Online Services and Regional Web Portals 227 Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. (Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry Australia, 2002). The extensive use of links to other relevant sites would be most likely to draw young people back to a site but “out-of-date Web sites were unlikely to get a second chance.” In terms of designing Internet communications, the need for interactivity was confirmed. There was also the continuing requirement to be mindful of slow download times in some areas (Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry Australia, 2002, p.15). In June 2002 AFFA recruited a person who would have the primary responsibility of researching and overseeing the establishment and ongoing development of an online community where “ownership” would be shared between AFFA and young people in rural industries. The project objectives for the Young Australian Rural Network project (YARN) would include: 1. Promoting and supporting further networking amongst graduates of the various Young People in Rural Industries programs coordinated by AFFA. 2. Providing a two-way communication tool as a conduit for information flow between AFFA and its stakeholders, with communication ideally being equally initiated at both ends. 3. Serving as an information “hub” for young people in rural industries to find further information on non-government organisations, networks and groups, particularly by providing a facility for non-government youth networks to post information about their organisation on the site. 4. Serving also as a general dissemination tool for the Young People in Rural Industries program (YPIRI program), in conjunction with the existing AFFA Web site (www.affa.gov.au). While the intention was for AFFA to establish and maintain the site, graduates from various elements of the YPIRI program would determine the content, and as far as possible, the structure and facilities. AFFA clearly understood that functionality could be created (discussion forums, event calendars, web page building facilities, member listings, etc.) but that an online community would not exist unless its members were actively involved and interacting with each other. The framework for the online community would be developed by University of Ballarat. It was proposed that the core functionality would include six key elements as detailed in Table 1. A key objective was to actively engage graduates of the YPIRI program in the initial and ongoing development of YARN. Approximately 100 YPIRI graduates were contacted via email on July 7, 2002 and asked to contribute to an online survey that would gather their opinions on the features of an online community that they would find most useful. The results would inform the development of YARN, confirm whether AFFA’s vision was appropriate and also test the level of responsiveness and interest which was generated from graduates. Three music gift voucher prizes were offered as an incentive to encourage participation. One email reminder was sent during the two-week collection period. Results were collated, prize winners were announced and detailed feedback provided to all graduates on 25 July 2002. Table 2 summarises the responses which were TLFeBOOK 228 Thompson Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Table 1. Proposed functionality for YARN Functionality Description Discussion Forum Have your say, share information, ask questions, or just find out what people are talking about. Event Calendar Check out what events are available nationwide, promote your events and get free publicity on YARN. News Page Where you can submit news that you would like young people to know about. People Listing Look up who has been involved in AFFA's YPIRI program, and get in contact with them. Have Your Say Respond to draft policy posted on the site, or post information for consultation and feedback by young people. Free Web Page Promote non-government organisations for young people in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food and natural resource management. Table 2. Web site survey results for YARN Source: www.affa.gov.au/content/ind_dev/youthsurvey.cfm Type of Functionality Very Usefu l % Somewh at Usefu l % Neutral, or unsure % Not particularly useful % Events calendar 81 14 5 0 Member listing 69 31 0 0 Discussion forum 63 28 5 4 Document library 54 28 13 5 Site builder for NGOs 46 36 9 9 TLFeBOOK Online Services and Regional Web Portals 229 Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. communicated to graduates via email and to others by making the result available on the AFFA Web site. Strategies of “engage early” and “communicate innovatively” were embraced by AFFA in implementing the YARN project (Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry Australia, 2002). The response from graduates supported findings from earlier research which identified the benefit of getting young people involved early in a project: Young women and men are likely to give new approaches and mediums a go. They are more inclined to get involved if they can play