Mobile phones for development

Purpose This paper relayed an important line of Mark Hepworth’s work, which engages with information technologies and development. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a subfield of library and information science (LIS) for development to reclaim the role of information services and systems for s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aslib journal of information management 2017-05, Vol.69 (3), p.294-315
Main Authors: Cibangu, Sylvain K, Hepworth, Mark, Champion, Donna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Access to information
Catalysts
Cellular telephones
Developing countries
Economic growth
Empirical analysis
Entrepreneurship
Group dynamics
Information services
Information systems
Information technology
Innovations
LDCs
Libraries
Library and information science
Portable computers
Qualitative analysis
Rural areas
Science
Social change
Social sciences
Society
Sustainable development
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Summary:Purpose This paper relayed an important line of Mark Hepworth’s work, which engages with information technologies and development. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a subfield of library and information science (LIS) for development to reclaim the role of information services and systems for social change in rural areas. The paper looked at the extent of development gained with the advent of mobile phones. Design/methodology/approach Rather than undertaking traditional large-scale, quantitative, context-independent and survey-type research, the paper employed capability approach and semi-structured interviews to ascertain the experiences that mobile phone kiosk vendors in the rural Congo had of mobile phones. Findings It was found that mobile phones should be geared towards the liberation, and not utilization or commodification of humans and their needs and that mobile phones were not a catalyst of human basic capabilities. Research limitations/implications Since the method employed is an in-depth qualitative analysis of mobile phone kiosk vendors, obtained results can be used to enrich or inform mobile phone experiences in other settings and groups. Practical implications This paper provided empirical evidence as to how an important group of mobile phone users could harness development with their mobiles. Originality/value Most LIS literature has presented mobile phones along the lines of information freedom or access, mass subscription, adoption rates, technological and entrepreneurial innovation, micro-credits, etc. However, the paper placed the topic development at the heart of LIS debates.
ISSN:2050-3806
1758-3748
DOI:10.1108/AJIM-09-2016-0151