December 2018 - change - Mailing Lists

TASCHA hiring a research assistant for Winter Quarter - applications due Jan 4
by Stacey Wedlake 28 Dec '18

28 Dec '18

I hope everyone is enjoying their Winter Break. The Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) in the Information School (iSchool) and the School of Marine Sciences seek a graduate Research Assistant for Winter Quarter to conduct a literature review of frameworks, curricula, tools, and programs that provide organizations and individuals data skills for better decision making. Of particular interest is capacity building that gives diverse communities with different resources the tools to create and use knowledge in ways that can also support national and international statistics. Please see our website for more information: https://tascha.uw.edu/2018/12/tascha-hiring-winter-2019-research-assistant/ It's a tight application window. Resumes and cover letters must be received no later than Jan 4. Thanks and happy new year! Stacey A. Wedlake Research Coordinator Technology and Social Change Group (TASCHA) University of Washington Information School

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Who could provide Internet connectivity for community-based groups in Puerto Rico?
by Yosem Companys 27 Dec '18

27 Dec '18

Hey All, First of all, I hope you're all doing well and having a wonderful holiday season. I wish you all a Happy New Year. We are helping a number of community-based groups in Puerto Rico (PR) apply for U.S. federal funding for post-Maria recovery and reconstruction. Part of the application for a specific grant opportunity on which I'm helping requires that the groups have Internet access prior to application. Do any of you know of any organizations that offer Internet connectivity to disadvantaged, marginalized, and/or vulnerable populations who might be interested in helping out? Please feel free to share my message widely. Thanks, Yosem P.S. Please note that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. so all rules and regulations governing Internet connectivity stateside apply to PR as well.

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Fwd: [dub] Design project idea
by Matthew Johnson 14 Dec '18

14 Dec '18

If anyone is interested in working on language and translation, this could be an interesting project with large general benefit! -Matt J. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Emily M. Bender <ebender(a)uw.edu> Date: Thu, Dec 13, 2018 at 18:36 Subject: [dub] Design project idea To: <dub(a)dub.washington.edu> Dear all, I have an idea I'd like to pursue which I think requires collaboration between someone with expertise in design (especially UI design) and a computational linguist (like me!). This is just a quick sketch of the idea, because I'd like to know if this appeals to anyone on this list. Basically, the problem I'd like to tackle is the way that certain NLP technology makes opaque both the source of its information and its level of uncertainty. I think this is a contributing factor to problems like this one: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/24/facebook-palestine-israe… I think one possible (partial) solution here is to find a way to make that information visible to naive users. I know that when I approach machine translation systems, for example, I bring a lot of skepticism about the results based on what I know about how the systems work and how translation works in general. What I'd like to explore is whether it's possible to expose information about the system in the right way to engender similar skepticism in non-linguist users. Does this pique anyone's interest? Emily -- Emily M. Bender Professor, Department of Linguistics University of Washington Twitter: @emilymbender _______________________________________________ dub mailing list dub(a)dub.washington.edu https://dubber.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/dub

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Our People-Centered Digital Future | Right now via webcast!
by Yosem Companys 10 Dec '18

10 Dec '18

Today is the "Our People-Centered Digital Future" sponsored by Constellation Research <https://www.constellationr.com/about>. By March 2019, 50% of the world will be connected to the Internet, an inflection point that marks an important moment for examining the “unfinished work” of the Internet and discussing the community norms, human rights and social contracts required in this exponential digital era. The event recognizes both the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights <http://www.unesco.org/new/en/brasilia/about-this-office/prizes-and-celebrat…> (UDHR), the event also recognizes the 50th anniversary of the "Mother of All Demos <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos>." The event is well underway. Internet co-inventor Vint Cerf and Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee have already delivered their introductory remarks. If you missed their talks, don't worry. You can click on the Livestream timeline below to view them. There are many more events to come today into the late evening. This is a simulcast of the YouTube feed at https://youtu.be/S87r9Bn058s> (which does buffer occasionally), but with added AI captions and speaker names. Below are the Livestream links: - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ourdigitalfuture/ - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/DigitalCooperation - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/coppaat20 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/CITIDFS-ICO - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ConnectedNE - https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/js-nyc-nov18 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/swissigf18 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/iotsecurity2018-4 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ukigf18 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/routingsecurity/ - http://www.mnn.org/live/2-lifestyle-channel - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/diversity/ - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/VisionsIG For more, please see: - Event: https://www.constellationr.com/events/PCDF - Agenda: https://www.constellationr.com/events/PCDF/agenda/2018-12-10 - Livestream: https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ - SLI.DO: http://sli.do/ourdigitalfuture - #OurDigitalFuture: http://bit.ly/ourdigitalfuture - #StandUp4HumanRights: http://bit.ly/2PgVDOQ - Permalink: https://isoc.live/10734/ *** This email is brought to you via the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech and Joly MacFie at joly(a)punkcast.com *****

