A INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Information Communication Technology (ICT) is a term that describes types of technology that are used specifically for communications It is like Information Technology, but ICT focuses more on technologies that deal with communication, like cell phones, the Internet and wireless networks, things (Young, 2012)
Introduction to Information and Communication Technology in
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a major challenge to our educational system This book is designed for use by PreK-12 preservice and inservice teachers, and by teachers of these teachers It provides a brief overview of some of the key topics in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education
ERM Component: Information and Communication
The fourth component of the framework is Information and Communication Information and Communication is vital for an entity to achieve its obj ectives Entity management needs access to relevant and reliable information related to internal as well as external events Information and Communication has three principles, and to help mana gement
2 Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
through information or communication programs using a range of ICTs 4 Reduce child mortality 5 Improve maternal health 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Reduce infant and child mortality rates by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 Reduce maternal mortality rates by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015 Provide access to all who need
Information, Communication & Society CRITICAL QUESTIONS FOR
Information, Communication & Society Vol 15, No 5, June 2012, pp 662–679 ISSN 1369-118X print/ISSN 1468-4462 online # 2012 Microsoft
Information and communication technologies for development
2 Information and communication technologies for development 2 New ways of using IT technologies and communication systems are transforming lives across the world There had been concerns that the digital divide was accelerating the global class structure, creating wider gaps between the haves and have-nots If this was the case 10 years ago,
NOTES Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Information can be easily accessed 6 Features of table, query, form and report Table – stores a collection of information about specific topic Query –request for a specific data from a database Software and Data Security Form – interface to enter information Report – summary of information from the database 5 10 Cyber law acts in
NOTES Information And Communication Technology (ICT)
Faster communication speed Lower communication cost Reliable mode of communication Effective sharing of information Paperless environment orderless communication 6 Negative impact of IT on the 2 negative impacts : Social problems Health problems 7 Definitions omputer Ethics omputer ethics is a system of moral standards or values used as a
Communication: The Process, Barriers, And Improving Effectiveness
Communication is the process of transmitting information and common understanding from one person to another In this article, I discuss the communication process, barriers to communication, and improving communication effectiveness _____ The study of communication is important, because every administrative function
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i
Chapter titlefi iProject:
New Business Models for
Sustainable Trading
RelationshipsSeries:Topic Brief Series
Author:
Shaun Ferris
Information and
communication technologies for development iiThis paper is part of a publication series
generated by the New Business Models forSustainable Trading Relationships project.
The partners in the four-year project - the
Sustainable Food Laboratory, Rainforest
Alliance, the International Institute for
Environment and Development, the
International Center for Tropical Agriculture,
and Catholic Relief Services - are working together to develop, pilot, and learn from new business models of trading relationships between small-scale producers and formal markets. By working in partnership with business and looking across a diversity of crop types and market requirements - fresh horticulture, processed vegetables, pulses, certied coffee and cocoa - the collaboration aims to synthesize learning about how to increase access, benets, and stability for small-scale producers while generating consistent and reliable supplies for buyers.For further information see:
www.sustainablefoodlab.org/projects/ ag-and-development and http://www.linkingworlds.org/Please contact Shaun Ferris at
Shaun.Ferris@crs.org at
if you have any questions or comments.ISBN 978-1-84369-847-0
Available to download at www.iied.org/pubs
©International Institute for Environment and
Development/Sustainable Food Lab 2012
All rights reserved
Shaun Ferris works for the agriculture team
within the program quality department of theCatholic Relief Services. His main areas of
work for on linking poor farmers to markets.This work includes developing training
materials and integrating ICT opportunities into program work. 1Chapter titlefi 1
Information and
communication technologies for developmentTable of contents
Executive summary __________________________2
1. The ICT transformation in emergency and development programs _____________________4How is ICT innovation working in the
developing world? 2. How is ICT being used in agricultural development? _____________________________7Does market information lead to increased
income? �������������������������������12
3.How affordable and appropriate are
ICT services in the development of
agriculture? ______________________________14Conclusion
__________________________________18References _________________________________34
2?Information and communication technologies for development
2New ways of using IT technologies and
communication systems are transforming lives across the world. There had been concerns that the digital divide was accelerating the global class structure, creating wider gaps between the haves and have-nots. If this was the case 10 years ago, the recent changes in mobile subscriptions alone have significantly closed that gap. Mobile services are a reality in virtually all corners of the world. For many millions of smallholder farmers and traders, mobiles phones have become an essential "tool of the trade", strengthening existing business ties and opening up new opportunities with huge reductions in transaction times and cost.This paper asks "How is information and
communication technology (ICT) being used in agricultural development?" It outlines, using case study examples, how ICT applications for the agriculture sector range from the highly- sophisticated, fully-integrated chain-wide agri-business service packages used by the most commercial farmers, down to basic voice and text messaging that is being used very effectively by less resourced smallholder farmers and traders for all stages of the food production process: harvesting, processing, logistics to sales and marketing. To take advantage of this marketplace, the private sector, NGOs and governments are investing in a range of new tools to link farmers with assets, services and markets.Five years ago, most ICT services for agriculture
were confined to the top segment of farmers. The rapid rise in ICT technologies is now spreading into the smallholder agriculture sector and being used by a growing number of agricultural companies, development organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and farmers. Despite the massive uptake of mobile phones by agricultural producers, there are few quantitative studies that provide hard evidence of a link between technology and poverty reduction. Those studies that have explored this, however, found that farmer access to market information through radio, mobile phones and internet resulted in higher farm-gate prices and a better bargaining position with local traders.
