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The Information Age/The Digital Divide

What is the digital divide and why is it important?
The digital divide separates the information rich and the information poor. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development defines the digital divide as the difference between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas with regard to (a) their opportunities to access ICTs and (b) their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities. It is the gap between those who have real access to information and communications technology and who are able to use it effectively, and those who don’t have such access.

Lack of access to ICT goods and services poses social and economic disadvantages. More and more, developing countries are recognizing that they cannot compete in the new global market unless they take advantage of the ICT revolution. Countries that do not undertake measures to enhance their ICT infrastructure risk not just being marginalized but also being completely bypassed in the new global order. The experience of a number of countries, like Singapore, Malaysia and Korea, demonstrate that bold actions in bringing their countries into the digital age pay off.

 * Box 11. Internet Access Under African Skies by Noah Elkin

 * Source: Noah Elkin, “Internet Access Under African Skies,” eMarketer Daily Issue 162 (2002)available from http://www.emarketer.com/news/article.php?1001522&ref=ed; accessed 21 August 2002.

How do we measure the digital divide?
The digital divide is usually measured in terms of citizen/population access to ICT. Among the indicators for measuring access are (1) telephone density (teledensity); (2) personal computer (PC) deployment and penetration; and (3) number of Internet users.

Teledensity is the ratio of population to telephones (traditionally defined as fixed or wired telephone lines). This indicator of the divide must be redefined to include cellular/mobile phone use since in a number of developing countries there are more mobile phones than wired phones. Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive (TNS) estimates that 57% of the adult population (defined as those between ages 15 and 65) in the Asia-Pacific region have a mobile phone.

Personal computer penetration and deployment has also been used to measure access, since the PC is the most common way of accessing the Internet. However, recently more and more ways of accessing the Internet have been devised. In Japan, people can access the Internet through their mobile phones. Those from developing countries share PCs, usually in an Internet café or in school.

The number of Internet users is also a way of looking at the digital divide. Statistics show that only about 10% of the world’s population is online. Furthermore, most of these Internet users are in the developed Western countries: the US, Canada and Europe account for about 63% of the world’s Internet users. The Asia-Pacific’s share is about 30%. Africa and the Middle East combined account for less than 2% of the universe of Internet users.

Equally disturbing is the fact that the global Internet population is predominantly male.Again, there are marked regional differences in the gender digital divide. In the Asia Pacific, the ratio of Internet users is about 60% men and 40% women. In the US and Canada the gender distribution is more balanced.

 * Box 12. Asian Women Love E-mail

 * Source: “Asian women love e-mail” (26 February, 2002) in BBC News [home page on-line]; available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1840279.stm; accessed 28 August 2002.

Is lack of access the only problem?
It is already received wisdom among those who are working to bridge the digital divide that providing access to technology is only one of many obstacles that must be addressed. Internet access is not enough. The Children’s Partnership argues that content is one aspect of the digital divide that has been neglected. The four content-related barriers to greater Internet uptake across society are: (1) local information barriers; (2) literacy barriers; (3) language barriers; (4) cultural diversity barriers.

Local content is determined by the commercialized nature of the Web. Commercial content providers tend to focus on content that delivers returns to their investments. Thus, Internet users from developing countries, such as farmers, for example, rarely discover information that is relevant to them. Compounding the problem is that non-profit, community-based initiatives to create content face sustainability problems.

Literacy is another concern. Literacy includes not only basic and functional literacy but also technological literacy. Older people who may be literate may find using a computer and accessing the Internet an intimidating experience. A related concern is creating inexpensive content that is accessible to all, including illiterate people. Perhaps this aim will be achieved through voice recognition technologies.

The language barrier compounds the literacy issue. Over 68% of Internet content worldwide is in English. In e-commerce, English is even more dominant, with over 94% of links to pages on secure servers in English. However, although there are currently fewer sites for non-English speakers, the trend is expected to change soon.

How can we bridge the digital divide?
Studies have shown that technology diffusion is slow and costly and developing countries “cannot assume that relevant new technologies will flow easily to them across international borders”.

Governments play a vital role in bridging the digital divide. This is particularly true in developing national information infrastructures that will increase Internet access among the population. Specifically, governments should develop a policy and legal regulatory environment conducive to the creation of a robust national information infrastructure, including a regulatory environment that would increase competition and keep prices down. Government should also consider lowering or removing import duties and/or sales taxes on IT goods and services. This would contribute towards increasing PC penetration rates. Finally, governments’ own use of technology to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and transparency (e-government) could stimulate growth in the private ICT sector.

Governments should also encourage alternative access to the Internet. If in the developed world the PC through the telephone or cable networks is the main mode of accessing the Internet, developing countries should seriously consider the use of wireless technologies and devices to connect to the Internet.

