radel

Username: radel

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	Network Member	Rammi Abou Shadi
	Organisation/Institution	CITC - Mansoura University
	Department/Centre
	Lab
	Website	http://www.hcsnet.edu.au/user/register
	Research area	Communication Technology and SocietiesDeveloping
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COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETIES DEVELOPING Rami adel abou shady CITC- Mansoura University radel@mans.edu.eg Paragraphs - Introduction (A) - Knowledge Cover (B) -Internet and development (C) - Information Technology and Structural Change (D) - Education and internet (E) - World internet statistics 1- Statistics declare that 2-Why is ICT helping to Bridge the Divide? 3-Problemes of ICT take-up 4- ICT development strategies in developing country 5- Success example for developing countries Introduction: Information and communication technologies (ICT) have been growing rapidly in developed countries over the last five decades. ICT has been revolutionizing the way in which people in these countries live and conduct their work. ICT has changed the administration, governance, education, business competitiveness and global operations in them. The developed countries consider ICT as much vaunted technology for increased socio-economic development and depend on the “knowledge economy” for wealth creation. In contrast to the developed countries that have been steadily capitalizing on the rapid pace of ICT, a large number of developing countries, particularly low-income countries have failed in the adaptation of these technologies thus contributing to the “digital-divide” between the developed and developing countries. This is predominantly so in the rural villages in that modern technology has not reached to the institutions in rural villages. In other words, the majority of people living in rural areas have neither access nor the means to obtain modern ICT because of their low economic position. ICT can be implemented within the institutions in rural villages to improve administrative processes, increase transparency of activities making them accountable to the public, connect villagers to the administration and socio-economic development, increase their knowledge base through greater participation and deliver better services to improve their Socio-economic conditions. However, this can be achieved only through the development of social and physical infrastructure within the government institutes and villages. - The Digital Divide” has been an effective catchphrase for those promoting investment in information and communications technology (ICT) for poverty alleviation. Their position is that such investments will lead to appropriate use of the technology, which in turn will promote more rapid development, and in the right conditions will alleviate poverty. Carsten Fink and Charles Kenny recently challenged the concept of the digital divide. While clearly the rich have more telephones, computers, Internet connections, etc., in relative terms developing countries show faster rates of growth in network development than developed countries. This suggests that at present ICT growth rates, the developing world would eventually catch up to the developed world, in absolute levels. Moreover, when employing a per-income measure of access to a variety of ICTs, we find that developing countries already ‘digitally leapfrog’ the developed world. Fink and Kenny suggest that of course the poor buy less ICT, as they buy less of almost everything else, but that that in itself does not constitute a problem. Institutional development is probably more important than “bridging the Digital Divide.” Of course, ICT innovations and investments have an important role in institutional development, and may even be useful as leading elements in an institutional development strategy. People may be more enthusiastic about efforts to help them master new technologies than efforts to make them more efficient or more honest, even if the effect of the new technology is increased efficiency or transparency. Still, as many have recognized, institution building is best accomplished by furnishing bundles of complementary inputs organized to accomplish specific objectives. Reengineering, training, finance and other elements should complement the ICT innovations, and usually institutional improvement should drive ICT . (A)-Knowledge Cover There is wide shortage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals throughout the world, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDC). The demand for IT/IS professionals far outweighs their current availability. Human resource may be the single most important element in successful ICT diffusion for many LDC’s. In PNG as more private and government implement ITthere is a growing demand for skilled IT/IS personnel. Due to the rapid changesin Information and Communication Technology, computer systems and softwareare rapidly becoming outdated, making an individual’s knowledge quickly obsolete. Policy makers, generally see the education system, as the vehicle by which IT/IS professionals are trained and prepared to meet industry needs. Emphasis is now placed on educational institutions to produce skilled IT/IS professionals to meet the demands of the changing world. Thus the aspirations and requisite capabilities of any advancement would only be possible with the continuing drive to develop IT/IS professionals, not only in terms of quantity, but also quality (Loh, Sankar and Yeong, 1995). Skill sets change because there is continued change in industry perspectives and demand due to the rapid changes in technology and the current shift towards globalization. IT/IS professionals in industry and educators often tend to function in a vacuum, each group having a different perspective of the workplace ( Pham, 1997). Thus it is common for employers to argue that university graduates possess general computing knowledge but lack specific skills that industry requires (Pham, 1997).Employers emphasize technical skills and competency to immediately cater frothier organizational needs, while educators advocate problem solving, analytical thinking and research. Educators argue that in skills and competency-based programs, graduates scope for learning is narrowed, as the programs often lack fundamental and analytical knowledge and function at an abstract level. Furthermore educators advocate that the main goal of higher education is not vocational training where the focus is to produce specialized and skilled IT/IS professionals, but a wider context that includes emphasis on theory and research. However educators in PNG take a different perspective for PNG by arguing that more emphasis be placed on developing technical competency, Salt (1988) and Ryan (1994). Ryan (1994) argues that curriculum content to an extent should cater for the local ICT industry with an emphasis on technical skills and business orientation. (B). Internet and development Behind every policy intervention lies some theoretical assumption, either overt or covert, about the nature of development. In this section, we trace the evolution of these assumptions and aim to develop a conceptual framework to guide us in categorizing issues of relevance in the interaction between the Internet and socio-economic development. There has been considerable debate over the definition, explanation and practice of development over the past few decades. The earliest theoretical approach was the notion of development as an evolutionary experience. It was assumed that developing countries should aspire to achieve the type of society that existed in the developed world by passing through a number of stages of economic growth similar to those which the countries of western Europe had experienced (Rostow, 1960). The goal of development was conceived of primarily in terms of economic growth measured using national income indicators (Hettne, 1990). During the 1960s and 1970s, there was increasing evidence to suggest that while a few developing countries managed to increase their growth rates and restructure their economies, the majority were unable to achieve such results plagued with increased poverty, growing indebtedness, political repression, social inequality, displacement of traditional values, and environmental damage (Conyers and Hills, 1984). This evidence led to the realization that one of the main causes for underdevelopment was dependency from two perspectives. First, in terms of the ability of an independent developing society to make decisions within the prevailing international power stucture. Second, in terms of social equity within the developing country by empowering the poor with basic needs for human development (Rodney, 1972; Amin, 1974). These experiences resulted in a redefinition of the goals of development with much greater emphasis on non-economic aspects. Hence, development came to be conceived of and measured not only in economic terms, but also in terms of social well-being and political structures, as well as in terms of the physical environment (UNDP,1991). This has led to a broader conception of human development in the UNDP Reports on Human Development published annual since 1992 which have increasingly taken into account alternative dimensions of development such as human autonomy, equity, sustainable development, empowerment, and cultural identity. The emergence in the 1970s of the neo-populist tradition forcefully articulated by nongovernmental organizations and others gave much importance to the views, desires and ambitions of those about to be developed. Such views offered an alternative development strategy to the linear growth model. This alternative view was based on the notion that developing countries have their own trajectory of development which did not necessarily follow the same pattern as experienced by the advanced, industrialized countries (Hettne,1990). The neo-populists argued for the retention of traditional peasant agricultural systems and small-scale enterprises, on direct policies aimed at reducing poverty among target groups of the population, and on local sustainable development projects. For example, Julius Nyerere’s attempt to establish a revitalized and improved traditional African socialism in Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s is a good example of neo-populism in action. Similarly, the basic needs policies implemented by national governments and international agencies during the 1970s gave higher priority to redistribution of wealth through programmers directed at poverty alleviation, rather than economic growth. The main message of the sustainable development movement that arose in the 1970s and 1980s was that development depended on the ecology and culture of the locality rather than on a western model of economic growth. More recently, in the context of Africa, McGeary and Michaels (1998) observe that a new spirit of self-reliance is taking root among many Africans as they seize