tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/ict-10972/articlesICT – The Conversation2024-02-27T14:08:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229052024-02-27T14:08:45Z2024-02-27T14:08:45ZAfrica needs China for its digital development – but at what price?<p>Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong learning, and enhance financial inclusion. </p>
<p>But there are obstacles to realising these benefits. The backbone infrastructure needed to connect communities is missing in places. Technology and finance are lacking too. </p>
<p>In 2023, only <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">83%</a> of the population of sub-Saharan Africa was covered by at least a 3G mobile network. In all other regions the coverage was more than 95%. In the same year, <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">less than half of Africa’s population</a> had an active mobile broadband subscription, lagging behind Arab states (75%) and the Asia-Pacific region (88%). Therefore, Africans made up a substantial share of the estimated <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2023-09-12-universal-and-meaningful-connectivity-by-2030.aspx#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20worldwide,global%20population%20unconnected%20in%202023.">2.6 billion</a> people globally who remained offline in 2023.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://gga.org/china-expands-its-digital-sovereignty-to-africa/">key partner</a> in Africa in unclogging this bottleneck is China. Several African countries depend on China as their main technology provider and sponsor of large digital infrastructural projects.</p>
<p>This relationship is the subject of a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2023.2297363">study</a> I published recently. The study showed that at least 38 countries worked closely with Chinese companies to advance their domestic fibre-optic network and data centre infrastructure or their technological know-how. </p>
<p>China’s involvement was critical as African countries made great strides in digital development. Despite the persisting digital divide between Africa and other regions, 3G network coverage <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">increased from 22% to 83%</a> between 2010 and 2023. Active mobile broadband subscriptions increased <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">from less than 2% in 2010 to 48% in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>For governments, however, there is a risk that foreign-driven digital development will keep existing dependence structures in place.</p>
<h2>Reasons for dependence on foreign technology and finance</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2023.2297363">global market</a> for information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is controlled by a handful of producers. For instance, the main suppliers of fibre-optic cables, a network component that enables high-speed internet, are China-based Huawei and ZTE and the Swedish company Ericsson. </p>
<p>Many African countries, with limited internal revenues, can’t afford these network components. Infrastructure investments depend on foreign finance, including concessional loans, commercial credits, or public-private partnerships. These may also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596124000107">influence a state’s choice of infrastructure provider</a>.</p>
<p>The African continent’s terrain adds to the technological and financial difficulties. Vast lands and challenging topographies make the roll-out of infrastructure very expensive. Private investors avoid sparsely populated areas because it doesn’t pay them to deliver a service there. </p>
<p>Landlocked states depend on the infrastructure and goodwill of coastal countries to connect to international fibre-optic landing stations.</p>
<h2>A full-package solution</h2>
<p>It is sometimes assumed that African leaders choose Chinese providers because they offer the cheapest technology. <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/networking/uganda-orders-probe-into-huaweis-fiber-project/">Anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise</a>. Chinese contractors are attractive partners because they can offer full-package solutions that include finance. </p>
<p>Under the so-called <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TN5G.pdf">“EPC+F”</a> (Engineer, Procure, Construct + Fund/Finance) scheme, Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE oversee the engineering, procurement and construction while Chinese banks provide state-backed finance. Angola, Uganda and Zambia are just some of the countries which seem to have benefited from this type of deal.</p>
<p>All-round solutions like this appeal to African countries. </p>
<h2>What is in it for China?</h2>
<p>As part of its <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-57813-6_6">“go-global”</a> strategy, the Chinese government encourages Chinese companies to invest and operate overseas. The government offers financial backing and expects companies to raise the global competitiveness of Chinese products and the national economy. </p>
<p>In the long term, Beijing seeks to establish and promote Chinese digital standards and norms. Research partnerships and training opportunities expose a growing number of students to Chinese technology. The Chinese government’s expectation is that mobile applications and startups in Africa will increasingly reflect Beijing’s technological and ideological principles. That includes China’s interpretation of human rights, data privacy and freedom of speech. </p>
<p>This aligns with the vision of China’s “<a href="https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-digital-silk-road-in-the-indo-pacific-mapping-china-s-vision-for-global-tech-expansion">Digital Silk Road</a>”, which complements its <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative">Belt and Road Initiative</a>, creating new trade routes. </p>
<p>In the digital realm, the goal is technological primacy and greater autonomy from western suppliers. The government is striving for a more <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/chinas-digital-silk-road-and-the-global-digital-order/">Sino-centric global digital order</a>. Infrastructure investments and training partnerships in African countries offer a starting point. </p>
<h2>Long-term implications</h2>
<p>From a technological perspective, over-reliance on a single infrastructure supplier makes the client state more vulnerable. When a customer depends heavily on a particular supplier, it’s difficult and costly to switch to a different provider. African countries could become locked into the Chinese digital ecosystem.</p>
<p>Researchers like <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arthur-Gwagwa">Arthur Gwagwa</a> from the Ethics Institute at Utrecht University (Netherlands) believe that China’s export of critical infrastructure components will <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/africa-embraces-huawei-technology-despite-security-concerns/a-60665700">enable military and industrial espionage</a>. These claims assert that Chinese-made equipment is designed in a way that could facilitate cyber attacks. </p>
<p>Human Rights Watch, an international NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, has <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/09/future-technology-lessons-china-and-us">raised concerns</a> that Chinese infrastructure increases the risk of technology-enabled authoritarianism. In particular, Huawei has been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-technicians-helped-african-governments-spy-on-political-opponents-11565793017">accused</a> of colluding with governments to spy on political opponents in Uganda and Zambia. Huawei has <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3023215/huawei-denies-helping-governments-uganda-and-zambia-spy">denied</a> the allegations. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Chinese involvement provides a rapid path to digital progress for African nations. It also exposes African states to the risk of long-term dependence. The remedy is to diversify infrastructure supply, training opportunities and partnerships. </p>
<p>There is also a need to call for interoperability in international forums such as the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunications Union</a>, a UN agency responsible for issues related to information and communication technologies. Interoperability allows a product or system to interact with other products and systems. It means clients can buy technological components from different providers and switch to other technological solutions. It favours market competition and higher quality solutions by preventing users from being locked in to one vendor. </p>
<p>Finally, in the long term African countries should produce their own infrastructure and become less dependent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Arnold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In sub-Saharan Africa, most governments welcome China’s investment in digital infrastructure.Stephanie Arnold, PhD Candidate, Università di BolognaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158352023-11-01T14:38:22Z2023-11-01T14:38:22ZMultimedia is key to distance education: I built a model South African universities can use<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555235/original/file-20231023-19-xen6rv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Open distance institutions need a comprehensive framework for multimedia teaching and learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Moyo Studio</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Distance education first appeared in the United States <a href="http://members.aect.org/edtech/ed1/13/13-02.html#:%7E:text=Distance%20education%20is%20not%20a,learner%20were%20at%20different%20locations">in the 1800s</a>. At the time, students received the relevant material through the post and then returned it to the institution.</p>
<p>Scholars in the field say that distance education is now in its “<a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC88840">fifth generation</a>”. This means that, like so much else in the world, knowledge is delivered via the internet. Students want to be able to access learning materials at a time and place that’s convenient to them. Flexibility is key.</p>
<p>The increasingly important role of multimedia in higher education was <a href="http://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/images/2021/MAY/IJORMSSE/ARTICLE12.pdf">emphasised during the COVID pandemic</a>. Universities that previously held in-person classes switched to digital, remote learning. Even though open distance universities were hypothetically better equipped for the switch, since their model meant they already used technology and digital tools, many were more comfortable with a blended learning approach (some in-person teaching and some remote teaching). </p>
<p>It is now nearly four years since COVID was <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">declared a global pandemic</a>. Much of society, and much of higher education, has returned to “normal”. </p>
<p>But it’s important that higher education institutions don’t waste the lessons learned during the height of the pandemic about the powerful role that multimedia can play in learning and teaching. This is especially the case for open distance education since it offers a way to improve access to higher education for people from diverse societies and backgrounds.</p>
<p>So, for <a href="https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/30121">my PhD</a> in education, I set out to develop a post-pandemic multimedia framework for teaching and learning in open distance institutions in South Africa. </p>
<p>The study identified a number of challenges that might keep the country’s open distance institutions from adopting such a framework. One is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0736585311000888?casa_token=iXu3p79IS4YAAAAA:WrR1dNfFVwv6fsTxxZzKjDHUBfVjCEegoJUvCaiU3YVLvQrs6JNw_vJ2p2jIjCaBmMbAxDSHHg">insufficient</a> <a href="https://mg.co.za/thoughtleader/opinion/2022-11-10-south-africa-must-bridge-digital-divide-to-best-benefit-from-4ir/#:%7E:text=A%20survey%20by%20Statistics%20South,or%20radio%20and%20television%20broadcasts.">access</a> by both students and institutions, though mostly students, to information and communication technology infrastructure such as capable networks, cloud infrastructure, and the relevant hardware and software tools. </p>
<p>Institutions also need to regularly update their software and ensure that their staff are constantly learning new skills as technologies change. Crucially, institutional websites must be zero-rated – service providers should not charge for access and use of specific internet pages. It also emerged from my research that lecturers found WhatsApp to be a powerful tool for learning and teaching.</p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>The majority of students in the country’s higher education institutions are enrolled through the contact mode. But 370,891 (34.5% of all students) are <a href="https://www.dhet.gov.za/DHET%20Statistics%20Publication/Statistics%20on%20Post-School%20Education%20and%20Training%20in%20South%20Africa%202019.pdf#page=17">pursuing their education through distance learning</a>.</p>
<p>To conduct the study, I engaged with 15 participants from three selected support departments (four deans, eight lecturers from four selected colleges, and three support staff participants) at an open distance higher learning institution in South Africa.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remote-teaching-in-nigeria-and-south-africa-got-a-covid-wake-up-call-how-to-capitalise-on-it-204044">Remote teaching in Nigeria and South Africa got a COVID wake-up call -- how to capitalise on it</a>
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<p>I handed out questionnaires and conducted interviews with these participants. I wanted to know what their skill levels were regarding multimedia technologies and how they used those technologies during the pandemic. I also analysed relevant institutional documents.</p>
<p>One participant emphasised that not only were multimedia solutions made available to staff, but academics were trained to use these. The institution’s multimedia centre, they said, also equipped some staff with “audiovisual tools of the trade such as podcast equipment”.</p>
<p>Several participants emphasised how valuable WhatsApp had been as a platform, particularly for “fast communication” with students. It was also, they said, a good way to build relationships with students. One told me that Facebook was their go-to platform for general communication but that “for module-related content, WhatsApp was the main platform we used”.</p>
<h2>What comes next</h2>
<p>Based on the results of my study, I propose that collaborative leadership is needed to ensure there are proper frameworks for multimedia as teaching and learning tools at open distance institutions. This can serve as a guide to institutions for incorporating multimedia; it helps to organise the structuring of video content, audio, graphics and text in a manner that enhances teaching. </p>
<p>The South African government (particularly the department of higher education and training), individual researchers, educational institutions and the private sector all have a role to play.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-teaching-and-learning-is-not-just-for-pandemics-and-it-can-help-solve-old-problems-169650">Online teaching and learning is not just for pandemics and it can help solve old problems</a>
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<p>The government, for instance, should recruit and engage mobile network service providers to install fibre and internet connectivity, even in the country’s rural areas. This will broaden access. Integrating solar systems into electricity supply, especially but not limited to these areas, is also important.</p>
<p>Watching and downloading videos requires a great deal of data. So, zero-rating all websites related to education is another way to create access. In this way students can access all the resources they need, not just static, text-based modules.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215835/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Khanyisile Yanela Twabu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Institutions mustn’t waste the lessons learned during the height of the pandemic about the powerful role that multimedia can play in learning and teaching.Khanyisile Yanela Twabu, Acting Deputy Director in the Directorate: Academy Applied Technology and Innovation (AATI) under Information Communications Technology Department, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093842023-07-31T12:21:15Z2023-07-31T12:21:15ZCyber governance in Africa is weak. Taking the Malabo Convention seriously would be a good start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538831/original/file-20230723-40270-cicrdz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African countries are lagging behind in digital advancements.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>_Several African countries are pursuing digital transformation ambitions – applying new technologies to enhance the development of society. But concerns exist over the absence of appropriate policies across the continent to create a resilient and secure cyber environment. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/nifeanyiajufo/">Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo</a>, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960">technology law expert</a>, explains the current cyber governance situation in Africa.</em></p>
<h2>What is cyber governance and why is it so important?</h2>
<p>Cyber governance is an important aspect of the international cybersecurity strategy for preventing and mitigating cyber threats. It features oversight processes, decision-making hierarchies and international cooperation. It also includes systems for accountability and responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. In recent years, cyber governance has been prominent in diplomatic and political agendas when regions or countries need to work together.</p>
<p>To promote digital transformation, cyberspace must be made secure and stable, using appropriate governance standards. </p>
<p>Digital transformation offers Africa tremendous opportunities. These include the economic empowerment of citizens, transparent governance and less corruption. But digital transformation can only happen on the continent if its digital spaces are trusted, secure and resilient. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-for-governments-to-help-their-citizens-deal-with-cybersecurity-100771">It's time for governments to help their citizens deal with cybersecurity</a>
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<h2>How are African governments doing on this front?</h2>
<p>Not very well. In 2014, the African Union Commission adopted the <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/29560-treaty-0048_-_african_union_convention_on_cyber_security_and_personal_data_protection_e.pdf">African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection</a>. It is also known as the Malabo Convention. It is supposed to provide principles and guidelines to ensure cybersecurity and stability in the region. </p>
<p><a href="https://dataprotection.africa/wp-content/uploads/2305121.pdf#page=2">Only 15</a> out of the 55 AU member states have ratified the convention. These include Ghana, Mauritius, Togo and Rwanda. </p>
<p>Cyber governance has political dimensions. African countries are rooted in historical and cultural contexts that have an impact on politics and governance. Governance mechanisms in the region are further affected by political instability and conflicts. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-south-africa-must-do-to-combat-cybercrime-186089">Five things South Africa must do to combat cybercrime</a>
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<p>The borderless nature of cyberspace presents particular challenges. This is especially so for African states that are accustomed to controlling activities in their territory. </p>
<p>The result of this has been a misunderstanding of cyber governance. This has manifested in internet shutdowns and restrictions of online activities for citizens. We have seen recent examples of this in <a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-internet-shutdowns-are-another-sign-of-a-democracy-in-peril-207443">Senegal</a>, <a href="https://www.mfwa.org/network-disruptions-how-govts-in-west-africa-violated-internet-rights-in-2022/">Burkina Faso</a>, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/ethiopians-in-social-media-blackout-for-second-month/">Ethiopia</a> and <a href="https://www.mfwa.org/network-disruptions-how-govts-in-west-africa-violated-internet-rights-in-2022/">Nigeria</a>.</p>
<p>African leaders’ views on regulating the digital space vary. This is clear from their reluctance to ratify the Malabo Convention. </p>
<p>Often, international standards collide with the realities of developing states. This is true for states in Africa that are on the wrong side of the digital divide. This means they lack the capacity, skills and infrastructure to govern cyberspace to international standards. Overall, this limited institutional and technical capacity implies that effective cyber governance may not exist in practice for Africa. </p>
<p>There are some good stories, though. Ghana has <a href="https://africacenter.org/spotlight/ghana-multistakeholder-cyber-security/">ratified</a> the Malabo Convention and the <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/the-budapest-convention">Convention on Cybercrime</a> of 2001. It also passed a <a href="http://ir.parliament.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/1800/CYBERSECURITY%20ACT%2C%202020%20%28ACT%201038%29.pdf?sequence=1">Cybercrime Act</a> into law in 2020 and has developed a robust <a href="https://afyonluoglu.org/PublicWebFiles/strategies/Africa/Ghana%202014%20National%20Cyber%20Security%20Policy%20and%20Strategy-EN.pdf">cybersecurity strategy</a>. </p>
<h2>What needs to happen to bring all countries in line?</h2>
<p>Preserving cyber stability is a collaborative effort. African countries need to find ways to work together to foster appropriate policies or strategies. Adopting the Malabo Convention would show that countries see the importance of cooperation in governing the digital environment. </p>
<p>Greater coordination is also necessary at a regional level. For example, the Southern African Development Community has adopted <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Cybersecurity/Documents/SADC%20Model%20Law%20Cybercrime.pdf">a model law on cybercrime</a>. The Economic Community of West African States has developed a <a href="https://issafrica.org/ctafrica/uploads/Directive%201:08:11%20on%20Fighting%20Cyber%20Crime%20within%20ECOWAS.pdf">directive on fighting cybercrime</a>. Regional organisations have a key role to play in formulating policies and delivering outcomes. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-internet-shutdowns-are-another-sign-of-a-democracy-in-peril-207443">Senegal's internet shutdowns are another sign of a democracy in peril</a>
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<p>Beyond ratifying the Malabo Convention, African states must also rethink best practices and the value of strategic regional partnerships. These partnerships are important because they create shared responsibility in a borderless space.</p>
<p>Africa must approach diplomacy strategically in this space and seek increased representation at global dialogues. The African Union remains largely absent from the evolving UN processes on cyber governance development. This implies that African interests, realities and domestic capabilities won’t get enough attention in the processes. There is also a need to bridge the institutional and technical gaps that have prevented African states from participating fully. </p>
<p>Committing to the Malabo Convention would provide a framework for united cyber governance norms and standards across the continent. As the international community continues to define these standards, Africa should be included.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The borderless nature of cyberspace presents particular challenges for African states used to controlling activities in their territory.Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Professor of Technology Law, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1938222022-12-14T21:35:01Z2022-12-14T21:35:01ZCan sending fewer emails or emptying your inbox really help fight climate change?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501113/original/file-20221214-13666-5pwq8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=54%2C131%2C5121%2C3748&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using electricity to manually delete emails can actually have a greater carbon impact than simply storing them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The massive carbon footprint left behind by emails has been widely discussed by the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/environmental-working-from-home-green-1.5997250">media</a>, but most of the time these discussions are exaggerated. </p>
<p>According to Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the <a href="https://twitter.com/AgnesRunacher/status/1529025579386867712">French minister of energy transition</a>, reducing the number of emails that are sent and deleting them would reduce the individual carbon footprint. News stories have voiced these ideas as well.</p>
<p>In a recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.025">published paper</a>, we found that some iconic digital activities, such as sending email, contribute marginally to the annual carbon footprint of information and communication technology users. </p>
