IDIA2009 Conference
Ethical Research Practice for Community Entry: Using ICT4D in a Deep Rural Context
Kirstin Krauss
Department of Informatics, University of Pretoria
Abstract
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has the potential to contribute significantly to the socioeconomic development of rural communities. However, ICT failures in African developing context continue to outnumber success stories. In rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Africa (SA), several additional issues complicate community development initiatives. These include high rates of HIV infections, a high occurrence of Tuberculosis (TB), high unemployment, extreme poverty, child-headed households, illiteracy, polygamy and development inhibiting traditions. In this paper, the author reflects on a community development initiative by the Department of Informatics, University of Pretoria in deep rural KZN. The author scrutinises the need for culturally sensitive ICT rollouts, the need to understand the difficulties and concerns of deep rural communities in SA, the need for understanding Afrocentricity in intercultural communication and ultimately the need for ethical research practice in ICT for development and community entry. A number of interviews with key community members were incorporated in this paper to illustrate and explain how community entry was established. Several guidelines for ICT for development research practice are discussed.