control of their destiny through local models of development. New information and communication technologies manifested today in the Internet emerge as a new challenge for developing countries. This challenge has been perceived in two related ways. First, information has begun to be projected as the `engine’ of development commensurate with traditional stages of growth definition of economic development. This notion is based on a broad vision regarding a new stage of development centered around the production, diffusion and usage of information and communication technologies throughout society - a vision first took hold in the United States in the 1960s against a context of increasing prosperity and automation. (Bell, 1973; Castells, 1989; Castells and Hall, 1996). In recent years, many writers have begun to calculate the extent to which individual nations had achieved `knowledge societies’ using indices related to the consumption and production levels of information technology, including an Internet host index (Kenney, 1995; Mansell and Wehn; 1998). This model of development has resulted in telecommunications and global networks becoming important issues for discussion amongst government policy-makers and international agencies (Panos, 1995; Press, 1996). Second, there has been increasing recognition that the achievement of more sustainable, equitable forms of human development does not depend on the existence of internet connections alone, but on the acquisition and usage of information and knowledge. C). Information Technology and Structural Change) Forest sectors worldwide are concerned about how information technology will influence their future structure. It was once thought that the increasing use of computers would result in a dramatic decrease in paper consumption. But statistics show that paper consumption is continuing to increase. Current US estimates show that every office employee consumes some 0.7kg of paper a day. Each year, 860–1000 billion pages come out of American copiers, fax machines and computer printers. On the other hand, documented examples from Japan show that companies have decreased their paper consumption by 30–50 percent as a result of the new information technology. In the mid-term, the consumption pattern is expected to change. Today there are an estimated 350 million PCs worldwide and computer sales grew by 19 percent worldwide in 1997. New PC shipments in 2002 are estimated to exceed 150 million units, a number equal to the entire installed base of PCs worldwide in 1992. History has shown that new media do not simply replace older media. Rather, they enlarge the consumer's repertoire. In addition, technological diffusion is typically slower than common sense usually suggests. It will probably take a long time before PC diffusion becomes universal. A similar development may hold for the Internet. Although the Internet is growing at a dramatic speed, analyses of duration, frequency, and intensity of use suggest a somewhat less dramatic view of the Internet's importance. With the changed technological and economic features of information societies come a variety of new social and cultural implications for future reading practices and paper-based documents. As information becomes more and more digital, and users become more inter-networked, text of all kinds can be reproduced and distributed globally and cheaply, altering the ratio of paper-based documents to total documents produced. However, two arguments in this process speak for paper. One is durability. The other is that people are physical beings, who live and work in three spatial dimensions and who prefer to work and play with objects arranged around them. Information technology already has a major influence on journals and newspapers. Many experts expect a breakthrough for e-books in the near future. Publishers and new electronic services are bypassing libraries and deliver sophisticated information products direct to users. The vision is a gradual evolution of this new technology over the next 10–20 years, resulting in the percentage of information printed declining over the next 10–20years. But there is also a high probability that print volumes will increase as we obtain access to more and more information. Some studies estimate a 30–90 percent decline in the proportion of printed documents while the number of documents printed doubles. Detailed time-use studies in the US show that reading occupies a fairly steady niche in time-use practices. Recent patterns show that people tend to read more as they get older and that computer users read more than non-users. This means there may be an overall increase in aggregate per capita reading time as the huge baby-boom population ages and more and more people go on-line. In other studies, online developments do not show hunger for a new media but for more information. Developments in reading formats will also cause dramatic changes in the consumption of different paper grades in the future. Some 40 percent of the world's paper consumption is constituted by communication paper grades. However, other developments will have impacts on the printed media: a reusable paper substrate that can be rewritten multiple times. The new LCDs will have a reflectivity and a luminance-contrast ratio equal to those of newspapers, and have displays that users will be able to roll up and put in their pockets. Web TV printers are around the corner. The demand is changing and the technical changes will, in turn, probably cause