Sci&Tech History

How can ICT help people? Or maybe, we have to propose a more philosophical question, should people be helped? In blend technology, the introduction of the emerging technology should blend with and preserve at least some of the prevailing traditional production techniques (Usui 1994). The literature includes cases in which modern biotechnology, laser technology, new materials sciences, microelectronics innovations, satellite communications, and photovoltaic power have been blended with such traditional economic activities as smallholder agriculture, agribusiness, service delivery systems for the poor, informal urban enterprises, and small- and medium-scale manufacturing (IDRC, 1997).

In Indonesia, there are some cases where villages has been introduced to ICT and being adopted by the residence to improve their life. Success story occur when the residence/local community blend the new technology into their daily lives. Jembrana and Sragen regency for example, support the ICT with bureaucracy reformation, regulation change and an appropriate human resources. In one side, what happened in those regency imply top-down approach (initiated by the local government), but in the other side, it also imply local understanding on how they can improve their own life (self-reliance).

Maybe trichotomy: top, middle, down aren’t suitable on how to manage the technology. In my opinion, it is a matter on how we can understand our community and built our own scenario from it. Some operational issues still need to be answered: who have the right to say that something is good or bad for the community? Furthermore, how can this ’saying’ being coordinated?

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