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Local information upload strategy in building up rural community information pages on the Internet: An approach to attending the information needs of rural Sri Lanka
ARTICLE IN PRESS The International Information & Library Review (2004) 36, 241–252
The International Information & Library Review www.elsevier.com/locate/iilr
Local information upload strategy in building up rural community information pages on the Internet: An approach to attending the information needs of rural Sri Lanka Wathmanel Seneviratne University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Summary The rural population in Sri Lanka consists of about 78.5% of the total population. Even though they contribute to a considerable portion of the GDP, most of them live in disadvantaged socio-economic conditions. The rural communities are equally enthusiastic in obtaining information for their daily lives, as are urbanites in facing challenges of the modern world. In planning development projects, the ‘information’ component is often overlooked. A SWOT analysis was done in the information environment to assess the feasibility of launching this kind of project. Information need categories were also identified by a mini-survey conducted in a rural area. This paper discusses a strategy to fulfill information needs by building up community information pages and using existing administrative structure. It is also important to upload the information generated at the local level. Two strategies are presented in collecting local information. The information upload strategy discussed in this paper is established on district and provincial administrative levels. Lower levels of administration are used to collect locally generated and specialized information. & 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction Modern society is information dependent, and almost all social activities nowadays are information, knowledge and learning oriented. The lifestyles of people, wherever they are, have changed rapidly, making life sophisticated in urban areas and complicated in rural areas. Even though parts of both the rural elite and the rural poor migrated to suburban areas, the greatest concentrations of severe poverty remain in rural areas (Uphoff & Esman, 1974). A World Bank survey also asserts that, despite rapid urban growth, the majority of E-mail address: [email protected] (W. Seneviratne).
the poor will continue to live in the countryside until about 2020 (World Bank, 1997). Even though national planners know the situation, the point seems to have been neglected for years by prioritization of services, such as the provision of government services, investment of public funds, developing the infrastructure and incentives for private investments for the urbanites (Lipton, 1977; Chambers, 1980). Even the more substantially landed farmers have also had to struggle for policies that meet their economic needs. Small and marginal farmers, tenants at will, landless workers and weak and disadvantaged groups such as female headed households, who together constitute the majority in most rural areas, have limited access to public services and tend to be overlooked by
1057-2317/$ - see front matter & 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iilr.2003.10.012
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governments (Esman, 1978). Also, many development efforts exercised for rural upgrading have neglected the importance of information provision for the rural communities. In her research, Narayan links ‘‘Lack of Information’’ to the poverty structure model for the developing countries (Narayan, 2000). The scope of the situation paves the way to measure and assess the needs, behavioral patterns and information flow of rural communities and to build a suitable platform to plan community information services for citizens with rural remote communities in mind.
Significance of the plan to provide a community access system Information is indispensable in the development process, be it economic, social, political or cultural, of any society (Hughes, 1991). Damatob remarks that the essence of any development, whether national or rural, is to enhance the quality of life of people and that no society can aspire to greater heights without adequate and relevant information (Damatob et al., 1987). These research studies suggest that the rural areas also need adequate information for meaningful development. Hence, an unavoidable need emanates from this situation: to analyze and study information needs and information behavior within rural communities and to find out the true information in the rural communities, especially those in remote areas. In planning an information outreach model for rural communities, experiential evidence of these aspects will be essential. The facts can be used to plan any societal services such as public library services, community information services, health services, industrial and technological extension services, counseling services and e-government. In Sri Lanka, 78.49% of the population lives in rural and estate areas, even though urban migration has continued over the years. The working population in these areas, both male and female, accounts for 49.6% of the total rural working population (Department of Census & Statistics, 2001). The main occupations of people from these rural and estate areas are predominantly agricultural and informal. It is also a right of a citizen of any social status to obtain the information he or she needs to adapt to a modern lifestyle. A rural citizen is also a part of the modern knowledge based society and has a right to obtain information he or she needs to adapt
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to live in a fast changing society. People in modern society, regardless of their geographical, racial, educational and social differences, are in need of a variety of information. Rural dwellers are enthusiastic in obtaining information for daily and envisaged activities, as are urbanites. It is often observed that the information services provided, especially to the rural communities, are not planned with this focus in mind, particularly in less developed countries. Unlike those in many other developing nations, the literacy level and level of education of the Sri Lankan people are high, even in rural areas. The educational attainment index in three sectors (urban, rural, estate) shows an increase in these levels, and these are not very low when compared with the urban index. The literacy level of the rural sector is closer to the level of the urban sector. According to 1999 figures, the literacy rate is 94.5% in the urban sector and 92.3% in the rural sector (Department of Census & Statistics, 1999; Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1999). These indicators show that there is a significant social and cultural movement among the rural and estate sectors, even though social amenities are not provided as much as in the urban sector. When compared with other rural societies, the Sri Lankan rural sector is in a fairly better position in social development. According to African village surveys that have been conducted, the African village is impoverished, neglected and frequently isolated by geography, language and culture (Sturges & Chimseu, 1996; Aboyade, 1984). Since Sri Lanka is an island and not geographically diverse with the exception of a few areas, the country is in a better position to adopt technological, infrastructural and other necessary policy changes that are needed for the development of a community access system. Government propaganda with respect to the nature of poverty alleviation projects, other socio-industrial development projects and the involvement of nongovernmental organizations have opened the Sri Lankan rural communities to the outside world. One impact of this change is the increasing need for information. It is argued that a public library system already established should be able to serve the community information needs at the local level. Generally, public libraries are bound to serve the local communities with traditional information and are very much ‘resource-based’. The public libraries tend to look at their communities in a systemoriented manner. As shown in a research study conducted in Africa, community information deals with a different kind of information flow and spectrum that might not covered through the
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present public library system (Sturges & Chimseu 1996). Nonetheless, there are benefits to using public libraries as community information delivery points or ‘One Stop Shops’. Even though ICTs are used frequently in information provision in metro and sub metro areas, the same attention is not given to rural remote areas, where many disadvantaged groups live. Moyo (1994) points to the alarming gap that exists between rural and urban areas and notes that little is being done to bridge the gap despite the technological advances adopted for economic development. In general, technological development has widened the information gap in some areas. It is important to think about a vast ‘change’ that would occur in a rural information scenario, by shifting the focus towards employing some bits and pieces of basic technologies. It may be in the way of providing telephone lines to the village councils (such as that of Pradesheeya Sabha, the smallest administrative unit), providing computers and at least one Web server plus UPSs to each district secretary and divisional secretary’s offices, increasing the yearly budget allocation to maintain equipment, electricity bills and Internet connection charges, and so forth.
Understanding rural community information needs To give a very brief definition of information in general, it is ideas, facts, imaginative works of mind and data of value potentially useful in decision-making, question answering, problem solving and reducing uncertainty (Kaniki, 1972). Mchombu (1995) views information as a product that reduces uncertainty and assists in decisionmaking. According to Leach (1999), information assists in empowerment and capacity building. Information needs arise out of three basic human needs: physiological needs, psychological needs and cognitive needs (Nicholas, 1996). Information needs centered on the information that would further a job or research or would be recognized as doing so by the recipient (Line, 1979). There are three kinds of information needs: expressed needs, unexpressed needs and dormant needs. *
‘Expressed needs’ are the information needs of an individual that are expressed clearly. The expressed needs can be grouped into two categories: ‘Information Wants’ and ‘Information Demands’ (Nicholas, 1996). Information wants are what the individual would like to
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have. An information demand is a request for an information item or product. ‘Unexpressed needs’ are the needs that have not been met. The users are aware of their needs but do nothing about them, either because information provision is not available or due to ignorance. ‘Dormant needs’ are the needs that the individual does not know exist. They do not know that they have an information gap and are not aware of the existence of the information they want. This should create a positive and proactive role for the information professional.