dramatic changes of the current structure of the global forest industry. The new information technology may also influence paper consumption in ways other than through the reading format. The use of online classified advertising, the lifeline for newspapers, could decrease newspaper consumption. Some studies argue that on-line shopping may dramatically change the packaging industry. Today, packaging paper grades constitute some 45 percent of the world's paper consumption. In the new electronic world, the whole concept of branding may become irrelevant. It follows that much less sophisticated packaging will needed and fewer labels and ads will be required. The impact of information technology will be different in different societies of the world. Some argue that most of the world's population will be effectively excluded from tapping into the network due to the costs involved and that paper will remain the most efficient media for the distribution of information in the developing world. Others argue that the information technology will be so cheap in the future that most of the world's population will have access to the new technology. Understanding how the internet will affect paper consumption is the key to establishing the likely impact on the forest sector. Future paper consumption in this environment will also depend on the ability of the paper industry to develop and increase the relevance of their own products as supplements to the information technology. A key issue for understanding future paper consumption is to obtain a solid idea about the development of the world's societies with respect to characteristics influencing consumption and the implementation of the new information technology. The objective of the proposed work is to carry out analyses of the impact of new information technology on global forest sectors. The time horizon in the analyses will be long-term. The work will be carried out in a number of subsequent components. Development of Societies: The Population (POP) Project of IIASA will produce data on global population developments. Included in the projections should be distribution by age classes and educational levels and characteristics of future consumption patterns. The projections should also include cohort effects, such as people continuing consumption patterns and using reading technologies they experience in their youth. This latter information is of importance in estimating computer use and reading behavior. Reading and Consumption Formats: In order to derive estimates on future reading and consumption formats, regional networks should be established for North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Central Asia and China, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. These regional networks should, with the help of case studies (samples) and "consensus conferences" on reading and consumption formats, and based on the population projections, produce regional estimates on the reading and consumption formats over time. The regional networks should be composed of experts on technical and social issues related to consumption, reading, publishing, and using paper documents. Demand on Paper Products: The reading formats (over time) generated and the population projections will be used by the FOR Project to derive regional long-term estimates on the demand of different paper grades. The traditional technologies used for estimating the future paper consumption have to be replaced by innovative new techniques. Impact on the Structure of the Forest Sector: The expected change in future demand conditions will be analyzed with respect to impacts on the global forests and the structure of the global forest industry. (D). Education and internet The rapid expansion of ICTs has been often wrongfully associated with an automatic improvement on the levels and quality of education. High expectations on the potential impact of ICT tools like the Internet have led many to believe in them as magic solutions for the wide range of problems that characterize the education sector in developing countries. The opinion of the finance Minister of a Latin American country regarding a program of new technologies in the public schools of Costa Rica clearly reflects the general misperceptions about the role of ICTs in education: "I love this program of yours. It really makes a substantive contribution. Machines are installed, the children learn, you eliminate teachers and reduce Government budget, and the best of all, strikes are eliminated...A perfect case of State restructuring The techno centrist tendency assumes that the installation of machines is enough to assure an improvement of education levels and to overcome the low quality of teachers and teaching tools available, ignoring the crucial distinction between access of information and knowledge. This last one is related to the capacity of applying, appropriating and effectively using that information, and it implies an emphasis on the development of the individual as a whole, going far beyond the sole transmission of computer skills to the development of abilities that allow users to be active rather than passive, to better understand the benefits and implications of the digital culture, as well as to develop creative and cognitive abilities that facilitate their insertion into the labor market. There are a variety of challenges to overcome in order to effectively implement Internet to the education field, and that in the practice, financial, technological and