 * Box 13. Mobile Internet for Developing Countries

 * Source: Michael Minges, “Mobile Internet for Developing Countries” in INET 2001 Proceedings; The Internet Society [home page on-line]; available from http://www.isoc.org/inet2001/CD_proceedings/G53/mobilepaper2.htm; accessed 28 August 2002.

Is government’s role limited to developing the physical infrastructure?
The problem with focusing too much on providing the infrastructure to enhance access is that the public may have Internet access but will not find anything useful or relevant on the Net anyway. Since governments are the biggest repository of information that is important to citizens, and since information is a public good, governments’ role as a content provider is also critical.

Some governments address the issue of content directly. For instance, the Information Stores (Boutiques d’information), which is operated by the government of Burkina Faso, provides agricultural production and marketing information to rural farmers. The Information Boutiques collect and provide information about judicial matters, facilitate courses and mediate between the local population and services. It was designed to meet the information needs of the rural population of Burkina, who do not have sufficient access to information supporting basic economic, social and political activities.

Is there a role for the private sector in bridging the digital divide?
The private sector, through investments and economic activities, plays an important role in bridging the digital divide. The numerous Internet cafes in the developing world are a testament to fact that the drive for profit does not preclude doing social good (in this case making the Internet more accessible). Moreover, the development of new IT businesses contributes to employment and economic growth in general.

A number of global IT companies are also keen on helping to provide people with the necessary skills to succeed in the information age. Oracle’s Oracle Academic Initiative, Sun Microsystems’ Java Competency Center, Cisco Systems’ Cisco Networking Academy, and other similar efforts not only help make their graduates more employable but also upgrade skills in the community. That they also ensure a steady supply of workers for these corporations certainly makes it a win-win-win situation for individuals, communities and corporations.

Corporate social responsibility efforts are also useful in ensuring broader access to ICT goods and services. Microsoft’s international community affairs program aims to bring the benefits of ICT to disadvantaged people in countries where it does business. In China, Microsoft is sponsoring Project Hope, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that aims to create five computer labs or cyberschools. The project will involve teaching computer skills to disadvantaged youth, who will have Internet access and the highest quality teachers and curricula in China. The same is being done in Indonesia, where Microsoft is working with Pact Indonesia to create six computer centers and offer IT skills development for disadvantaged youth.

In the Philippines, Coca-Cola Export Corporation has entered into a joint project with the Foundation for IT Education and Development, a non-profit organization, to operate the ed.venture project, which provides computers and Internet connectivity, training and post-training support services to high schools in the Philippines. By using schools as an entry point to the community, ed.venture and similar projects are laying the foundation for greater community participation in the digital universe.

 * Box 14. Tuning In to The Village Voice

 * Source: A. Lin Neumann, “Tuning In to The Village Voice” in Far Eastern Economic Review (August 29, 2002).

What is the role of nongovernment organizations?
Non-government organizations (NGOs) play a number of roles in bridging the digital divide. NGOs help define the issue and mobilize resources to bridge the digital divide. The work of the Benton Foundation is an example. This non-profit organization produces and coordinates the Digital Divide Network (DDN), which serves as “a catalyst for developing new, innovative, digital divide strategies and for making current initiatives more strategic, more partner-based, and more outcome-oriented, with less duplication of effort, and more learning from each other’s activities.”

NGOs are also engaged in policy work, helping develop proposals for global action on the digital divide. This is seen in the role of the non-profit organizations in the Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force), a body created by the G8 Summit in July 2000. The DOT Force report, presented at the 2001 Genoa Summit, proposed a nine-point action plan to resolve the digital divide.

NGOs also act as technology providers (in some instances acting as Internet service providers and/or application services providers). An interesting effort along this line is that of Jhai Foundation’s Remote IT Village Project in Laos. Faced with no electricity or telephone wires and harsh conditions, Jhai Foundation is developing the following:

 * A rugged computer and printer that draws less than 20 watts in normal use (less than 70 watts when the printer is operating) and that can survive dirt, heat and immersion in water;
 * A wireless local area network with relay stations based on the 802.11b protocol, that will transmit signals between the villages and a server located at the Phon Hong Hospital for switching to the Internet or the Lao telephone system; and
 * A Lao-language version of the free, Linux-based KDE graphical desktop and Lao-language office tools.

It is expected that Lao villagers in the five pilot areas will use these facilities to make telephone calls within Lao PDR and internationally (using voice-over-Internet technologies), and for the activities that are so important for their start-up enterprises, such as accounting, letter writing and email.

NGOS also play a significant role in bridging the digital divide particularly as content providers and trainers. The Community Learning Centers in Ghana are a case in point.

