Which Lessons Are Learned? Best Practices and World Bank Rural Telecommunications Policy

The World Bank has been the largest multilateral source of rural telecommunications financing in developing countries since the mid-1960s. This article analyzes World Bank-sponsored studies of rural telecommunications initiatives in Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Malaysia to identify which lessons the bank draws from them and recommends for other countries. The World Bank's preference for a “best practice” approach in its research leads it to attribute successes and failures to a narrow scope of factors that tend to agree with its economic policy priorities. Instead, rural telecommunications practices should be analyzed within their broader socio-institutional and cultural contexts in order to enable cross-situational applications, and a broad array of stakeholders should be involved in shaping the lessons learned.     

The citizen-led information practices of ICT4D in rural communities of China: A mixed-method study

Information and communication technology is regarded as a critical means of addressing rural problems of information deficiency, ineffective communication and emotional disconnection. Most studies on information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) can be categorized as a top-down development approach and are often theoretical research or case studies conducted using qualitative methods. In this study, we discuss a new phenomenon of citizen-led information practices in rural areas driven by the rural community and its citizens. By employing a mixed-method approach combining case studies and social network analysis (SNA), we explore how ICT4D can be achieved through citizen-led information practices. This study makes theoretical contributions to the study of ICT4D and information practices as well as the mixed-method approach, which deepen our understanding of the citizen-led information practices of ICT4D. This study also provides practical suggestions to the governments, enterprises, social organizations and rural communities in ICT4D practices and ICT function design.     

融媒体时代关工委“迭代传承”教育路径探析

高校关工委是开展好大学生思想政治教育工作的重要资源。融媒体时代高校关工委工作面临着西方社会思潮对个性鲜明的新时代大学生的意识形态渗透,面临着多元网络文化的冲击,为进一步发挥高校关工委的作用,要坚持搭建关工委参与大学生思想政治教育的多元化平台,充分利用高校关工委的独特优势,运用迭代传承的教育模式,更好地结合大学生思想政治教育的各项内容,有针对性地开展各项工作。