Social and Professional Issues in IT

Roshan Chitrakar

International Issues

• The foundation of Information Society• Digital Divide• Framework for Information Society• A Knowledge Society• Defining Rights and Governance• Infrastructure Development• Development and Employment• Tools, Services and Application• Citizens and Communities• Gender Perspectives

Foundation of Information Society

• Information Society is – a consumer-oriented environment containing tools, applications

and services; or– as a global commons enabled by ICTs in which human needs

are central.

• An information society’s is developed on the basis of human rights frameworks and hence is human needs - centric.

• Information Societies develop economic wealth, grow social needs, and focus on cultural identity and diversity of all citizens.

• There needs a balance between the civil society and the information society.

Digital Divide

• Does exist in both domestic and global contexts.• Divide not only in the Internet, but basic telephony also. • Digital government services are not possible as long as

there remain citizens who lack access to technologies.• Issues in inequalities: -

– social, economic, educational and political barriers; – achieving universal and equitable access; – information is a public and intellectual property; – freedom of expression and of the media; – cultural and linguistic diversity in circumventing

barriers; and – roles of govt., civil society and private sector in

bridging barriers

Developing Framework of Information Society

• The framework include functional, regulatory and developmental aspects

• Functional issues– facilitation of education and technical literacy, – addressing the needs of workers, – support for commerce

• Regulatory issues – data protection, privacy and network security, – intellectual property rights, – establishment of appropriate policy

• Developmental issues– sustainable and appropriate development of ICTs, – capacity building in govt., society and the private sector, – financing and deployment

Knowledge Society perspective

• An information society enables the creation and management of knowledge through the ICTs.

• Issues are: -– establishment of educational goals through

information society; – enabling distance learning; – facilitating formal and lifelong learning;– development of information literacy, including content

development skills;– access to knowledge; – support for cultural and linguistic diversity; and – support for needs of young people.

Defining Rights and Governance

• Define and enforce rights of all stakeholders, and the particulars of its governance

• Issues are: -– democratic management of intl. bodies dealing with

ICTs; – information and comm. rights of got., business and

citizens; – privacy and security policies (responding to criminal

activities); – censorship and regulation of contents; – role of the media (ownership and concentration);– application of ICTs for decentralization; and

Infrastructure Development

• Evolution from the present technical state to fully benefited state from an information society

• Issues are: -– Extend Internet connectivity to under-served areas – Use wireless technologies to realize economic

benefits; – Develop new ICTs to meet human needs; – build bridges between different media addressing the

needs of rural communities; and – Make ICTs available to address emergency situations

around the world.

Development and Employment

• ICTs affect development and create employment.

• Issues are: -– creation of economic opportunities; – role of ICTs in health, agriculture, labor, culture, and

other life-critical sectors; – training of workers for an information society; – labor exploitation in ICT-based sectors;– examine the roles and impacts of investment in ICT-

based development; and – role and limits of e-commerce in development and

employment.

Tools, Services and Applications

• Which tools, services and applications should be used or developed with regard to their social impacts and human needs?

• Issues are: -– universal access to knowledge and global communication and

cooperation;– improvement of living standard (adequate health and well-being)– development of ICTs for e-government (citizen input into political

processes); – support for disaster mitigation and relief operations; – Support for data retention and archiving for cultural preservation;

and – tools to facilitate cross-sector co-operation.

Citizens and Communities

• Develop the concept of an information society that falls outside of commercial and governmental perspectives

• Issues are: -– creation and preservation of an electronic commons, free public

spaces and technical resources that can be used to meet human needs;

– community control of ICT infrastructures; – capacity building for communities to participate in information

society: – address linguistic and cultural diversity (also preserve them)– support for independent, community controlled media; – meeting the needs of people with disabilities; – meeting the needs of the elderly; – providing support for cross-cultural communications; – geographic-specific issues, such as rural access to ICTs.

Gender Perspective

• Design processes without gender consideration do not address the needs of women.

• Issues are: -– gender discrimination and participation of women in an

information society, – capacity building and training for women (improve the lives of

women) worldwide– Women’s participation in policy and decision making levels in the

ICT sector; – women’s access and control over information for their

empowerment; – development of ICT applications for supporting women’s

education and literacy programs; – development of ICT applications for reducing sexual and other

violence against women