<p>As researchers working on the environmental impacts of our actions, we believe it is important to dispel this myth, which has persisted for several years, so that we can focus on curbing the bigger sources of carbon footprints.</p>
<h2>The carbon impact of emails</h2>
<p>The idea that sending less email would reduce a significant amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) was popularized by Mike Berners-Lee’s book <a href="https://howbadarebananas.com/"><em>How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything</em></a>. </p>
<p>The book mentions that a <a href="https://www.pawprint.eco/eco-blog/carbon-footprint-email">person’s average annual email usage produces between three to 40 kilograms of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases or Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e)</a>, which is the equivalent of driving between 16 to 206 kilometres in a small petrol car. These figures were picked up by several media outlets around the world, which helped to reinforce this idea. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two hands typing on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Quantifying the carbon footprint of sending emails, or any other digital service, is not an easy task.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Carbon values, as seen in Berners-Lee’s book, have varied from <a href="https://unpointcinq.ca/agir/carbonoscope-1-5-calculer-empreinte-carbone-au-bureau/">0.3 to 50 grams of CO2e</a> per email. But these numbers are constantly changing and seem minute when compared to the carbon footprints of the so-called solutions. </p>
<p>Quantifying the carbon footprint of sending emails, or any other digital service, is not an easy task. The results depend heavily on the assumptions made and the data used. And the energy efficiency of data transmission and storage is constantly improving.</p>
<h2>Can sending fewer emails or deleting them really help?</h2>
<p>So, what would happen if we decided to send drastically fewer emails or delete emails that are no longer useful? Apart from freeing up some space in the servers that host them, there is no evidence that we could substantially reduce the energy consumption of digital infrastructure. Here is why:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://www.carbontrust.com/our-work-and-impact/guides-reports-and-tools/carbon-impact-of-video-streaming">Digital data storage and transmission systems operate 24/7</a>, with a more or less constant base load of energy, even when not in use. Regardless of whether the email is sent or not, networks would use about the same amount of energy.</p></li>
<li><p>An incredible number of spam emails (<a href="https://dataprot.net/statistics/spam-statistics/">122 billion in 2022</a>) and genuine emails (22 billion) are sent every day. While these numbers seem alarming, email exchanges represent <a href="https://www.sami.eco/post/empreinte-carbone-email">only one per cent</a> of Internet traffic. In comparison, <a href="https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/video-will-account-for-82-all-internet-traffic-by-2022-cisco-says#:%7E:text=According%20to%20the%20company's%20newest,connections%20will%20be%20video%20capable">video streaming services account for about 82 per cent of internet traffic</a> and could increase further in the coming years.</p></li>
<li><p>Knowing that 85 per cent of email traffic is actually spam, sending fewer emails at the individual level would have a limited influence on decreasing the amount of email traffic on the web.</p></li>
<li><p>Regardless of whether an email is sent or not, our computers and routers are always on. Electricity consumption associated with electronic devices, therefore, would remain more or less always the same. Very rarely do we turn on a computer just to send an email.</p></li>
<li><p>Impacts that are associated with the use of data centres and transmission networks are extremely low. To give you an idea, driving a kilometre in a compact car emits as much CO2e as the electricity that is used to transmit and store 3,500 emails of five MB. The electricity needed to heat a cup of tea in a kettle consumes as much electricity as transferring and storing about 1,500 emails of one MB.</p></li>
<li><p>Deleting 1,000 emails would have a carbon benefit of about five grams CO2e. However, the impact of using a laptop for 30 minutes (to delete these emails) emits 28 grams of CO2e in <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-alberta.html">provinces like Alberta that use high-carbon electricity</a>. In Québec, where the <a href="https://www.quebec.ca/en/government/policies-orientations/plan-green-economy/challenges-to-be-met#:%7E:text=Qu%C3%A9bec's%20electricity%20production%20sector%20has,99.8%25%20renewable%2C%20mainly%20hydropower.">electricity production sector has one of the lowest carbon footprints</a>, this figure amounts to about five grams of CO2e. So, manually deleting emails can actually have a greater carbon impact than simply storing them, since you spend more time using the computer.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A router" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electricity consumption associated with electronic devices remain more or less the same because our computers and routers are often left on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reducing the carbon impact of our email use?</h2>
<p>In order to quantify the carbon footprint of an email, it is necessary to take into account all of the steps that are involved in its life cycle, ranging from writing to receiving and reading emails, to saving or archiving them.</p>
<p>Overall, the carbon footprint of emails is mainly associated with the manufacturing of electronic devices that are used to write and read them. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1288015223799058433"}"></div></p>
<p>The actual use of the devices becomes more important, and may even be more important than manufacturing, because the electricity that is used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.025">power these devices is produced mainly from fossil fuels</a>.</p>
<p>The best way to reduce the carbon footprint of email is to buy fewer electronic products, retain these devices for as long as possible and use ones that consume less electricity.</p>
<p>Send emails when you need to or when you think the recipients will appreciate your message, even if it consists of just a simple thank you. Delete your emails if you want to save storage space, find what you are looking for more rapidly, or many other good reasons besides saving the planet.</p>
<p><em>Daria Marchenko, Founder of the Ecoist Club, also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciano Rodrigues Viana received funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-François Boucher received funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mohamed Cheriet does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Digital activities, like sending emails, contribute marginally to the annual carbon footprint of information and communication technology users.Luciano Rodrigues Viana, Doctorant en sciences de l'environnement, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Jean-François Boucher, Professeur, Eco-consulting, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Mohamed Cheriet, Professor, Engineering Department, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1944542022-11-22T13:27:52Z2022-11-22T13:27:52ZGhana digitised its address system: its failure offers lessons to other African countries creating smart cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495059/original/file-20221114-12-vgjiuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Property address has long been a problem in Ghana </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098015577319">Smart urbanism</a> is about using digital technologies to address urban problems. Across the continent, digital technologies and smart initiatives have been applied in myriad ways, including crime control, urban planning and traffic management. </p>
<p>It hasn’t always worked, however. Sometimes these initiatives have failed because the technologies weren’t well integrated into the local context. Or policies didn’t pay attention to social realities and technical requirements. </p>
<p>Ghana presents one such example. The country <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/nana-addo-launches-ghanas-digital-property-address-system/">launched</a> a smart initiative in 2017: a digital system to give every urban property an address. It’s a phone-based application which is designed to locate features anywhere in Ghana. The address is presented in alpha-numeric format (such as EY-0329-2478) and shows details such as the region and the metropolitan, municipal and district authority. It also shows the street name of the feature (a house or church, for example) and displays its coordinates. </p>
<p>Individuals can generate their own address and sometimes officials visit a property, generate the digital address for that property and supply the occupants with a tag, or physical label, to affix to the property.</p>
<p>The system was designed to provide digital addresses for properties, which could then be used for service delivery, access to services and facilitate commercial transactions. It was also intended <a href="https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/31132">to overcome challenges with using the old address system</a>. This consisted of numbers (for sections of streets) and letters (for streets). It had no coordinate system and was never digitised. </p>
<p>Cities need address systems that make it possible to provide location based services. </p>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-06-2022-0121/full/html">study</a> to understand whether residents were using the new “smart” system. By this we wanted to explore how useful the digital addresses were to residents in their everyday routines.</p>
<p>We found that there was indeed a gap between design and reality. Uptake was low and people were frustrated with the system.</p>
<p>This happens when design features don’t take account of factors specific to a certain context. This can include the digital culture of the residents and disparities in access to the internet. A combination of these factors often trips up digitalisation programmes and initiatives in African cities.</p>
<p>Our findings show that digitalisation initiatives in Ghana need to take these into account if they’re going to succeed. They also need to include the engagement of people who will use the services to understand their expectations. </p>
<h2>A digital address system</h2>
<p>The government introduced the digital property address system with the expectation of improving navigation <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/nana-addo-launches-ghanas-digital-property-address-system/">of built-up spaces via basic landmarks like shops, drains and roads</a>. </p>
<p>Better navigation was intended to improve access to essential services and waste management. The system was supposed to make it easy to identify properties despite the informal, unplanned, and unmapped nature of much of the urban environment. </p>
<p>There have been a number of snags in the implementation of the digital property address system.</p>
<p>Firstly, decisions were taken from the office of the vice-president and implemented at local governing units. There was little input from local people, which resulted in poor understanding from the residents and apathy towards the initiative.</p>
<p>Secondly, there were hitches in the way it was rolled out. At first, <a href="https://www.ghanapostgps.com/">Ghana Post</a> provided the address tags at a fee to residents. The next phase saw a team from the office of the vice-president doing the tagging at no cost to residents. The first tags had only the digital address without features like street name and house number. They now have all the features. </p>
<p>The consequence of this is the display of different digital addresses for residents’ houses. This matters because the tag provided to residents is now a requirement for various public service agencies such as the passport office, telecommunication companies, and the <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-06-2022-0121/full/html">National Identification Authority</a>. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-06-2022-0121/full/html">our study</a> in three suburban communities of Accra, Ghana’s capital city. We examined the factors influencing the use of the system. We chose representatives of households based on their interest in taking part in the study, and we had 999 respondents in total.</p>
<p>We found that individual and contextual factors shaped the use of the system in Accra.</p>
<p>First, there was a difference between building owners and tenants. About 68% of residents who owned properties were likely to use the digital property addressing system, and only 32% of renters. </p>
<p>Second, socioeconomic attributes such as income, internet data cost and education level were also key determinants. Residents with low-level education and lower income were least likely to use the system. Within this group, we found this was largely about perceptions of the benefits and challenges of using a digital technology. </p>
<p>The issue of trust came up among the people we interviewed. Perceptions about inefficiencies in government initiatives and irregularities in past digital initiatives meant that people didn’t trust the new system. </p>
<p>The perception was that the system was set up as part of a political agenda rather than to meet a developmental need. It was viewed as being imposed by the presidency without engagement, transparency and accountability. There wasn’t real ownership from the users’ perspective. </p>
<p>Overall, we found that about 62% of residents and even public agencies were not using it in their daily operations. </p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that policymakers need to be smart about their smart urbanism agenda. We call for attention to the basics: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>affordable and accessible internet infrastructure </p></li>
<li><p>multi-stakeholder engagement </p></li>
<li><p>transparency and efficiency in the design and implementation of urban digital initiatives. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>It is only in getting the priorities right and adapting to <a href="https://theconversation.com/walk-straight-how-small-town-residents-navigate-without-street-signs-and-names-185443">contextual realities</a> that the potential of digitalisation initiatives for sustainable and equitable urban development will be realised.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghanaians aren’t using the new ‘smart’ street address system which was intended to improve service delivery.Louis Kusi Frimpong, Lecturer, University of Environment and Sustainable Development Matthew Abunyewah, Research Fellow, The Australasian Centre for Resilience Implementation for Sustainable Communities, Charles Darwin UniversitySeth Asare Okyere, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of ArizonaStephen Kofi Diko, Assistant Professor, University of MemphisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1646542021-07-22T14:55:58Z2021-07-22T14:55:58ZGhana upgraded its census to make it more inclusive: but old tensions still surfaced<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411917/original/file-20210719-23-1if086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ghana's population has expanded its data categories </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Delali Adogla-Bessa</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ghana has just carried out its latest population and housing census. This is an exercise organised every ten years.</p>
<p>For the first time a digital data capture and transfer system was used.</p>
<p>The use of the digital innovations offered important advantages. For example, it facilitated real-time data quality monitoring and reduced data processing time. </p>
<p>In addition, integrating GPS-based information on respondents’ location added new spatial data layers. The new system allows for spatial analysis of the population’s access to basic necessities such as water. This is helping the census meet its commitment to analysing the living conditions of the population. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/biometric-identification-technologies-and-the-ghanaian-data-revolution/D57C74137A1D0C3342C772C450779ADB">a research paper</a> published last year I examined the digital transformation of the Ghanaian population data system. So far, the focus on these developments has largely centred on costs and implementation. </p>
<p>But there are social and political aspects too which have been largely ignored. For example, the aim of this year’s digital census was to give “<a href="https://statsghana.gov.gh/2021phc/abt_2021_phc.html">everyone in the country a voice</a>”. Changes were introduced to meet this goal. Examples include the fact that new census categories cover disability status. This suggests a new form of inclusiveness. And, with the use of ICT, new focal areas included access to basic infrastructure.</p>
<p>At the same time, the recent population census offers a window into the contested terrain of population statistics. These rely on sorting individual variation into categories. Categories are technical means for making the population countable. But they are much more than that too. They produce dividing lines along which people identify themselves – personally and collectively. They thereby play a central role in delineating the population and representing it as a nation.</p>
<p>Ghana is a relatively young democracy. And nation-building remains unfinished. It’s therefore no surprise that census categories have been subject to contestation. The recent population and housing census is no different. This is clear from the fact that it has stirred up intense emotions about citizenship and belonging. </p>
<h2>Strengthening the statistical system</h2>
<p>Historically, Ghana’s population data system has relied heavily on census taking. Some countries, such as the Netherlands or Denmark, rely on their civil registration systems to produce population statistics. But historically in Ghana there hasn’t been sufficient investment in these capabilities. Population estimates thus required periodic surveys and projections.</p>
<p>The foundations for establishing a comprehensive national statistical system in Ghana can be traced back to the <a href="https://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/constitution_of_the_third_republic_of_ghana.pdf">1979 constitution</a> and the <a href="https://www2.statsghana.gov.gh/About_us.html">1985 statistical service law</a>. These established the Ghana Statistical Service as an independent statistical body. In 2019, a review of the <a href="https://statsghana.gov.gh/gssmain/storage/img/STATISTICAL%20SERVICE%20ACT,%202019%20(ACT%201003).pdf">Statistical Service Act (Act 1003)</a> gave the service additional powers. </p>
<p>The 2020/2021 population and housing census has benefited from this institutional strengthening in several ways. For example, the country’s address system has been used to monitor data quality by checking against the existing housing register.</p>
<h2>The evolution</h2>
<p>Throughout Ghana’s post-independence history, census taking did more than simply meet the data needs of various political and development programmes. It has also contributed to the construction of the population in which individuals recognised themselves. In this way, it played a crucial role in moulding how Ghana sees itself. </p>
<p>For example, census historian <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/hail-the-census-night-trust-and-political-imagination-in-the-1960-population-census-of-ghana/DC7F160E640A2517C3004D1D93BB9815">Gerardo Serra writes</a>, Ghana’s first post-independence census of 1960 was mobilised as a departure from colonialism and to represent the first steps into the modern era. </p>
<p>In the colonial era censuses focused less on the living conditions of the population than on establishing control over the colony. </p>
<p>After independence, Ghana’s censuses reflected growing concerns of population growth, with a focus on fertility and citizenship. Census categories were incrementally added that were supposed to be sensitive to the nation’s economic structure. For example, following the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4187650?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">1983 structural adjustment programmes</a>, the 1984 census was tailored to meet the data needs of international organisations, including the World Bank. </p>
<p>At the same time, the emerging decentralisation of governance called for increased localisation of data analysis and reporting.</p>
<p>When Ghana returned to democratic rule in 1992, census taking emphasised national development. Issues that became the focus included planning for water, transport, health and educational infrastructures.</p>
<h2>Disagreements</h2>
<p>Changes in the Ghanaian census’ focus and method have historically been accompanied by disagreements about the categories being used. New categories, such as boundaries of local authorities, community names, or professional distinctions were added and brought to the fore.</p>
<p>This census is no different. Public discussions and <a href="https://dailyguidenetwork.com/fulani-community-protests-census-exclusion/">local boycotts</a> of the enumeration in 2021 centred on concerns about misrepresentation. </p>
<p>For instance, in Ghana’s Upper East region, concerns were raised about alleged discrimination in the <a href="https://www.myjoyonline.com/chief-and-people-of-kandiga-boycott-census/">listing of localities</a>. In the Volta region, the focal area of contestation was the alleged failure to <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/1083656/your-2021-population-census-instrument-is-ethnocen.html">list subgroups</a> of the Ewe ethnicity.</p>
<p>The census also triggered public commentary about who counted as Ghanaian. Some <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/1087911/fulani-community-must-be-recognized-in-population.html">alleged</a> that certain groups listed in the survey represented foreigners. Examples include dismissing residents of the borderlands as Togolese, while Fulani and Hausa populations were repeatedly labelled as immigrants. </p>
<p>And while the government framed the census as a means of enhancing development in the country, some residents said they <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ho-census-officers-school-reluctant-residents.html">wouldn’t participate</a> because development had eluded their communities.</p>
<p>These debates politicised the census, reframing it as a moment of cementing the national identity, while also re-articulating the official narrative of data’s developmental potential. </p>
<p>Important innovations have accompanied the 2020/2021 population and housing census along with the promise of better data for development. However, these contestations around identity and belonging are concerns technology cannot fix.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alena Thiel receives funding from the German Research Foundation's Individual Grant Scheme. </span></em></p>Ghana’s latest population census offers a window into the contested terrain of population statistics.Alena Thiel, postdoctoral researcher, PI "How Democracies Know: Identification Technologies and Quantitative Analyses of Development in Ghana", Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1627222021-06-28T15:03:52Z2021-06-28T15:03:52ZTechnology in hospitals can delay care: what doctors and nurses in South Africa told us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407189/original/file-20210618-28-1j87ry3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using technology in routine healthcare delivery has isn't without its downside. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Information and communication technologies can dramatically improve healthcare delivery. They can make communication and exchange of information between healthcare professionals easier. And patients can consult doctors remotely.</p>
<p>Some of the most commonly used information and communication technologies in the delivery of healthcare are <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmp1006114">electronic health records</a>. These digital records are used to manage information such as a patient’s medical history, doctors’ notes and scheduled appointments. This allows healthcare workers to access a patient recorders remotely. </p>
<p>Making technology part of routine health service delivery has a downside, however.</p>
<p>A number of unintended consequences can come with technology-enabled health services. These include disruptions due to power failure, and sudden faults in technology while professionals are attending to patients.</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20421338.2021.1899556">study</a> my colleagues and I spoke to healthcare workers at a tertiary hospital in South Africa. We wanted to understand which unintended consequences they experience when using technology in the course of their work.</p>
<p>The healthcare workers identified a number of problems. These included having to multi-task by responding to work-related texts from colleagues during a patient consultation. They also had to find other ways to retrieve patient records when digital systems such as picture archiving and communication systems were down. </p>
<p>Failure to identify, understand and address the implications of unintended consequences is an obstacle to quality healthcare. Whoever designs health information and communication technologies had to carefully consider the tasks that medical professionals perform and what the technologies can do. </p>
<h2>Information technology in hospitals</h2>
