May 2016 - change - Mailing Lists

Tomorrow at Change: ICTD Practice Talks
by Trevor Perrier 30 May '16

30 May '16

Hi All, Please join us for the final Change Seminar of the quarter. This week we will again have two talks that will be at next weekends ICTD Conference <https://ictd2016.info/schedule/>. Please join us to hear about some the great work going on at UW and give feedback to Gennie and Aditya. *When: *Tuesday May 31, 2016 at 12pm *Where: *The Allen Center, CSE 203 *Abstracts* *Zero-rating in emerging mobile markets: Internet.org and Wikipedia Zero in Ghana* * Genevieve Gebhart* Despite widespread controversy surrounding zero-rating—that is, the practice of subsidizing mobile data—the field suffers from a lack of inquiry into user understanding of and experience with zero-rated services. This paper explores how Ghanaian mobile users interact with zero-rated mobile applications Free Basics and Wikipedia Zero. Based on semi-structured interviews with users and non-users of the applications, I discuss how mobile phone users perceive Free Basics and Wikipedia Zero, what motivates them to use or not use the applications, and how the availability of the applications influences their data-buying strategies. Findings suggest that respondents, including those who did not actively use the applications, understood and experienced Free Basics and Wikipedia Zero in ways divergent from the providers’ aim of expanding access to online content and services. *Mobile Video Dissemination for Community Health* Aditya Vashistha, Neha Kumar, Anil Mishra, Richard Anderson We examine the dissemination of mobile phone videos in the context of Projecting Health a community health project in rural India. Our research objective was to identify the most e ective means of promoting the distribution of health videos on a largely offine network of mobile phones in a resource-constrained environment. We compared three different distribution channels: mobile shop owners, laptop owners, and community health workers in a fourteen-week intervention that relied on data collected via missed calls from viewers and callbacks made to them. We present the design of our experiment, describe the challenges in deploying this experiment, and discuss overall ndings. All three distribution channels were successful in targeting the community; mobile shops had access to most community members but the community health workers were most successful in getting videos out to those who were most interested in viewing them. Many participants were motivated to distribute the videos for the bene t of community. However, the number of missed calls received decreased over time, suggesting the exploration of alternative mechanisms to extrinsically motivate intermediaries and viewers for broader video distribution.

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ACM DEV full papers deadline June 24th
by Nicola Dell 30 May '16

30 May '16

Please forward to your networks and mailing lists! The papers deadline for ACM DEV is fast approaching! Details for how to submit can be found on the conference website: http://acmdev.org/. ACM DEV 2016 November 18-21, Nairobi, Kenya Important Dates Submission Deadline: June 24, 2016 - 11:59pm UTC. Acceptance Notification: August 24, 2016. Conference: November 18-21 in Nairobi, Kenya. http://acmdev.org/ Call for Papers DEV 2016 provides an international forum for research in the design, implementation, and evaluation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for social and economic development. In particular, we focus on contexts where conventional computing solutions are often inappropriate due to various contextual factors - including, but not limited to: cost, language, literacy, and the availability of power and bandwidth. The topic of ICT for development is inherently multidisciplinary, and encompasses a broad array of research domains. The ACM DEV conference is an opportunity for researchers across these diverse domains to come together to work on the common problem of improving access to and availability of information and communication technology solutions. The focus of the conference is research at the intersection of computer science and development related to (but not limited to) the following non-exclusive focus areas: - Systems - HCI and Applications - Data Science We are committed to accepting papers of the very highest quality and will allow authors to specify one or two submission “tracks” that best fit their work. Each track has dedicated Program Committee (PC) members with expertise in the specified area to enable appropriate review of papers. Papers will be automatically referred to another track or reviewed by PC members from different tracks where appropriate. Example topics within focus areas include: Systems Track - Low-cost connectivity and computing devices - Network solutions for poorly connected regions, including white space spectrum - Power-efficient systems - Mobile systems and applications - Special-purpose systems, e.g., sensors, wireless, IVR - Systems challenges and opportunities in development, e.g., security, sustainability, resilience - Cellular phone systems and applications - Novel tools and applications for development - Measurements of existing technology in developing regions (e.g. network deployments) HCI Track - User interfaces for low-literacy populations - Multilingual computing - Participatory methods and user-centered design - Accessibility for disabled populations in developing regions - User interfaces for low-cost devices - Design and evaluation of applications in health, microfinance, education, agriculture, entertainment, social media, etc. - Adapting content and applications to local languages and education levels - Understanding social relationships and information flows in underserved communities Data Science Track - Computational sustainability - Computational social science - Econometric models and developmental economics - Data science for social good - Machine learning techniques for large-scale data analysis in development contexts - Speech interfaces and translation for low-resource languages - Computer vision challenges and opportunities in development - Understanding social networks and digital media in developing regions General Track We also welcome papers outside of the above topics that address the DEV focus on computing innovations supporting social and economic development. Papers should describe original and unpublished research. Three metrics will be applied to judge the submissions: (a) relevance of the problem for development; (b) novelty of the ideas; and (c) evaluation of the solution, making a case for development-focused impact. All DEV paper submissions should either provide or directly motivate a novel technical solution that has direct implications for development. Full papers must not exceed 10 pages (including references, figures, and tables). All submissions must be in ACM format <http://www.acm.org/sigs/publications/proceedings-templates>, submitted as a PDF and should be fully anonymized. In particular, the names or affiliations of authors should not be included so as to allow for blind review. All papers will undergo a double-blind review process with at least three reviews. Papers should be submitted via the submission site <http://papers.acmdev.org/>. As part of the submission process, please indicate one or more tracks for which your submission is best suited. Please direct any questions to acmdev2016(a)gmail.com.

