Bio
- Kathleen Diga is the Research Project Manager South African Research Chair in Applied Poverty Assessment at the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa. Her main focus of research is in the poverty and economic dimensions of information and communication technologies for development.
- She is current completing her PhD at the Institute for Social Development, University of the Western Cape.
- Prior to joining UKZN, Kathleen workedfor the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) as a research officer under the ICT4D Africa (Acacia) initiative in Johannesburg and Nairobi.
Selected Publications
Chapters
Articles
Monographs
Conference papers
Other
Chapters
- Attwood, H., May, J., & Diga, K. (2014). The complexities of establishing causality between an ICT intervention and changes in quality-of-life: the case of CLIQ in South Africa. In: Ofwona-Adera, E., Waema, T. M., May, J., Mascarenhas, O., Diga, K. (eds.), ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction: Empirical evidence from East and Southern Africa. Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing.
- Diga, K., Bizimana, C., Akorli, F., & Bar, F. (2014). Mobile phones and the food price crisis in Rwanda. In: Ofwona-Adera, E., Waema, T. M., May, J., Mascarenhas, O., Diga, K. (eds), ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction: Empirical evidence from East and Southern Africa. Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing.
- Diga K. (2013) Access and usage of ICTs by the poor (Part I). In: Elder L, Emdon H, Fuchs R and Petrazzini B (eds) Connecting ICTs to Development: The IDRC experience. London: Anthem Press; IDRC.
- Diga, K. (2013). Local economic opportunities and ICTs: how ICTs affect livelihoods (part II). In H. Emdon, L. Elder, B. Petrazzini & R. Fuchs (eds), Connecting ICTs to development: the IDRC experience. London: Anthem Press; IDRC.
Articles
- Bryant, K. and Diga, K. (2013). W/righting research capacity building: A preliminary model to inform writing support activities for African researchers. Alternation, 9, 46-73.
- Diga, K., Nwaiwu, F., & Plantinga, P. (2013). ICT policy and poverty reduction in Africa. info, 5(5), 114-127.
- Attwood, H., Diga, K., Braathen, E., & May, J. (2013). Telecentre functionality in South Africa: Re-enabling the community ICT access environment. Journal of Community Informatics, 9(4).
- Gitau, S. Plantinga, P. Diga, K. and Hutchful, D. (2011) African ICTD research (or the lack thereof). Interactions 18(4), July/August. p74-77. DOI 10.1145/1978822.1978837
Monographs
Conference papers
- Diga, K., Nwaiwu, F., & Plantinga, P. (2012). Variations in the relationship between ICTs and poverty: a comparison of policies in three African countries. Paper presented at the 3rd Communication Policy Research Africa (CPRafrica) Conference, 5-7 September 2012, Port Louis, Mauritius.
- Diga, K. (2012). Facing the African ICTD academic divide. Presented at International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR 2012), 15-19 July 2012, Durban, South Africa.
- Jukuda, A. & Diga, K. (2012) The information cost of youth unemployment. Presented at the Africa Institute in South Africa conference. 21-23 March 2012, Venda, South Africa.
- Diga, K., May, J., and Reynolds, H. (2011). The process of building social networking for academic purposes pilot (SNAPP). Presented at the 2011 5th Annual UKZN Teaching and Learning conference. 26-29 September 2011, Durban, South Africa.
- Attwood, H., May, J., and Diga, K. (2011). The complexities of establishing causality between an ICT intervention and changes in quality-of-life: the case of CLIQ in four poorer communities in South Africa. Conference paper presented at the 5th International Development Informatics Association (IDIA2011) conference, 26-28 October 2011, Lima, Peru.
- Gitau, S., Bidwell, N., Diga, K., Mardsen, G. (2010). Beyond being a proxy user: a look at NGOs. Paper accepted for Poster Presentation at International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD 2010) Conference 16-19 December 2010, London, UK.
- Gitau, S., Plantinga, P., Diga, K., (2010). ICTD Research by Africans: origins, interests and impact. Paper accepted for Oral Presentation at International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD 2010) conference 16-19 December 2010, London.
Other
- Community-based Learning ICTs and Quality of Life (CLIQ) Community report: A participatory approach to assessing the impact of ICT access on the quality of life in KwaZulu-Natal. CLIQ, September 2011.
- Rogan, M. Diga, K. and Valodia, I. (2013). The labour market and digital jobs in Africa: South Africa’s workforce potential in impact sourcing. Research Brief No.1
- Hakizimana, C. and Diga, K. (2011) Agriculture and poverty reduction: an assessment of the benefits of avocado production for smallholder farmers in Giheta – Burundi. School of Development Studies Policy Brief, 3, November.