20 ICT for Development / Spread of ICT

Belinda Lopez

epgp books

 

 

 

      1) Technology

 

1.      What is Technology?

 

Technology is the use of scientific knowledge in everyday living. It is knowledge comprised of design that is capable of constructing devises, products and processes produced by man and to be used by man. It is diagonally opposite to science which is the study of the natural world. It requires:

  • A thorough knowledge of science – “Leverage” is a technology developed through a thorough understanding of the concept of physics Creativity and imagination – ability to design Skills in translating concepts into design – skill is the ability that humans develop as a result of knowledge and practice. An example is the ability to draw a picture which conveys a message.
  • Raw material to produce the design – copper, aluminium, zinc etc are necessary for the manufacture of computers.
  • Tools to work with – hammer, machines
  • Energy to create  – enthusiasm

Technology indicates manufactured objects like:

  •  Tools – stones, axes, hammer
  • Equipment – machines, apparatus
  • Containers – pots, ponds, houses
  • Furniture – chairs
  • To increase the capability of humans – with a mobile phone interaction is possible with a person who is not physically present.
  • Assist humans in their day to day work – with a computer a teacher could explain concepts
  • Increase the abilities of humans – a calculator will make possible the calculation of complex data
  • Undertake activities which are beyond the capacity of human physical strength – An excavator will assist in creating a pond

2.  History

 

The rise of civilisation can be associated with the technological innovations. The bullock cart, the plough, the potter’s wheel, are some of the very first technological artefacts’ that were adopted by man. The adoption of technology in early civilisations like the Egypt, Mesopotamia, India influenced social organisations with ripples across the globe resulting in the formation of cities.

 

When history is studied, one sees a series of steps consisting of the invention, innovation and diffusion and adoption are followed.

 

When the technique of the typewriter was invented, innovation followed in the discovery of using it as a means of written communication, typewriting as a means of communication was diffused through specially setup schools to teach the Technique of typing and this lead to the adoption of typewriting as a means of written communication. This series of steps are visible right from the day man started developing the technique of use stones as a means of digging and cutting. Humans stared identifying different materials to procure food, build shelter and clothe themselves and defend themselves from others.

 

Every generation developed new techniques and passed it on to their offspring’s. They in turn refined the technique and increased its ability to be assist humans in their day to day life. A good example is the discovery of the technique of the “Leverage”. This lead to the discovery of the wheel and later the “Pulley” system was discovered. The adoption of this technique moved in two different directions, on the one side it was bullock carts, horse carts, carriages, etc., on the other we had the discovery of winch, cranes, lifts, etc., All these are considered mechanical techniques. Later these were automated with the discovery of steam, electricity etc to the present day Digital Technology.

 

Looking at history of Technology we see a general progress from a stage of developing techniques to assist in the day to day living to the stage of increasing the quality of life following through to a stage of division of labour, leading to increasing the variety and complexity of products and services produced to a stage of dependency, relatedness among and between groups, and networking.

 

3.  Present day Technology

 

The Global Information Technology Report 2016 considers the present period to be the Fourth revolutionary phase in the use of technology. The first phase saw the transition was from the mechanical individual use of technology to societies becoming urban and industrial. The steam engine, Iron and textile industry played a crucial role in the first phase. The second phase saw the use of Science (use of electricity), followed by the third phase called the Digital Revolution when the computer, Internet and Information Communication Technology came into play.

 

The present day is considered to be the fourth Phase which is, as usual building on the digital phase. Breakthroughs are being made in the field of Robotics, artificial intelligence, Graphene, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, the internet of things (IOT), 3D printing, autonomous vehicles, drones, Massive open learning courses (MOOC)s,

 

Virtual currencies (Bitcoin), wearable technologies, Aquaponic systems, smart home technologies, Electricity storage (hydrogen) etc., The focus in this phase is on processing and storing data to facilitate accesses to knowledge by a larger number of people. Information Communication Technologies are the backbone of this phase.

 

The present day focus is on the Broadband Internet which is considered to be one of the most convenient and general technology. It is developing its capability to impact social structures and economies and is considered to be one of the global drivers of innovation.

 

4.  Its adaption / role

 

The role of Technology can be viewed through the prism of community development. The varied applications and adoptions associated with technology is as colourful as the rainbow. The pre historic period was a time when man discovered and made associated technological inventions such as cultivation, use of fire, the wheel etc, which played an important role in:

  • The change from a nomadic life to settlements
  • Began community living
  • Developed the system of trade and commerce

    These and many more changes took place but they were all slow and steady transitions from one stage to the other. It is important to note the role of Extension Education in this process. The concept was definitely not articulated but people developed systems of transmitting the information and knowledge that they gained from one generation to the other. With every new invention of a technology be it the discovery of fire as a cooking medium or construction of houses the “Approaches of Extension” such as participation and cooperation can be traced.

 

 

In the eighteenth century a revolution took place, which is considered as the first phase of the technological revolution. A breakthrough was made which moved communities from an agrarian handcraft economy to a one of industry and machine manufacture. This again brought about many changes in the social, cultural and economic structure of the society.

 

The textile industry which was a key driver of the first technological revolution played an important role in the way in which society functioned.

  • It began a process of urbanisation.
  • Creation of a labour class of factory workers – later provided space for networking and collective formation of the factory workers.
  • The factory system – brought with it new organisational techniques and associated development in technology such as the loudspeaker. Therefore this first phase of technological revolution is considered as constantly moving equilibrium in the development of technology.
  • Learning by doing – this phase is characterised by the fundamental extension concept of learning by doing. Generally when new technologies are developed, they are rough. As people use it they make subsequent improvements, adaptations to it and there was a gradual diffusion of the new technology. People learnt by using it in their day to day life.

