ICT in Africa and Other Developing Regions
Global IT
Chairs:
Godwin Udo
University of Texas at El Paso
Peeter Kirs
University of Texas at El Paso
Kallol Bagchi
University of Texas at El Paso
University Affiliation: Dept. of IDS. The University of Texas at El Paso, TX 79968.
Phone: 915-747-5496
Description:
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are a necessity for developing nations because it is the primary means of communications with the outside world. It is at the center of any business process that links suppliers, customers, government regulators, and competitors. Governments or companies that do not avail themselves of the Web and Internet will find it extremely difficult to compete with the rest of the world. However, several prevailing conditions (cultural, institutional and economic) can hinder or accelerate ICT adoption in a given nation.
Many researchers have emphasized that African nations need to place a high priority on ICT diffusion as a means to promote economic development. Nonetheless, African nations continue to lag behind even other developing nations in ICT adoptions, despite the benefits being experienced by them. It is clear that there are many possible national-level factors affecting ICT adoptions and diffusion: infrastructure, myths associated with computer installations, lack of national policy on ICT development, technology supply problems, scarcity of human resources, education problems, and economic factors. Researchers have suggested the need for an institutional framework to explain the lack of ICT diffusion in Africa as well as other developing nations. Such a framework could help to explain, for example, why India has become a leading vendor in IT offshoring and erstwhile Soviet bloc nations have made significant ICT advancements, while other nations have fallen further behind.
The mini-track will focus on:
- Factors affecting ICT adoption and diffusion
- The impact of ICT on various aspects of a developing society
- Government policy and institutional frameworks for developing countries
- E-government issues
- ICT issues in developing nations versus developed nations
- E-health issues in developing nations
- Research frameworks on ICT adoption and diffusion in African
- E-commerce trends and potentials in Africa and other developing regions.
AMCIS 2007 Colorado http://www.biz.colostate.edu/amcis07/ Key Dates:
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Paper Abstracts Due (optional) |
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Monday, February 5, 2007 |
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Papers Due: |
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Monday, March 5, 2007 |
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Notification of Acceptance: |
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Monday, April 16, 2007 |
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Camera Ready Copy Due: |
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Monday, April 30, 2007 |