Peter Radoll

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Peter Radoll The Australian National University
Working Title Stone Chips to Silicone
Chips Adoption and Effective Use of Information
Communication Technologies in Australian
Indigenous Communities Remote, Rural and
Urban. An Aboriginal Researchers Perspective
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Outline

• Motivation/Background
• Contribution to Knowledge
• Review of Literature
• Methodology
• Method Data Collection
• Research Question
• Where I am now

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Motivation

• Computer Use
• - Indigenous 13.1 percent
• - Non-Indigenous 38.8 percent
• (ABS Census 2001)
• Internet Use
• - Indigenous 12.3 percent
• - Non-Indigenous 34.6 percent
• (ABS Census 2001)

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Motivation (cont)
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Motivation (cont)
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Why adopt ICTs?

• The consequences of the diffusion of
  innovations usually widen the socioeconomic gap
  between the earlier and later adopting categories
  in a system (Rogers, 1995433).

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Why is it important?

• Federal and State Government Programs
• - Digital Divide Programs
• - e-Education (remote and rural)
• - e-Health (remote and rural)
• - Tens of Millions of Dollars
• - Little theoretical understanding

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Aim of Research

• Investigate the factors affecting the adoption
  of Information Communication Technologies in
  Australian Indigenous communities across three
  separate jurisdictions and their diverse
  communities to establish an ICT model of adoption
  for Aboriginal communities.
• Investigate what is perceived effective use of
  Information Communication Technologies by
  Aboriginal peoples

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Objectives

• There are a number of objectives of the
  research
• - To develop a theoretical framework that can
  be used to explain the adoption of Information
  Communication Technologies in Aboriginal
  Communities,
• - Develop a model of ICT adoption for
  Aboriginal Communities,
• - Investigate effective use of ICTs in
  Aboriginal Communities to better target funding,
  programs and public policy.

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Key Assumption

• It is assumed that the use of Information
  Communication Technologies in Aboriginal
  communities has the potential to positively
  assist Aboriginal communities in both economic
  and social terms.

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Are there negative aspects?

• Change agents frequently do not sense or
  understand the social meaning of the innovations
  that they introduce (Rogers, 1995423).
• Example genetically modified foods were
  introduced into the food chain and then the
  general public resisting the technology.

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Contribution to Knowledge

• Develop a model of ICT adoption for Australian
  Aboriginal Communities examining effective uses.
  This will be conducted by filling gaps in
  previous research in the ICT adoption area in
  Australia which until now has assumed that the
  Indigenous population is either an homogenous
  group of people regardless of language, location
  and socioeconomic status or simply a minority
  group living within the broader Australian
  community.

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Previous Research - Australia

• Lloyd, R O. Hellwig (2000). Barriers to the
  take-up of New Technology. NATSEM Discussion
  Paper no. 53.
• Taylor, W. (2002) Factors affecting the adoption
  of Internet Technologies for Community Practice
  in a Regional Area
• Rooksby, EWeckert, J Lucas (2002) Bridging the
  Digital Divide a study of connectivity issues
  for disadvantaged people.

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Does the Divide only exist Digitally?

• Nakata, M. (1997) The cultural interface an
  exploration of the intersection of Western
  knowledge systems and Torres Strait Islander
  positions and experiences
• Examines epistemological frameworks where there
  has always been and probably will always be a
  divide between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous
  communities.

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Research - International

• Mainly focuses on infrastructure and very high
  cost issues Not really relevant
• Why dont these issues apply to Australia?

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USO and DDSO

• Universal service obligation Phones
• - accessible to all people in Australia on an
  equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on
  business.
• Digital Data Service Obligation
• - the obligation placed on a digital data
  service provider to ensure that digital data
  services are accessible to all people in
  Australia on an equitable basis, wherever they
  reside or carry on business
• - all people in Australia now have access, on
  request, to a data service with a 64 kilobit per
  second (kbit/s) digital data capability
• www.aca.gov.au

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International Literature

• Nidumolu et al (1996) found that when
  introducing ICT type innovations in a more
  traditional cultural context there needs to be a
  focus on the socio-cultural aspects of the social
  system in which ICTs are being introduced.

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Effective Use

• Gurstein, M 2004, Effective use A community
  informatics strategy beyond the Digital Divide
• Developing strategies and applications for
  using ICTs to support local economic development,
  social justice and political empowerment
  ensuring local access to education and health
  services enabling local control of information
  production and distribution and, ensuring the
  survival and continuing vitality of Indigenous
  cultures are among the most significant possible
  applications and goals (Gurstein, M. 20048)

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Example of Effective Use

• Cattle Station
• - e-tags devices to approximately 4000 animals
  and recording simple information on each animal
  such as the original location, breed, sex,
  paddock, group etc. With this limited
  information we are able to track inventory i.e.
  how many cattle are in a paddock, of a particular
  breed, age and sex, and how many have been sold
  to a particular market etc.
• - system has a component used to create a backup
  of their data and email it to AgInfoLink in order
  to move information onto other properties and
  maintain another copy.
• - they dont have an Internet connection,
  someone picks up the computer each month or so
  and retrieve the data.
• Consequences
• - Positive Track cattle, sales etc.
• - Negative Need computer to be picked up
• - Possible loss of data

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Methodology QualitativeCase Studies and
Grounded Theory

• "A need for an effective research methodology
  based on actual project experiences of ICT usage
  has been a vital requirement to understand the
  potential impact of ICTs
• Wijayananda Jayaweera, Director of UNESCO's
  Communication Development Division.

