IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2015 - 18

section emphasizes that leading
humanitarians have identified data
communications for remote health
offices as one of the top three tools
that will contribute to the fulfilment
of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
Today, as many as 80% of the
world's citizens reside in areas
with mobile phone coverage [6].
Increasing access to computers
and cellular devices has allowed
telemedicine systems to flourish
in developing countries. But these
devices can only really work if technologies are integrated into local
communities in bottom-up socialization practices. They can work if
they are embraced by locals, and
harnessed for good by local companies, NGOs, elders, and other
stakeholders. While the number of
mHealth and telemedicine systems
is growing, the benefits of these
technologies are yet to be fully
realized. Many mHealth ventures
in resource-constrained environments suffer from "pilotitis" - an
inability to expand beyond the initial pilot and ultimately become
sustainable ventures. Khanjan has
led the design and execution of
a cash-positive telemedicine venture in central Kenya that now has
seven full-time employees. His students recently conducted a study
of the failure modes that plague
the growth of mHealth pilots in
the developing world. This study of
over 50 projects in Africa and Asia
uncovered a wide range of barriers
including financial challenges, business structures, technological limitations, and cultural misalignments.
Once again, some of the greatest
challenges were related to bottomup socialization, melding Western
and indigenous knowledge, and
integration of new technologies,

approaches, and business models
into traditional ways of life. Khanjan
has captured the nuts and bolts of
"how things work" and why projects fail in a series of short stories
called The Kochia Chronicles: Systemic Challenges and the Foundations of Social Innovation. These
narratives take readers headlong
into the lives of people in a quintessential African village as they usher
in an era of design, innovation, and
entrepreneurship.
It is difficult not to be cynical
about initiatives such as Zuckerberg's hopes to wire the world [7].
These technological initiatives sound
good, but with computing also will
come social implications. Not all of
these implications will be positive.
But back now to getting those
inflows and outflows to look more
alike, as newly industrialized countries have experienced growth since
the inception of the mobile phone
(e.g., India), broadband (e.g., Singapore), and manufacturing machinery (e.g., Thailand). The bottom line
is that to overcome the endemic
failures that inhibit the sustainability and scalability of well-meaning projects, a truly systemic and
participatory approach is essential. Rather than dwelling on the
problems caused by, or that might
result from, the digital divide, let
us preoccupy ourselves with considering digital inclusion as a primary aim. Digital inclusion is not
just about offering equity but about
making substantial self-determined
improvements to the lives and
livelihoods of people in resourcepoor settings. The digital divide
will never be entirely bridged, but
inclusion can be propelled through
social innovation, concerted time,
and effort supported by multi-lateral funding from local and global

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

stakeholders who not only understand the need for change but are
passionate about the human need
and its interdependence with global
peace and sustainability.

Author Information
Jason Sargent is a Lecturer in the
Department of Information Systems,
Entrepreneurship and Logistics at
Swinburne University of Technology,
Victoria, Australia.
Khanjan Mehta is the Director of
the Humanitarian Engineering and
Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) Program and Assistant Professor of
Engineering Design at The Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A.
Katina Michael is an Associate
Professor in the School of Information Systems and Technology at
the University of Wollongong, NSW,
Australia.

References

[1] Rogers, "Global Traffic Map, 2010," Telegeography, 2010; https://www.telegeography.
com/assets/website/images/maps/global-trafficmap-2010/global-traffic-map-2010-x.jpg.
[2] Google, "Balloon-powered Internet for Everyone," Project Loon, 2014; https://www.google.
com/loon/.
[3] M. Pack and K. Mehta, "Design of affordable
greenhouses for East Africa," in Proc. IEEE
Global Humanitarian Technology Conf.,
Seattle, WA, 2012, pp. 104-110.
[4] R. Mohideen, "Clean, renewable energy:
Improving women's lives in South Asia," IEEE
Technology & Society Mag., vol. 32, no. 3,
pp. 48-55, 2013.
[5] J. Sargent, "Towards resolving the refugee
camp as campus paradox: Exploring complexities in attainment of higher education by refugees on the Thai-Burma border," Ph.D. thesis,
2012, Sydney University, Australia.
[6] J. Robertson, D. DeHar, K. Tolle, and D.
Hecker, "Healthcare delivery in developing countries: Challenges and potential solutions", The
Fourth Paradigm, 2009, pp. 65-73; http://
research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/
fourthparadigm/4th_paradigm_book_part2_
robertson_heckerman.pdf.
[7] L. Grossman, "The man who wired the world,"
Time, vol. 184, no. 23, Dec. 4, 2014; http://
time.com/magazine/us/3617654/december15th-2014-vol-184-no-23-u-s/.

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MARCH 2015

https://www.telegeography https://www.google http://http:// http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/ http://http:// http://www.time.com/magazine/us/3617654/december

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2015