Building collective capabilities through ICT in a mountain region of Nepal: where social capital leads to collective action

Volume 18, Issue 1, 2012 

Information Technology for Development

Special Issue: Development as freedom – how the Capability Approach can be used in ICT4D research and practice

Devinder Thapa, Maung K. Sein & Øystein Sæbø

Abstract:

In this paper, we explore how ICT can lead to development specifically human development in Sen's capability approach. In answering to the critique that Sen views capabilities as the individual, we incorporate the societal level by adding collective capabilities. We propose that ICT helps to create or enhance SC of communities which in turn can lead to development by building collective capabilities through collective action. To illustrate, we conducted a qualitative case study of an ICT initiative in a remote mountain region of Nepal. We found support for our proposition and further that developing collective capabilities also simultaneously enhanced individual capabilities. We contribute to theory building by showing that not just the characteristics of SC, but also its form can promote collective action. We further illustrate that the SC and the capability perspectives are compatible and it is possible to read the two streams both simultaneously and complementarily.

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Mobile Web for Social Development Roadmap

W3C Interest Group Note 08 December 2009


Abstract:

This document's purpose is to understand the current challenges of deploying development-oriented services on mobile phones, evaluate existing technologies, and identify the most promising directions to lower the barriers of developing, deploying and accessing services on mobile phones and thereby creating an enabling environment for more social-oriented services to appear.

This document is divided into two major parts. The first part presents the major challenges today for both developing and accessing mobile services, potential ways to bridge them with existing tools, technologies and infrastructure, and potential research directions to follow to provide a more comprehensive resolution or solution. The second part focuses on presenting the major technologies and the major options existing today to deploy content and applications on mobile phones. For each of these technologies, the document presents a short analysis of the technology's potential and the requirements in terms of infrastructure, devices, targeted end-users, and costs associated with implementation and delivery.

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Let's Plant Green's - Environmental Quotes

Just wanted to share some of the quotes by famous and great people who were telling us why a plant need to be green. Here are few of them: 

• "When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves. " - David Orr

• "If we do not permit the Earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food either." - oseph Woodkrutch

• "Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so called scientific knowledge." - Thomas Edison

• "The human race will be the cancer of the planet."  - Julian Huxley

• "Human destiny is bound to remain a gamble, because at some unpredictable time and in some unforeseeable manner nature will strike back."  - Rene Dubos, Mirage of Health, 1959

• "Those who love and free nature are never alone." - Rachel Carson

• "We share the earth not only with our fellow human beings, but with all the other creatures." - The Dalai Lama

• "We have been god-like in the planned breeding of our domesticated plants, but rabbit-like in the unplanned breeding of ourselves."- Arnold Toynbee

As we all know that man is a complex being who can make the deserts bloom and can kill the lakes then why living the earth behind. Let's be wise and save our mother.

Let us once more listen to what Michael Jackson was telling us to think about.

New for Developers at the Google I/O Keynote 2012

On Wednesday morning, Google kicked off its annual I/O developers conference with a keynote introducing several new or updated projects. First up, Google took the wraps off the next version of Android, dubbed 4.1 or "Jelly Bean." The update will start rolling out in July.

Second, Google also announced some significant updates to Google Play. The app store will now encrypt apps before they arrive on a device. In addition, developers will be able to push out smaller update files that only update the part of the app that has changed instead of requiring users to re-download the entire app.

As expected, Google unveiled a new tablet called the Nexus 7 developed cooperatively with Asus. Google also took the wraps off Nexus Q, a new TV box, similar to Apple TV and Roku, that delivers Google Play content to TVs.

The company also showed off a new Google Glass prototype that will become available early next year.

All 6,000 attendees at the development conference received a Galaxy Nexus phone, a Nexus 7 tablet and a Nexus Q.

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ICT4D and the Human Development and Capabilities approach: The Potentials of Informationand Communication Technology

Human Development
Research Paper
2010/37

Jean-Yves Hame

Abstract

This study frames a review of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) within the human development and capabilities approach. Looking at the basic dimensions of human development, which make up the core measurement of its achievements: health, education  and a income, and additionally at the dimensions of participation and empowerment, a survey of research and evidence seeks to evaluate whether or not ICTs have demonstrated positive outcomes for these dimensions of human development and more broadly to the practice of its approach. The paper reviews the literature and research conducted in these dimensions in order to establish a sense of the scope and potential that ICTs have for human development. By doing so, the paper seeks to assess whether or not the use of ICTs is pertinent to the human development of the poor, and if so, which are documented cases and outcomes that can perhaps be replicated in differing development contexts. The paper also seeks to answer questions on the role of government policy and investment in ICTs as keys to their success in development and whether or not ICTs should be emphasized at all in poor countries. The paper concludes with the important realisation that ICTs alone cannot improve peoples’ lives; the use of ICTs needs to occur within broader strategies that are tailored to make the most use of these tools and techniques in order to reap their potential benefits for human development.