There is much research carried out about community information needs in most of the developed countries as the focus has shifted from the library centered information provision to user centered information access systems. A community must provide information at the doorsteps of its citizens. Hence, thinking about community information needs is to be established by standing on the landing of the user, rather than looking down at them from the tower of the information provider. This situation very much matches with the paradigm shift proposed by Dervin and Nilan from ‘traditional’ to ‘alternative’. According to these two researchers, in a traditional way the user is understood in a system-oriented way through a study of ‘system genera’. In contrast, the alternative paradigm focuses on the user and in ‘user genera,’ understanding a user’s needs as seen by the user himself (Dervin & Nilan, 1986). Community information is not in this category, which was an issue that librarians talked about in analyzing user needs surveys relating to their own library and information services. Community information is not attached or confined to any particular information service but bears importance in the day-to-day lives of the general public. According to Pettigrew, community information is threefold: (1) all data about a community that have been made to flow; (2) all original data that have been made to flow from or within the community; and (3) all data that are flowing anywhere that is useful to a community (Pettigrew, 1996). Whether it originates in rural or urban areas, information is used by citizens or by ‘information users’. From a very general point of view, users are individuals, each with unique informational, educational, psychological and social needs. A person may need ‘practical knowledge’ to solve immediate problems in his or her daily life and work. He or she may need ‘professional knowledge’ to further his or her continuing education and profession; he or she may need ‘intellectual knowledge’ for education
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and understanding arts and sciences. Reading for pleasure, pursuing an innovative idea or exploring knowledge just to satisfy one’s innate curiosity are other valid motives for reading, listening or looking. In addition, people feel the need for ethical, religious and philosophical insights (UNISIST, 1981). An information user, in specific terms, is any beneficiary of a given information system. Potential beneficiaries, even in the rural sector, include individuals, enterprises, government agencies and other organizations or entities that use information regularly to make decisions or to achieve particular goals. Rural information needs should be understood, regardless of geographical, socio-economic, political and cultural circumstances and infrastructural discriminations. But the information needs of rural communities can be diverse, depending upon the kind of discrimination mentioned (Aboyade, 1984).
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Requirements to satisfy upload strategy The strategy to be explained in this paper is an information upload–download model or a two-way model. Generally, information is provided to the user in a vertical way, mostly through a top-down method in which the user is to utilize whatever information is made available by the provider. This is true even in a well-operated community information system, even though the concepts of egovernance are used to allow an ordinary citizen to participate in the supply side of information. The participation that occurs in this context is mostly in the form of inquiries, suggestions, proposals, criticisms and commendations. A strategy discussed in this paper is how an ordinary rural citizen can participate in providing and adding information to the local community information databases, in which this information is accessible through a community portal. The paper hopes to outline: *
Information need categories *
According to a mini survey carried out in a village and divisional secretaries division in Central Province in Sri Lanka (Aludeniya village in Udapalatha Division and Kandy district in Central Province), a basic outline of information needs has been identified. During the mini survey, 10 households were selected randomly from the list of households and list of occupants available through the GN office (the office of Grama Niladhari, a government officer from his own locality, who replaced the former village headman). According to the survey, the following basic categories of information needs were detected. A description of each category is in the Appendix. * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
Government Information Employment Information Educational Information Health-related Information Agricultural Information Industrial Information Financial Information Marketing Information Information on Legal and Property Related Problems Legal Information Information on Infrastructure-Related Issues Weather Information Natural Disaster Information Recreational Information Other Location-Specific Information Miscellaneous Needs
the necessary environment to plan the system; and a methodology to upload the information.
In planning such a system, SWOT analysis, looking over the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a system, is useful in analyzing, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the system. These aspects will be useful in evaluating the feasibility of such a project.
Strengths In this section, aspects that strongly support such a project are discussed. *
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Enthusiasm visible among rural youths to use new technology in their day-to-day lives. According to recent news coverage and television interviews conducted during natural disasters that occurred in rural remote areas, the rural elite as well as ordinary citizens were given more attention from the central government for better and more modern infrastructure facilities. It is also visible through the enthusiasm seen among university students from rural areas for learning and using computer-based technologies for their learning purposes. Ability to use the existing administrative structure. Both the central government and the local government administrative structures can be used to establish the community information system intended. There are 9 provinces, 25 districts, 280 divisional secretaries divisions, and 13,983 GN divisions (rural units) available as administrative divisions in the country (see
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Appendix). The 13th Amendment to the Constitution (Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka, 1988) and Provincial Council Act No. 42 (Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka, 1987) devolve powers and functions to provincial councils. This change has had an effect on the functions of the district and divisional levels. The other significant change that support the strategy discussed in this paper is Act No. 58 of 1992, which is used for transferring powers, functions and duties from Government Agents (colonial structure) to Divisional Secretaries (Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka, 1992). This system can be used to implement the information upload and dissemination model. Ability to use the public library system for information outreach portals. There are more than 800 public libraries in Sri Lanka. The public library is one ideal place to install a community portal. There are other ideal places to open ‘One Stop Shops’ that will be pointed out later in this paper. Favorable literacy level. Sri Lanka maintains a high literacy level. The literacy rate in the urban sector is 94.5% and 92.3% in the rural sector (Department of Census & Statistics, 1999; Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1999) for ‘Sinhala’ and ‘Tamil’ (the official languages). It is argued that the literacy level in local languages cannot be counted for IT-based programs, but the proposed ‘Unicode system’ in Sinhala will be constructively useful in feeding information locally to the community information databases. Unicode for Sinhala language. Using Sinhala and Tamil is tremendously important to the strategy proposed in this paper. The ISO /IEC 10646 drafted for the Sinhala language is in the editing process. In 1996, the Sri Lanka Standard Institution and CINTEC (the Council for Information Technology of Sri Lanka) prepared an Unicodebased Sinhala standard (SLS 1134). The other development in the area is a proposed keyboard with Unicode characters, known as the modified ‘Wijesekara’ keyboard (Council for Information Technology of Sri Lanka, 2003). Latest policy decisions taken for e-srilanka program. The program is focused on an egovernance system launched by the Ministry of Economic Reform in 2003. The support given by the central government in this endeavor will be an essential factor for the success of this community information system.
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Less importance is given to the rural sector in the agenda for development activities.
Lack of understanding and confidence in the indigenous knowledge already in use. The local knowledge in many specialized activities still dominates in some areas: in the agricultural field, in cultivation methods, crop rotation methods, pest control/insect control methods and fertilizing systems; and in the health field, for indigenous and sometimes homemade medicines for special ailments, child delivery attendance methods, post delivery care and child nursing. In some traditional vocations, such as village blacksmiths, brassmiths, traditional jewelers, makers of handicrafts, leatherworkers, clay work/pottery manufacturers and carpenters, the communities still use their own equipment, raw materials and methods. This knowledge is not published anywhere unless research is conducted on a specialized area. Lack of attitudinal change in policymakers to propagate an information outreach culture. As Zulu found out, very few policymakers in developing countries recognize information as a resource that could be used in economic development (Zulu, 1994). In past years, many policymakers realized the importance of information at the lowest level of society after being exposed to the information cultures of developed countries. Inadequate fund allocations for capital budgets of divisional offices of central and local governments. During the past 2 years, more budget curtailments were exercised due to heavy war budgets and development budgets.
