Objectivity - A study of the sustainability of ICT-projects in developing countries

7 CONCLUSIONS

7.5 Objectivity

The main issue where the objectivity can be compromised is the relation between the authors and Ericsson and the authors and the university. As the thesis was based on an assignment from Ericsson, the authors will be financially compensated from Ericsson for the study, which is not uncommon for a master thesis. However, this could influence the authors to trying to provide results that are pleasing the company (Paulsson 1999). On the contrary, when the thesis is judged by the university, the grades are only passed or not passed, and Ericsson is committed to pay regardless of result. It is however important for the reader to know this fact.

References

Published material

Batchelor, S & Sugden, S, 2003, An Analysis of infoDEV Case Studies: Lessons Learned. infoDEV – The Information for Development Program, The World Bank, Washington.

Batchelor, S & Norrish, P, Scott N & Webb M, 2003, Sustainable ICT Case Histories, Department for International Development, London

Benjamin P., 2001, Community Development and Democratisation through Information Technology; Building the New south Africa, in Reinventing Government in the Information Age, ed. Heeks R., Ch 9, pp. 194-210. London.

Calderón E., 2000, An applied method for the assessment of sustainability of urban pilot projects, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), 2004, CIDA Evaluation Guide

The Economist, 2007, Mobile phones and economic growth,

Ericsson AB, 2007, Communications Expander, Elevating new market segments into viable businesses, Ericsson AB, Stockholm

Ericsson AB, 2007, Ericsson Communications Expander helps operators reach their full potential in high-growth markets, Ericsson AB, Stockholm

Fife E. & Hosman L., 2007, Public Private Partnerships and the Prospects for Sustainable ICT Project in the Developing World. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, vol 2:3, pp. 53-66.

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001,

Discovering the "Magic Box": Local appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICTs), Department of

International Development, London

Gartner, 2008, Hype Cycle for Telemedicine, Gartner Industry Research Gourville, J. T. (2006), Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers, Harvard Business Review (June 2006)

Heeks R., 1999, Information and Communication Technologies, Poverty and Development, IDPM Development Informatics Working Paper no. 5, University of Manchester, Manchester.

Heeks R., 2002, Failure, Success and Improvisation of Information Systems Projects in Developing Countries. IDPM Development Informatics Working Paper no.11, University of Manchester.

Heeks R., 2005, Sustainability and the Future of eDevelopment,

Development Informatics Group, University of Manchester, Manchester.

Hosman, L., 2008, Improving the Prospects for Sustainable ICT Projects in the Developing World,.

infoDev, 2007, Framework for the assessment of ICT pilot projects,

Information and Development Program, World Bank.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 2003, A Methodological Framework for Project Evaluation.

Jacobsen, D. A., 2002, Vad, hur och varför? - Om metodval i företagsekonomi och annan samhällsvetenskapliga ämnen. Lund, Studentlitteratur

Jensen R., 2007, The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance, and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 122:3, pp. 879-924.

Johnson, G., & Scholes, K. (1999). Exploring Corporate Strategy (Fifth ed.). Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall Europe, pp. 213-217

Kuriyan R., Toyama K. & Ray I, 2006, Integrating Social Development and Financial Sustainability: The Challenges of Rural Computer Kiosks in Kerala. 2006 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, pp. 121-130.

Mayanja M., 2001, The African Community Telecentres: In Search of Sustainability,

OECD, 2001, Strategies for sustainable development

Panos, 1998, The Internet and Poverty: Real Hope or Real Hype? McGraw Hill, London.

Rogers E. M., 2003, Diffusion of Innovations, 5th ed. Free Press, New York. Shediac-Rizkallah M. C. & Bone L. R., 1998, Planning for the Sustainability of Community-based Health Programs: Conceptual Frameworks and Future Directions for Research, Practice and Policy. Health Education Research, vol. 13:1, pp 87-108.

Solberg, K. E., 2008, Telemedicine set to grow in India over the next 5 years, The Lancet, vol 371, pp. 17-18.

Sood S., Mbarika V, Jugoo S., Dookhy R., Doarn C. R., Prakash N. & Merrell R. C., 2007, What Is Telemedicine? A Collection of 104 Peer- Reviewed Perspectives and Theoretical Underpinnings. Telemedicine and e- Health, vol 13:5, pp. 573-590.

Stockmann R., 1997, The sustainability of Development Projects: An Impact Assessment of German Vocational-Training Projects in Latin America, University of Saarland

Surana S., Patra R., Nedevschi S & Brewer E., 2008, Deploying a Rural Wireless Telemedicine System: Experiences in Sustainability, Computer, vol 41:6, pp. 48-56.

Paulsson, U., 1999, Uppsatser och rapporter – med eller utan uppdragsgivare, Lund, Studentlitteratur

Waverman L., Meschi M. & Fuss M., 2005, The Impact of Telecoms on Economic Growth in Developing Countries. Telecommunications Policy Reseach Conference.

World Bank, 2008, Country Assistance Evaluations, World Bank.

