Esta publicación hace referencia a la visión y logros que múltiples actores latinoamericanos provenientes de organismos internacionales, representantes de la sociedad civil y del sector privado, tienen sobre las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC), específicamente de los telecentros como herramienta para lograr una mayor Inclusión Social.
"A remarkable collection. The chapters provide extremely useful information on a range of social movements generally not well covered in academic work--and the coverage is provided by people who are either activists within the movements themselves or long-time supporters."--Wendy Wolford, University of North Carolina "An original, unique, and excellent collection. The book has great theoretical value and political relevance."--Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Saint Mary's University (Halifax) All across Latin America, rural peoples are organizing in support of broadly distinct but interrelated issues. Food sovereignty, agrarian reform, indigenous and women’s rights, sustainable development, fair trade, and immigration issues are the focus of a large number of social movements found in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Peru. The contributors to Rural Social Movements in Latin America include academic researchers as well as social movement leaders who are seeking to effect change in their countries and communities. As a group they are at the forefront of some of the most critical environmental, social, and political issues of the day. This volume highlights the central role these movements play in opposition to the neoliberal model of development and offers fresh insights on emerging alternatives at the local, national, and hemispheric level. It also illustrates and analyzes the similarities--notably the struggle for sustainable livelihoods--as well as the difference among these various peasant, indigenous, and rural women's movements.
For several years the concept of "virtual client" or "virtual customer" has been part of the world of libraries and information services. This publication contains the proceedings of a satellite meeting on this topic, organized by the Management and Marketing Section of IFLA and held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in August 2004. It contains papers from more general points of views such as the democratization of access to digital information to more specific questions such as virtual libraries and new services, not forgetting user and librarian education, web site design, more specialized information, etc. The readers of these proceedings will find along these pages a very stimulating content which will guide them towards better services for virtual clients. Papers are presented in the original language of their presentation (Portuguese, French, Spanish and English) with summaries in these four languages.
Around the turn of the millennium it had become painfully evident that development aid, charity or "global business-as-usual" were not going to be the mechanisms to alleviate global poverty. Today, there is little dispute that poverty remains the most pressing global problem calling for innovative solutions. One recent strategy is the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) concept developed by Prahalad and Hart, which relies on entrepreneurial activity tapping into the previously ignored markets of the economically most disadvantaged. It is a process requiring innovations in several disciplines: technological, social and business.This book covers a number of areas. First, much of the current BoP discussion emphasises targeting products to the needs of the poor. But do we actually know what the real needs of the poor are? This book takes a bottom-up human-centred approach and examines examples that truly engage the poor in BoP product and service development. What types of needs assessment methodologies are indicated considering the cultural differences in BoP countries? Are the existing methodologies adequate? Do they need to be redefined and redeveloped? Second, the book considers how we can balance poverty alleviation and stimulate economic growth without stressing the ecosystem. Tragically, the poor are hardest hit by the adverse effects of environmental deterioration such as water shortages, climate change or the destruction of habitats. While the economic welfare of the poor is critical, the BoP approach must balance its inherent paradox of encouraging greater consumption while avoiding further pressures on environmental sustainability. The link between the BoP approach and sustainable development is a key feature of this book. Third, it looks at innovation and asks what kinds of"bottom-up" innovation (open source, technological, social and business) support BoP initiatives (and sustainable development)?Fourth, the book deals with the relationship between development assistance and BoP. Is a BoP strategy the antithesis to development aid or can these two co-exist or even complement each other?Finally, the book raises questions about the relationship between corporate responsibility and BoP. Is BoP a new form of corporate neo-colonialism or a new form of corporate responsibility? Although the BoP concept has unleashed an extensive and generally enthusiastic response from academics, businesses, NGOs and governments, the knowledge domain around this concept is still in the early stages of development. This book addresses that need with a focus on the needs of the end-users – the poor – as a starting point for BoP products and innovations. With contributions from both supporters and critics, it provides a treasure trove of global knowledge on how the concept has developed, what its successes and failures have been and what promise it holds as a long-term strategy for alleviating poverty and tackling global sustainability.
Educators play a significant role in the intellectual and social development of children and young adults. Next-generation teachers can only be as strong as their own educational foundation which serves to cultivate their knowledge of the learning process, uncover best practices in the field of education, and employ leadership abilities that will inspire students of all ages. Teacher Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications explores the current state of pre-service teacher programs as well as continuing education initiatives for in-service educators. Emphasizing the growing role of technology in teacher skill development and training as well as key teaching methods and pedagogical developments, this multi-volume work compiles research essential to higher education professionals and administrators, educational software developers, and researchers studying pre-service and in-service teacher training.
El libro propone pensar el espacio y la esferas públicos como categorías transdisciplinarias para comprender las transformaciones profundas acaecidas en la región en las sociedades postautoritarias de América Latina.
A new framework for assessing the role of information and communication technologies in development that draws on Amartya Sen's capabilities approach. Information and communication technologies (ICTs)--especially the Internet and the mobile phone--have changed the lives of people all over the world. These changes affect not just the affluent populations of income-rich countries but also disadvantaged people in both global North and South, who may use free Internet access in telecenters and public libraries, chat in cybercafes with distant family members, and receive information by text message or email on their mobile phones. Drawing on Amartya Sen's capabilities approach to development--which shifts the focus from economic growth to a more holistic, freedom-based idea of human development--Dorothea Kleine in Technologies of Choice? examines the relationship between ICTs, choice, and development. Kleine proposes a conceptual framework, the Choice Framework, that can be used to analyze the role of technologies in development processes. She applies the Choice Framework to a case study of microentrepreneurs in a rural community in Chile. Kleine combines ethnographic research at the local level with interviews with national policy makers, to contrast the high ambitions of Chile's pioneering ICT policies with the country's complex social and economic realities. She examines three key policies of Chile's groundbreaking Agenda Digital: public access, digital literacy, and an online procurement system. The policy lesson we can learn from Chile's experience, Kleine concludes, is the necessity of measuring ICT policies against a people-centered understanding of development that has individual and collective choice at its heart.
