Information, Communications and Media Technologies for Sustainability: Constructing Data-Driven Policy Narratives

Information and Communications Technologies for Economic Development

Appropriate information-communications technologies for developing countries.

Many of the solutions to global health problems exist, but are not applied. This is called the “know–do” gap: the gap between what is known and what is done in practice.1 However, it is not enough that “someone, somewhere” knows about best practices; it is also essential that the very people who are dealing with health problems know what to do. Ironically, regions of the world with the least re...

Policy Commentary: Mobilizing information and communications technologies for effective disaster warning: lessons from the 2004 tsunami

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 was one of the greatest natural disasters; it was also the first internet-mediated natural disaster. Despite the presumed ubiquity and power of advanced technologies including satellites and the internet, no advance warning was given to the affected coastal populations by their governments or others. This article examines the conditions for the suppl...

The implications of new information and communication technologies for sustainability

This paper discusses the relationship of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and sustainable development. It deconstructs popular myths about a sustainable information society. One myth is that telework has reduced the need to travel and hence environmental pollution. The reality is that teleworkers make up only a small share of the total workforce, telework can generate new s...

Innovation for Sustainability in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

With increasing concern regarding global climate change and volatility of energy markets, computing has begun to embrace the notion of Green information and communication technologies (ICT), in which the environmental impact is taken as a consideration in the design of new technologies and systems. A broad concept, Green ICT of course has varied meanings. Some consider recycling of components w...