Dear all, Here is a link to the journal paper which Bhuvaneswari Raman and I co-authored based on our research on the Nemmadi kiosks which have been set up across Karnataka state to deliver land records and rural digital services - http://writerruns.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/media-asia-b-raman-and-z-bawa.pdf
The paper appeared in Media Asia journal [Vol. 38 (1)] in April this year. Here is a summary of the paper: This article explains how the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICTs) influences citizens’ engagement with the state by analysing *Nemmadi* *Kendras* (NKs), which are computerised kiosks established in rural areas of Karnataka to provide revenue services and land records to citizens under a public-private partnership. The government argued that the introduction of digital technology as an interface between the State and citizens would contribute towards good governance by enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability. Drawing on the social shaping of technology perspectives, the findings suggest that a thorough analysis of the impact of information technologies in governance necessitates paying attention to the larger political and social processes within which the technology is introduced and embedded. The article further argues that the introduction of information technologies in a fraught and contested context adds more layers (in terms of bureaucracy and middlemen), which rural citizens have to navigate before they can actually attain services. Concerns related to costs, scale and political dynamics in the design of databases are also discussed here. The article concludes by advocating the ‘embedded’ approach for studying the role of ICTs in governance. Please feel free to circulate the paper. Best, Zainab -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher http://writerruns.wordpress.com/ ... ambling along roads and courses, not knowing whether I am running towards a destination or whether the act of running is destination in itself -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher http://writerruns.wordpress.com/ ... ambling along roads and courses, not knowing whether I am running towards a destination or whether the act of running is destination in itself
