Academic literature on the topic 'Information Communication Technologies (ICTs)'

Democracy depends on the civic and political engagement of individuals. Despite a growing body of research analyzing political engagement in the United States, little attention has been paid to the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and perceptions of citizens concerning civic participation. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between ICTs, perceptions of citizenship, and participatory preferences for 18- to 35-year-olds in the United States. Applying Olson's theory of collective action, the goal of the study was to understand how ICT use influenced changes in perceptions of citizenship between 2004 and 2014. A repeated cross-sectional design, pooling secondary data retrieved from the U.S. General Social Survey database, was used to answer the research questions on the effect of ICT use on perceptions and actions concerning citizenship and participation. The hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Study findings suggested that ICT use had no notable effect on changes in perceptions of citizenship. More specifically, results indicated that changes in perceptions and actions between 2004 and 2014 were not the result of ICTs, despite increasing ICT usage over the period. These findings indicate that ICTs are just tools, rather than agents of change. Acknowledging ICT use as a form of expression permits practitioners to deploy ICTs as tools to support civic engagement. Benefits from leveraging them as tools are likely to accrue individuals, society, and practitioners alike. The resulting implications for positive social change include increased participation as well as the adoption of democratic practices reflective of modern participatory demands and behaviors.

This study endeavoured to investigate the effects of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) on the performance of International Joint Ventures (IJVs) by focusing on specific variables known to affect performance i. e. culture (national and corporate) and communication. Given the increasing use of ICTs in business processes this thesis focused on whether the utilisation of ICTs affected the communication and cultural dynamics within IJVs and whether any correlating effect on IJV performance occurred. Three research questions were developed, firstly, how ICTs impacted on communication between IN partners, secondly, how ICTs affected the cultural diversity that exists between partners and thirdly, if the use of ICTs in communication channels had any subsequent effect on IN performance. Research was undertaken using the multiple embedded case study approach allowing data to be linked to theory in an inductive and deductive process. The contextual setting was the European Telecommunications sector since it is a geographical area with an inherent cultural diversity and an industry with a significant number of IJVs. The sample selected focused on five IJVs created between UK and other EU partners during the time period 1995 to 1997. Data was collected primarily through the use of semi-structuredin terviews with directors of eachp arent company. Within and cross case analysis of the results enabled common themes and new ideas to emerge, indicating that the use of ICTs does affect communication channels and is dependent upon the importance of the interaction. Cultural diversity that exists between IJV partners is also affected but at a superficial level, however, results revealed that the use of ICTs does not enhance the performance of IJVs. Results also highlight unexpected findings, that of, two new variables affecting IJV performance which are a unique corporate culture and a common vision for the IJV.

Library users are constantly expecting new services, which puts tremendous pressure on academic libraries to re-organise their work patterns and devise better ways of service delivery in order to remain relevant. Although there are a lot of developments taking place in terms of information and communication technology (ICT), academic libraries in Sub- Saharan Africa are at different levels of ICT deployment both between different countries and within the same countries. The aim of this study is to determine the status of ICTs in Academic libraries in Central Uganda. The descriptive study employs a survey methodology gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. Data was collected from library staff responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of ICT at 17 of the 22 academic libraries in Central Uganda using survey questionnaires and interviews over a period of twelve months. Findings indicate that there is an improvement in the status of ICTs in academic libraries in Central Uganda although they are deployed at a minimum level. Funding, power fluctuations and low bandwidth still pose a major threat to ICT adoption in academic libraries in Central Uganda. This report informs government, libraries, LIS schools, LIS professional bodies and policy makers on the future course of action regarding ICT deployment and curricula. Notably, there is need for government to support infrastructural development; engage in public-private partnerships for infrastructural developments; exempt taxation of ICT equipment and supplement funding at universities. Libraries should dedicate more funds to purchase ICT equipment; automate all library functions; develop local capacity to manage ICT projects; promote awareness about ICT services and support initiatives from local and international library associations. LIS schools should conduct a curriculum review to reposition the LIS study program to the present and future needs of the job market; monitor and advice government on policy issues affecting higher education include the need to align ICTs to national development. LIS professional bodies need to champion the cause for the standardization of LIS study programs, promote networking and knowledge sharing; articulate national e-strategies and play advisory role to government, LIS schools and libraries.<br>Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016.<br>Carnegie Corporation of New York<br>Information Science<br>MIT<br>Unrestricted

