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MOBILE COMMUNICATION AND DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF MOBILE PHONE APPROPRIATION IN GHANA
by
Araba Sey
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(COMMUNICATION)
August 2008
Copyright 2008 Araba Sey
Object Description
| Title | Mobile communication and development: a study of mobile phone appropriation in Ghana |
| Author | Sey, Araba |
| Author email | sey@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Communication |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-04-21 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-07-07 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Castells, Manuel |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Bar, Francois Ito, Mizuko Irazabal, Clara |
| Abstract | The last decade has seen rapid growth in the uptake of mobile communication technologies around the world. Mobile telephones in particular have demonstrated an exceptional ability to cut through hitherto obstinate barriers to adoption in developing countries. This dissertation examines the processes involved in the introduction, adoption and use of mobile phones in Ghana, with a view to contribute to understanding of the link between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and socio-economic development in low-income countries. Through interviews, surveys and field observations, multiple actors in the mobile phone industry are studied -- network providers, payphone operators and other intermediaries, and mobile phone users. Using the lenses of technology appropriation, sustainable livelihoods, and ICTs for development, mobile phone use is characterized as a cycle of interaction between service providers and mobile phone users. These interactions are, for the moment, driven by cost and affordability considerations linked not only to users ' efforts to conserve income, but also to service providers' efforts to generate revenue. Thus a stream of innovative delivery and usage strategies circulates between these parties. Amongst these strategies, the role of micro-entrepreneurial intermediaries such as payphone operators has been significant in making mobile telephony more accessible to people with limited income. However, the flow of innovations also has had the result of undercutting the livelihood of these intermediaries. It is suggested that from the perspective of poverty reduction, the major long-term benefits of mobile telephony are more likely to be derived from its use as a livelihood resource (that is, as a communication tool for all activities) than from its use as a source of livelihood (that is, as a direct means of generating revenue). |
| Keyword | mobile phone; ICT; technology appropriation; poverty reduction; Ghana |
| Geographic subject (country) | Ghana |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1318 |
| Rights | Sey, Araba |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Sey-20080707 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Sey-20080707.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | MOBILE COMMUNICATION AND DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF MOBILE PHONE APPROPRIATION IN GHANA by Araba Sey A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (COMMUNICATION) August 2008 Copyright 2008 Araba Sey |
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