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ICT for Development

In our complex and globalized society, the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a crucial success factor in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The key role of ICT lies in its ability to handle and communicate information whereas information is an indispensable ingredient in decision making and empowerment for improving the livelihood of people, communication the format and packaging of information and technology the enabler of connecting people and the means to distribute information rapidly. However, the benefits of ICT do not only come from an increase in connectivity or broader access to ICT network infrastructure per se. As a driver and accelerator both established ICT (radio, television and video) and new ICT ( Computers, Internet, Mobile) have converged into single powerful communication devices with global reach to give voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.

The most dramatic growth in the history of ICT has been witnessed in the Asia-Pacific region with impressive growth figures for mobile users and Internet connectivity. However, these new technologies have yet to reach into rural and mountainous life. Asia has now 39.5 (Sep 4, 2008) percent of the world’s Internet users, inspite that only 15.3 percent of its population is connected to the Internet, and many of them fall in rural and mountainous life. This figure, according to Internet World Stats, a market research organization that tracks Internet usage by region and also by countries, includes all of ICIMOD member countries (RMCs) as well. At this junction, ICT for development is at a critical turning point and holding great promise for shaping rural and mountain life in different ways and accelerating the achievements of equitable and inclusive development.

Rural people in the mountainous areas of the HKH region have lived traditionally in much lower levels of economic incomes and general well being than their counterparts, are more marginalized from digital opportunities despite ICT as an effective tool to address these longstanding problems of inequality. In addition, negative perceptions on rural ICT use are prevalent: rural people are considered to have little demand for so-called e-services maybe partly infused by the notion of higher illiteracy, absence of electricity to feed electronic equipment and the returns on investment are low because rural people are not productive but consumptive users of ICT. Reducing the information cost and building ICT capacity are of central importance for the rural and mountain poor and most RMC’s have developed frameworks to improve accessibility. It is however extremely important that after the provision of infrastructure, connectivity, complemented by capacity building, providing useful content is crucial to people living in rural areas and often in the form they can absorb or understand (local language. Access to education and training through e-learning, will be important in most sectors, particularly to improve the participation of woman in development and bridge the gender gap. Appropriate ICT solutions for improving the efficiency of health service, governance, disaster preparedness, market information services enables rural poor to meet basic needs and encourages greater public voice in decision making and above all, empowers rural people.

Non-Formal Education and ICT's

Learning is not restricted to the time spent in school. It begins at birth and continues all your life. 

The present pattern in which we have education at the beginning of our lives, then work in one field until an extended retirement period, is changing. Lifelong learning is becoming part of modern life. This is because rapid technological change and growth in information require ongoing learning. 

Given the importance of learning foundations, currently those who miss out on basic education suffer exclusion. However, ongoing learning throughout life enables people to take advantage of new opportunities that arise as society changes. It also provides opportunities for those who are unemployed to re-enter the workforce.

Every kind of learning that happens outside the traditional school setting can be called non-formal. However, defining non-formal education is not easy, it has been described variously as an educational movement, a setting, a process and a system. 

The projects and programmes implemented under the label of 'non-formal education' are very diverse in scope. What they usually have in common is an organised, systematic, educational activity, carried on outside the framework of the formal education system, to provide different types of learning to particular groups in the population, both adults and children. 

Thus non-formal education is different from the institutionalised, chronologically graded and hierarchically structured nature of the formal education system However, the boundaries between formal and non-formal education can sometimes be blurred, especially when certification enters into a non-formal education programme. 

Radio, television, computers and the Internet are modern delivery tools for education. However, in low-income communities the cost of these tools and the need for skills in installing, using and maintaining these tools poses obstacles to widespread adoption of computers and the Internet. 

One solution has been the establishment of Community Learning Centres (CLCs) and Multimedia Community Telecentres. These centres, many of which are run by the communities themselves, aim to enhance basic education, train teachers, develop local businesses, strengthen municipal administration and civil society organisations, and provide health care information for populations in small villages

Agile Software Development

Definition: 

Agile software development is a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams.

