In order to have a common understanding of the concepts that surround the discussion on the use of ICTs for socio-economic development and sustainable livelihoods, the following section provides operational definitions of the terms used in this study.
1.7.1 Development
Early development economists believed that economic growth would improve a wide range of health and education indicators and therefore they used per capita Gross National Product (GNP) as the definition of development (World Bank 2004; Rasmussen 2001: 13). The experience of the 1950s and 1960s, showed that a large number of developing countries did achieve the overall United Nations growth targets, but the standards of living of the masses of people remained, for the most part, unchanged. Therefore there was a need to broaden the definition of development to include indicators that go beyond economic growth (Rasmussen 2001: 13). Today a country‟s development stage is measured against six overall indicators.
The indicators are poverty, education, gender, mortality, health and environment (World Bank 2004).
This study uses a broad definition of development and adopts the definition of development by UNDP (2001), which states that “development is the process of creating an environment in which people can lead productive, creative lives, in accordance with their needs and interests.
Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value”
The central purpose of development is the creation of an enabling environment in which all can enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. UNDP (2002) explains that fundamental to enlarging human choices is building human capabilities and the most basic capabilities for human development are leading a long and healthy life, being educated, having access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and being able to participate in the life of the community. Development involves the ability of a society to add value to material and non- material resources. This is the key for generating local wealth and an important factor in contributing to a more equitable distribution of new wealth. To add value is to add to the information content of resources (Vitro 1990: 87). Development requires strengthening the physical infrastructure and intellectual or creative resources (Rasmussen 2001: 13).
1.7.2 Sustainable human development
The mostly widely used definition of sustainable human development is the definition by Bruntland (1987: 43), who defined it as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. UNDP
(2005a) defined sustainable development as a paradigm of development that puts people, their ongoing needs and aspirations, at the centre of its concerns, that not only generates economic growth but distributes its benefits equitably and that regenerates the environment and empowers people.
Bruntland (1987: 44) pointed out that high levels of economic growth and widespread poverty can co-exist, hence sustainable human development requires that societies meet human needs both by increasing productivity potential and by ensuring equitable opportunities for all.
Because of their existing position of fewer opportunities, a sustainable development paradigm gives priority to the poor, enlarging their choices and opportunities and providing for their participation in decisions that affect their lives.
1.7.3 Sustainable livelihoods
A livelihood comprises capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities which are required for living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with, and recover from, stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base (Chambers and Conway 1992; Ashley and Carney 1999; Carney 1998).
Sustainable livelihoods is a framework which was developed by the Department for International Development (DFID) as an improved way of thinking about the objectives, scope and priorities of development, that will better meet the needs of the poor, both at project and policy level (DFID 2001). The framework puts people at the centre of development. The sustainable livelihood framework, as proposed by DFID, takes an asset/vulnerability approach to analysis of the livelihoods of poor people and starts with the experience of poverty as the lack of secure conditions of life. The framework aims at reflecting the complex range of assets and activities on which people depend for their livelihoods and recognises the importance of assets that poor people do not own.
The sustainable livelihoods framework is concerned with the range of capital assets which individuals, households and communities access and use in order to sustain themselves. These include:
Human capital, which includes skills, knowledge and ability to work or produce;
Social capital, which includes networks, participation in social or productive groups and mutually-beneficial relationships;
Natural capital, which includes natural resources;
Physical capital, which includes buildings, infrastructure (including power and water) and productive tools;
Financial capital, which includes funds available for investment, production and consumption. (see section 3.4.4 in Chapter Three for detailed explanation of the capital assets).
The sustainable livelihoods framework is also concerned with the vulnerability context of the people, which explains that people‟s lives, particularly those of the poor, are strongly affected by three groups of factors, which make them (and their assets) vulnerable and which are outside their control. These are:
Trends such as population change, national and international economic trends and technological change;
Shocks such as natural disasters, epidemics, civil conflict and economic crises;
Seasonal variations in prices, costs, production, food supply and economic opportunity.
The sustainable livelihoods framework used in this study is explained in detail in section 3.4.4 of Chapter Three.
1.7.4 Poverty
Poverty describes a wide range of circumstances associated with need, hardship and lack of resources. Poverty describes a low level of income that is not sufficient to allow the purchase of all the resources required to live. Low levels of income are measured by a threshold defined by the World Bank as income below the poverty line of $1 per person per day (World Bank 2003). Poverty connotes deprivations in three aspects of human development, meaning
being deprived of living a long and healthy life; being deprived of increased knowledge and education and being deprived of resources which enable people to have a decent standard of living (UNDP 2002; Sen 1998).
