Bringing the Outside World to the Remote Mountains: the Nepal Wireless Networking Project

Abstract:
This teaching case presents the story of the Nepal Wireless Networking Project (NWNP) and its effort to connect villages in remote areas of Nepal to the outside world. Despite lack of access to proper equipment, the fact that it was illegal to install wireless network, lack of technical competence and the difficult terrain in the Himalayan mountains, Mahabir Pun, the initiator of NWNP, succeeded in bringing Internet access to these villages which led to improvement in education, health services and income-generating activities. The case describes the development of NWNP from inception to today, the stakeholders involved, services provided, current challenges and ideas for future improvements. It illustrates the importance of the champion, the process to get stakeholders commitments, the importance of contextual understanding, and the challenges of scaling up from pilot projects to wider implementations in the context of developing countries.

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#This paper has won the Best paper award in IS education at the Thirty Third International Conference on Information Systems, Orlando 2012 (ICIS 2012).

Introducing Internet-Based Services in the Mountain Areas of Nepal: An Asset Pentagon Perspective

Abstract:
Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) projects
can only be considered successful if they lead to some kind of individual, social,
or economic development. The beneªts of introducing ICT4D projects in
developing countries are yet to be realized, particularly those introduced in
mountainous and remote areas. Our study addresses this knowledge gap by
analyzing the Nepal Wireless Networking Project from the mountain areas in
Nepal using the assets pentagon model (APM). The main contributions of this
work are threefold: First, we illustrate and discuss the use and usefulness of
introducing APM, addressing the call for more clarity as to how ICT4D projects
add to development. Second, our study expands the research knowledge of
the relationships among various capital assets. Finally, our study reports on an
ICT4D project from the mountain areas of Nepal, representing a country and
an area that have been scarcely reported in our research community.

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Building collective capabilities through ICT in a mountain region of Nepal: where social capital leads to collective action

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how ICT can lead to development specifically human development in Sen's capability approach. In answering to the critique that Sen views capabilities as the individual, we incorporate the societal level by adding collective capabilities. We propose that ICT helps to create or enhance SC of communities which in turn can lead to development by building collective capabilities through collective action. To illustrate, we conducted a qualitative case study of an ICT initiative in a remote mountain region of Nepal. We found support for our proposition and further that developing collective capabilities also simultaneously enhanced individual capabilities. We contribute to theory building by showing that not just the characteristics of SC, but also its form can promote collective action. We further illustrate that the SC and the capability perspectives are compatible and it is possible to read the two streams both simultaneously and complementarily.

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The Role of ICT Actors and Networks in Development: The Case Study of a Wireless Project in Nepal

Abstract

The role of ICT actors in the formation and extension of ICT4D projects is important. The actors through their extended network and aligned interest can enhance the effectiveness of the project which in turn enables socioeconomic development opportunities. However, few studies have been conducted to understand the role of these central players. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to address this knowledge gap by conducting a qualitative case study in the Myagdi district in the mountain region of Nepal. In this study we explored the Nepal Wireless Networking Project (NWNP) and examined how an activist started it from one mountain village and gradually extended across more than 150 villages. The formation and extension of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) projects goes through different phases of identification of relevant ICT actors, roles, negotiations, and their interest alignment. To understand the various phases, we employed Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and explored how a social activist, in the midst of challenges, initiates the wireless project to facilitate educational and healthcare services to the mountain regions. In continuum, the study found how the activist identified relevant actors and enrolled them to form a network of aligned interest. The study also identified several challenges such as high illiteracy rate, over dependency on focal actor, and poor physical infrastructure that may impede the network building process. Furthermore, we identify some implications for research and practice based on insights from the case study.