Agile Manifesto:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

The most important thing to know about Agile methods or processes is that there is no such thing. There are only Agile teams. The processes we describe as Agile are environments for a team to learn how to be Agile.

A group of people created the Manifesto for Agile Software Development that values individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, responding to change over following a plan, while explicitly acknowledging the value of the latter items.

Craftsmanship, Chief Programmers, and Individuals

Agile software development focuses on individual competency and on motivated individuals (‘Build projects around motivated individuals.’). This attitude is also described by the term craftsmanship [6], and manifests in pair programming, collective code ownership and mentoring in XP, or chief programmers in FDD.

Team Size

While successful agile projects of up to 250 people are cited [6], most authors see a size limit at about 15 to 20 persons due to the tightly coordinated teamwork necessary.

Self-Organizing Teams

Agile development stresses the importance of self-organizing teams that are able to rapidly adjust to changing requirements and new challenges (‘The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.’, ‘At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.’).

Team Co-location

Agile development aims at close, personal contact and collaboration within the development team (‘the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.’).

Customer Interactions

In agile development, the continuos interaction and collaboration with the customers is paramount. A short feedback loop is necessary to be able to respond quickly to new information like changes in the requirements. These principles are embodied in practices like customer on site in XP.

Early Delivery of Working Code and Feedback

Agile development sees working code as the ‘primary measure of progress’. To use this measure in the collaboration with customers, and in order to ensure short feedback cycles, frequent releases of working software are intended (‘Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.’). These practices increase the motivation for all participants, allow for easier discussion of the current status and therefore increased chances to uncover necessary changes and efficient possibilities for incorporating them (‘Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.’).

Changing Requirements, Good Design, and Simplicity

Closely connected to frequent releases is the attitude of agile development towards change. As release and feedback cycles are short, changes in the requirements happening anyhow due to the turbulent environment can easily be uncovered, and can more easily be implemented than at the end of the development (‘Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.’). Incorporating these changes in addition needs an appropriate design (‘Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.’). Therefore agile development stresses the importance of having a simple design that allows for easy changes (‘Simplicity - the art of maximizing the amount of work not done - is essential.’) and refactoring.

References:

• Agile Principles and Open Source Software Development: A Theoretical and Empirical Discussion, Stefan Koch 
• http://www.agile-process.org/
• http://www.agilealliance.org/

Developing Nations With Technology

Allowing developing nations access to technology could be a key to lifting them out of poverty.

Agriculture is the sector that continues to sit in the driver's seat and will remain so for ever, not rid of stomachs therefore becomes quite important for any reform or revolution to tackle this area and in this race information technology has been the leading candidate. Information technology has taken the lead in the process of exchanging information between Agro scientists, engineers, farmers and students. Due to the central unit of information technology on the Internet may have restricted the scope of information, but the situation will not remain so for long.Now scientists from around the world collaborate via the Internet, to share information about research on soil fertility, hybridization of seeds, reducing human efforts and making the farming environment less demanding and more profitable.

Future Guidelines

In an edition of "The Economist", I found something that might trigger anxiety in any person when he says that "in 1974, Henry Kissinger, then secretary of state in the U.S., said the first world food conference in Rome that no child went to bed with hunger in a decade. A little more than 35 years later in the week for a food summit in Rome United Nations, 1 million people go to bed hungry. This failure, and terrible, which may soon get worse. None of the underlying problems that produced agricultural a rise in food prices in 2007-08 and increased the number of hungry people has gone away. Between now and 2050 the world population will increase by one third, but the demand for agricultural products will increase by 70%. "Business is usually better not to go to the estimates, as the panacea lies in the maximum contribution of information technology in agricultural research and transfer knowledge.

Agriculture sector has remained against time and managed to green, white, speed yellow, blue and cyber with time. Availability information and effective use of this information is crucial to successful economic development. Information on suggestions of experts, material inputs, financial support, technological innovations and changing market conditions have enormous impact on agriculture as also happens with any other sector. How agriculture and information technology involves itself play an important role in determining the future welfare of those who have directly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, especially in developing countries like Nepal. In this context, it is more prudent to extend the benefits of IT for agriculture and not underestimate the huge potential growth to indulge in this sector.Kings of all countries should take initiatives designed to mobilize farmers, scientists, institutions and organizations to promote the participation of the Information Technology in Agriculture.

Welcome

You all are most welcome to my bolg.