Public Value In Ict Developmental Outcomes. A Critical Discourse Analysis
Yinka Oyerinde
School of Computing, University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa
Felix Bankole
School of Computing, University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa
Keywords: ICT4D, Critical Discourse Analysis, Socio-Economic Development, Public Value, Communicative Action
Abstract
In this research, we carry out a Critical Discourse Analysis on the UNDP Human Development Research Reports from 2010 to 2016 in order to determine if any public value is intended or derived from the policy directions being put forward or from their corresponding implementations. There has been a lot of focus on policy formulations from governments and international institutions over the years aimed at improving Human Development with respect to the Human Development Index. With many of these policies providing optimism for socio-economic growth resulting from increased ICT investments and usage, the resultant effects have not been as promising as proposed and sometimes not evident at all. This research is theoretically founded on Habermas Theory of Communicative Action carried out from a Critical Theorist’s epistemological viewpoint and falls within the progressive perspective of ICT-enabled development. Findings show that indeed public social value is intended to be created and at the core of policy directions being called for in these reports with respect to ICT interventions and developmental outcomes. This research provides both a theoretical and practical contribution to the ongoing global discourse on ICT4D with respect to ICT developmental outcomes and their impacts on socio-economic development.