IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017 - 64

Weidemann, Penn State University's Vice President for
Outreach, which is the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education [49]. Also, a timely
reconceptualization is needed as the notion of a digital
divide and its logical implication - that social problems
can be addressed through providing computers and
Internet accounts - has seemed increasingly problematic [48]. Even in its broadest sense, the digital divide
implies a chain of causality: that lack of access (however defined) to computers and the Internet harms life
chances [48].

Digital inclusion manifests in equality of
opportunities for participation in access
and use of ICT by everyone regardless
of location, age, gender, or ethnicity.

The paper is predominantly constructed as a systematic review of literature which performs the role of a
preface to, and rationale for, participating in engaged
scholarship and primary research. In this way, the construction of the paper aligns with Cooper's [12] assertion that "... a literature review uses reports of primary
or original scholarship, and does not report new primary scholarship itself." Instead, the paper is intended to
establish this study as one link in a chain of research
that is developing knowledge in the field of IT for social
impact. After exploring literature, the paper's focus
turns toward brief vignettes of what we would characterize as IT for social impact projects from industry and
academia. The theoretical paradigm taken in this paper
is interpretivist. Interpretative research focuses on
"meaningful social action, socially constructed meaning, and value relativism" [28]. The interpretivist paradigm was deemed suitable for this paper as it "aims at
producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context"
[45]. The paper concludes by synthesizing the literature
to present the author's reconceptualization of "What is
IT for social impact?"

Inclusive Role of Technology in Development
In recent years, enormous efforts have been witnessed
regarding digital inclusion initiatives that attempt to
overcome adoption barriers and provide empowerment
through the provisioning of users with skills to fully

64

benefit from being digitally engaged (see [1], [12], [19],
[40]). Notably, digital inclusion is not only building highspeed broadband but also covers a range of topics such
as the equality of access to use ICT, ensuring affordability and ensuring that users can potentially overcome
adoption barriers and realize the same benefits as others by using ICT.
Despite the importance of aspects such as empowerment and participation in understanding digital inclusion, measurement tends to see access to, and use of,
the Internet as the key determinant of whether someone
is digitally included or not [30]. Digital inclusion manifests in equality of opportunities for participation in
access and use of ICT by everyone regardless of location, age, gender, and ethnicity. There is a growing body
of evidence suggesting a direct correlation between ICT
and the economy [40], [47]. Being digitally excluded
could potentially impact an individual's health and wellbeing, and their ability to learn and to enhance wealth,
strengthen job skills, get employment, benefit from
quality education, obtain critical information, socially
connect, and take advantage of opportunities for civic
and social engagement [47].
The inclusive role of ICT has recently been reinforced by developments toward the digital migration
of most government and public services. Technologies such as the Internet, digital TV, and mobile telephony are now important means of accessing and
interacting with local government, health and welfare
services, the criminal justice system, and other areas
of government. In short, the use of ICT is now considered as a basic human right. For instance, in early
2010, a poll conducted for the BBC World Service
found that almost four in five people around the world
believed that access to the Internet to be a fundamental right [5]. Similarly, France has ruled that access to
the Internet is a basic human right [41], and in 2010
Finland became the first country in the world to make
access to broadband a legal right for every citizen [5].
There is also the emergence of the concept of the
"humanitarian web," where "global applications -
especially those with a humanitarian perspective -
will have to be developed and made accessible on the
Web. We already have microfinance and crowdsourcing websites, which are quite popular in developing
countries" [38].

Swinburne University of Technology's IT
for Social Impact Projects
Considering the critical nature of digital inclusion and
its impact on individuals, communities and organizations, Swinburne University Technology (SUT) created a
unit of study called "IT for Social Impact" in order to
provide students with an opportunity to engage in a

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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DECEMBER 2017



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