<p>We asked 12 healthcare workers to show us how they used technology in their work. This gave us a picture of the current work flow and how communications technology helped or hindered activities. We also discussed what the ideal situation would be in clinical settings such as hospitals. This research was a qualitative study which sought to engage participants to acquire in-depth information. We focused on work activities and how they informed the use of technology.</p>
<p>The healthcare workers in this study used digital hospital information systems and mobile applications to access patient records and share information in real time. They also used this technology to refer patients from lower-tier facilities such as clinics, to seek clinical advice and to exchange patient information such as medical images. </p>
<p>Before these communications technologies were introduced, patient records and referrals were paper-based. This required a potter or messenger to take notes from one point to the next – that is usually time-consuming. But the professionals said notifications from the mobile app were disruptive. For instance, the app interrupted consultation sessions with patients because the doctors had to multitask. When doctors were on duty on a 12-hour or 24-hour shift, they had to respond to trauma cases in the hospital and to remote referrals through the mobile app.</p>
<p>They were concerned that it would seem unprofessional to use their mobile phones in the presence of a patient. Mostly, it was disruptive – especially when notifications were non-emergency questions while they were dealing with trauma cases.</p>
<p>Healthcare workers said hospital information systems were sometimes unreliable. The systems included an electronic database where patient clinical notes and patient records were stored, and a picture archiving and communication system to retrieve scanned clinical notes and medical images. To access these systems workers need access to desktop computers and mobile devices. Downtime as a result of power outages or technical faults made these systems slow and sometimes unreliable. </p>
<p>Study participants suggested that paper could be more reliable. Paper records were reliable to a certain extent because they don’t require an electric power source or data costs. But paper is susceptible to damage and loss. Paper record can also not be shared or accessed by multiple healthcare professionals or institutions at the same time. </p>
<p>The usefulness of health information and communication technologies depends on the users’ experiences. The technology is meant to improve the work of healthcare professionals. But unanticipated problems will influence how technology-enabled work activities are perceived.</p>
<p>Our findings show that healthcare professionals view technology as useful when it adds to their work performance. This means information and communication technology must be easy to use without surprises that get in the way of completing their work.</p>
<h2>Recommendations</h2>
<p>Ideally, a hybrid of paper and technology should be used to support the activities of healthcare professionals. This would ensure work flow was uninterrupted by unintended consequences. Combining digital technologies and paper-based records can seamlessly facilitate the execution of work activities during healthcare service delivery. </p>
<p>In hospital settings work activities such as consultations, remote referrals and treatment plan management require different tools. These include health-related smart mobile devices and desktop computers. It’s important that mobile applications are designed with specific context in mind. For example, a mobile app can be used to record the clinical notes generated during consultations between doctors and patients. This would allow doctors to pay full attention to their patients and have access to the digital transcripts.</p>
<p>Features such as voice-activated commands and solar-powered electronic systems could be incorporated into communications technology that healthcare professionals already use. In this way, information is swiftly available in an electronic format and less time can be spent on writing and filing paper records. </p>
<p>Hospital information systems need to enable users to read and write on desktop computers as well as mobile platforms to reduce duplication errors. This ensures that doctors have full control when updating the necessary information for treatment plans and patient visits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oluwamayowa O. Ogundaini does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Failure to identify, understand and address the implications of unintended consequences inhibits the delivery of quality healthcare.Oluwamayowa O. Ogundaini, Lecturer, Information Technology, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1332462021-06-10T14:43:08Z2021-06-10T14:43:08ZA portal designed specially for informal businesses could be a game-changer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404466/original/file-20210604-13-4gnfog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Informal businesses face numerous challenges which hinder their growth</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa has the highest proportion of informal sector workers anywhere in the world. They account for <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_627189/lang--en/index.htm">more than 85%</a> of the continent’s workers. This compares with 68.2% in Asia and the Pacific, 68.6% in the Arab States, 40.0% in the Americas and 25.1% in Europe and Central Asia.</p>
<p>It is easier to work in the informal sector because no academic certificate or formal training is required. The most important thing is the readiness and ability to work. </p>
<p>The informal sector consists of all businesses that don’t fall under government regulation. These include all forms of petty trading, artisan work, and sales and supply of goods. They also include diverse services such as hairdressing, barbers, mechanics, painters, handyman, artisans, domestic services, and other work endeavours that people engage in for money. This definition excludes people who are involved in crime.</p>
<p>But these businesses face numerous challenges which hinder their growth. Based on <a href="http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/bitstream/11189/6994/1/Daramola_WITCOM_pages-119-128.pdf">research</a> in South Africa, these include: lack of access to finance; poor access to skills training and technology; weak informal business associations and their lack of ‘voice’; problems in the legal and regulatory environment and issues of intergovernmental coordination; lack of organisation; poor quality of service and lack of service standards. They also lack business documentation, making it difficult for governments to tax them.</p>
<p>The same challenges are associated with the informal sector of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2199-8531/6/4/134">most African countries</a>. </p>
<p>There have been a number of information, communication and technology (ICT)-based <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/article/custom-made-cloud-enterprise-architecture/58061">initiatives</a> in South Africa <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/8/3149">targeting</a> small, micro and medium-sized enterprises. </p>
<p>But they have all bypassed the informal sector.</p>
<p>The Cape Peninsula University of Technology sought to close this gap by initiating a <a href="http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/bitstream/11189/6994/1/Daramola_WITCOM_pages-119-128.pdf">research project</a> on Technology Support for the Informal Sector of South Africa. The goal was to tackle some of the challenges of the informal sector through ICT in a way that was beneficial to all stakeholders. </p>
<p>The project aims to provide an online platform (portal) that uses artificial intelligence and cloud technology to support business transactions in the informal sector. So far, the first version of the platform (called Uvuyo) has been created. It will enable informal business owners to register on the portal for free, and position their businesses to be seen <a href="https://uvuyo-prod.firebaseapp.com/">by customers</a>. </p>
<p>We will go further in the second phase of the project to ensure that interactions between customers and service providers on the portal can be done in local South African languages using text or voice messages.</p>
<p>Online platforms that are specifically designed to support local people in the informal sector of Africa in this way are not yet common. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-03763-5_10">paper published in 2018</a> I set out how purpose-built portals could help informal businesses meet some of their basic needs. I <a href="http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/bitstream/11189/6994/1/Daramola_WITCOM_pages-119-128.pdf">proposed</a> the creation of an online platform that could be accessed via mobile phone, web, or voice input. I argued that the platform would meet some well-known challenges such as poor service quality and a lack of visibility. And that government agencies could benefit from data generated from the portal to make strategic plans on how to develop the informal sector better. </p>
<p>Many new modern businesses are based on the idea of a sharing economy where a technology platform facilitates on-demand services between customers in need of services and providers of these services. Many international companies that are doing well, such as Uber, Bolt and <a href="https://www.taskrabbit.com/">Taskrabbit.com</a>, use this approach. </p>
<p>We believe the same idea can be used to promote informal sector services. </p>
<h2>What’s in place, and what’s missing</h2>
<p>Africa already has a reasonable foundation for the extensive use of technology. Take the widespread use of mobile phones. A <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/09/majorities-in-sub-saharan-africa-own-mobile-phones-but-smartphone-adoption-is-modest/">recent report</a> showed that 91% of adults in South Africa own a mobile phone; 51% of adults have a smartphone and 40% have a basic phone. </p>
<p>Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania also have relatively high mobile penetration with <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/09/majorities-in-sub-saharan-africa-own-mobile-phones-but-smartphone-adoption-is-modest/">over 30%</a> of the adult population having a smartphone. </p>
<p>This means that an informal service provider can engage in business transactions with customers over the phone via SMS or social media.</p>
<p>Today a lot of people post information about their business on social media to gain the attention of customers. Smartphones enable service providers to link instantly with customers. </p>
<p>The continent has a number of businesses that operate this way. Notable examples include Kenya’s lynk.co.ke; Nigeria’s <a href="https://www.kobo360.com/ZA/en/services">kobo360.com</a>, <a href="https://anyservice.ng/">anyservice.ng</a> and <a href="https://www.fixam.com.ng/">fixam.com.ng</a>; and South Africa’s <a href="https://sweepsouth.com/">Sweepsouth.com</a>, <a href="https://domestly.com/">domestly</a> and <a href="https://kandua.com/-/about/">kandua.com</a>. </p>
<p>They make money by matching customers with service providers. They vet credentials of service providers, receive payments on their behalf, and provide a guarantee for the risks of transactions. They also get rewarded by receiving a percentage of the service cost paid by the customer.</p>
<p>These online platforms – business models that are part of the so-called sharing economy – are becoming more popular in Africa, particularly among the younger generation.</p>
<p>But governments in Africa are yet to take advantage of this trend to help the informal sector and micro businesses. Thus far, virtually all the well-known platforms based on the sharing economy are run by private enterprises. </p>
<p>African governments must explore how state-backed platforms can be used to support the informal sector. They can be used to help informal businesses access bigger markets and thereby increase their incomes. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>Governments will have to put in a lot of money and resources to make it work, and deal with the obvious challenges faced by the informal sector and informal sector workers. </p>
<p>For example, money will need to be spent on training users of the online platforms since most people in the informal sector have low levels of education. A possible solution might be make information available in languages that sections of the informal sector community speak and read. Not for profit organisations can help with recruitment and training of informal sector workers, and their registration on the platform.</p>
<p>Other interventions should include free internet, free data or cheap data for micro businesses and informal operators who cannot afford the cost of data to use the internet. </p>
<p>The question then is who pays the data cost.</p>
<p>This is where the participation of governments, multinational companies and telecom companies all across Africa will be required. With various governments taking the lead, these entities can collaboratively support the informal sector to ensure that technology is used for the good of the majority of Africans who work in the informal sector.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133246/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justine Olawande Daramola receives funding from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), National Research Foundation (NRF), and other International Grant Funding Organizations like National Institute of Health (NIH), Bill Gates Foundation.</span></em></p>It’s time African governments supported the development of online platforms designed to support local people in the informal sector.Olawande Daramola, Prof, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1622382021-06-07T15:12:28Z2021-06-07T15:12:28ZTwitter ban will harm Nigeria as a technology investment destination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404674/original/file-20210606-28202-1m4mhaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In happier days. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (centre) and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (left) pose as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg takes a selfie during his visit to the country in 2016. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sunday Aghaeze/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, has become Africa’s <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/why-lagos-has-become-africas-most-attractive-tech-hub-for-investors/">most attractive</a> tech hub for <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/11/how-african-startups-raised-investments-in-2020/">investors</a>. But that could be imperilled by the government’s decision to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/04/africa/nigeria-suspends-twitter-operations-intl/index.html">suspend Twitter’s operations</a> in the country.</p>
<p>Although no direct connection has been drawn, the ban came two days after Twitter <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/02/twitter-deletes-nigerian-presidents-abusive-biafra-tweet">took down</a> a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. Twitter claimed the message had been deleted because it violated its rules against “abusive behaviour”. The ban could be in retaliation. </p>
<p>A new chill entered into the relationship between Nigeria and Twitter in mid-April when the social media platform <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/twitter-is-establishing-a-presence-in-africa-with-its-headquarters-in-ghana/fm9sj2v">chose Ghana</a> for its regional headquarters. Nigeria’s market is bigger than Ghana’s, with more Twitter users than Ghana has <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/twitter-war-stirs-old-rivalries-between-nigeria-and-ghana-cxm9zn6wc">citizens</a>. <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/twitter-is-establishing-a-presence-in-africa-with-its-headquarters-in-ghana/fm9sj2v">Ghana</a> won because its government has created an attractive environment for <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-56860658">external investors</a> by <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gh/en/about-us/doing-business-in-ghana.html">improving</a> the country’s electricity output, and investing in good roads and a paperless port project.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Nigeria’s fledgling technology sector had been seen as an <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/reader/new-economy-africa-opportunities-nigerias-emerging-technology-sector?page=0">attractive proposition</a> to investors because of the pool of talent in Nigeria, increasing <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/467187/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-nigeria/">smartphone penetration</a> and access to the Nigerian market of <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=NG">200 million people</a>.</p>
<p>The Nigerian <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/08/africa/nigeria-techpreneurs-african-startups-spc-intl/index.html">technology scene</a>, concentrated in <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c757e400-f994-4fc4-87fa-e2647de138a3">Lagos</a>, is a recent and <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1777241/the-biggest-trends-in-african-tech-startups-and-innovation-2019/">rare success</a> story. One particular area of growth has been the financial technology (fintech) sector.</p>
<p>But the ban makes it difficult for the government to argue that it is friendly to <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/new-economy-africa-opportunities-nigerias-emerging-technology-sector.pdf">technology enterprises</a>. The Nigerian government has often <a href="https://www.africanvibes.com/nigerian-government-calls-for-support-of-the-technology-ecosystem-in-nigeria-from-foreign-investors/">called on foreign investors</a> to invest in Nigerian technology start-ups and support Nigeria’s technology ecosystem. </p>
<p>For example, in 2016 Buhari hosted Mark Zuckerberg on the Facebook CEO’s first visit to sub-Saharan Africa. Facebook is set to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/04/africa/marketplace-africa-facebook-nunu-ntshingila-spc-intl/index.html">open an office</a> in the second quarter of 2021 in Lagos.</p>
<p>The indefinite Twitter suspension could prove to be a setback by spooking investors. </p>
<h2>Tech start ups</h2>
<p>Nigeria’s financial technology (fintech) start-ups have begun to engage innovatively with segments of the population that can’t access traditional financial services. About 56% of Nigerian adults are <a href="https://techpoint.africa/2020/10/01/fintechs-financial-inclusion-nigeria/">unbanked</a>. </p>
<p>Homegrown businesses <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/09/african-payments-company-flutterwave-raises-170m-now-valued-at-over-1b/">Flutterwave</a> and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/28/paystack-with-ambitions-to-become-the-stripe-of-africa-raises-8m-from-visa-tencent-and-stripe-itself/">Paystack</a> are two examples of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/middle-east-and-africa/harnessing-nigerias-fintech-potential">fintech start-ups</a> that have been able to secure investments recently. </p>
<p>Flutterwave provides payment solutions for businesses. It recently attracted investment of US$170 million from a consortium of <a href="https://techcabal.com/2021/03/10/african-fintech-company-flutterwave-raises-170m-now-valued-at-over-1b/">foreign investors</a>. Paystack, which also provides payment solutions and customer analytics, attracted US$200 million from US payments giant <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/15/stripe-acquires-nigerias-paystack-for-200m-to-expand-into-the-african-continent/">Stripe</a>. </p>
<p>The two start-ups recently earned the <a href="https://businesselitesafrica.com/2021/03/15/african-unicorn-startups/">coveted unicorn</a> status. This is a reference to privately held technology start-up businesses valued at more than US$1 billion. This means that Flutterwave and Paystack are already, on paper, <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/why-lagos-has-become-africas-most-attractive-tech-hub-for-investors/">more valuable</a> than most of Nigeria’s biggest banks. </p>
<p>The suspension could make it harder for technology entrepreneurs like this to get investment. Technology entrepreneurs will now need to convince investors about regulatory risks. This will be especially so if their business models require an active social media presence.</p>
<p>The Twitter ban will also reduce the exposure of Nigerian technology entrepreneurs to the world, reducing their ability to attract funding and grow their markets.</p>
<p>Finally, it sits at odds with the government’s goal of economic growth and openness by sending a signal that Nigeria is not entirely open for technology business. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-twitter-ban-could-backfire-hurting-the-economy-and-democracy-162233">Nigeria’s Twitter ban could backfire, hurting the economy and democracy</a>
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<h2>Why social media matters to business</h2>
<p>Many small and medium enterprises in Nigeria use social media, <a href="https://techpoint.africa/2021/02/17/twitter-african-gig-economy/">including Twitter</a>, for marketing, pitching, attracting investors and reaching customers. </p>
<p>An example of these are start-up technology firms like <a href="https://cowrywise.com/">Cowrywise</a>, a savings and investment company, and <a href="https://www.piggyvest.com/">Piggyvest</a>, an online savings platform. </p>
<p>Not too long ago, Cowrywise <a href="https://techpoint.africa/2021/01/28/cowrywise-3m-quona-capital/">announced</a> it was raising US$3 million in <a href="https://quona.com/">investment</a> funding. One of the participating investors, Sahil Lavingia, tweeted that his investment conversation started via a Twitter direct message or “DM”. Lavingia is the founder of <a href="https://gumroad.com/">Gumroad</a>, a San Francisco based online platform that facilitates the sale of products by creators directly to consumers. </p>
<p>Lavingia invested in the Nigerian company and posted on Twitter: “Excited to invest in another African startup! The power of Twitter”.</p>
<p></p><blockquote><p>Excited to invest in another African startup! The power of Twitter 😍 <a href="https://t.co/obcDI1MWfE">https://t.co/obcDI1MWfE</a> <a href="https://t.co/rBBsn3gK5Z">pic.twitter.com/rBBsn3gK5Z</a></p>— Sahil (@shl) <a href="https://twitter.com/shl/status/1354870654164561923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <p></p>
<p>Nigerian companies have also used social media to raise awareness of their brands. Some do this through “<a href="https://www.brandcrunch.com.ng/2021/05/05/what-brands-need-to-know-about-working-with-nigerian-influencers/">influencers</a>” like the lifestyle and entertainment bloggers <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-19722763">Linda Ikeji</a> and <a href="https://www.bellanaija.com/">Uche Eze Pedro</a>, as well as the music blogger Demola Ogundele of <a href="https://notjustok.com/">Notjustok</a>.</p>
<h2>Reconcile and de-escalate</h2>
<p>Nigeria’s information minister, Lai Mohammed, criticised Twitter for “<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/nigerian-govt-accuses-twitter-of-double-standards-supporting-secessionists-121060300481_1.html">double standards</a>” because the social media company did not, <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/breaking-twitter-deletes-nnamdi-kanus-tweets/">until recently</a>, delete or flag inflammatory tweets by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cr5pe6kx2p9t/biafran-separatists">separatist</a> group leader. </p>
<p>But, in my view, the Twitter ban seems to support the notion that the Nigerian government does not like to be held accountable for its actions and scrutinised when it falls short. It reeks of censorship and is reminiscent of non-democratic institutions. The president did not have to use the platform to air his views and should have been advised that using Twitter means being subject to its rules.</p>
<p>If the spat between the Nigerian government and Twitter is not de-escalated, the country’s thriving technology sector will suffer. This at a time when Nigeria needs to tap into technology to address its <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview">socio-economic challenges</a>. Chief among these is the urgent need to reduce its dependency on oil and improve its infrastructure. Technology can help with that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162238/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tolu Olarewaju does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nigeria risks losing its recent status as Africa’s most attractive tech hub following its decision to suspend Twitter’s operations.Tolu Olarewaju, Lecturer in Management, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1592882021-05-04T14:16:02Z2021-05-04T14:16:02ZHow COVID-19 is likely to slow down a decade of youth development in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398392/original/file-20210503-15-cv964h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unemployed Liberian young men seeking daily jobs at the industrial district of Bushrod Island, Monrovia, Liberia.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Ahmed Jallanzo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>World Youth SkillsUntil COVID-19 hit, the quality of life of youth (age 15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa had been steadily improving. According to the <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">World Bank</a>, by 2019 the youth literacy rate stood at 73%. Gross secondary school enrolment rates increased from 13 % in 1971 to 43 % by 2018. Youth unemployment rates have remained fairly stable, at around 9%, even below the world average of 13.6%.</p>
