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The Developmental Contribution from Mobile Phones Across the Agricultural Value Chain in Rural Africa « The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries

simoncolumbus — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:00:22 +0000

The Developmental Contribution from Mobile Phones Across the Agricultural Value Chain in Rural Africa « The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries – Bjorn Furuholt and Edmund Matotay provide a study on the impacts of mobile telephony throughout the agricultural value chain in rural Tanzania. They identify five dimensions of mobile phone use, namely access to timely information, more transparent and efficient markets, advance warning, access to services such as mobile banking, and facilitated communication and coordination. These differ in salience throughout the year. Mobile phone use is linked to improved information quality, with some farmers cross-checking e.g. price information, resulting in improved bargaining power. Coordination is facilitated, in particular improving the supply of labor and farming tools; in some cases, farmers collaborate to e.g. rent tractors together, benefiting from economies of scale. Access to information about the weather, road conditions, and communication with relatives also decreases vulnerabilities.

The Developmental Contribution from Mobile Phones Across the Agricultural Value Chain in Rural Africa « The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries

simoncolumbus — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:00:22 +0000

The Developmental Contribution from Mobile Phones Across the Agricultural Value Chain in Rural Africa « The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries – Bjorn Furuholt and Edmund Matotay provide a study on the impacts of mobile telephony throughout the agricultural value chain in rural Tanzania. They identify five dimensions of mobile phone use, namely access to timely information, more transparent and efficient markets, advance warning, access to services such as mobile banking, and facilitated communication and coordination. These differ in salience throughout the year. Mobile phone use is linked to improved information quality, with some farmers cross-checking e.g. price information, resulting in improved bargaining power. Coordination is facilitated, in particular improving the supply of labor and farming tools; in some cases, farmers collaborate to e.g. rent tractors together, benefiting from economies of scale. Access to information about the weather, road conditions, and communication with relatives also decreases vulnerabilities.

2011-07-15

simoncolumbus — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 06:00:03 +0000

Examining the Usage and Impact of Transformational M-Banking in Kenya « Internationalization, Design and Global Development – Olga Morawczynski analyzes mobile banking in the example of Kenya's M-Pesa. She finds that usage is impacted by several factos, including nationwide crisis (the 2007-08 post-election violence), seasonality (farm cycles increase demand for funds), and seasonal pricing in shops. She argues that mobile banking reduces vulnerability, generates additional income as transaction costs are saved, and extends networks. Vulnerability is reduced firstly as it becomes easier to solicit capital and have funds instantly available, both in the short term, e.g. for victims of election violence, and the long term, e.g for farmers funding acquisitions; secondly as mobile phones enable the maintenance of social networks: money sent home by urban migrants has a practical and symbolical function, creating a 'safety net' to rely on in times of crisis; but social networks are also weakened as mobile transactions replace visits in person. Morawczynski thus questions whether existing relations are amplified.

2011-07-14

simoncolumbus — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 06:00:03 +0000

Mobile 2.0: M-money for the BoP in the Philippines « Information Technologies & International Development – Erwin Alampay and Gemma Bala analyse the potential for mobile banking uptake among the Philippines' BoP. They argue that remittances, both internal and international, could drive uptake. Mobile money transfers provide a cheaper alternative to conventional money transfer options. The authors identify three levels of access necessary for m-banking usage: mental, material, and skill access. While most Filipinos have access to a mobile phone and know how to use it, uncertainty over how mobile payments work is found to be a barrier to usage.

2011-07-14

simoncolumbus — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 06:00:03 +0000

Airtime to Cash: Unlocking the Potential of Africa’s Mobile Phones for Banking the Unbanked – Alex Comninos, Steve Esselaar, Ali Ndiwalana and Christoph Stork examine the potential for advanced mobile banking services in Africa. In most countries, more people have a mobile phone than a bank account, the latter mostly due to a lack of regular income. Airtime transfers are commonly used in most countries, mostly to send money to family and friends, but in some instances also to pay for goods and services. They propose two schemes for mobile banking services as alternatives to current banking by linking an existing phone to a bank account, and not vice-versa as value-added service. Airtime-cash convertibility using a singly SIM card-linked account would cause problems with mobile operators needing bank licenses, VATs on transactions, and value loss in the distribution process. “Mobile wallets” with several sub-accounts on one SIM card might solve some of these issues. The authors find that potential acceptance of such a service is high in some countries.