This research investigates the linkages that exist between climate change impacts, adaptation and information and communication technologies (ICTs) within developing country livelihoods. The analysis is based on an original conceptual framework that explores the notion of 'e-resilience' as a key property through which ICTs may strengthen the capacity of vulnerable systems to adapt and potentially transform in the face of increasing climate change impacts and uncertainty. By drawing key principles from the sustainable livelihoods framework, new institutionalism and Sen's capabilities approach, and based on a critical realist view of the world, the research provides a novel approach to the understanding of ICTs' role in contexts vulnerable to climate change. Based on the experience of Colombia's coffee producers, the analysis demonstrates that ICTs can contribute to the ability of vulnerable livelihoods to adapt to the impacts of climate change and variability through improved short-term informational efficiency and knowledge sharing, and long-term decision-making effectiveness, capacity building and behavioural change. The analysis explores the main factors that enable or constrain ICTs' contribution to the implementation of adaptive actions, arguing that the extent and impact of those contributions are best understood through the concept of e-resilience. As an increasingly relevant property of vulnerable systems, e-resilience integrates foundational (robustness, self-organisation and learning) and enabling attributes (redundancy, rapidity, scale, flexibility, diversity and equality) that may have been overlooked from a traditional 'asset-based' approach, while allowing a systemic (multi-scale/multi-temporal/multi-stressor) understanding of the context within which developing country stakeholders operate. The research findings reveal numerous linkages between ICTs' role and resilience building, suggesting that the e-resilience sub-properties strengthen the ability of vulnerable systems to enact adaptation actions, and better cope with the process of change and increasing uncertainty associated with (but not limited to) climate change. The analysis shows that, while ICT tools have not been explicitly integrated into national or sectoral climate change adaptation strategies, they are playing an increasing role in the adaptive capacity and resilience of developing country livelihoods. The study concludes by recognising the strengths and weaknesses of the e-resilience approach, providing recommendations to facilitate its use in development practice and suggesting key areas for future research.

The doctoral dissertation deals with the impact of the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on global environmental governance. The objective of the research is to analyze the influence of these technologies on the legitimacy of global governance tools and on the competences of global non-state actors –as part of global civil society– involved in processes of environmental politics. After defining the context in which new ICTs emerge, the thesis develops two case studies. The first one analyzes the resolution and recommendation process of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). It illustrates that the use of new ICT improves the participation and the creation of consensus around certain values, and shows therefore that the use of new ICTs has a positive impact on the legitimacy of this global governance mechanism. The second case study examines the use of new ICTs by IUCN and demonstrates that it has no substantial impact on the internal capacities of the organization. However, it has a positive yet limited impact on the external competences of IUCN, since it improves the organization’s capacity to communicate only with its traditional audience.<br>La tesis doctoral trata el impacto de la generalización de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC) sobre la gobernanza global del medio ambiente. El objetivo de la investigación es analizar la influencia de estas nuevas tecnologías sobre la legitimidad de los mecanismos de gobernanza global y sobre las capacidades de los actores globales no estatales –como parte de la sociedad civil global– implicados en estos procesos de política medioambiental . Después de definir el contexto en el cual emergen las nuevas TIC, la tesis desarrolla dos casos de estudio. El primero de ellos analiza la evolución del proceso de resoluciones y recomendaciones de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) y permite ilustrar que el uso de las nuevas TIC mejora la participación en este proceso y la creación de consenso en torno a determinados valores. Por ello, el uso de las nuevas TIC tiene un impacto positivo sobre la legitimidad de este mecanismo de gobernanza global. El segundo caso analiza el uso de las nuevas TIC por parte de la UICN y demuestra que no tiene un impacto sustancial sobre las capacidades internas de esta organización. Sin embargo, sí cabe reseñar un impacto positivo pero limitado sobre las competencias externas de la UICN, de modo que mejora la capacidad de la organización para comunicar tan sólo con su audiencia tradicional.

The thesis contributes to evolving debates on spatial theorising in the discipline of International Relations (IR). It argues that spatial interpretation in the discipline is both gendered, through its focus on public institutions of politics, and state-centric, through a neo/Realist hegemony of ideas in its discourse. These discursive parameters are argued to impose limitations on the study of transnational phenomena, and the thesis therefore develops a framework for analysis apposite to research into political activity that is not state-centred. This analytical frarnework is based initially upon the work of Henri Lefebvre, and identifies three categories of analysis: spatial practice, representations of space and space of representation. In this respect the thesis introduces a form of spatial methodology to the discipline. The thesis argues that these categories provide a more flexible model for analysis of complex interactions in the international arena than extant approaches in the discipline can provide, by permitting examination of political activity at the level of agency. The spatial categories are applied to two transnational phenomena of relevance to the discipline: the international political practices of non-governmental organizations(NGOs), and their use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). A survey of the use of ICT's by Amnesty International, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, the Institute for Journalism in Transition and Oxfam is undertaken. The thesis then analyses the use of ICTs as a political tool by these organizations, using spatial theories as a framework. The application of spatial theories as a methodological approach aims to extend the discursive parameters of the discipline by introducing a less gendered, more flexible analytical model, appropriate to research into complex political practices.