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Quantitative Research Methods Seminar with Professor Detmar Straub

In this session, I discussed the chapter 7 from the following book:

Author information:

Dr. Eugene F. Stone-Romero Professor Department of Management College of Business The University of Texas at San Antonio Phone: 210.458.5901 Fax: 210.458.5783 E-mail: eugene.romero@utsa.edu	Book Title: Research Methods in Organizational Behavior.
http://faculty.business.utsa.edu/eromero/	Chapter 7: Empirical Research Strategies

Abstract:

This chapter is about the research strategies we can employ to understand and explain some phenomenon of interest. The strategies are contingent on research purpose. The research purpose can be different based on research settings (natural vs. simulated), generalizability (particular vs. general), control over independent and nuisance variable, artifacts such as subjective influence on the outcome of study, differing degree of contact between the researcher and the system being studied, strength and range of studied variable (e.g. higher in natural setup than contrived setting), and types of costs (high vs. low). Afterward, as shown in the following table, the chapter discusses comparison between different dimensions and research strategies, such as laboratory experiment, simulation, field experiment, field study, sample survey, and case study. Finally, suggests that the choice of research strategy should be guided by the purpose of the research, the resources available to the researcher, other considerations, such as internal and external validity, ethical and legal issues, etc.

Rated Dimension	Laboratory Experiment	Simulation	Field Experiment	Field Study	Sample Survey	Case Study
COST: Initial  Setup Marginal Cost per subject	M L	L-H L-H	M-H M	M-H M	H L-H	L-H L-H
VARIABLES: Strength of independent variable Range of variables Potential to manipulate independent variables	L L H	L-M M M-H	M M M	H H N	H H N	H L-H N
CONTROL: Potential for testing causal hypothesis Potential for study to change researcher Potential for controlling confounding variables	H L H	M-H L M-H	M M L-M	L M L	L L L	N H N
ARTIFACTS: Potential for experimenter expectancy effects Potential for demand characteristics Potential for evaluation apprehension	H H H	M M M-H	M-H M-H M-H	M M M	L L L	H H H
SETTING: Naturalness of setting Degree to which behavior is setting-dependent	L H	M-H L-M	H H	H H	H L	H H
GENERALIZABILITY: Applicability of study’s results to different populations	L-H	L-H	L	L	H	N

  N: None,         L: Low,            M: Moderate,              H: High

Critique of the material:

From the perspective of an interdisciplinary research area like ICT4D, I found it difficult to establish a causal relation, for instance, the relation of x (some technology) causes y (some kind of development) is elusive. The problem in ICT4D domain is a kind of circular loops. For instance, it is difficult to say whether x causes y or y causes x. Therefore, experimental studies seem less reliable for this kind of interdisciplinary and complex studies. In addition, it is very difficult to get an ideal condition for variable measurement. Generally, positivist approaches fall into New-Newtonian paradigm. Where, the phenomena under study are somehow controllable, predictable, and generalizable. On the contrary, realities of subject in real world are contextual, complex, diverse, dynamic, uncontrollable, and unpredictable (Robert Chambers, 2010), interfered by many nuisance variables. Therefore, it is difficult to affirm that some particular paradigm or methodology is dominant in interdisciplinary (ICT4D) research domain.

Having said that we cannot disregard the quantitative tradition, especially when funding institutions are more lured by numbers rather than descriptions. Again as chapter suggests trade-off is important. My personal experience with research strategies is that we cannot depend on single paradigm, theory, or methodology particularly in the context of interdisciplinary research. I believe in adaptive pluralism. The trade-off in the wider sense, including theories, methods, and techniques. For instance, survey can be used with qualitative case studies to better understand and explain the complex phenomena. Similarly, experimental studies with other complementary methods can be used to understand the student learning behavior before and after ICT intervention, for example.

In sum, I always found it bit lopsided to discuss either quantitative ‘OR’ qualitative methods, but instead of ‘AND’. There is a call for mixed method approaches; likewise, top journals should keep a positive outlook towards the mixed methods.

Key questions for discussions: 

·         As per this chapter, we always need to make compromises either with control of variables or naturalness of settings. Does this compromise mean that infidelity between research findings and the reality will always remain?

·   How to choose a better research strategy, considering the tension between resource constraints, such as time, funding, knowledge, supervision, publication, etc., and research interest?

·   How to justify our research strategy and findings in between these dilemmas of understanding, explaining, innovating, or predicting the phenomena?

·      What is the take for interdisciplinary research like ICT4D from this session? There is an epistemological challenge because the realities of subjects in the ICT4D researches are local, complex, diverse, dynamic, uncontrollable, and unpredictable.