Information technology research in Latin America: Editorial introduction to the special issue

✍ Scribed by James B. Pick; Martha Garcia Murillo; Carlos J. Navarrete

• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 81 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0268-1102
• DOI: 10.1002/itdj.20070

✦ Synopsis

in spite of some great strides, lags economically advanced nations in its research on information technology. This special issue of Information Technology for Development on "IT Advances in Latin America" provides insights into the practices and applications of IT, points to problems and constraints, offers findings and solutions that can be useful to practitioners, and indicates how IT is helping in development of Latin America and its countries.

The introduction has two parts. Part 1 examines the status of IT research in Latin America. It suggests how IT investigators in Latin America can be motivated and encouraged, institutional networks developed, topics identified, and language differences overcome. It suggests steps for journals, conferences, and granting agencies to support the region's IT research productivity. Part 2 introduces the articles in the special issue. All the authors of articles in this issue are from Latin America and were located in the region during the research they reported on. This supports a goal of this issue to encourage investigators in the region and their insights and discoveries based on the environment, cultures, business and societal patterns particular to Latin America.

1.1 IS Research in Latin America

Latin America presently has a population of 566 million persons (World Population Data Sheet, 2006) and is projected to have 700 million by the year 2025. By comparison, this is about equal to the projected size of Europe (717 million) and about twice the 2025 projected size of the United States (World Population Data Sheet).