logistic limitations are strengthen by weak pedagogic conceptions and proposals. Thus far, the benefits of the Internet for education have only been evident for the minority of privileged students that are able to afford and to have access to online education opportunities The inclusiveness of the digital education is, in fact, very limited, especially taking into account the great disparities that still prevail between urban and rural communities in developing regions, as well as the structural lack of means of access and training opportunities for the great majority of the population. E). WORLD INTERNET STATISTICS) WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS World Regions Population ( 2004 Est.) Internet Usage, ( Year 2000 ) Internet Usage, Latest Data Usage Growth 2000-2004 Penetration (% Population ) User % World Africa 893,197,200 4,514,400 12,937,100 186.6 % 1.4 % 1.6 % Asia 3,607,499,800 114,303,000 257,898,314 125.6 % 7.1 % 31.7 % Europe 730,894,078 103,096,093 230,886,424 124.0 % 31.6 % 28.4 % Middle East 258,993,600 5,284,800 17,325,900 227.8 % 6.7 % 2.1 % North America 325,246,100 108,096,800 222,165,659 105.5 % 68.3 % 27.3 % Latin America/Caribbean 541,775,800 18,068,919 55,930,974 209.5 % 10.3 % 6.9 % Oceania 32,540,909 7,619,500 15,787,221 107.2 % 48.5 % 1.9 % WORLD TOTAL 6,390,147,487 360,983,512 812,931,592 125.2 % 12.7 % 100.0 http://www.internetworldstats.comsource : 1- STATISTICS DECLARE THAT The world is undergoing an Information Communications Technology (ICT) revolution, a revolution that has enormous social and economic implications for the developed and less developed countries of the world. A gigantic gulf already exists between the industrialized and developing countries in terms of access to ICT It is this disparity between the `technology-rich' and `technology-poor', or `have-not's', that is commonly referred to as the international digital divide. Industrialized countries are home to 88% of all internet users, yet make up only 15% of the world's population. Unsurprisingly, PC ownership levels differ dramatically between developed and developing nations. Notes: Asian internet users in this statistics ( 31%) per world cause they upswing in (ICT) industry (hardware &software) ( 5- Success example for developing countries) 2-Why is ICT helping to Bridge the Divide? Here in the developed world, many of us take for granted the use of ICT in our everyday and work life. We can sometimes forget what a difference ICT has made to our lives, how our everyday use of email is now the norm or how valuable the internet is as a source of information, communication, education, news and entertainment. Widespread poverty across the developing world has complex and multiple reasons; the lack of access to information that is essential to the lives of the poor is one such reason. Poor access to education and knowledge is another; this is particularly acute for girls and women ,And other like Regulatory environment and investments, Poor ICT – computers and networks ,Poor facilities for access to ICT, especially the Internet , Stringent government and institutional policies on Internet access , Lack of trained manpower and Poor information literacy rate that causes lack of appreciation of modern information services and their use . Bridging the digital divide may seem like a low priority when many in the developing world struggle with access to clean water and healthcare. ICT is not a panacea, but as a tool, it can make a real difference. Access to ICT means that not-for-profits in less developed countries are able to share information and raise awareness to combat poverty and injustice. This means increased organisational efficiency and an increased ability to collate and disseminate vital information swiftly and cost-effectively. 3-PROBLEMS OF ICT TAKE-UP Regulatory environment and investments The development towards a digital economy and the narrowing of the North-South divide are closely related to financial resources and investments, restructuring and liberalization of the telecommunications sector, international trade agreements and policies with regard to market structures in developing countries. Internet growth in the less developed regions of Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe not only depends on the availability of appropriate infrastructure and international connectivity, but is also very dependent on the political and regulatory environment The overall political situation in and between countries is assessed as an important factor for activities towards digital inclusion. Very early in the debate, concerns were raised about the lack of coherent national and regional IT policies and about the understanding of the Internet by governments. Restrictive government policies regarding intellectual property rights, security, privacy and censorship have also been studied as potential barriers to a wider use of Internet Inadequate public funding and market distortions help deny technological benefits to many developing countries Investment policies and the reform of the telecommunications sector are especially important for building the appropriate (access) infrastructures The high costs and the complex cost structure of telecommunications services in many developing countries are seen as a result of the structure of the industry and of the inertia in policy choices which do not yet adequately take into account the challenges of the Internet era. An early liberalization of the market for value-added services