Internet material

3G Americas (2008), 3gamericas.org

Mobile Connections Reach 4 Billion Worldwide

Available:

http://www.3gamericas.org/English/news_room/DisplayPressRelease.cfm?i d=3452 (2009-01-05)

American Consumer Institute (2008), theamericanconsumer.org Center for Citizen Research.

Available: http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/03/04/telemedicine- helping-consumers-and-the-environment/ (2008-12-07)

Census of India (2001), censusindia.gov.in

Census Data Summary

Available: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ (2009-01-04)

Chennai Online (2008), chennaionline.com

Available:

http://archives.chennaionline.com/health/homearticles/2003/09apollo01.asp (2008-11-07)

ComputerWorld (2000), Technology innovators presented with Smithsonian awards,

Avaliable:

http://computerworld.com/news/2000/story/0,11280,45660,00.html (2008- 12-12)

eGovernment for Development, egov4dev.org

Avaliable: http://www.egov4dev.org/success/evaluation/impact.shtml, (2008-11-06)

Independent Electoral Commission (2008), elections.org.za

Available: http://www.elections.org.za/Achievements.asp, (2008-11-06) India Together, (2008), indiatogether.org

Aravind Eye: Infinite vision

Available: http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/jun/hlt-blindness.htm (2009- 01-10).

National Rural Telemedicine Network, Suggested Architecture and Guidelines, Draft Proposal, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Available:

http://mohfw.nic.in/National%20Rural%20Telemedicine%20Network%20f or%20India-MoHFW%5BV1%5D.doc (2008-12-16).

Ministry of Law & Justice (1949) lawmin.nic.in Constitution of India

Available: http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/Art1-242%20(1-88).doc (2009- 01-08)

Observer, (2000), observer.guardian.co.uk Gates loses faith in computers

Available: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4086462-102275,00.html (2000-11-05

)

Royal Philips Electronics (2005), newsdesk.se

Philips ties-up with ISRO, Apollo Hospital and Dhan to provided affordable rural healthcare.

Available:

http://www.newsdesk.se/pressroom/philips/pressrelease/view/88950 (2008- 11-28)

Sustainability Now (2000), sustainability.com Sustainability Now

Available: http://www.sustainability.com/index.cfm?Mid=39&k1=1 (2008- 11-05)

United Nations (1987), un.org

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development

Available: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm (2008- 11-05)

Network fundamentals for the Video Conference

Available:

http://www.vide.net/cookbook/cookbook.en/net_fundamentals.html (2009-01-10)

Oral sources

Ganapathy, Krishna, Head of Apollo Telemedicine Foundation, Apollo Hospitals

Sukumaran, Ajith, Ericsson India. Ravindra, Aditi, Apollo Hospitals. Thokala, Loganathan, Ericsson India. Bhargava, Mayank, Ericsson India. Ekener Mägi, Linda, Ericsson Networks.

Appendix A

Papers Included in the Systematic Literature Review

Batchelor, S & Sugden, S, 2003, An Analysis of infoDEV Case Studies: Lessons Learned. infoDEV – The Information for Development Program, The World Bank, Washington.

Batchelor, S & Norrish, P, Scott N & Webb M, 2003, Sustainable ICT Case Histories, Department for International Development, London

Calderón E., 2000, An applied method for the assessment of sustainability of urban pilot projects, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), 2004, CIDA Evaluation Guide

Fife E. & Hosman L., 2007, Public Private Partnerships and the Prospects for Sustainable ICT Project in the Developing World. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, vol 2:3, pp. 53-66.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2001,

Discovering the "Magic Box": Local appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICTs), Department of International Development, London

Heeks R., 2005, Sustainability and the Future of eDevelopment, Development Informatics Group, University of Manchester, Manchester.

Hosman, L., 2008, Improving the Prospects for Sustainable ICT Projects in the Developing World,

infoDev, 2007, Framework for the assessment of ICT pilot projects, Information and Development Program, World Bank.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 2003, A Methodological Framework for Project Evaluation.

Kimaro H., & Nhampossa C., 2005, Analyzing the problem of unsustainable health information systems in less-developed economies: Case studies from Tanzania and Mozambique

Kuriyan R., Toyama K. & Ray I, 2006, Integrating Social Development and Financial Sustainability: The Challenges of Rural Computer Kiosks in Kerala. 2006 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, pp. 121-130.

Mayanja M., 2001, The African Community Telecentres: In Search of Sustainability,

Sarriot E., 2004, A methodological approach and framework for sustainability assessment in NGO-implemented primary health care programs. International Journal of Health Planning and Management.

Shediac-Rizkallah M. C. & Bone L. R., 1998, Planning for the Sustainability of Community-based Health Programs: Conceptual Frameworks and Future Directions for Research, Practice and Policy. Health Education Research, vol. 13:1, pp 87-108.

SIDA, 2007, Looking Back, Moving Forward, SIDA Evaluation Guidelines. Surana S., Patra R., Nedevschi S & Brewer E., 2008, Deploying a Rural Wireless Telemedicine System: Experiences in Sustainability, Computer, vol 41:6, pp. 48-56.

In document A study of the sustainability of ICT-projects in developing countries (Page 75-85)