Academic Literature - ICT

Communications Landscaping – North and Latin American Transnational Communities

- Academic Literature Review -

New information and communication technologies

Access, opportunities, use, and impact of the Internet and other new technologies on the transnational communities' communication.

• Diaspora, Community and Communication: Internet Use in Transnational Haiti
  By: Angel Adams Parham
  Lenguage: English
  
  With its capacity to link many people interactively across great distances, the Internet seems to be the ultimate tool for dispersed ethnic groups wishing to sustain identity in an 'alien' land and work in solidarity with those facing challenges at 'home'. Some theorists speak of the creation of diasporic public spheres arising from creative use of Internet technologies. Nevertheless, scholars working in this area rarely embed their analyses within existing work on the public sphere. In the present study I use insights from public sphere theory to evaluate participants' use of a Haiti Global Village forum. After examining Haiti Global Village, I conclude that such forums offer needed space for civic deliberation and provide a valuable infrastructure for networking. Participants' difficulty in translating these assets into an off-line project, however, highlights the importance of place-based social ties. Consideration of the experience of other Haitian forums reinforces the importance of such ties.


• Latinos and information technology: The promise and the challenge
  The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
  Lenguage: English
  
  From the beginning of time, the creation of certain technologies has driven periods of extraordinary achievement that are later identified as "revolutions." Information Technology, which has literally transformed nearly every aspect of life, is now such a period. Though still in its infancy, IT has presented breathtaking opportunities for social and economic advancementthat were well beyond imagination just a decade ago. But despite the scope and power of the IT charge, certain segments of society have been left behind.Commissioned by the IBM Corporation, this report presents the results of an analysis conducted by The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute for the IBM Hispanic Digital Divide Task Force. Its goal is to focus national attention on how Hispanics can more successfully engage and prosper by the expansion of IT into every aspect of modern life.

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