<p>Across sub-Saharan Africa, extreme poverty among young workers declined from 60% in 1999 to 42% in 2019. Moreover, the youth literacy <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.FM.ZS">gender parity index</a>, measuring the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 who can both read and write, has improved significantly, reaching 93% in 2019. And for this first time, the unemployment rate of young women are similar to that of young men (9.4%). </p>
<p>As an economist interested in entrepreneurship and technological innovation, I recently contributed to UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/world-youth-report/wyr2020.html">2020 World Youth Report</a>. In particular, chapter 4 of the report concerns how the youth can leverage new digital technologies for social entrepreneurship to advance sustainable development. Though written before the COVID-19 pandemic, the message may have become even more urgent. This, because COVID-19 may slow down or even reverse the positive trends in youth development noted. </p>
<p>There are fears that the pandemic will result in a <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_745963.pdf">lockdown generation</a>, characterised by structurally higher youth poverty and unemployment.</p>
<p>Lockdowns, by slowing down the spread of the disease, generate <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/staff-reports/health-versus-wealth-on-the-distributional-effects-of-controlling-a-pandemic">benefits</a> that “accrue disproportionately to older households”. But, the <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/staff-reports/health-versus-wealth-on-the-distributional-effects-of-controlling-a-pandemic">costs</a> of reduced economic activity are disproportionately born by younger households. They bear the “brunt of lower employment”.</p>
<h2>Reinforcing inequalities</h2>
<p>Younger people, especially young women, are more intensively employed in sectors such as hospitality and entertainment. About 80% of youth jobs in sub-Saharan Africa are in the <a href="https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2014/01/africas-youth-employment-challenge-addressed-by-new-un-report/">informal sector</a>. These sectors – hospitality, entertainment and informal - have been among the worst affected.</p>
<p>Lockdowns also interrupt schooling and education. In one <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/publication/simulating-potential-impacts-of-covid-19-school-closures-learning-outcomes-a-set-of-global-estimates">calculation</a>, this could generate global future “learning losses with a present value of $10 trillion”.</p>
<p>The closure of schools will reinforce social and economic inequalities and exclusion. Youth from more well-off households may be less affected, for instance in having access to private internet and laptops. </p>
<p>While these impacts are troubling everywhere, in Africa they are magnified due to the high rate (21%) of youths who were already not in employment, education or training before the pandemic struck. The <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8">8th sustainable development goal</a> requires of all countries that, by 2020, they substantially reduce this rate.</p>
<p>Given the complications introduced by the pandemic, how can this development goal be best achieved?</p>
<h2>Youth entrepreneurship</h2>
<p>With formal employment growth sluggish at the best, countries are pinning their hopes on <a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/startups-boom-united-states-during-covid-19">entrepreneurship</a>. But, entrepreneurship support policy remains a notoriously <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-016-9712-2">complex</a> topic. This is especially true when it comes to young people. </p>
<p>Younger entrepreneurs are on average more likely to fail, and older entrepreneurs’ firms on average perform <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aeri.20180582">better</a>. This is often due to market failures. Banks do not have information about the quality of younger entrepreneurs (who often lack collateral). In education, meanwhile, the market will under-supply in the absence of subsidies.</p>
<p>Where these market failures are prevalent, the youth may fail to obtain finance for their ventures or accumulate enough skills. Supporting youth entrepreneurship would, therefore, require not policies to focus exclusively on entrepreneurship <em>per se</em>, but to fix market failures elsewhere in the system. </p>
<p>The benefits of catalysing youth entrepreneurship could be huge in Africa. With the world’s <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-2013/africa%E2%80%99s-youth-%22ticking-time-bomb%22-or-opportunity">youngest</a> population at a time of unprecedented innovations in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Platform-Crowd-Harnessing-Digital/dp/1543615791">digital technologies</a> across the world, the African continent has a unique opportunity. It has two key advantages: digital savvy and a willingness to take risks. </p>
<p>Young people may have a <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_737648.pdf">comparative</a> advantage in adopting and using new digital technologies. Moreover, many African countries have not only <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/francoisbotha/2019/04/02/why-africa-has-the-ability-to-leapfrog-the-rest-of-the-world-with-innovation/?sh=4b9e470a5ece">leapfrogged</a> in the adoption of mobile communication tech, but have been experiencing an <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-countries-cant-industrialise-yes-they-can-125516">upsurge</a> in tech entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>There is a deep underlying entrepreneurial reservoir in Africa. As much as 80% of youth labour market participation is in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919216303876">household enterprises</a> or as self-employed activities; only 20% in standard wage employment. </p>
<h2>Digital entrepreneurial ecosystems</h2>
<p>Youthfulness itself should not be a serious liability for entrepreneurship anymore. </p>
<p>Given the scarcity of resources on the continent, turning potential into reality and best addressing the market failures mentioned will require countries to prioritise investment in, and regulation of, their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-017-9867-5">digital entrepreneurial ecosystems</a>. </p>
<p>It will require redoubling efforts to expand access to new digital technology and infrastructure, including the data needed on which to build new products and services. It will also require investing in information and communications technology skills – fixing market failures in provision of public goods and education. </p>
<p>Increasing digital absorption in this way will pay good dividends. As I argued in chapter 4 of the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/world-youth-report/wyr2020.html">2020 World Youth Report</a>: consider for instance, that countries that do better to absorb digital technologies also tend to have a lower share of youths not in employment, education or training.</p>
<p>The direction of causality between digital adoption and utilisation of the youth is likely bi-directional. Better adoption of digital technologies is likely to engage the youth in either learning, education or employment. Better engagement of the youth is likely to lead to faster adoption of digital technologies – propelling a virtuous cycle. </p>
<p>With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to halt a decade of progress in youth development in Africa, at a minimum a three-pronged approach is now urgent. This entails bridging the digital divide; investing more in youth education in information and communications technology and science, engineering and mathematics fields. It also requires building digital entrepreneurial ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159288/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wim Naudé does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since 1999, extreme poverty has declined while rates of young people in education and employment have risen. Without investment though, the impact of the pandemic could see this progress imperilled,Wim Naudé, Professor of Economics, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1444332020-08-17T14:07:25Z2020-08-17T14:07:25ZTechnology can help people manage their diabetes – case study shows it’s not being used<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352960/original/file-20200814-20-1rqgeat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death">death</a> globally. There’s no cure for most of them, such as diabetes. Rather, they’re controlled through lifelong medical treatment as well as support from healthcare professionals and family members.</p>
<p>Suboptimal treatment of diabetes can lead to severe <a href="https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications">complications</a> such as amputations, blindness and kidney disease. That’s why ongoing patient self-management education and support are critical to preventing acute complications and reducing the risk of death. This is increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic where the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/01-06-2020-covid-19-significantly-impacts-health-services-for-noncommunicable-diseases">treatment and prevention</a> of noncommunicable diseases has been negatively affected, especially in low-income countries. Patients with diabetes are also at higher risk for severe <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(20)30238-2/fulltext">COVID-19</a> complications and <a href="https://www.diabetes.org/coronavirus-covid-19/how-coronavirus-impacts-people-with-diabetes">death</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA71/A71_R7-en.pdf?ua=1">World Health Assembly</a> recognises the potential for information and communication technology (ICT) to support healthcare systems. ICT can support disease prevention and health promotion by improving affordability, access and quality of health services worldwide. ICT used in health is often referred to as electronic health (e-health). Mobile health (m-health) refers to e-health applications delivered on mobile technology. </p>
<p>Interventions using m-health show promise as it could improve care for patients with chronic conditions. A previous study in <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/treating-diabetes-takes-more-than-insulin-senegal-mobile-phone-project-promoting-public-health">Senegal</a> has shown that simple interventions delivered via mobile applications can help to decrease diabetes risk factors such as an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.</p>
<p>But patients can’t benefit from innovations – such as apps on mobile phones – unless they accept them and use them effectively.</p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326368952_User_acceptance_of_ICT_for_diabetes_self-management_in_the_Western_Cape_South_Africa">set out to measure</a> the use of technology for patients with diabetes. Our research was based in low-resourced communities in South Africa’s Western Cape province.</p>
<p>We wanted to identify factors that influenced people’s choices when it came to using technology to manage their diabetes. A very high percentage of survey participants had high intentions of using technology to assist with diabetes self-care activities such as healthy eating, being active, monitoring, taking medication, problem-solving, healthy coping and reducing risks. But, when it came down to actual use there was very little uptake.</p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>There has been a rapid rise in <a href="https://www.idf.org/aboutdiabetes/what-is-diabetes/facts-figures.html">diabetes globally</a> but the rate has been rising more rapidly in <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes">low- and middle-income countries</a> than in high-income countries. <a href="https://idf.org/our-network/regions-members/africa/members/25-south-africa.html">South Africa</a> is no exception. South Africa’s diabetes prevalence in adults is 12.8% compared to the neighbouring country, <a href="https://idf.org/our-network/regions-members/africa/members/31-zimbabwe.html">Zimbabwe</a> at 1.2%.</p>
<p>Diabetes control is also lower among <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27194172/">racial and ethnic minorities</a> and especially those with low socioeconomic status. The demographics of the Western Cape reflect the socioeconomic plight of a substantive population. Additionally, segments of the Western Cape population experience technological forms of exclusion on top of educational and <a href="https://researchictafrica.net/publication/state-of-ict-in-south-africa/">income inequalities</a>. </p>
<p>We selected 497 respondents from low-resourced communities in the surrounds of Cape Town. They included Mitchell’s Plain, Belhar and Khayelitsha. Most were women over the age of 50 with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes">type 2</a> diabetes. A third of the respondents had Grade 12 as their highest level of education. Just under a fifth had some high schooling. Most spoke English (43.4%) followed by Xhosa (27.7%) and Afrikaans (23.1%). These factors are important as South Africa has diverse populations with significant educational, technological and income inequalities that may impact ICT use for diabetes. South Africa also has 11 official languages which will affect the ability to use m-health applications that are predominantly in English.</p>
<p>We tested whether patients were likely to use ICT to help them manage their diabetes. The <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220259897_User_Acceptance_of_Information_Technology_Toward_a_Unified_View">model we used </a> looked at four factors: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>whether a person believed using the system would be effective (in this case, whether the patient thinks it will improve their health) </p></li>
<li><p>whether a person finds it easy to use </p></li>
<li><p>whether a person feels that others think they should use it </p></li>
<li><p>whether a person thinks the system is supported by conditions such as internet access and a helpdesk to provide support with technical difficulties. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Achieving these four factors increases the possibility that individuals will perform the behaviour in question (behavioural intention). A positive behavioural intention may lead to patients using ICT for diabetes.</p>
<p>Respondents were asked about their use of ICT such as mobile applications, <a href="https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/treatments/insulin-pump-therapy">insulin pumps</a> (devices that delivers insulin 24 hours a day to match your body’s needs) and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6705487/">continuous glucose monitoring</a> through a device that provides patients with a glucose reading every few minutes. </p>
<p>Our findings were surprising. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326368952_User_acceptance_of_ICT_for_diabetes_self-management_in_the_Western_Cape_South_Africa">Most respondents</a> ticked the four boxes. This would suggest a positive behavioural intention. Yet, their behavioural intention didn’t translate into actual usage. </p>
<p>For example, respondents were asked whether they used the above technology to help them manage their diabetes and 68% said they didn’t. </p>
<p>We identified a number of contributing factors to the low uptake.</p>
<p>One was limited internet access and difficulty using technology. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340479429_Impact_of_demographics_on_patients'_acceptance_of_ICT_for_diabetes_self-management_Applying_the_UTAUT_model_in_low_socio-economic_areas">Age and education</a> also played a role. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340479429_Impact_of_demographics_on_patients'_acceptance_of_ICT_for_diabetes_self-management_Applying_the_UTAUT_model_in_low_socio-economic_areas">Respondents</a> were asked what would make them use ICT more often. Reduced cost, as well as making applications easier to use and understand, were identified as the most critical factors. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>Mobile phone applications are effective in managing diabetes in other low- and middle-income countries. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-sas-data-prices-compare-with-the-rest-of-the-world-2020-5">South African data costs</a> exceed other countries. Also, Senegal’s success can be attributed to the government’s involvement in implementing the mobile application. </p>
<p>South Africa will require a similar intervention, such as <a href="http://www.health.gov.za/index.php/mom-connect">MomConnect</a> that is available in all 11 languages. The service, free to all users, is independent of mobile device type. Alternatively, the use of WhatsApp as is being used for <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=27600123456&text=Hi&source=&data=&app_absent=">COVID-19 </a> could be considered to support the growing number of patients with diabetes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fazlyn Petersen receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). </span></em></p>Interventions using apps show promise as they could improve care for patients with chronic conditions. But patients can’t benefit from innovations unless they accept them and use them effectively.Fazlyn Petersen, Information Systems Senior Lecturer, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429382020-07-21T16:00:25Z2020-07-21T16:00:25ZTeachers have been let down by a decade of inaction on digital technologies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348597/original/file-20200721-37-19txs3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8688%2C5774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-giving-lesson-tablet-computer-classroom-441376753">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus pandemic has led to significant disruption to school education in England. Teachers have made a concerted effort to use digital technology and <a href="https://www.techuk.org/insights/opinions/item/17240-covid-19-online-learning-a-teachers-perspective">remote teaching and learning</a> to lessen the impact of this disruption on their students. </p>
<p>However, thanks to a decade of unambitious government policy, many have faced an uphill struggle. A general lack of preparedness for digital technology in England has left many children without the tools they need to access and benefit from remote learning.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131519302891?via%3Dihub">recent research</a> shows that teachers have been hampered by weak policies surrounding technology supported learning, and by the research behind these policies. To unlock the educational potential of digital technologies in the future, teachers need support which focuses on innovation and practice.</p>
<h2>A decade stood still</h2>
<p>The importance of using digital technology in teaching, and some of its associated challenges, were established well <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1573/">over a decade ago</a>. </p>
<p>However, the coalition government of 2010 brought in policies that increasingly neglected the role of digital technologies in education. It began with the closure of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dfe-to-close-arms-length-bodies-to-improve-accountability">British Educational and Communications Technology Agency</a> in 2011. </p>
<p>This organisation faced some <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13540600802661303">justified criticism</a>, including for its tendency towards uncritical adoption of educational technology. But it did play an important role, supporting schools in their attempts to acquire and integrate digital technologies in the classroom.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher and teenagers using tablet and laptops." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348603/original/file-20200721-31-1m1lj8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers develop their own methods for using digital technologies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-students-teacher-class-756316333">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2013, the National Curriculum for England was <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/national-curriculum-review-new-programmes-of-study-and-attainment-targets-from-september-2014">reviewed</a>. Changes included the end of the expectation, <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/18150/">established in 1999</a>, that the critical use of digital technologies in education was an important key skill, and that it should be supported both through the subject of information and communications technology (ICT) and in pupils’ <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/18150/">use of ICT across the curriculum</a>.</p>
<p>Past standards required trainee teachers to develop their knowledge and skills in ICT in their teaching practice and <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uafk//8005/">wider professional work</a>. However, all reference to the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning were removed from the 2010 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/teachers-standards">Teacher Standards</a> which trainees need to demonstrate to gain Qualified Teacher Status in England.</p>
<p>These policies, as well as an era of <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14369">real-term cuts in education funding</a>, have left many schools’ access to digital technologies weakened. It is not surprising that many, though not all, have found the move to remote and digitally-supported learning during the coronavirus pandemic challenging.</p>
<h2>Unlocking future potential</h2>
<p>Research on the use of ICT in schools has an important role to play, involving teachers in identifying what works and what doesn’t. But the research used to inform government policy on ICT over the last decade has failed in this regard. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/digital-technology/">Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)</a>, funded by the Department for Education, has produced research which only adds very high level, comparatively common sense insights, such as that the use of <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/digital-technology/">technology should not be an end in itself</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4151887.pdf">Back in 2004</a> we already knew that effective teachers make their own critical judgements about how to use digital technologies. They do this by blending their knowledge about their subject, their knowledge of how learners understand it, and how the features of digital technologies relate to such knowledge. But a lack of support for teachers to hone these practices means that this knowledge is not passed on or developed. </p>
<p>The education sector has to constantly re-learn lessons about the unique challenges of integrating technologies into education. Different levels of access, as well as different attitudes towards or ways of using digital technology, can have an impact on the effectiveness of teaching and learning. But many trainee teachers are left to develop this understanding by chance. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher and girl looking at computer tablet." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348601/original/file-20200721-33-hze0xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers may develop innovative ways of using ICT which are not then improved or passed on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-young-schoolgirl-using-tablet-classroom-735971875">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-core-content-framework">Core Content Framework</a> for Initial Teacher Training in England, which sets out the minimum entitlement for those in initial teacher education, perpetuates this shortcoming. It makes no reference to technology-supported learning. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131519302891?via%3Dihub">our research</a>, we introduced the idea of “pedagogical provenance”. This means valuing teachers’ stories of how methods of teaching using digital technologies came to be used – like understanding the history of an object or artefact. This could include how <a href="https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/decoding_learning_report.pdf">video conferencing</a> has been used to explore art exhibitions, or how text messaging among pupils can improve literacy and spelling. </p>
<p>Knowing the purpose and the context of how a particular teaching method or digital tool was introduced helps guide teachers’ future decisions about how to adapt them to their own classroom. But this kind of detail is so often absent. </p>
<p>For instance, a review of research on the use of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcal.12123">tablet devices</a> in education found that there was a lack of detailed explanations provided to teachers “as to how, or why, using tablets within certain activities can improve learning”.</p>
