Name: CHARITY KAITETSI AMUNSIIMIRE

Student ID: 2022472046

Mid Term Exam (15%): ICT Use and Community Development
Date: 4TH JANUARY 2023 Winter Session
Please write answers to the following two questions. See Homburg's book and the lecture
materials. (7.5% for each question)
1.1) What is the information society? Describe its major elements or characteristics.
a) An information society is a society where the creation, distribution, usage, integration and manipulation
of information are significant economic, cultural, political and social activities. Its main drivers are information and
communication technologies which have resulted in rapid information growth in variety and is somehow changing
all aspects of social organization, including education, economy, health, government, warfare and levels
of democracy.
Knowledge and information have higher value relative to material or energy and information and knowledge are
conducting a very important role in the society. There is rapid improvement in accumulating, processing and
delivering information with a low cost access to the information. Economic activities are transferring to
information, knowledge production and employment is based on information industry.
Manuel Castells refers to the Information Society as a society in which activities and economic production take
place in a technological paradigm, constituted around information and communication technologies. Information
society is based on the information rather than material goods as the chief driver of socio-economics.
b) The following characteristics make up the information society;
There is Machine thinking (information processing) the machine thinks, processes and stores lots of information
instead of man thinking for activities to be done.
Information society is driven by information technology which is the use of computers to create, process, store,
retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data and information.
Information knowledge, learning and innovation and sharing and access of information in this society are very
key and more valued than possession of capital and land as factors of production and trade.
Creativity, innovativeness and diversity, flexibility within organizations are preferred to productivity and
standardization of procedures and processes and division of labor or specialization.
Pluralism (diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach) and decentralization (evenly and systematic
distribution of authority at all levels) are also key aspects in this society other than totalitarianism (when one
supreme dictator makes all the decisions and no one can contradict him) and centralization (concentration of
authority at the top level).
Creation of new values is very crucial and preferred to allocation of values or resources.
Change in the meaning of time and space is more considered than maximization.
Work is with the head and not the hands, smart working is preferred to hard working.
All these characteristics are in comparison to the industrial society where man does the thinking, mechanical
energy from steam engine, fossil fuels from non-renewable electricity, mass production, transportation and
consumption, urbanization science and technology are crucial, capital, land possession, trade, productivity,
resource allocation, standardization, specialization, centralization and maximization are key factors, And
agricultural society where natural energy from animals, renewable energy sources, handcraft, manufacturing and
self-sufficiency are key characteristics. It’s important to note that while these societies seem to belong to different
paradigms conceptually, in reality, they all co-exist and that’s why cf Daniel Bell calls the Information society a
post-industrial society.
1.2) Homburg's book summarizes major developments in five dimensions we can see in an information society.
(pp. 43-47) What is most impressive to you as new developments we can see in an information society? Choose
the most impressive two of them and explain why they are impressive?
Name: CHARITY KAITETSI AMUNSIIMIRE
Student ID: 2022472046
Mid Term Exam (15%): ICT Use and Community Development
Date: 4TH JANUARY 2023 Winter Session
a) The major developments summarized in Homburg’s book in information society are in five dimensions;
Technological, Economic, Occupational, Spatial and cultural developments. The most impressive to me as new
developments is embedded in all the five dimensions as they all involve the key elements of the information
society.
Talk of Technological where telecommunication technology such as cable and satellite TVs, computer networks
have been significant in the description of technology, Economic where the growth of economic activity is directly
connected to informational activities, Occupational where there is decline of work in manufacturing industry and
rise of employment in the services sector, Spatial where emergence of telecommunication technology has
changed meaning of space and geographical proximity), and Cultural where there is increase of information that
circulates in societies.
b) Two most impressive developments are; Occupational and Spatial
c i) Occupational; As a social science student, I conquer with (Webster,2002, Florida 2004;Leadbeater,1999)
argument that it’s the decline of actual work being done in the manufacturing industry, and the rise of
employment in the services sector where white collar is replacing blue collar work and the raw material of non-
manual labour is information where wealth production does not come from actually carrying out manual labour,
but from decomposing and applying ideas, knowledge, skills, talent and creativity. I will also say that it’s true that
today's most influential people are (knowledge workers who have the skills and talent to basically manipulate
information and information knowledge access, sharing is key. Gouldner (1979) also refers knowledge workers
as a 'new class' of professionals and technical intelligentsia, who are less prone to be subject to either traditional
or rationalized authority in organizations and all these features make it more impressive to me.

ii) Spatial: The emergence of telecommunication technology has changed the meaning of space and
geographical proximity through Wide-Area Networks like the Internet, which link different locations within and
between offices, towns and regions all over the world creating a seamless platform and Internet of Things for
localization and globalization at the same time as everyone and everything stay connected to each other and
Knowledge workers increasingly tend to work wherever they like, whenever they choose to work, and even for
whoever they choose to work encouraging flexibility and multi-tasking. Services like webinars, teleconferencing,
Zoom are possible. Interestingly, Space and time are still relevant although they have become less continuous.
This dimension would still serve the economic and technological dimensions in the context of e-government
applications like e-service by connecting citizens to their governments, e-commerce, e-democracy, e-
administration by improving government processes and improve e-participation thereby promoting democracy
and transparency. All aspects of life—work, health, education can be catered for.

