May 2017 - change - Mailing Lists

Tomorrow at Change: Micro-Ethnography - Learning to Observe (Ted McCarthy)
by Trevor Perrier 29 May '17

29 May '17

Hi All, Please join us tomorrow for the last Change Seminar of the quarter. Ted McCarthy will be joining us to discuses a concept he is calling "micro-ethnography" and how important it is to user design and research - particular in an ICTD context. In this seminar Ted will discuses how the ability to "just watch something" should be given the respect it deserves in academic research, undergrad and graduate coursework, industry research job postings and resumes, and beyond. *What: *Learning to Observe: Making (Micro-) Ethnography Great Again *Who: *Ted McCarthy *When: *Tuesday May 30 *Where: *12pm in CSE 203 *Short Description:* "Ethnography" is a term sparingly used in technology research these days, and for good reason: to some of us, it may sound "fluffy", and to others, intimidating. For many, the term itself evokes images of overly-bearded Indian Jones-types "going native" on remote Pacific islands, and there's a seemingly-pervasive fear that to say "I do ethnography" is to invite criticism from anyone who "really" does ethnography. And while terms like "rapid ethnography" have been bandied about to overcome some of these hurdles, that process itself is generally described as a *process; *it's usually something referred to as taking up days or weeks, not seconds or minutes interspersed throughout a day in the field. But it doesn't have to be this way! I argue for the reinstatement and rethought of the value of observation, a long-neglected tool in the qualitative researcher's toolbelt. What I'm calling "micro-ethnography" is especially valuable in international development contexts, where other research methods, like interviews and surveys, fall short under the dual constraints of language and cultural differences. The ability and desire to *just watch something* is increasingly rare in our rapidly accelerating world, but it's as important as ever, and should be given the respect it deserves in academic research, undergrad and graduate coursework, industry research job postings and resumes, and beyond. We'll look as a variety of examples from journalism, literature, documentary filmmaking, and more to tease out lessons from these diverse fields with an aim to improve our own work. *Bio:* Ted McCarthy is a user researcher who has worked on early-stage projects in "emerging markets" for the past several years, having apparently now drunk the industry kool-aid and adopted its parlance. He's spent the last ~1.5 years contracting with Google to conduct research on several hardware & software network products related to internet speed & access in developing countries, and before that was a UX consultant in healthcare and beyond. Ted spent several years in academia at the universities of Michigan and Washington, where he worked on accessibility and health projects in developing countries. He now lives in San Francisco, where he dearly misses Seattle's gorgeous mountains and delicious beers, but in no way its rain.

1 0

Tomorrow at Change: Paper: Why it's thriving and what you can do about it - Skye Gilbert
by Trevor Perrier 22 May '17

22 May '17

Hello All, Please join us at Change tomorrow. Skye Gilbert from PATH will be joining us to talk about the persistence and usefulness of paper in ICT4D projects. *What: *Paper: Why it's thriving and what you can do about it. *When: *Tuesday May 23 *Where: *12pm in CSE 203 *Short description: * There is no doubt that digital interventions have the potential to transform health systems in low-resource environments, whether by providing access to medical information, tracking patients over time or improving operations. So why do so many digital pilots struggle with adoption? This talk walks through experiences in the field, and introduces a few frameworks that can help identify and anticipate both adoption challenges and their root cause. *Bio: * Skye has worked on health and information systems from a variety of different lenses, first as an academic researcher living in Senegal and China, then as a consultant to the private sector at BCG, and finally as a Program and Strategy Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She joined PATH in 2016 and is leading the Digital Health team's data use, private sector partnerships and strategic consulting efforts.

1 0

Re: [change] Solar charge controller
by Hittey 22 May '17

22 May '17

0ef7fcae7b10b6ec70c4b9e4f410cdb3

1 0

Nafundi hiring experienced Android dev for Open Data Kit
by Yaw Anokwa 19 May '17

