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ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL INDIA INFRASTRUCTURAL INADEQUACIES AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMBALANCES
This paper examines the two key factors underlying the digital divide between urban and rural India: infrastructural inadequacies and socio-economic imbalances. It contends that information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) schemes in rural India that seek to remedy the digital di...
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| Format: | Printed Book |
| Udgivet: |
AJRSH: ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE & HUMANITIES
2012
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| Fag: | |
| Online adgang: | http://10.26.1.76/ks/006044.pdf |
| Summary: | This paper examines the two key factors underlying the digital divide between
urban and rural India: infrastructural inadequacies and socio-economic
imbalances. It contends that information and communication technology for
development (ICT4D) schemes in rural India that seek to remedy the digital
divide will be unable to contribute significantly to personal empowerment unless
a serious intention to address both these factors is built into their design and
implementation. The inadequacy of communications infrastructure refers chiefly
to problems of connectivity, development of cost-effective hardware and locale-
specific content in local languages. Socio-economic imbalances, on the other
hand, comprise a complex of historical divides and inequities. As illustrated by
the Gyandoot Project in Madhya Pradesh and the Akshaya Project in Kerala,
these inequities could involve income, caste, gender, literacy, and various other
bases for social stratification. The paper argues that it is critically important to
embed social considerations in the design of new technologies and services. It
concludes by reflecting on strategies for ameliorating endemic infrastructural
weaknesses and socio-economic imbalances. |
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| Fysisk beskrivelse: | Volume 2, Issue 12 (December, 2012) |