Villafiorita / Saint-Paul / Zorer E-Infrastructures and E-Services on Developing Countries

First International ICST Conference, AFRICOM 2009, Maputo, Mozambique, December 3-4, 2009, Proceedings
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-3-642-12701-4
Verlag: Springer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 38, 137 Seiten

Reihe: Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the First International ICST Conference, AFRICOM 2009, held in Maputo, Mozambique, in December 2009. The conference aimed at bringing together international researchers, public officers, policy makers and practitioners in ICT to discuss issues and trends, recent research, innovation advances and on-the-field experiences related to e-Government, e-Governance, e-Infrastructure, and e-Business, with a focus on developing countries. It is in fact widely accepted that ICT Infrastructure and e-services are key drivers for development, well-being, and improved quality of life.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Villafiorita, Adolfo

Regis, Saint-Paul

Zorer, Alessandro

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Title Page;2
2;Preface;5
3;Organization;7
4;Table of Contents;10
5;Fostering Learning through the Use of Argumentative Serious Games;12
5.1;Introduction;12
5.2;Related Work;13
5.3;Serious Games;15
5.3.1;Argumentative Serious Games;15
5.3.2;Educational and COTS Serious Games;16
5.3.3;Serious Game Features;17
5.4;Use of Serious Games in Formal Educational Settings;18
5.5;Conclusion and Future Work;19
5.6;References;20
6;Using Cell Phones to Improve Language Skills: The Hadeda Project;22
6.1;Introduction;22
6.2;The Landscape;23
6.3;Overall Design of Hadeda;23
6.4;Internet Website;24
6.5;Java Midlet;25
6.6;Connectivity, Airtime and Costs;26
6.7;Ethics and Safety;26
6.8;Educational Issues;26
6.9;Indigenous Voices;27
6.10;Pilots;28
6.11;Conclusion;29
6.12;The Way Forward;29
6.13;References;29
7;Mobile Learning Content Authoring Tools (MLCATs): A Systematic Review;31
7.1;Introduction;31
7.2;Procedure;32
7.2.1;Classification of MLCAT Articles by Publication Year;33
7.3;Classification Framework;33
7.4;Results of Classification;35
7.5;Summary and Conclusions;37
7.6;References;38
8;A Rural Implementation of a 52 Node Mixed Wireless Mesh Network in Macha, Zambia;43
8.1;Introduction;43
8.2;Network Description;44
8.2.1;Performance Conclusions;46
8.2.2;Training;48
8.2.3;Challenges;48
8.3;Future Work;49
8.4;Conclusions;49
8.5;References;50
9;e-Justice Implementation at a National Scale: The Ugandan Case;51
9.1;Introduction;51
9.2;e-Justice and e-Government;52
9.2.1;e-Government;53
9.2.2;e-Justice;53
9.3;The Uganda e-Justice and e-Government Case;54
9.3.1;ICT Implementations towards e-Government;54
9.3.2;ICT Implementations towards e-Justice;55
9.3.3;SWOT Analysis;56
9.4;The e-Justice Solution and Framework;57
9.4.1;The e-Justice Solution;57
9.4.2;Proposed Framework of Implementing e-Justice;58
9.5;Conclusion;59
9.6;References;60
10;Supporting Public Administration with an Integrated BPR Environment;61
10.1;Introduction;61
10.2;Challenges of ICT-Supported PA;62
10.3;Framework for Supporting PA;63
10.4;System Description;64
10.4.1;Intermediate Representation of Model Elements;64
10.4.2;System Components;65
10.5;Case Study;66
10.6;Related Work;68
10.7;Conclusion and Future Work;68
10.8;References;69
11;SAMBA Project Experiences;71
11.1;Introduction;71
11.2;Initial Situation;71
11.2.1;Location;71
11.2.2;Technology Background;72
11.2.3;Local Technical Environment;72
11.3;Project Goals;73
11.4;Application Selection;74
11.5;Application Development;75
11.6;Content Creation;77
11.6.1;RSS Feeds;77