19 May '17

Open Data Kit (ODK, https://opendatakit.org) provides free and open source tools for social good organizations to collect data quickly, accurately, offline, and at scale. ODK has been used to collect billions of data points around the world. Example projects include gathering real-time election data in emerging democracies (https://youtu.be/O-CGzo3m4PA) forest monitoring in Indonesia (https://vimeo.com/109241884) and tracking polio vaccinations in the Middle East (https://youtu.be/zROyvrvt-zk) ODK's design enables novice users to collect data in challenging environments and its robustness in these environments has driven the platform's adoption and evolution. Additionally, building an open source community (https://github.com/opendatakit) around ODK has allowed it to benefit from code and content contributions from users, implementers, and developers. Nafundi (https://nafundi.com) is a company started by founders of ODK that offers professional services and software customization for ODK tools. We are seeking a software developer with Android experience to improve ODK Collect (https://github.com/opendatakit/collect) The ideal candidate is passionate about improving code quality and is interested in designing and building new features across the ODK platform. Responsibilities include: * Add tests to ODK Collect and improve code quality * Introduce, document and advocate for Android best practices * Work with the community to specify new features * Implement new features * Review other community members' code * Mentor contributors Minimum qualifications: * Experience creating and publishing Android applications * Experience working with, testing and improving legacy code * Demonstrated ability to self-motivate (side project, open source contributions) Preferred qualifications: * Interest in design, user interfaces, and user experience * Code contributions to open source projects, Android preferred * Experience working remotely and with globally distributed teams What we offer: * A chance to contribute to a project with broad social impact * A distributed, open, and fun community eager for software improvements * Location independence * Flexible contract-based arrangement Contract rate and length are negotiable based on experience and interests. If this sounds like a good fit, please send a brief email describing your interest, links to the Android applications you have worked on, and your resume to jobs(a)nafundi.com with subject: Experienced Android Developer for Open Data Kit.

1 0

Talk by Nimmi Rangaswamy (IIIT Hyderabad) on 5/19
by Aditya Vashistha 18 May '17

18 May '17

Hi all, Nimmi Rangawamy is visiting UW on May 19th. Nimmi has done fascinating work in examining digital practices of low-income, low-literate youth in urban India. She will give a talk (details below) at 2:30 in CSE 503. Please consider attending it. Also, please sign-up here <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wk6GLf8wpTjraSt9DoGGsOzis9f9KLlx7e5…> if you would like to meet with her. *Title:* The Surplus Self at the Digital Margins: Case Studies of Digital Life from Urban India *Date:* May 19 (Friday) 2:30pm *Place:* CSE 503, Paul G Allen Center *Abstract:* In this talk, I will briefly outline my journey as a social anthropologist in the field of HCI and ICTD and working beside software Industry specialists , techies and currently among AI scientists. Through my research projects, I will trace the evolution of the anthropological lens in understanding and broadening technology adoption in the context of developing nations. Having spent the last decade doing ethnographic fieldwork on the use of new information technologies in emerging markets, I’ve encountered time and again a host of media practices that flagrantly defied stereotypical understanding and framing of ICT use in the global south displaying rich, informed and focused use of mobile and internet technologies Some of the questions I try to unpack in this talk are the following: As even the less-privileged in developing countries become ambient broadcasters to stay connected, how will these digital broadcasting behaviors seep through to impact other lived spheres of life, lifestyles and opportunities? Will the social dimension of the surplus digital self play out, how and where? Is it an artifice to draw boundaries between the digital and other dimensions of the social when we discuss impact, outcomes, empowerment and social mobility? *Short Bio:* Nimmi Rangaswamy works at the interface of Digital HCI and Anthropology. She recently joined as Professor at the the Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems, Indian Institute of Information Technology, IIIT, Hyderabad. Formerly, she was a Senior Researcher and Area Manager of Human Interactions research at the Xerox Research Centre India, Bangalore. Nimmi is also currently Adjunct Professor at the Indian institute of Technology, Hyderabad teaching several courses on HCI and the Social Sciences. Best, Aditya

1 0

Fwd: [TIER] Fwd: ICT4D-related jobs at Sheffield University (Post-Docs and Sen Lecturer) - please share
by Yaw Anokwa 16 May '17

