ICT Policy

Factors that promote or inhibit the implementation of e-health systems: an explanatory systematic review

by Frances Mair

Co-authored with: Carl May, Catherine O’Donnell, Tracy Finch, Frank Sullivan & Elizabeth Murray

Objective To systematically review the literature on the implementation of e-health to identify: (1) barriers and... more Objective To systematically review the literature on the implementation of e-health to identify: (1) barriers and facilitators to e-health implementation, and (2) outstanding gaps in research on the subject.
Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PSYCINFO and the Cochrane Library were searched for reviews published between 1 January 1995 and 17 March 2009. Studies had to be systematic reviews, narrative reviews, qualitative metasyntheses or meta-ethnographies of e-health implementation. Abstracts and papers were double screened and data were extracted on country of origin; e-health domain; publication date; aims and methods; databases searched; inclusion and exclusion criteria and number of papers included. Data were analysed qualitatively using normalization process theory as an explanatory coding framework.
Findings Inclusion criteria were met by 37 papers; 20 had been published between 1995 and 2007 and 17 between 2008 and 2009. Methodological quality was poor: 19 papers did not specify the inclusion and exclusion criteria and 13 did not indicate the precise number of articles screened. The use of normalization process theory as a conceptual framework revealed that relatively little attention was paid to: (1) work directed at making sense of e-health systems, specifying their purposes and benefits, establishing their value to users and planning their implementation; (2) factors promoting or inhibiting engagement and participation; (3) effects on roles and responsibilities; (4) risk management, and (5) ways in which implementation processes might be reconfigured by user-produced knowledge.
Conclusion The published literature focused on organizational issues, neglecting the wider social framework that must be considered when introducing new technologies.

Moving for What? International Mobility Strategies of Women in ICT Careers

by Nuria Verges Bosch

ICT and development: East is east and West is west and the twain may yet meet

by Lars Soeftestad

Entrepreneurship in Japan's ICT Sector: Opportunities and Protection from Japan's Regulatory Regime Shift

by Kenji Kushida

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship played a critical role in transforming Japan’s telecommunications sector. Between... more Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship played a critical role in transforming Japan’s telecommunications sector. Between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, in a sector long dominated by a stable set of large actors with well-established patterns of interaction, entrepreneurs introduced new technologies, new business models, and new norms of interaction. The subsequent transformation of Japan’s telecommunications sector was dramatic, providing consumers with not only fast and sophisticated services but also low prices and an entire new ecosystem of mobile content—a considerable departure from Japan’s long track record of being known as producer- rather than consumer-oriented, with consumers enjoying high-end services and products, but at high prices. Yet, these transformative entrepreneurs were not acting in a vacuum. Regulatory shifts in telecommunications were critical in providing opportunities for entrepreneurs, while simultaneously protecting them from large incumbent firms. These regulatory shifts were driven by the political dynamics of the 1990s as Japan struggled through its post-bubble economic malaise and political changes.

ICT and Human Rights: The Growing Information Systems Obligations of Host Countries to Migrant Communities

by Jonathan Burke

Paper read in Prato (Italy), at the 4th Chinese in Prato & 2nd Wenzhouese Diaspora Symposia and China in the World Conference, 'Reflections from and for Prato/Europe: Chinese economic and social integration around the world',
20-23 September 2011.

Abstract: In June 2011, the ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom... more Abstract: In June 2011, the ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression’ presented to the 17th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council appealed to governments to recognize the right of all humans not only to freedom of online expression, but to freedom of access to online expression; ‘the Special Rapporteur reminds all States of their positive obligation to promote or to facilitate the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression and the means necessary to exercise this right, including the Internet’, and ‘ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all States’.

The report highlighted a critical issue under debate in the international discussion of human rights; access to internet communication technology as a fundamental human right. Cited in the Special Rapporteur’s report were several European countries which have already recognized such a right, including Estonia, Finland, and France.

This paper examines the potential impact on states with a significant migrant population, should access to ICT become formally recognized as a human right by the UNHCR. The implications of this new right for the Italian government and for the Wenzhou migrant community in Prato, are addressed in particular.

Author: Jonathan Burke graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1995, and completed a Master of Information Management and Systems at Monash University in 2009. He is currently applying for a Master of Information Technology at Monash University, researching a thesis entitled ‘A comparative study of the use of Information and Communications Technologies by Wenzhou migrants in Prato and their compatriots in Wenzhou’. He is also conducting ICT research at Taiwan National University of Science and Technology, having lived in Taiwan for the last seven years.

ICT-Monitor Vlaanderen: eindrapport van een haalbaarheidsstudie

by Rene Wintjes

Expérimentation de la mise en place des certifications Informatique et Internet de Niveau 2-professionnel des Enseignants

by Catherine Loisy

Étude portant sur la mise en œuvre du C2i2e dans les IUFM de France contractualisée entre la SDTICE du MENSR et le CREAD-Rennes 2. L'étude a duré trois années, de l'expérimentation à la généralisation du C2i2e. et a donné lieu à la rédaction de trois rapports pour la SD-TICE du MENSR.

