The potential role of open source software in overcoming digital poverty

Abstract

Developing countries, such as Tanzania, are characterized by digital poverty and a lack of information and communication technology (ICT) acceptance. The use of open source software (OSS) has been proposed as a potential strategy for addressing ICT acceptance challenges due to the fact that OSS characteristics seem to deal with some of the root causes of digital poverty and low ICT acceptance. However, despite the generally acknowledged potential of OSS for addressing digital poverty, OSS has not achieved the expected acceptance and usage in Tanzania. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential role of OS in overcoming digital poverty in Tanzania. The first objective aimed to identify specific ICT acceptance challenges. The second objective considered the perceived value of the OSS approach in Tanzania. Finally the ICT acceptance challenges were contrasted with the perceived value of OSS to gain an understanding of the potential of OSS to address digital poverty in Tanzania. A literature analysis, document analysis as well as observations of open source community activities were conducted to identify the ICT acceptance challenges and to formulate questions for a survey instrument and for interviews. Four open source communities in Tanzania were investigated and the findings were triangulated to contemplate the match between the ICT acceptance challenges in Tanzania and the perceived value of OSS. The contribution of the study is a list of ICT acceptance challenges specific to Tanzania. Furthermore pre-conditions for the acceptance of any ICT (including OSS) were identified based on the relationships between access, ICT usage and poverty.