During the second phase of technological revolution the focus was on science.

 

Technology played its role as:

  • Accounting: with the invention of books and pens accounting techniques advanced.
  • Science was used to improve the technology. Techniques of building bridges and other large scale works such as ships, cars boilers were developed. This brought in the application of pure science in the development of technology.
  • Electrical engineering made great progress.
  • This was an important phase from the perspective of Extension Education because laboratories were introduced. Tremendous research was undertaken in order to improve technology.
  • Research institutes in the form of government or university departments, public and private undertakings were seen.
  • Advancement in technology played an important role in bringing the character of Professionalism into society. Administrative, technical and managerial functions were clearly distinguished because of the large scale use of technology.
  • Technological progress translated into recognition of qualification to use the technology.

During the third phase the focus was on Digital technology. These technology developed networks that assisted communities to operate with networked information. They are expected to achieve sustainability such as:

 

Economic sustainability: by creating jobs, boosting critical industries, supporting new and varied economic opportunities.

 

Social sustainability: helping people to connect with each other develop connection with people beyond physical reach, enhance service provision, better the quality of life, and bring about social inclusion.

 

Environmental sustainability: decrease the negative impact of environment use; assist in creating a greener society.

 

India is a country that is densely populated and the internet has been making a definite impact. The Government has been able to increase the provision of services to the citizens of the country there by increasing the quality of life and independence in their day to day life.

 

ITC has been able to:

  • Give national and international access to the general population of the country.
  • People are able to market their products at regional, national and international level.
  • New kinds of earning an income have risen.
  • Jobs have been created.
  • Made the people, state and country more competitive

    Telecom and network connectivity: has been a enabler in the nations socio economic growth. Broadband and UID are key factors that assisted in the penetration of the ITC in the countries social scenario . Not only is ICT adopted by private sector, it has also been adopted by the government of the country.

 

The eForms application project is an example of the adoption of ICT by the government for public benefit. It is a project where the state portal, State Service Delivery Gateway and

 

Electronic Form, aims to create an integrated information infrastructure that shall expand, integrate and enhance the utility and reach of the services provided by the Government to the citizens through Common Service Centers (CSCs) by leveraging the common infrastructure (SWAN, SDC etc.) at the States/UT level. This is able to assist the citizens to access the service under a single interface mechanism from the portal.

 

As an example, the eForms application project which combines State Portal, With this, citizens can access the services under a single interface mechanism from the Portal. The success of e-Forms depends on the three pillars namely SWAN, State Data Centres (SDC) and CSC. E- Forms is now a reality in India

 

A live example of bringing the S+CC concept to rural areas is Project Samudaya and the associated Inclusive Growth initiative. Project Samudaya attempts to build sustainable communities and has demonstrated this vision by enabling remote education through Cisco Education Enabled Development (CEED) platform for young children in the flood affected villages in Raichur district of Karnataka. The CEED solution provided as part of Project Samudaya ties back with Cisco’s most recent global initiative “Inclusive Growth” that uses network as the platform to lead to broad based transformation of nations.

 

The true benefits of technology are in its application, and if an effective deployment of a network that enables academic information to flow to rural areas brought millions of children access to better education, we should be able to improve our scores on literacy and employability. A recent effort towards this has been made by several IT majors who have come together for a District Learning Centre initiative at Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, to provide learning opportunities and IT training to the youth of the district.

 

The winds of change are blowing in the right direction – the Indian government has recently announced its 3G policy which will make available 3G, HSPA and WiMAX technologies that are expected to bridge the last mile and drive mobile broadband in rural areas. Once differences over policy issues and spectrum allocation are resolved the country could see 3G HSPA and Net telephony rollouts, throwing open a world of possibilities. Potential applications could include introduction of customized services in regional languages via Live TV, webcasts and streaming audio/video applications, e-healthcare and infotainment, to mention a few.

 

Rural India is expected to account for 40% of the 250 million new wireless users as per a recent study conducted by FICCI and Ernst and Young. If these subscribers had access to broadband and high-speed Internet, every citizen would truly be able to participate in – and benefit from – the global information revolution and contribute to a balanced growth of the nation.

 

Technology has been the forefront of India’s recent economic resurgence and in technology lies the answer to many of our challenges as we become a Developed India

 

5.      ICT

 

2)      Extension Education

 

1.      Extension and

2.      Home Science Extension Centre

3.      National level Home Science Extension Teams

4.      Developing local teams

5.      Collaborating with other stake holders

 

3)      Role of Extension

 

1.      designated programmes

2.      Field programmes

3.      Policy framing

4.      Establishing organisations and approaches

5.      Manpower development

6.      Programme planning and implementation

    4)   Integration of ICT and Extension

 

Prioritised action plan

 

Supporting the enabling environment for supply- and demand-related macrolevel interventions, and adopting national strategies for ICT development.

 

Awareness raising among donor and enterprise support agency staff about the role of ICTs for productivity and competitiveness.

 

Development of demand-driven information services incorporating epartnerships and development of local content with a sustainability requirement.

 

Development of an authoritative knowledge base of good practice on ICTs through support for networking, including e-networking with business partners.

 

Support the development of the ICT sector and ICT technical capability, and the localisation of IT sector support services.

 

Development of integrated e-business support and productivity enhancement packages for MSMEs through sector strategies and demonstrators, such

  1. through the use of as e-appraisal tools.
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