Opportunities *
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Weaknesses
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Distribution of computers and other equipment to divisional secretariats. Even though allocations from the central government were cut, some funds are allowed to be used for purchasing computers and related equipment. In addition, a few donations are also being used to buy computers and software (Gamage, 2003). Latest decisions to provide Internet and e-mail access to divisional secretaries’ offices. Some divisions are already connected. Policy outlines made to get the provincial and local government authorities to participate in the governance process. Initiatives taken to launch the e-srilanka program. Initiatives taken by important government departments and ministries to computerize information using integrated solutions. Most of the important ministries and departments are computerized. Some departments adopted
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integrated solutions for intranets and Web service using dynamic pages. Some of these departments include the Department of Examinations, Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Motor Traffic Department. Some departments were computerized or have gone online with static pages. There are few departments that have not developed web pages but are using computers for official operations. This shows an increasing trend toward using computers and using Internet technologies to provide services to the public (Samaranayake & Seneviratne, 2003).
Threats Most threats are structural threats based in economic constraints. *
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Low budget allocation for upgrading governance, with priority given to more essential needs in the country. For about 20 years, the war budget constituted a considerable portion of the national budget, hindering national development drastically. At present, development costs are very high for the development of the same war-ridden areas as peace talks continue. Some remote areas have no electricity at all. Power generation in the country is below its required level of demand, with only 48–53% residential houses supplied with household electricity (CEB, 2001; CBSL, 2000). Nevertheless, plans are underway to give more supplies to the main grid through mini hydro projects. Rural development will be affected due to recent natural disasters. Natural disasters have occurred in many upcountry areas and settlements in a few of the main river basins. The areas were heavily flooded and disastrous landslides occurred, damaging private and public property. Costs to rebuild the infrastructure of these areas will be very high during the coming years.
Planning the upload strategy for community pages The model proposed in this paper is a two way model that enables the user to input his or her knowledge into the community databases. Other citizens can make use of this knowledge depending upon their information needs and can add also their own knowledge into the knowledge bases. The strategy is discussed under administrative, planning, and operational platforms.
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Administrative considerationsFscope of the system The Community Information System discussed here is not an island-wide model, but is going to be launched at the district and divisional levels. Any district council could adopt this model to implement its own CIS using the basic parameters with their own modifications and introduction of area specific features into the system. Details of the administrative structure in Sri Lanka are given in the Appendix. For example, the Western province has 3 districts, 34 DS divisions, 2500 GN divisions and 5309 villages. The diagram shows how the smaller unit is represented within the bigger administrative unit. The structure of the administrative divisions is depicted in the diagram in Figure 1. First level The CIS planned is to be launched first at the DDC (District Development Council) level. The DDC will be the authoritative body that has control over the District Web Portal. The following are the main functions the DDC handles to keep up the system: * *
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designing a Web portal; maintaining a main Web server to keep it running for 24 h, 7 day service; managing Internet connection and obtaining the necessary underlying facilities (bandwidth, etc.); maintaining the databases; controlling the inputs and outputs, especially the upload content control and user name and password control for the second level of control; keeping software up to date; and management and distribution of portal sites.
Second level Second level to be considered in implementing the system is the DSDs (Divisional Secretaries Divisions). The DSD offices will also be provided with servers. The maintenance help could be obtained from the DDCs at the divisional level as necessary expertise
Province
District
D.S. Div.
Country Province
District
District
G.N.Div.
Administrative Structure of Sri Lanka (Simplified)
Figure 1 Administrative structure of Sri Lanka (simplified).
ARTICLE IN PRESS Local information upload strategy in building up rural community
may not be available in the first stages. But in later stages, it is expected that the DSD offices will develop their own expertise and authority levels. The DSD offices have an important role to play in maintaining community pages on the Web. These offices are also provided with servers with the view of uploading authorized information content produced locally. At present the DSDs have already collected information related to their own divisions, which are very helpful in planning community pages. Some of the themes they have collected are: *
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Companies, commercial establishments, businesses operated in the area. Special skill areas specific to the localities in the division. Income generation possibilities available in the area. Employment opportunities available within the province or region. Details about natural/industrial/commercial resources available in the area. Vocational training opportunities available in the area. Listings of schools, institutions, libraries, temples, churches, etc. in the area. Recreational facilities. Health and maternity facilities, etc. (Gamage, 2003).
Other than this information, much more information can be uploaded and dealt with in the planning strategies. Nevertheless, uploading the information to local databases will be a critical and sensitive issue depending on the socio-ethnic composition of the local community.
persons who own and practice special knowledge and information through his constant encounters with the rural villagers. To collect information the GNs should be part of an awareness program. A similar type of propaganda program had been launched in one DSD, holding a competition among GNs for collecting and displaying information to the rural people. The competition received satisfactory response (Ganga Ihala Korale DSD, 2003). The benefits of this GN competition were that: *
*
the official himself could collect the suitable information; and the official could employ enthusiastic, knowledgeable youths in the rural sectors themselves. The rural youths could get involved in this kind of work because unemployment is high in these areas. Some may volunteer to do this job.
Uploading strategy The responsible authorities for uploading corporate, institutional and common information are the DDCs. DSDs have an important role in uploading special and location-specific information. Hence, in uploading information to the community pages, two approaches can be considered for this purpose: * *
corporate/institutional approach; and community approach.
The first approach deals with information that is to be essential to the community pages and other collected information as mentioned in the Section on second level. Corporate information can be categorized basically as follows, supplemented with necessary links to those sites or e-mail addresses:
Planning considerations
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When planning the proposed system, there are two strategies to be considered: the uploading of locally created information and the access strategy to fulfill information needs of the communities.
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Collection of local information The methodology used to collect this information greatly depends upon the human network strategy adopted to collect information. When collecting information from native rural groups, GN divisions and village divisions are very important. In this endeavor the GN (‘Grama Niladhari,’ the government officer who is appointed to each rural division. There is more than one village for each grama niladhari.) is the most knowledgeable person to contact relevant communities. The GN automatically knows about the special communities and
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* * * *
vision and mission statements; policy statements and disclaimers; governance related information and instructions; public facilities; schools and education; tourism; weather; transport timetables and information; local organizations; health, sports, and local entertainment; and religious information.
Information relating to the above areas and other important information useful to the community could be generated at the institutional level. For instance, information schools, colleges, government offices, authorities, agencies, projects, nongovernmental organizations and private sector establishments can contribute immensely to gen-
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erating information relating to their organizations. This practice can also be treated as a publicity and propaganda program for the products and services, using a government portal. The DDCs and DSDs could encourage these institutions to send in the institutional information. This information is to be uploaded onsite, at the office of the DDCs. For this initiative, trained personnel are to be used, especially those who have IT knowledge and keying ability in local languages. This task would not be that difficult, because the DDC level is the second administrative level after the provincial council level. Creating cadre positions for the staff, necessary capital budgets and recurrent budgets are encouraged. The second approach is an attempt to tap information and knowledge that exists within the community. This knowledge may be newly created or may exist as traditional or ‘indigenous knowledge’. For instance, knowledge may be available from the following fields: *
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agricultureFcultivation methods, crop rotation methods, pest control/insect control methods, and fertilizing systems; health and medicinesFindigenous and sometimes homemade medicines for special ailments, child delivery attendance methods, post delivery care, and child nursing; specialized tradesFinformation from jewelers, blacksmiths and brass workers, carpenters, architects and masons, and information about manufacturing equipment relating to different vocations; indigenous technologyFtraditional standards, traditional fuels, preparation of paints and pigments, felling trees and preparation of timber, digging wells, preparation of medicines, and special roofing systems; and other social activitiesFnuptial rituals, religious rituals, harvesting rituals, food habits, and zodiac related information.
