Linking Research to Practice: Strengthening ICT for Development Research Capacity in Asia

About the Contributors

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS THE EDITORS Arul Chib, PhD Assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University, and is the assistant director of the Singapore Internet Research Centre. He examines the impact of development campaigns delivered via a range of innovative information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly in the arena of mHealth, where his research programme has extended to the use of mobile technology by remote healthcare workers in the rural regions of China, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Uganda. He has contributed to the conceptual progress of the discipline by proposing theoretical frameworks of analysis, including the ICT for healthcare development model, and the Technology-CommunityManagement model. Dr Chib has published in international refereed publications, such as the International Journal of Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, New Media and Society, Asian Journal of Communication, Information Technologies & International Development, and the Journal of Health Communication; and has contributed to various book chapters from leading publishers such as Cambridge Scholars, Hampton Press, Springer, and Taylor & Francis. Dr Chib is the winner of the 2011 Prosper. Net Scopus Young Scientist Award in ICTS for Sustainable Development, awarded by Elsevier and the United Nations University. Roger W. Harris, PhD Founder of Roger Harris Associates (RHA), a consulting and social entrepreneurial firm. Its mission is to alleviate poverty by facilitating access 187 16 LinkingResearch.indd 187 2/23/12 10:40:39 AM 188 About the Contributors to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for underserved sections of society in Asia, and to ensure they are able to make good use of the technology according to their own development aspirations. Dr Harris has been working in this field since 1997 and the firm has been providing consulting and knowledge-sharing services for eight years in the area of ICTs for poverty reduction and rural development in Asia. Services include policy advice and development, programme design and evaluation services, project implementation assistance, and research to governments, international development agencies, and civil society bodies. THE AUTHORS Komathi Ale Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She received both her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Communication Studies from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her research focuses on the impact of information and communication technologies for development, with specific interest in addressing social issues amongst marginalised communities. KOMA0004@e.ntu.edu.sg Rahul De’, PhD Hewlett-Packard Chair Professor in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Sustainable Economic Development, Quantitative Methods and Information Systems Area at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. rahul@iimb.ernet.in Laurent Elder Laurent Elder leads IDRC’s Information and Networks programme, which aims to better understand how information networks can be used to promote open, inclusive and rights based information societies in the South. From 1999 to 2004, Elder was in Senegal at IDRC’s office for West and Central Africa. There, he worked with the Acacia initiative, a programme looking into the impact of information and communication technologies in Africa. Elder has also worked at Canada’s Department of Finance and began his career in France, researching issues related to French history and international relations. lelder@idrc.ca 16 LinkingResearch.indd 188 2/23/12 10:40:39 AM About the Contributors 189 Alexander Flor, PhD Professor of Information and Communication Studies at the University of the Philippines - Open University. Formerly UPOU Vice Chancellor for research and development, he was the founding Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies serving two terms (2004 to 2010). Professor Flor was the first Knowledge Management (KM) Program Manager (1998-2002) of SEAMEO SEARCA, a regional organisation based in Los Baños. In 1998, he designed, developed and introduced KM as an academic course under the UP Los Baños development communication programme. aflor@upou.edu.ph Ma. Regina M. Hechanova, PhD Executive Director of the Ateneo Centre for Organisation Research and Development, Ateneo De Manila University (AdMU) in the Philippines. She is a faculty of the Industrial���������������������������������������������� /Organisational������������������������������� (I/O) Psychology at the AdMU. A prolific researcher, she was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Scientists by the National Academy for Science and Technology in 2005. rhechanova@ateneo.edu Richard Heeks, PhD One of the founding academics developing the field of ICT4D. Professor of Development Informatics in the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK. He is Director...