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JOB: USAID DIV STIP Officer; Deadline: Dec 13
by Yosem Companys 10 Dec '18

10 Dec '18

Jeff Brown recently re-joined Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) at United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as Division Chief. USAID DIV supports piloting and rigorous testing of innovations in development and helps transition the most successful innovations to scale. For example, DIV supported a rigorous evaluation by James Habyarimana and Billy Jack of Georgetown University which found dramatic reductions in accident rates from placing stickers in minibuses in Kenya encouraging passengers to speak up if the driver was driving unsafely. DIV then supported a national scale up, and the innovation is now improving safety for millions of Kenyans and being rigorously tested to see if there are similar effects in other countries. Jeff and Michael are looking for someone to join DIV leadership team in the exciting and senior role of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnership (STIP) Officer. The details are at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/518613200. The job posting was just made but apparently is scheduled to close in 3 days on December 13! A few items to note: - Unfortunately, the position is only open to US citizens. - The U.S. federal government's human resources policy requires filling out a questionnaire. Please make sure to answer the questions in a detailed fashion as CVs and resumes may not explicitly cover areas such as "teamwork." If the applicant isn't familiar with the process of applying for government jobs through such forms, you might want to research it or reach out to someone who is familiar with the process. - Unfortunately, Jeff and Michael aren't in a position to provide further info beyond what's on the website until the prospective applicant applies and makes it further in the process (e.g., interview panel). Please feel free to apply and/or circulate the opportunity widely.

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Fwd: [jsde] Prashant Bharadwaj -- Joint Seminar in Development Economics -- December 10
by Philip Garrison 05 Dec '18

05 Dec '18

This upcoming talk about M-Shwari may be relevant to many of us. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Rachel Heath <rmheath(a)uw.edu> Date: Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 2:58 PM Subject: [jsde] Prashant Bharadwaj -- Joint Seminar in Development Economics -- December 10 To: <jsde(a)u.washington.edu>, <econfacall(a)uw.edu>, <econgrad(a)u.washington.edu > Please join us *Monday, December 10 *for the Joint Seminar in Development Economics with Prashant Bharadwaj from UCSD. The seminar is from *11:00am - 12:30pm in Savery 410.* Title and abstract below. We hope to see you there! Sign up here to meet Prashant, or go to lunch here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aPl8mb_rgrQxDSoU0WBTX24aJAV_WdLbwl_sveg…> --- Can Digital Loans Deliver? Take Up and Impacts of Digital Loans in Kenya (with William Jack and Tavneet Suri) Developing world lenders are taking advantage of fintech tools to create fully digital loans on mobile phones. We investigate the take up and impacts of one of the most popular digital loan products, M-Shwari in Kenya, using a regression discontinuity design. While 34% of those eligible for the loan take it, this does not substitute for other formal or informal credit. The loans improve household resilience against shocks and increase their propensity to spend on education. These digital loans could therefore be an important way to improve financial access, but they are not a panacea for greater credit market failures. -- Rachel Heath Associate Professor of Economics Milliman Distinguished Scholar University of Washington rmheath(a)uw.edu <http://faculty.washington.edu/rmheath/> http://faculty.washington.edu/rmheath/ _______________________________________________ jsde mailing list jsde(a)u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/jsde

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Re: [change] UW Change Seminar Tuesday, Dec 4: Tara Patricia Cookson, Unjust Conditions
by Naveena Karusala 04 Dec '18