Authority to upload The information collected should be forwarded from time to time to DSDs so that appointed officers are able to refine and edit the information received. This task will not be difficult because the assistant directors and development officers are graduates with adequate knowledge in literary work in Sinhala and Tamil. Refined and edited information could then be uploaded into the community databases with the approval of the Divisional Secretary, through the Web server available at the DSD offices. Some information will be needed to get approval from the District Secretary,
Uploading
DDC Community Pages Uploading
DSD Info. usage
Sending data for digitization Community Portals
Rural Community
G.N. Data collection
DDC – District devlopment Council DSD – Divisional Secretaries Divisions G.N. – Grama Niladhari
Figure 2 Information upload strategy.
such as ethnic information. Figure 2 depicts the basic routes of uploading information. Method of organization of information in the Web portal Information collected will be organized in the community pages under the information need categories mentioned in Section 4.0 and Appendix. Information other than the broad headings listed could be accommodated in new areas and services. Some such areas would include: * * * *
* *
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folklore; local photography and studios; children’s programs and competitions; recreational learningFcookery, games, handwork, artificial flower making, and tapestry; bulletin boards for special groups and topics; personnel pages provided for reasonable charges; and local news.
The types of information acquired will be in the form of: (a) information on information; (b) brief or abstracted information; and (c) full text information; All of these types of information will be useful to the local community. Digitization strategy At first, most of the information received will be digitized by using the keyboard. Digitization by scanning would not be very useful, as most of the
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information collected will be verbal and transcribed by another person. Even if the verbal knowledge is recorded onto audiocassettes, the information will have to be written or keyed in again. High tech equipment cannot be used for the digital recording of the voice in rural communities with limited budgetary constraints. Scanning can also be used for information that is already printed. Some examples of this printed information include company information, trade information and government information.
Appendix. A Information Need CategoriesFDescription Government information Central Government Information Obtaining services for * * *
Language barrier One barrier to overcome is language. After introducing Unicode-supported keyboards, the action plan for digitizing local information will not be a problem, as Sinhala and Tamil fonts could be used to upload the information.
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Access issues It is not enough to plan only a CIS system with local information, but it is necessary to plan an information access strategy for rural people. Selecting appropriate places to install community portals are very important as is the maintenance of these portals. Wherever the portals are placed, they should be convenient and easily accessible to an ordinary rural dweller.
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National identity cards Emigration and immigration Income taxes Stamp duties, freight charges, etc. Other Local Government Informaiton
Obtaining services for
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National identity cards Vehicle licenses/registration Property taxes/other taxes Certificates for land/buildings Licenses for felling trees Other
Employment Need category
Summary and conclusion *
Community pages are an amazing strategy for fulfilling information needs online and can be used constructively for development efforts. The concept discussed in this paper is the creation of a site based on the information from the local community, using an inexpensive upload strategy. The community pages can provide the rural user with links to similar portals where he or she can obtain information specific to another area. Also, the rural user is connected to the outside world. There are many other creative ways that a Community Portal could genuinely serve people with the knowledge of their own people. In implementing this kind of strategy each division has to carry out their own information need survey in order to plan a CIS system. Further research on information needs, behavioral patterns of information seeking in rural communities and information flow (provision and usage) and exchange in the rural sector in Sri Lanka in the supporting establishment of a community information system is essential.
* * * *
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Labor rules Career mobility Self Employment schemes Other methods of income generation Other
Job opportunities available How to apply Self employment schemes Other methods of income generation Other
Educational information Need category for the self * *
Vocational Professional
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Economic activity related Languages Other Other CategoriesFfor the Self
Worm treatment * *
Medical consultation * *
* * * * *
Agriculture related Industry related Self employment related Other income generation related Other
Treatment Time intervals
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Pregnancy related problems Eradication of mosquitoes /insects
Other CategoriesFfor the Family
Physician Location Fees if to be paid Other
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Consultation
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Advice Other
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Other * *
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Send the child/ren to a better school Alternative solutions for children not attending school Extra classes Vocational education after schooling Courses available for dropouts To obtain specific/professional qualifications Further education Bursary/aids, etc. Other
Agricultural information Need category * * * * * * *
Health information
* *
Need category
Suitable crops/better varieties Crop rotation Fertilizers Irrigation systems Propagation issues Storage information Post harvest systems Training for new technology Other
Details Construction of: * * * * * * *
Public facilities Toilets Tanks Drainages Sewage pits Purchasing fittings, etc. Other
Vaccination
Industrial information Need category * * *
* * * *
At child birth Special vaccines Time intervals Other
Diseases
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Starting an industry Industrial formulary/processes Troubleshooting Developing / introducing new product ranges Industrial buildings Industrial training Availability of raw materialsFlocally imported Training for new technology Other
Prevention Treatment Other
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Infants Children Pregnancy After childbirth During illness Adults
Financial information
Nutrition * * * * * *
Need category * *
Agricultural loans Industry loans (MSMI loans)
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* * * * * * *
Property loans Property redemption loans Samurdhi allowance Cooperative bank loans (Grameeya banks) Investments/savings EPF/ETF Other
Marketing information Need category * * * * * * * *
Marketing of products Market for the products Profit maximization Timing harvests Import/export information Post harvest & packaging information Pricing of products Other
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Wind direction Rainfall patterns Dry seasons Other seasonal information Coastal weather
Natural disaster information Need category * * * *
Drought information Flood information Landslides/mudslides/earth slips Other
Recreational information Legal and property related problems
Need category *
Need category * * * * * *
Not having deeds Property related legal problems Problem with leases/rents Obtaining property loans Land surveying Other
Infrastructure related issues
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Sports Cinema/drama/theatre Libraries Leisure learning activities- cake making, handwork, etc. Other
Appendix. B Administrative structureF a statistical overview Administrative units
Need category * * * * * *
Electricity Telephone facilities Roads Water Other power sources Other
Weather information
Province
Districts
DS divi- GN divi- Villages sions sions
Western Central Southern Northern Eastern North Western North Central Uva Sabaragamuwa
3 3 3 5 3 2 2 2 2
34 33 37 32 39 33 24 24 24
2500 2187 2159 919 1072 2158 985 851 1152
Total
25
280
13,983 37,3000
5309 5763 5228 2261 2158 5793 3743 3427 3618
Need category *
Daily weather
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References Aboyade, B. O. (1984). Communications potentials of the library for non-literate: An experiment in providing information service in rural setting. Libri, 34(3), 23. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (1999). Socio–economic statistics 1999. Colombo: Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (2000). Annual report. Colombo: CBSL. Ceylon Electricity Board. (2001). Indicators: A statistical profile. Colombo: Ceylon Electricity Board. Chambers, R. (1980). Rural poverty unperceived: Problems and remedies. Staff Working Paper No. 400. Washington, DC: World Bank. Council for Information Technology of Sri Lanka (2003). Workshop on Unicode for local scripts, Colombo, 13th June 2003. Damatob, J.K. et al. (1987). Mass Media and African Society. Nairobi: A.C.C.E., p. 26. Department of Census and Statistics (1999). Statistical Abstract 1999. Colombo: Department of Census and Statistics. Department of Census and Statistics (2001). Statistical Abstract 2001. Colombo: Department of Census and Statistics. Dervin, B., & Nilan, M. S. (1986). Information needs and uses. Annual Review of Information Service & Technology, 21, 33. Esman, M. J. (1978). Landlessness and near-landlessness in developing countries. Ithaca: Rural Development Committee, Cornell University. Gamage, S. (2003). Interview with Senior Assistant Director of Planning, Ganga Ihala Korale. Ganga Ihala Korale DSD (2003). Information on competition held for G.N.s for collecting and displaying local information. Exhibition panel at Divisional Secretary’s Office, Gampola. Hughes, G. C. (1991). The information age. Information Development, 7(2), 72. Kaniki, A. M. (1972). Meeting the needs of agricultural researchers: The role of unpublished reports. Information Development, 8(2), 83–88. Leach, A. (1999). The provision of information to adults in rural Kwazula-natal, South Africa by non-governmental organization. Libri, 49, 71–89. Line, M. B. (1979). Information requirements in the social sciences: Some considerations. Journal of Librarianship, 1(1), 1–19.