 * Box 15. High Tech/Grassroots Education: Community Learning Centers (CLCs) for Skill Building (excerpts) by Mary Fontaine

 * Source: Mary Fontaine, “High Tech/Grassroots Education: Community Learning Centers (CLCs) for Skill Building” in TechKnowLogia (July/August 2000), Knowledge Enterpise Inc.; available from http://ict.aed.org/infocenter/pdfs/hightech.pdf; accessed 28 August 2002.

What about international organizations?
The digital divide has reached the top of the agenda of numerous international and regional organizations.

The United Nations’ ICT Task Force, for one, aims to find new, creative and quick-acting means for spreading the benefits of the digital revolution and averting the prospect of a two-tiered world information society. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has projects to boost Internet connectivity and access in some of the poorest countries in the world. These include the United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS), a volunteer corps to train groups in developing countries in the uses and opportunities of the Internet and IT, and the Sustainable Development Networking Program (SDNP), an initiative to kick-start networking in developing countries and help people share information and expertise relevant to sustainable development. The UNDP Asia Pacific Development Information Program (APDIP) aims to promote and establish information technology for social and economic development throughout the region.

The World Bank’s Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (GICT) seeks to accelerate the participation of client countries in the global information economy; to promote private sector investment in developing countries, which will reduce poverty and improve people’s lives; and to promote innovative projects on the use of ICTs for economic and social development, with special emphasis on the needs of the poor in developing countries. The World Bank’s Information for Development Program (infoDev) is a global grant program that promotes innovative projects in the use of ICTs for economic and social development in developing countries. The Development Gateway is a development portal that provides access to information and knowledge on development activities. Through this initiative, the World Bank hopes to make it easier to share experience and knowledge in development, and offers up-to-date information on projects, resources, best practices and expertise on such subjects as poverty, governance, gender, IT, development and environment.

At the regional level, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum has adopted an e-APEC strategy, which has three pillars: to create an environment for strengthening market structures and institutions; to provide an environment for infrastructure investment and technology development; and to enhance human capacity building and promote entrepreneurship. The e-ASEAN initiative is an effort of the 10 Southeast East Asian states to develop a broad and comprehensive action plan to develop competencies within ASEAN to enable it to flourish in the global information economy.

title: The Information Age/The Digital Divide


text:
The Information Age/The Challenge Ahead

Developing countries recognize the need to harness ICTs for development. However, the ICT uptake has been largely unequal. The digital divide is a problem that both government and the private sector must work together to address. Without doubt, the ICT revolution is changing the course of history, and developing countries must equip themselves with better information and policies that would enable them to join the digital revolution. The aim of this primer and the series on the Information Economy, Society and Polity is to provide policy makers and opinion leaders in developing countries of the Asia-Pacific with a clear understanding of the various terminologies, definitions, trends and issues surrounding the information age. The other primers in the series are:

 * Nets, Webs and Information Infrastructure
 * E-commerce and E-business
 * Legal and Regulatory Issues in the Information Economy.
 * E-Government
 * ICT and Education
 * Genes, Technology and Policy: An Introduction to Biotechnology

It is our hope that these primers will spur the continuing efforts of developing countries to prepare for the information age.

Much has been written about the information revolution. Many initiatives have been undertaken and some are to be applauded for their success while others need further support and guidance. The signs of the times—digitization, convergence, globalization, as well as their various impacts on politics, economics, social structures and culture—all foreshadow a future in which information is the key component. We must heed these signs if the future, the new era of information and progress, is to be ours.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: The Information Age/The Challenge Ahead


text:
The Information Age/Further Reading

Arquilla, John and David Ronfeldt. 1999. The emergence of noopolitik: toward an American information strategy.Santa Monica, CA: RAND National Defense Research Institute. Brown, John Seely & Paul Duguid. 2000. The Social Life of Information. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Bridges.org. ''What is the digital divide? ''2000-2001. Available from http://www.bridges.org/digitaldivide/index.html. Accessed 8 August 2002. Cairncross, Frances. 1997. The death of distance: how the communications revolution will change our lives. London: Orion. Castells, Manuel. 2001. The Internet galaxy. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. _____________. 1996. ''The rise of the network society. In The information age: economy, society & culture''. Vol. 1. Oxford: Blackwell. Covell, Andy. 2000. Digital convergence: how the merging of computers, communica'-'tions, and multimedia is transforming our lives. Rhode Island: Aegis. Coyle, Diane. 1999. The Weightless World: Strategies for Managing the Digital Economy. Cambrdige,MA: MIT Press
Dertouzos, Michael. 1997. What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will Change our Lives. New York: HarperEdge.

