The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC) strives to become the foremost international forum for practitioners, teachers, researchers and policy makers to share their knowledge and experience in the design, development, implementation, management and evaluation of information systems and technologies in developing countries.
The Journal’s Rationale
Contemporary Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) pose both risks and opportunities to the process of sustainable global development. Historically, most global ICT investment occurred in the developed countries of the world. That situation is slowly changing, as major transition economies such as China step up their ICT spending. Lenovo Corporation’s attempt to buy IBM’s PC division (for US$1.75B) is indicative of the spending power of the larger Chinese entities, as well as the scale of domestic Chinese demand for ICTs. Some 94 million people in the PRC now (December 2004) have Internet access. It is also worth noting that while the developed economies achieve significant competitive advantage from their capital expenditure, developing economies can often achieve more for a fraction of the cost. Cuba’s ICT developments in healthcare, for instance, are little known, yet are indeed worthy of recognition, not least because of their low absolute costs, as well as high levels of relevance and effectiveness.
EJISDC focuses on the digital divide. Our aim is to situate contemporary trends in ICTs within a fully global context. Outside of North America, Western Europe, Australasia and Japan, diverse societies are making sense of technological advances in ways unique to their cultures and histories. ICT investments can and do contribute to improved quality of life, even where priorities for investments in information systems compete with the provision of the basic necessities of life such as decent housing, clean water and primary healthcare. ICT investments are able to leverage the values of third-world assets in much the same way as they do in the first world, sometimes to a far greater extent because of the lower starting point and lower costs.
In the five years since EJISDC went live, it has published over 120 articles from countries as far dispersed as China, Tanzania, the Solomon Islands, Brazil and Nepal. Many of the authors work in these, and other developing, countries, as too do many of the readers. EJISDC is recognised by organisations such as the UN and its publications are often cited. In the near future, EJISDC will move to a new online publication management system, but our basic premise and philosophy will not change. We will continue to offer a forum for theoretical and empirical contributions to the understanding and promotion of sustainable development.
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