Home Informatics and Telematics: ICT for the Next Billion

This volume represents the papers reviewed and accepted for the HOIT2007 conference held at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) in the city of Chennai, India, in August 2007. The conference, entitled "Home/Community Oriented ICT for the Next Billion," addressed many major themes of current interest in this field. In particular, the focus was on community-based technologies. The conference was organized by IFIP working Group 9. 3-Home Oriented Informatics and Telematics (HOIT), in association with the TeNeT Group of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The conference papers cover a wide range of topics that transcend local/national themes and engage us in global issues. This was the first time the HOIT conference was held outside Europe or North America, testifying to the growth and development of other regions of the world. The conference included paper sessions, panel discussions, special keynote speaker presentations, and poster sessions. The topics were grouped under different themes. Following are the five basic themes of the conference and a brief description of the papers that appear under each theme. Empowerment and Digital Divide In their comparative analysis of South Africa and India, Joseph and Andrew show how ICTs can have dramatic impact in two key areas¿alleviating poverty for rural women and achieving socio-economic development goals. In the next piece, Malhotra and co­ authors discuss "DesiCrew" as a unique business process outsourcing (BPO) initiative in the context of rural areas in India.