Dunnigan, James F. 2002. The next war zone: confronting the global threat of cyberterrorism. New York: Citadel Press.

Ericksen, Gregory K. 2000. Net entrepreneurs only: 10 entrepreneurs tell the stories of their success. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Forrester, Tom & Perry Morrison. 1990. Computer ethics: cautionary tales and ethical dilemmas in computing. Oxford: Blackwell.

Graham, Mark. 2008. Warped Geographies of Development: The Internet and Theories of Economic Development. Geography Compass, 2(3), 771-789.

Head, Simon. 2005. ''The New Ruthless Economy. Work and Power in the Digital Age''. Oxford: Oxford UP.

Lessig, Lawrence. 2001. The future of ideas: the fate of the commons in a connected world. New York: Random House.

Levy, Steven. 2001. Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government—Saving Privacy in the Digital Age. New York: Viking Press.

Moody, Glyn. 2001. The Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution. Lon-don: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press.

Prakash, Aseem & Jeffrey A. Hart, eds. 1999. Globalization and governance. Lon-don: Routledge.

Ohmae, Kenichi. 2000. The invisible continent: four strategic imperatives of the new economy. New York: Harper Business.

Reich, Robert. 2001. ''The future of success. ''New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Rifkin, Jeremy. 1995. The end of work: the decline of the global labor force and the dawn of the post-market era. New York: JP Putnam.

Shapiro, Carl & Hal Varian. 1999. Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Networked Economy. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Spar, Deborah. 2001. Ruling the waves: from the compass to the Internet, a history of business and politics along the technological frontier. NY: Harcourt.

Tapscott, Don, David Ticoll & Alex Lowy. 2000. Digital capital: harnessing the power of business webs. London: Nicolas Brealey Publishing.

Wilhelm, Anthony. 2000. Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace. New York: Routledge.

title: The Information Age/Further Reading


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The Information Age/Notes

 * 1 Andy Covell, Digital Convergence: How the Merging of Computers, Communications, and Multimedia is Transforming Our Lives (Rhode Island: Aegis, 2000), 58.

 * 2 Robert W. Lucky, “In a Very Short Time: What is Coming Next in Telecommunications,” in Technology 2001: The Future of Computing and Communications, ed. Derek Leebaert (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995), 339.

 * 3 Ibid., 342.

 * 4 Frances Cairncross, The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution Will Change Our Lives (London: Orion, 1997), xiii.

 * 5 Covell, Digital Convergence, 66.

 * 6 Ibid., 67.

 * 7 Ibid., 68.

 * 8 Ibid., 69.

 * 9 John Gage, “Decentering Society;” available from http://www.civmag.com/articles/C9910E03.html 10/31/2000; accessed 8 August 2002.

 * 10 Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas:The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World (New York: Random House, 2001), 23.

 * 11 Christopher Coward, correspondence with author.

 * 12 Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington; cited in email of Chris Coward to the author.

 * 13 Richard Lipsey, Technological Shocks: Past, Present and Future; available from http://www.sfu.ca/~rlipsey/T&G.PDF; accessed 28 August 2002.

 * 14 Tom Forrester and Perry Morrison, Computer Ethics: Cautionary Tales and Ethical Dilemmas in Computing (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), 1.

 * 15 Lipsey, Technological Shocks, 11.

 * 16 John V. Pavlik, citing James Beniger, New Media Technology: Cultural and Commercial Perspectives, 2nd ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998), 134.

 * 17 Anthony Giddens, “Runaway World: The Reith Lectures Revisited Lecture 1: 10 November 1999;” available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/reith_99/.

 * 18 Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age: Economy, Society & Culture, vol. 1 (Oxford:Blackwell, 1996), 31.

 * 19 Debora L. Spar, Ruling the Waves: From the Compass to the Internet, a History of Business and Politics along the Technological Frontier (New York: Harcourt: 2001), 11.

 * 20 Ibid, 374.

 * 21 Castells, The Rise of the Network Society, 66.

 * 22 Ibid., 92.

 * 23 Ibid., 97-98.

 * 24 William D. Nordhaus, “Productivity Growth and the New Economy,” Working Paper 8096 National Bureau of Economic Research; available from http://www.nber.org/papers/8096; accessed 28 August 2002, 6-7.

 * 25 Castells, The Rise of the Network Society, 79.

 * 26 Robert Reich, The Future of Success (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), 106.

 * 27 Ibid., 48.

 * 28 Peter Drucker, “Beyond the Information Revolution” in The Atlantic Online [home page online]; available from http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99oct/9910drucker.htm; accessed 28 August 2002.

 * 29 Manuel Castells, The Internet Galaxy (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 1-2.

