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ItemCrossing the Disciplines(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009) Best, Michael L. ; Bar, François
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ItemThe telecommunications policy process in post-conflict developing countries: the case of Liberia(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Best, Michael L. ; Thakur, DhanarajPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the telecommunications policy process in immediate post-conflict countries and how that process differs from traditional settings. Design/methodology/approach – The authors consider the case of Liberia, a country that recently emerged from a protracted civil war. The authors focus on the Liberian Telecommunications Act of 2007 and the processes through which this act came about by applying a modified research framework. This framework identifies several factors in the literature that are posited to influence the policymaking process in developing countries. The authors also include other factors based on previous studies in post-conflict countries. The aim is to test the usefulness of this framework using the 2007 act. The authors apply it through the use of interviews with key actors in the government, industry, and international agencies. This was supplemented by secondary data from published reports and other sources. Findings – From the framework the authors identify the main factors influencing the telecoms policy making process in Liberia such as a weak and nascent institutional environment, intra-governmental competition, limited human and technical resources, the supportive (especially initially) role of the international actors such as the World Bank, and the dominance of elite groups in decision-making. The authors then make suggestions on overcoming some of existing challenges to the sector. Originality/value – This paper looks at the intersection of research in telecommunications policy, policy processes and post-conflict countries, an area in which there is currently very little work. The results indicate that several dimensions of the framework are germane to the post-conflict case and that some of these observations are also relevant to the future development of telecommunications in these countries.
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ItemAnnouncing ITID 2.0(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Bar, François ; Best, Michael L.
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ItemITID 2.0(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Best, Michael L. ; Wilson, Ernest J., III ; Bar, François
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ItemUser Centered Design Considered Harmful(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Dearden, Andy ; Best, Michael L. ; Dray, Susan ; Light, Ann ; Thomas, John ; Buckhalter, Celeste ; Greenblatt, Daniel ; Krishanan, Shanks ; Sambasivan, Nithya
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ItemSustainability Failures of Rural Telecenters: Challenges from the Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) Project(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Best, Michael L. ; Kumar, RajendraWe have examined longitudinally an ICT for a development project in rural India, closely watching activities and surveying users at as many as 100 Internet facilities in more than 50 different villages. The Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) project in Tamil Nadu, India, enjoyed many successes, including palpable—albeit localized—social and economic development impacts as well as the incubation of an—albeit inconsistently—celebrated ICT for a development start-up company (n-Logue Communications Pvt. Ltd.). Ultimately, however, the SARI project did not sustain itself. In the particular outcomes reported here, we follow the prospects of 36 private telecenters which were opened at various times between November 2001 and February 2004. By May 2005, 32 of these 36 telecenters had closed. However, in the same time period, most of 42 telecenters in the same area that were opened and run by a local NGO continued to function. We provide a comparative analysis between these two groups of facilities. We find that the best explanation for variation in a kiosk lifespan was their level of satisfaction with n-Logue Communications. Moreover, those sites that did express satisfaction with their institutional and technical support were in service for, on average, an additional year compared with dissatisfied sites. In addition to technical and operational support issues, we find that the lack of long-term financial viability was a major reason for the closure of the private telecenters. Financial sustainability was not realized by many centers; indeed, 85% of the operators interviewed cited finances as a major cause for their closure. Finally, telecenters that were owned by individuals with prior training in computers, or that had a separate trained operator, remained operational for a longer period.
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ItemThe Velocity of Rebirth(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007) Best, Michael L. ; Wilson, Ernest J., III
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ItemReal Synthetic Scholarship(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007) Best, Michael L. ; Wilson, Ernest J., III
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Item$10 Million For Your Thoughts?(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007) Best, Michael L. ; Wilson, Ernest J., III
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ItemNew Digital Support for Scholarly Activities(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006-10-05) Best, Michael L. ; Ferguson, Mark E. ; Jannik, Catherine M.