Availing the liberation struggle heritage to the public

This article addresses the extent to which Web 2.0 technologies may be used to make the liberation struggle heritage available to the public in archival institutions in the East and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA). The advent of web technologies provides a window of opportunity for archival institutions within ESARBICA to improve their public image. While social media technologies can have a transformative influence, they have to be the right technology for the right place and the right people. In addition, archivists need to find innovative strategies to use these technologies depending on what is affordable on their part and for users.

The effect of ICT on political development: a qualitative study of Iran

In the age of information revolution, information and communication technologies are penetrating all levels of societies and affecting the process of development in every country. In this era, the government and the people of each country have an important role in the strengthening or weakening of the process. This study examines the effect of ICT on political development in Iran, as an important component of the process of development. In order to explore the effect comprehensively, the government and the people are used as two critical groups which affect political development. This study uses the interview method and employs qualitative approaches such as grounded theory and narrative inquiry. Twenty-six government officials and policy makers of Iran, and 31 ordinary citizens of Tehran (the capital of Iran) were interviewed to investigate how ICT affects political development. The results were grouped into five categories: political empowerment and public control, as two factors which affect the political development of people; and capacity building, public service, and transparency as three elements which affect political development in government. The explanation of each factor regarding the effects of ICT on political development is discussed. In the end, some ideas for further research are presented.

Sustainable Information Development: a journal and a concept twenty-five years on

The twenty-fifth year of Information Development, the journal, prompts a reflection on what makes the concept `information development' sustainable. From the very beginning, the journal has been open to critical views of information programmes and policies in the developing world. Although the idea of `sustainability' has become something of a cliché, much that has appeared in the journal points in this direction. There is a strong argument that sustainability can only be built by providing information services that people want in forms and at venues that suit them. This means content and delivery that has strong roots in the culture and psychology of those to be served, as well as localised `ownership', low technology, and low cost solutions. It is suggested that mobile telephone technology meets these criteria and that it offers a more positive basis for sustainable information development than much that has been tried hitherto.