scholarly journals Open access towards bridging the digital divide–policies and strategies for developing countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allam Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Digital Divide

In the Shadow of Violence: Lessons for Limited Access Societies

2012 ◽  
pp. 4-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. North ◽  
J. Wallis ◽  
S. Webb ◽  
B. Weingast
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
Major Conclusion ◽  
Economic Competition ◽  
Limited Access ◽  
Forthcoming Book ◽  
Personal Connections

The paper presents a summary of the forthcoming book by the authors and discusses the sample study of the 9 developing countries. While admitting the non-linearity of economic development they claim that the developing countries make a transition from the limited access orders (where the coalition of powerful elite groups plays a major role, that is based on personal connections and hampers free political and economic competition) to the open access orders with democratic government and efficient decentralized economic system. The major conclusion of this article is that what the limited access societies should do is not simply introducing open access institutions, but reorganizing the incentives of the elites so that to limit violence, provide economic and political stability and make a gradual transition to the open access order beneficial for the elites.

GREEN OPEN ACCESS IN KENYA: A REVIEW OF THE CONTENT, POLICIES AND USAGE OF INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-54
Author(s):  
Wanyenda Leonard Chilimo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Google Scholar ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Current State ◽  
Theses And Dissertations

 There is scant research-based evidence on the development and adoption of open access (OA) and institutional repositories (IRs) in Africa, and in Kenya in particular. This article reports on a study that attempted to fill that gap and provide feedback on the various OA projects and advocacy work currently underway in universities and research institutions in Kenya and in other developing countries. The article presents the findings of a descriptive study that set out to evaluate the current state of IRs in Kenya. Webometric approaches and interviews with IR managers were used to collect the data for the study. The findings showed that Kenya has made some progress in adopting OA with a total of 12 IRs currently listed in the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) and five mandatory self-archiving policies listed in the Registry of Open Access Repositories Mandatory Archiving Policies (ROARMAP). Most of the IRs are owned by universities where theses and dissertations constitute the majority of the content type followed by journal articles. The results on the usage and impact of materials deposited in Kenyan IRs indicated that the most viewed publications in the repositories also received citations in Google Scholar, thereby signifying their impact and importance. The results also showed that there was a considerable interest in Swahili language publications among users of the repositories in Kenya.

Second Order Divide in Internet Usage in Developing Countries

2018 ◽  
pp. 38-51
Author(s):  
Aparna Purushothaman ◽  
Lone Dirckinck Holmfeld ◽  
Moly Kuruvilla
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Internet Literacy

Internet literacy is crucial to become information literate and for lifelong learning for today's citizens. However, there is an identified gendered digital divide in Internet usage, as the major proportion of unconnected citizens, especially in the developing economies in asian countries are women. The problems of the gender digital divide are not just limited to connectivity and infrastructural issues, literacy and the cost of access, which are often discussed in the literature. The authors identify some of the second order factors that are often overlooked and arise out of cognitive, psychological and social factors leading to the digital divide. The paper also discusses possible measures that could be taken up to address the second order gender digital divide.

Deconstructing the ‘Digital Divide’ In Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 222-236
Author(s):  
Stephen Mutula
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Cable Tv ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Developed World

The debate about whether the digital divide between Africa and the developed world is narrowing or widening has intensified over the last five years. Some believe that access to technology is positively correlated to economic development and wealth creation, however, since the dawn of the last century, the gap between the rich and the poor within and between developed and developing countries has continued to grow. The protagonists in this debate do not seem to appreciate the notion that the digital divide is not about a single technology, and is driven by a complex set of factors that exist beyond wires. This paper attempts to deconstruct the concept of the digital divide beyond access to PCs, telephones, Internet, cable TV, etc… The authors argue that the phenomenon as currently conceived is misleading and flawed, and so are the indices for its measurement. Suggestions that a new model for mapping the phenomenon is made in order to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries. In deconstructing the digital divide, the authors use the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on Information Society and the indices used to measure e-readiness, information society, digital opportunity, and e-government.

E-Government Issues in Developing Countries

2012 ◽  
pp. 423-439
Author(s):  
Gohar Feroz Khan ◽  
Junghoon Moon
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Government Services

Electronic government, or e-Government, is the practice of providing public services to citizens, businesses, and other government agencies where government services can be accessed through the Internet, mobile phone, fax, mail, telephone, and personal visits (MGAHA, 2005). Developing countries, utilizing the late comer advantage, are mimicking trends of paperless governments with the expectations to reap the same benefits enjoyed by developed countries. However, e-Government initiatives have not always been successful in developing countries. According to the study conducted by Heeks (2003), the rate of e-Government success in developing countries was only 15 percent. The authors believe that such failures are mainly due to certain unique social, economic, technological, and environmental challenges faced by e-Government in developing countries. For example, some major issues include digital divide, political instability, and skills-related issues. However, the research dealing with these problems is limited. Therefore, in this chapter, the authors discuss these challenges.

The Evolution of the Digital Divide across Developing Countries

2013 ◽  
pp. 1554-1570
Author(s):  
Nicoletta Corrocher ◽  
Anna Raineri
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Emerging Patterns

This chapter aims at investigating the evolution of the digital divide within a set of developing countries between the years 2000 and 2005. In doing so, it moves away from the traditional analysis of the digital divide, which compares developed countries and developing countries, and examines the existing gap within a relatively homogeneous group of countries. On the basis of the theoretical and empirical contributions from scholars in different disciplines, we select a series of socioeconomic and technological indicators and provide an empirical assessment of the digitalization patterns in a set of 51 low income and lower-middle income countries. By means of cluster analysis techniques, we identify three emerging patterns of the digital divide and derive a series of policy implications, related to the implementation of an effective strategy to reduce digital backwardness. The characteristics of each pattern of digitalization can be also usefully employed to understand whether past interventions, especially in the area of competition policy, have been successful in addressing country-specific issues.

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