The introduction of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in developing countries is commonly linked with improved livelihoods and increased social inclusion. In Bhutan, a country isolated by its natural geography and deliberate national policy, ICTs have been introduced in a relatively cautious and controlled manner. This academic work uses a comparative case study model to examine how fixed telephones, mobile telephones, and the Internet are perceived and used by women and men in the urban community of Thimphu, and those in the remote rural community of Tangmachu. Based on library research and original fieldwork, it explores ICTs and gender relations as mutually shaped, significant at both material and symbolic levels, and situated within existing social and technological continua. Additional findings reveal access as a physical and social phenomenon, differences in text- versus voice-intensive ICTs, and a nuanced understanding of ICT users and non-users.

Данное издание не является оригинальным. Книга печатается по технологии принт-он-деманд после получения заказа.