Suchergebnisse

Since gaining political independence in the 1950s, science has rapidly become a prerequisite for national development within many African nations. Supported by international agencies, such as UNESCO, initiatives were taken to direct Africa on the road of scientific development, enabling contributions to world science and significant progress in many specific research areas. However, from a developmental perspective there remains the question of how science influences national development plans and strategies. How far are science policies integrated into the national development plans? What potential and challenges do science and technology pose for Africa and its prospects for wider development? Offering a comprehensive historical and empirical study of science in both colonial and post-colonial Africa, R. Sooryamoorthy brings to light the connections between science, policy and development in African nations. Focusing on understanding the widening gap in science and technology between developed and developing regions, and the integration (or lack of) with national development strategies, this study provides important insights into the potential opportunities and challenges facing

Since gaining political independence in the 1950s, science has rapidly become a prerequisite for national development within many African nations. Supported by international agencies, such as UNESCO, initiatives were taken to direct Africa on the road of scientific development, enabling contributions to world science and significant progress in many specific research areas. However, from a developmental perspective there remains the question of how science influences national development plans and strategies. How far are science policies integrated into the national development plans? What potential and challenges do science and technology pose for Africa and its prospects for wider development? Offering a comprehensive historical and empirical study of science in both colonial and post-colonial Africa, R. Sooryamoorthy brings to light the connections between science, policy and development in African nations. Focusing on understanding the widening gap in science and technology between developed and developing regions, and the integration (or lack of) with national development strategies, this study provides important insights into the potential opportunities and challenges facing

The role of a family environment in shaping the sexual behaviour of adolescents and young people (AYP) has been acknowledged in literature. This explanatory mixed methods study is aimed at highlighting the role of familial factors contributing to AYP pregnancy in Cape Town, South Africa, guided by the concept of Bowen's Family Systems theory. Secondary data from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS) were analyzed, using descriptive and logistic regression procedures reporting odds ratios (OR). To complement the quantitative data, qualitative data were collected, using three (3) focus group discussions and 15 in-depth interviews. Results show that AYP who resided with a mother or father had lower odds of reporting an adolescent pregnancy compared with adolescents who did not reside with either parent. Lower odds of reporting a pregnancy were also noted in families who had an income of between 20,000 and 25,000 rands and above 25,000 rands. The results showed that both parent-child residence and high family socioeconomic status were protective against AYP pregnancy. Both AYP and parents perceived that pregnancy is largely due to family poverty which disempowers AYP from negotiating safer sex, and lack of parental monitoring due to work demands. Parents admitted that it was tough balancing parenthood and work, especially in single parent families, resulting in reduced monitoring.

Evaluation is essential for assessing the implementation and outcomes of programs for the purpose of informing decision making. However, although there are studies that evaluated e-government implementation in Lesotho, comprehensive studies are rare. This paper presents an empirical study of the evaluation of four websites of the ministries of the Government of Lesotho using content analysis. Since the website content analysis metrics and criteria are not entirely exhaustive, this study based the evaluation on four dimensions, namely, accessibility, usability, transparency and interactivity. The findings indicate that the ministerial websites of the Government of Lesotho are falling short in addressing these issues. The evaluation results highlight that the web information and features that are key in fostering accessibility, usability, transparency and interactivity of government services are insufficient or completely non-existent in the ministerial sites. The government must focus more efforts on improving these sites to enhance accountability and restore citizen trust in government and confidence in public administration.

Among the communication technologies introduced in the developing world during the past century, none has grown more rapidly than mobile telephony.Yet the impact of mobile phone use on social relationships has received limited systematic study. This article examines the factors associated with mobile phone usage in the south Indian state of Kerala and the social structural consequences of such usage, particularly the composition and location of the social ties maintained through mobile technologies. Bivariate analysis of mobile phone usage and network composition shows that frequent users have fewer local ties and more external ties than non-frequent users. However, these effects are due largely to the association of email and mobile phone use. The article shows that internet use increases, while mobile phone use decreases the geographical diversity of social ties. The implication is that mobile telephony and internet technologies may have different consequences for the globalization process.

AbstractInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) have become the panacea for development for many developing countries in the modern, knowledge‐based world. Kerala, a state in India known for its model of development, has not only joined this bandwagon but has also selected ICTs as a means to pull the state out of its present crisis. The paper examines the institutions of knowledge production in Kerala (academic and scientific sectors), which are generally the forerunner of other sectors in terms of their use of ICTs. We examine the extent to which ICTs have affected research communication and collaboration, the processes, which are crucial in developing a knowledge‐based economy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.