...Derrick L. Cogburn, Ph.D. University of Michigan School of Information and Global Information Infrastructure Commission – Africa Catherine Nyaki Adeya, Ph.D. United Nations University Institute for New Technologies Prepared as a working paper for the African Development Forum '99 24-28 October 1999, United Nations Conference Centre United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1 Copyright © 1999 Derrick L. Cogburn (dcogburn@umich.edu) and Catherine Nyaki Adeya (nyaki@intech.unu.edu). This paper reflects the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions represented. Comments on the paper are welcome, and an updated version can be found at: www.si.umich.edu/~dcogburn/info_econ.htm. and www.intech.unu Derrick L. Cogburn and Catherine Nyaki Adeya ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the officers and staff at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa for their untiring patience and assistance on the st preparation of this paper. Special thanks to the team organising the 1 African Development Forum. Dr. Cogburn would like to thank his colleagues at the Global Information Infrastructure Commission for their assistance and support on the paper. Also, at the University of Michigan, he thanks his friends and colleagues at the School of Information, the Alliance for Community Technology, and the Centre for AfroAmerican and African Studies. Dr. Cogburn would also like to thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation...
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...Yet, this happens; not just in developing countries, but here in the United States. This is often referred to as the digital divide. When a country’s citizens do not have access to or utilize digital technologies, it will negatively impact their education and economic stability. Digital divide being defined as the gap between those who can use information technology effectively and those who cannot is just one of a range of discrepancies, national and international, urban and rural, rich and poor, which afflicts low income country’s (Brooks, S., et al, 2005, Pg. 270). The digital divide impacts more than just one’s ability to shop online. Not having access to the latest technologies greatly impacts a countries survival. By increasing access to important and educational information through electronic resources a country can impact its economic future and growth. If citizens are afforded access to improved educational resources, they will benefit by developing a well-educated workforce (Brooks, S., et al, 2005, Pg. 270). Achieving this access to technology and supporting education will need to be made available to all. Before we look at this issue in the United States, let’s take a look at the issue from a more global perspective. There have been numerous studies focused on the impact that access to technology can have on developing countries. Heather Hudson studied the relationship of telephone growth and the GPD in developing countries (Harwit, E., 2004, Pg. 1011)...
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...Economic Commission for Africa The Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges Economic Commission for Africa The Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges August 2005 © 2005. Economic Commission for Africa Material from this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted. Acknowledgment is requested, together with a copy of the publication. The views expressed are those of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations. Project coordinator: Adrian Gauci Editorial coordination: Cristina Müller Team: Abebe Shimeles, Workie Mitiku, Vanessa Steinmayer, Reto Thoenen This report was produced with guidance and input from Augustin Fosu, Director of the Economic and Social Policy Division of the ECA. It benefited greatly from the revisions of Bartholomew Armah and Kwabia Boateng. Special thanks to Lorna Davidson for the final editing, to Akwe Amosu for her valuable input, and to Seifu Dagnachew and Teshome Yohannes for creative and efficient lay-out and production. The report was designed by the ECA Communication Team and printed by the Documents Reproduction and Distribution Unit, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo credits (left to right): Front cover- R. Zurba/USAID, J. Dunlop/USAID, R. Zurba/USAID, M. Crozet/ILO. Back cover- J. Maillard/ILO, T. Brunette/USAID, I. Getachew/UNICEF. Table of Contents Acronyms .....................................................................
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...Helen Keller, a woman most famously known for the fact that she was both deaf and blind, did not let her disabilities prevent her from receiving a full education and living her life to its full potential. Although she was quite successful despite the difficulties she faced, others are not as lucky. Many people worldwide suffer from blindness or some sort of vision impairment. Vision loss can affect the way one functions socially and economically, leading to drastic changes in one’s daily life. Blindness, or the impairment of vision, affects 2.3% of the world’s population (“Blindness Statistics”). The National Federation for the Blind classifies lindness as vision impairment that affects a person’s daily life (“Blindness Statistics”). This...
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...those from the third world countries especially Africa. Globalization can be said to be a unitarization factor of the world hence making the world look like one whole entity. Globalization has both positive and negative impacts to Africa as a continent. It is no doubt that globalization has promoted greater respect for human rights, democracy, liberalized trading, technology, and contributed to the development of African press. This has strongly opened African countries to far greater scrutiny than in the past, making life hard for African governments to get away with excessive and blatant abuses of democratic leadership governance and transparency. Moreover, the technological revolution presupposes the free movement of goods, information, and people across national boundaries. It has an effect on employment patterns worldwide by the contribution to a great deal of outsourcing which is one of the best organizational and industry structure shifts these changes the way business operates. Further, Globalization is changing organizational structures where expenses can move up or down as the business climate dictates. In terms of positive economic opportunities globalization is the establishment of new economic opportunities for corporations, small businesses, through the access to global markets. Kenya has benefited from globalization by increasing the share of exports especially to the more industrialized African countries, for example; South Africa and Zimbabwe represent small...
