching social and economic implications. It will allow a more precise understanding of what is and who represents the digital divide in community. Organisations who are involved in bridging the digital divide will be better placed to develop strategies and programs that can more effectively narrow the gap between ICT “haves” and “have-nots”.

The Ethics of Web Design

Web accessibility is really not a technological issue but rather a cultural problem. A Web site is said to be Web accessible if anyone, regardless of capabilities or disabilities, using any kind of Web browsing technology to visit the site has full and complete access to the site’s content and has the ability to interact with the site if required. If properly planned from the start, a Web site can be functional, accessible and aesthetically pleasing. This chapter focuses on ensuring access to information available on the Internet. The overall objective is to increase awareness of Web accessibility issues by providing rationale for why Web designers should be interested in creating accessible sites. Specifically, this chapter identifies some of the emerging digital barriers to accessibility encountered by those with disabilities. Current efforts to address these barriers legally are identified and their effectiveness for breaking down barriers is discussed. The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C’s) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is discussed, followed by a study of the 50 most visited Web sites. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of this topic and future developments.

The Digital Divide in Australia

In this paper, the authors examine the problem of the digital divide in Australia, drawing substantially on a study by carried out for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government by the authors. While this study was limited to the ACT region, many of the findings are relevant to rural areas across Australia as well, and also to rural areas of other developed countries. The authors conclude that there is a digital divide problem in Australia, and discuss some initiatives taken to date to address the problem.

Telecentres in Low-Income Nations

Dial-up Internet access, wireless mobile services, cybercafés, etc., are fundamentally changing the nature of communications and knowledge and information access for millions around the globe. However, many remote, rural, and disadvantaged urban communities in low-income nations still lack access to the very ICT tools that can help to improve their lives. Many governments lack the commitment or capacity to provide the infrastructure, and many communities lack the resources or technical expertise to use the technology. For example, excluding the more developed regions of South Africa and northern Africa, only one in 250 Africans can access the Internet, compared to one out of every two persons in North America and Europe. Similar digital divides plague the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America (NUA, 2004).

Minorities and the Digital Divide

Information and communication technologies (ICT) such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, and computers have become an integral part of America’s entertainment, communication, and information culture. Since the mid-1990s, ICT has become prevalent in middle- and upper-class American households. Companies and government agencies are increasingly offering products, services, and information online. Educational institutions are integrating ICT in their curriculum and are offering courses from a distance.