16 May '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Melissa Densmore <melissa.r.densmore(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, May 16, 2017 at 5:03 AM Subject: [TIER] Fwd: ICT4D-related jobs at Sheffield University (Post-Docs and Sen Lecturer) - please share To: TIER <tier(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dorothea J Kleine <d.j.kleine(a)sheffield.ac.uk> Date: Mon, May 15, 2017 at 6:46 PM Subject: ICT4D-related jobs at Sheffield University (Post-Docs and Sen Lecturer) - please share To: Dorothea J Kleine <d.j.kleine(a)sheffield.ac.uk> Dear colleagues, please do help us share these four job opportunities - many thanks: The Sheffield Institute for International Development is looking to appoint 2 Postdoctoral Research Fellows. We are looking for dynamic, energetic researchers in international development, who have been awarded a PhD since September 2013 and whose prime motivation is to do world class impactful research. The requirements of the job are, primarily, to complete a research project of the applicant's own design, publish and apply for further funding opportunities.We will particularly welcome applicants who fit well with one or more of three of SIID’s research themes: (a) Health, (b) Governance and Advocacy and (c) Digital Technologies, Data and Innovation. More about these jobs is here: https://jobs.shef.ac.uk/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG… Deadline: 31 May 2017 --- The Sheffield Information School is looking to appoint 2 Senior Lecturers (Associate Professor equivalent) in Data Science, Information Systems, Information Retrieval. An interest in ICT4D would be very welcome. https://jobs.shef.ac.uk/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG… Deadline: 5 June 2017 The Head of School is Peter Bath who would be happy to discuss these roles. ---- Successful candidates for any of these roles can come and join our new interdisciplinary Digital Technologies, Data and Innovation Group at the Sheffield Institute for International Development with over 20 staff, post-docs and PhDs from across 13 disciplines: http://siid.group.shef.ac.uk/research/digital-technoand-innovation/ as well as the Sheffield Digital Society Network: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/social-sciences/digital-society-network… Sheffield is a large, culturally vibrant, friendly city in the North of England, 2 hours by train from London. It features many green public spaces, live music venues, social innovation initiatives and creative maker spaces throughout the city, and the Peak District National Park is 5 miles from the University campus. Sheffield University is a large research intensive university ranked within the top 100 universities globally with a strong commitment to making a difference with our research. It was listed as 25th in the UK Sunday Times Top 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For 2017. For informal discussions about these roles, please feel free to contact Dorothea Kleine (d.j.kleine(a)Sheffield.ac.uk) -- Prof Dorothea Kleine Research Theme Lead, Digital Technologies, Data and Innovation (DDI) at the Sheffield Institute for International Development (SIID) Professorial Research Fellow, Dept of Geography, University of Sheffield ESRC-CONFAP Food Futures 2.0 digital film project in Rio and London - www.youthandfoodfutures.org _______________________________________________ TIER mailing list Website: http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu TIER(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu https://www.millennium.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tier

1 0

No Change Seminar This Week
by Trevor Perrier 15 May '17

15 May '17

Hi All, There will be no Change Seminar tomorrow (May 16). Our next seminar will be the following week May 23. Thanks, - Trevor

1 0

FW: Tech Inclusion Seattle, June 14-15, Pioneer Square/ Volunteer opps -- do it!
by Melody Clark 12 May '17

12 May '17

From: iMLISChat [mailto:imlischat-bounces@mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Cynthia del Rosario Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 9:48 AM To: iDiversity(a)uw.edu; imajors(a)uw.edu; imsim(a)uw.edu; imlischat(a)uw.edu; 'iphds(a)uw.edu' <iphds(a)uw.edu>; ifac(a)uw.edu Subject: [iMLIS Chat] Tech Inclusion Seattle, June 14-15, Pioneer Square/ Volunteer opps -- do it! Tech Inclusion Seattle!<https://seattle17.techinclusion.co/home> June 14-15, 2017 Galvanize Seattle - Pioneer Square 111 S Jackson St. Seattle WA 98104 Conference - Career Fair & Startup Showcase Driving An Inclusive Future! #TechInclusion We Need Volunteers! Find out more here<https://techinclusion.co/volunteer>! We can't do this without great volunteers like you. [https://res.cloudinary.com/bizzaboprod/image/upload/c_crop,g_custom,f_auto/…] Join us in driving an inclusive future for everyone. Tech Inclusion Seattle focuses on solutions to jobs, access and opportunity, empathy and allyship, inclusive and accessible design, creating inclusive teams and much more! Day 1: Conference & Startup Showcase. Keynotes, panel discussions, solo talks and immersive workshops focusing on solutions to diversity and inclusion across the local and national tech ecosystem. Plus a Startup Showcase and startup mentor office hours. Day 2: Career Fair. Quality underrepresented tech candidates meet local tech companies who care about diversity. Entry-, mid- and senior-level candidates across engineering, product, data, UX, marketing, finance and several other positions. Job candidates also have access to resume workshops and career coaching. Come join us if you're interested in learning what others are doing to drive diversity and inclusion in tech, if you're looking for startup mentorship, diverse dealflow, career development, tech jobs, personal growth and best practices. We can all be part of the solution! You are safe and included here. Tech Inclusion events are a safe and innovative space for people across every gender, race, ethnicity, religion, country of origin, sexual orientation, visible and invisible ability, and age, as well as veterans and people formerly incarcerated. We work to make our events accessible to everyone - we've partnered with Ava app (beta) to provide live captioning, if you need an ASL interpreter or a volunteer guide, or have other accessibility needs please let us know. Calling Startup Founders! Are you an underrepresented startup founder in EdTech, FinTech, PeopleTech or FutureTech? Apply to pitch at Tech Inclusion 2017 and join our Startup Fellows Program<https://www.f6s.com/techinclusionsstartupshowcase/apply>! We Need Volunteers! Find out more here<https://techinclusion.co/volunteer>! We can't do this without great volunteers like you. [cid:image001.jpg@01D18529.7F2A0A70] <<<<<>>>>>=====<<<<<>>>>>=====<<<<<>>>>> Cynthia del Rosario Diversity, Equity and Access Officer iSchool Diversity: ischool.uw.edu/diversity<http://www.ischool.uw.edu/diversity> Box 352840 MGH 420 Seattle WA 98195 206-543-9779 [cid:image002.png@01D1ECE0.F593F940]

