IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2015 - 17

GUEST EDITORIAL

Jason Sargent

Khanjan Mehta

Katina Michael

Social and Economic
Sustainability

ack in 1997, Katina
would use International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
estimates of incoming and outgoing voice and data
teletraffic tables for her work in
strategic network engineering. She
was particularly amazed when viewing these figures in global thematic
maps, as thick arrows would always
flow in and out from developed
nations, and yet significantly thinner arrows would be flowing from
developing nations, despite the difference in population counts [1].
That image has stuck with her as
a depiction of how the world is, no
doubt, related to historical events.
Efforts required to bring those
arrows into equilibrium at a country
level seem somewhat impossible,
given the digital divide.
As initiatives like Project Loon
attempt to grant all peoples Internet
access [2], there are still many places on Earth that have limited or no
connectivity whatsoever. Some of
these places reject services, believing that they will bring with them
even greater harm, such as deforestation or a destabilization of culture and religious practice. And yet,
developed nations uphold that they
are in fact educating, providing, and

allowing for longer-term economic
and social sustainability through
their technological solutions.
For example, Jason has recently
returned from the eastern part of
the Maharashtra state of India where
the use of technology in remote villages such as Jamnya appears at
first glance to be at direct odds to
the subsistence way of traditional
village life. However, on second
glance, the benefits of technology
offer endless possibilities from education to weather station assistance
with crop plantings. See also, Khanjan's projects in Africa [3].
But what about long-term stability in developing nations? For
example, as we strive to mainstream alternate energy sources and make them accessible in
resource poor communities [4], how
do we think beyond the technological and economic dimensions and
ensure respect for social, political,
and environmental imperatives?

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2015.2407072
Date of publication: 23 March 2015

MARCH 2015

∕

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

Computers, including the tiny but
powerful ones on cell phones can
be game-changers, but they will not
save lives directly. They cannot be
eaten by a starving population. And
then, they need to be serviced and
maintained. Jason, along with Katina's husband Michael, visited and
taught Karen refugee students in
camps and remote villages on the
Thai-Burma border [5]. They quickly
realized that computers work only
if they are connected to electricity.
Someone has to pay the bill. Computers can thereafter continue to
work, if no parts go missing, and
they are fully enclosed within a shelter that has windows, and are not
damaged. Computers can be operated by people who have received
some training and where there is
some connectivity. It is hopeless to
want to share files or use remote
applications if bandwidth is lower
than 56 kbps. For example, Martin
Murillo et al.'s article in this special

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2015