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Business Development Fellowships
by Kurtis Heimerl 26 May '16

26 May '16

A friend of mine is offering business development fellowships in partnership with some community based organizations in Uganda. If any of these interest you, please reach out via the information in the link. http://www.idealist.org/step/discover/share/jr/view/volop/42W9xbHB7ssP/ http://www.idealist.org/step/discover/share/jr/view/volop/b27Xnx2bWjjd/ http://www.idealist.org/step/discover/share/jr/view/volop/343d7cHPXDcH4/

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Tomorrow at Change: ICTD Practice Talks
by Trevor Perrier 24 May '16

24 May '16

Hi All, The ICTD Conference <https://ictd2016.info/> is coming up and for the next two weeks we'll have papers from UW presented at the Change seminar. Please join us to hear about the great work happening on campus and give feed back to the authors. *When:* Tuesday, May 25, 2016 at 12pm *Where: *The Allen Center, CSE 203 *Abstracts:* *Computer Security for Data Collection Technologies* *Camille Cobb, Samuel Sudar, Nicholas Reiter, Richard Anderson, Franziska Roesner, Tadayoshi Kohno * Many organizations in the developing world (e.g., NGOs), include digital data collection in their workflow. Data collected can include information that may be considered sensitive, such as medical or socioeconomic data, and which could be affected by computer security attacks or unintentional mishandling. This work, a collaboration between computer security and ICTD researchers, explores security and privacy attitudes, practices, and needs within organizations that use Open Data Kit (ODK), a prominent digital data collection platform. We conduct a detailed threat modeling exercise to inform our view on potential security threats, and then conduct and analyze a survey and interviews with technology experts in these organizations to ground this analysis in real deployment experiences. We then reflect upon our results, drawing lessons for both organizations collecting data and for tool developers. *The Premise of Local Information: Building Reliable Economic Indicators from a Decentralized Network of Contributors* *Josh Blumenstock, Niall Keleher, and Joseph Reisinger* This paper describes the design and implementation of Premise, a mobile-phone based platform for gathering reliable, quantitative data through on-the-ground networks of local contributors. Founded in 2012 and currently operating in 34 countries, Premise provides small incentives to ordinary citizens to collect high-quality data, and develops statistical algorithms to aggregate millions of individual contributions into reliable economic indicators. Our focus is on the deployment and scale-up of Premise's operations in Nigeria and Liberia, two contexts that highlight the diverse challenges involved in launching a crowd-based data collection platform, ranging from the recruitment and retention of motivated contributors, to the automatic detection of statistically aberrant data. The goals of this paper are thus twofold: first, to provide transparency into the operations of a new platform of growing prominence in the development community; and second, to highlight key lessons learned that can inform future design and deployment of novel methods for data collection and synthesis in developing economies.