2.1) Define the e-government and describe what changes are expected from it in the interactions between
citizens and government. And do you think that e-government always improves the democracy in the government
(e.g. thru citizens' participation)?
a) Organization of American States also defines E- government as the application of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) to government functions and procedures with the purpose of increasing
efficiency, transparency and citizen participation.
E-Government according to World Bank refers to the use by government agencies of information technologies
(such as Wide Area Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations
with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government.
UN Public Administration Programme defines E-Government as the use of ICT and its application by the
government for the provision of information and public services to the people with the aim of providing efficient
government management of information to the citizen; better service delivery to citizens; and empowerment of
the people through access to information and participation in public policy decision-making.
Name: CHARITY KAITETSI AMUNSIIMIRE
Student ID: 2022472046
Mid Term Exam (15%): ICT Use and Community Development
Date: 4TH JANUARY 2023 Winter Session
Electronic government means the comprehensive, smooth reorganization of processes and endowing them with
opportunities made possible by new technologies, whereby administrative and governmental tasks can be
performed on the interfaces of agencies, citizens and politics, as well as within and between government
agencies. (OECD, 2005)
b) Firstly, Government-to-citizen interactions involve using the Internet to provide public services and
transactions online and to improve the design and delivery of services by incorporating rapid electronic feedback
mechanisms, such as instant polls, Web surveys, and e-mail.
The changes expected from e-government in the interaction between citizens and government can be explained
in a framework below;

Technology Innovation
IT Adoption) Improve transparency
Improves Democracy
Better Quality of Life
Improve Service Delivery
Management Innovation (BPR)
Improve Efficiency

Driving forces/Leadership legal base Budget/People Infrastructure

When there is technology innovation and properly managed by government, it is expected to be adopted by
citizens thereby improving transparency, service delivery and efficiency to the citizens which will in turn improve
democracy and improve the social economic status of citizens by bridging inequality gaps through provision of e-
services and increased e-participation which will in turn lead to social and economic development of the
government. For the e-government initiatives to be effectively implemented, leadership, government’s legal
framework, budget and resource allocation and infrastructure are very crucial and need to be considered as key
elements in successful implementation of G2C strategy.
c) Yes, I think that e-government improves democracy in the government especially through citizens’
participation if the key e-government components including digital infrastructure, digital literacy, digital
data/communication services, digital participation, digital institutions/policies/regulations and digital security rights
are well designed, formulated, implemented and monitored to suit the intended purpose.
Authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, promoting respect for human rights can be achieved.
COVID-19 has highlighted how central digital capabilities are for all aspects of life—work, health, education,
commerce, and government. Digital infrastructure and government services are no longer just nice to have, but
essential elements of a 21st century nation. Digital capabilities are ideologically neutral and can serve
authoritarian as well as democratic tendencies, so development donors must be wary of whom they partner with
and how they deliver assistance for digital government.
Name: CHARITY KAITETSI AMUNSIIMIRE
Student ID: 2022472046
Mid Term Exam (15%): ICT Use and Community Development
Date: 4TH JANUARY 2023 Winter Session
Vastly improved flow of information from citizens to government, government to citizens, and within government
itself helps in bringing public administration procedures into the modern digital era which will increase citizen
participation thereby promoting transparency, efficiency and accountability leading to democracy.
Sami Esselimani et al (2020) argue that the importance of ICT use for democratic processes increases when
three factors are guaranteed: information provision, citizens’ engagement in policy drawing, and regulatory
transformations. This will lead to the partial distribution of authority to citizens through digital participation
a)2) There are the optimistic and the pessimistic views on the impacts of new ICT on the society. (Homburg:
pp.31-32) Which one of the two views do you agree with? Explain why?
I agree with the optimistic views on the impacts of New ICT on the society basing on its positive impacts and
advantages to the society.
With the new trends in computing including Internet of Things (Ubiquitous Computing), Cloud computing, big
data, Mobile, the advantages in timeliness, responsiveness, and cost containment are outstanding and internet
and interaction between people has been extended to people and materials and materials themselves creating
new value and service, network connection and intelligence.

Technology has made it possible for us to reach a larger audience from greater geographic locations. Television
and the Internet has shrunk not only the space, but also time creating a global seamless platform leading also to
the birth of a vast social networking platform helping us connect with the world on a single click.

There is ppotential for increased levels of social interaction among 'empowered' individuals as argued by Katz et
al., 2001 )or of new hourglass shaped organizational structures enabling the elimination of middle management
and drastically increasing levels of productivity (Leavitt and Whisler, 1958; Scott-Morton, 1991).

It has surely fostered e-learning and e-commerce. Students from geographically isolated regions can now
connect to their mentors with a single click.

One of the most important impacts of technology in business and education, is that it has decreased the use of
paper and other related costs.

Contribution of new Technologies in the field of Health and Medicine is noteworthy. This has increased the
average life expectancy.
Reduced costs of production for the manufacturing industries as most work is done by machines instead of
people
There is increased accuracy, time reductions and costs of information and increased transparency and
accountability of government through use of mobile technology (Chachoua, 2015).

I conclude by proposing some of the strategies that can be deployed to improve on the negative effects of new
ICT like high surveillance and privacy invasion, loss of social life, lack of concentration, inequalities, health
degradation, increase in crime rate, etc which is a worrisome situation for the pessimistic views. Governments
through their e- government and ICT initiatives have an overall responsibility for regulating the use of digital
technology amongst its citizens. Stringent regulations can be deployed to protect citizens from overuse like use
of filtering services, bans of some sites etc and continuous public awareness on dangers of over use can be
helpful. However, the entire process of internet use control begins with an individual. We aren’t slaves for
technology, we control it.

……………………………………….Thank you Professor!!!!!!!!!……………………………