bridging the gap ... books and technology in Thailand
Libraries and Reading
Access to Internet
Next I started looking into internet access in rural places in Thailand. I know that the city of Bangkok has quite good internet access in all of the areas that I had been to. I wasn't so sure what the situation is like outside of the cities. A google search directed me to an article from the International Telecommunication Union, which 'is the United Nations' specialized agency for information and communication technology.'
The ITU and the National Broascasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand has created more than 20 rural internet centers countrywide. The goal of these internet centers are to build the ICT skills of students and local communities. This in turn helps to promote social and economic development in rural and remote areas. This commission has volunteers that work in these internet centers to teach the locals. Here you can find a website about the NBTC-ITU volunteers.
Here is a video with more information:
Mobile devices
While living in Bangkok I could not believe how easy it was to get my smartphone up and running and how little it cost to use. I bought a smartphone outright and then used a month by month plan with one of the larger service providers called Dtac. It was 399 baht or about $15 Canadian for more data and calling than I ever used. To 'top up' you simply went to a 7/11 convenience store, paid cash and they added it to your account. EVERYONE in Bangkok has smartphones and I mean everyone. We often saw homeless people with a smartphone as one of their few possessions. Again, I wasn't sure how many Thai people in rural and remote areas had access to mobile devices so I found a few articles with more information.
An article published by eMarketer had some statistic about mobile device use and accessibility in Thailand:
More than 90% of internet users use smartphones to go online.
70% of the population in Bangkok use smartphones while the northeastern region has a usage rate of 39.3%.
43.8% of Thailand's population are smartphone users in 2017 and it is predicted that it will take until 2020 to get that percentage over 50.
Here I learned about a Thai space technology start up called muSpace which is aiming to give satellite services that are affordable, easy to set up and good coverage in more rural Thailand communities. Their mission is to provide more reliable connectivity so that the quality of life is improved for local people.
I also found an article titled 'Use of Mobile Phones by the Rural Poor: Gender perspectives from selected Asian countries'. This was written by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Here was something interesting related to Thailand, "The study also found that mobile phone ownership amongst women was less likely than amongst men and these results were statistically significant, even after controlling for a variety of variables such as income, education, etc. The only country where the gender divide was reversed was Thailand, where women were 42.9% more likely than men to own mobile phones. This contradicts recent studies that found that when one accounts for education, income, and employment, it is women who are more active users." (pg. viii)
So as you can see there is lots of information out there regarding accesibility to books and technology in Thailand. The larger cities seem to have what they need while the more rural and remote areas still need support. Good thing there are quite a number of organizations that are currently working on this.
References
Channing, I. (2018). Bridging the digital divide in rural Thailand. [online] Developing Telecoms. Available at: https://www.developingtelecoms.com/tech/satellite-networks/7711-bridging-the-digital-divide-in-rural-thailand.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (2016). USE OF MOBILE PHONES BY THE RURAL POOR Gender perspectives from selected Asian countries. [ebook] Bangkok: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, LIRNEasia and International Development Research Centre. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5477e.pdf [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Ibby.org. (2018). Home: IBBY official website. [online] Available at: http://www.ibby.org/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Ibby.org. (2018). IBBY's Hug. [online] Available at: http://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/activities/children-in-crisis/ibby-children-in-crisis/ibbys-hug/?L=0 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Itu.int. (2018). NBTC-ITU Volunteers (NIV) 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Regional-Presence/AsiaPacific/Pages/Events/2016/Jun-NIV2016/index_en.aspx [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Kressman, J. (2017). More than 90% of Internet Users in Thailand Use Smartphones to Go Online - eMarketer. [online] eMarketer. Available at: https://www.emarketer.com/Article/More-than-90-of-Internet-Users-Thailand-Use-Smartphones-Go-Online/1015217 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Life Raft International. (2018). Home. [online] Available at: https://www.liferaftinternational.org/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Neilson Hays Library. (2018). Home Page - Neilson Hays Library. [online] Available at: https://neilsonhayslibrary.org/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Neilson Hays Library. (2018). [image] Available at: http://bangkokforvisitors.com/museums/neilson-hays-library.php [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Thai Children Reading. (2018). [image] Available at: https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/20172018-global-education-monitoring-report-thailand-highlights [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Youtube (2017). Thailand Rural Internet Centres. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHZN5VqGZX0&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Zavazava, C. (2017). Thailand’s rural Internet centres: Connecting the unconnected. [online] ITU News. Available at: https://news.itu.int/thailands-rural-internet-centres-connecting-unconnected/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Hi Hannah. I can really relate to your comments about finding yourself in a research vortex of one site leading to another. Each week I have to just tell myself to cut it off for the sake of time management and I end up not using half of what I read or viewed. The metaphor I've had in my head is that of crawling into a dark hole, a little like Alice in Wonderland chasing the rabbit, and discovering one wonderful thing after another. Except the the tunnel morphs into a maze of tunnels with many many more tunnels one would like to crawl into, but there isn't any time to do so. At the end of it I am left trying to synthesis all of the information in some coherent way which also answer's the week's questions. I have to admit that it is a both a slog and a bit of a rush when it finally all comes together!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your research on Thailand. I visited the country for two weeks about fifteen years ago. It must have been wonderful to live there for three years and to get to know the culture in a more meaningful way. Your focus on Thailand showed me I might have chosen a one country focus to narrow my search slightly. My son was born in Colombia and when I was there I had many conversations with my two year old daughter's babysitter/nanny about access to books. Like you, I worked at a private school with a good library. Our babysitter told me her family, who lived in a far less wealthy area of town, did not have access to many books and no access to a library. After school I spent an hour a few times a week teaching her the alphabet and how to write her letters. She was a grandmother at age 40 and her own children had children (all living with her). We purchased Children's books in Spanish for her grandchildren for birthdays and for Christmas. Her own children knew how to read, but I was always curious about whether or not the books were used because I don't think their home had a culture of reading for pleasure. I also know that other toys we gave were carefully placed on a top shelf and used carefully rather than left out for the children to use as they pleased (such as an etch-a-sketch).
It was interesting to read about the statistics you found on the use of mobile devices and use of the internet by gender. It makes sense to me that men would own more phones (I am guessing they have more income) and that women would be more prolific users.
Hey Karla! What an amazing personal story about your time in Colombia! That is so special you got to be a part of helping that family to read. Sometimes I wish I had taken the opportunity to volunteer when I was there. A regret for sure.
DeleteHi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteWow! This was interesting. I have been to Thailand, but it was just for a two week holiday in resorts so, I did not get the "true" flavour of Thailand but, it did make me think of my experiences living in Saudi Arabia. I lived in Riyadh for 6 years (on and off between taking my degree in England and France) and I can't ever remember visiting a library. I know that Saudi would not want to be considered a "developing" country but, it most certainly is, in many respects. For example, they just recently allowed women to drive and got their first movie theatre. I looking for information on libraries, I found it to be very biased, because mainly I found articles on the large university libraries written by Arab News etc. What I was really looking for was how the libraries integrated men and women. When I lived there, there were three restaurant sections: one for women, one for men and one for families. Also, women could not work in stores (I can tell you it was odd buying undergarments from a man!) nor could they go in buses or taxis without a male family guardian. Unlike Thailand, Saudi has the money and they have created some incredible high-tech, pretty fancy new libraries but, I wonder who can go to them?
Hi Alison,
DeleteSo interesting to hear more about Saudi Arabia. Researching that country does present the challenge of finding out what is really happening with just internet searches. If you do find anything more about libraries there let us know! If restaurants are sectioned off then I imagine the library might be too (which blows my mind). Thanks for sharing your personal experiences!
First I am jealous of you Hannah, Germaine, and Alison! What travel bugs you all are. I did connect with your post Hannah about this week's research being a bit of a rabbit hole with one link leading you to another and another and another. It is pretty fascinating looking into the vast differences between countries, but maybe even more interesting investigating the differences within a country as you, Germaine, and Alison have all witnessed on your travels. It seems like an hour drive can take you back years in time in regards to technology and living conditions. As Alison pointed out, socially acceptable customs are very prevalent and affect the use of libraries and technology. Neat that you each had countries you connected with that gave first hand experiences to share. I am wondering what other countries have differences in technology or libraries for boys versus girls. I know when my husband was in Asemkow, Ghana that he only met boys that went onto highschool and no girls.
ReplyDeleteIt is never too late to do the international adventure! Especially as teachers, it is one of the main jobs where it is so easy to go abroad. My fiancee and I are both teachers which makes it even easier. We are back for now but I can picture us going somewhere again when we have kids.
Deletesorry Ms. Germaine....KARLA!
ReplyDeleteNo Worries! In retrospect I might have named my blog differently. :)
DeleteAn excellent post that takes a personal view of this important topic and contextualizes it into one specific country that you have a lot of experience with. Your description of libraries for paid access only, the lack of rural community support and the over-supply of mobile devices and cheap easy access really paints a picture of the reality of the challenges. Your personal support for your friend and her family was inspiring and stories of families getting individual support is always impressive. Your discussion of the ways mobile devices can be implemented and supported, especially with regards to women and their needs for access to information was great. Good detailed discussion that represents many hours down the rabbit hole.
ReplyDelete