To make good on the promise of ICT
transformation, however, the paper suggests that organizations from the public and private sectors will need to create new types of partnerships and business networks with the millions of smallholder farmers in the developing world. Some general recommendations for ensuring these technologies contribute to sustainable and equitable development include:Promote investment policies that give
communications companies incentives to cross subsidize investments from higher profit areas to expand infrastructure into less commercial rural areas.Support income levies within the commercial communications markets so that a percentage of profit is made available for public goods services.
In more remote areas combine wireless technologies with electrical power sources that can be used by communities to support other vital sectors, such as health and education.
Promote and support the development of content in local languages to improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of ICT applications.
Executive summary
3Support adult literacy and numeracy programs
in rural areas to expand access and use ofICT-based services to low income, more
marginal areas.Promote and facilitate the establishment of broad public-private partnerships in the implementation of projects that support both public services and less commercial areas.
Promote use of, and investment in, open source technology, so that developers and users are not constrained by licensing issues.
Mobile services are a reality in
virtually all corners of the world.For many millions of smallholder
farmers and traders, mobiles phones have become an essential "tool of the trade" 4 1The ICT transformation in
emergency and development programsOver the past 30 years, the rapid development
and integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) has transformed the way we live and do business. From humble beginnings in the 1960s, basic computer and telecommunication systems have revolutionized business operating systems. In the past 20 years the use of computerized systems has infiltrated virtually every sector of modern living across the globe and this revolution is now making its way into the development sector.Many of the key events that have led to the IT
revolution are based upon the maintenance of "Moore's Law", which predicts the doubling of computer processing power every 18 months.This has enabled the miniaturization of computing
hardware from mainframes to personalized computers (PCs) in the 1970s, the shift fromdesktop to mobile technologies at the turn of the century, and most recently the rise of a dazzling array of mobile devices linked to cloud computing
1 (Figure 1).The continued roll out of high-speed connectivity
is rapidly creating a wired and wireless society, which is fuelling innovation and supporting our ability to share information and access new services and applications that add value to our lives and business ventures, at ever more affordable rates.The driving force behind this huge innovation
stream for faster, smarter, cheaper and more customized ways of connecting people to information services is the desire we have as individuals, families, groups, networks, firms, corporations and governments to understand our world more clearly, function more efficiently, and boost our skills and creativity. Figure 1. Changes in technology over the past 50 yearsSource: Thomas 2009
1.Cloud computing provides computation, software applications, data access, data management and storage resources online,
without requiring cloud users to know the location and other details of the computing infrastructure.
5 The ICT transformation in emergency and development programfi5How is ICT innovation working in
the developing world?During the 1980s and 1990s, major corporate,
consumer and telecom markets focused on the lucrative markets of industrial nations. However, as growth in these markets flattened off, a combination of leading and new ICT companies turned their attention to the "emerging markets".Many companies have maintained growth by
reselling older technologies into these new markets, often referred to as the bottom of the pyramid (Prahalad 2004). As industrialized nations upgraded and deepened their markets, first generation technologies were repackaged for the rapidly emerging economies of Asia, LatinAmerica and Africa. New companies from the
emerging markets further energized the sector with business models that significantly reduced cost and increased access for the lower-income market segments. Frugal innovation has alsoallowed for mass market opportunities.The roll out of "leapfrog technologies" in developing countries whereby low-cost mobile phones are adopted instead of fixed-line telecoms has led to massive uptake of new technology, which has transformed these societies. According to a recent Accenture and Vodafone report (Vodaphone and Accenture 2011) there are over 3.5 billion mobile connections in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region (Figure 2). The current drive for additional connectivity through satellite and fiber optic cables is further accelerating the deployment and integration of mobile and web-based technologies.
How is the technology being used?
In emerging markets, mobile phones are the
computing and communication product of choice.Market projections suggest that smart phones or
some form of mobile device, such as the tablet, Figure 2. Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2011* 160140
120
100
80
60
40
20 0
CIS** Europe The Arab World Asia & Pacific Africa
Americas States143.0
119.5103.3
96.7
86.773.9
53.0* Estimate **Commonwealth of Independent States
Regions are based on the ITU BDT Regions, see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/definitions/regions/index.html
66Information and communication technologies for development will become the global "point of access" choice (see Figure 3). The convenience and affordability of mobile technology has enabled millions of people in lower-income countries to become connected. The new-found ability to communicate has been particularly important in providing links between rural and urban communities, for family and business counterparts.