04 Dec '18

Reminder this is happening in ~20 minutes! On Sat, Dec 1, 2018 at 3:50 PM Philip Garrison <philipmg(a)cs.washington.edu> wrote: > Please join us for the Change Seminar next week *Tuesday 12/4/2018* in JHN > 111. > > *Who: *Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson > *What:* Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost of Cash > Transfer Programs > *When: *Tuesday, Dec 4th, 12-1pm > *Where:* Johnson Hall 111 > > > *Abstract* Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are praised as > efficient mechanisms for changing poor people’s health and education > seeking behavior, and promoting financial inclusion. Yet behind the good > intentions, CCT programs’ successes ring hollow, based solely on metrics > for children’s attendance at school and health appointments. This talk > presents ethnographic findings from a new book on the World Bank's "model" > CCT program in Peru. In looking beyond routine program evaluations, it > reveals a host of hidden costs for the mothers who meet the conditions, and > will provide pragmatic recommendations for research and policy. > > *Bio* Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson is Co-Founder and Director of Ladysmith, > a Social Purpose Corporation that provides research services for > international development organizations including UN Women, UNICEF, and the > OECD. She is author of Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost > of Cash Transfer Programs, which is based on her PhD research at the > University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. In 2014 > she received the Bill Gates Sr Prize for founding a leadership program for > early career researchers called Learning for Purpose. Tara is currently a > SSHRC Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, and is a > Seattle Women’s Commissioner. > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change(a)change.washington.edu > https://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change >

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Re: [change] UW Change Seminar Tuesday, Dec 4: Tara Patricia Cookson, Unjust Conditions
by Philip Garrison 03 Dec '18

03 Dec '18

I'd like to strongly encourage everyone to come for this final talk of the quarter (tomorrow); it should be very interesting! On Sat, Dec 1, 2018, 3:50 PM Philip Garrison <philipmg(a)cs.washington.edu wrote: > Please join us for the Change Seminar next week *Tuesday 12/4/2018* in JHN > 111. > > *Who: *Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson > *What:* Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost of Cash > Transfer Programs > *When: *Tuesday, Dec 4th, 12-1pm > *Where:* Johnson Hall 111 > > > *Abstract* Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are praised as > efficient mechanisms for changing poor people’s health and education > seeking behavior, and promoting financial inclusion. Yet behind the good > intentions, CCT programs’ successes ring hollow, based solely on metrics > for children’s attendance at school and health appointments. This talk > presents ethnographic findings from a new book on the World Bank's "model" > CCT program in Peru. In looking beyond routine program evaluations, it > reveals a host of hidden costs for the mothers who meet the conditions, and > will provide pragmatic recommendations for research and policy. > > *Bio* Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson is Co-Founder and Director of Ladysmith, > a Social Purpose Corporation that provides research services for > international development organizations including UN Women, UNICEF, and the > OECD. She is author of Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost > of Cash Transfer Programs, which is based on her PhD research at the > University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. In 2014 > she received the Bill Gates Sr Prize for founding a leadership program for > early career researchers called Learning for Purpose. Tara is currently a > SSHRC Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, and is a > Seattle Women’s Commissioner. > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change(a)change.washington.edu > https://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change >

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UW Change Seminar Tuesday, Dec 4: Tara Patricia Cookson, Unjust Conditions
by Philip Garrison 01 Dec '18

01 Dec '18

Please join us for the Change Seminar next week *Tuesday 12/4/2018* in JHN 111. *Who: *Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson *What:* Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost of Cash Transfer Programs *When: *Tuesday, Dec 4th, 12-1pm *Where:* Johnson Hall 111 *Abstract* Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are praised as efficient mechanisms for changing poor people’s health and education seeking behavior, and promoting financial inclusion. Yet behind the good intentions, CCT programs’ successes ring hollow, based solely on metrics for children’s attendance at school and health appointments. This talk presents ethnographic findings from a new book on the World Bank's "model" CCT program in Peru. In looking beyond routine program evaluations, it reveals a host of hidden costs for the mothers who meet the conditions, and will provide pragmatic recommendations for research and policy. *Bio* Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson is Co-Founder and Director of Ladysmith, a Social Purpose Corporation that provides research services for international development organizations including UN Women, UNICEF, and the OECD. She is author of Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost of Cash Transfer Programs, which is based on her PhD research at the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. In 2014 she received the Bill Gates Sr Prize for founding a leadership program for early career researchers called Learning for Purpose. Tara is currently a SSHRC Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, and is a Seattle Women’s Commissioner.

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