 * 30 Cited in Tapscott, Ticoll and Lowy, Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs (London: Nicolas Brealey Publishing, 2000), 8.

 * 31 Ibid., 7-9.

 * 32 Doyle, J.J. and G.J. Persley, eds., Enabling the Safe Use of Biotechnology: Principles and Practices (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 1996).

 * 33 W. Brian Arthur, “Is The Information Revolution Dead?” Business 2.0 (March 2002); available from http://www.ebusinessforum.gr/content/downloads/IstheInformationRevolutionDead.pdf.

 * 34 Jeremy Rifkin, The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era, (New York: JP Putnam, 1995), 223.

 * 35 Drucker, “Beyond the Information Revolution” in The Atlantic Online.

 * 36 Carol Ann Meares et al., The Digital Workforce: Building Infotech Skills at the Speed of Innovation (US Department of Commerce, June 1999), 21.

 * 37 Reich, The Future of Success, 176.

 * 38 Ibid., 176-7.

 * 39 Gregory K. Ericksen, Net Entrepreneurs Only: 10 Entrepreneurs Tell The Stories of Their Success (New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2000), ix.

 * 40 The European Commission, “LifeLong Learning,” European Communities, 1995-2002; available from http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/life/what_islll_en.html; accessed 31 August 2002

 * 41 Distance Education Centre at Technical University of Gdansk, “The Internet: Its Psycho-logical Effects”; available from http://www.dec.pg.gda.pl/archive/1996-1998/englab/Internet.html; accessed 31 August 2002).

 * 42 Robert Putnam, “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital” in Journal of Democracy 6:1, Jan 1995, 65-78; available from http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/journal_of_democracy/v006/6.1putnam.html; accessed 31 August 2002.

 * 43 Castells, The Internet Galaxy, 130-131.

 * 44 Reich, The Future of Success, 158.

 * 45 Ibid., 174.

 * 46 Ibid., 175.

 * 47 Castells, Internet Galaxy, 124.

 * 48 Ibid., 132.

 * 49 Robert Kraut & Vicki Lundmark, “Internet Paradox: A Social Technology That Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-Being?” in American Psychological Association 53: 9, 1017–1031 (1998); available from http://homenet.hcii.cs.cmu.edu/progress/research.html.

 * 50 Joseph E. Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents (New York: Norton & Company, 2002), 9.

 * 51 Aseem Prakash and Jeffrey A. Hart, “Globalization and Governance: An Introduction”, in Aseem Prakash and Jeffrey A. Hart (eds.), Globalization and Governance (London: Routledge, 1999), 5.

 * 52 Giddens, “Runaway World,” 6.

 * 53 Kenichi Ohmae, The Invisible Continent: Four Strategic Imperatives of the New Economy(New York: HarperBusiness, 2000).

 * 54 Prakash and Hart, Globalization and Governance, 2.

 * 55 Institute on Governance, “Technology and Governance”; available from http://www.iog.ca/knowledge_areas.asp?pageID=6&area=4; accessed 31 August 2002.

 * 56 Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Jr., “Power and Interdependence in the Information Age” Foreign Affairs Sept/Oct 1998; available from http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19980901faessay1419/robert-o-keohane-joseph-s-nye-jr/power-and-interdependence-in-the-information-age.html.

 * 57 Ibid.

 * 58 Castells, The Internet Galaxy, 160.

 * 59 John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, The Emergence of Noopolitik: Toward an American Information Strategy (Santa Monica, CA: RAND National Defense Research Institute, 1999).

 * 60 James F. Dunnigan, The Next War Zone: Confronting the Global Threat of Cyberterrorism (New York: Citadel Press, 2002), 2.

 * 61 Mark M. Pollitt, "Cyberterrorism - Fact or Fancy?”; available from http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~denning/infosec/pollitt.html; accessed 8 August 2002.

 * 62 http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguides/57.htm.

 * 63 http://wwww.apecsec.org.sg/download/pubs/LeadersStmtFightTerroNGrowth.pdf.

 * 64 Scott Berinato, “The Truth About Cyberterrorism” in CIO Magazine (15 March 2002); available from http://www.cio.com/archive/031502/truth.html; accessed 8 August 2002.

 * 65 bridges.org, “What is the Digital Divide?” (2000-2001); available from http://www.bridges.org/digitaldivide/index.html; accessed 8 August 2002.

 * 66 Taylor Nelson Sofres, “Adults Who Have Internet Access in Selected Countries in the Asia-Pacific Region, December 2000-February 2001 (as a % of Respondents)” in eMarketer (4 May 2001); available from http://www.emarketer.com/estatnews/estats/easia/20010508_tns_asia.html?ref=asw; accessed 24 June 2002.

