ICTs for Development blog
Catch up on the most recent posts from our Centre for Digital Development blog.
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What AI Role for the Global South?
Richard Heeks
18 March 2024
What role will countries of the global South play in the artificial intelligence (AI) economy? I recently participated in a fascinating discussion on AI run by Technology Salon Accra, and the points reminded me of a model I developed a few years’ back: the ladder of ICT4D roles which can readily be modified to apply … Continue reading What AI Role for the Global South?
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An Adapted Digital-Transformation-for-Development Organisational Strategy Framework
Richard Heeks
15 March 2024
What issues should shape organisational digital-transformation-for-development (DX4D) strategy? One way to answer this is through adaptation of one of the most widely-cited guides to digital transformation strategy, the Digital Transformation Framework[i]. The Framework provides a series of strategic questions that managers “have to address when embarking on digital transformation”, divided into four areas: use of … Continue reading An Adapted Digital-Transformation-for-Development Organisational Strategy Framework
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Methods for Investigating Digital Personalised Learning in Kenya: Utilising A/B Testing to Evaluate Software Adaptivity Features
chensun
12 March 2024
Chen Sun, Louis Major, Nariman Moustafa, Rebecca Daltry This blog focuses on a research study investigating the impact of Digital Personalised Learning (DPL) on pre-primary education in Kenya. The study features utilising A/B testing to examine the pedagogical implications and learning effectiveness of various design features in a classroom-integrated DPL tool. DPL is attracting increasing … Continue reading Methods for Investigating Digital Personalised Learning in Kenya: Utilising A/B Testing to Evaluate Software Adaptivity Features
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China’s digital expansion in the Global South: Systematic literature review and future research agenda
Richard Heeks
29 February 2024
What are the implications for the global South of China’s emergence as a digital superpower? A recently-published literature review from myself and colleagues at the University of Manchester identifies seven key issues that have so far emerged: Figure 1: The Chinese technology stack Although this research has been helpful, the rather small corpus of work … Continue reading China’s digital expansion in the Global South: Systematic literature review and future research agenda
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The rise of post-disaster digital communities: what role in shaping the humanitarian space and action?
nimeshdhungana
26 February 2024
Nimesh Dhungana (nimesh.dhungana@manchester.ac.uk) How are post-disaster digital communities emerging and shaping the nature of humanitarian space and action? Enabled by the growing proliferation of mobile technologies, online platforms and open source data, and dubbed by some as “Digital Humanitarianism” (1) or “Digital Disaster Communities (DDC)” (2), communities from disparate locales are increasingly acting as early-responders … Continue reading The rise of post-disaster digital communities: what role in shaping the humanitarian space and action?
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From word-of-mouth to star ratings: Platforms and the changing nature of trust in the informal sector
Mindy Park
7 February 2024
By Mindy Park, Arfive Gandhi, Yudho Giri Sucahyo Do digital platforms formalise informal cities? To some, the arrival and penetration of digital platforms in the vast informal economies of the global South cities may sound no longer new. To others, it still is a momentous opportunity to transform the informal sector. As the bustling streets … Continue reading From word-of-mouth to star ratings: Platforms and the changing nature of trust in the informal sector
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What are the moral consequences of digital platforms ?
nicholsonbrian
17 January 2024
Digital platforms, surveillance and processes of demoralization https://doi.org/10.1177/02683962231208215 In 2021 I curated a special section in Information Systems Journal on digital platforms and development. A notable omission in that special issue was coverage of morality and digital platforms. It is this gap in the literature that I attempt to address with my colleagues Sung Hwan Chai, … Continue reading What are the moral consequences of digital platforms ?
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Pragmatism and Development Studies
Richard Heeks
15 December 2023
What role can pragmatism play in development studies research? Pragmatism is a philosophy that emerged in the late 19th century in the aftermath of, and as a response to, the destructiveness of the US Civil War. It has subsequently fractured into a number of different shards but at root it “emphasizes practical consequences and real-world … Continue reading Pragmatism and Development Studies
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X-Washing: When “Digital Transformation” Isn’t Digital Transformation
Richard Heeks
11 December 2023
When is “digital transformation” not digital transformation? Answer: when it’s just the same as mainstream digitalisation. We’ve recently produced a set of 13 principles for digital-transformation-for-development (DX4D) research and consulting, but a key essence is that transformation is special and different. Digital transformation means doing something different from the kind of digitalisation that has been … Continue reading X-Washing: When “Digital Transformation” Isn’t Digital Transformation
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The minor rules shaping the development impacts of digital marketplaces.
Chris Foster
7 December 2023
As e-commerce and platform-based trading expand across the globe, one of the major developmental claims is that digital marketplace trading might unleash small firm creativity and profits. Selling online, even reaching lucrative foreign customers, has been a key ambition for many small firms and part of wider digital development policies. An important question for researchers … Continue reading The minor rules shaping the development impacts of digital marketplaces.
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