Thursday 13 December 2012

Information systems in developing countries: a critical research review

In this paper I review the Information Systems (IS) research on how developing countries have attempted to benefit from information and communication technologies (ICTs). First I identify three discourses on IS implementation and associated organizational and social change that coexist in information systems in developing countries (ISDC) research, namely as a process of technology and knowledge transfer and adaptation to local social conditions; as a process of socially embedded action; and as a process of transformative techno-organizational intervention associated with global politics and economics. I then point out the distinctive research agenda that has been formed in ISDC studies, both in the more familiar IS themes – failure, outsourcing, and strategic value of ICT – and also in studies of themes relevant specifically to the context of developing countries, such as the development of community ICT and information resources. Finally, I call the reader's attention to the potentially significant theoretical contributions of ISDC research for understanding IS innovation in relation to social context and in relation to socio-economic development theories and policies.

Madhya Pradesh to link maximum public service with IT

Madhya Pradesh government has initiated an exercise to link maximum number of public services with information technology.

State's Public Service Management Department principal secretary Iqbal Singh Bains said an initiative was being taken to use information technology in delivery of maximum number of public services.

However, the biggest challenge is change in the mind-set of officers and employees in adopting new technologies About 350 Public Service Centres will come into existence soon.

Information Technology secretary Hariranjan Rao said that the Union Government has included Madhya Pradesh among the first five states for maximum use of information technology. He said steps were being taken to provide e-service, including digital signatures, to enhance efficiency in public utility services.

What is Technology

Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The word technology comes from Greek technología from techne meaning "art, skill, craft", and logía meaning "study of". The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include construction technology, medical technology, and information technology.