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...argument What is the digital divide? For most people living in developed countries, technology is something we are all familiar with. It is fast, it is dynamic, and it changes rapidly. It is everywhere in our lives. Change is ongoing, it is constant. From the emergence of the first personal computers in the 1970s (Beekman and Beekman, 2012), to smart phones today that make earlier computers look like dinosaurs, technology has come a long way. It is so ingrained in our lives it is almost unimaginable to fathom living in a world without it. And yet, some still do. It also begs the question that if ever connectivity was lost would it cause the western world to devolve and become 2nd world countries, or even third world. This paper explores the Digital Divide as it is defined today, the areas which are most affected by this divide, and focuses on Africa, and solutions implemented to try to close the gap. The term “Digital Divide” was coined some time in the 1990s, evolving from a number of definitions. One of its earlier definitions was by Woolinksy, defined as the lack of access to computers (Gunkel, 2003). It has since evolved to be known as the social concern that various groups in the world have a lack of access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT). However, it is not just limited to the lack of access. It is also about the socio-economic inequalities that exist within countries, ability, access, gender, ethnicity, culture, age, language, educational level...
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...Third World Countries Abstract The paper examines social and economic issues relating to the development of Third World countries. The emphasis is placed on five major challenges the underdeveloped and developing nations face on their way to economic growth and prosperity. The report discuses overpopulation problem and also questions the effectiveness of foreign aid. Moreover, it provides information on impact of information technology, as well as addresses the issue of lack of economic diversification. Finally, it explains causes and consequences of corruption on economic growth. Keywords: Third World, development, overpopulation, foreign aid, technology, diversification, corruption Table of Contents Abstract2 Introduction4 Brief history4 Classifications4 From Third World to First World6 Issues7 Population growth7 Foreign aid8 Information technology11 Economic diversification12 Corruption13 Conclusions16 References18 Economic Development of Third World Countries History The end of the World War II brought into being a number of new nations in Asia and Africa, which gained independence from colonial rule and were given a title of “Third World”. The term was created by French demographer Alfred Sauvy and was originally intended to distinguish newly emerged states from the Western industrialized nations and from those that formed the former Soviet bloc (Prachi, 2011). Today the designation is used to describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia and...
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...The state of medical informatics in Africa Introduction Despite the fact that Africa is rich in natural resources and has the potential to be a continent that is developed and better able to take care of its people, it has been ridden with disease, underdevelopment and a significant inequality gap amongst the population of the continent.(Kibily Demba Samake). This is the unfortunate economic state of a continent that rather remains with potential that has not been utilized to its fullest. Literature review Even though there are challenges that Africa faces, there has been reports of significant diffusion of the internet, however this does not change the fact that most people in Africa are computer illiterate and do not have access to computers let alone able to read(Kibily Demba Samake) and so comes the challenge with building interoperable medical informatics solutions in amongst the different countries. Africa’s current socioeconomic state has been a major challenge for electronic medical solutions. This is due to problems such as lack of electricity in rural areas and the inability of those people to access internet connected computers let alone the hospitals themselves(Kibily Demba Samake) Then comes the health divide another challenge to African governments, this itself is caused by the different challenges that each country faces but one common factor is that many African people reside in rural areas which lack basic needs like electricity, proper health care services...
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...sell products through the means of e-commerce domains, a way for users to stay connected with things like social media and an influx of the many other benefits it has to offer. The benefits alone display the impact the Internet has had on those that have been fortunate enough to be apart of the online community. Even though the Internet has had a profound impact by improving the lives of billions of individuals and being the driving force in business growth and economic development of many countries, the Internets vacancy in many parts of the world has serious consequences for the billions of individuals that are not connected, not to mention the world community as a whole. According to a report by McKinsey & Co. (2014), there are 4.4 billion people that are offline worldwide and 3.4 of those individuals offline live in just 20 countries. These billions of people that cannot access the Internet as easily as those more fortunate suffer from achieving a greater economic standing, education, social mobility, or other benefits that help improve overall life. This is not just a problem for those that aren’t as privileged, but for everyone whether they are connected or not. The input, opinions, and contributions from those who are not connected cannot be made to help better the world community until they are connected. It is crucial the digital divide that separates the fortunate and unfortunate is bridged for it is consistently widening. This research paper defines and...
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...need to support two-way communication systems that enable dialogue and that allow communities to speak out, express their aspirations and concerns and participate in the decisions that relate to their development.” The main objective of the round table, within the framework of A/RES/51/172, is to ensure understanding among the UN agencies regarding the implementation of programmes and projects that contribute to communication for development or use that specific approach to resolve development related issues. Under this overall objective, each round table develops its agenda and specific objectives with due consideration to current trends and practices including the influence of the rapidly evolving new information and communication technologies on communication for development. The objectives of the 10th round table are...