 * 67 Lipsey, Technological Shocks, 19.

 * 68 The Digital Divide Network [home page on-line]; available from http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org.

 * 69 Digital Opportunity Task Force, Report Card: Digital Opportunities For All (June 2002); available from http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/summit/2002kananaskis/dotforce_reportcard.pdf.

 * 70 “Remote IT Village Project in Laos” in Jhai Foundation [home page on-line]; available from http://www.jhai.org/jhai_remoteIT.html; accessed 31 August 2002.

 * 71 “Information and communication technologies are creating a new global information society—from which four billion of the world’s people currently are excluded” in UN ICT Task Force [home page on-line]; available from http://www.unicttaskforce.org.

 * 72 Development Gateway Foundation [home page on-line]; available from http://www.developmentgateway.org; accessed 31 August 2002.

title: The Information Age/Notes


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The Information Age/Contributors

History
This book was originally written Emmanuel C. Lallana, PhD. This book was donated to the wikibooks project in August 2006 by the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme of the United Nations Development Programme. For further information about the APDIP, see their website at:

 * http://www.apdip.net

The original text of this book, in PDF format can be found at:

 * http://www.apdip.net/publications/iespprimers/eprimer-infoage.pdf

Contributors

 * Emmanuel C. Lallana, PhD, conducts research and training on ICT for development issues. He is lead author of Business@Philippines.com: Electronic Commerce Policy Issues in the Philippines (1999), e-primer: An Introduction to Electronic Commerce (2000) and e-Government in the Philippines: Benchmarking Against Global Best Practices (2002). Dr. Lallana has also organized and taught at a number of training programs on e-Commerce and e-Government in various Southeast Asian countries. He was Executive Director of the e-ASEAN Task Force from 2000 to 2002.

 * Andrew Whitworth handled the initial conversion and uploading of the text to wikibooks.

Additional contributors are welcome to sign their names here as well.

License
This book has been released under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Any person may edit, distribute, or use this book under the terms of that license.

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The Information Age/Acknowledgements

Original Acknowledgement
Shahid Akhtar played a crucial role in making this series a reality. He mooted the idea during our first meeting and provided funding for it. He not only gave important inputs during the writing and publishing phases, but was also very understanding when deadlines were not met.

Mr. Roberto R. Romulo, generous mentor, provided the “enabling environment” that made writing and publishing this series on the Information Economy, Society and Polity a lot easier.

Janet Pearce, Fellow at the Center for Telecoms Management, University of Southern California, and Chris Coward, Director of the Center for Internet Studies, University of Washington, read and critiqued this primer on the information age.

Rudy, Patricia, Joey, Zorah, Edwin and Vicky/Bibi were game enough to undertake the project with me. Margaret Uy readily agreed to be drafted when I needed help.

Patricia Pascual made leading this project less demanding. Katch Nakpil and Shelah Lardizabal provided the critical administrative support during the lifetime of the project. So did Yenny, Nannie, Mel, Evelyn, Kitty, Claire, Myra, Rhiza, Macki, Ruel and Len.

Pat Arinto skillfully copyedited the primers. Jenny Pascual gave the series its look. Reynaldo Lane made sure that we have an online version of the series. Ruth Pison and Veni Ilowa helped fine tune the layout.

The UNDP-APDIP team not only facilitated the project but also provided critical inputs that made the primers better.

Jose Estrella provided the inspiration and the motivation to see this (and other projects) through.

I dedicate this work to my parents.

title: The Information Age/Acknowledgements


text:
User:Rfornal

My personal site
http://bob.fornal.org

Current Projects

 * Developing Genealogy Web-Pages

title: User:Rfornal


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Template:The Information Age/Cite

[ The Information Age/Notes ]

title: Template:The Information Age/Cite


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Talk:The Information Age

Book Resources
The following resources are in use for this book:

 * :
 * /Cite
 * Template:The Information Age

Wikisource?
If the book existed outside since 2003 and arrived via donation, would it be a better fit as part of Wikisource instead? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Poppafuze (discuss • contribs) 13:06, 24 October 2006

title: Talk:The Information Age


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Category:ICT4D Books

These books detail the concepts, issues and trends surrounding different aspects of information and communications technology for development (ICT4D), including, e-government, e-commerce, ICT for education, ICT for poverty alleviation, Internet governance, biotechnology, etc.

ICTs are information-handling tools – a varied set of goods, applications and services that are used to produce, store, process, distribute and exchange information. They include ‘old’ tools such as radio, television and telephone, as well as ‘new’ tools such as computers, satellite, wireless technology and the Internet. ICTs can connect vast networks of individuals and organizations across great geographic distances at low cost. As such, ICTs foster development and facilitate the flows of information, capital, ideas, people and products.