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Lipton, M. (1977). Why poor people stay poor: Urban bias in world development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Mchombu, K. (1995). Impact of information on rural development: Background, methodology and progress. Retrieved from http://www.idrc.ca/books/focus/783 /mohombu.html. Moyo, O.T. (1994). Grassroots activities and case studies in information provision to rural communities. In: Proceedings of the Seminar on information provision to rural communities in Africa, Gaborone, Botswana, 22–25th June. Uppsala University Library. pp. 58–62. Narayan, D. (2000). Poverty is powerlessness and voicelessness. Finance & Development, 37(4), 18–21. Nicholas, D. (1996). Assessing information needs: Tools and techniques. London: ASLIB. Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka (1987). Provincial Council Act. Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka (1988). 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka (1992). Devolution of powers and functions to Divisional Secretaries. Pettigrew, K. E. (1996). Control of community information: An analysis of roles. Library Quarterly, 66(4), 373–407. Samaranayake, V.K., & Seneviratne, W. (2003). Level of computerization in the government sector in Sri Lanka: A survey on selected government departments/ministries. Unpublished manuscript. Sturges, P., & Chimseu, G. (1996). The chain of information provision in the villages of Malawi: A rapid rural appraisal. International Information & Library Review, 28(2), 135–156. UNISIST (1981). Guidelines on studies of information users. Paris: United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. Uphoff, N., & Esman, M. J. (1974). Local organisation for rural development: Analysis of Asian experience. Ithaca: Rural Development Committee, Cornell University. World Bank (1997). Rural development: From vision to action, a strategy document. Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Studies and Monograph Series No. 12. Washington, DC: World Bank. Zulu, S. A. F. (1994). Africa’s survival plan for meeting the challenges of information technology in the 1990s and beyond. Libri, 44(1), 77–94.
The International Information & Library Review www.elsevier.com/locate/iilr
Local information upload strategy in building up rural community information pages on the Internet: An approach to attending the information needs of rural Sri Lanka Wathmanel Seneviratne University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Summary The rural population in Sri Lanka consists of about 78.5% of the total population. Even though they contribute to a considerable portion of the GDP, most of them live in disadvantaged socio-economic conditions. The rural communities are equally enthusiastic in obtaining information for their daily lives, as are urbanites in facing challenges of the modern world. In planning development projects, the ‘information’ component is often overlooked. A SWOT analysis was done in the information environment to assess the feasibility of launching this kind of project. Information need categories were also identified by a mini-survey conducted in a rural area. This paper discusses a strategy to fulfill information needs by building up community information pages and using existing administrative structure. It is also important to upload the information generated at the local level. Two strategies are presented in collecting local information. The information upload strategy discussed in this paper is established on district and provincial administrative levels. Lower levels of administration are used to collect locally generated and specialized information. & 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction Modern society is information dependent, and almost all social activities nowadays are information, knowledge and learning oriented. The lifestyles of people, wherever they are, have changed rapidly, making life sophisticated in urban areas and complicated in rural areas. Even though parts of both the rural elite and the rural poor migrated to suburban areas, the greatest concentrations of severe poverty remain in rural areas (Uphoff & Esman, 1974). A World Bank survey also asserts that, despite rapid urban growth, the majority of E-mail address: [email protected] (W. Seneviratne).
the poor will continue to live in the countryside until about 2020 (World Bank, 1997). Even though national planners know the situation, the point seems to have been neglected for years by prioritization of services, such as the provision of government services, investment of public funds, developing the infrastructure and incentives for private investments for the urbanites (Lipton, 1977; Chambers, 1980). Even the more substantially landed farmers have also had to struggle for policies that meet their economic needs. Small and marginal farmers, tenants at will, landless workers and weak and disadvantaged groups such as female headed households, who together constitute the majority in most rural areas, have limited access to public services and tend to be overlooked by
1057-2317/$ - see front matter & 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iilr.2003.10.012
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governments (Esman, 1978). Also, many development efforts exercised for rural upgrading have neglected the importance of information provision for the rural communities. In her research, Narayan links ‘‘Lack of Information’’ to the poverty structure model for the developing countries (Narayan, 2000). The scope of the situation paves the way to measure and assess the needs, behavioral patterns and information flow of rural communities and to build a suitable platform to plan community information services for citizens with rural remote communities in mind.
Significance of the plan to provide a community access system Information is indispensable in the development process, be it economic, social, political or cultural, of any society (Hughes, 1991). Damatob remarks that the essence of any development, whether national or rural, is to enhance the quality of life of people and that no society can aspire to greater heights without adequate and relevant information (Damatob et al., 1987). These research studies suggest that the rural areas also need adequate information for meaningful development. Hence, an unavoidable need emanates from this situation: to analyze and study information needs and information behavior within rural communities and to find out the true information in the rural communities, especially those in remote areas. In planning an information outreach model for rural communities, experiential evidence of these aspects will be essential. The facts can be used to plan any societal services such as public library services, community information services, health services, industrial and technological extension services, counseling services and e-government. In Sri Lanka, 78.49% of the population lives in rural and estate areas, even though urban migration has continued over the years. The working population in these areas, both male and female, accounts for 49.6% of the total rural working population (Department of Census & Statistics, 2001). The main occupations of people from these rural and estate areas are predominantly agricultural and informal. It is also a right of a citizen of any social status to obtain the information he or she needs to adapt to a modern lifestyle. A rural citizen is also a part of the modern knowledge based society and has a right to obtain information he or she needs to adapt
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to live in a fast changing society. People in modern society, regardless of their geographical, racial, educational and social differences, are in need of a variety of information. Rural dwellers are enthusiastic in obtaining information for daily and envisaged activities, as are urbanites. It is often observed that the information services provided, especially to the rural communities, are not planned with this focus in mind, particularly in less developed countries. Unlike those in many other developing nations, the literacy level and level of education of the Sri Lankan people are high, even in rural areas. The educational attainment index in three sectors (urban, rural, estate) shows an increase in these levels, and these are not very low when compared with the urban index. The literacy level of the rural sector is closer to the level of the urban sector. According to 1999 figures, the literacy rate is 94.5% in the urban sector and 92.3% in the rural sector (Department of Census & Statistics, 1999; Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1999). These indicators show that there is a significant social and cultural movement among the rural and estate sectors, even though social amenities are not provided as much as in the urban sector. When compared with other rural societies, the Sri Lankan rural sector is in a fairly better position in social development. According to African village surveys that have been conducted, the African village is impoverished, neglected and frequently isolated by geography, language and culture (Sturges & Chimseu, 1996; Aboyade, 1984). Since Sri Lanka is an island and not geographically diverse with the exception of a few areas, the country is in a better position to adopt technological, infrastructural and other necessary policy changes that are needed for the development of a community access system. Government propaganda with respect to the nature of poverty alleviation projects, other socio-industrial development projects and the involvement of nongovernmental organizations have opened the Sri Lankan rural communities to the outside world. One impact of this change is the increasing need for information. It is argued that a public library system already established should be able to serve the community information needs at the local level. Generally, public libraries are bound to serve the local communities with traditional information and are very much ‘resource-based’. The public libraries tend to look at their communities in a systemoriented manner. As shown in a research study conducted in Africa, community information deals with a different kind of information flow and spectrum that might not covered through the
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present public library system (Sturges & Chimseu 1996). Nonetheless, there are benefits to using public libraries as community information delivery points or ‘One Stop Shops’. Even though ICTs are used frequently in information provision in metro and sub metro areas, the same attention is not given to rural remote areas, where many disadvantaged groups live. Moyo (1994) points to the alarming gap that exists between rural and urban areas and notes that little is being done to bridge the gap despite the technological advances adopted for economic development. In general, technological development has widened the information gap in some areas. It is important to think about a vast ‘change’ that would occur in a rural information scenario, by shifting the focus towards employing some bits and pieces of basic technologies. It may be in the way of providing telephone lines to the village councils (such as that of Pradesheeya Sabha, the smallest administrative unit), providing computers and at least one Web server plus UPSs to each district secretary and divisional secretary’s offices, increasing the yearly budget allocation to maintain equipment, electricity bills and Internet connection charges, and so forth.
