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Part I
Introduction
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Managing knowledge in the 21st century and the roadmap to sustainability
Allam Ahmed
SPRU—Science and Technology Policy Research,
The Freeman Centre, University of Sussex,
Brighton BN1 9QE,
UK
E-mail:
[email protected]1 Introduction
The objective of this introductory chapter is to provide an overview of the important role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play in bridging the knowledge divide and helping raise the necessary global commitment to achieve sustainable development (SD).
There is a consensus that ICTs hold great promise for development, by connecting people to more accurate and up to date sources of information and knowledge. However, the evidence so far shows that the benefits accrued from the utilisation of ICTs have been inequitably distributed with most developing countries (DCs) facing the prospect of being marginalised. Inequality of access to information and technological advantages among scientists has become a crucial factor in formal science and DCs can be said to be suffering from scientific information famine.
Many scholars such as Mansell and When (1998), Danofsky (2005) and Hamel (2005) argue that information can lead to knowledge and that knowledge is a prerequisite for development (see also Ahmed 2005). Juma (2003) and Hamel (2005) argue that education and knowledge are the chief currencies and the essence of the modern age, and can also be a strategic resource and a lifeline for developing countries' sustainable development.
There is also a consensus that ICTs can play an important role in development by connecting people to more accurate and up-to-date sources of information and knowledge (see Stiglitz 1999; Grimshaw and Talyarkhan 2005; Hamel 2005; Sciadas 2005; Tongia et al. 2005). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's 32nd General Conference in 2003 focused on 'Building knowledge societies and advancement of knowledge-based practices' as an essential component of globalisation and sustainable economic growth, particularly in DCs.
According to various reports by the World Bank (World Bank 2000a, 2000b, 2001, 2003a, 2003b, 2004, 2005) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (ITU 2003, 2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2006a, 2006b, 2007), on a general level, there is little doubt that ICTs are generating social, economic, cultural and political changes. However, it is difficult to quantify the impact of ICTs and to separate their influence from those of other factors, such as governance or economic growth.
Technology and innovation influence and are influenced by globalisation. They are important in developing new products and services and improving existing products and services, as well as doing things in a more efficient or effective way to achieve SD. Technological innovation in ICTs and liberalisation of the regulatory context of the media and telecommunications sectors have profoundly changed the global communications landscape (Nulens et al. 2001). Although these changes originally started in developed countries, they also offer great opportunities for the DCs. However, the current pattern of the globalisation process leaves something crucial behind, namely the multifaceted intellectual 'wealth' and 'natural resources' of Africa (Nwagwu 2005). Nwagwu argues that the beauty of a truly globalised world would lie in the diversity of contribution by all country members of the world. A less than multi-coloured global community would have omitted variety and diversity, such a community could not be considered truly global.
The latest World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Tunis (November 2005) highlighted the importance and potential of ICTs in improving the socioeconomic development of all human beings. Also, that ICTs should not only be seen as a medium of communication, but also as a development enabler to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)1.
The eight MDGs endorsed by the OECD and UN in 2000 (UN 2002) are: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (MDG1); to achieve universal primary education (MDG2); to promote gender equality and empower women (MDG3); to reduce child mortality (MDG4); to improve maternal health (MDG5); to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG6); to ensure environmental sustainability (MDG7); and to develop a global partnership for development (MDG8). Although there is a growing body of evidence that ICTs have a significant macroeconomic impact, the extent to which ICTs have helped to directly reduce major development concerns reflected in the MDGs, such as poverty, hunger or sickness, is not clear. Table 1 outlines some possible impacts of ICTs on the different MDGs.
Table 1 Impact of ICTs on the MDGs
| MDGs | Impact of ICTs |
|
| 1 | Increase access to market information and reduce transaction costs for poor farmers and traders |
| 2 | Increase supply of trained teachers through ICT-enhanced distance training |
| 3 | Deliver educational and literacy programmes specifically targeted at poor girls and women using appropriate technologies. |
| 4, 5 & 6 | ■ Increase access of rural care-givers to specialist support and remote diagnosis
■ Enhance delivery of basic and in-service training for health workers
■ Increase monitoring and information-sharing on disease and famine |
| 7 | Remote sensing technologies and communications networks permit more effective monitoring, resource management, mitigation of environmental risks |
| 8 | Increase the number of IT graduates and reduce youth unemployment |
In early 2005, the UN announced the launch of the 'Digital Solidarity Fund' to finance projects that address the uneven distribution and use of ICTs, to enable poor people to enter the new era of the information society. According to the World Bank, the private sector invested $230 billion in telecommunication infrastructure in developing world between 1993 and 2003 (The Economist 2005).
2 Digital opportunity index (DOI)
Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) is a new index created from the set of internationally agreed core ICT indicators2. In an ideal world, digital opportunity would mean: the whole population having easy access to ICTs at affordable prices; all homes equipped with ICT devices; all citizens having mobile ICT devices; and everyone using broadband. DOI scores will therefore allow analysis of each country's path towards the information society. However, in order to calculate the DOI 2005 and 2006, the World Information Society Reports (WISR) (ITU 2006b, 2007) use eleven indicators (six have a fixed line orientation and five are geared to mobile), (see Appendix 1 for more details about these indicators).
The DOI 2005 and 2006 values are calculated for each indicator by calculating the data value as a proportion of the reference values for each country (usually 100% for per capita penetration, household penetration rates and broadband ratios). This gives an index value for the eleven indicators discussed above. A simple average of these index values is taken to give values for the DOI sub-indices of opportunity, infrastructure and utilisation, which are, in turn, averaged to obtain a country's overall DOI score. According to WISR 2006 and 2007 reports (ITU 2006b, 2007), DOI is the only e-index based solely on internationally agreed ICT indicators, developed for 180 and 181 countries, respectively, in 2005 and 2006. This makes it a valuable tool for benchmarking the most important indicators for measuring the information society. The DOI is a standard tool that governments, operators, development agencies, researchers and others can use to measure the digital divide and compare ICT performance within and across countries....