Study of the French national experimentation "C2i2e" (the French information and communication technology... more Study of the French national experimentation "C2i2e" (the French information and communication technology -ICT- competency standard for teachers - 2004-2005

Conditions for beginnings of Professional use concerning digital technologies in education

by Catherine Loisy

Co-authored with Teresa ASSUDE, Dominique BESSIERES & Delphine COMBROUZE

Assude, T., Bessières, D., Combrouze, D. & Loisy, C. (2010). Représentations, formations et certifications : quelles genèses d'usages des technologies numériques ? STICEF, Vol. 17, 15 pages.

Many researches have underlined the difficulties linked to generalizing the implementing of Information and... more Many researches have underlined the difficulties linked to generalizing the implementing of Information and Communication Technologies in education, in a context strongly influenced by institutional injunctions. This article examines the beginnings of professional uses concerning digital technologies among teachers, and tries to analyze the conditions and constraints influencing these usage. The data-gathering is carried out in the field of teachers’ training and cross-checks the results of two research studies, which bring further data. A third research study is also used to put the results into perspective. The assumption made is that the relationship to change and the social representations of the subject are factors that influence the decisions implement digital technology in teaching. The analysis conveys another explanatory dimension of the choices: the players seem to be caught in a paradox linked to institutional decisions and orders.

Marco en TIC y RSC/Sostenibilidad para una universidad tecnológica

by David Franquesa

David Franquesa, David López, Carlos Álvarez y Fermín Sánchez. "Marco en TIC y RSC/Sostenibilidad para una universidad tecnológica". XIX Congreso de EBEN (European Business Ethics Network) España. TRANSFORMAR EL MUNDO‐HUMANIZAR LA TECNICA. Ética, Responsabilidad Social e Innovación. Barcelona, 29, 30 Junio y 1 Julio 2011

La elaboración de un modelo en Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) y Responsabilidad Social Corporativa... more La elaboración de un modelo en Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) y Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) abarca principalmente dos líneas de investigación, la RSC de las TIC y las TIC para la RSC. Atendemos la primera explicando el proceso realizado para introducir criterios sociales y ambientales en los procesos de compra pública de equipos de sobremesa y pantallas. El resultado es un proceso más simple y complejo; la simplicidad reduce el tiempo administrativo y una mayor complejidad en los indicadores nos aproxima a un desempeño social y ambiental de las TIC más real. La segunda línea, complementa a la primera, la información en  sostenibilidad de las TIC, datos e indicadores, son ahora la materia prima para facilitar la adaptación de la organización a un modelo más sostenible. El contexto de trabajo es una universidad con lo que introducimos nuestra metodología de integración de los grupos de interés, el aprendizaje-servicio, que creemos apta tanto por el contexto como por la relación entre RSC y aprendizaje, pues la RSC para nosotros tiene el propósito de ofrecer mecanismos para el (co)aprendizaje y la (co)adaptación de la organización y grupos de interés a un entorno de recursos limitados e incertidumbre. La empresa o la organización que sepa integrar con más naturalidad y de manera más óptima a múltiples y diversos colectivos en su cadena de valor (productos, servicios), obtendrá con facilidad la sensibilidad, la información y el conocimiento para adaptarse a las expectativas de los Grupos de Interés y operar en un entorno de complejidad.

KEY WORDS: Sostenibilidad, Tecnologías Información y Comunicación, Responsabilidad Social Corporativa, Indicadores de desempeño social y ambiental de las TIC, Business Intelligence, Gestión Adaptativa, Resiliencia, Aprendizaje-Servicio, Análisis Estructural.

EFFECTS OF ICT FASHIONS ON NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY POLICY

by Zvia Elgali

Co authored with Yoram M. Kalman
Accepted to MCIS2011
http://www.mcis2011.org/

This report on research-in-progress explores the explanatory power of management fashion theory (Abrahamson,... more This report on research-in-progress explores the explanatory power of management fashion theory (Abrahamson, 1991;Baskerville & Myers, 2009) in relation to decisions taken by national educational policy committees in Israel. An analysis of thirty years of primary documents produced by these committees, as well as of interviews with key decision makers who comprised these committees, identified systematic inconsistencies and internal contradictions throughout the work of these committees. In this research-in-progress we explore whether these apparent inconsistencies can be explained by management fashion theory. Promising initial findings suggest that fashion theory might be a powerful analytic tool not only in regards to for-profit organizations (Wang, 2010)but also for bodies assigned with developing national ICT (information and communication technologies) policy. In turn, this research enriches management fashion theory in general, and the literature on fashion waves in IS research and practice (Baskerville & Myers, 2009)by leveraging the transparency afforded by national policy reports. Unlike decisions taken by corporations which can usually be analyzed only indirectly, this transparency allows a direct inspection of the justifications for the policy decisions, and of the implicit and explicit assumptions that the justifications are grounded in.
In this paper we describe the challenge of ICT policy in the educational field in general, and in Israel in particular. We then review the history of educational ICT national policy committees in Israel, and describe the key findings of two analyses of this history. We focus on a few of these findings which are especially baffling, and suggest that management fashion theory might explain them. We discuss the implications for policy of our initial findings, and present a future plan of research

