Softbridge : a socially aware framework for communication bridges over digital divides

............................................................................................................. ii
 Table of Contents............................................................................................. iii
 List of Figures .................................................................................................. ix
 List of Tables .................................................................................................... xi
 Dedication....................................................................................................... xiii
 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... xiv
 Glossary........................................................................................................... xv
 Chapter 1:
 Introduction.................................................................................. 1
 1.1
 DIGITAL DIVIDE LANDSCAPE IN SOUTH AFRICA.............................................................. 2
 1.2
 SOCIAL FACTORS OF ICT........................................................................................................... 3
 1.3
 MISALIGNED ASSUMPTIONS..................................................................................................... 4
 1.4
 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................................................. 4
 1.5
 METHODS......................................................................................................................................... 5
 1.6
 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS ........................................................................................................... 6
 Chapter 2:
 Communication system design and evaluation ....................... 9
 2.1
 DESIGN ABSTRACTIONS FOR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS .......................................... 9
 2.1.1
 The OSI stack ............................................................................................................................ 10
 2.1.2
 TCP/IP stack .............................................................................................................................. 11
 2.2
 EVALUATION OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS................................................................ 12
 2.2.1
 Quality of Service ...................................................................................................................... 13
 2.2.2
 Service Level Agreement .......................................................................................................... 14
 2.2.3
 Performance metrics .................................................................................................................. 14
 2.2.4
 QoS protocols ............................................................................................................................ 16
 2.2.5
 The network and the user........................................................................................................... 16
 2.2.6
 User-centric QoS ....................................................................................................................... 18
 2.3
 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................... 20
 Chapter 3:
 ICT4D design and evaluation.................................................... 21
 3.1
 DESIGN OF ICT4D ........................................................................................................................ 22
 3.1.1
 Power design considerations ..................................................................................................... 23
 3.1.2
 Network design considerations.................................................................................................. 24
 3.1.3
 Device design considerations .................................................................................................... 27
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