<p>Teachers need to be supported by policy and research to help them develop expert knowledge on the use of digital technologies. Failure to do so may simply mean re-learning the same lessons over and over again. To help teachers prepare for the unknown challenges ahead we must build on the lessons of the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Turvey received funding from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) between 2006 - 2010. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norbert Pachler received research funding from Becta between 2008 and 2010. </span></em></p>The education sector has to constantly re-learn lessons about using digital technologies in teaching.Keith Turvey, Principal Lecturer in Education, University of BrightonNorbert Pachler, Professor of Education and Pro-Vice-Provost: Digital Education, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1279292019-12-16T13:37:32Z2019-12-16T13:37:32ZWhy Kenya is failing to integrate technology into secondary schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304910/original/file-20191203-67017-20ni4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many Kenyan students have had limited access to computers</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stars Foundation/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kenya’s education ministry has <a href="http://vision2030.go.ke">proposed that</a> information and communication technology (ICT) – such as computers, laptops, tablets and cameras – be used to help teach certain subjects and improve how students learn. The technology can, for instance, stimulate creativity, help children understand complex topics and give them tools to learn more independently. </p>
<p>In 2011 the ministry created an integration team to coordinate and harmonise all initiatives. The team worked with a Flemish and Belgian non-profit organisation – <a href="https://www.vvob.org/nl">VVOB (education for development)</a> – dedicated to improving the quality of education in developing countries. </p>
<p>Part of the plan included a professional development programme which was carried out in four pilot schools and lasted two years. It was designed to help teachers learn how to integrate technology into the curriculum. Because teachers are in control of the classroom settings, it was crucial that they were part of this collaborative experience.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1475939X.2015.1091786?journalCode=rtpe20">evaluated</a> the programme. Our main focus was on how many teachers continued to use technology in their lessons after the programme ended in the four government-funded secondary schools. None of these schools had previous experience with ICT. </p>
<p>We found that teachers faced a wide range of challenges when it came to
integrating technology into their classrooms. These included a lack of electricity, infrastructure and connectivity. Moreover, the training needed was complex and the resources required to deliver it were scarce. </p>
<p>At the start of the intervention, teachers didn’t know how to integrate technology in their classes. They also didn’t have enough time to develop new lessons and had too many pupils to teach. </p>
<p>Our findings support the view that integrating technology into schools does’t automatically follow a simple placement of hardware and software. It involves understanding the dynamic relationship between technology, how it’s used in the classroom and the content of the curriculum. </p>
<p>Our research also suggests that the professional development of teachers is a long term project. It needs constant reiterations of learning about emerging technologies and how to use them. This must be in balance with the national ICT initiative but also, more importantly, be sensitive to the different school cultures and communities. </p>
<h2>Integration is key</h2>
<p>In the schools we evaluated, technology training sessions were developed under a professional development programme. These were designed to encourage teachers to identify challenging areas in their teaching and then brainstorm about how technology could offer an advantage in the classroom. For instance, how technology could help them overcome the challenge of scarce or outdated textbooks. Trainers in the workshop would then train the teachers in teacher design teams on the skills they would need to accomplish the task. </p>
<p>We conducted teacher questionnaires and focus group discussions with a total of 64 teachers. The aim was to see how many teachers used technology in their classrooms two years after the programme had ended. Based on the results it appeared that some teachers were just beginning to use technology to present information. But most were using it to support their educational practice outside the classroom. For example, they used technology to prepare lessons or to email with colleagues. </p>
<p>This was due to a number of challenges, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Schools kept hardware, like computers, in labs. This physical separation of technology and the actual classroom meant that it was harder to integrate technology in learning activities. But labs were used because of poor security, power breakdowns and a lack of space in the classrooms.</p></li>
<li><p>At the beginning of the project, the schools didn’t have clear goals on how to support technology integration after the professional development programme. This could be because a large number of people – from the principal to integration teams – were involved in decision-making processes. Also, participants only felt more clear about the role of ICT in education towards the end of the programme.</p></li>
<li><p>The teachers also needed additional support from administrative school leaders, like the headteachers. These leaders would have the authority to demand the installation of electricity and connectivity in each class. But in one school, the teachers said that they didn’t feel they had support from the leadership, or good direction. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>We also found positive outcomes. </p>
<p>For example, there was collaboration at the school as well as the regional level. In some schools, the teachers worked with others in different schools and passed on ideas. In turn, this contributed to the promotion of professionalism. </p>
<p>We concluded that the gains of the programme could only be sustained if schools and teachers felt a sense of ownership and were part of a process of evaluation so that they could understand what they’d learnt, and what goals they wanted to set. This stresses the importance of professional development as a permanent process, aimed at extending and updating the professional knowledge of teachers in the context of their work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Tondeur is affiliated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel. </span></em></p>Integrating technology into schools involves understanding the dynamic relationship between technology, how it’s used in the classroom and the content of the curriculum.Jo Tondeur, Assistant Professor, Vrije Universiteit BrusselLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1188442019-06-27T14:43:36Z2019-06-27T14:43:36ZA ‘Computer Village’ in Lagos offers lessons on what it takes to help small firms thrive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280680/original/file-20190621-61756-6iq1cc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Otigba Computer Village shows that sharing knowledge widely benefits all businesses in a cluster. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria’s <a href="https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/portal/files/1122685/guid-79b7e0b5-aa89-4ce8-88ce-527f29fe35b0-ASSET1.0">Otigba Computer Village</a> is arguably the biggest information, communications technology (ICT) market in Africa. It started off as a one-man business on a street called “Otigba” in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State. Within a short time it grew to a few thousand businesses occupying a vast area in the state. It represents an ICT solution centre for Nigeria as well as West Africa.</p>
<p>Three years ago Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics estimated that the <a href="http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/403">informal sector</a> had accounted for as much as 41% of the country’s economy in 2015. The informal sector in Nigeria continues to grow for numerous reasons. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>limited ability of the formal economy to absorb surplus labour (largely dominated by people aged between 15 and 50 years);</p></li>
<li><p>barriers to entry into the formal economy by young entrepreneurs who have ideas but little capital to compete with large firms in the formal sector;</p></li>
<li><p>weak government institutions (regulatory bodies); and</p></li>
<li><p>poor economic conditions which are forcing many consumers to demand cheap goods and services.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The Otigba <a href="https://www.isc.hbs.edu/competitiveness-economic-development/frameworks-and-key-concepts/Pages/clusters.aspx">cluster</a> is no exception. It remains largely informal despite its size, the volume of economic transactions being done daily and the technical knowledge put to use in the market. <a href="https://www.innovationpolicyplatform.org/sites/default/files/rdf_imported_documents/knowledge_cluster_africa_2008.pdf">Numerous studies</a> have been done to evaluate the size and capacity of the cluster, its evolution, mode of operation, performance, sustainability and constraints.</p>
<p>But before my research there had been no studies on how businesses within the cluster identified new and useful knowledge and how they applied that knowledge to innovation to increase their performance and profitability by scaling-up their operations.</p>
<p>Research across the world shows that when businesses cluster together there is bound to be an exchange of knowledge. This can be through spillovers or conscious transfers. With more than 4000 businesses, Otigba should be no exception. So, I set out to test this by surveying 200 business units, representing about 5% of the size of the cluster. I wanted to understand how knowledge is being identified, acquired, developed, used and diffused in the cluster.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.tips.org.za/research-archive/item/download/1694_07489277bcd1cb78798ffbf3582ea61a">study</a> also sought to understand how the spread of knowledge within the cluster led to innovation and the scaling of business operations. Innovation here refers to significant technical changes in the product, services, production processes or delivery method.</p>
<p>To measure the scaling up of businesses, the study examined:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>inputs (access to more finances, number of employees), </p></li>
<li><p>activities (sub-contracting, outsourcing and collaborations),</p></li>
<li><p>outputs (turnover, quality, quantity) and</p></li>
<li><p>impacts (compliance to international standard, technology upgrading and net export). </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The study used these indicators because they are yardsticks for measuring growth in firms in the formal sector.</p>
<h2>Some interesting findings</h2>
<p>When businesses operate in close proximity, as they do in clusters, knowledge sharing is inevitable. I found this to be true in Otigba. This is mainly because the daily routine of the businesses involves: rotation of tasks and the regular training of employees (mainly apprentices) by highly skilled technical personnel, usually the owner of the business or someone appointed as senior manager. </p>
<p>Most businesses didn’t give preference to employees with relevant experience when hiring. Instead, they used the expertise of qualified technicians to train new employees. As a result apprentices learnt on the job. </p>
<p>By and large, it took new employees less than two years to acquire all the necessary knowledge they needed to do the jobs they were hired for. The result is that apprenticeship has become one of the major channels for skills acquisition and knowledge diffusion within the cluster. Apprenticeship involves on-the-job learning by young employees under the supervision of experts. During this period, tacit knowledge is passed on to the apprentices until they become experts themselves. These apprentices thus graduate, ready to start their own businesses or secure employment as technicians in the formal sector.</p>
<p>The other channel for diffusion of knowledge within the clusters is the trade association and the unions. These have enabled collaborative innovation in the cluster which has made it possible for firms to compete as a cluster against international players. This is because of the monitoring role played by trade association and unions such as the Computer and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria. The union ensures that new knowledge about new technologies (product and process) are made known to all it members. The union facilitates collective importation of expensive equipment as well as sharing to tools and technicians among its members.</p>
<p>Because of knowledge sharing in the cluster, the majority of new businesses were able to scale up their operations within the first three years of operation. This is remarkable given that <a href="https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/institute/small-business-longevity.htm">research</a> shows that a third of new small business die within two years, and half within five years of starting up. Thus knowledge sharing through clustering is organic incubation – one viable way to survive the first three years as a start-up.</p>
<p>Knowledge sharing also enabled most of the enterprises to increase their capital resources within three years of start-up. They did this either through their own generated resources or through loans. The main source of loans came from commercial banks followed by co-operative societies, business angels and micro-credit organisations. </p>
<p>Most enterprises increased their work force to run their businesses because of good business performance. During the scaling-up period, there was lots of collaboration between firms within the cluster as well as with other businesses, organisations and institutions outside of the cluster. This facilitated the transfer of knowledge among cooperating firms. </p>
<p>Finally, the effects of scaling-up enhanced the ability of businesses to: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>satisfy customers’ demands; </p></li>
<li><p>comply with Nigerian regulations and standards;</p></li>
<li><p>develop more environmentally friendly products/processes; and </p></li>
<li><p>improve product quality. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Also, knowledge sharing that happened during the scaling up enabled businesses to extend their product range, deal successfully with new competitors abroad, and lower their production costs.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>My research found that openness and proximity increased access to information, customers, new domestic markets, tools and technology, suppliers of raw materials and inputs. In addition, all the enterprises that benefited from proximity in the cluster were involved in at least one form of innovation.</p>
<p>In conclusion, the study posits that knowledge need not be protected in clusters or in the informal sector generally. Instead, it should be shared widely so that other businesses can adopt, or adapt, it. This in turn spurs further innovation and the rapid development of the sector. Openness will also aid the development of other sectors through knowledge spill overs. This, in turn, will create healthy competition among businesses.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118844/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Through the African Innovation Research (AIR) Partnership, this work was carried out with financial support from the UK Government’s Department for International Development, the International Development Research Centre, Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The views expressed in this work are those of the creators and do not necessarily represent those of the research funders</span></em></p>The Otigba Computer Village shows how businesses in a largely informal market identify new and useful knowledge, apply it innovatively to scale up their operations and increase profits.Oluseye Jegede, College of Business and Economics, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1086892019-01-23T14:33:13Z2019-01-23T14:33:13ZAfrican countries should rethink how they use e-government platforms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252680/original/file-20190107-32130-1vvky8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Different approaches to e-governance could bear fruit for African countries.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">jurgenfr/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More and more governments around the world are <a href="https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/Portals/egovkb/Documents/un/2018-Survey/E-Government%20Survey%202018_FINAL%20for%20web.pdf">turning to electronic methods</a> to deliver services and communicate with citizens via the internet. </p>
<p>These e-government systems, as they are known, allow people to do a number of things. They can pay for their utilities, or settle their fines. They can register new businesses or vehicles. They are also able to get information from government agencies through emails, SMS messages, and mobile apps. </p>
<p>Developed nations were the trendsetters in e-government. Now developing countries are catching up. The United Nations named India among the top 100 of 193 UN Member States that were assessed in its <a href="https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/Portals/egovkb/Documents/un/2018-Survey/E-Government%20Survey%202018_FINAL%20for%20web.pdf">2018 e-Government Development Index</a>. </p>
<p>In the same report, four African countries – Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa and Tunisia – were rated as having a high e-government development index. This means they’ve made many types of public services available online. More than 30 other countries on the continent, among them Cameroon, Nigeria, Lesotho, Togo and Rwanda, were rated as having made visible progress in e-government.</p>
<p>In theory, this is a good thing. It allows citizens to directly access public services in a faster way without undue bureaucracy. It can also be used to minimise corrupt practices. Governments can also obtain prompt feedback on the quality of public services.</p>
<p>The reality, though, is that African countries’ adoption of e-government platforms hasn’t served the majority of their citizens. Services like e-taxation, e-payment and e-billing are useful for the middle class and richer people. But e-government initiatives that would support and cater to poorer people are sorely lacking.</p>
<p>For example, e-government initiatives designed to enable skills development for poor citizens and the unemployed, or to promote micro enterprises, are not easy to find in most African countries.</p>
<p>E-government initiatives in Africa need to be redesigned and re-contextualised so they can address the needs of most citizens, rather than relatively few.</p>
<p>My colleague Professor Charles Ayo and I <a href="http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/7146/#.XDNUrlUzbIU">conducted research</a> about e-government using Nigeria as a case study. We outlined the ways that governments on the continent can redefine and offer more effective, useful e-government.</p>
<p>We identified several ways in which e-government could be used to better suit African countries’ contexts. These included using e-government platforms for electoral processes, to coordinate health care, to support small businesses, and for secure and transparent procurement procedures. </p>
<h2>New ways of thinking</h2>
<p>Our analysis found that there’s a growing awareness of e-government’s benefits in Nigeria. It is increasingly being used. But many challenges still exist.</p>
<p>Some of these are related to poor information and communication technology infrastructure. Poor finance, poor political leadership, as well as poor organisation and communication, also play a role. These problems are not peculiar to Nigeria. They’ve hampered the successful implementation of e-government in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p>Drawing from our research, we argue that there are several ways in which African e-government platforms can become more useful and relevant for the majority of citizens. </p>
<p>Crucially, such platforms should be accessible on mobile phones; this technology is becoming <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2018/10/09/majorities-in-sub-saharan-africa-own-mobile-phones-but-smartphone-adoption-is-modest/">increasingly affordable</a> for most people on the continent. Internet penetration on the continent is <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2018/10/09/majorities-in-sub-saharan-africa-own-mobile-phones-but-smartphone-adoption-is-modest/">also improving</a>.</p>
<p>The next question is what services these platforms should offer. We have the following suggestions.</p>
<p>First, there’s e-democracy. This involves the use of information and communication technology to facilitate citizens’ active participation in democratic processes: for instance, voter registration, actual voting and election monitoring. Governance could be made more inclusive and transparent even beyond election time by providing information and promoting continual engagements with elected representatives. </p>
<p>E-government platforms can also create empowering spaces for small and informal businesses. African governments could begin to provide open cloud platforms that can support these enterprises with computing infrastructure, software services, and visibility to a larger consumer market. The beneficiaries could be allowed to access these services for free or for a token fee. </p>
<p>Currently, such initiatives are not common in most African countries. There are social media and advertising platforms, but these are not the same as e-government services designed to help citizens.</p>
<p>Governments’ electronic payment and procurement systems could also be implemented across all sectors of government. This would promote efficiency and reduce corruption to the barest minimum. </p>
<p>E-government solutions could embrace additional aspects: informal learning, skills development, and health campaigns. These would all be valuable approaches to ensure the continent’s e-government platforms do more for the majority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justine Olawande Daramola of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology receives funding from National Research Foundation of South Africa, and other academic research funding agencies. </span></em></p>African countries’ adoption of e-government platforms hasn’t served the majority of their citizens.Olawande Daramola, Prof, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1052942018-10-23T19:15:00Z2018-10-23T19:15:00ZThe internet has done a lot, but so far little for economic growth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241780/original/file-20181023-169807-1dwppfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The internet is everywhere, except in the economic growth figures.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet is transforming every aspect of our lives. It has become indispensable. But, so far, according to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joes.12211">a new meta-analysis we have published in the Journal of Economic Surveys</a>, the internet has done next to nothing for economic growth. </p>
<p>Vast resources have been thrown at information and communication technologies. Yet despite exponential growth in ICT and its integration into almost all aspects of our lives, economic growth is not demonstrably faster (and at the moment is demonstrably slower) than it was beforehand. </p>
<p>As Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Solow famously put it, “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-5g-the-next-generation-of-wireless-explained-96165">What is 5G? The next generation of wireless, explained</a>
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<p>This productivity paradox has caused angst and raised questions about whether the trillions invested in ICT could have been better invested elsewhere.</p>
<h2>Our study of studies</h2>
<p>We reassessed ICT through a meta-analysis of 59 econometric studies incorporating 466 different observations in both developed and developing countries. We divided ICT into three categories: computing, mobile and landline telephone connections, and the internet. For developed countries, we found that computing had had a moderate impact on growth. Mobile and landline telephone technologies also had a small effect.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-landline-phones-made-us-happy-and-connected-92662">How landline phones made us happy and connected</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>But the internet has had no effect, at least not as far as can be ascertained from the research to date.</p>
<h2>The promise not yet delivered</h2>
<p>Ever since the Industrial Revolution, innovation and technological change have driven rising productivity and economic growth. </p>
<p>Information and communications technologies ought to follow in those footsteps. </p>
<p>Instead, productivity growth in US manufacturing has <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2018/article/multifactor-productivity-slowdown-in-us-manufacturing.htm">slid</a> from 2% per year between 1992 to 2004 to minus 0.3% per year between 2005 and 2016.</p>
<p>Where ICT innovations <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20777587?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">do lead to an increase in productivity</a>, it’s often a one-off boost rather than an <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10544.html">ongoing increase year after year</a>.</p>
<h2>Where the internet sends us backwards</h2>
<p>More disquieting, there is some evidence suggesting that rather than contributing to economic performance, some parts of ICT can harm it.</p>