These books are donated by UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP), and are located on the Information technology bookshelf.

UNDP-APDIP aims to promote the development and application of ICT for sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region. These books are originally part of the e-Primer for the Information Economy, Society and Polity Series.

title: Category:ICT4D Books


text:
Category:APDIP Books

The books in this category were donated to wikibooks by the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

These books have been released under the GFDL, and it is hoped that the wikibooks community will help to make them better. The books in this section are broken down into two sub-categories: FOSS books and ICT4D books.

FOSS books serve as an introduction to various aspects and dimensions of free/open source software (FOSS) issues, including, FOSS in education, FOSS and government policy, localization, open standards and licensing.

ICT4D books detail the concepts, issues and trends surrounding different aspects of information and communications technology for development (ICT4D), including, e-government, e-commerce, ICT for education, ICT for poverty alleviation, Internet governance, biotechnology, etc.

For more information about UNDP-APDIP, please visit http://www.apdip.net

title: Category:APDIP Books


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Category:FOSS Books

These books serve as an introduction to various aspects and dimensions of free/open source software (FOSS) issues, including, FOSS in education, FOSS and government policy, localization, open standards and licensing.

FOSS is software that can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed without restriction. It provides a framework for the usage and sharing of intellectual capital in a way that is applicable to many areas of development. The adoption of FOSS presents opportunities for industry and capacity development, software piracy reduction, and localization and customization for diverse cultural and development needs.

These books are donated by the International Open Source Network (IOSN) and the UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) and are located on Computer software bookshelf.

IOSN is an initiative of UNDP-APDIP and supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. IOSN aims to promote the adoption of FOSS, open standards and open content for sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a network with a small secretariat based at the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok and three centres of excellence – IOSN ASEAN+3, IOSN PIC (Pacific Island Countries), and IOSN South Asia, based in Manila, Suva and Chennai respectively.

These books are originally part of the e-Primer on Free/Open Source Software Series.

title: Category:FOSS Books


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GCSE Science/Acceleration

Acceleration is defined as change in the velocity of an object. Thus, any object which has been set in motion from rest, or stopped from moving, or which has changed direction of motion from a straight line, has undergone some acceleration.

The mathematical dimensions of acceleration are dV/dt, or in other words, change of velocity with respect to time. This is equivalent to (dx/dt)/dt or dx/dt² and so acceleration involves itself, only distance and time.

The acceleration of any isolated object is evidence that some external force has acted upon it (as expounded in the physical laws of Isaac Newton). This accelerating force can be described mathematically by the equation F = mA (force = mass x acceleration), which can be rearranged to A = F/m. Therefore, acceleration is directly proportional to the force acting on an object, and inversely proportional to the objects mass, which correlates with everyday experience; the greater the push, the faster an object is accelerated, and the heavier the object, the more difficult it is to accelerate.

The observation of accelerations is of fundamental importance in experimental physics. It is through these observations that otherwise invisible forces can be detected and quantified. For example, it was through the observation of the acceleration of an apple downward from a tree that Sir Isaac Newton was led to the hypothesis of universal gravitation. And, it is possible through such observations to quantify not only the force involved, but also the mass of an object (if the force is known) - this is how the mass of subatomic particles can be measured, for example.

As the relative velocity of an object approaches the speed of light, the mathematical description involved in acceleration becomes more complicated; more and more of the kinetic energy of an object becomes manifested as an increase in its mass, making acceleration progressively more difficult. This is of no consequence in observations made under 'ordinary' conditions, however.

MD

title: GCSE Science/Acceleration


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User:Malte~enwikibooks

Danish wikipedian, Malte.

title: User:Malte~enwikibooks


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English Grammar/Appendix A

Lesson 1. Nouns
1. Janet, name, girl

2. whistling, me (which is a pronoun), everybody

3. Cleanliness, godliness

4. World Wide Web, information

title: English Grammar/Appendix A


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Java Programming/Print version

=Overview=

title: Java Programming/Print version


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User talk:128.197.128.223

Welcome!
Welcome to Wikibooks, a collection of open-content textbooks! You don't have to log in to read or edit articles on Wikibooks, but creating an account is quick, free and non-intrusive, requires no personal information, and gives you many benefits, including:
 * The use of a username of your choice
 * The ability to view all your contributions via a "My contributions" link
 * Your own user page
 * Your own talk page which, if you choose, also allows users to send you messages without knowing your e-mail address
 * The use of your own personal watchlist to which you can add articles that interest you
 * The ability to rename pages.
 * The ability to upload images
 * The ability to customize the appearance and behavior of the website
 * The eligibility to become an administrator
 * The right to be heard in votes and elections
 * Your IP address will no longer be visible to other users.