Understanding rural community information needs To give a very brief definition of information in general, it is ideas, facts, imaginative works of mind and data of value potentially useful in decision-making, question answering, problem solving and reducing uncertainty (Kaniki, 1972). Mchombu (1995) views information as a product that reduces uncertainty and assists in decisionmaking. According to Leach (1999), information assists in empowerment and capacity building. Information needs arise out of three basic human needs: physiological needs, psychological needs and cognitive needs (Nicholas, 1996). Information needs centered on the information that would further a job or research or would be recognized as doing so by the recipient (Line, 1979). There are three kinds of information needs: expressed needs, unexpressed needs and dormant needs. *
‘Expressed needs’ are the information needs of an individual that are expressed clearly. The expressed needs can be grouped into two categories: ‘Information Wants’ and ‘Information Demands’ (Nicholas, 1996). Information wants are what the individual would like to
*
*
243
have. An information demand is a request for an information item or product. ‘Unexpressed needs’ are the needs that have not been met. The users are aware of their needs but do nothing about them, either because information provision is not available or due to ignorance. ‘Dormant needs’ are the needs that the individual does not know exist. They do not know that they have an information gap and are not aware of the existence of the information they want. This should create a positive and proactive role for the information professional.
There is much research carried out about community information needs in most of the developed countries as the focus has shifted from the library centered information provision to user centered information access systems. A community must provide information at the doorsteps of its citizens. Hence, thinking about community information needs is to be established by standing on the landing of the user, rather than looking down at them from the tower of the information provider. This situation very much matches with the paradigm shift proposed by Dervin and Nilan from ‘traditional’ to ‘alternative’. According to these two researchers, in a traditional way the user is understood in a system-oriented way through a study of ‘system genera’. In contrast, the alternative paradigm focuses on the user and in ‘user genera,’ understanding a user’s needs as seen by the user himself (Dervin & Nilan, 1986). Community information is not in this category, which was an issue that librarians talked about in analyzing user needs surveys relating to their own library and information services. Community information is not attached or confined to any particular information service but bears importance in the day-to-day lives of the general public. According to Pettigrew, community information is threefold: (1) all data about a community that have been made to flow; (2) all original data that have been made to flow from or within the community; and (3) all data that are flowing anywhere that is useful to a community (Pettigrew, 1996). Whether it originates in rural or urban areas, information is used by citizens or by ‘information users’. From a very general point of view, users are individuals, each with unique informational, educational, psychological and social needs. A person may need ‘practical knowledge’ to solve immediate problems in his or her daily life and work. He or she may need ‘professional knowledge’ to further his or her continuing education and profession; he or she may need ‘intellectual knowledge’ for education
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and understanding arts and sciences. Reading for pleasure, pursuing an innovative idea or exploring knowledge just to satisfy one’s innate curiosity are other valid motives for reading, listening or looking. In addition, people feel the need for ethical, religious and philosophical insights (UNISIST, 1981). An information user, in specific terms, is any beneficiary of a given information system. Potential beneficiaries, even in the rural sector, include individuals, enterprises, government agencies and other organizations or entities that use information regularly to make decisions or to achieve particular goals. Rural information needs should be understood, regardless of geographical, socio-economic, political and cultural circumstances and infrastructural discriminations. But the information needs of rural communities can be diverse, depending upon the kind of discrimination mentioned (Aboyade, 1984).
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Requirements to satisfy upload strategy The strategy to be explained in this paper is an information upload–download model or a two-way model. Generally, information is provided to the user in a vertical way, mostly through a top-down method in which the user is to utilize whatever information is made available by the provider. This is true even in a well-operated community information system, even though the concepts of egovernance are used to allow an ordinary citizen to participate in the supply side of information. The participation that occurs in this context is mostly in the form of inquiries, suggestions, proposals, criticisms and commendations. A strategy discussed in this paper is how an ordinary rural citizen can participate in providing and adding information to the local community information databases, in which this information is accessible through a community portal. The paper hopes to outline: *
Information need categories *
According to a mini survey carried out in a village and divisional secretaries division in Central Province in Sri Lanka (Aludeniya village in Udapalatha Division and Kandy district in Central Province), a basic outline of information needs has been identified. During the mini survey, 10 households were selected randomly from the list of households and list of occupants available through the GN office (the office of Grama Niladhari, a government officer from his own locality, who replaced the former village headman). According to the survey, the following basic categories of information needs were detected. A description of each category is in the Appendix. * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
Government Information Employment Information Educational Information Health-related Information Agricultural Information Industrial Information Financial Information Marketing Information Information on Legal and Property Related Problems Legal Information Information on Infrastructure-Related Issues Weather Information Natural Disaster Information Recreational Information Other Location-Specific Information Miscellaneous Needs
the necessary environment to plan the system; and a methodology to upload the information.
In planning such a system, SWOT analysis, looking over the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a system, is useful in analyzing, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the system. These aspects will be useful in evaluating the feasibility of such a project.
Strengths In this section, aspects that strongly support such a project are discussed. *
*
Enthusiasm visible among rural youths to use new technology in their day-to-day lives. According to recent news coverage and television interviews conducted during natural disasters that occurred in rural remote areas, the rural elite as well as ordinary citizens were given more attention from the central government for better and more modern infrastructure facilities. It is also visible through the enthusiasm seen among university students from rural areas for learning and using computer-based technologies for their learning purposes. Ability to use the existing administrative structure. Both the central government and the local government administrative structures can be used to establish the community information system intended. There are 9 provinces, 25 districts, 280 divisional secretaries divisions, and 13,983 GN divisions (rural units) available as administrative divisions in the country (see
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*
*
*
*
Appendix). The 13th Amendment to the Constitution (Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka, 1988) and Provincial Council Act No. 42 (Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka, 1987) devolve powers and functions to provincial councils. This change has had an effect on the functions of the district and divisional levels. The other significant change that support the strategy discussed in this paper is Act No. 58 of 1992, which is used for transferring powers, functions and duties from Government Agents (colonial structure) to Divisional Secretaries (Parliament, SDR of Sri Lanka, 1992). This system can be used to implement the information upload and dissemination model. Ability to use the public library system for information outreach portals. There are more than 800 public libraries in Sri Lanka. The public library is one ideal place to install a community portal. There are other ideal places to open ‘One Stop Shops’ that will be pointed out later in this paper. Favorable literacy level. Sri Lanka maintains a high literacy level. The literacy rate in the urban sector is 94.5% and 92.3% in the rural sector (Department of Census & Statistics, 1999; Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1999) for ‘Sinhala’ and ‘Tamil’ (the official languages). It is argued that the literacy level in local languages cannot be counted for IT-based programs, but the proposed ‘Unicode system’ in Sinhala will be constructively useful in feeding information locally to the community information databases. Unicode for Sinhala language. Using Sinhala and Tamil is tremendously important to the strategy proposed in this paper. The ISO /IEC 10646 drafted for the Sinhala language is in the editing process. In 1996, the Sri Lanka Standard Institution and CINTEC (the Council for Information Technology of Sri Lanka) prepared an Unicodebased Sinhala standard (SLS 1134). The other development in the area is a proposed keyboard with Unicode characters, known as the modified ‘Wijesekara’ keyboard (Council for Information Technology of Sri Lanka, 2003). Latest policy decisions taken for e-srilanka program. The program is focused on an egovernance system launched by the Ministry of Economic Reform in 2003. The support given by the central government in this endeavor will be an essential factor for the success of this community information system.