11.6.2;Local Content Providers;77
11.6.3;User Created Content;77
11.6.4;User Training;78
11.7;Lessons Learned;78
11.7.1;Lack of Keyboard;79
11.7.2;MHP;79
11.7.3;Limited Internet;79
11.8;References;80
12;E-Voting: A South African Perspective;81
12.1;Introduction;81
12.2;Background on the South African Electoral System;82
12.3;Electoral System Characteristics;83
12.4;Background on Electronic Voting Systems;84
12.4.1;Punch Card Voting Systems;84
12.4.2;Direct Record Voting Systems;85
12.4.3;Optical Scan Voting Systems;85
12.4.4;Internet Voting System;85
12.5;Electronic Voting Characteristics;86
12.6;Conclusion;87
12.7;References;87
13;BoulSat Project:Low-Cost Wireless Metropolitan Network Implementation in Burkina Faso;89
13.1;Introduction;89
13.1.1;Need of Telecommunications in the Context Scenario;90
13.2;Materials and Methods;90
13.2.1;The Poor WLAN;91
13.2.2;The Wireless Transmitters;92
13.2.3;Home-Made Cantenna;92
13.2.4;Low-Cost Antenna Mast;94
13.2.5;Network Implementation;95
13.3;Results, Discussion and Future Developments;96
13.4;References;96
14;Telemedicine as a Tool for Europe-Africa Cooperation: A Practical Experience;97
14.1;Introduction;97
14.2;Chronology;99
14.3;Technology Description;100
14.4;Methodology;101
14.5;Results;102
14.6;Conclusions and Final Remarks;104
14.7;References;105
15;Implementing Mobile Phone Solutions for Health in Resource Constrained Areas: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges;106
15.1;Introduction;106
15.2;The Research Study;107
15.3;Literature Review;107
15.4;Conceptual Background;107
15.4.1;Information Infrastructure Theory;108
15.5;The Case Study;108
15.5.1;Mobile Phone Communication Setup and Management;108
15.5.2;Current Use of Mobile Phones;108
15.5.3;Challenges Being Faced;109
15.6;Discussion;111
15.6.1;Influence of Use Context (Installed Base) on Mobile Phone Use;111
15.6.2;Application-Centric Opportunities and Challenges: Paradoxes of Mobile Phone Use;112
15.7;Conclusion;114
15.8;References;114
16;Application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in Drug Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) at District Level in Malawi: Opportunities and Challenges;116
16.1;Introduction;116
16.2;Literature Review and Theoretical Framework;117
16.2.1;Challenges in Implementation of GIS;117
16.2.2;Drug LMIS as Installed Base for the GIS;118
16.3;Methodology;118
16.4;Findings;119
16.4.1;The Drug LMIS;119
16.4.2;The Proposed GIS;120
16.5;Opportunities and Challenges;122
16.5.1;Opportunities and Challenges on Standards and Data Integration;122
16.5.2;Opportunities and Challenges on Organisation;123
16.5.3;Opportunities and Challenges on Technology;125
16.6;Conclusion;126
16.7;References;126
17;Converged Infrastructure for Emerging Regions - A Research Agenda;127
17.1;Motivation and Concept;127
17.2;Vision and Challenges;128
17.3;Example;130
17.4;Relevant Work;131
17.5;Objectives and Outcome;132
17.5.1;To Develop a Novel Adaptive Modulation and Coding Scheme to Optimize Energy Consumption;132
17.5.2;To Develop Smart Beamforming Antennas to Optimize Energy Consumption;133
17.5.3;To Design a Cross-Layer Architecture to Support Message Forwarding Mechanisms in Order to Optimize Power Consumption and Content Delivery;133
17.5.4;To Develop a Network Monitoring System and Cognitive Self-configuration and Self-management Mechanisms to Cope with the Unreliability of the Environment of Emerging Regions;133
17.5.5;To Create a Converged Infrastructure to Improve the Use of Different Available Wireless Network Access Means;134
17.6;First Steps towards a Solution;134
17.7;Conclusions;135
17.8;References;136
18;Author Index;137