For many millions of smallholder farmers and
traders, mobile phones have become an essential "tool of the trade", strengthening existing business ties and opening up new opportunities with huge reductions in transaction time and cost.For the most part, smallholder farmers and local
traders are using their phones within informal networks, and at this time there are few systematicservices for rural communities. As with the industrialized nations, however, the uses, applications and service options based on ICT solutions are rapidly changing as the private sector, NGOs, communities and governments gain more experience with the technology and start to build more effective and affordable services that link urban and rural communities within new types of social and business networks.
This process of social and technology change is
both disruptive and innovative, causing many to rethink how people, systems and services can be configured to be faster, cheaper, better, and more equitable. Figure 3. Global trends in preferred internet gateway deviceSource: Giles 2011
7In many emerging economies agriculture remains
a major source of employment and income. An expanding and urbanizing global population means there will be continued and growing demand for agricultural products and services. To support an additional two billion people in the next20-30 years will require raising the productivity of
existing land and also bringing more marginal or distant lands into the mainstream agricultural system. This will create signicant new opportunities for what are now poor rural communities, but how and when such communities connect into mainstream markets on a regular basis will depend on many factors.However, communications will be an important
catalytic factor.In terms of growth opportunities for agriculture
with support from ICT solutions, a recent report from Accenture identied 12 ways in which mobile technologies could increase agricultural income by an estimated US$138 billion across 26 target countries, including developing countries, by2020 (Vodaphone and Accenture 2011).
Given such incentives, it is not surprising that use of ICT in agriculture is proliferating to capture new market opportunities. Many applications that were built for other areas, such as health or land research, are now being adapted to support other sectors such as agriculture. The result is that thousands of service providers and technology teams are racing to nd new applications and new solutions for the farming community. In addition to the technology, these companies also need to gure out successful business models that meet the needs of this emerging customer base and provide prots to the service providers. A criticalfeature of the ICT marketplace is the pace of change, its ability to scale up and the prospect of considerable dividends for investors who support the most successful products.
In the agricultural sector, ICT applications range from the highly-sophisticated, fully-integrated chain-wide agri-business service packages used by most commercial farmers, down to basic voice and text messaging that is being used very effectively by less resourced smallholder farmers and traders. To take advantage of this marketplace, the private sector, NGOs and governments are investing in a range of new tools to link farmers with assets, services and markets.Figure 4 shows how different types of information
products are being used within various market chains, from the pre-production phase through harvesting, processing, logistics to sales and marketing.ICT applications being used within agriculture
include the following, and the sections which follow give specic examples of some of these uses:Voice and text communication
Research using GPS for locating, targeting,
mapping, and tracing of people, assets, products and resourcesDistance learning
Analytical tools and calculators
Monitoring and impact analysis
Financial support via mobile transfers, mobile savings, mobile-investing Agricultural market platforms for trading, transfer and barter 2How is ICT being used in
agricultural development? 88Information and communication technologies for development
Chain-wide production, trade and financially-
integrated systemsAppendix A lists many more ICT applications that are being used and adapted by both vendors and users in developing countries to support agricultural production and marketing.
Text communication networks
In 2005, Ken Banks set up a system in South
Africa for the authorities to communicate with the public about wildlife conservation issues without relying on the Internet. This system could send,receive, and organize text messages through a mobile device using only a phone and a laptop. This system transformed into Frontline SMS, which was released as a public open source application in 2008. Since that time, Frontline has been downloaded more than 20,000 times and is being used in 70 countries to help groups of people to organize around a specific theme and share small amounts of information on a regular basis. Frontline SMS is now being used for positive social change in all major sectors with specialized teams supporting the use of Frontline SMS in disaster response, human rights monitoring, community radio, health, education, agriculture and credit. Figure 4. How ICT applications can be used throughout the food system
Source: World Bank 2011
MODULE 9 STRENGTHENING AGRICULTURAL MARKETING WITH ICT214ICT IN AGRICULTURE
Broader and deeper networks. Farmers commu-
nicate by phone with traders and farmers outside of their immediate geography as opposed to making a physical trip. The ability to communicate more easily and to triangulate information creates deeper trust in key trading relationships. Innovative partnerships. For example, partnerships are facilitated and built among groups of producers, or by virtue of direct communication with corporations and traders, or through the ability to supply productbased on just-in-time and/or quality needs. Informed use of inputs. Farmers improve their capacity to raise yields through better use of inputs and/or use of better inputs. They can identify sources of inputs, obtain them more cheaply, and are better
able to buy and apply them at the optimal times.