[Telecentres] Basic Telecentre Items/ICT Definition

[Elizabeth Carll, PhD]

Don, Ashish, Andy, and all,

I think you raise some very interesting questions as to the implied
definition of ICTs.  In the various WSIS documents, both acronyms of ICT and
ICTs are used for information AND communication technologies.  I tend to use
ICTs with an "s" and am not as concerned with technical correctness but with
the (redundant) implication that there are various forms including
traditional technology.  Similar to my redundant use of Media/ICT for the WG
to which I had previously referred.

Don,  the generalization of the definition of ICT as is your experience, is
in contrast to my experience that technical people of all types associate
ICTs with computers and the Internet.  I was having this discussion with a
colleague who had worked for IBM for 30+ years writing programs since 1960's
and now is retired.  She was adamant that ICTs were all about computers and
the Internet and broadening this definition to include traditional (I didn't
realize that I was broadening it, as I always viewed it as inclusive) was
encroaching on an established specialty area.  This was from someone who had
been involved with ICT before the Internet.

 Perhaps there are also regional differences as to how ICTs are defined as
to the inclusion of traditional technologies and the above may be more
peculiar to the US.   Although this would appear to be a very interesting
phenomenon in a country that is considered one of the most saturated of both
traditional and newer technologies.

Elizabeth
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Don Cameron [mailto:donc at internode.on.net]
  Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 3:57 AM
  To: 'Elizabeth Carll, PhD'; telecentres at wsis-cs.org
  Subject: RE: [Telecentres] Basic Telecentre Items/ICT Definition


  >> in the hopes of informing the public as well as techies/specialists who
may only associate ICTs with the Internet and computers (snip)



  Elizabeth we are certainly in agreement on the nature of ICT's however in
my experience it is more the masses, the media, politicians, academics of
non-technical disciplines and other non technical people who tend to
associate ICT's solely with computers and the Internet. Most technically
trained people are well aware of the silent '&' in ICT's as well as the
grammatical inappropriateness of adding 's' to an already inflected plural
noun (technology) - yet we use the acronym nonetheless. The exceptions in
technical professions are usually promoters of advanced ICT who tend to
discount any benefits of older yet more adaptable and economical technology
(the 'essential nature' of broadband deployment as a case in point).



  Your comments certainly beg a question. how appropriate is this acronym of
ICT's? - We are not dealing with Information Communications Technologies
(ICT's), we are dealing with Information And Communications Technology
(I&CT). Perhaps there would be less confusion about the true nature of I&CT
were we to promote the use of an accurate descriptor.



  (I think it is acceptable to use '&' instead of 'A' in this day and age
however acknowledge that some may prefer the acronym IACT as in RADAR where
the word 'And' warrants an 'A' to be included).



  Rgds, Don


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