International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development - Volume 13, Issue 2, 2014

A tool was developed for farmers to estimate water volume in farm ponds and plan pond water use for dry-season crop and animal production leaving adequate reserve water for rice at the start of the wet season. The tool is used to determine pond water volume at the start of the planning cycle; to determine the quantity of pond reserve water desired at the end of the planning cycle; to determine pond water evaporation during the planning period; to determine expected water consumption by desired crops and cattle; and to adjust water use if the remaining water predicted by the tool is less than the desired reserve quantity. Water use based on plans made with the tool by ten farmers was monitored from 29 December 2008 to 5 October 2009. The tool was more accurate in predicting reserve water when no rainfall added water into farm ponds, and less accurate when rainfall added water to the ponds. Prediction of reserve water in the upper paddy topographical position was more accurate compared with lower paddy and upland positions. The tool is most appropriate for dry-season diversification in upper paddy topographical positions where many new ponds have been constructed during the past twenty years.

The aim of this article is to explore how social media can be used to effectively bring behavioural change and rational opinion about ‘oil complex’ in Nigeria’s Niger delta region for a more sustainable future. Second, this article argues that social media can also be used as a medium to shape public opinion, pluralistic views and policy agenda about challenges posed by ‘oil complex’. This process resonates with the social responsibility function of the media. While mainstream or traditional media perceptibly steer clear of reporting issues that highly challenge corporate interests, which have strong links with these media outlets, social media can be a platform for critical and balanced reportage of social and environmental issues for diversity of views to be aired. The media’s role in this sense will help manage problems associated with ‘oil complex’ for a more sustainable future in the region.

In the wake of global warming and environmental preservation, all processes and actions are now being directed along the lines of creating a greener environment. Household solar equipments are one such initiative, whereby people around the world are being encouraged to adopt green innovations even within homes. Recent emphasis is particularly along the usage of solar energy for home lighting, heating and cooking. To achieve increased adoption of these green innovations, it is important to understand the behaviours of various factors that may influence consumers in forming favourable intentions towards such innovations. This article aims to develop a theory-based conceptual framework for examining user adoption of household solar innovations. Attributes from Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory, Tornatzky and Klein’s Meta-Analysis, and Moore and Benbasat’s Perceived Characteristics of Innovating theory will be used to design the intended framework for examining the adoption of household solar and other green innovations.

Within seven years, e-Sri Lanka programme funded by the World Bank as a South Asian first has established a network of 765 Nenasala telecentres as grass-root non-profit or for-profit enterprises. As e-Sri Lanka’s main interface, Nenasalas aim to deliver Information Communication Technology (ICT) services to the community through ICT for Development (ICT4D) endeavours. However, these diverse telecentre models point to dissimilar sustainability records. Yet, no external/academic evaluation has been undertaken to examine the impact on Nenasala sustainability stemming from variations in models. The authors conducted a comprehensive analysis of archival material of Sri Lankan Nenasala telecentre initiative and uncovered number of telecentre models that accentuate profitable knowledge work through home-grown Social Responsibility (SR) collaborations to develop underprivileged communities.

This article investigates the continued usage of mobile telecommunication services (voice services and short messaging services (SMS)) among users from low socio-economic groups in Asia, and also examines the moderating effects of demographic variables age and gender on the intention to continue using these services. We investigate the phenomenon of information obtained using voice-based services and non-voice-based services by users from low socio-economic groups. This investigation brings together the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework, and the information search paradigm to suggest a model for continued use of mobile phones. Data collected from individual telecommunication users across five South East Asian countries are analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the hypotheses. Findings demonstrate that for voice services, perceived ease of use (PEU) significantly affects intention in younger users (and not older users), while usefulness is a stronger predictor of intention for older users. For users of voice services and SMS, PEU significantly affects intention in males only, while subjective norm significantly affects intention only in females. From a public policy perspective, a greater emphasis may be placed on disseminating information about the benefits of mobile telecommunication among potential mobile phone users through groups that influence user behaviour.