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Methodology Case Studies

• Yin (1994) case study methodology
• - relies on many of the same techniques as
  history, but adds two sources of evidence not
  usually included in the historians repertoire
  direct observation and systematic interviewing

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Methodology Grounded Theory

• Glaser, B and A. Strauss (1967)
• - Grounded theory can provide help in situations
  where little is known about a topic or problem
  area, or to generate new ideas in settings that
  have become static or stale. Grounded theory
  deals with the generation of theory from data.
  Researchers start with an area of interest,
  collect data, and allow relevant ideas to
  develop.

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GT with Case Studies

• Eisenhardt (1989) Building Theories from Case
  Study Research
• Hans Lehmann
• Walter Fernandez

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Method Data Collection

• Extended visits
• Semi-structured interviews
• Observation

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Primary Data Source

• Semi-structured Interviews approx 10 15 in
  each community from 20 mins to 1 hour long
• Interviews recorded and transcribed
• Transcription is loaded into Atlas.ti for coding
• Coding is used to identify instances of a
  concept
• Concepts feed into themes and memos (theory
  generation)
• Themes feed into next interviews

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Research Question

• What Factors Affect the Adoption of Information
  Communication Technologies in Australian
  Indigenous Communities?
• What is Effective use of ICTs from an Aboriginal
  Perspective?
• Why do or dont Aboriginal Australians use ICTs?
• What is effective Aboriginal use of ICTs?

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Secondary Data Sources

• Government Reports (TAPRIC)
• Government Grant Programs
• Archival Materials

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Primary Data Collection Method
Core aspect of Data Collection
Recording Transcribed
Interview
Transcription Coded in Atlas.ti Generating Concept
s
Concepts form Themes and Memos
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GT (Glaser 1978)

• Conceptual Coding from empirical evidence

Concept
I2
I3
I4
I5
I1
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Conceptual View
Rural
Urban
Remote
Unique
Unique
Unique
Unique
Unique
Unique
Theory / Themes
Theory / Themes
Theory / Themes
Theory / Themes
Theory / Themes
Theory / Themes
Common Theory
Model of ICT Adoption
Extant Literature
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Example of coding
Comment from participant
Q. I wonder why that fuse blew they are normally
quite reliable? A2. We think a cockroach might
have gotten in there and shorted out the switch,
a small cockroach. The part that blew out was
the only very small.
Conceptual code Two Levels
Inhibitor ICT Design
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Concept Map
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Theoretical Frameworks I am working with
Habitus by bourdieu refers to ways of doing and
being, where subjects of a society acquire their
socialisation. It is not a matter of ideological
imposition nor is it a matter of conscious
learning rather it is through practice that
habitus is achieved (Terry Lovell in eds B
Fowler, 2000) Structuration Theory was born out
of linguistic research combining critical
sociology theories of functionalism, action
theory and Marxism. This theory is a good
approximation of human behaviour within society
but to understands it foundation and its
complexity we first need review each element to
fully understand this complex theory as a whole.
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Theoretical Frameworks I am working with
Functionalism, like other social theory, has come
from a need to understand complex systems that
exist in a society. Durkheim referring to the
division of labour in society and the concept of
functionalism believed that a state of anomie,
meaning that there could in fact be an absence of
norms or what Bourdieu would phrase habitus,
could occur in a society if the division of
labour in a society could not satisfy solidarity
in a modern differentiated society. Giddens
refutes this notion believing that functionalism
could in no way constitute a useful theory of
society as it fails to explain human interaction
within a society as functionalism is based on the
assumption that humans are mere puppets of
society and exist without their own will
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Theoretical Frameworks I am working with
Action Theory It should first be noted that the
term action theory is a little misleading as
all social theories in fact include by definition
some form of action yet action theory is termed
this way because there is a focus on the
individual or more commonly known within action
theory as the human actor. human beings and
our daily activities become the key focus of
understanding. The social order is created via
our actions, where we apply a range of methods,
procedures, and practices which are taken as a
given (Kaspernsen, 2000, 22) Giddens
acknowledges the contribution of action theory
he does point out that there are weaknesses in
that he questions where do these social norms
originate. Moreover, he questions who controls
the social norms and who determines these social
norms. (Giddens, 1993)
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Theoretical Frameworks I am working with

Marx claims that unlike animals, humans cannot
simply adapt themselves to their environment
because they do not possess the necessary natural
instincts. Rather, humans beings enter in to a
creative interplay with their surroundings and
must to a greater degree control them rather than
simply adjust to the given(Kaspernses, 2000).
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Theoretical Frameworks I am working with
Structuration Giddens believes that human social
activities are not created by the actors but
rather they are simply recreated. That is that
human activities are not brought into being by
social actors but continually recreated by them
via the very means whereby they express
themselves as actors. In and through their
activities agents reproduce the conditions that
make these activities possible.(Giddens,
19842). It is the reflexive form of
knowledgeability of the agent that is most deeply
rooted in the recursive ordering of social
practices. How we view this reflexivity is an
important component to understanding
Structuration. We should think of reflexivity as
the monitored character of the ongoing flow of
social life (Giddens 19843) Taking this one
step further Giddens argues that to be a human
being is to be a purposive agent, who both has
reasons for his or her activities and is able, if
asked, to elaborate discursively upon those
reasons (Giddens 19843)

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Theoretical Frameworks I am working with
Structuration The concepts of time and space
are vital to the theory of Structuration, which
begins with history or more specifically
temporality. (Giddens 19843). Giddens believes
that norms are simply factional boundaries of
social life in which a variety of possible
manipulative attitudes exist.