Ict policies in Developing Countries: An Evaluation with the Extended Design‐Actuality Gaps Framework

Education: Illiterate 
Income: Medium 
~50 years old housewife 
“I have seen a lot of girls and boys making out on phone and even deciding on marrying without 
their parents’ approval; this is very bad” this participant said. This conservative woman in a 
village admits that cell phones are very helpful in several aspects but doesn’t want young girls 
and boys to be carrying phones around just to waste time on “useless” talk. She sees a major 
transformation in the social structure in rural areas where parents are losing control over their 
children in young age due to cell phones.
9 
Gender: Woman 
Domicile: Urban 
Education: Graduate 
Income: High 
This participant accidently got involved in IT administration because of good credentials in 
project management. “My boss did not give me a choice and wanted me to head the IT 
department. I told him that I didn’t know a thing about computers and he said, you can learn 
these things. I got a big raise too”. She explained: “I enjoy this job because I have learned a lot 

---

EJISDC (2015) 71, 1, 1-34 
The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries 
www.ejisdc.org
34 
~45 years old IT 
administrator
here but it has turned my family life upside-down”. She carries her phone with her when she is 
cooking food for her children just in case her services are needed during network and IT services 
disruptions.
10 
Gender: Man 
Domicile: Urban 
Education: Illiterate
Income: Medium 
~34 years old donkey 
cart owner 
This participant hauls loads from warehouses to furniture showrooms when someone makes a 
purchase in a showroom. “The owner of the showroom would go peak out of his place to see if a 
donkey cart person was there” he said. Then he got a cell phone. He cannot read… not even 
numbers (he visually matches patterns for a phone number on a piece of paper and dial pad of his 
phone when he needs to dial a number). He explained: “Someone helped me with setting up the 
phone for distinctive ring tones. Showroom owners give me a missed call, and I can recognize 
who needs my help by a specific ring tone setup for a particular showroom owner. Now, I can 
work as much as I want”. 
11