a role in the direction setting/planning stage, rather than if they are simply invited to participate at the consultative stage. That is, they want to be part of driving direction rather than reacting to it (Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry Australia, 2002, p.16). When the survey results were disseminated, graduates were thanked for their participa- tion and advised that AFFA would contact them during the next week to seek contribu- tions for content for the site. Graduates were assured that submitting content would not be a complex process. Publishing information on the events calendar, news section, or providing information about the rural networks or organisations they were involved in, would be no more difficult than the online survey they had participated in. Regular communication with graduates continued throughout the very short develop- ment period for the YARN project. Graduates were, for example, provided with access to the development site and asked for feedback on its design, navigation and function- ality. They each received individual user names and passwords and were given instructions on how to access the graduates’ area of the Web site and how to begin submitting content in the lead-up to its official launch on the 27 August 2002. Initial publicity associated with the launch of YARN included the issuing of a press release, direct email notification to key people such as the presidents and/or convenors of organisations for young people, and a front-page link and news story on the Federal Government entry point at www.fed.gov.au. The key message was for young people to “get online and get involved,” to “take pride” in their views, ideas and achievements and to “watch the awareness grow amongst government and industry” of their valuable contributions (Truss, 2002, p.1). Longer-term promotion has been achieved through the fortnightly e-newsletter of the Rural Industries Leadership Section of AFFA and by and providing all new graduates of the YPIRI program with publishing and member access on YARN. Organisations that use the “site builder” tool also promote YARN through their web address (see, for example, the Bush Capital Club at www.yarn.gov.au/sites/BCC). A key strategy has also been to ensure that site visitors are actively engaged when they visit the site. This is being achieved by providing multiple opportunities for participation and involvement, for example, by contribution or starting an online discussion, building a site, adding a link, publishing events or suggesting new items. During the 12 months since its official launch, YARN has received over 237,000 hits, 18,900 unique visits and provided users with more than 53,500 page views. Figure 4 TLFeBOOK 230 Thompson Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. illustrates how visits fell from the initial levels experienced at the time of the site launch. Visitation statistics began to gradually increase in the early months of 2003. Significant increases were then experienced during April and May. This increase in site visitation coincided with the launch of GATEway, an opportunities reference database which has been incorporated into the existing Web site and promo- tional activities such as the issuing of a press release by the Federal Minister for AFFA. The reference tool provides young people with a centrally housed information database of relevant government and non-government programs, awards, events and training opportunities. The initial database content was contributed by members of the Young People in Rural Industries Working Group, but since the GATEway application has gone “live,” other agencies and organisations have been invited to publish information. While the application design is very functional, it is simple to enter information and users are able to interrogate the database in a number of ways, for example, by using key terms or by entering one or more qualifiers to narrow their search as required. Selections can then be collated and printed in PDF quality format. The increase in site utilisation as measured by page views indicates that site visitors were exploring more areas of the site. In the months of June and July there has been some reduction in the levels of site utilisation from the peak experienced in May 2003. The next upgrade for YARN is currently in the planning stage. Objectives and outcomes, graduate and visitor feedback, site statistics and other available information will continue to be regularly reviewed to identify further opportunities for enhancement to better ensure that YARN can meet the information and communication needs of AFFA and young people in rural industries. Figure 3: YARN – August 2002 TLFeBOOK Online Services and Regional Web Portals 231 Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Conclusions The case studies for Ararat Online and YARN have highlighted a number of factors that have impacted and influenced their development. Collaboration with a regional Univer- sity has also been an important factor in the renewal and growth of each of these portal