Produção Nacional
Revisado por pares
ICT initiatives for vulnerable groups in Brazil: intended and unintended consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic
2023; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/02681102.2023.2244459
ISSN1554-0170
AutoresAna Paula dos Santos Tavares, Luiz Antônio Jóia, Marcelo Fornazin,
Tópico(s)Smart Cities and Technologies
ResumoABSTRACTDespite the multitude of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), their successful implementation has been slow and faced more difficulties than anticipated. Although the deployment and use of ICT has become inevitable, many emerging countries have faced challenges in adopting ICT for the benefit of their entire population. During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, ICT initiatives became a major issue, especially for vulnerable groups. The purpose of this study is to understand the intended and unintended consequences of ICT initiatives during the pandemic, through two case studies in Brazil covering relevant societal areas, namely social protection and public education. The results bring two main contributions. The first is an understanding of how social groups, negotiation mechanisms and technologies-in-practice are enacted to inform public policies and actions. The second concerns the production of knowledge for the Information Systems area, by revealing the challenges and opportunities brought by ICT to emerging markets in a post-Covid-19 reality.KEYWORDS: Information and communication technologyCOVID-19pandemicsocial protectionpublic educationemerging markets Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Retrieved from https://g1.globo.com/profissao-reporter/noticia/2021/05/19/profissao-reporter-mostra-historias-de-quem-tenta-sobreviver-com-o-novo-auxilio-emergencial.ghtml (in Portuguese) on 9 June 2023.2 Retrieved from https://g1.globo.com/educacao/noticia/2020/05/05/sem-internet-merenda-e-lugar-para-estudar-veja-obstaculos-do-ensino-a-distancia-na-rede-publica-durante-a-pandemia-de-covid-19.ghtml (in Portuguese).3 The term vulnerable populations "refers to people or households who live in poverty, or who are confronted in life situations that increase the likelihood of extreme forms of poverty. These populations often face multiple risks and may require a range of services, from low-cost interventions such as food parcels, to more costly interventions such as housing, or mental or physical health care" (OECD, Citation2015, p. 19).4 LMIC is an acronym for Low- and Medium-Income Countries.5 While following a process-based approach, this work covers less than one year of observation – a short period of time to verify whether sustainable development has actually been enhanced through the ICT initiatives analyzed. In fact, more time would be needed for this, which is a limitation of the research.6 That research complies with the methodology developed by the 'Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development' – an international initiative that aims to improve the quality and availability of data and indicators on the evolution of the Information Society worldwide.7 Family Allowance is a social welfare program part of the Federal Assistance Programs in Brazil.8 Caixa (a.k.a. as Caixa Econômica Federal is a state-owned Brazilian financial services company. It is the fourth largest banking institution in Brazil, as well as the fourth largest in Latin America, and the eighty-third largest bank in the world. Retrieved on January 26, 2021, from https://www.banktrack.org/bank/caixa_economica_federal9 More information on the Federal Government services portal. Retrieved on September 8, 2020, from https://www.gov.br/pt-br/noticias/assistencia-social/2020/07/auxilio-emergencial-alcanca-mais-de-65-milhoes-de-brasileiros.10 SaaS means 'Software as a Service'.11 Retrieved from https://g1.globo.com/educacao/noticia/2020/05/21/estudantes-pais-e-professores-narram-apagao-do-ensino-publico-na-pandemia-em-7-estados-e-no-df-atividade-remota-nao-vai-contar-para-o-ano-letivo.ghtml).12 Retrieved from https://cetic.br/pt/tics/domicilios/2020/domicilios/A4/ on 9 June 2023.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico: [Grant Number PQ 306517/2018-3]; Escola Brasileira de Administração Pública e de Empresas: [Grant Number 00505100300360].
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