[Air-l] CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTERS

[Hakikur Rahman]

Please find a Call for Book Chapters and looking forward to your valued 
contributions.

Best Regards.
Hakik.

CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTERS
Proposals Submission Deadline: 02/28/2006
Full Chapters Due: 07/31/2006

Developing Successful ICT Strategies:
Competitive Advantages in a Global Knowledge-Driven Society
A book edited by Dr. Hakikur Rahman, SDNP

Introduction
The world is in the midst of an all-embracing technological revolution. 
Although this revolution has taken various names, there is little doubt 
that it is a revolution of information technology, or an innovative 
techno-economic paradigm, brought about by a set of neoteric information 
and communication technology (ICT). The ongoing ICT revolution combined 
with the forces of globalization, has provoked the aspirations and fears of 
countries at all levels of development, to leapfrog to the new economy. As 
a result many governments have formulated national ICT policies and 
strategies, where ICT is treated mainly as a thrust sector. However, in the 
current status quo while mainstream development practitioners continue to 
ignore the inherent roles of ICT poses serious jeopardy to development 
effectiveness. Therefore, the strategic significance of ICT for enabling 
national development and poverty reduction strategies must be clearly 
understood and operationalized by countries striving to gain global 
competency.

The Overall Objective of the Book
Maximizing the potential of ICT requires both promoting their use and 
addressing the inequality and dislocation they may cause. New technologies 
and the human and institutional capacity building in the public and private 
sectors, coupled with trends towards a greater emphasis on development 
initiatives at the state level, have resulted in a paradigm shift in the 
roles of the private sector and governments in ICT. Despite the massive 
prospects of ICT in assisting communities to increase their overall 
well-being through community development, there are relatively a very few 
examples of sustained community networks that have built around ICT. This 
book features these aspects in developing substantial national ICT 
strategies for their economies and makes use of their competitive 
advantages in a global knowledge driven society. The book also includes 
policies and perspectives of similar natures, including success cases 
around the world to synthesize and assist the reader in acquiring 
comprehensive knowledge from various analyses.

The Target Audience
Access to ICT requires education, infrastructure and institutions, three 
basic resources that many countries lack. Without them, it is increasingly 
likely that the poor may be on the trailing side of this revolution. This 
book will find its standpoint for its readers among multi-sectoral research 
bases. Apart from academics, researchers, and think tanks, the book will be 
extremely handy to the International Financial Institutions, National 
governments in LDCs, Non-Governmental Organizations, Donor agencies, 
Development partners and private sector entrepreneurs operating in ICT4D 
arena.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
    * Emancipation of ICT Policies for Grass roots Outgrowth
    * Enactment of Autonomous ICT Policies in Developing Countries
    * Improved utilization of ICT policies for producing better products
    * Enhanced linkages between ICT and inequality across and within economies
    * Making ICT as a core competency for promoting competition and 
sustained development
    * Enabling mobility through wireless communication, tele-work, 
tele-services and e-learning
    * Focusing scarce resources as national priorities and help sequence 
complementary investments
    * Balancing market forces, enabling bottom up efforts, and ensuring 
shared learning and scaling up
    * Speeding up all types of transactions throughout the economy by 
reducing response time closer to zero
    * Preparing a rationale in designing national strategies for 
e-development (or e-enhanced development)
    * Complimenting needs and dynamics of promising ICT segments for export 
and economic competitiveness
    * Creating impact of ICT in social & economic development as enabling 
factor in national development strategies

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before February 
28, 2006, a 2-5 page manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission and 
concerns of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be 
notified by March 31, 2006 about the status of their proposals and sent 
chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be 
submitted by July 31, 2006. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a 
blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by Idea Group, 
Inc., publisher of the Idea Group Publishing, Information Science 
Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing, and Idea Group Reference 
imprints.

Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) 
or by mail to:

Dr. Hakikur Rahman
SDNP Bangladesh (UNDP)
BIDS, E-17 AGARGAON, DHAKA-1207, BANGLADESH
Tel.: +880 2 8126204
FAX: +880 2 9118543
GSM: +880 189 228939
e-mail: <mailto:hakik at sdnbd.org>hakik at sdnbd.org