initiatives. In terms of infrastructure, challenges have been reduced by the availability of a comprehensive portal platform and toolset, which has been specifically designed to meet regional and rural needs, particularly the skills and infrastructure gaps which often exist. Initiatives have then been sustained by putting community members in charge of the management of their online services. Through this model, local ownership and the sustainability of infrastructure and technical support services have been achieved by effectively aggregating demand for CI services. Key factors in sustaining regional CI initiatives appear to be directly related to the level of ownership that can be provided to stakeholders and site users, the ability for multiple users to contribute, publish and maintain the web-based information, and finally the degree to which web-based applications are tailored to meet the particular business or Figure 4. Usage statistics for YARN August 2002–2003 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 A ug S ep Oct N o v D ec J an F eb M ar A pr M ay J un J ul A ug Aug 2002 - Aug 2003 Monthly Total s Visits Pa ge s TLFeBOOK 232 Thompson Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. community purpose. These finding are consistent with findings in the business-to- business context. For example the report entitled, B2B E-Commerce Capturing Value Online identified that “ultimately, the point of success is where industry can see the broad-based business case…and then take initiatives forward” (National Office for the Information Economy, 2001). Communities, however, just like businesses, require assistance in identifying the most appropriate online services for their particular circumstances. Policies which encourage communities to enter collaborative partnerships, which leverage existing infrastructure, knowledge and learning should thus be seen as preferable to the funding of discrete stand-alone initiatives. Well-developed and well-implemented online services can make a positive contribution to the future of regional and rural communities. Case studies, such as those presented in this chapter, are effective in illustrating the impacts, influences and challenges that can be experienced in operationalizing and sustaining regional community informatics initiatives. Endnote 1 The author acknowledges Dr. Brian West from the University of Ballarat who has been generous in the provision of advice and encouragement that greatly assisted in the preparation of this work. References Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2003). 2001 Census of Population and Housing 2016.2 Selected Characteristics for Urban Centres and Localities: Victoria. Canberra, ABS. Black et al. (2000). Rural Communities and Rural Social Issues: Priorities for Research, A Report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. RIRDC Publication No. 00/130. Commonwealth of Australia. (2001). Government Response to the House of Represen- tatives Standing Committee on Primary Industries and Regional Services - Report of the Inquiry into Infrastructure and the Development of Australia’s Regional Areas - Time Running Out: Shaping Regional Australia’s Future. Canberra: Com- monwealth Government. Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry Australia. (2002). Guidelines for Reach- ing our Clients - Young People. Canberra, Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2003 from the World Wide Web: <http://www.affa.gov.au/content/ publications.cfm?Category=Young%People%in%Rural%Industries& ObjectID=71BF31EA-F44A-45B0-8702F253C31E31B3>. TLFeBOOK Online Services and Regional Web Portals 233 Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Department of Communications and the Arts and AUSe.NET Australian Electronic Business Network. (1998). Where to Go? How to Get There. Guide to Electronic Commerce for Small Business. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Department of Infrastructure Research Unit. (1999). Towns in Time Analysis: Population Changes in Victoria’s Towns and Rural Areas, 1981-96. Melbourne: Department of Infrastructure. Ernst & Young and Multimedia Victoria. (2002). Victoria’s E-commerce Advantage: E- commerce Case Studies. Melbourne: Government of Victoria. Fong, G. (2001). Electronic Communities - Problems and Potential. Proceedings of the Inaugural Telstra Consumer Consultative Council Annual Forum, Sydney, 14 November 2001, Telstra. Gill, J. (2000). Portal Power - Online Communities Development and the Emergence of the ‘New’ Community. Perth: HarvestRoad. Goggin, G. (2001). “Pump Up the Volume”: Telecommunications and the Reinvention of Regional Communities. Telstra Consumer Consultative Council Annual Forum, Sydney, 14 November 2001, Telstra. Hunter, A. (1999). Opportunities Through Communications Technology for Regional Australia. Regional Australia Summit, Canberra. Jakobs, G. (2002, September). Building Online Community Capacity - The Challenges and Opportunities. Institute for Regional and Rural Research Forum. Ballarat: Univer- sity of Ballarat. McGrath, M. and More, E. (2002). Forging and Managing Online Collaboration: The ITOL Experience. Canberra: National Office for the Information Economy and Macquarie University. Multimedia Victoria. (2002). Connecting Victoria: A Progress Report 1999-2002. Melbourne: State Government of Victoria. Municipal Association of Victoria and ETC Electronic Trading Concepts Pty Ltd. (2000). Local Government - Integrated Online Service Delivery Strategy and Implementa- tion Plan, Executive Summary - Final. Melbourne: Municipal Association of Victoria. National Office for the Information Economy. (2000). Where to Go? How to Get There 2000. A Guide to Electronic Commerce for Small to Medium Businesses. