Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C23529
Notes:
Posted at: http://www.cddc.vt.edu/knownet/internetinfo-cases.html, KnowNet.org Initiative. 35 pages., Brief summaries (alphabetically, by country) of several dozen projects that address development-related issues and goals through the use of varied information media and methods.
Author asks whether new communications technologies can solve global development problems, or are they just a new way to make old mistakes? Examines the assumption that if you move data around instead of physical objects, then you can reduce pollution and energy use significantly. For example, analyses need to include environmental costs of the computers and networks themselves.
The Indian Institute of Management and the World Bank organized a workshop titled "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Rural Development" to bring together case studies of various applications of ICT that can make a difference in the delivery of services or products in rural areas. The cases presented illustrate the opportunities and challenges in the diffusion of ICT within India and fother developing countries. ICT applications can be classified as those that provided decision support to public administrators for improving planning and monitoring of developmental programs, those that improved services to citizens and brought in transparency, and those that empowered citizens through access to information and knowledge. This paper presents successful examples of ICT rural development projects.