A report from SIDA (2005) states that at the core of every definition of poverty is the inability to provide food and shelter for a family. Enhancing livelihood opportunities is thus a key requirement in relieving poverty. ICTs have been shown to be effective at both enhancing traditional livelihoods and at allowing the creation of new ones. Simple examples of enhancements of livelihoods by ICTs include providing farmers with weather forecasts or crop information. New livelihoods enabled by ICTs include web-based businesses and telephone access resellers. Development, such as in the agricultural sector, may be an effective means of reducing poverty.
1.7.5 Rural areas
This study adopts the definition of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) of rural and remote areas, which describe rural areas in terms of the development of the ICT sector (ITU 2000). According to this definition, a rural area exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
Scarcity or absence of public facilities such as reliable electricity supply, water, access roads and regular transport;
Scarcity of technical personnel;
Difficult topographical conditions such lakes, rivers, hills, mountains or deserts, which render the construction of wire telecommunication networks very costly;
Severe climatic conditions, that make critical demands on equipment;
Low levels of economic activity, mainly based on agriculture, fishing or handicrafts;
Low per capita income;
Underdeveloped social infrastructures such as health and education;
Low population density;
Very high calling rates per telephone line, reflecting scarcity of telephone services and the fact that large numbers of people rely on a single telephone line.
According to ITU (2000), these characteristics make it difficult to provide public telecommunication services of acceptable quality by traditional means at affordable prices, while also achieving commercial viability for the service.
1.7.6 Information and communication technologies
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) involve innovations in microelectronics, computing (hardware and software), telecommunications and opto- electronics. These innovations enable the processing, manipulation and storage of large amounts of information, along with rapid distribution of information electronically in digital form through communication networks (UNDP 2001). ICTs can be divided into the following categories: New ICTs; these include computers, satellites, wireless one-on-one communications (including mobile phones), electronic mail (email) and internet. Old ICTs;
these include radio, television, landline telephones and telegraph (SIDA 2005).
To further define ICTs and differentiate them from other information-handling technologies Heeks (1999) divides information handling technologies as follows: ICTs which are based on digital information held as 1s and 0s and comprise computer hardware, software and networks. Other information-handling technologies include „intermediate‟ technologies, which are based on analogue systems such radio, television and telephone; „literal‟
technologies, which are based on information held as written word, such as books and newspapers; and „organic‟ technologies such as the brain and sound waves. Heeks (2002: 1) explained that ICTs reflect the convergence of digital computing and telecommunication.
Computers were largely focused on the processing of information, whereas ICTs undertake the processing and communication of information. Chapman, Slaymaker and Young (2005) pointed out that ICTs are not confined to the internet. They include instruments, processes, tools and methodologies that enable people to communicate, meet and share experiences, lessons and knowledge, by electronic means. ICTs are essential means of exchanging information.
1.7.7 Telecentre
A telecentre is a public facility in the community that affords people the opportunity to use computers, networks, photocopiers, scanners, telephones, printed materials and audio and
video resources for information-searching, communication, training and entertainment. The services provided in telecentres are either free or available at an affordable cost. The primary mission of a telecentre is community services compared to internet cafés whose primary mission is profit (Colle 2002).
1.7.8 Teledensity
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (1999) defines teledensity as the number of main telephone lines per 100 inhabitants. Teledensity is the most widely used indicator for comparing the penetration of telephone services in nations.
1.7.9 Universal access/universal service to ICTs
The term universal service is normally used interchangeably with the term universal access, but technically they mean two different things. Universal service to ICTs means the availability of ICTs services to individual subscribers, usually measured by household penetration. Universal access means being able to use ICTs, often via "public provision"
through publicly available services such as telephone booth, public accessed internet cafés or community telecentres. The term universality is normally used to refer to both universal access and universal service (Intven and Tetrault 2002).
Due to the poorly developed ICTs infrastructure in many developing countries, together with the high levels of poverty, the universality focus from a development perspective is commonly on universal access, rather than on universal service (Benjamin and Dahms 1999).
This perspective is especially the case when ICT is considered more broadly than telephony and include the use of the internet. Therefore, the strategy for developing countries is not universal service, but universal access at a community level. This is a more cost-efficient way to deliver services, particularly to people who are poor.
1.7.10 Digital divide
The digital divide is a social/political issue referring to the socio-economic gap between communities that have access to ICTs facilities and those who do not (Reitz 2007). The term also refers to gaps that exist between groups regarding their ability to use ICTs effectively, due to differing levels of literacy and technical skills. The digital divide is generally related to
social exclusion and inequality of opportunities to access and use ICTs. OECD (2001) defined digital divide as the gap between individuals, households and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels, with regard to their opportunities to access and use ICTs.