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. National Office for the Information Economy. (2001). B2B E-Commerce: Capturing Value Online. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. National Office for the Information Economy. (2002). The Benefits of Doing Business Electronically - eBusiness. Canberra: Commonwealth Government. National Office for the Information Economy. (2002). Guide to Successful eBusiness Collaboration. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Nicholson, D. and Surridge, I. (2002). Final Report to VicHealth - ABCD Project Ararat Rural City. Ararat: Ararat Rural City. TLFeBOOK 234 Thompson Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Papandrea, F. (1998). An Introduction to Electronic Commerce in Tasmanian Business. Launceston: Learning Media Services. Papandrea, F. and Wade, M. (2000). E-commerce in Rural Areas - Case Studies. Canberra: Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. Porter, M. E. (2001, April). Strategy After the Net. BOSS, 17-23. Romm, C. T. and Taylor, W. (2001). The Role of Local Government in Community Informatics Success Prospects: The Autonomy/Harmony Model. 34th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii. Simpson, R. (1999). Brave New Regions. Regional Australia Summit. Canberra: Australia. SkillsNet Association Co-operative Limited. (2001). E-Barriers, E-Benefits, E-Business Bridging the Digital Divide for Small and Medium Enterprises: An Investigation of Benefits and Inhibitors for Small and Medium Business Use of E-Commerce and Electronic Service Delivery. Melbourne: SkillsNet Association Co-operative Lim- ited. Surridge, I. (2002). Municipal E-Commerce Strategy. Ararat: Ararat Rural City Council Management Group. Telstra Country Wide. (2002). Our Community Online. Letter and Brochure Distributed to Local Government Conference Delegates 31 October 2002, Telstra Corporation Limited. Thompson, H. (1999). Victoria’s Golden West Portal Project Business Case. Ballarat: Centre for Electronic Commerce and Communications, University of Ballarat. Truss, W. (2002). ‘Media Release’, Rural Young People YARN Online. Canberra: Depart- ment of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry-Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2003 from the World Wide Web: <http://www.affa.gov.au/ministers/truss/releases/02/ 02210wt.html>. Victorian Government. (2002). Victorian Government Business Statement: Building Tomorrow’s Businesses Today, Competitive, Innovative, Connected. Melbourne: State Government of Victoria. TLFeBOOK Online Services and Regional Web Portals 235 Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. University of Ballarat URLs U niversity of Ballarat www.ballarat.edu.au C ECC www.cecc.com.au M ainStreet portal URL M ainstreet.net.au www.mainstreet.net.au G eographical portal URLs examples A rarat Online www.ararat.asn.au M oorabool Online www.mconline.com.au P yrenees Online www.pyreneesonline.com.au M embership based communities URLs examples B irchip Cropping Group www.bcg.org.au Y oung Australian Rural Network www.yarn.gov.au R ural Regional Research Network www.cecc.com.au/rrrn P yrenees Hay Processors www.exporthay.com C entral Highlands Exporters www.growexport.com C omprehensive Web site URLs examples B allarat A Learning City www.ballaratlearningcity.com.au C entral Highlands Area Consultative C ommittee www.chacc.com.au P yrenees Shire www.pyrenees.vic.gov.au R egional Connectivity Project www.regionalconnectivity.org Appendix 1 TLFeBOOK 236 Borbora Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Chapter XII ICT Growth and Diffusion: Concepts, Impacts and Policy Issues in the Indian Experience with Reference to the International Digital Divide Saundarjya Borbora Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India Abstract This chapter examines the role of technology in economic and social development in developing countries, with a particular emphasis on India as an example. The concepts of ICT growth and ICT diffusion are examined. From this the chapter reviews the Indian government’s successful policies encouraging ICT Growth through the support of the export-oriented service industry. This industry has witnessed long-term growth primarily as the result of the increasing tradability and consequent internationalisation made possible by changes in ICTs. However, the export focus policy has created enclaves within the Indian economy without significant forward and backward linkages. Evidence suggests that the International Digital Divide may be increasing. This chapter suggests that in order to maintain its relative technological position and to TLFeBOOK [...]