Digital Colonialism: South Africa’s Education Transformation in the Shadow of Silicon Valley

Kwet, Michael

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3496049

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 278 publications

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“…The discernible attenuation of the digital divide between smaller and larger firms augurs well for the business realm, as it portends the gradual dissolution of barriers impeding technology adoption. This evolution is indispensable for engendering an inclusive business milieu, wherein smaller entities can actively engage in competition and innovation alongside their more substantial counterparts, consistent with the tenets of Kwet (2019). The evolving dynamics of technology adoption intrinsically underscore the necessity of ameliorating disparities in resources and fostering digital skills, ensuring that the business arena remains equitable and open to all participants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Tech-driven transformation: Investigating digitalization dynamics across varying firm sizes

Santos

2023

JIE

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The dynamic patterns of technology adoption among firms clustered by size are investigated to assess the implications arising from the digital divide. Using data from the “Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Enterprises (IUTICE)" dataset for 2003-2022, provided by the Portuguese Institute of Statistics, the research centers on three key variables – internet connectivity, website presence, and computer usage – which are examined across a spectrum of firms’ scales, shedding light on the evolving trends in technology adoption. Employing a combination of descriptive statistical analysis, trend assessment, and cross-sectional comparisons, this research shows noteworthy insights. Interestingly, the adoption rates for all three technology variables exhibit a consistent upward trajectory, indicative of a movement towards digitalization within the business landscape. Smaller firms have demonstrated notable strides, manifesting a reduction in the technology adoption disparity relative to their larger counterparts. The findings underscore the influential roles played by resource constraints and digital competencies in shaping technology adoption trajectories, and their correspondence with the Resource-Based View (RBV) framework underscores the role of organizational resources and capabilities on the digital divide. The ramifications extend beyond individual firms, resonating with the global scholarly discourse and advocating for equitable integration of technology. As firms, irrespective of size, grapple with the challenges posed by the digital era, this study provides deep insights that can guide the formulation of strategies aimed at cultivating an inclusive and technologically empowered business environment.</span></p>

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Imran (2023) underscores the urgency of addressing digital inequality as a priority, reflecting on the consequences of unequal access to digital resources. Kwet (2019) delves into the concept of digital colonialism, examining how education transformation in South Africa intersects with Silicon Valley's influence.…”

Section: Empirical Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Tech-driven transformation: Investigating digitalization dynamics across varying firm sizes

Santos

2023

JIE

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“…O'Mara's affinity to settler-colonial metaphors is, however, nothing new in the imaginations of techno-capitalism. As previous research has discussed, in both the classical settler-colonial frontier and the novel digital frontier, innovation and creativity are imagined to belong to the white brain and body that represents civilization and the future in a clash against savagery from the past (Slotkin, 1973;Pellow and Park, 2002;Thatcher et al, 2016;Kwet, 2019;Noble and Roberts, 2019;Tarvainen, 2021).…”

Section: The Allegories Between Settler-colonialism and Silicon Valleymentioning

confidence: 99%

Margaret O’Mara, The Code. Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America reviewed by Antti Tarvainen

Tarvainen

2022

PROM

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Silicon Valley has emerged as the key metaphor of the innovation-led economic development in the 21st century. As the Valley’s technology monopolies and utopias expand, there is a growing need for critical histories that help to ground and contextualize the futures that are spreading from San Francisco Bay. In this review essay, I suggest that a settler-colonial approach offers interesting possibilities for the creation of such histories. To demonstrate how such an approach works, I develop a settler-colonial reading of Margaret O’Mara’s recent book The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America (2019). By critically analysing the key metaphors in O’Mara’s celebrated book, the global and violent face of the Valley becomes visible. The settler-colonial approach, I conclude, offers one possible analytical approach to breaking the stranglehold of America-centred understanding typical of the histories of Valley.

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“…Scholars have demonstrated how powerful countries are reinventing colonialism in the global South through technology hegemony, monopoly of technology architecture, surveillance, and data mining. In doing so, the scholars argue, such countries are meting epistemic violence on rural and indigenous people and knowledge systems (Coleman, 2018;Kwet, 2019bKwet, , 2019aYoung, 2019). African institutions and leaders should be proactive in thinking about these issues and take the proper steps to ensure that technology in Africa does not become a means of reintroducing these realities.…”

Section: Decolonisation Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology Governance: Minding and Closing the Gaps in Africa

John¹

2021

AJGD

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Technological innovation is at the heart of human evolution and progress. It is a catalyst for human well-being and socio-economic development. The rapid advancement the world is currently witnessing in this regard also birth concerns and ambiguities around the tension between benefits of today’s innovations and technologies and their actual and potential harm or risks. This paper outlines some key challenges to the global governance of emerging technologies to maximise benefits while preventing harm. The paper also identified some gaps in technology governance in Africa, their implications, and some key issues that need to be considered in closing these gaps. It argues that African governments, the corporate sector, academic institutions and other stakeholders need to begin to engage the current state of innovations and technologies and their possible futures and implications for the continent more critically and innovatively. This will require approaches informed by current needs and future thinking, are in sync with global trends, and prioritise Africa’s interests and needs. The current decolonisation debates in Africa should specifically inform such approaches. That will address the emerging patterns of coloniality observed in the current technological landscape and prevent the future occurrence of such practices. Additionally, considering rural African populations and their importance to the continent’s sustainable development, approaches to technological governance should also aim to centralise rather than marginalise rural communities. The paper concludes by highlighting some key areas of future research, such as investigating ways to achieve inclusive, just and equitable technological governance.

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Digital Colonialism: South Africa’s Education Transformation in the Shadow of Silicon Valley

Cited by 11 publications

References 278 publications

Tech-driven transformation: Investigating digitalization dynamics across varying firm sizes

Tech-driven transformation: Investigating digitalization dynamics across varying firm sizes

Margaret O’Mara, The Code. Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America reviewed by Antti Tarvainen

Technology Governance: Minding and Closing the Gaps in Africa

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