With near half of African population being unique subscribers of mobile phones, we are beginning to understand how people in the continent-and more broadly in the Global South-are interacting with their mobile phone in everyday life, and whether it contributes to development and to capability enhancement, following Amartya Sen's notions. Analyzing interviews on mobile phone uses in Southern Ghana based on Sen's Capability Approach and Dorothea Kleine's Choice Framework, we claim that real-life uses of mobile phones demonstrate capability enhancement, as it facilitates (1)
A recent discussion on a prominent community informatics (CI) listserv revealed arguments for and against the Facebook’s Free Basics platform among researchers in the field. To continue and enrich the conversation, this study first examines the contrasting stances revealed in the CI listserv discussion and derives the CI researchers’ major concerns about the platform. Under the light of these concerns, we then explore the nature of Facebook’s Free Basics in relation to community development through analysis of one of the forefront services that Free Basics offers, i.e., Facebook. Specifically, we examine relationships between uses of Facebook and information technology (IT) identity formation and social capital. We argue that although projects operated by private companies may possess potential for supporting community development, much consideration is needed in embracing the technology solutions due to the risks and restrictions they can impose on its users. We also suggest the CI researchers to open the next round of discussion regarding ways to thoroughly assess possible flaws of Free Basics and help users of the platform make more informed decisions. IT identity is a new theory that can help shed new light on the challenges of using platforms such as Free Basics and their contribution to community development.
Facebook's Free Basics has been controversial among researchers in the fields of information and communication technologies for development (ICTD) and community informatics (CI
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