E-Government: the case of the Gambia

by Dr K M Baharul Islam

Co-Authror: Atsuko Okuda

The activities mentioned in this brief have been supported
by the European Union, the Government of
Finland, Industry Canada, the Government of Italy
and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
(GTZ). For more on ECA’s work on ICTs, please visit
http://www.uneca.org/aisi

Many countries worldwide have been reforming their
governments and public service delivery. They use... more Many countries worldwide have been reforming their
governments and public service delivery. They use information
and communications technologies (ICT) as a key
way to boost public sector accountability, transparency,
efficiency and effectiveness. It streamlines activities, reduces
costs and paperwork for government, citizens
and users of government services and it makes a much
wider range of information available and up-to-date.

A baseline study undertaken in The Gambia to prepare
for an e-government policy (see below) revealed
further challenges which many African States face. If
computer networks are available, they are often are
not connected between government institutions and
so they are not used for sharing data and information.
Although Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide Internet
services, they are hardly used by government
to provide public services, mainly because of lack of
awareness and expertise.

Difficulties in providing e-government services are increased
because there is usually only limited telecommunications
coverage outside the capital. This also
makes it harder for African leaders to use ICT as part of
poverty reduction or to avoid increasing what is known
as the “digital divide”, the gap between better off people
with access to ICT, normally in the capital and other
large towns, and the rest of the population.

National ICT Policies and Plans Towards Poverty Reduction: Emerging Trends and Issues In Africa

by Dr K M Baharul Islam

The term ‘NICI Process’ is used broadly to describe the whole exercise of national consultations in various phases and subsequent deliberations at various stages and platforms leading to the drafting, validation and adoption of a country’s NICI Policy, Plans and Strategy. In the case The Gambia the process started in May 2004 and after a series of consultations with stakeholders and workshops the draft NICI Policy is now due for validation and adoption in Feb, 2005

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in... more The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in May 1996, which serves as a guiding framework for building the information and communication infrastructure in Africa. Since the launch of AISI, ECA has been supporting member States to embark on the development of NICI (National Information and Communication Infrastructure) policies, plans and strategies which are instrumental to materialize the visions enshrined in the AISI at national level and to create conducive environment for ICT development. Thus far over 30 countries in the continent have embarked, in one form or the other, on the development of national ICT strategies and more countries have expressed interests to initiate national ICT policies. Accordingly, ECA came forward to assist the Department of State for Communication, Information and Technology (DOSCIT), Government of The Gambia to elaborate a national ICT policy, plan and strategy and put in place a guiding framework for the diffusion and utilization of ICT applications to accelerate the attainment of national development goals.
However, one specific element of the NICI process1 is to realign the country’s development goals, more precisely the PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper) objectives with the emerging ICT Policy. It is not an easy task as traditionally the decision makers see ICT as a completely separate domain and often fail to see the role of ICT as a tool to attain the PRSP goals. Therefore, The Gambia NICI process was deliberately geared towards centering the ICT policies and plans on the country’s declared PRSP elements. The NICI Policy that was developed consciously mapped the route to underlay the ICT tools that will help the country to reach its PRSP destination swiftly, efficiently and more responsibly to the people.
This paper presents the basic aspects of a PRSP as illustrated by The Gambia’s Second Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (SPA-II) and its synthesis with the country’s NICI Policy. The process and its evolved mechanism might serve as a model for ICT policy developers, planners and all stakeholders in general working in the area of ICT for development (ICT4D). The paper also draws upon the issues discussed under the pre-conference workshop on “ICT and Poverty Reduction” during the Accra Regional Preparatory Conference for World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held on 29th January 2005.

Chapter 5. National Policies and Practices on ICT in Education: Bulgaria

by Pencho Mihnev

Mihnev, P. (2003). "Chapter 5. National Policies and Practices on ICT in Education: Bulgaria", pp.63-78 in the following book:
Plomp, T. Anderson, R., Law, N., & Quale, A. (Eds.). (2003). Cross-national information and communication technology policies and practices in education. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.

The country chapter for Bulgaria in the book "Cross-national information and communication technology policies... more The country chapter for Bulgaria in the book "Cross-national information and communication technology policies and practices in education".
Discusses the Bulgarian National Educational Policies and Practices on ICT in Education within the period 1998-2002.