*
*
*
*
Less importance is given to the rural sector in the agenda for development activities.
Lack of understanding and confidence in the indigenous knowledge already in use. The local knowledge in many specialized activities still dominates in some areas: in the agricultural field, in cultivation methods, crop rotation methods, pest control/insect control methods and fertilizing systems; and in the health field, for indigenous and sometimes homemade medicines for special ailments, child delivery attendance methods, post delivery care and child nursing. In some traditional vocations, such as village blacksmiths, brassmiths, traditional jewelers, makers of handicrafts, leatherworkers, clay work/pottery manufacturers and carpenters, the communities still use their own equipment, raw materials and methods. This knowledge is not published anywhere unless research is conducted on a specialized area. Lack of attitudinal change in policymakers to propagate an information outreach culture. As Zulu found out, very few policymakers in developing countries recognize information as a resource that could be used in economic development (Zulu, 1994). In past years, many policymakers realized the importance of information at the lowest level of society after being exposed to the information cultures of developed countries. Inadequate fund allocations for capital budgets of divisional offices of central and local governments. During the past 2 years, more budget curtailments were exercised due to heavy war budgets and development budgets.
Opportunities *
*
*
*
*
Weaknesses
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Distribution of computers and other equipment to divisional secretariats. Even though allocations from the central government were cut, some funds are allowed to be used for purchasing computers and related equipment. In addition, a few donations are also being used to buy computers and software (Gamage, 2003). Latest decisions to provide Internet and e-mail access to divisional secretaries’ offices. Some divisions are already connected. Policy outlines made to get the provincial and local government authorities to participate in the governance process. Initiatives taken to launch the e-srilanka program. Initiatives taken by important government departments and ministries to computerize information using integrated solutions. Most of the important ministries and departments are computerized. Some departments adopted
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integrated solutions for intranets and Web service using dynamic pages. Some of these departments include the Department of Examinations, Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Motor Traffic Department. Some departments were computerized or have gone online with static pages. There are few departments that have not developed web pages but are using computers for official operations. This shows an increasing trend toward using computers and using Internet technologies to provide services to the public (Samaranayake & Seneviratne, 2003).
Threats Most threats are structural threats based in economic constraints. *
*
*
Low budget allocation for upgrading governance, with priority given to more essential needs in the country. For about 20 years, the war budget constituted a considerable portion of the national budget, hindering national development drastically. At present, development costs are very high for the development of the same war-ridden areas as peace talks continue. Some remote areas have no electricity at all. Power generation in the country is below its required level of demand, with only 48–53% residential houses supplied with household electricity (CEB, 2001; CBSL, 2000). Nevertheless, plans are underway to give more supplies to the main grid through mini hydro projects. Rural development will be affected due to recent natural disasters. Natural disasters have occurred in many upcountry areas and settlements in a few of the main river basins. The areas were heavily flooded and disastrous landslides occurred, damaging private and public property. Costs to rebuild the infrastructure of these areas will be very high during the coming years.
Planning the upload strategy for community pages The model proposed in this paper is a two way model that enables the user to input his or her knowledge into the community databases. Other citizens can make use of this knowledge depending upon their information needs and can add also their own knowledge into the knowledge bases. The strategy is discussed under administrative, planning, and operational platforms.
W. Seneviratne
Administrative considerationsFscope of the system The Community Information System discussed here is not an island-wide model, but is going to be launched at the district and divisional levels. Any district council could adopt this model to implement its own CIS using the basic parameters with their own modifications and introduction of area specific features into the system. Details of the administrative structure in Sri Lanka are given in the Appendix. For example, the Western province has 3 districts, 34 DS divisions, 2500 GN divisions and 5309 villages. The diagram shows how the smaller unit is represented within the bigger administrative unit. The structure of the administrative divisions is depicted in the diagram in Figure 1. First level The CIS planned is to be launched first at the DDC (District Development Council) level. The DDC will be the authoritative body that has control over the District Web Portal. The following are the main functions the DDC handles to keep up the system: * *
*
* *
* *
designing a Web portal; maintaining a main Web server to keep it running for 24 h, 7 day service; managing Internet connection and obtaining the necessary underlying facilities (bandwidth, etc.); maintaining the databases; controlling the inputs and outputs, especially the upload content control and user name and password control for the second level of control; keeping software up to date; and management and distribution of portal sites.
Second level Second level to be considered in implementing the system is the DSDs (Divisional Secretaries Divisions). The DSD offices will also be provided with servers. The maintenance help could be obtained from the DDCs at the divisional level as necessary expertise
Province
District
D.S. Div.
Country Province
District
District
G.N.Div.
Administrative Structure of Sri Lanka (Simplified)
Figure 1 Administrative structure of Sri Lanka (simplified).
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may not be available in the first stages. But in later stages, it is expected that the DSD offices will develop their own expertise and authority levels. The DSD offices have an important role to play in maintaining community pages on the Web. These offices are also provided with servers with the view of uploading authorized information content produced locally. At present the DSDs have already collected information related to their own divisions, which are very helpful in planning community pages. Some of the themes they have collected are: *
*
*
*
*
*
*
* *
Companies, commercial establishments, businesses operated in the area. Special skill areas specific to the localities in the division. Income generation possibilities available in the area. Employment opportunities available within the province or region. Details about natural/industrial/commercial resources available in the area. Vocational training opportunities available in the area. Listings of schools, institutions, libraries, temples, churches, etc. in the area. Recreational facilities. Health and maternity facilities, etc. (Gamage, 2003).
Other than this information, much more information can be uploaded and dealt with in the planning strategies. Nevertheless, uploading the information to local databases will be a critical and sensitive issue depending on the socio-ethnic composition of the local community.
persons who own and practice special knowledge and information through his constant encounters with the rural villagers. To collect information the GNs should be part of an awareness program. A similar type of propaganda program had been launched in one DSD, holding a competition among GNs for collecting and displaying information to the rural people. The competition received satisfactory response (Ganga Ihala Korale DSD, 2003). The benefits of this GN competition were that: *
*
the official himself could collect the suitable information; and the official could employ enthusiastic, knowledgeable youths in the rural sectors themselves. The rural youths could get involved in this kind of work because unemployment is high in these areas. Some may volunteer to do this job.
Uploading strategy The responsible authorities for uploading corporate, institutional and common information are the DDCs. DSDs have an important role in uploading special and location-specific information. Hence, in uploading information to the community pages, two approaches can be considered for this purpose: * *
corporate/institutional approach; and community approach.
The first approach deals with information that is to be essential to the community pages and other collected information as mentioned in the Section on second level. Corporate information can be categorized basically as follows, supplemented with necessary links to those sites or e-mail addresses:
Planning considerations
*
When planning the proposed system, there are two strategies to be considered: the uploading of locally created information and the access strategy to fulfill information needs of the communities.
*
*
* * * *
Collection of local information The methodology used to collect this information greatly depends upon the human network strategy adopted to collect information. When collecting information from native rural groups, GN divisions and village divisions are very important. In this endeavor the GN (‘Grama Niladhari,’ the government officer who is appointed to each rural division. There is more than one village for each grama niladhari.) is the most knowledgeable person to contact relevant communities. The GN automatically knows about the special communities and
247
* * * *
vision and mission statements; policy statements and disclaimers; governance related information and instructions; public facilities; schools and education; tourism; weather; transport timetables and information; local organizations; health, sports, and local entertainment; and religious information.