<p>The internet can be an enabler of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/202162/the-procrastination-equation-by-piers-steel/9780307357175">procrastination</a>. Cyberslacking can take up to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563211000604">three hours of work a day</a>. </p>
<p>It isn’t all bad. Many of us get a lot of joy from catching up on social media and watching dog and cat videos. But if everyone is distracted by it, little gets done.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-reasons-teachers-can-struggle-to-use-technology-in-the-classroom-101114">Ten reasons teachers can struggle to use technology in the classroom</a>
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<p>The internet has also enabled greater flexibility in work, another plus. But if it contributes little to economic growth, it is worth asking whether our economic managers should continue to fund its expansion.</p>
<h2>No saviour for developing nations</h2>
<p>For developing countries, generating economic growth is pressing because resources are scarce. ICT has been <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2422">held out as a saviour</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, it has almost always been found that more obvious innovations, such as running water, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10544.html">electricity</a>, and primary education for girls, have bigger payoffs. </p>
<p>Our own findings show that developing countries benefit from landline and mobile phone technologies but not at all from computing, at least not yet. ICT might need to reach a <a href="http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199548798.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199548798-e-005">critical size</a> before its effects matter.</p>
<h2>But maybe later, down the track</h2>
<p>The time it takes for ICT investment to generate economic growth might be longer than expected, and it might need to reach an even bigger critical mass before that happens.</p>
<p>But it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that, for the immediate future, growth will continue to depend upon more traditional sources: trade between nations, education, new ideas, the rule of law, sound political institutions, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-listen-to-the-rich-inequality-is-bad-for-everyone-81952">curtailing inequality</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-rising-inequality-is-stalling-economies-by-crippling-demand-99075">How rising inequality is stalling economies by crippling demand</a>
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<p>Unfortunately, these are under threat from growing nationalism and protectionism in the United States and elsewhere. The evidence to date suggests that we would be better off fighting those threats than investing still more in an information technology revolution that has yet to deliver.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The internet has always been just about to deliver an enormous spurt of economic growth or productivity growth A new meta-analysis of 59 econometric studies finds it is yet to do so.Chris Doucouliagos, Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Deakin Business School and Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin UniversityTom Stanley, Professor of Meta-Analysis, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1030852018-09-12T06:13:36Z2018-09-12T06:13:36ZWhacking the mole: how Australia scrambles to regulate Chinese technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235949/original/file-20180912-181273-14eheir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Where's the next threat coming from? Whack it! </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coquitlam-bc-canada-april-09-2015-277373534?src=YOkf4nMBblL0h56NaQ81ag-1-1">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Did you ever go to your local show as a child? Remember that infuriating game where to win you had to hit every mole which popped its head out of a hole? I imagine Australia’s government feels like it’s playing whack-a-mole in regulating Chinese information and communications technology right now.</p>
<p>A clearer policy on regulating information and communications technology in the context of national security threats may help. Though in this version of the game, the stakes are rather higher than cheap toys at the local show. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/huawei-is-a-test-case-for-australia-in-balancing-the-risks-and-rewards-of-chinese-tech-99081">Huawei is a test case for Australia in balancing the risks and rewards of Chinese tech</a>
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<p>Last month, the Australian government <a href="https://www.minister.communications.gov.au/minister/mitch-fifield/news/government-provides-5g-security-guidance-australian-carriers">effectively</a> <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/22/australia-bans-huawei-and-zte-from-supplying-technology-for-its-5g-network/">banned</a> Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from tendering for our national 5G network. </p>
<p>This week, the ABC <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-12/chinese-video-surveillance-network-used-by-australian-government/10212600">revealed</a> a range of secure locations using surveillance equipment made by Chinese companies which are <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2148010/chinas-hikvision-hits-out-us-congress-over-baseless-ban">likely</a> to be banned from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/surveillance-cameras-made-by-china-are-hanging-all-over-the-u-s-1510513949">providing</a> such equipment to government in the US. </p>
<p>One in particular, Hikvision (HIK), has <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2148010/chinas-hikvision-hits-out-us-congress-over-baseless-ban">very close</a> links to the Chinese government — 42% is owned by state-owned enterprises, and the company is associated with a technology lab inside China’s Ministry of Public Security.</p>
<p>The ABC’s investigations showed surveillance equipment being used in a range of locations, from an Australian defence base in South Australia, to Sydney’s Central Station. </p>
<h2>Critical supply chains</h2>
<p>As a resource-driven economy, Australia is not used to being at the wrong end of critical supply chains. We are familiar with being at the base of the supply chain for critical infrastructure – producing the iron ore, rare earths and coal which make and fuel technology. </p>
<p>But recent concerns around regulating the risk from Chinese information and communications technology (ICT) have revealed exactly how uncomfortable it is at the pointy end of this particular supply chain. It’s this user end of the supply chain that the US Department of Homeland Security says is especially <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/amid-national-security-warnings-nist-adds-supply-chain-security-to-cyber-framework-1524175900">vulnerable</a> to foreign espionage. </p>
<p>Chinese ICT companies are increasingly at the forefront of discussion about information security and cyber risk in Australia, following the strong US lead in this discussion. </p>
<p>In the broader sense, discussions about the risk from Chinese ICT firms are similar to discussions about Chinese investment in <a href="http://chinamatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PRC-Investment-in-Critical-Infrastrucutre-Report-PwC-and-China-Matters.pdf">critical infrastructure</a> – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/18/how-the-sale-of-darwin-port-to-the-chinese-sparked-a-geopolitical-brawl">ports</a>, for example, or <a href="https://www.afr.com/business/energy/gas/accc-approves-ckis-13-billion-takeover-of-apa-group-20180911-h1591t?btis">gas pipelines</a>. We want to ensure the safety of national assets from the attentions of interests which may not be compatible with our own. But ICT is different. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-mobile-network-anyway-this-is-5g-boiled-down-102199">What is a mobile network, anyway? This is 5G, boiled down</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Four reasons ICT is different</h2>
<p>First, the supply chain is murky. In the case of HIK, for example, its products are often rebadged and on-sold by third parties. And the problem is compounded when software is introduced into the mix. Who in government – state, federal or local – should be responsible for assuring the safety of these devices? </p>
<p>Second, where should regulation end? Who is to say whether four components made by a Chinese company in a device make an item vulnerable, but two do not? Can a local council use a HIK camera but a state government must not? Whose job is it to check? </p>
<p>Third, the private sector is directly implicated in ICT and cybersecurity more broadly. Purchasing decisions and cybersecurity practices at even the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dont-blame-government-for-lax-security-of-defence-contractors-says-christopher-pyne-20171012-gyz78v.html">smallest</a> private sector firm can have an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/world/australia/cybersecurity-data-breach.html">impact</a> on national security, especially given the increasing importance of <a href="https://technode.com/2018/06/08/iot-ip-protection-china/">internet-connected</a> devices. </p>
<p>Finally, Chinese ICT companies are often the cheapest suppliers of equipment (in part, perhaps, because – like HIK – they have been fuelled by huge Chinese government contracts). This means banning them as suppliers imposes a cost burden on government, the private sector and consumers. </p>
<h2>Time for action</h2>
<p>Unlike the US, whose <a href="https://threatpost.com/nist-updates-cybersecurity-framework-to-tackle-supply-chain-threats-vulnerability-disclosure-and-more/131534/">lead</a> we tend to follow on these issues, Australia has no domestic ICT manufacturing industry and so – for us – there are no domestic winners from regulating purchasing decisions like this. </p>
<p>Review of <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/nationalsecurity/Documents/cic-factsheet-critical-infrastructure-centre-foreign-investment.pdf">foreign investment</a> in <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/nationalsecurity/Documents/cic-factsheet-what-is-critical-infrastructure-centre.pdf">critical infrastructure</a> has recently been <a href="http://chinamatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PRC-Investment-in-Critical-Infrastrucutre-Report-PwC-and-China-Matters.pdf">upgraded</a>. </p>
<p>But ICT has unique and diverse needs. A security camera in Central Station is not the same as a port in Darwin. </p>
<p>Government knows this: 2016’s <a href="https://cybersecuritystrategy.pmc.gov.au/strong-cyber-defences/index.html">Cyber Security Strategy</a> <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/australias-cyber-security-strategy.pdf">outlined</a> as one of its goals: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>develop guidance for government agencies to consistently manage supply chain security risks for ICT equipment and services.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But the 2017 update on progress in implementing the strategy lists developing such guidance as “<a href="https://cybersecuritystrategy.pmc.gov.au/first-annual-update/our-progress-year-one.html">not scheduled to have commenced</a>”. </p>
<p>Perhaps it should have by now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Logan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As a resource-driven economy, Australia is not used to being at the pointy end of supply chains – and it feels as though we are managing risks and benefits of critical infrastructure on the fly.Sarah Logan, Research Fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/838222017-09-11T19:59:17Z2017-09-11T19:59:17ZSouth Africa needs to sober up to save itself from sickly state-owned enterprises<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185465/original/file-20170911-1336-jvnh8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa needs to decide if it will continue to waste public money on its national carrier, or incur the costs of letting SAA go bankrupt.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The South African government is said to be seriously considering selling its stake in telecommunication firm, Telkom, <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/transport-and-tourism/2017-08-23-secret-gigaba-plan-to-rescue-bankrupt-saa-exposed/">in order to save the troubled South African Airways (SAA)</a>. This has brought back debates about what is the right thing to do around the country’s state owned enterprises. Sibonelo Radebe asked Seán Muller to weigh up the options.</em></p>
<p><strong>What does financial support to SAA actually involve?</strong></p>
<p>There are two basic forms of assistance government has provided to <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-must-free-itself-from-the-burden-of-owning-a-national-airline-64004">SAA</a>. The first “government guarantees”, in which the Treasury provides a guarantee to support SAA’s borrowing from private lenders. These guarantees mean that if SAA is unable to pay its debt costs or repay the full loan when required, the Treasury must pay. As of February 2017, SAA held <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/business/2017-08-07-gigabas-bid-to-stall-repayment-of-r69bn-saa-loans/">R19.1 billion</a> in government guarantees. These pose a risk to public finances, but strictly speaking do not require any funds immediately.</p>
<p>The second type is a “cash injection”, where Treasury directly transfers cash to SAA. This is what is more commonly known as a “bailout”. </p>
<p>In the current case the lines between these two forms of support are blurred. One of Treasury’s reasons for giving SAA cash is apparently to prevent it defaulting on all debt that is called in by SAA’s creditors.</p>
<p><strong>Is selling a Telkom stake and redirecting the money towards saving SAA a good idea?</strong></p>
<p>There are two aspects to this question. First, is injecting more public money into SAA a good idea? Second, is selling government’s stake in Telkom a good idea? </p>
<p>It is hard to see the case for putting further public money in SAA. At various points it may have made sense to do this in order to stabilise SAA as a public enterprise, or prepare it for large scale privatisation. However, this scenario has been repeated so many times that the argument is no longer credible. </p>
<p>Of course, the government has an obligation to prevent the harm that would result from a state-owned enterprise going bankrupt. The direct effects via SAA’s operations, and indirect effects on the economy and investor sentiment in relation to state owned enterprises, could be severe. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-must-free-itself-from-the-burden-of-owning-a-national-airline-64004">failure</a> to implement a successful turnaround strategy at SAA, which appears to be linked to the determination to keep <a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1426649/gordhan-to-fire-saa-chair-dudu-myeni-today/">Dudu Myeni</a> as board chair, has placed South Africans in a bind: either the country wastes public money, or it incurs the costs of letting SAA go bankrupt.</p>
<p>With regards to Telkom, it is useful to remember that government previously committed to only bailout state-owned enterprises using funds raised through the <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/nene-2015-medium-term-budget-policy-statement/">sale of state assets</a>. There are two advantages of this approach. First, it focuses minds on the consequences of state owned enterprises failure – as is happening in the case of SAA. Second, it means that the main national budget is not affected, so Treasury can still meet its commitments like the planned budget deficit.</p>
<p>But there is no good case for bailing out SAA. At best, it is simply to avoid an even worse scenario in which SAA’s guarantees are called in by creditors. Wherever the money comes from, the social cost is significant and arguably unjustified.</p>
<p>Some have suggested that there are additional costs because Telkom is now a <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/telecoms-and-technology/2017-06-05-telkom-rewards-shareholders-as-net-profit-jumps/">profitable</a> enterprise and represents a government success story, but this is <a href="https://mybroadband.co.za/news/business-telecoms/209176-telkoms-adsl-monopoly-crippled-ecommerce-in-south-africa.html">debatable</a>. South Africa’s ICT development has been unsatisfactorily slow and arguably one reason is that government’s stake in Telkom meant that it ended up protecting a firm with monopoly power in fixed line infrastructure. </p>
<p>Contrary to an increasingly popular narrative, the fact that Telkom has become profitable by moving into the mobile space and slashing employment does not make it either a privatisation, or a state ownership, success story. From this perspective, government selling its stake could be a good thing for ICT development in the medium to long run.</p>
<p><strong>What does the consideration say about ANC’s attitude towards privatisation?</strong></p>
<p>There is an obvious tension between the claim that SAA cannot be privatised, while effectively privatising government’s remaining stake in Telkom. Such <a href="http://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/economic-transformation-anc-discussion-document-20">inconsistencies</a> are characteristic of ANC policy in the last two decades. This is partly due to differences within the alliance and partly the result of policy incoherence, along with a failure to act on advice and implement decisions. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/Executive%20Summary-NDP%202030%20-%20Our%20future%20-%20make%20it%20work.pdf">The National Development Plan</a> and the Presidential <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/report-presidential-review-committee-prc-state-owned-entities-soes">Review</a> Committee on State-Owned Entities both provided fairly clear direction, but many recommendations appear to be inconvenient for the president and those around him – who appear to see state owned enterprises as vehicles for personal enrichment rather than economic development.</p>
<p><strong>Clearly the Telkom model works. Should it be replicated?</strong></p>
<p>It is actually not at all clear that the Telkom model “works” in the sense of advancing economic growth and development in the broader public interest. It was <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596105000467">arguably the wrong model</a> for the country’s ICT sector. </p>
<p>However, even if it had been the right model for that sector, simply replicating it would be a bad idea. State ownership, privatisation and regulation strategies need to take into account the characteristics of particular sectors. What works for telecoms will be different to what works for energy or for airlines.</p>
<p><strong>And what do you make of the state of Eskom?</strong></p>
<p>The state of <a href="http://www.eskom.co.za/IR2017/Pages/default.aspx">Eskom</a> is of grave concern. Load shedding and price increases, combined with more energy efficiency options for businesses and consumers, have led to much lower electricity demand than originally forecast. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Eskom is bringing <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-07-07-medupi-kusile-and-the-massive-costtime-overrun/">massive</a> new coal power stations online that have vastly exceeded their original budgets. The result is that Eskom faces a “<a href="http://www.heraldlive.co.za/business/2017/07/17/eskom-denies-facing-funding-crisis/">death spiral</a>” where it needs to increase prices to prop up revenue and bolster its finances, but doing so leads to customers reducing demand (through increased efficiency and implementing alternative options like decentralised solar power). </p>
<p>Eskom holds up to <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/national%20budget/2017/">R350 billion in government guarantees</a> and is in an increasingly precarious situation. If one adds the lingering possibility of an unnecessary and ill-advised nuclear deal into the mix, the fear is that Eskom could end up in a similar state to SAA now. </p>
<p>SAA may be a waste of public funds, but the threat it poses can probably be contained. That would not be true of Eskom. The main debate between many analysts now is not whether a crisis is looming but whether there remains any chance of avoiding it, given repeated failures to make and implement critical policy decisions.</p>
<p><strong>And so, what should happen to SAA and Eskom?</strong></p>
<p>In the absence of a clear developmental mandate for SAA, and it being repeatedly bailed out with public money that could be better used elsewhere, the objective must be to minimise the cost of SAA to citizens: if privatisation is the best option then so be it. Eskom is a much more strategically critical enterprise and its problems are more complex, so privatisation would just create a range of different problems. Each state owned enterprises requires tailor-made solutions but one thing they all require is basic good governance, which is not currently in place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seán Mfundza Muller previously worked for the Parliamentary Budget Office, during which time he conducted analysis of, and provided advice to members of parliament on, the financing of state-owned enterprises.</span></em></p>There is no good case for bailing out South African Airways, it’s simply a matter of avoiding a potentially catastrophic debt default.Seán Mfundza Muller, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/815182017-08-17T10:16:25Z2017-08-17T10:16:25ZIt’s time to start thinking about our digital carbon footprint<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181364/original/file-20170808-22975-1e0he87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> FreeProd33/shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The media is at the forefront of generating awareness over environmental issues. It is easy to name influential films like <a href="https://theconversation.com/al-gore-qanda-and-video-interview-fixing-democracy-to-combat-climate-change-82426">An Inconvenient Truth</a> or note advances made by The Guardian’s environmental reporting. But what is often missing from this discussion is the environmental costs of producing media in the first place.</p>
<p>Whether these be the energy that powers Al Gore’s visually stunning presentations or the materials – wood pulp, ink, detergents, cleansing solvents – required for printing a newspaper, there are considerable environmental costs involved. The media industry has slowly come to realise these costs, often as a result of prodding from NGOs like Greenpeace or in the form of policy (such as the BBC <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/albert-calculator?lang=cy">requiring carbon reporting</a> for all its productions). The print sector has <a href="http://www.almamedia.fi/en/about-us/sustainability/environment">elaborate mechanisms</a> in place to use recycled paper and minimise the use of harmful toxins. Similarly, the film and television sectors have started to develop carbon calculators to allow productions to assess – and curtail – their emissions.</p>
<p>To date, emissions reductions have focused on materials and practices that adhere to the traditional production pipelines for different sectors. The newspaper industry focuses on paper; broadcasting on the travel of journalists and crew; the film industry on production management.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181363/original/file-20170808-22982-1w29d66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changing times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">laetiferrero/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But of course, most of the operations of contemporary media companies are now thoroughly digital. Films are shot on digital cameras, online workflows allow for centralised management of editing, newspapers are increasingly accessed online. Contemporary digital media is pervasive and proliferating, and raises fundamental questions over the capabilities of the industry to account for its environmental impact by focusing largely on traditional production methods. </p>
<p>Indeed, when these companies observe their environmental performance, digital operations often present a daunting challenge. <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sustainable-Media-Critical-Approaches-to-Media-and-Environment/Starosielski-Walker/p/book/9781138014060">Academic work</a> on the <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/a-geology-of-media">production</a> and <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/greening-the-media-9780199914678?cc=us&lang=en&">delivery of</a> digital <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/finite-media">content</a> as well as on the devices on which they are accessed has been conducted. Yet this discussion has not penetrated the public consciousness or even parts of the industry.</p>
<h2>The digital footprint</h2>
<p>Many assume that digital media is more environmentally friendly than traditional forms. Take publishing – there’s far less paper used, right? The publisher Schibsted, for example, <a href="http://www.schibsted.com/en/Annual-Report-2015/Sustainability/Our-enviromental-footprint/">argues</a> that the move to digital has reduced its emissions by more than 50% from 2009 to 2015. Yet it is not always clear what to include within these measurements. Schibsted has, for example, focused on the type and volume of energy needed to power devices in terms of reading time. But other considerations, such as the use of files and access to cloud services, provide more complex challenges.</p>
