Information, knowledge, and technology occupy significant space in the information and knowledge society and ongoing debates on development such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda 2030 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Disruptive technologies and cyber-physical systems, obscuring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, present a ‘new normal’ that profoundly affects the nature and magnitude of responses required to sustain and benefit from the new developments. Africa, known for its late adoption of new technologies and innovations, is leapfrogging development stages in several enviable ways. This book, Information knowledge and technology for development in Africa’, written by eminent African scholars, comprises chapters that satisfactorily address information access, artificial intelligence, information ethics, e-learning, library and information science education (LISE) in the 4IR, data literacy and e-scholarship, and knowledge management, which are increasingly essential for information access, services, and LISE in Africa. We expect the book to support research, teaching and learning in African higher education and worldwide for comparative scholarship.

This symposium, which was held on March 10-11, 2003, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, brought together policy experts and managers from the government and academic sectors in both developed and developing countries to (1) describe the role, value, and limits that the public domain and open access to digital data and information have in the context of international research; (2) identify and analyze the various legal, economic, and technological pressures on the public domain in digital data and information, and their potential effects on international research; and (3) review the existing and proposed approaches for preserving and promoting the public domain and open access to scientific and technical data and information on a global basis, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries.

This book focuses on data and knowledge management for teaching and research in Africa. The importance of the information and knowledge society in current times is recognized and adopts a meta-analysis to demonstrate that modernization theory could be applied to economic development and rapid transformation of ISWEs in South Africa. The book argues that modernity and the information and knowledge society present the shift and transition from the traditional way of doing things through information and communication technologies (ICTs), which could bring about developing, progressing, and advancing developing communities, particularly Informal Sector Women Entrepreneurs (ISWEs). The book also has further shows how the modernization theory could be applied to the plight of ISWEs to assist them in leapfrogging from their situation and enjoying global business platforms. Various techniques and strategies for collaborative engagements among academics towards strengthening scholarly ties within institutions, and across borders, especially in Africa, are presented. This is a valuable source for understanding the contemporary issues in information and knowledge management/sharing and collaboration among university academics for undergraduates and postgraduate students in the library and information science profession. Tacit knowledge is also presented as an asset that boosts innovation and generates competitive advantage for organizations in all walks of life. Global research data management (RDM) literature is emphasized in higher education institutions (HIEs) and their libraries. The status of RDM services, as well as the competency requirements of employees responsible for providing RDM services and researchers, are addressed in the examined literature.

Describes approaches for effectively applying science, technology, and innovation to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Outlines core areas for policy action, including a focus on platform or generic technologies, defining infrastructure services as foundations for technology, placing universities at the centre of local development and improving science education, spurring entrepreneurial activities, improving the policy environment and focusing on areas of under-funded research for development.

Africa is on the move, demonstrating in recent years a significant potential for economic growth. Although the region still faces many challenges, it is also generating pockets of economic vitality in the form of enterprise clusters that are contributing to national, regional, and local productivity. Through case examples from Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book provides an understanding of how these dynamic enterprise clusters were formed and have evolved, and how knowledge, human capital, and technology have contributed to their success.

Volume 3 documents the processes used, and institutions created, to bring computers and connectivity into schools, as a means of enhancing the use and integration of ICTs in teaching and learning. A range of project, administrative, and cultural settings are explored as are a wide variety of technical solutions. The results, observations, and conclusions presented in this book will be useful for policy- and decision-makers in education and ICTs. The book will also be useful for teachers, researchers, and development practitioners and professionals with interests or active programs in the area of "ICT for development." Information technology professionals looking to service the potential education market will also find this book valuable.