Search

E ast A frica has traditionally been characterized by stark b arriers to nonproximate communication and flows of information. It was the world's last major region without fibre-optic b roadband Internet access, and until the summer of 2009 had been forced to rely on slow and costly satellite connectivity. This all changed when the first of four fibreoptic cables was connected in Kenya: bringing with it the promise of fast and affordable Internet access for the masses, and the ability of the country to move towards a knowledgebased economy. Within the context of this moment of change, this paper explores the ways that managers of outsourcing firms envisage 'connectivity.' Over the course of forty-one interviews, contradictory spatial imaginaries were discovered. When describing their perceptions of the country's new technomediated positionalities, many interviewees repeated visions that allowed geographic frictions to evaporate. But when managers were asked about their actual mediated positionalities, they presented a very different world: one of barriers, frictions, and the very real role that distance continues to play in the world's economic peripheries. The goal of this paper is to interrogate why we see such stark disconnects between perceptions and practices of connectivity. The contradictions could be seen as an exposition of a scalar schism between internationally operating regimes of tru th (ie, powerful discourses that have their origin nonlocally) and local experiences and practices in Kenya. Alternatively, we can think about the contradictory accounts of connectivity as emergent from strategic spatial essentialisms that are practised to achieve particular goals. By focusing on the contradictions embedded into the ways in which people speak about connectivity in the Kenyan outsourcing sector, we can learn much about how arguments about the entanglement of connectivity, growth, and development are operationalized. 'Connectivity' is offered as a necessary, and sometimes even sufficient, condition from which growth and economic development can be brought into being: a set of spatial imaginaries th a t conveniently support a national development strategy of remaking Kenya in the contemporary knowledge economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the impacts of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on society have been extensively studied, the most nuanced research approaches continue to focus on urban geographies in the Global North. There remains a paucity of critical work that focuses on ICT use in Indigenous, rural, and Global South communities. This paper responds to that gap by critically examining how the introduction of ICTs within Indigenous communities can exert epistemic violence against local knowledge systems. It does so through a case study of ICT usage within an Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic. I use a combination of participant observation, archival research, and semi-structured interviews to ask how the introduction of ICTs is transforming knowledge politics that impact Inuit Qaujimaningit (IQ; Inuit knowledge). I find that digital engagement erodes key components of the IQ system, including social practices within Inuit communities, travel outside of the community, and experiential learning while outside of the community. These findings have implications for the study of global digital geographies, applied research within the area of ICT for development, and Indigenous engagements with emerging technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the variation in the importance of critical success factors (CSFs) in the evolution of the Linköping ICT (information and communication technology) cluster in Sweden. The international empirical evidence of CSFs in ICT clusters reported in the literature is systematically reviewed. On this basis an object-oriented conceptual model is developed encompassing fifteen CSFs; each attributed to one or more objects: for example, firms, institutions, entrepreneurs. The lifecycle of the Linköping ICT cluster is delineated and its stages segmented. The existence and importance of each CSF at each stage of the cluster lifecycle is established empirically on the basis of interviews with key experts. The main findings comprise a stage-specific group of CSFs whose importance varies across the cluster's lifecycle stages with different patterns. The findings are aimed to stimulate policy makers and researchers alike to pursue further the line of enquiry developed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing structure of international trade offers new opportunities for Africa, and some believe that new information communication technologies (ICTs)-- especially mobile phones, the Internet, and computers--can accelerate and deepen the region's integration into the world economy. This paper evaluates such claims through an in-depth empirical analysis of ICT use and its contribution to small, medium, and microscale enterprises (SMMEs) and industrial development in Tanzania's wood products and furniture sector. Drawing on concepts from time geography and sociotechnical transition theory, the analysis determines whether, how, and why (not) ICTs are enabling SMMEs to overcome constraints on their activities and whether the industrial regime governing and guiding the activities of firms is being transformed through ICT-driven changes in communication and information management practices. The findings detail the ways in which ICTs are (not) becoming integrated into the everyday industrial practices, highlight the implications of this integration for the industry's development, and demonstrate how research into ICT for development can benefit from a deeper and more critical understanding of the contexts in which technological diffusion occurs--conceptualized here as activity constraints and sociotechnical regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between the geography of firms and the intensity of use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Our approach to the geography of firms is multifaceted, in relation to the various characteristics of their location area(s), to their organisational fragmentation, and to their spatial organisation at a national scale. Making use of a single cross-section dataset drawn from the `ICT and c-commerce' survey for the French industry, we examine firms' decisions to use the Internet more or less intensively. We find that firms' internal fragmentation lead to important variations in the intensity of Internet use. Moreover, we find that firms benefit from urbanisation economies through the location of their headquarters and also through that of their units in the case of multiunit firms. Finally, we observe a strong positive effect of competitive pressure at both national and international levels as well as geographical and sectoral epidemic effects on the intrafirm diffusion of the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines Australian Indymedia collectives as a means to improve understanding of the practices of alter-globalisation movements. Two key issues are explored. The first concerns the politics of the alter-globalisation movements—what they demand and how they practise their aims. The second concerns the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide a space within which to build a radical politics. Several dilemmas facing Indymedia and alter-globalisation movements emerge from this analysis. First, there remain many limitations of using ICTs as a space for the constitution of a radical politics. Second, Indymedia collectives have had success in aligning their aims to their practices; however, informal hierarchies did form around editorial decisions and technical skills. Third, there is continued potential for these movements to appear exclusive. In this respect, simply being 'open' is not enough to widen these spaces of resistance. Fourth, there is the continued importance of structure to strengthen the ability of groups to operate non-hierarchically. Despite these dilemmas, many of the alter-globalisation movements' practices are proving workable. It is the ability of participants to acknowledge these dilemmas and to continue to be reflexive about their practices that is one of the greatest strengths of these emerging movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study systematically analyzes the impacts of supplier- client and technological linkages with foreign firms on domestic firm technological innovation, based on a unique dataset that was collected through a survey of over 600 firms in China's information and communication technology industry. The results revealed that Chinese firms were engaged in extensive supplier - client relation- ships with foreign firms, although their technological collaborations with foreign firms were very limited. It was found that firm innovation benefited significantly from technological relationships with foreign firms. However, the results also suggest that, although export/import did contribute to domestic firm innovation, supplier- client relationships with foreign-invested enterprises in China did not show positive effects on domestic firm innovation. The analyses further suggest that such market transactions between domestic and foreign firms helped building technological linkages between domestic firms and foreign firms. These results clearly demonstrate the value of networking in enhancing firm innovation in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]