Information lives of the poor : fighting poverty with technology / Laurent Elder, Rohan Samarajiva, Alison Gillwald and Hernán Galperin.

Issued also in French under title: Les pauvres et l'information, lutter contre la pauvreté à l'aide de la technologie; and in Spanish under title: Los pobres en la era de la información, combatiendo la pobreza con tecnología.

Includes bibliographical references.

Part 1. The issues and the development context. Wireless signals, changed lives -- Poverty alleviation and ICT access -- Taking research questions into the home.

Part 2. The approach. Critical areas for research -- Research networks based in the global South -- The need for household-level information -- Collecting household data.

Part 3. Current and potential uses of ICTs by the poor. How the poor use ICTs -- Why the poor use ICTs -- Can ICT access help ease poverty?

Part 4. Lessons for policymakers. ICTs play a positive role in poverty alleviation -- The case for breaking up monopolies -- Competition comes from start-ups -- Important data must be released -- Governments' role in increasing ICT access -- The Internet needs an ecosystem -- Content is king -- Regions differ.

Part 5. The future. The open movement offers promise -- Harnessing the crowd -- The Facebook and Twitter effect -- Threats in an increasingly networked world -- Information and Networks program: IDRC's role -- Glossary of terms and abbreviations.

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