The Challenges of Technology Research for Developing Regions

Brewer, Eric; Demmer, Michael; Ho, Melissa R.; Honicky, R.J.; Pal, Joyojeet; Plauché, Madelaine; Surana, Sonesh

doi:10.1109/mprv.2006.40

Cited by 116 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…These challenges include equipment failures, poor infrastructure, shortage of skilled professionals, power outages, cultural barriers, financial constraints, environmental aspects, and poor internet connection among other things [16,17,18]. For example, the problem of connectivity can make prefetching, caching, and archiving data more of an issue than in developed countries.…”

Section: Pervasive Computing In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the problem of connectivity can make prefetching, caching, and archiving data more of an issue than in developed countries. According to Brewer et al [16], although there are variations from one developing country to another, some of the challenges are easier to solve. Chaudhri et al [19] and Prieto-Egido et al [20] elected to use low tier mobile phone and low-cost digital microscope camera respectively to mitigate financial constraints.…”

Section: Pervasive Computing In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chaudhri et al [19] and Prieto-Egido et al [20] elected to use low tier mobile phone and low-cost digital microscope camera respectively to mitigate financial constraints. Using devices with integrated batteries are also good options for overcoming power outage related problems where there is no power backup [16,19].…”

Section: Pervasive Computing In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ubiquitous Computing in the context of developing countries

Eblewongel¹,

Amanuel²,

Mekuria³

et al. 2016

Proccedings of the ICAIIT2016

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Abstract.Ubiquitous computing is an ultra-interdisciplinary field. Because of its capacity to affect every sphere of human life, it is endowed with a wide range of characteristics and features. This paper attempts to describe the more salient and diverse features of Pervasive Computing in an organized manner that appreciates the multi-disciplinary nature of the field. Five categories: Setup, design, architecture, deployment and operations; interface; security; engineering and socio-economic; are used to systematically outline the current characteristics of Ubiquitous computing. Sample applications from the field of Ubicomp are also discussed to illustrate some of the characteristics of pervasive computing. Moreover, we have also tried to highlight the challenges and opportunities for implementing Pervasive Computing in the context of developing countries. .

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Section: Pervasive Computing In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pervasive Computing In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pervasive Computing In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ubiquitous Computing in the context of developing countries

Eblewongel¹,

Amanuel²,

Mekuria³

et al. 2016

Proccedings of the ICAIIT2016

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“…It has been shown that the characteristics of IT work in developing countries differ greatly from the characteristics of IT work in industrialized countries (Brewer et al, 2006;Kemppainen, 2006;Smillie, 2008;Surana et al, 2008;Tedre, Kemppainen, & Ngumbuke, 2011;Torero & Braun, 2006). For example, Brewer et al (2006, p. 17) showed that the lack of local expertise is a key challenge of ICT infrastructure construction in developing countries.…”

Section: Characteristics Of It Work In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature and our own experiences show that IT professionals who work in developing countries need special kinds of technical expertise (Brewer et al, 2006; Iringa University College/Tumaini University [IUCo], 2004;Kitchen, 2006;Surana et al, 2008;Tedre, Kemppainen, et al, 2011;Vesisenaho, 2007). Furthermore, based on our earlier research (Kemppainen, 2006;Tedre et al, 2009), we argue that through specialized education and practical experiences where local context of use is taken into account, IT graduates' achievement level in preventive maintenance rises.…”

Section: Educational Characteristics Of Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tanzanian Perspective of the Technical Aspects of IT Service Management Education

2012

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Executive SummaryInformation technology (IT) professionals face markedly different kinds of challenges in developing countries from the ones in developed countries. Based on the research literature and our fourteen years of fieldwork in Iringa, Tanzania, we have identified eight groups of technical characteristics of IT work that significantly affect the work of IT service management professionals in that particular developing country context. Those groups are climate conditions on the site, physical security on the site, characteristics of premises, characteristics of rooms, quality of electricity, local area network, peripherals, and ICT users. Even though the characteristics of IT work in developing countries are a challenge for any IT professional, they all can be overcome with appropriate education and preparation. However, scarcity of capable IT professionals who can effectively manage IT systems is an issue in East Africa. Although the situation is widely acknowledged, there are no reports of educational initiatives to address this issue.We show that without a broad understanding of environmental effects, physical security, powerrelated issues, and characteristics of premises for ICT equipment, IT professionals cannot maintain ICT services of organizations on a sufficient level. Our identified solutions to practical challenges lead us to conclude that IT service management education must include some topics from the fields of electrical engineering and civil engineering in the IT curriculum. Those topics prepare students to overcome context-specific challenges in their future working milieu.Besides technical topics, organizational support for IT work plays a central role in the self-sustainability of ICT services. Hence, IT professionals should be able to advocate other members of an organiMaterial published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee. Contact Publisher@InformingScience.org to request redistribution permission. Editor: Irwin BrownIT Service Management Education zation. Advocacy work demands good management and communication skills and strong commitment to IT professionalism. Education for IT service management has to recognize these issues and emphasis, in its curriculum design, the role of management and leadership skills in a culturally sensitive way.

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Considering Pigeons for Carrying Delay Tolerant Networking Based Internet Traffic in Developing Countries

Scholl

Lindgren²

2012

E J Info Sys Dev Countries

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There are many regions in the developing world that suffer from poor infrastructure and lack of connection to the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is a technology that has been advocated for providing store-andforward network connectivity in these regions over the past few years. DTN often relies on human mobility in one form or another to support transportation of DTN data. This presents a socio-technical problem related to organizing how the data should be transported. In some situations the demand for DTN traffic can exceed that which is possible to support with human mobility, so alternative mechanisms are needed. In this paper we propose using live carrier pigeons (columba livia) to transport DTN data. Carrier pigeons have been used for transporting packets of information for a long time, but have not yet been seriously considered for transporting DTN traffic. We provide arguements that this mode of DTN data transport provides promise, and should receive attention from research and development projects. We provide an overview of pigeon characteristics to analyze the feasibility of using them for data transport, and present simulations of a DTN network that utilizes pigeon transport in order to provide an initial investigation into expected performance characteristics.

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The Challenges of Technology Research for Developing Regions

Cited by 116 publications

References 6 publications

Ubiquitous Computing in the context of developing countries

Ubiquitous Computing in the context of developing countries

A Tanzanian Perspective of the Technical Aspects of IT Service Management Education

Considering Pigeons for Carrying Delay Tolerant Networking Based Internet Traffic in Developing Countries

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