2011-07-14

simoncolumbus — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 06:00:03 +0000

Mobile Money Use in Uganda: A Preliminary Study – Ali Ndiwalana, Olga Morawczynski and Oliver Popov provide a study of mobile banking uses in Kampala, Uganda. Participants in their study are identified as typical early adopters, with high education, employment, and access to formal banking. Half of them both send and receive money via their mobile, while one quarter each only send or receive money. Sending money dominates transactions, mostly to family members; except for sender-receivers, who more commonly make payments. Buying airtime, in particular, is a common use; paying for transportation or hospital bills is seen as important, but satisfaction with these applications is low. Benefits of mobile banking are described as it being quick, accessible, and cheap; while drawbacks are agents' lack of liquidity and long queues there, as well as the risk of losing one's phone.

2011-07-14

simoncolumbus — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:00:03 +0000

Mobile banking and economic development: linking adoption, impact, and use « Asian Journal of Communication – Jonathan Donner and Camilo Andres Tellez categorize prior research into mobile banking services in developing countries and provide an exploratory study from India. They find that mobile banking is used to store value, to convert cash in and out of stored value, and to transfer stored value between accounts. Their study examines the bi-directionality of influence, trends of amplification versus change, and the multi-dimensionality of trust among Indian small businesses. They find that face-to-face communication is prevalent in the extension of credit. The draw up three categories of businesses; relational businesses which will not extend credit to customers, locational businesses which will do so to customers from the neighbourhood, and formal businesses, which are more open to granting credit to outsiders. They conclude that concerns remain over mobile-mediated credit, and that the ability of a technology to mediate relationship might not mean that it will do so.

2011-07-10

simoncolumbus — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:00:46 +0000

Citizen Journalism and Democracy in Africa – Fackson Banda explores the state of citizen journalism in Africa, with particular emphasis on its implications for democracy. The study and the case studies it entails are focused mostly on institutionalized citizen journalism, i.e. platforms sponsored by media companies or NGOs. Nevertheless, Banda concludes that conventional media are reluctant to use and incorporate citizen journalism. With regard to democracy, the author posits that citizen journalism is participatory democracy, but he also finds that the practice prospers in free and pluralistic environments. While Banda does not see a business model for citizen journalism, he argues that its sustainability should be understood in terms of “democratic sustainability”; i.e. a media supported by the willingness of citizens to take up communicative spaces afforded by ICT.

2011-07-04

simoncolumbus — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:04:33 +0000

Citizen Journalism and the Parallel Market of Information in Zimbabwe’s 2008 Election « Journalism Studies – Dumisani Moyo analyzes instances of citizen journalism during Zimbabwe's 2008 election. He posits that in the absence of reliable professional news sources, a "parallel market of information", analogous to a black market for goods, evolved, marked by rumour and speculation. Moyo defines citizen journalism broadly, including not only blogs, but also SMS. He gives examples of SMS being used to mock the political system and president Mugabe, as well as to convey updates on election results; blogs are described as conveying personal, emotional takes on the situation. Moyo also finds that traditional media take cues from citizen journalists for their own work.

2011-07-01

simoncolumbus — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:00:51 +0000

4chan and /b/: An Analysis of Anonymity and Ephemerality in a Large Online Community – Bernstein et al. study the image board 4chan from the perspectives of anonymity and ephemerality. They find that average life times of threads on 4chan are extremely short, and that many posts go without response. Close to no users use pseudonyms or real names. The authors argue that 4chan's ephemerality may help its productivity as a meme factory, as it requires high-frequency repetition. Anonymity, while leading to anti-social behaviour, may increase identification with the group.