Leseproben

"Using Cell Phones to Improve Language Skills: The Hadeda Project (p. 11-12)

Abstract. Language skills are essential for education and economic development. Many countries (especially in Africa) have more than one official language and even more unofficial languages. Being able to express oneself effectively in the written word is required for tertiary education. Unfortunately, cell phones are often blamed for the degradation of language skills. There have been many studies blaming cell phone usage and instant messaging as being responsible for the the lack of language skills of children, teenagers, and young adults. Hadeda is a facility where teachers and parents can create spelling lists for pupils and children using either a cell phone or an internet based workstation. Hadeda then generates a fun and enjoyable cell phone midlet (computer program) which pupils and children can download onto their personal cell phone. Hadeda pronounces the words with electronic voices and the pupils and children can then practice their spelling on a medium they enjoy.

Keywords: cell phone, spelling, language.

1 Introduction

Language skills are essential for economic development. It has been shown that language skills have a direct impact on the employment and earning capabilities of individuals. This has been shown to be true in English[1] and non-English speaking countries[2] and in both first world and third world countries. Unfortunately, the cell phone has been blamed for the degradation of language skills[3]. Teachers have lamented the lack of spelling skills with pupils who use cell phones, SMS (often called texting in some English-speaking countries), and instant messaging[4]. Hadeda is an attempt to use the cell phone to help improve language skills. It is a facility which allows teachers and parents to create spelling lists in more than one human language.

Hadeda then generates audio clips for the spelling words and packages them into a downloadable cell phone application (or midlet). The pupils and children can then download the midlet onto their own phone and practice their spelling. Hadeda is named after the Hadeda Ibis bird which is found throughout the grasslands and savannas of Africa[5]. It is a raucous, noisy bird making a distinctive haahaa- haa-haaa-de-da sound. The name is appropriate for a cell phone application or midlet which makes lots of noise.

2 The Landscape

The cell phone is seen everywhere in Africa. Reports vary as to cell phone penetration on the African continent. The fact that cell phones are shared within a family, however, support the allegation that penetration is high[6]. Quality education, skilled teachers, school rooms, textbooks, paper and pencils, however, are not ubiquitous in Africa. The question we originally asked was “Can the cell phone be used effectively in education?” Previous work we had done in using cell phones and mobile instant messaging to assist in mathematics education[7][8][9] was successful and encouraged us to now look at the potential use of cell phones in language education. South Africa has a foot in both the first world and the third world – as does the rest of Africa.

Teachers in private schools and government schools in middle class suburbs complain that cell phone spelling and instant messaging are destroying the English Language. While at the same time, pupils in rural schools often do not have competent English teachers. Yet in both environments, the private school and the rural school, cell phones could be found. Although the cell phone is everywhere, the capabilities of the cell phones vary. If Hadeda is to be successful, it must take into account the wide range of facilities offered on cell phones.

3 Overall Design of Hadeda

Hadeda consists of two major sections. The first section is an internet website designed so that it can easily be accessed on a cell phone using either the cell phone browser or Opera Mini. This internet website allows teachers and parents to type in a list of spelling words. The website will then generate audio files of the words using an electronic voice. It will then package the electronic voices with the classes of a Java midlet and publish the midlet or Java application on the internet. The second section of Hadeda is the Java midlet itself. The pupils will then download the Java midlet onto their personal (or their family) cell phone. The midlet will then speak to them their spelling words and the pupils or children will have to type in the spelling words on the cell phone keypad. Correct spelling will reward the pupils or children with a recording of the Hadeda shouting haa-haa-haa-haaa-de-da. Figure 1 shows a pictorial description of Hadeda."