in some countries has resulted in growth in the number of data, paging and other service providers Co-ordination and raising awareness Co-ordinated management at both national and local levels is seen as very important for development towards an information society. Information sharing and partnership among all concerned in different initiatives is considered important. This can avoid conflicts arising out of uneven distribution of financial resources and helps spread initiatives and support over sectors, groups and regions. It is also stressed that a degree of central planning is necessary, but one which respects and nurtures local enterprise. Most importantly, it helps if governments are capable of articulating a national vision and information society strategy. Though it is hard to assess in quantitative terms the effect of a clear plan for the kind of development to aim for, and the setting of policy goals, on the relationships between ICTs and economic growth as well as political stability and social cohesion, it is, nevertheless, this notion of vision that is of paramount importance in the development of an information society. The impressive growth of the Indian Software industry, Malaysian development in the ICT sector and Singapore's development of an information society have all progressed under the strong leadership of governments with a clear vision of what was to be achieved. 4- ICT development strategies in developing country On the Issue of Shared Responsibilities We are of the view that efforts directed at tackling the barriers to the effective participation of developing countries in the global ICT policy and decision making fora should be a shared one. Although external funding agencies could assist in addressing some of the barriers like the financial barriers to participation and to some extend some aspects of the technical barriers by funding technical assistance and training programmes to develop the capacity of developing countries to effectively participate in the global fora, the bulk of the responsibility to address the barriers to entry lies with the developing countries themselves. For example, a lot can be done by individuals and respective countries to address barriers like: informational barriers, and technical barriers, and to some extent the financial and institutional barriers to participation. Relating to institutional barriers, it will be possible for developing countries to mobilize their collective bargaining and negotiation power and influence to bring about changes in restrictive structures of participation and remove or amend rules of participation that work to the disadvantage of these countries. The problem is that developing countries most often fail to present a common front at these global for a and as a result weakens their negotiation position and their collective bargaining power. Also in relation to tackling informational barriers to participation, there is a lot developing countries and individual prospective participants can do in this areas to overcome this barrier to participation On Promoting and Enhancing the Participation of Developing Countries in the Global ICT There is no doubt that the effective participation of developing countries in the global ICT policy and decision making fora is essential for supporting and enhancing their efforts to bridge the digital divide through the implementation of appropriate ICT fDev programmes and initiatives. In fact according [Cees;2001] policy making in the ICT field can no longer be a strictly national affair. ---- It is fundamentally affected by global forces.--- And since the globalization process is today largely driven by Northern business interests, acting with the support of their governments, it is especially important for developing countries to develop coherent policy proposals and to make their voices heard at the international level. According to (Khor; 1995) "Without policy co-ordination, developing countries will stand to lose out in the formulation of international policy frameworks that will have important impact on their national policies" International Cooperation In addition to national efforts, international organizations can play a role in promoting ICT in poorer countries.6 A specific set of policy initiatives that international organizations could support to bridge the digital divide may include the creation of uniform standards through technical assistance and policy advice. However, premature standardization can become impediments to technological innovations. Second, in many developing countries, government monopoly predominates in the telecommunications sector. The international organizations can play a role in deregulating this sector as well as ensuring free entry of the private sector, including foreign firms. Also, as we have noted earlier, there are instances where there is an economic case for government subsidization or tax incentives. In poorer countries, where the government is fiscally constrained, international organizations can offer the necessary financial assistance to create the basic infrastructure, as the private sector—both domestic and foreign—may not be forthcoming for obvious economic reasons. - Multiple initiatives have been, and continue to be, implemented across the world to address the major obstacles to bridging the digital divide. For example, many developing countries have poor communications infrastructure, thereby preventing connectivity, particularly in rural areas. The issue of