Information And Communication Technologies For Development

(ICT4D) With Special Focus On Web 2.0

And Mashups Of Existing Services

Defensio PresentationFlorian Sturm

23 March 2009

Picture from FlickR – World Resource Institute Staff

Schedule

• Motivation• Introduction - the digital divide and ICT4D• ICT4D - potentials and problems• Web 2.0 and mashups in ICT4D• Example projects• Own projects

• NoisR• ICT4D.at

• Conclusion

Motivation

Picture from FlickR – Greg Miles

Motivation

• Broad interests• Inspiration by ICT4D program at Stockholm University & Prof. Thorsten Hampel:• ICTs can be used in & for development assistance

• Interoperability and combined services

• The thesis:• General introduction to ICT4D• Proof of concept that web 2.0 and mashups can produce vast synergies in ICT4D

Introduction - the digital

divide and ICT4D

Picture from FlickR –Eric Lafforgue

The digital divide

• "gap between those who have access to use computer technology and the Internet and those who do not" [Katz & Aspden 1998]

• "Western world" vs. "Less developed countries"

• Differences in infrastructure, availability, affordability

• Inhibiting economic development [Tiglao & Alampay 2004]

ICT4D

• Information and Communication Technologies for Development

• Using ICTs for supporting social and economic development• giving the people access to these technologies

• supporting organizations in development assistance

ICT4D -potentials and

problems

Potentials

• Economic development• Social development• Education• Democracy• Health• Banking

Problems

• Different conditions• Sustainability• Focus on technology• Development

• "for" local people• "with" local people• "by" local people

• Currently: call for new ways of carrying out ICT4D projects• ICT4D 2.0 [Heeks 2008]

Web 2.0 and mashups in

ICT4D

Picture from FlickR – Swiatek Wojtkowiak

Web 2.0

• Everyone can participate

• The web is the platform

• Web 2.0 is free of charge

• Low prerequisites

Mashups

• Easy and few programming

• Internet Tools for everyone - power to the people

• Few problems with acceptance

Example projects

Picture from FlickR – Julie Dermansky

Tradenet.biz

Ushahidi

Own projects

NoisR

ICT4D.at

Conclusion

Picture from FlickR – Swiatek Wojtkowiak

Conclusion

• ICT4D – received a lot of attention• A lot of potential – but not yet fully tapped

• Shifted approach towards ICT4D "lessons learned" → ICT4D 2.0

• Web 2.0 and mashups fit in the context• Examples• Own projects – proof of concept

• More research necessary• Interdisciplinary approach• Critical evaluation & statistical evidence

Cited papers

• [Heeks 2008] Heeks R. (2008) "ICT4D 2.0: The Next Phase of Applying ICT for International Development", IEEE Computer, June 2008, Volume 41, Number 6, 26-34

• [Katz & Aspden 1998] Katz J. E., Aspden P. (1998) "Internet dropouts in the USA: The invisible group" Telecommunications Policy, 22(4-5), 327-339.

• [Sturm et al 2008] Sturm F., Hauer D., Hampel T., Hornich A. (2008) "Fighting Hunger with Information - Mashups in ICT4D Increase Accessibility of Vital Services", Proceedings of SIG GlobDev's First Annual Workshop, Paris, France December 13th 2008

• [Tiglao & Alampay 2004] Tiglao N., Alampay E. A. (2004) "Mapping Ict4d Projects In The Philippines", http://www.ict4d.ph, Retrieved 26 February 2008 from http://www.ict4d.ph/proceedings/Project_Inventory2.php

Thank you!

Picture from FlickR – Jose Carlos Costa

Appendix

Economic development

• Is ICT4D actually fostering economic development?• No study yet showing statistical evidence on overall economic impact

• Many studies on small-scale, project-wise impact (e.g. Bayes et. al. 1999, Eggleston et. al. 2002, de Silva & Zainudeen 2007, Bedia 1999)

• Depends on many non-technological factors

Can technology solve problems?

• "those that think that poverty in our countries is just a matter of not having access to information and technology are showing much ignorance about social injustice, human exploitation and inequalities not only between countries, but also among social classes within each country. Information is not the magic cure for hunger" [Arunachalam 2002]

• Mix of measures• ICTs are just a tool in this context – but a tool with huge potentials

Web 2.0

• Expression first appeared in 2005 [O'Reilly 2005]

• Interactive & collaborative elements of the internet

• Transforming the consumer into a contributor

• Wikis, blogs, content sharing, social networks

• Technology is not new (AJAX, RSS)

Mashups

• Web application which generates content through the combination of services

• Three components:• API/content provider• Mashup site• Client's web browser

• Mashup editors

SOA

• Service Oriented Architecture• Combinations of loose coupled, low-level services which form a business process

• Services are independent units of functionality

• Services are available over the network and communicate with each other

• Different principles:• Reuse, granularity, modularity, composability, componentization, portability, interoperability

Web Services

• Implementation of SOA• Software application which

• is identified by a URL• is defined, described and searchable through an XML artifact

• Interaction with other SW-agents via XML• Requester – Broker – Provider

NoisR – Implementation

NoisR – Implementation

• Underlying database – XML• User Interface – PHP• Google Maps – JavaScript API• eSpeak (text-to-speech) – Linux Shell Script• Creation of podcast – PHP & XML• Podlinez (telephone number for podcast) – manual

NoisR – Implementation

ICT4D.at – Implementation

ICT4D.at – Implementation

ICT4D.at – Implementation