<p>Cloud services provide endless backups which are seen and marketed as a way to ensure one’s data is preserved indefinitely against disruption. But increasing information flow from servers to terminal devices and using remote hosting can lead to a considerable increase in the amount of <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/make-it-green-cloud-computing/">energy used</a>. Certainly, they provide for efficient corporate conduct and management of information, but they are also a quintessential example of anthropocentric logic. The image of the immaterial cloud ignores the grounded realities of the data centres, still often at least partially powered by coal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181379/original/file-20170808-22933-1tiusic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cloud data storage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scanrail1/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Guardian picked up on these debates in 2015 and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/blog/2015/nov/13/digital-revolution-environmental-sustainable">commissioned extensive research</a> on the publishing sector. It draws on studies that suggest that the internet accounts for <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/net-to-drain-all-britains-power-prm2qx8czp0">8% of the total energy consumption</a> in the UK. Greenpeace <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/clickingclean.pdf">estimates</a> that the ICT sector comprises 2% of global emissions – on par with the <a href="http://www.atag.org/facts-and-figures.html">airline industry</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.vtt.fi/inf/julkaisut/muut/2013/vtt-cr-02104-13.pdf">study</a> by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland estimates that digital content production comprises, at the high end of estimates, 50% of the total climate emissions of newspaper publications. The majority of emissions are generated by consumer choices in accessing said content (going as high as 87% of total emissions from online publications). These depend on the particularities of the devices used, the electricity mix powering data servers, the grid which consumers use to access data, their means of downloading/streaming content (wifi vs ethernet), and how much time they spend reading the material. </p>
<h2>Concerns and solutions</h2>
<p>Any attempt to understand the digital emissions of a publisher would therefore rely on an overwhelming number of factors and variables including reader habits, data farms, internet service providers, device manufacturers, and the operations of the media companies themselves. And most difficult of all, 50% or more of these emissions take place outside of the control of the media company.</p>
<p>These concerns are not only prominent in the publishing sector. Calculating the total emissions of a company like the BBC or 20th Century Fox is even more complex. The problems for the industry are to do with not only agreeing on similar notions of transparency and common standards of accounting, but also of collecting data from sources far outside their remit.</p>
<p>There are no definitive ways to calculate and assess the footprint of digital media – as there arguably has been with more traditional production methods. The problem is that tracing material emissions extends all the way down the supply chain for media production and beyond to consumption practices, including how often a file is accessed and on what kind of devices.</p>
<p>When compared to heavy industry, the footprint of media production is small. But as the use of digital proliferates, our digital footprint can and will have consequences – and we should work out how to measure this sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Sectors such as publishing may have alleviated environmental concerns by turning attention to recycled paper and suchlike. But the seeming immateriality of digital calls for much more extensive attention to the sector’s footprint. The proliferation of digital media necessitates urgent self reflection and regulation as well as the establishment of much firmer and more comprehensive policies to address these emissions. </p>
<p>The question of responsibility is clearly a tortuous one when 50% of these emissions take place outside of the control of the media company. Cross-sectional collaboration is required here, but the impetus for this goes back to the media company as well as the wider policy environment. Environmental sustainability may soon no longer be a marginal inconvenience (or a tool to generate positive PR), but emerge as a strategic, financial priority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81518/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pietari Kaapa has received funding from the British Academy. </span></em></p>The traditional media industry comes with a large environmental cost, but emissions from digital productions are often ignored.Pietari Kaapa, Associate Professor in Media and Communications, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/797802017-06-21T10:22:18Z2017-06-21T10:22:18ZCoding the curriculum: new computer science GCSE fails to make the grade<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174708/original/file-20170620-30863-10o43od.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite computing education in UK schools going through a massive revolution over the past few years to try and make it more relevant to our increasingly technology driven lives, the new GCSE in <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/19/gcse_computing_fails_to_boost_numbers/">computer science has failed to attract much interest</a> from students.</p>
<p>Figures from the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofqual">Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation</a> (Ofqual) show only a small rise in students taking the new computer science GCSE. This is despite the course having been rebranded and the old GCSE in information and communication technology (ICT) being scrapped.</p>
<p>When the decision to <a href="http://schoolsweek.co.uk/government-to-scrap-gcse-and-a-level-ict-qualifications/">replace the ICT GCSE</a> with only a GCSE in computing was made back in 2015, many teachers and researchers <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/decision-scrap-ict-a-kick-teeth-say-experts">warned</a> this might happen – given that ICT and computer science are very different topics of study. </p>
<p>There were also issues raised about the new course content and the fact that a lot of the focus was placed of coding and programming – something that many students view as irrelevant to them.</p>
<p>My own ongoing <a href="http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/people/ben-wohl(2c5c3283-5d88-4c87-801d-baeada7b5ac1).html">research</a> interviewing pupils in year nine about the changes in the way computing and ICT are being taught, has also shown this to be the case. Many of these pupils were frustrated rather than inspired by the shift in the new curriculum </p>
<p>The British Computer Society has equally warned that the number of pupils studying for a <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/careers/28870/bcs-urges-action-over-worrying-drop-in-computing-gcse-numbers">computing qualification could halve by 2020</a> – which would be a disaster for the economy.</p>
<h2>Not relevant</h2>
<p>Computer skills are already vital to most jobs and this will continue to be the case, but what is still unclear is what sort of computer skills these will be. Education policy seems to give the impression that it is more important to know how to program a computer than how to use one well. </p>
<p>Then there is the issue that what children actually want to know about – things like cyber security and how to get rid of computer viruses – isn’t actually covered in the new style course. So while most children are fully aware that the future world of work will require high level computer skills, they do not see the link between being taught how to program in computer languages and what they will need in the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174709/original/file-20170620-30799-1ccyjv3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The coding conquest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This confusion isn’t their fault, and a lot of it stems from the fact that teachers who previously taught ICT are now being required to teach some combination of computer programming, computer science, computational thinking, and digital literary, with little training or support.</p>
<p>Each of these areas is considered to be important knowledge in terms of the “digital economy”, but what this means is that pupils are receiving a lot of mixed messages on which bits they really need to learn. </p>
<p>In practical terms, this also means computing lessons are now being split between a little bit of time spent looking at concepts of how a computer works, a little bit of time on computational theory – such as search and sort algorithms – and a lot of time learning programming.</p>
<h2>Dull and frustrating</h2>
<p>Computer programming is hard. Like learning the violin, or a second language, anyone can do it, but for most it takes a significant amount of dedication, time and practice. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/computer-science-and-it/gcse/computer-science-4512">computer science GCSE</a> requires pupils to be proficient programmers to be successful. This has meant teachers now have to spend a great deal of time on programming in the year proceeding GCSE to bring pupils up to speed.</p>
<p>Often this is done through a number of tasks, which are as uninteresting as anything found in the old ICT curriculum. This leaves many pupils with the impression that computer science is programming – and that programming is a dull and frustrating operation of trying to find where you forgot to put a semi colon. As you can imagine, this doesn’t inspire many pupils to want to choose computer science as an option at GCSE.</p>
<p>From the pupil’s point of view, why would anyone who thinks they want to be a mechanic, a doctor or an accountant want to spend any time writing programs in code – it just doesn’t seem relevant to them. </p>
<p>But the thing is that each of these careers is being transformed by the digital economy – as is almost every profession. Only providing a single GCSE option of computer science fails to meet the needs of any student – except those that have at least some interest in becoming a computer scientist. </p>
<p>To only offer computer science is like dropping all the sciences except physics and being surprised when all those who had previous taken biology didn’t just happily go along with it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174710/original/file-20170620-30880-1geeo0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Computing: it’s more than just science.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ultimately, if we want to ensure British children have the skills they need to be successful and are not left behind in a digital economy, there needs to a computing curriculum that covers a whole range of areas – not just how to program. </p>
<p>Pupils also need to be spending more than one hour a week – the current standard – learning computing prior to their GCSE years. If this doesn’t change, we are putting the future of the country at risk by disenfranchising many more young people away from computing based careers. And if we want to inspire the next generation of computer scientists, this isn’t the right way to go about it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Wohl receives funding from The RCUK Digital Economy theme for his ongoing research into the UK computing curriculum. He is a volunteer with Code Club Uk and is a Cumbria STEM ambassador. </span></em></p>An obsession with coding is turning students off computing.Bea Wohl, PhD Candidate, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/706912016-12-23T11:47:10Z2016-12-23T11:47:10ZWhy girls are put off studying computer science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151385/original/image-20161222-17312-qhbem4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Girls who can, code.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite the phenomenal rise in computing over the last 50 years, the birth of the internet, and our ever increasing reliance on technology, women are still not engaging with computer science at the same rate as men. </p>
<p>This has been outlined in a recent <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311595274_The_Roehampton_Annual_Computing_Education_Report_2015_data_from_England?enrichId=rgreq-0426451fccb4e0fa23a422bb5b38011e-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzMxMTU5NTI3NDtBUzo0Mzg4Nzk3MTYxNTUzOTJAMTQ4MTY0ODQ4NjU2Mw%3D%3D&el=1_x_3&_esc=publicationCoverPdf">report</a> from the University of Roehampton, which reveals that only 9% of girls schools offer computing at A-level, compared with 44% of boys schools, and 25% of mixed-sex sixth forms and colleges.</p>
<p>The report shows that in 2016 only a minority of schools (29%) entered pupils for GCSE computing – despite it being a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/key-stage-3-and-4">foundation subject</a> on the national curriculum. The figure is even lower at A-level, with only 24% of schools entering their students for the qualification.</p>
<p>Things don’t fair any better in further education either, with the <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_349.asp">Digest of Education statistics</a> revealing the percentage of females who took an undergraduate degree in computer science in 1970-71 was 14%. This rose to 37% in 1983-84 but gradually declined to 18% in 2010-11.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151075/original/image-20161220-9515-1pempom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two women operating one of the first computers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the current age, these statistics are depressing, especially as being a “computer scientist”, rather than “computer literate”, is becoming increasingly important. And as <a href="https://theconversation.com/deep-learning-could-prevent-you-from-drunk-posting-to-facebook-35435">deep learning</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/games-by-numbers-machine-learning-is-changing-sport-38973">machine learning</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-big-data-13780">big data</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/evolving-our-way-to-artificial-intelligence-54100">artificial intelligence</a> enter common usage, it is useful for all genders to have an appreciation and engagement with these technologies – not just the boys.</p>
<h2>The geek effect</h2>
<p>But on top of this poor provision in UK schools, one factor putting women off the subject is almost certainly the geek culture that surrounds computer science. You only need to read Steven Levy’s classic book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution-25th-Anniversary-Steven/1449388396/">Hackers</a> to get an idea of where the geeks in computing came from. </p>
<p>And this is still how many people see computer scientists: as nerds, with no social skills and pale complexions – pizza eating, coke guzzling geeks who are chained to a keyboard for days on end.</p>
<p>Even Bill Gates – one of the richest men in the world after forming Microsoft – did not make being a geek cool. If anything, he personified what a geek was. So although people may have envied his financial status, it’s fair to say that they probably didn’t aspire to be like the man himself – <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100017557">even if he did change the world</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151386/original/image-20161222-17282-5wmwux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Geeky Gates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Steve Jobs on the other hand, was a little different. As one of the founders of Apple, he represented cool, or at least Apple did. But he still never quite got to the same levels of “cool” that somebody like Virgin’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-explains-why-hes-the-opposite-of-steve-jobs-2011-12?IR=T">Richard Branson</a> has achieved.</p>
<h2>A man’s world?</h2>
<p>Then there is gaming, which is massively dominated by men – both in terms of game design and the players themselves. The educational website <a href="http://www.computerscience.org/resources/women-in-computer-science/">Women in Computer Science</a> explains how the first computers were built with the boys in mind:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The first personal computers were essentially early gaming systems that firmly catered to males. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even though <a href="http://www.geeksquad.co.uk/articles/gaming/2012/07/the_history_of_pc_gaming">the first gaming computers</a> came out over 30 years ago, this is still having an effect today – and the way women are portrayed in computer games has been the subject of much recent discussion. </p>
<p>Female characters are massively <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27824701">underrepresented</a> in computer games – over 85% of all characters in games are male. And when female characters are included, they are often <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18280000">portrayed in a sexy and sexist way</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151071/original/image-20161220-26738-1hc25dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alison Carroll was the Lara Croft model from 2008 to 2010.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But although these stereotypes persist, <a href="https://www.good.is/articles/five-female-game-developers-at-gdc-this-year">things are gradually changing</a> – with 49% of the British gaming population now female.</p>
<p>It is clear, then, that while things are improving for women in tech, there is still a long way to go before girls in school see computer science as an interesting and viable career choice. And while initiatives like <a href="https://girlswhocode.com/">Girls Who Code</a> and <a href="http://www.codefirstgirls.org.uk/">Code First: Girls</a> are making a difference, we need a wider societal change to encourage more women to enter the discipline in the future.</p>
<p>Two of the first computer programmers – back when “programming” involved using cables, dials and switches to physically rewire the machine – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pioneers_in_computer_science">Jean Bartik</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace">Ada Lovelace</a> were women. And role models who are active today, include <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Black_(computer_scientist)">Sue Black OBE</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Hall">Dame Wendy Hall</a>, both receiving honours for their contributions to computing.</p>
<p>These women – recognised as pioneers in computer science – have helped in the creation, development and imagining of what computers and electronics can do in the modern world. And we need more women like Bartik, Lovelace, Black and Hall who can act as role models for young girls, to help spread the word that these days computing isn’t just for the boys.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Kendall is the current Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games.</span></em></p>How the geek effect and a sexist games industry is putting girls off a career in computing.Graham Kendall, Professor of Computer Science and Provost/CEO/PVC, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/637742016-08-12T07:10:04Z2016-08-12T07:10:04ZAfrica must do more to harness young people’s entrepreneurial drive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133643/original/image-20160810-18014-fot9rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young Kenyan entrepreneurs hard at work. Such enterprise must be encouraged.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas Mukoya/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the world marks <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/youthday/">International Youth Day</a> on August 12, it’s important to consider the role that African youth can play in driving sustainable development. There’s no doubt that – given the right tools – young people have the skill and ingenuity to solve the continent’s biggest challenges. And research has proved that young Africans have a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-young-africans-want-from-business-education-programmes-46956">strong spirit</a> of entrepreneurship. This is mainly driven by necessity in tough economic conditions.</p>
<p>Up to 60% of 18- to 34-year-old Africans who participated in a joint study by the <a href="http://www.gemconsortium.org/report/49222">Global Entrepreneurship Monitor</a> and Youth Business International said they were optimistic about the availability of good business opportunities. They also believed they had the skills and knowledge to start a business. In fact, the study found, youth in Africa are <a href="http://www.gemconsortium.org/report/49222">much more</a> entrepreneurially minded than their counterparts in the rest of the world. </p>
<p>But African governments and businesses must do more to assist young people by creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to support them. Without this support, all of their potential may stutter and die.</p>
<h2>Harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit</h2>
<p>Some African countries are stepping up to make the structural and other adjustments needed to harness this entrepreneurial spirit. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.rdb.rw/departments/information-communication-technology/infrastructure.html">Rwanda</a>, for example, has recognised the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for socioeconomic development. The Rwandan government has played a leading role in making ICT available and inclusive. It’s laid out a national fibre-optic backbone of <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/16/rwandas-not-so-improbable-ambition-to-be-a-startup-hub-of-africa/">more than 4,500km</a>, deployed both underground and over power transmission lines. This reaches all 30 of the country’s districts and its nine border posts.</p>
<p>The country has also launched six technology incubating centres. These bring together like-minded innovators, giving them the resources they need to explore their ideas, learn from one another and develop innovative ICT solutions. Rwanda is also home to the <a href="http://www.africanreview.com/energy-a-power/renewables/samsung-launches-solar-powered-internet-school-in-rwanda">first solar-powered internet school</a> in East Africa, which was launched in collaboration with Samsung.</p>
<p>Ugandan civil society is doing good work around youth entrepreneurship, too. A nongovernmental organisation called <a href="http://www.experienceeducate.org">Educate!</a>, for instance, provides secondary school students with practical and entrepreneurial education. It addresses the mismatch between what is taught in school and what skills are demanded by the labour market. Perhaps no country faces this challenge more acutely than Uganda: it has the <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201505041651.html">world’s youngest population</a> coupled with a youth unemployment rate <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201505041651.html">as high as 62%</a>.</p>
<p>Educate! offers hands-on learning and intensive mentoring so that youngsters can develop their business and leadership skills – and ultimately start their own businesses. The organisation has been lobbying for its model of experience-based entrepreneurial education to be integrated into Uganda’s national education system.</p>
<p>Its results have been impressive. Since 2009, Educate! has reached an estimated 25,000 students per year. It is being <a href="http://www.experienceeducate.org/scaling/">replicated and adapted</a> in other African countries, beginning with Rwanda.</p>
<p>Such examples show how African governments and civil society can foster or nurture young people’s entrepreneurial spirit – and address development challenges in the process. Sadly, not all countries are making this sort of work a priority.</p>
<h2>Building a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem</h2>
<p>South Africa, for example, has made great strides in improving access to education. <a href="https://africacheck.org/reports/is-sas-education-system-the-worst-in-africa-not-according-to-the-data/">More than 98%</a> of children who should be getting a primary education are doing so. But entrepreneurial-specific education is lagging. There are some exceptions, such as the Cape Town nongovermental organisation <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/schools-must-produce-entrepreneurs-says-sunter-1993836">Christel House</a>, a school for disadvantaged children that launched an entrepreneurial programme in 2016. </p>
<p>This is a rarity. There are few school-level initiatives that actively focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. And because the level of education and skills training is low, the South African economy is falling further and further behind those of other developing countries like China and India.</p>
<p>The government must play an active role in promoting entrepreneurship and building an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Happily, there’s increasing recognition that this makes sense. Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu <a href="http://m.engineeringnews.co.za/article/south-africa-waking-up-to-entrepreneurship-but-coordinated-strategy-still-lacking-2016-07-22/rep_id:4433">said recently</a> that there was a growing determination to “build a nation of entrepreneurs”. </p>