Information relating to the above areas and other important information useful to the community could be generated at the institutional level. For instance, information schools, colleges, government offices, authorities, agencies, projects, nongovernmental organizations and private sector establishments can contribute immensely to gen-
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W. Seneviratne
erating information relating to their organizations. This practice can also be treated as a publicity and propaganda program for the products and services, using a government portal. The DDCs and DSDs could encourage these institutions to send in the institutional information. This information is to be uploaded onsite, at the office of the DDCs. For this initiative, trained personnel are to be used, especially those who have IT knowledge and keying ability in local languages. This task would not be that difficult, because the DDC level is the second administrative level after the provincial council level. Creating cadre positions for the staff, necessary capital budgets and recurrent budgets are encouraged. The second approach is an attempt to tap information and knowledge that exists within the community. This knowledge may be newly created or may exist as traditional or ‘indigenous knowledge’. For instance, knowledge may be available from the following fields: *
*
*
*
*
agricultureFcultivation methods, crop rotation methods, pest control/insect control methods, and fertilizing systems; health and medicinesFindigenous and sometimes homemade medicines for special ailments, child delivery attendance methods, post delivery care, and child nursing; specialized tradesFinformation from jewelers, blacksmiths and brass workers, carpenters, architects and masons, and information about manufacturing equipment relating to different vocations; indigenous technologyFtraditional standards, traditional fuels, preparation of paints and pigments, felling trees and preparation of timber, digging wells, preparation of medicines, and special roofing systems; and other social activitiesFnuptial rituals, religious rituals, harvesting rituals, food habits, and zodiac related information.
Authority to upload The information collected should be forwarded from time to time to DSDs so that appointed officers are able to refine and edit the information received. This task will not be difficult because the assistant directors and development officers are graduates with adequate knowledge in literary work in Sinhala and Tamil. Refined and edited information could then be uploaded into the community databases with the approval of the Divisional Secretary, through the Web server available at the DSD offices. Some information will be needed to get approval from the District Secretary,
Uploading
DDC Community Pages Uploading
DSD Info. usage
Sending data for digitization Community Portals
Rural Community
G.N. Data collection
DDC – District devlopment Council DSD – Divisional Secretaries Divisions G.N. – Grama Niladhari
Figure 2 Information upload strategy.
such as ethnic information. Figure 2 depicts the basic routes of uploading information. Method of organization of information in the Web portal Information collected will be organized in the community pages under the information need categories mentioned in Section 4.0 and Appendix. Information other than the broad headings listed could be accommodated in new areas and services. Some such areas would include: * * * *
* *
*
folklore; local photography and studios; children’s programs and competitions; recreational learningFcookery, games, handwork, artificial flower making, and tapestry; bulletin boards for special groups and topics; personnel pages provided for reasonable charges; and local news.
The types of information acquired will be in the form of: (a) information on information; (b) brief or abstracted information; and (c) full text information; All of these types of information will be useful to the local community. Digitization strategy At first, most of the information received will be digitized by using the keyboard. Digitization by scanning would not be very useful, as most of the
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information collected will be verbal and transcribed by another person. Even if the verbal knowledge is recorded onto audiocassettes, the information will have to be written or keyed in again. High tech equipment cannot be used for the digital recording of the voice in rural communities with limited budgetary constraints. Scanning can also be used for information that is already printed. Some examples of this printed information include company information, trade information and government information.
Appendix. A Information Need CategoriesFDescription Government information Central Government Information Obtaining services for * * *
Language barrier One barrier to overcome is language. After introducing Unicode-supported keyboards, the action plan for digitizing local information will not be a problem, as Sinhala and Tamil fonts could be used to upload the information.
*
Access issues It is not enough to plan only a CIS system with local information, but it is necessary to plan an information access strategy for rural people. Selecting appropriate places to install community portals are very important as is the maintenance of these portals. Wherever the portals are placed, they should be convenient and easily accessible to an ordinary rural dweller.
*
*
National identity cards Emigration and immigration Income taxes Stamp duties, freight charges, etc. Other Local Government Informaiton
Obtaining services for
* * * * *
National identity cards Vehicle licenses/registration Property taxes/other taxes Certificates for land/buildings Licenses for felling trees Other
Employment Need category
Summary and conclusion *
Community pages are an amazing strategy for fulfilling information needs online and can be used constructively for development efforts. The concept discussed in this paper is the creation of a site based on the information from the local community, using an inexpensive upload strategy. The community pages can provide the rural user with links to similar portals where he or she can obtain information specific to another area. Also, the rural user is connected to the outside world. There are many other creative ways that a Community Portal could genuinely serve people with the knowledge of their own people. In implementing this kind of strategy each division has to carry out their own information need survey in order to plan a CIS system. Further research on information needs, behavioral patterns of information seeking in rural communities and information flow (provision and usage) and exchange in the rural sector in Sri Lanka in the supporting establishment of a community information system is essential.
* * * *
* * * * *
Labor rules Career mobility Self Employment schemes Other methods of income generation Other
Job opportunities available How to apply Self employment schemes Other methods of income generation Other
Educational information Need category for the self * *
Vocational Professional
249
ARTICLE IN PRESS 250
* * *
W. Seneviratne
Economic activity related Languages Other Other CategoriesFfor the Self
Worm treatment * *
Medical consultation * *
* * * * *
Agriculture related Industry related Self employment related Other income generation related Other
Treatment Time intervals
* *
Pregnancy related problems Eradication of mosquitoes /insects
Other CategoriesFfor the Family
Physician Location Fees if to be paid Other
*
Consultation
*
Advice Other
*
Other * *
* * * * * * *
Send the child/ren to a better school Alternative solutions for children not attending school Extra classes Vocational education after schooling Courses available for dropouts To obtain specific/professional qualifications Further education Bursary/aids, etc. Other
Agricultural information Need category * * * * * * *
Health information
* *
Need category
Suitable crops/better varieties Crop rotation Fertilizers Irrigation systems Propagation issues Storage information Post harvest systems Training for new technology Other
Details Construction of: * * * * * * *
Public facilities Toilets Tanks Drainages Sewage pits Purchasing fittings, etc. Other
Vaccination
Industrial information Need category * * *
* * * *
At child birth Special vaccines Time intervals Other
Diseases
* * * * *
* * *
Starting an industry Industrial formulary/processes Troubleshooting Developing / introducing new product ranges Industrial buildings Industrial training Availability of raw materialsFlocally imported Training for new technology Other
Prevention Treatment Other
*
Infants Children Pregnancy After childbirth During illness Adults
Financial information
Nutrition * * * * * *
Need category * *
Agricultural loans Industry loans (MSMI loans)
ARTICLE IN PRESS Local information upload strategy in building up rural community
* * * * * * *
Property loans Property redemption loans Samurdhi allowance Cooperative bank loans (Grameeya banks) Investments/savings EPF/ETF Other
Marketing information Need category * * * * * * * *
Marketing of products Market for the products Profit maximization Timing harvests Import/export information Post harvest & packaging information Pricing of products Other
* * * * *
251
Wind direction Rainfall patterns Dry seasons Other seasonal information Coastal weather
Natural disaster information Need category * * * *
Drought information Flood information Landslides/mudslides/earth slips Other
Recreational information Legal and property related problems
Need category *
Need category * * * * * *
Not having deeds Property related legal problems Problem with leases/rents Obtaining property loans Land surveying Other
Infrastructure related issues
* * *
*
Sports Cinema/drama/theatre Libraries Leisure learning activities- cake making, handwork, etc. Other
Appendix. B Administrative structureF a statistical overview Administrative units
Need category * * * * * *
Electricity Telephone facilities Roads Water Other power sources Other
Weather information
Province
Districts
DS divi- GN divi- Villages sions sions
Western Central Southern Northern Eastern North Western North Central Uva Sabaragamuwa
3 3 3 5 3 2 2 2 2
34 33 37 32 39 33 24 24 24
2500 2187 2159 919 1072 2158 985 851 1152
Total
25
280
13,983 37,3000
5309 5763 5228 2261 2158 5793 3743 3427 3618
Need category *
Daily weather
ARTICLE IN PRESS 252
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