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...information and communications technologies have a role to play in the achievement of education for all? Jenny Leach To cite this article: Jenny Leach (2008) Do new information and communications technologies have a role to play in the achievement of education for all?, British Educational Research Journal, 34:6, 783-805, DOI: 10.1080/01411920802041392 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411920802041392 Published online: 30 Aug 2010. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 335 View related articles Citing articles: 6 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cber20 Download by: [University of Technology Sydney] Date: 20 September 2015, At: 03:44 Downloaded by [University of Technology Sydney] at 03:44 20 September 2015 British Educational Research Journal Vol. 34, No. 6, December 2008, pp. 783–805 Do new information and communications technologies have a role to play in the achievement of education for all? Jenny Leach* Many commentators have suggested that the use of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) has significant potential in providing access to, and improving the quality of, teacher education. Such an idea is particularly relevant for the Global South, it is argued, where tens of thousands more qualified teachers are required if universal primary education (UPE) is to be achieved...
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...evaluation for aid projects. Much of his current work focuses on development and covers topics including the impact of international aid and policymaking on education equality outcomes, as well as the post-2015 development agenda, the role of technology in quality of life improvements, and governance and anticorruption. It is commonly believed that BD results in a decrease in tax revenue to the government... I actually have a different view on this matter. From the remittances is it first of all the households that are benefitting from it, but secondly the government is benefitting as well. I will explain this in more detail. The remittances spent on the consumption of both domestically produced goods and imports increase the tax base, which in turn increases revenues from sales taxes, value-added taxes and import duties and other indirect taxes. (stroomdiagram) With the remittances, the individuals/society determine their spending priorities as opposed to the agenda of the government as is the case with taxes and foreign aid. Besides this, governments are now able to increase their debts, because of the constant inflow generated by tax, or governments can spend more on infrastructure. (Abdih et al, 2012) In other words, remittances can provide the (indirect) tax revenues (increase), which allowed some countries to increase spending. This effect is explained in more detail as the (Keynesian) multiplier effect. (Lowell, 2001), (Clemens, 2013), (Ebeke, 2010). Actually...
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...Education: A crisis not to be ignored Introduction South Africa, a country riddled with political turmoil faces many problems but one that has become persistently relevant over recent years is our struggling education system. Education is a crucial part of society and is a key factor in taking a country’s inexperienced youth and aiding them in becoming experienced working class citizens. When a country faces an education crisis the youth of the country lose out on this crucial stage of development and face being unprepared for the challenges they may face. Often youth in this situation battle to find employment after school. The education system woes are hardened by the fact that a large portion of the government budget goes towards building and developing this sector, whilst this seems to reflect a positive outlook for education there is a shocking conclusion. South Africa puts more money towards its education system in comparison to other developing nations, as...
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...sustainable economic growth of these nations and the long-term economic prosperity of the United States. As we help countries become more food secure and raise incomes, we also expand markets for American producers • For example, over the past five years U.S. agricultural exports to developing countries in Southeast Asia, Central America, and SubSaharan Africa have grown at more than twice the annual rate as compared to developed countries. U.S. poultry meat exports to Sub-Saharan Africa expanded 180 percent from 2009 to 2011. • Given population growth and rising incomes, it is estimated that the demand for food will rise by 70 to 100 percent by 2050. To meet this need, the United Nations estimates that production in developing countries will need to almost double. • In 2010, the U.S. helped launch the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, an international, multilateral trust fund that has already awarded $658 million to finance country development plans in 18 low-income countries, with 8.2 million beneficiaries. Building Local Capacity, Increasing Productivity, and Improving Markets and Trade • Since 2010, USDA has aligned appropriate programs to Feed the Future plans to support agriculture development in target countries and regions: Ghana, Kenya, East Africa, Bangladesh, Haiti, Guatemala and Central America. USDA supports global food security through in-country capacity building, basic and applied research, and support for improved market information, statistics and analysis...
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...Urbanization Processes – Environmental and Health effects in Africa Panel Contribution to the PERN Cyberseminar on Urban Spatial Expansion by Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, PERN Steering Committee member and Principal, Sunyani Polytechnic, Sunyani, BA, Ghana, E-mail: spolytec @yahoo.com Introduction Urbanization is increasing in both the developed and developing countries. However, rapid urbanization, particularly the growth of large cities, and the associated problems of unemployment, poverty, inadequate health, poor sanitation, urban slums and environmental degradation pose a formidable challenge in many developing countries. Available statistics show that more than half of the world’s 6.6 billion people live in urban areas, crowded into 3 percent of the earth’s land area (Angotti, 1993; UNFPA, 1993). The proportion of the world’s population living in urban areas, which was less than 5 percent in 1800 increased to 47 percent in 2000 and is expected to reach 65 percent in 2030 (United Nations, 1990; 1991). However, more than 90 percent of future population growth will be concentrated in cities in developing countries and a large percentage of this population will be poor. In Africa and Asia where urbanization is still considerably lower (40 percent), both are expected to be 54 percent urban by 2025 (UN 1995; 2002). Although urbanization is the driving force for modernization, economic growth and development, there is increasing concern about the effects of expanding cities, principally...
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