We hope that you choose to become a Wikibookian and create an account. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have on my talk page. By the way, make sure to sign your posts and comments with four tildes (~~~~), which will let others know who left it.

--Balloonguy 20:37, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

title: User talk:128.197.128.223


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Wikibooks:Counter-Vandalism Unit

This is the new homepage for the Wikibooks Counter-Vandalism Unit. This is a sister organization to the Wikipedia:Counter-Vandalism Unit.

The CVU is a WikiProject that monitors for and helps to repair vandalism. All Wikibookians are encouraged to help combat vandalism, not just the members of this WikiProject.

Who can join?
Anybody, not just admins, can join the CVU. Nearly all users can work to repair vandalism, but admins can go the extra step of blocking the offenders.

To join the CVU, all you need to do is add your userpage to Category:Counter-Vandalism Unit Members. You can do this easily by putting one of the following templates on your userpage:

If other users would like to create additional templates, post them here!

Joining the CVU doesn't get you any special rights or privileges. As a member, you are not "more eligible" to be elected as an administrator, bureaucrat, or checkuser. You don't have any extra authority on Wikibooks or any other WMF project, and your opinion is not more important in discussions. However, you will be helping to protect a great project, and you will be building a strong community atmosphere—that's reward enough. After all, admins would have more work if it weren't for you, then they couldn't take care of "admin stuff".

What do I need to do?
You can choose your own involvement in the WB-CVU: you can join all the IRC channels, monitor all the pages, and fight all the vandals, or you can sit back and watch all the action. Some things that are helpful are:

 * Add Administrators' noticeboard to your watchlist.
 * Join the #cvn-sw chatroom to monitor for, and report vandalism
 * Join the #Wikibooks chatroom to monitor for reports of vandalism (and just to chat!)
 * Report all vandalism in the IRC chatrooms or the WB:AA page
 * Monitor the recent changes list, ether Special:Recentchanges on Wikibooks, or on the #wikibooks chatroom. Rapid account creation, pages moved to inappropriate destinations, and edits by anonymous users should all be examined for vandalism.
 * Cleanup and revert all vandalism that you see, if you are willing and able. Sometimes a vandal may be long gone, but his vandalism edits might have not gotten reverted.

In essence, there are a lot of things that you can do, but there is nothing in particular that you need to do. If you want to help out, any little bit is always appreciated.

How to Spot vandalism

 * Special:Recentchanges: The list of recent changes to the site. Suspicious edits (page moves to bad destinations, edits with obscene summaries, frequent edits by anonymous or newly created users) should be inspected.
 * #en.wikibooks: the real-time IRC counterpart to Special:Recentchanges.

Here are some common things to look for in the recent changes list:
 * Pages moved to inappropriate locations. For instance, a common attack involves a similar entry:
 * (Page Main Page moved to Main Page On Wheels!)
 * Pages moved in this style are often referred to as "WoW attacks".
 * The creation of pages, or the movement of pages with the following words in the title: "Briefs", "Penis", "Nazi", "Banger", etc.
 * Many quick edits/page moves from an anonymous account, or from a new user.
 * New user accounts that are made to look like other, respected users. Keep in mind that an upper-case i, and a lower-case L both look the same on some fonts:
 * User:Jimbo WaIes is not the same as User:Jimbo Wales, even if they look alike!

If you see an edit that looks suspicious, open up the history diff, and see what was changed, and revert if it is appropriate.

How to report vandalism
There are various places where you can report vandalism:
 * WB:AN: The "Administrators' noticeboard" page. All CVU users should add this page to their watchlists.
 * #wikibooks: The primary Wikibooks IRC chatroom. Come here to talk, and report vandalism.

Also, if you suspect that multiple vandal user accounts are coming from the same location, you can ask an admin with checkuser rights to examine them. With checkuser rights, an admin can see if multiple usernames are from the same IP address, and block that address from editing Wikibooks. For a current list of users with checkuser rights, see WB:ADMIN. To report such cases of sockpuppetry, leave a message on the talk page of a checkuser. Note that use of sockpuppets is not forbidden as long as they are not used to vandalize and gain advantage in votes and discussions.

Advanced tools

 * Check WikiProject on open proxies regularly. Block new open proxies and unblock IPs removed from open proxy list
 * Run your own anti-vandal bot like ClueBot
 * Ask for rollback

fi:Wikikirjasto:Antivandalismiyksikkö

title: Wikibooks:Counter-Vandalism Unit


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Category:Counter-Vandalism Unit Members

Users in this category are the members of the Counter-Vandalism Unit (CVU).

title: Category:Counter-Vandalism Unit Members