Empirical studies clearly show that women in the developing world have significantly lower technology participation rates than men; a result of entrenched socio-cultural attitudes about the role of women in society. However, as studies are beginning to show, when those women are able to engage with Internet technology, a wide range of personal, family and community benefits become possible. The key to these benefits is on-line education, the access to which sets up a positive feedback loop. This review gives an overview of the digital divide, before focusing specifically on the challenges women in developing countries face in accessing the Internet. Current gender disparities in Internet use will be outlined and the barriers that potentially hinder women's access and participation in the online world will be considered. We will then look at the potential opportunities for women's participation in a global digital society along with a consideration of current initiatives that have been developed to mitigate gender inequity in developing countries. We will also consider a promising avenue for future research.

Software processes described by natural languages are frequently ambiguous and it is usually difficult to compare the similarity and difference between one process defined in one standard and its counterpart defined in another standard. This paper proposes Composition Tree (CT) as a graphic language to model software process based on its purpose and expected outcomes. CT is a formal graphic notation originally designed for modeling component based software system. This paper demonstrates that CT can be a powerful notation to give a clear and unambiguous description of a software process as well. This paper also investigates an algorithm which can compare two CT-modeled processes and provide an intuitive view called a Comparison Composition Tree (CCT) to highlight the differences and similarities between the two processes.

Synthesis is a creative and mysterious process in which a chaotic array of concepts, what might be called a mess, is cognitively 'engaged' with a problem domain to produce as many interpretations as can validly be derived for effective decision-making purposes. The benefits of engaging concepts into a mess are that it allows the problem to be viewed through multiple lenses simultaneously, which affords a holistic vantage point for richer problem interpretation. By deliberately shifting the underlying concept held by actors and provoking the movement of concepts, better interpretations might lead to more useful decision making. Although research has discussed the possibility of using synthesis through case studies, we argue that there is a need to formally develop methodologies in this area for the purpose of fostering and solving complex problems. To demonstrate this, we provide a speculative case study to illustrate how this approach may be usefully applied. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords decision making; problem solving; problem structuring; wicked problems INTRODUCTION It is recognized that there is a need for more optimal synthesis (Barton and Haslett, 2007;Houghton and Metcalfe, 2010) and new conceptual approaches to wicked problems (Houghton and Ledington, 2004). The concept of a wicked problem (Ackoff, 1978) is a unique and troublesome one. Liebl (2002) notes that when trying to understand wicked problems one must accept that they are messy. We must adopt the 'moving target' metaphor. In dynamically changing environments, unstructured problems cannot simply be cleanly nailed down to a given set of alternatives or be reduced to a significant and easily managed cognitive model (Van Bueren et al., 2003). Instead, we must rely heavily on actors' conceptions and subjective interpretation of the problem to give it meaning (Landry, 1995). According to Leibl, a problem arises when the dynamic concepts used to form interpretative schema interact in an ill-structured or 'wicked' context with unpredictable consequences. In essence, (2005) somewhat aptly calls these problems wicked in the sense that they are seemingly impossible to interpret, much less act on effectively due to the difficulties of reaching a shared understanding on the meaning of the problem. A range of problem structuring methods have arisen as a response to this issue (Mingers and Rosenhead, 2004;Mingers, 2011;Shaw et al., 2006).More fundamental than constructed methodologies is the human instinct for creativity and ingenuity when trying to solve problems. De Bono (1970) highlights this as lateral thinking, a process by which we think sideways, perhaps in unorthodox ways about problems to gain new insights. This speaks to the idea of 'synthesis' as an alternative way of approach wicked problems. We ask, would there not be considerable benefit to have a softer, alternative approach when trying to solve 'messy' problems? That is, if we are to make traction in wicked problems, would not the analytical approaches of the past lead to s...

An increasing reliance on digital technology in one's everyday life necessitates the development of digital literacy skills to enable one's continued participation in the Internet information-age. As existing services, such as banking and shopping, move increasingly online, the likelihood of excluding certain demographic groups, such as the elderly and those living in rural areas, increases exponentially. The following article outlines the results of a pilot study that explored the perceived digital literacy skills of a group of adults in a rural community. It will be shown that despite relatively low confidence levels reported by the participants, they were nevertheless keen to learn how to use digital technologies. Based on participant feedback, the study concludes that there is a need to develop pedagogical strategies to teach digital literacy skills to older adults, particularly those living in rural and remote areas.

Abstract:As internet technologies make their way into developing areas, so too does the possibility of education and training being delivered to the people living in those previously unserved areas. The growing catalogue of free, high quality courseware, when combined with the newly acquired means of delivery, creates the potential for millions of people in the developing world to acquire a good education. Yet a good education obviously requires more than simply delivering information; students must also receive high quality feedback on their assessments. They must be told how their performance compares with the ideal, and be shown how to close the gap between the two. However, delivering high quality feedback is labor-intensive, and therefore expensive, and has long been recognized as a problematic issue by educators. This paper outlines a case study that uses a Learning Management System (LMS) to efficiently deliver detailed feedback that is informed by the principles of best practice. We make the case that the efficiencies of this method allow for large-scale courses with thousands of enrolments that are accessible to developing and developed areas alike. We explore the question; is computer-mediated feedback delivery efficient and effective and might it be applied to large-scale courses at low-cost?