1 0

Tomorrow at Change: Meg Young - Privacy and Public Records in a ‘Smart’ Puget Sound
by Trevor Perrier 08 May '17

08 May '17

Hello All, Please join us at Change tomorrow. Meg Young will be presenting results from her research with the Tech Policy Lab and Urban Infrastructure Lab. Meg has been looking at the implications of smart cities on privacy and social change. *What: *Privacy and Public Records in a ‘Smart’ Puget Sound *When: *Tuesday May 9 *Where: *12pm in CSE 203 *Abstract* This talk presents the preliminary results of my work on the privacy and public records implications of ‘smart city’ data collection programs in the City of Seattle and the State of Washington. I will examine three different technologies; Acyclica traffic sensors, Landis + Gyr smart meters, and Verizon Networkfleet’s telematics. These three technologies collect high-resolution, identifiable information, such as MAC address, energy consumption, or geo-coordinates over time. I examine how Washington State’s Public Records Act presents unique risks for the collection of smart cities data, such as exposure of identifiable information in the event of a public records request; most often, exemptions under the Act do not shield resident privacy. I explore other privacy ‘threat frontiers’ in smart cities data, such as contract terms that enable vendors to make secondary use of identifiable data and to retain it for longer than necessary. Based on these empirical examples, I locate opportunities to improve the design of smart cities data collection programs moving forward. *Bio*: Meg is a PhD student in the Information School. She is a member of the Tech Policy Lab and Urban Infrastructure Lab.

1 0

Re: [change] Event: Libraries & ICTs in Africa - A discussion with Dr. Buhle Mbambo-Thata - 5/8/17
by Melody Clark 08 May '17

08 May '17

Just a quick, friendly reminder about this exciting opportunity to learn more about libraries in Africa - brown bag event this Monday, May 8th from 12pm-1pm. Details below. Hope to see you there! Melody From: Melody Clark Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2017 1:51 PM To: 'iworld(a)uw.edu' <iworld(a)uw.edu>; 'imlischat(a)uw.edu' <imlischat(a)uw.edu>; 'idiversity(a)uw.edu' <idiversity(a)uw.edu>; 'EvansWorld(a)u.washington.edu' <EvansWorld(a)u.washington.edu>; 'change(a)change.washington.edu' <change(a)change.washington.edu> Subject: Event: Libraries & ICTs in Africa - A discussion with Dr. Buhle Mbambo-Thata - 5/8/17 Hello, all - We hope that you will join us for a brown bag lunch event with Dr. Buhle Mbambo-Thata of AfLIA<http://aflia.net/> (African Library and Information Association and Institutions) from South Africa, where she will discuss AfLIA and how the library field in Africa is evolving with ICTs and other initiatives. She will also discuss libraries in general in Africa and how they are contributing to community development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Buhle is a long-time partner and friend of the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA), and while she is in town for meetings with us, she graciously offered to meet with students who are interested in libraries in Africa. This is a perfect event for any of you interested in libraries around the world, international development, and international librarianship. When: Monday, May 8th, 12pm-1pm Where: Bloedel Hall 070A Brown bag lunch event - please bring your own lunch About Buhle: Dr. Buhle Mbambo-Thata is the Director of Resources Development of the African Library and Information Association and Institutions (AfLIA). Prior to that she was Executive Director of Library Services at the University of South Africa from 2006 until her retirement in 2016. She served as University Librarian at the University of Zimbabwe from 2001 until 2006. She serves as member of the Board of Directors of the National Library of South Africa, and Council on Research Libraries CLIR. Dr Mbambo-Thata has served as Governing Board member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). She was a member of the Strategic Advisory Network of the Global Libraries Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has previously served on various committee affiliations including the Library Network of the Association of Commonwealth Libraries, the E-Knowledge Society for Women in Southern Africa (of which she was chairperson), the advisory committees of EIFL Found.net, 2004-2007; the Gender in Africa Information Network 1996-2001 and the Access to Learning Award of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Her research interests are in women and ICT and ICT applications in libraries. She is passionate about Library development generally, and in Africa in particular. -- Melody Clark Communications Manager 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/>

2 2