Author: Va Sothy
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Thesis no.RD-09-04
Year: 2009
Academic Program: Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)
Type: Thesis (M.Sc.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2009
Examination Committee: Mokbul Morshed Ahmad (Chairperson); Soparth Pongquan, Paul Janecek (Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: Information and communication technologies (lCTs) are widely believed to play a significant role in social and economic development. This research studies the impact of mobile phone services on rural livelihoods with focus on three main aspects including social communications (social capital), economic activities (financial capital), and knowledge and information acquisition (human capital). Meanwhile, it examines the access, use and ownership of ICT, and factors associated with frequency of use of mobile phone services of rural people. The study was conducted on two main rural occupations namely farmers and traderslbusinessmen in the rural areas of Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed. Survey questionnaire was used as primary approach to collect the quantitative data from a sample of 90 individuals who represented the households. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were also used to gather qualitative information from both groups and key informants. The results show that mobile phones are highly valued by the rural people for their social and economic benefits. Mobile phones playa crucial role in emergency cases. Moreover, both groups recognize that mobile phones considerably benefit and are useful for social communications, especially keeping contacts with family members who migrated or worked far away from families, and helping maintain relations with friends and relatives. Overall, mobile phones provide high level of usefulness for economic activities however, traderslbusinessmen who have more business activities and need more communications are likely to derive greater benefit than farmers who have and need less communications for their agricultural purposes. Availability of information on prices and market from using the services provide the farmers with alternatives of prices for their produces and could result in an increase in income. Additionally, better connection with raw materials or goods suppliers, and buyers could get raw material
Scholarship Donor(s): Norway
Note: A thesis s ubmitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning
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