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by change＠change.washington.edu 18 May '16

18 May '16

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BRICS on the Firewall: International Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Encryption
by Melody Clark 18 May '16

18 May '16

The International Policy Institute is hosting a panel discussion on May 23, 2016 from 3:30-5pm in Thomson Hall, room 317. Area expert panelists will discuss cybersecurity from the perspectives of China, India, Russia, and Brazil. BRICS on the Firewall: International Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Encryption Panelists Dan Arnaudo, IPI cybersecurity fellow Robert O’Brien, Senior Cybersecurity Strategist, Microsoft Minnie Ray Chaudhury, IPI cybersecurity fellow and JSIS South Asia M.A. Student Teyloure Ring, Program Manager, Microsoft Description The U.S. government recently clashed with Apple and increasingly confronts the entire technology industry over whether companies should be required to create backdoors into their encrypted products. The ongoing domestic policy debate about encryption is just one of the major cybersecurity debates in the U.S. And, while U.S. domestic policy affects the world, the U.S.’s technology policy direction is not necessarily reflective of the rest of the world’s direction. Our panelists will discuss the perspectives of the BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—on encryption, U.S. cybersecurity policy, and the direction that cybersecurity policy is heading in each of these places. Contact: Jessica Beyer, jlbeyer(a)uw.edu<mailto:jlbeyer@uw.edu>

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Reminder: No Seminar Today
by Trevor Perrier 17 May '16

17 May '16

Hi All, Just a reminder that there will be no seminar today. We will meet two more times this quarter on May 23 and 30. Thanks, - Trevor

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Event on 5/16: Mobile Information Literacy in Myanmar
by Melody Clark 16 May '16

16 May '16

iSchool PhD candidate and Technology & Social Change Group's (TASCHA) Sheryl Day<http://tascha.uw.edu/people/sheryl-day/> will be presenting at an iSchool Research Conversation about our Mobile Information Literacy<http://tascha.uw.edu/projects/mobile-information-literacy/> work in Myanmar. * When: Monday, May 16, 2016 * Time: 12:30-1:20pm (lunch served at 12pm) * Where: UW, Bloedel Hall 070 (lower-level) or online: https://ischool.adobeconnect.com/rcons Towards a Mobile Information Literacy Framework: The Case of Myanmar Myanmar is a country that is emerging from decades under military rule. While other societies have had over 20 years to adjust to the advent of the Information Age through access to the internet and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), Myanmar has had to manage these significant advancements in a span of just 2-3 years. One of our early findings, that Facebook was the Internet in most people's understanding, represents the kinds of challenges faced in Myanmar. This situation coupled with the severe limitations on academic and other institutions in Myanmar under an "Access Denied" culture presented unique complexities in addressing issues of information literacy in general. In this presentation, I will discuss the development process of the MIL, a Mobile Information Literacy Curriculum, from concept to creation, pilot, and finally implementation. I will describe the background and literature that informed our process particularly the EU DIGCOMP framework, the needs and requirements we analyzed in the Myanmar context, the settings and stakeholders particularly the notion of libraries in Myanmar, the deployment of the MIL through libraries and librarians in Myanmar, and our initial findings from this project towards a Mobile Information Literacy Framework. About Sheryl: Sheryl A. Day is a PhD Candidate at the UW iSchool, a Researcher in the Indigenous Information Research Group (IIRG), and a Research Assistant for the Technology and Social Change Group (TASCHA). Her PhD dissertation is focused at the intersection of language policy as information policy, flows of information, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Her work on a collaborative project with TASCHA and the Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) called Information for Societies in Transition (ISST) includes the development of two curricula: 1) The Information Strategies Curriculum (ISC) launched in 2014, and 2) The Mobile Information Literacy Curriculum (MIL) and Teaching Guide launched in 2015. Both curricula are available for download, use, and adaptation in other contexts on the TASCHA website under the Creative Commons License. -- Melody Clark Communications Specialist Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) University of Washington Information School melclark(a)uw.edu<mailto:melclark@uw.edu> | 206.303.7910 Twitter: @taschagroup<https://twitter.com/taschagroup> | @melodyrclark<https://twitter.com/#!/melodyrclark> tascha.uw.edu<http://tascha.uw.edu/>

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by change＠change.washington.edu 12 May '16

12 May '16

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Tomorrow at Change: How cheap smartphones are changing government in Pakistan
by Trevor Perrier 10 May '16

10 May '16

Hi All, Please join us tomorrow at the Change Seminar where we will talk about some amazing work being done by the Punjab Information Technology Board and ITU in Pakistan. We will watch a short video talk from Umar Saif and Fahad Pervaiz will lead a discussion about how and why this type of work is possible. *What: *How cheap smartphones are changing government in Pakistan *When:* Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 12pm *Where: *The Allen Center, CSE 203 Also, please not that there will be no Change Seminar next week. - Trevor

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