This novel book, motivated by the recent introduction of a major innovation in information technology, explores the possibility of the Internet being made available to millions of poor people in developing countries, who are not yet connected. The new technology, known as a smart feature phone, is based on open-source software and otherwise designed for a low-income population. The purpose of this book is to examine the origins, spread and impact of this innovation. Much attention is paid to literacy and digital skills, which determine the benefits that are actually derived.
This book analyzes the use of the mobile Internet against the background of gender bias and Covid-19, currently two of the most important and pressing problems of the Global South. The book argues that the degree of benefits from this new technology depends heavily on the way it is actually used and that most new technologies are developed for the conditions prevailing in rich countries, where they tend to be quite easily adopted and used. In the Global South, by contrast, a paucity of digital skills and other factors make the potentially valuable benefits from the Internet much more difficult to derive. Using empirical data recently provided by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), the book examines the existence and extent of the digital divide between males and females in mobile Internet use, which constitutes a new form of divide. It sheds light on the acute difficulty for first-time mobile Internet users in the Global South, and especially Sub-Saharan Africa, to learn the digital skills that are needed to use the said technology effectively, with a special focus on how these users acquire the required knowledge, without having undergone the process of learning by doing. The book further discusses the determinants of digital skills in the Global South, as well as major factors underlying the extent to which different users actually benefit from the mobile Internet, such as gender, location, age, and education. Finally, it investigates how womens' use of the Internet has been altered by the pandemic in the Global South. This book will appeal to students, researchers, and scholars of development economics and development studies, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of the impact of gender bias and Covid-19 on mobile internet use in the Global South.
This book presents new perspectives on current development policy against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic. The author applies new methodological, disciplinary, and analytical approaches to examine specific major contemporary policy issues. The topics covered include the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in developing countries, an anomaly in the digital divide, Internet connectivity differences in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the domination of India in the spread of new, low-cost smart feature phones. This book is a must-read for a general audience interested in the current development policy in the light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, as well as for students and researchers of development economics and development studies who are interested in issues involving the digital divide and state policy towards the internet in the Global-South.
As seen in Time, USA TODAY, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and on CBS This Morning, BBC, PBS, CNN, and NPR, iGen is crucial reading to understand how the children, teens, and young adults born in the mid-1990s and later are vastly different from their Millennial predecessors, and from any other generation. With generational divides wider than ever, parents, educators, and employers have an urgent need to understand today’s rising generation of teens and young adults. Born in the mid-1990s up to the mid-2000s, iGen is the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone. With social media and texting replacing other activities, iGen spends less time with their friends in person—perhaps contributing to their unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. But technology is not the only thing that makes iGen distinct from every generation before them; they are also different in how they spend their time, how they behave, and in their attitudes toward religion, sexuality, and politics. They socialize in completely new ways, reject once sacred social taboos, and want different things from their lives and careers. More than previous generations, they are obsessed with safety, focused on tolerance, and have no patience for inequality. With the first members of iGen just graduating from college, we all need to understand them: friends and family need to look out for them; businesses must figure out how to recruit them and sell to them; colleges and universities must know how to educate and guide them. And members of iGen also need to understand themselves as they communicate with their elders and explain their views to their older peers. Because where iGen goes, so goes our nation—and the world.
This timely Handbook demonstrates that global linkages, flows and circulations merit a more central place in theorization about development. Calling for a mobilities turn, it challenges the sedentarist assumptions which still underlie much policy making and planning for the future.
The report highlights the crucial role of engineering in achieving each of the 17 SDGs. It shows how equal opportunities for all is key to ensuring an inclusive and gender balanced profession that can better respond to the shortage of engineers for implementing the SDGs. It provides a snapshot of the engineering innovations that are shaping our world, especially emerging technologies such as big data and AI, which are crucial for addressing the pressing challenges facing humankind and the planet. It analyses the transformation of engineering education and capacity-building at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that will enable engineers to tackle the challenges ahead. It highlights the global effort needed to address the specific regional disparities, while summarizing the trends of engineering across the different regions of the world.
This book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Green, Pervasive, and Cloud Computing, GPC 2017, held in Cetara, Italy, in May 2017 and the following colocated workshops: First International Workshop on Digital Knowledge Ecosystems 2017; and First Workshop on Cloud Security Modeling, Monitoring and Management, CS3M 2017. The 58 full papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 169 initial submissions. They deal with cryptography, security and biometric techniques; advances network services, algorithms and optimization; mobile and pervasive computing; cybersecurity; parallel and distributed computing; ontologies and smart applications; and healthcare support systems.
This book provides a framework for evaluating big data and cloud computing based on how they evolve to fit users’ needs in developing countries in key areas, such as agriculture and education. The authors discuss how this framework can be utilized by businesses, governments, and consumers to accelerate economic growth and overcome information and communication barriers. By examining the ways in which cloud computing can drive social, economic, and environmental transformation, readers gain a nuanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges these technologies offer. The authors also provide an authoritative and up-to-date account of big data’s diffusion into a wide range of developing economies, such as Brazil and China, illustrating key concepts through in-depth case studies. Special attention is paid to economic development in the context of the new Sustainable Development Goals formulated by the United Nations, introducing readers to the most modern standard of economic evaluation. Students of information management, entrepreneurship, and development, as well as policy makers, researchers, and practitioners, will find Big Data and Cloud Computing for Development an interesting read and a useful reference source.
As technology advances, the emergence of 5G has become an essential discussion moving forward as its applications and benefits are expected to enhance many areas of life. The introduction of 5G technology to society will improve communication speed, the efficiency of information transfer, and end-user experience to name only a few of many future improvements. These new opportunities offered by 5G networks will spread across industry, government, business, and personal user experiences leading to widespread innovation and technological advancement. What stands at the very core of 5G becoming an integral part of society is the very fact that it is expected to enrich society in a multifaceted way, enhancing connectivity and efficiency in just about every sector including healthcare, agriculture, business, and more. Therefore, it has been a critical topic of research to explore the implications of this technology, how it functions, what industries it will impact, and the challenges and solutions of its implementation into modern society. Research Anthology on Developing and Optimizing 5G Networks and the Impact on Society is a critical reference source that analyzes the use of 5G technology from the standpoint of its design and technological development to its applications in a multitude of industries. This overall view of the aspects of 5G networks creates a comprehensive book for all stages of the implementation of 5G, from early conception to application in various sectors. Topics highlighted include smart cities, wireless and mobile networks, radio access technology, internet of things, and more. This all-encompassing book is ideal for network experts, IT specialists, technologists, academicians, researchers, and students.