... 24. 17 1.38 2.01 1.64 Beverages, tobacco, etc 8,669 47. 81 0.36 0.28 0.14 Cotton textiles 9,2 27 22.28 0.54 1. 87 1. 37 Wool/silk textiles 3,989 49 .76 1.25 2.28 0.25 Jute/other fibre textiles 503 16 .70 0.40 3 .78 0.60 Textile incl apparel 5,409 51.32 3.18 11.31 2.09 Wood and wood products 3 ,78 7 8.98 0.40 0.95 0.24 Paper and paper products 6,304 38.50 1.84 3 .73 4 .71 Leather products 1 ,74 2 37. 60 1.89 7. 18... 3,644 64 .71 0.93 3.10 3.24 Gas and steam 80 75 .00 2.50 3 .75 5.00 Water works and supply 293 10.58 0.68 1.02 0.68 Non-conventional energy 4 25.00 25.00 25.00 0.00 Storage and warehousing 1, 078 0. 37 0. 37 0.09 0.00 Sanitation 102 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Motion pictures, etc 51 7. 84 7. 84 27. 45 0.00 Laundry and others 94 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Repair services 1,966 2.59 2.59 1.12 0.00 All Industries 135, 679 34 .70 1.50... 9,3 57 50.69 2.91 5.58 2.56 Rubber/plastic/coal 7, 5 97 42. 57 2.80 4.01 1.59 Non met mineral product 11, 376 13. 37 0.41 0.95 1.09 Basic metal/alloys 6,915 41.94 0.93 3.69 1 .72 Metal products 8,243 31.68 0.92 2.86 1.01 Machinery/equipment 8,203 44.46 2.12 5.63 2.66 Electric machinery 5 ,74 3 55 .77 3.53 10.92 4.89 Transport equipment 3,999 46.96 1.63 7. 15 2.58 Scientific equipment 2,243 48.02 4.01 14.00 3. 97. .. 13.5 1983 18.2 1984 25.3 1985 27. 7 1986 38.9 19 87 54.1 1988/89(Apr-Mar) 69 .7 1989/90 105.4 1990/91 131.2 1991/92 173 .9 1992/93 219.8 1993/94 314.0 Export Growth (%) 70 % 99% 35% 39% 9% 40% 38% (29%) 51% 24% 33% 26% 43% 1994/95 1995/96 1996/ 97 19 97/ 98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 53% 39% 49% 65% 32% 65% 47% 17% 24% 480.9 668.0 9 97. 0 1650 2180 3600 5300 6200 78 00 (est.) Source: Heeks, 1999... NYSE or Nasdaq Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc is prohibited TLFeBOOK ICT Growth and Diffusion 245 Table 3 Distribution of software sales and exports across major locations in India Sales % Exports % Location Bangalore 19 97 33.9 1998 27. 9 19 97 30.3 1998 29 .7 Mumbai 24.3 24 .7 27. 5 24.0 Delhi/Noida 15.9... Developing Countries Retrieved February 17, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http:/ www.worldbank.org/fandd/English/0396/articles/ 070 396.htm Bridges.org (2001) Spanning the Digital Divide: Understanding and Tackling the Issues Retrieved February 17, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://proto.bridges.org.za/ spanning/pdf/SpanningTheDigitalDivide.pdf Compaine, B.M (Ed.) (2001) The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis... both practical and policy challenges It is also evident that solutions that work in developed countries cannot simply be transplanted to a developing country’s environment Solutions must be based on an understanding of local needs and conditions Broadly, we can examine both International and Domestic Digital Divides Real disparities exist both in the access to and the use of information and communication... http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/dps/dps2002/dp2002 -78 .pdf Joseph, K.J and Harilal, K.N (2001) Structure and Growth of India’s IT Exports: Implications of an Export-Oriented Growth Strategy Economic and Political Weekly, 36(34), 3263-3 270 Kanungo, S (1999) Making Information Technology Work New Delhi: Sage Publications Kiely, R and Marfleet, P (Eds.) (1998) Globalization and the Third World London: Routledge Kraemer, K.L and Dedrick, J... example, in Southern and Central Africa British banks held more than 50% of the market share in 1 971 while in South Africa, 73 % of local deposits were still held by two British banks – Standard and Barclays (Jones, 1993) Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc is prohibited TLFeBOOK Digital Technologies and the Cross-Border... data refer to 1991 1990 93 21 3 35 17 62 7 11 124 392 465 South Africa Developing countries Least developed countries Arab States East Asia and the Pacific Latin America and the Caribbean South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS OECD High-income OECD Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people) 2 1990 0 10 13 153 2001 242 75 6 58 113 160 7 28 120 539 605 Cellular subscribers . L eather products 1 ,74 2 37. 60 1.89 7. 18 0.29 B asic chemicals/related 9,3 57 50.69 2.91 5.58 2.56 R ubber/plastic/coal 7, 5 97 42. 57 2.80 4.01 1.59 N on met. mineral product 11, 376 13. 37 0.41 0.95 1.09. textiles 503 16 .70 0.40 3 .78 0.60 T extile incl. apparel 5,409 51.32 3.18 11.31 2.09 W ood and wood products 3 ,78 7 8.98 0.40 0.95 0.24 P aper and paper products 6,304 38.50 1.84 3 .73 4 .71 L eather. 25.00 25.00 0.00 S torage and warehousing 1, 078 0. 37 0. 37 0.09 0.00 S anitation 102 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 M otion pictures, etc. 51 7. 84 7. 84 27. 45 0.00 L aundry and others 94 0.00 0.00 0.00