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Internet and society in Latin America and the Caribbean

BONILLA, Marcelo
CLICHE, Gilles
Eds
2004

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The research contained in this book is designed to foster discussion about the policies and actions that must be promoted for building an Internet culture in Latin America and the Caribbean based on the principles of social and cultural equity. The book also includes the results of development work on two information tools: the first is designed to facilitate mediation of the Internet's social impacts, and the second to develop a citizen habitus among children

Involving the community : a guide to participatory development communication

BESSETTE, Guy
2004

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This manual argues that communication facilitates the development process. It conceptualises communication as interaction between and among the people whose development is being considered. In this way, communication becomes the development process itself, and the stakeholders - community members or their supporters who share an interest in the outcome - are development communicators as well. Using examples from environmental and natural resource management to illustrate participatory development communication, the manual is adaptable to other development areas, including health. It describes the root concepts of participatory development communication, a ten-step methodology for its application, and suggests communication tools appropriate to the approach. In an annex appended to the book, the author presents a summary of the changing perception of the relationship between the twin processes of communication and development. This adds a theoretical background to the material that gives it more depth for development researchers and practitioners for whom the book is intended, and will also be useful for development communication students

Health : an ecosystem approach

LEBEL, Jean
2003

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Can people remain healthy in a world that is sick? Many ecological disasters can be directly traced to careless exploitation of the environment, with human beings as first perpetrator and then victim. Our health closely mirrors the health of our surroundings: this is the basis of the Ecohealth approach. It recognizes the links between humans and their biophysical, social, and economic environments, and that these links are reflected in the population's state of health. This is a new area of research, requiring input from scientists, community and interest groups, and decision-makers. This book describes this new approach, providing lessons and recommendations from various IDRC-supported research activities. It demonstrates how decision-makers, in particular, can use the ecohealth approach to formulate policies and solutions that are both immediately visible and sustainable over the long term

A dialogue on ICTs and poverty : the Harvard Forum

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
2003

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In September 2003, 30 experts from around the world gathered at Harvard University to discuss how ICTs can help to reduce poverty. These multimedia files give a brief survey of their discussions, concerns and conclusions

ICTs and poverty : a literature review

ADEYA, Catherine Nyaki
2002

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This literature review explores the concepts of ICTs and poverty, and their implications on development. It is divided into the following sections: Section 2 examines the concepts of poverty and ICTs, as well as some related issues, while the next section evaluates the relationship between ICTs and poverty in some detail; Section 4 then presents some case study literature on ICTs and poverty. This section is followed by an assessment of literature on ICTs and poverty reduction from the perspective of development in Section 5. The focus of Section 6 is ICTs and a selection of thematic areas that include agriculture, culture, education, health and gender. Section 7 has some concluding remarks and the last section gives recommendations for further research

Ethics and the Internet in west Africa : toward an ethical model of integration|Les enjeux éthiques d’Internet en Afrique de l’Ouest : vers un modèle éthique d’intégration

BRUNET, Patrick
TIEMTORE, Oumarou
VETTRAINO-SOULARD, Marie-Claude
2002

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This book focuses on ethical questions related to the use of the Internet in west Africa. It examines the manner in which the spread of the Internet in Africa raises serious ethical issues; issues that should be identified to ensure that, in the future, the adaptation and integration of Internet technology will be compatible with the development of Africa's nations. The book is based on field suveys in five west African countries, two anglophone and three francophone. For each country, a portrait of Internet users' ethical behaviours was created. The book demonstrates how the Internet, by virtue of its content and how the technology is uses, is creating upheaval in the practices and modes of communication within African communities. The book culminates with a proposed ethical model for the assimilation of the Internet that could serve as a reference for development policies in each of the respective countries and, more broadly, throughout Africa

Reshaping health care in Latin America : a comparative analysis of health care reform in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

FLEURY, Sonia
BELMARTINO, Susana
BARIS, Enis
Eds
2000

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This book assesses the health care reforms of the past decade in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The authors are in agreement that reform in the governance, management and financing of the provision of health services was essential. However, they criticize the outcomes of the reform process not only for the anticipated exacerbation of social and economic inequalities, but also because of inattention paid to human resources as well as much-needed development of science and technology

Participatory development communication : a West African agenda

BESSETTE, Guy
RAJASUNDERAM, C V
Eds
1996

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Outlines the activities and priorities of the participatory communication CIME (Communicaiton, information, media, Education) research programme of IDRC in West Africa. Includes a useful historical overview of development communication and related areas of development, and a review of current participatory communication methods, such as 'community media', that put the 'grass-roots expression of its needs' at the heart of development. Also considers the relationship between grass-roots communication and non-formal education and in particular the need for supporting and developing the skills of young women and girls as effecetive communicators at the grass-roots level

Measuring the impact of information on development

MENOU, Michel J
1993

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This report documents an initiative that, through its methods and focus, aimed to provide a realistic starting point to understanding the impact of information on development. It consisted of a electronic conference, followed by a workshop through which ideas about information and evaluation were shared and built upon. The report weaves together the input of dozens of information users and providers, policymakers, information scientists, and others from the South and the North, and presents a preliminary assessment framework as a starting point to future work in this area

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