ICT: An Effective Tool in Human Development: Kuyoro Shade O. Awodele O. Okolie Samuel O
ICT: An Effective Tool in Human Development: Kuyoro Shade O. Awodele O. Okolie Samuel O
ICT: An Effective Tool in Human Development: Kuyoro Shade O. Awodele O. Okolie Samuel O
7; April 2012
Kuyoro Shade O.
Awodele O.
Okolie Samuel O.
Department of Computer Science
Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo
Nigeria
Abstract
The impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been felt in almost all sectors that are
particularly important in human development. It enhances learning and fills a large gap by encouraging distant
learning; it is a suitable means of distributing and accessing learning resources which in turn have great learning
potential in rural areas where resources such as books and libraries are scarce but ICT infrastructure is present.
ICTs offer new possibilities for improved health system, new ways of citizens’ empowerment and active
participation in their societies at both social and political levels. This article aims at briefing the roles of ICT in
significant areas of human development such as health, education and citizen empowerment, taking into
consideration the unequally distribution of ICT infrastructure (the digital divide) both across geographic areas
and within communities ICT.
Keywords: digital divide, ICT, distant learning, empowerment.
1.0 Introduction
Today, we are living in a world where Information Communication Technology (ICT) is being diffused into
almost all spheres of human activity at an unprecedented rate. Alongside this development, is an intense debate on
the contribution of this technology towards productivity and growth on the one hand; and human welfare on the
other in both developed and developing countries. Internationally, the spread and appropriation of ICTs has been
a key dimension of globalization, urging societies to build communications systems, manage them well; develop
infrastructure and capacity to use it; and implement good policy and regulation.
The World Economic Forum acknowledges the role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) as
a critical enabler to sustainable socio-economic growth and also a vital ingredient for effective regional co-
ordination in the creation of larger markets. Efforts to build infrastructure in the developing world, both by
governments and development agencies, have predominantly focused on providing computer hardware, satellite
connections and fibre-optic cabling, the Forum writes in its report on the Southern African Development
Community's e-Readiness. (World Bank, 2002)
The development of ICTs brought about a major shift in the world. The Information Age is a contemporary meta-
narrative that guides many studies in all fields. As a theoretical space within which to conduct contemporary
research, the Information Age suggests we are moving beyond the Industrial Age into an era where the sharing of
knowledge and ideas is the new driver of power and the world economy. Whether one discusses the emergence of
global financial systems or growing citizen solidarity networks, one thing remains common and is at the core of
the new society, the solicitation and exchange of the world‟s most valuable resource: information. Defined as the
new social morphology of our society, ICT is both a structure and a process that enables the exchange, the
redirection, and the reception of information, on a global scale, without restraints of space or time. Distance is
rendered irrelevant, allowing direct, simultaneous, decentralized, and expanding relations of collaboration,
advocacy, trade, production, and innovation, generating new forms of power constellation and distribution.
(Castells, 2000).
As tools that allow immense exchanges of information, ICTs impact many realms. The use of Internet in the quest
to promote and defend human rights, international law, and democratic governance, is well documented and is
perhaps the strongest asset for civil society struggles around the world today and one of the most positive
examples of the space of flows.
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Expressed both locally and internationally through ICTs, people‟s sense of self are increasingly generating a
shared sense of experience, beyond the confines of geographic space. Through ICTs, we are experiencing
increased exposure to external influences which have deep impacts on culture and identity (Greig, 2002).
We can now experience „timeless time‟ -the capacity to function in real-time across the world without delay and
at our convenience, with blurred distinction between physical and digital experiences (Castells, 2000). The
Information Age also affects us through its media and images, which alter our lives, communities, nations and
states, and have tremendous impacts on our identities and our imagination (Appadurai, 1996). Cultural flows are
travelling in all directions, to and from both developed and developing countries. Because of the digital divide,
the use and benefits of ICTs are a reality and a strategy that still remain out of the reach of many people in the
world (Shields, 2003), but we can imagine that few are truly sheltered from the impacts of ICTs. The
communications that occur through these channels do spread beyond their initial medium through other means
and therefore tend to reach much wider audiences. The contents of online communications have the ability of
travelling between the physical and virtual worlds, and back again, both in developed and developing countries.
(Lim, 2003)
This article identifies the roles of ICTs in human developments. Section 2.0 presents ICT, human development
and the digital divide. The remaining part of this article will be arranged as follows section 3.0 highlights the ICT
empowerment and participation, section 4.0 describes the role in health, section 5.0 describes ICT in education
and section 6.0 gives the conclusion and future works.
2.0 Ict, Human Development and the Digital Divide
Two of the most powerful forces in the world today are the spread of Information and communication
technologies (ICT) and the global effort to achieve more widespread social and economic development according
to Digital Opportunity Initiative (DOI). ICT could bring broad and in-depth information to those who have been
hitherto denied such knowledge and thus opportunities for social and economic mobility. It could open up new
possibilities for more transparent and inclusive public administration/governance everywhere by opening up
direct channels to the arenas of decision making, and by engendering a proliferation of public spheres and
stronger civil-society networks brought together by the “death of distance”. It could become the engine of
redistribution of knowledge and expertise in the areas of education and public health. It could pave the way for an
inclusive economic sphere by lowering entry barriers for e-commerce and provide two-way flow of good
knowledge and ideas to any and all.
Historically, a lack of access to ICT was defined as a „digital divide‟, a separation of society, based upon who has
or not effective access to digital technology. Studies of the digital divide keep us aware that access and use of
ICTs are unequally distributed both across geographic areas and within communities. The digital divide is the
disparity that exists in access to ICTs between countries or regions, communities, ethnicities, the sexes, or age
groups. It can manifest itself internationally and within communities and is shaped by the economic, political, and
sociological context in which it occurs (Guillén and Suárez, 2005). The digital divide is especially relevant to
those who value and advocate the fundamental role of ICTs today. When considering the impact of ICTs on
human development, one need to be very cognizant with the disparities and inequalities on access and use that
exist between groups and amongst countries because these have serious implications on human development.
ICTs entail a set of capabilities that can be harnessed and fostered to further human development through access
to information and increased potentials for communication. The basic purpose of development is to enlarge
people‟s choices, which also includes access to information that leads to knowledge (Haq, 1995).
The link between access to information and development is embedded in the fact that the first step in overcoming
challenges in human life consists of evaluating the predicament and identifying the alternatives that would make
life better (Drèze and Sen, 1989). The knowledge of those alternatives is central to the outcome of such a
reflection. Knowledge can therefore be liberating and as such it has the potential of changing traditional
understandings and ways of doing things (Hill, 2007). ICTs and access to the wealth of knowledge available
through the Internet can be powerful sources of such information and in this sense; such information can be
highly beneficial and influential for human development. The application of ICT technologies requires human
capabilities to handle such technologies (Lee, 2001).
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