research-article

AppLab question box: a live voice information service in rural Uganda

Authors:

Nathaniel F. Futterman,

Rose S. ShumanAuthors Info & Claims

ICTD '10: Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development

Article No.: 13, Pages 1 - 8

https://doi.org/10.1145/2369220.2369232

Published: 13 December 2010 Publication History

Abstract

This paper is a study of the pilot of AppLab Question Box, a voice telephony-based information service for the rural poor implemented in two districts in Uganda from April through September 2009. The purposes of the pilot were as follows: to test the interest and viability of a live agriculture/general hotline to rural Mbale and Bushenyi districts in Uganda; to understand the informational needs and interests of the target population; and to compare a live, voice-delivered information system against an alternative, SMS-based query system.

AQB provided a unique view into the needs and interests of the target populations, and permits study of the demand for information to support livelihoods as well as pure curiosity. It demonstrated that a small scale, live, local language telephone hotline about both specialized (agriculture) and general information was possible to run with simple, inexpensive infrastructure. Finally, it permits exploration of issues of trust surrounding information provision and the role of intermediaries in facilitating it in this setting.

References

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J. Burrell, "Livelihoods and the Mobile Phone in Rural Uganda," The Grameen Foundation USA, Washington, DC {On-line} http://www.grameenfoundation.applab.org/uploads/burrell_needs_assessment_final-1.pdf Accessed, vol. 27, 2008, p. 2009.

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Cited By

Mazumdar SEhdeed SJimenez AAhmed FMomen SRasheduzzaman M(2022)Understanding the information landscape in agricultural communities in rural BangladeshTHE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES10.1002/isd2.1224589:1Online publication date: 9-Oct-2022
https://doi.org/10.1002/isd2.12245
Wu XLei L(2021)Innovating for the PoorThe Oxford Handbook of China Innovation10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190900533.013.38(675-695)Online publication date: 10-Nov-2021
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190900533.013.38
Zewge ADittrich Y(2017)Systematic Mapping Study of Information Technology for Development in Agriculture (The Case of Developing Countries)THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES10.1002/j.1681-4835.2017.tb00602.x82:1(1-25)Online publication date: 5-Dec-2017
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2017.tb00602.x
Show More Cited By

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AppLab question box: a live voice information service in rural Uganda

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cover image ACM Other conferences

ICTD '10: Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development

December 2010

479 pages

ISBN:9781450307871

DOI:10.1145/2369220

Conference Chair:
Tim Unwin,
General Chair:
Dorothea Kleine,
Program Chair:
Kentaro Toyama

Copyright © 2010 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Publication History

Published: 13 December 2010

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ICTD '10

ICTD '10: International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development

December 13 - 16, 2010

London, United Kingdom

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Cited By

Mazumdar SEhdeed SJimenez AAhmed FMomen SRasheduzzaman M(2022)Understanding the information landscape in agricultural communities in rural BangladeshTHE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES10.1002/isd2.1224589:1Online publication date: 9-Oct-2022
https://doi.org/10.1002/isd2.12245
Wu XLei L(2021)Innovating for the PoorThe Oxford Handbook of China Innovation10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190900533.013.38(675-695)Online publication date: 10-Nov-2021
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190900533.013.38
Zewge ADittrich Y(2017)Systematic Mapping Study of Information Technology for Development in Agriculture (The Case of Developing Countries)THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES10.1002/j.1681-4835.2017.tb00602.x82:1(1-25)Online publication date: 5-Dec-2017
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2017.tb00602.x
Molapo MDensmore MMorie L(2016)Apps and SkitsProceedings of the 7th Annual Symposium on Computing for Development10.1145/3001913.3001922(1-10)Online publication date: 18-Nov-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3001913.3001922
Wada TNaito K(2016)Prototype Implementation of Actuator Sensor Network for Agricultural UsagesIntelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services 201610.1007/978-3-319-39345-2_20(227-239)Online publication date: 4-Jun-2016
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39345-2_20
Foster CHeeks R(2013)Innovation and scaling of ICT for the bottom-of-the-pyramidJournal of Information Technology10.1057/jit.2013.1928:4(296-315)Online publication date: 2-Jul-2013
https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2013.19

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