infrastructure is a major issue as this requires global, long-term investment, and support from a variety of sources including governments, private sector, multilateral institutions (United Nations), financial institutions (World Bank) and the civil sector (not-for-profit). There are a number of global initiatives, such as the UN ICT Task Force and G8 Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force), that are working to address these vital areas However, there still remains an issue of accessibility and affordability. The vast majority of schools and not-for-profits in the developing world simply do not have the financial resources to purchase new equipment. For example, brand new PCs are not a viable option for the vast majority of schools and community organizations in countries where the average daily wage is $1. Computer Aid International provides an innovative solution to this major problem by sourcing unwanted PCs from corporates in industrialized countries for productive re-use by schools and not-for-profits in developing countries. Computer Aid International ensures that the PCs it sends overseas are fully tested and refurbished. Where possible Computer Aid International works with local partners to distribute computers in volume to schools and community organizations. By working with local distribution partners, Computer Aid International is helping them to provide affordable computers and on-going technical support. 5- Success example for developing countries The successes of countries like India in the IT-exports sector is often used as an example to be emulated by countries similarly placed along the development spectrum. India has had a reasonable amount of success in the export of ICT products and services. In India the industry generated $5.7 billion in 1999, 15 times the level in 1990, and exports rose from $150 million in 1990 to nearly $4 billion in 1999. One study estimates that this could rise to $50 billion by 2008, leading IT to account for 30 per cent of India's exports and 7.5 per cent of its GDP. Employment in the software industry is projected to rise from 180,000 in 1998 to 2.2 million in 2008, to account for 8 per cent of India's formal employment. ICT has created new outsourcing opportunities by enabling services to be provided in one country and delivered in another. Delivered by telecommunications data networks, the services include credit card administration, insurance claims, business payrolls and customer, financial and human resource management. The global outsourcing market is worth more than $100 billion, with 185 Fortune 500 companies outsourcing their software requirements in India alone. India now has 1,250 companies exporting software. India shows why public policy is important. By providing education for IT -- India's English language technical colleges turn out more than 73,000 graduates a year -- and investing in infrastructure (especially high-speed links and international gateways with sufficient bandwidth), the government has ensured India's place in the new economy. These efforts will deliver long-term benefits for human development and equitable economic growth. It is important to note that only export-related IT activities show up above. I have yet to find figures about domestic IT use. Casual empiricism would indicate that very little IT is used within the country. Domestic ICT use must be given the attention it deserves because only through broad-based ICT use can the benefits of modern technology be made available to all and bridge the digital divide. Domestic use will have important linkages to the supply of human capital required for the export of ICT products and services. For a large country such as India, domestic demand for ICT products and services can provide the necessary base for sustaining the industry and to shield it from external shocks. For a small country like Sri Lanka, domestic use of ICT is crucial for developing the human capital required for the export market. Therefore, governments of developing countries must create the institutions that encourage the use of ICT domestically. References - Development gateway site - Adam, L. (1996) Electronic communications technology and development of Internet in Africa, Information Technology for Development, Vol. 7, pp. 133-144. - Ahmad, A., Poon, A., and Wang, J. (1996) Asia Outlook: Deregulation and Privatization sweep across Asia’s landscape, Telecommunications Development Report, Vol. : www.iiasa.ac.at – - UN Reports - Fonseca Clotilde, "Mitos y Metas sobre los Usos de las Nuevas Tecnologias en la Educacion", Omar Dengo Foundation, Costa Rica. Remitida al Bureau of International Education, March 2001. p - Ibid. p 6. - Fonseca., Op cit. - http://www.bridgethedigitaldivide.com -. ITU*, Challenges to the Network: Internet for Development, October 1999 -. ITU/ David N. Townsend & Associates , Telecommunications Regulatory issues -. ITU, Electronic Commerce for Developing Countries (EC-DC), Developing and least developed countries legal framework on e-commerce, digital signatures, ecertification, e-transactions - IDRC/Mike Jensen, Bridging the Gaps in Internet Development in Africa (1996) - World Bank, UNECA and InfoDev, Internet Economic Toolkit for African Policy - Analysis, Characterizing the Challenges and Opportunities Arising from the Networking Revolution in the Developing World, - University of Bonn/Center for Development Research, Informations- and Kommunikationstechnologien in Entwicklungslaendern, January 1999