<p>She acknowledged that this would require greater coordination and support to provide the right environment for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs to succeed. This starts with ensuring that the education system is fit for purpose and youth focused. Governments must commit to, and enact, targeted education policies that support future generations of young entrepreneurs and help create a bedrock culture that fosters entrepreneurship from the ground up.</p>
<h2>Vital roles</h2>
<p>Beyond schools there is a vital role for civil society, academia and business to play. I am the director of the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. With our partners, like the <a href="http://www.ackermanacademy.co.za/">Raymond Ackerman Academy for Entrepreneurial Development</a> and <a href="http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/africaninnovation/#/">MTN Solution Space</a>, we’re in a position to provide research and context. </p>
<p>We and other academic institutions can also offer practical pathways for entrepreneurs as they leave school by delivering relevant training and mentoring.</p>
<p>The corporate sector also needs to be encouraged to nurture entrepreneurs in their companies. Gaining business experience is vital.</p>
<p>This is not a challenge that is going to be solved in isolation. Africa has one of the highest percentages of young people in the world – and they are eager to make a difference. Let’s find ways to take that energy and natural ability and collectively give them the tools and pathways they need to succeed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63774/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>François Bonnici does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>African governments and businesses must do more to assist young people by creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to support them. Without this support, all of their potential may stutter and die.François Bonnici, Director and Senior Lecturer, Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/612002016-07-10T20:40:51Z2016-07-10T20:40:51ZHow to keep more girls in IT at schools if we’re to close the gender gap<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129156/original/image-20160704-19124-mwhu9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Too many girls are opting out of IT in school so we need to make it more mainstream.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/bikeriderlondon</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world is increasingly embracing digital technology, and so too are <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-education-for-the-21st-century-means-teaching-coding-in-schools-42046">our schools</a>. But many girls are still missing out on developing IT and programming skills.</p>
<p>IT classes in schools mostly focus on basic skills, such as how to use email or spreadsheets, or use tablets to access online quizzes and educational games. Programming and algorithm-based problem solving don’t form a part of the typical school day. They tend to get taught only in extra-curricular classes, such as coding clubs.</p>
<p>But these tend to attract kids who’ve already expressed an interest in technology and want to learn more. The students who don’t know what coding is, or who don’t identify with computer culture (often in the form of computer gaming), are less inclined to participate in these extra-curricular clubs.</p>
<p>This kind of opt-in training means many girls are missing out, particularly if they perceive IT to be a pastime for boys. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/toys-are-more-divided-by-gender-now-than-they-were-50-years-ago/383556/">Gender stereotyping of toys</a> may also push girls away from technical interests. Parents tend to buy gadgets for boys more than for girls, as suggested in the United States by a <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/10/21/357629765/when-women-stopped-coding">National Public Radio story</a> on plunging numbers of women studying computer science. </p>
<p>Or girls may not be as interested in computer games due to the lack of female protagonists, as argued eloquently by 15-year-old student – and coding teacher – <a href="http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2016/6/202643-a-byte-is-all-we-need/fulltext">Ankita Mitra</a>. Or perhaps <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-reason-more-women-dont-code-59663">girls simply don’t feel welcome</a> in these clubs. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://digitalcareers.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Female-Participation.pdf">report on female participation in computing</a> from Australia’s <a href="http://digitalcareers.edu.au/">Digital Careers</a> group explores the lack of engagement by girls in computing. It concludes that the best strategy to increase the proportion of women participating in computing and IT is compulsory and sustained engagement with an integrated digital technologies curriculum, including gender inclusive activities.</p>
<h2>Schools must mainstream IT</h2>
<p>Digital technology skills are not going to be optional for our students for much longer. The United Kingdom has implemented a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/04/coding-school-computing-children-programming">coding curriculum</a> that will see children as young as five learning to program.</p>
<p>Here in Victoria, a new <a href="http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/introduction/rationale-and-aims">digital technologies curriculum</a> came into effect late last year, reflecting the national <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/rationale">Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies</a>. </p>
<p>From 2017, students will be taught computational thinking, and will learn to collect and interpret data using automated tools, and to transform data into information through digital solutions.</p>
<p>These changes require teachers who are able to deliver the lessons, and appreciate the value of the skills. The <a href="http://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/cser/">Computer Science Education Research Group</a> at the University of Adelaide is playing a vital role in preparing teachers for the new curriculum, by developing online courses that focus on teaching in the digital technologies learning area.</p>
<p>Schools also have to find place for these activities in a curriculum that is already overcrowded, forcing them to consider what their priorities for educating children are.</p>
<h2>Pursuing IT should not be hard</h2>
<p>I hosted a fascinating panel discussion on Women in IT, for last month’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/computing-turns-60">60th anniversary celebration of computing in Australian universities</a>. The panellists had more than a century of experience in IT between them, and explored the many factors that both drew them into IT, and helped them to stay. </p>
<p>A comment made by the youngest panellist struck a particular chord. Neha Soni, a business analyst at Deloitte, observed, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m the kind of person that, if you tell me I <em>can’t</em> do something, then I’ll be even more determined to do it!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An informal poll suggested that many of the audience members – largely, very accomplished women in IT – shared this attitude.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127702/original/image-20160622-19789-1phseb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of the panellists in a discussion on Women in IT: (left to right) Mark Johnson (Shine Technologies), Leonie Walsh (Lead Scientist of Victoria), Neha Soni (Deloitte) and Cecily Macdougall (Australian Computer Society).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The University of Melbourne</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This suggests that the women who are successful in IT today are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-blaze-a-trail-lessons-from-9-incredible-women_us_57691b11e4b034ff3eeffc42">trailblazers</a>. They are determined, and have been willing (and able) to push through barriers to pursue their passion. </p>
<p>It suggests they have fought through <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2014/women-tech-panel/">the myriad anxieties that women in IT</a> often express, and have survived. They have done this, it would seem, despite lack of encouragement and, in some cases, outright rejection.</p>
<p>Does it have to be so hard? Do girls need to have that fire and determination to have a successful career in IT?</p>
<p>I suggest that we have to mainstream IT, for both boys and girls. We need to make it just as normal as reading, writing and arithmetic. As normal as a career as a doctor (<a href="https://theconversation.com/female-doctors-in-australia-are-hitting-glass-ceilings-why-51325">where women may soon outnumber men</a>) or as an educator (<a href="http://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national_report_on_schooling_2012/schools_and_schooling_2012/staff_2012.html">where women already do</a>). Something that everyone learns, and anyone who finds it interesting can pursue at more advanced levels or maybe choose for their career.</p>
<p>This sentiment is echoed by a 17-year-old student from Methodist Ladies’ College in Melbourne, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/female-student-makes-history-and-heads-to-coding-olympics-20160619-gpmjai.html">Belinda Shi</a>, who will be representing Australia in the International Olympiad in Informatics (<a href="http://www.ioinformatics.org/index.shtml">IOI</a>) in August. </p>
<p>She doesn’t want to be seen as “<em>that female</em> on the informatics team” but rather to be recognised for her programming abilities. Being singled out for your gender is not always comfortable.</p>
<h2>Cultural change through the schools</h2>
<p>I hope for a time when we don’t have to talk about engaging girls in IT, because girls are naturally engaged in it through their learning. And for a time when we don’t have to highlight the accomplishments of women in IT, but can celebrate the accomplishments of deserving individuals. </p>
<p>A time when the cultural barriers have been removed, and it is just as easy and normal for a girl to pursue a career in technology as it is for a boy. </p>
<p>I believe that with strong integration of digital technologies in the school curriculum, that time is not far away. As girls and boys learn digital technologies together, with supportive teachers, stereotypes will fade and women and men will work comfortably side by side. </p>
<p>Studying IT will simply be another part of everyday life. Because IT already is.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61200/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karin Verspoor works for the University of Melbourne. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Defence Science and Technology Group, and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. She is affiliated with Victorian ICT for Women and is a volunteer for the upcoming "Go Girl, Go for IT" event aimed at high school girls.</span></em></p>Too many girls are missing out on learning IT and computer programming skills that could serve them well in the future economy.Karin Verspoor, Associate Professor, Department of Computing and Information Systems, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/596632016-05-29T20:58:25Z2016-05-29T20:58:25ZThe real reason more women don’t code<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123708/original/image-20160524-20557-csqxgo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Blame the period! A satirical look at some of the excuses why more women don't go into ITC jobs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://girlswhocode.com/girlsdocode/">Girls Who Code/YouTube/Screenshot</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I menstruate and I code. I share this perhaps shocking personal information in the interest of full disclosure, and in solidarity with a new satirical campaign from <a href="http://girlswhocode.com/girlsdocode/">Girls Who Code</a>.</p>
<p>The campaign proposes a simple explanation for the low numbers of women in tech: that our hormonal cycles interfere with our ability to code.</p>
<p>Other explanations offered up in the campaign include that women can’t code because their boobs get in the way or their long eyelashes make it hard to see the screen.</p>
<p>These explanations are obviously ridiculous and therein lies the point. For example, if women can’t code because they menstruate, then there isn’t much we <em>can</em> do. </p>
<p>After all, menstruating is part of our basic female biology. If it prevents us from concentrating, or thinking rationally, or coding … what hope do we have?</p>
<p>According to the Australian Computer Society’s recent figures, only <a href="http://bit.ly/ausdigitalpulse">28% of all ICT jobs are held by women in Australia</a>. The proportion is even lower for specifically technical roles in ICT. </p>
<p>So there is certainly a basis for wondering whether there is a fundamental reason that women are so underrepresented in IT and computing roles.</p>
<p>But I’m not convinced that the latest campaign from Girls Who Code is asking the right question. “Why can’t girls code?” is a question that starts from the assumption “girls can’t code”. Is this really the prevailing attitude? </p>
<h2>Boys v girls</h2>
<p>There is, certainly, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0148405">evidence that boys favour other boys</a> when estimating the performance of their peers in science class. </p>
<p>There is also evidence specifically from the open-source software community that there is <a href="https://peerj.com/preprints/1733/">bias against accepting code produced by women</a>, despite the overall high quality of their contributions. </p>
<p>Anecdotally, most technical women can share a story of a situation where their work wasn’t taken seriously. </p>
<p>Dr Maria Milosavljevic, national manager innovation & technology and chief information officer at the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (<a href="http://www.austrac.gov.au/">AUSTRAC</a>), told me how when she was the only girl in a year 12 computer science class, every boy in the class offered to “help” her with her assignments because they assumed she would need their help.</p>
<p>The implication seems to be that if boys don’t accept that girls can code, then girls can’t code. To me, that’s horribly paternalistic. </p>
<p>Worse yet is the idea that <a href="https://medium.com/@hardaway/why-women-shouldnt-code-82205165e64a">female biology is not suited to coding</a>, an idea that was recently floated (seriously, I fear) citing <a href="http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/9/8/896.full">a 1999 study of 15 people that identified brain differences between men and women</a>.</p>
<p>Surely, there are biological differences between men and women. Periods, brain structure and so on must exclusively determine what women enjoy doing and what we are good at. Right?!</p>
<h2>Girls can code</h2>
<p>Let’s start from the default assumption that girls can, in fact, code. Nothing in our biology prevents us from being able to learn how to code. </p>
<p>There are plenty of examples that this is the case – after all, the proportion of women in technical roles is not 0%. And there have been some very high-profile female computer scientists. They include: arguably the first computer programmer, <a href="http://findingada.com/about/who-was-ada/">Ada Lovelace</a> (1815-1852); the developer of the early COBOL programming language, <a href="http://www.amazingwomeninhistory.com/amazing-grace-hopper-computer-programmer/">Grace Hopper</a>; her <a href="http://anitaborg.org/get-involved/systers/why-systers/">syster’s keeper</a> <a href="http://www.google.com.au/anitaborg/">Anita Borg</a>; and Google’s first female engineer, now Yahoo’s CEO, <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/marissa-mayer-20902689#professional-success">Marissa Mayer</a>. </p>
<p>Here in Australia, <a href="https://museumvictoria.com.au/csirac/programming/kthorne.aspx">Kay Thorne</a> was one of the early programmers of the <a href="https://museumvictoria.com.au/csirac/story/operating.aspx">CSIRAC computer</a> nearly 60 years ago.</p>
<p>So, I think a better question is: “Why <em>don’t</em> (most) girls code?” </p>
<p>This is a question that has been explored many times, and even one that I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/cmon-girls-lets-program-a-better-tech-industry-28757">written about previously</a>. </p>
<p>It is generally seen as a pipeline problem, with the challenge being getting girls interested in coding. The solutions proposed involve developing engaging opportunities for learning and creating with tech, demystifying coding and boosting confidence, and highlighting female role models. </p>
<p><a href="http://girlswhocode.com/">Girls Who Code</a>, <a href="http://www.codelikeagirl.com.au/">Code Like a Girl</a>, <a href="http://gogirl.org.au">Go Girl, Go for IT</a> and <a href="http://www.techgirlsaresuperheroes.org/">Tech Girls are Superheros</a> are all organisations working to create these opportunities.</p>
<p>The truth behind the employment numbers, however, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/10/the-lack-of-women-in-tech-is-more-than-a-pipeline-problem">is more complex than that pipeline</a>. </p>
<p>While we know that enrolments of females in ICT courses at tertiary level lag behind males, we also know from <a href="http://documents.library.nsf.gov/edocs/HD6060-.A84-2008-PDF-Athena-factor-Reversing-the-brain-drain-in-science,-engineering,-and-technology.pdf">research done at Harvard</a> that even if women enter employment in ICT, they don’t always stay there. </p>
<h2>Beating the ‘brogrammer’ culture</h2>
<p>There have been accusations of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/technology/technologys-man-problem.html">a “brogrammer” culture in tech</a> that is hostile to women. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthickey/2016/03/18/microsoft-apologises-for-half-naked-ladies-at-gaming-event-and-promises-to-do-better/">Microsoft got into trouble earlier this year</a> for organising a party at a developer event featuring half-naked dancing women, highlighting that even companies that <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/womens-hackathon2014/">have worked to support women in tech</a> still lose their way sometimes.</p>
<p>Which brings us full circle back to our biology and the idea that girls <em>can’t</em> code. Yes, women are different from men. Yes, women certainly can code. </p>
<p>On the other hand, women don’t want to face sexism or misogyny in the workplace, behaviour that is driven primarily by their biology. If girls are getting the idea that they can’t code simply because they are girls, then it’s no wonder they don’t see coding as a viable career path. </p>
<p>So maybe they <em>don’t</em> code because someone makes them feel that they can’t.</p>
<p>The Girls Who Code campaign oversimplifies a complex problem, and it delivers a message with nuances that may be lost on the people who need most to understand them. </p>
<p>But it has provoked a question about the connection between biology and cultural attitudes towards women in tech that is worth considering. Period!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karin Verspoor works for the University of Melbourne. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Defence Science and Technology Group, and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. She is affiliated with Victorian ICT for Women and is a volunteer for the upcoming "Go Girl, Go for IT" event aimed at high school girls.</span></em></p>Some of the myths about why more women don’t code and get jobs in ICT are shown in a new satirical campaign. But is raising a woman’s menstrual cycle the right way to go?Karin Verspoor, Professor, Department of Computing and Information Systems, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/560712016-03-28T19:07:22Z2016-03-28T19:07:22ZStudents struggle with digital skills because their teachers lack confidence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116163/original/image-20160323-28176-tz5w9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Just 52% of students in year 10 are meeting the minimum standard required in ICT.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian teenagers are increasingly <a href="https://theconversation.com/ict-is-failing-in-schools-heres-why-50890">struggling to achieve</a> the basic level required in information and communications technology (ICT). In 2014, only around <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/verve/_resources/D15_8761__NAP-ICT_2014_Public_Report_Final.pdf">half (52%) of students</a> in Year 10 achieved the minimum standard of digital competence.</p>
<p>Examples of where students struggled include: searching for relevant resources on the internet; using a web browser history; creating tables and charts; sorting data in a spreadsheet; displaying hidden toolbars; inserting images; changing font formats and colours; and using animations and page transitions effectively.</p>
<p>There is a risk that a large proportion of students may be left behind, at a time when digital competence is becoming central to <a href="http://www.fya.org.au/2015/08/23/the-new-work-order-report/">future employment</a>. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>The <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf">Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians</a> suggests highly developed ICT skills should be seen as vitally important for young people.</p></li>
<li><p>Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull announced last year that digital competence needs to be “<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/turnbull-says-digital-literacy-as-important-as-reading-and-writing/news-story/4edd20335a2341cbe52879b4aef759d1">as fundamental as reading and writing</a>”. </p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="http://www.fya.org.au/2015/08/23/the-new-work-order-report/#action">Foundation for Young Australians</a> and the <a href="http://www.ceda.com.au/2015/06/16/five-million-Aussie-jobs-gone-in-10-to-15-years">Committee for Economic Development of Australia</a> both released reports on the future of jobs highlighting that in the next few years more than half of Australian workers will need high-level digital skills.</p></li>
<li><p>Internationally, the European Commission has argued that being digitally competent is a <a href="http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC68116.pdf">human right</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Why are students struggling?</h2>
<p>When the Australian curriculum was introduced, digital competence was <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction">seen as a skill</a> that all teachers from Foundation to Year 10 level (not only those with an ICT specialisation) were expected to use. This includes the use of a range of digital tools, teaching digital technologies in their classes and being aware of how these technologies can be used for teaching and learning.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1">digital technologies strand</a> has since been endorsed in the curriculum, further emphasising the importance of teaching school students digital competence. </p>
<p>Research shows that one reason students could be falling down is actually to do with teachers’ lack of competence in this area.</p>
<p>Many <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131511002065">Australian teachers</a> feel they lack the level of digital competence envisaged to deliver the curriculum.</p>
<p>We need <a href="https://theconversation.com/ict-is-failing-in-schools-heres-why-50890">more explicit teaching</a> of digital competence through professional development for teachers. This is also important in teacher education programs. </p>
<p>Not only are school leavers entering university with lower-than-desired digital competence, but if they graduate as teachers and still lack the confidence to properly incorporate ICT into their classes, the next generation is less likely to become digitally competent. There is a risk of fuelling a downward spiral. </p>
<h2>Digital test needed for teachers?</h2>
<p>The parallels with teacher numeracy and literacy levels are striking. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/testing-teachers-basic-literacy-and-numeracy-skills-is-pointless-51566">Literacy and numeracy tests</a> are being introduced for teacher registration as a result of perceived low literacy and numeracy levels among school students. </p>
<p>However, <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/verve/_resources/2015_NAPLAN_national_report.pdf">NAPLAN</a> data suggests that, at Year 9, the percentage of students reaching minimum standards are 92% for reading, 80.5% for writing and 95.7% for numeracy. These rates are much higher than for digital competence. </p>
<p>If we are to follow that path, digital competence tests should also be required for teacher registration. </p>
<p>Universities need to embed the explicit teaching of digital competence into teacher education courses.</p>
<p>Similar to many language and literacy programs run at universities, Monash offers opt-in sessions on topics from how to use an electronic whiteboard to augmented reality. Each session includes hands-on, direct instruction, with examples of how these can be integrated into every subject in primary and secondary school. </p>
<p>Only through an embedded and explicit approach can we strive to increase the minimum standard in digital competencies above the current 52%.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Teachers admit falling down in digital competency, so if we are to improve students’ performance in this area, we first need to get teachers’ skills up to scratch.Amber McLeod, Lecturer in Education, Monash UniversityKelly Carabott, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Monash University. , Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.