Digital Review of Asia Pacific

							                                             Digital Review of Asia Pacific
                                                                             dir@p




CHAPTER OUTLINE
Draft of 12 July 2002




1. SCOPE:
Your chapter should cover the state-of-practice of digital technologies and Internet
diffusion in the country or territory you are covering. State-of-practice refers to the social
and economic processes and activities facilitated by these new technologies. Our
definition of digital technologies include all new Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) which maybe embodied in computers and hand-held devices (such
as cellphones and PDAs). The equipment and software may or may not be connected to
local networks and the Internet.


2. FOCUS:
Our publication will emphasize the use of ICTs in promoting social and economic
development and change within society. The focus is on human development which
includes the strengthening of civil society, improvement in the welfare of the family and
community, conservation of cultural identity, creation of opportunities for employment
and income generation, and the nurturing of information-flows and collaboration between
individuals and communities.


3. CHAPTER OUTLINE:
Please adopt the structure below and use the following main section headings in the
research and writing of your chapter so as to contribute to the ultimate coherence of the
Digital Review which is a compilation of 32 individual chapters written by you and your
fellow contributing authors.
3.1     OVERVIEW:
Socio-economic snapshot of the country/territory. National/territorial ICT infrastructure.
People's access to technology. Quality of connectivity. Affordability of technology
and connectivity. Assess the rate of diffusion of wired, wireless and direct satellite-based
technologies. Assess differences in urban-rural access to, and affordability of ICTs.
Describe local open-source movements. Review the state of development, promotion,
and use of indigenous fonts, scripts and languages. Describe the information production
and consuming pattern and profile of technology users. Discuss gender and youth related
issues in connection with ICT access and usage.

3.2    CONTENT:
Please begin with an overview and analysis of content produced and consumed in your
country/territory. State the language(s) used in production and consumption. The analysis
of content consumed should include content provided by international or "foreign"
sources located outside your country/territory. Please include in your analysis a
discussion on the ratio of international/"foreign" content consumed versus locally
produced content. Please refer to the following categories of information and content in
your analysis.

      Education (both for formal and non-formal programmes)
      Agriculture
      Rural development
      Industry/Business
      Health/Nutrition
      Technology
      Government
      Non-government organisations
      Political groupings
      Civil society
      Culture and literature
      News and current affairs
      Commerce and tourism

3.3    IMPORTANT INDIGENOUS SOURCES OF CONTENT:
Please pick about ten popular or important, local/national sources of content and
information. Please present the sources as an annotated list of websites or URLs
accompanied by a short description of the importance of each website, and the content
provided. Please state the language(s) used by each content provider.
3.4     ONLINE SERVICES:
Please begin with an overview of online services provided and utilised in the country, and
the extent of their reach and popularity. Please consider discussing services under the
following categories:
     E-government
     Distance education/E-learning
     E-commerce/E-business
     Telemedicine
     E-conference/forum
     E-community
(Authors are requested to make a special effort on sharing national/territorial experiences
on this topic given the current scarcity of information on it in published literature.
Authors should feel free to discuss here the innovative uses of e-mail by communities
who do not enjoy full Internet access.)

3.5     ICT INDUSTRIES AND SERVICES:
Please review the ICT-based industries and services operating in your country/territory
and discuss their importance to the national economy. These may include the following:
     Hardware manufacturing and assembly
     Software origination
     Services (call-centres, transcription services, backroom services, etc.)
Discuss opportunities and threats facing local industries in the context of the current
economic environment.

3.6     EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIVE AND KEY INITIATIVES:
Highlight and discuss outstanding projects and initiatives in your country/territory
promoting human development, education, access, strengthening of civil society,
improvement in the welfare of the family and community, conservation of cultural
identity, and creation of opportunities for employment and income generation,
and the nurturing of information-flows and collaboration between individuals and
communities.

3.7      ENABLING POLICIES:
Summarise national strategies promoting ICTs. Describe ICT planning for the next
5-10 years. Has the government and private sector made strategic plans in developing
the following areas: human resources, infrastructure, enterprise, partnerships, regional
initiatives? Provide names and contact details of policy-research and policy-making
bodies. Describe agencies and schemes promoting ICTs and their contact details.
3.8      REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT:
Summarise laws and regulations affecting the ICT sector. Gauge effectiveness of
enforcement. Assess the validity of controls applied. Describe agencies that
oversee the making and enforcement of laws and regulations, together with their contact
details. If information is available describe development in the following areas:
     Electronic transaction
     Cyber-crime
     Consumer laws for e-commerce and distance-trading
     Data protection and privacy
     Broadcasting licensing and content regulation
     Internet-related licensing for Internet services providers, Internet cafes,
         telecentres, etc.
     Digital signature
     Convergence and multimedia regulation
     Intellectual property rights regime
     WTO status, regional memberships, basic commitments related to
         telecommunications under WTO, foreign equity limits
     Telecommunication Act
     Local domain name registry and dispute resolution

3.9    OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT:
Review the progress of local groups promoting the use of open source operating systems
(such as Linux), office applications (for word processing, spreadsheets, database
management, etc.) and indigenous fonts and scripts. Provide contact details and brief
descriptions of groups promoting open source.

3.10 RESEARCH INTO ICT:
List and describe major R&D initiatives in the country/territory funded by the
government, private sector, or donor organizations.

3.11 FUTURE TRENDS:
Forecast the directions in which different sectors of society in your country/territory (civil
society, government, private sector, academe, etc) may be headed over the next two years
with regards to the deployment of ICTs to promote development. Assess the ways in
which ICTs may contribute to the empowerment and enhanced competitiveness of the
different sectors. Identify challenges and obstacles.
4. ANNEXES

4.1    SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE COUNTRY/TERRITORY:
Short annotated bibliography of no more than 20 key publications and websites offering
in-depth information about the state-of-practice of ICTs in your country/territory. Each
reference should be accompanied by a short description of the importance of the source.

4.2       CHART OF KEY FACTS:
         Total population
         Rural population as a percentage of total population
         Key economic sectors
         Literacy in national language(s)
         Literacy in English
         Computer ownership per 100 inhabitants
         Telephone lines per 100 inhabitants
         Internet hosts per 10,000 inhabitants
         Internet café/telecentre per 10,000 inhabitants.
         Internet users per 100 inhabitants
         Cell phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants
         Number of websites in the national language
         Number of websites in English and other languages
         National bandwidth within the country/territory
         National bandwidth to and from the country/territory
         Ratio of in-coming and out-going Internet traffic volume
         Where possible, include data to reflect women users and
          women subscribers of ICT

4.3     REFERENCES:
The listing of references cited in your chapter.