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Critical ICT4D: The Need for a Paradigm Change

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After Latour: Globalisation, Inequity and Climate Change (IFIPJWC 2023)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 696))

Abstract

ICT for Development (ICT4D) research has evolved significantly in the course of its history. Originally characterized by a technology-transfer vision, positing technology as intrinsically “good” and desirable for development, it subsequently entered a phase of problematization of the very notion of “development”, as well as the ability of ICTs to contribute to it. Against this backdrop, we highlight the need for a paradigm change that sees Critical ICT4D – a vision that constructively problematizes the core assumptions of ICT4D research – at the core of theorizing, designing and executing research on ICTs for development. With the idea of Critical ICT4D, we introduce a way of thinking that takes stock of the adverse effects of ICTs on its intended beneficiaries, at the same time developing routes to imagining and building fairer technologies in contexts of structural vulnerability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Administration, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Azadeh Akbari

  2. Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Gaustadalléen 30, 0373, Oslo, Norway

    Silvia Masiero

Authors
  1. Azadeh Akbari
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  2. Silvia Masiero
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Azadeh Akbari .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Matthew R. Jones

  2. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Arunima S. Mukherjee

  3. University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Devinder Thapa

  4. University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Yingqin Zheng

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Akbari, A., Masiero, S. (2023). Critical ICT4D: The Need for a Paradigm Change. In: Jones, M.R., Mukherjee, A.S., Thapa, D., Zheng, Y. (eds) After Latour: Globalisation, Inequity and Climate Change. IFIPJWC 2023. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 696. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50154-8_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50154-8_25

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-50153-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-50154-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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