Public Policies for E-Participation in France (2008)

by Stephanie Wojcik

With Thierry Vedel

A experiência coletiva da escola na implementação das TIC

by Alfonso Bustos S.

Bustos, A. & Engel, A. (2010). A experiência coletiva da escola na implementação das TIC. Pátio Ensino Fundamental, 56, 54-57.

Las políticas educativas sobre la incorporación, extensión y generalización de la presencia de las Tecnologías de la... more Las políticas educativas sobre la incorporación, extensión y generalización de la presencia de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC) en las escuelas y centros educativos suelen basarse en la idea de que dicha incorporación es una vía apropiada para mejorar e innovar los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje y, al mismo tiempo, responder al compromiso con la equidad de la educación. En concreto, en América Latina son notables los esfuerzos de inversión económica producto de diversas iniciativas para llevar los ordenadores a las aulas y promover la formación del profesorado en el uso de estas tecnologías (p.e., los programas ProInfo de Brasil, Enlaces de Chile, MEP-FOD de Costa Rica o CEIBAL de Uruguay) o potenciar la elaboración y difusión de software educativo a través de portales (p.e., Red Latinoamericana de Portales Educativos). A pesar de que, en general, la presencia de las TIC en los centros educativos ha crecido de forma significativa en los últimos años, los estudios de seguimiento y evaluación muestran que, como ha sucedido en otras regiones, el uso habitual que profesores y alumnos hacen de estas tecnologías es más bien restringido y tiene una repercusión menor de lo previsto sobre la calidad de la educación y los resultados de aprendizaje (Sunkel, 2006).

Dado este escenario, nos proponemos reflexionar sobre la potencialidad de las TIC como instrumentos para la innovación y la mejora de la enseñanza en la educación escolar. Para ello, en el primer apartado, desarrollaremos la idea de que la potencialidad de las TIC para la innovación escolar no depende tanto de las tecnologías empleadas, de su cantidad o de su complejidad, cuanto del tipo de uso que de ellas hagan profesores y alumnos en las actividades de enseñanza y aprendizaje. En el segundo, argumentaremos que los usos concretos que profesores y alumnos hacen finalmente de las tecnologías en los centros educativos y en las aulas están en gran medida condicionados por el modelo educativo, social y organizativo concreto del centro educativo en el que tienen lugar. Finalmente, en el tercer y último apartado, comentaremos algunas estrategias relevantes para poder llevar a cabo una incorporación de las TIC como la que proponemos en el conjunto de nuestra exposición.

Review of Global Infomation Society Watch (GIS) Report 2010

by Catherine Candano

Independent review of ICT & Environment resource published at UNCCC 2010 in Cancun

The Global Information Society Watch (ICTs and Environmental Sustainability) Report was launched at the Climate Summit... more The Global Information Society Watch (ICTs and Environmental Sustainability) Report was launched at the Climate Summit in Cancun in December 2010.

ITU: Moving Towards a Global Policy Framework on ICTs and Climate Change

by Catherine Candano

Awarded Emerald Publishing Best Paper Prize 2009

Candano, C. (2010) ITU: Moving Towards a Global Policy Framework on ICTs and Climate Change. In Leal Filho, W. (ed).... more Candano, C. (2010) ITU: Moving Towards a Global Policy Framework on ICTs and Climate Change. In Leal Filho, W. (ed). "The Economic, Political and Social Elements of Climate Change." Springer Verlag, Berlin; p. 439-454

Online <pdf> http://www.springer.com/economics/environmental/book/978-3-642-14775-3

Online <pdf> http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-3-642-14775-3#section=817946&page=9&locus=62

Using an online tool to support school-based ICT policy planning in primary education

by Jo Tondeur

R. Vanderlinde, J. van Braak & Jo Tondeur; In Journal of Computer Assisted learning

An important step towards the successful integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools is... more An important step towards the successful integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools is to facilitate their capacity to develop a school-based ICT policy
resulting in an ICT policy plan. Such a plan can be defined as a school document containing strategic and operational elements concerning the integration of ICT in education. To write such a plan in an efficient way is challenging for schools. Therefore, an online tool [Planning for ICT in Schools (pICTos)] has been developed to guide schools in this process. A multiple case study research project was conducted with three Flemish primary schools to explore the
process of developing a school-based ICT policy plan and the supportive role of pICTos within this process. Data from multiple sources (i.e. interviews with school leaders and ICT coordinators, school policy documents analysis and a teacher questionnaire) were collected and analysed. The results indicate that schools shape their ICT policy based on specific school data collected and presented by the pICTos environment. School teams learned about the actual and
future place of ICT in teaching and learning. Consequently, different policy decisions were made according to each school’s vision on ‘good’ education and ICT integration.