Friday 20 July 2012

Week in review


Hello, thanks for tuning in again for this week’s edition of the Week in Review. This week we are focusing on the role that information and communications technology (ICTs) plays in progress and how we can use the data that is procured from various communication devices for measuring progress.

Report released:

This week, the World Bank released the 2012 edition of Information and Communication for Development with a focus on the use of mobile phone technology. Around three-quarters of global population now have access to a mobile phone; the significance of developments in the mobile communications story is not about the phone itself, but about how it is used.
Read highlights and download the full report: Information and Communication Technology for Development - Maximizing Mobile

On big data

Mobile phone data - the oil of the digital age (The Guardian 19.07.2012)
In keeping with this week’s theme of mobile technology, this article focuses on the real-time data that reflects the behaviour of emerging markets and the role that mobile phones can play in the newly emerged field of big data.

Number crunch:

Worldwide Mobile subscriptions have grown from 1 billion in 2000 to over 6 billion in 2012, of which 5 billion are in developing countries.

Data on Women

Officials Decry “Appalling Gaps” in Global Data on Women (IPS 19.07.2012)
This week the World Bank and U.S. government announced new initiatives to develop knowledge on the experience of women around the world. Both recognised the impact that the ‘global data gap’ has on women and the importance of filling that gap.

Quote

Speaking about global data gap, Hillary Clinton said: “For too many countries, we lack reliable and regular data on even the basic facts about the lives of women and girls – facts like when they have their first child, how many hours of paid and unpaid work they do, whether they own the land they farm. And since women make up half the population, that’s like having a black hole at the centre of our data-driven universe.” (source: IPS Gender Wire)

That’s all from me this week. I hope to see you again next week- in the meantime if anything interesting catches your eye please send it via Twitter, Facebook or email.

Yours in Progress,
Philippa Lysaght

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