February 2023 - change - Mailing Lists

Change Seminar 2/28: Ron Eglash - Computational prosthetics for a wounded body politic: designing for generative justice
by Innocent Obi 24 Feb '23

24 Feb '23

Hi Everyone! At next week's Change seminar (Feb 28th), we will be hearing from Ron Eglash <https://roneglash.org/> from the University of Michigan's School of Information. Ron's talk is titled "Computational prosthetics for a wounded body politic: designing for generative justice." Check out our website: www.change.washington.edu! *Description* Contemporary disasters – racism, environmental destruction, labor exploitation, platforms that colonize our social networks, and so on – have one feature in common: they are all examples of value that is extracted; that is, alienated from its generative source. Computational technologies can be designed to act as prosthetics for this wounded body politic: restoring the ability to generate and circulate value rather than extract it. Supported by an NSF “Future of Work” grant, we report on some initial experiments in developing methods, techniques and strategies in the design of these technologies for generative justice *Resources for Attendees* None *Seminar Details* *Location*: Tuesdays from 12-1pm in 271 CSE2 (The Bill and Melinda Gates Center) *Zoom:* https://washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611 <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611__;!!K-H…> *Presenter Bio* Dr. Ron Eglash is a Professor in the School of Information at University of Michigan. He received his B.S. in Cybernetics, his M.S. in Systems Engineering, and his PhD in History of Consciousness, all from the University of California. His work as Fulbright scholar was published as African Fractals: modern computing and indigenous design <https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/african-fractals/9780813526140>. Other work, funded by NSF, HUD, and Department of Education, include the Culturally Situated Design Tools software suite; new practices in African architecture, and development for urban sustainability. Best, UW Change Organizers

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Reminder - Change Seminar 2/21: Morgan Wack - Beyond Fact-Checking: Exploring The Reach of Current and Future Efforts to Counter Misinformation in the Global South
by Innocent Obi 20 Feb '23

20 Feb '23

Hi Everyone! Just a reminder that tomorrow we will be hearing from Morgan Wack from UW Political Science. Morgan's talk is titled "Beyond Fact-Checking: Exploring The Reach of Current and Future Efforts to Counter Misinformation in the Global South". Check out our website: www.change.washington.edu! *Description* The talk will open with a discussion of the online misinformation ecosystem in the Global South, including the theoretical and real-world impact of regional fact-checking and social correction efforts in addressing political misinformation. Following this discussion I will detail the results of a survey-based study focused on Kenya’s 2022 General Election that tested the efficacy of ‘social truth queries’ as a novel strategy for broadening the reach of current efforts to counter misinformation. *Resources for Attendees* None *Seminar Details* *Location*: Tuesdays from 12-1pm in 271 CSE2 (The Bill and Melinda Gates Center) *Zoom:* https://washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611 <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611__;!!K-H…> *Presenter Bio* Morgan is a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at the University of Washington. He is focused on the nexus of new technologies, misinformation, and crime. Currently, He is examining the effects of the adoption of private security technologies on voter perceptions in South Africa, how elections serve to signal support for incumbents to voters in authoritarian regimes, and how misinformation travels between online and offline community networks in the Global South. In addition to his research, he serves as a Research Associate at the UW’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) and as graduate fellow for the Center for Environmental Politics and Political Economy Forum, where he occasionally serves as host for Forum’s podcast. He is also a 2022 Junior Fellow at the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) and an affiliate of the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP). Prior to his PhD he worked as an analyst for NGOs addressing a range of developmental challenges ranging from health and education to youth entrepreneurship. He has worked, lived, and conducted research across sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Best, UW Change Organizers

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Change Seminar 2/21: Morgan Wack - Beyond Fact-Checking: Exploring The Reach of Current and Future Efforts to Counter Misinformation in the Global South
by Innocent Obi 16 Feb '23

16 Feb '23

Hi Everyone! At next week's Change seminar (Feb 21th), we will be hearing from Morgan Wack from UW Political Science. Morgan's talk is titled "Beyond Fact-Checking: Exploring The Reach of Current and Future Efforts to Counter Misinformation in the Global South". Check out our website: www.change.washington.edu! *Description* The talk will open with a discussion of the online misinformation ecosystem in the Global South, including the theoretical and real-world impact of regional fact-checking and social correction efforts in addressing political misinformation. Following this discussion I will detail the results of a survey-based study focused on Kenya’s 2022 General Election that tested the efficacy of ‘social truth queries’ as a novel strategy for broadening the reach of current efforts to counter misinformation. *Resources for Attendees* None *Seminar Details* *Location*: Tuesdays from 12-1pm in 271 CSE2 (The Bill and Melinda Gates Center) *Zoom:* https://washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611 <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611__;!!K-H…> *Presenter Bio* Morgan is a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at the University of Washington. He is focused on the nexus of new technologies, misinformation, and crime. Currently, He is examining the effects of the adoption of private security technologies on voter perceptions in South Africa, how elections serve to signal support for incumbents to voters in authoritarian regimes, and how misinformation travels between online and offline community networks in the Global South. In addition to his research, he serves as a Research Associate at the UW’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) and as graduate fellow for the Center for Environmental Politics and Political Economy Forum, where he occasionally serves as host for Forum’s podcast. He is also a 2022 Junior Fellow at the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) and an affiliate of the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP). Prior to his PhD he worked as an analyst for NGOs addressing a range of developmental challenges ranging from health and education to youth entrepreneurship. He has worked, lived, and conducted research across sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Best, UW Change Organizers

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Reminder - Change Seminar 2/14: June Lukuyu - Spotlight Kampala: Illuminating Energy Access Inequities in Informal Urban Communities
by Innocent Obi 14 Feb '23

14 Feb '23

Hi Everyone! Just a reminder! Today, we will be hearing from June Lukuyu from UW ECE. June's talk is titled "Spotlight Kampala: Illuminating Energy Access Inequities in Informal Urban Communities". Check out our website: www.change.washington.edu! *Description* Informal settlements (commonly known as slums) – home to nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population – face persistent inequities in the accessibility, reliability, quality, safety, and affordability of electricity service. Further, they face structural barriers to securing legal access to the electricity grid. This has created a complex informal electricity resale market of unmetered connections controlled by landlords and informal electricians, providing a marginal level of grid access and engendering new vulnerabilities. Illegally tapping into nearby distribution infrastructure results in numerous fatalities from electrocution, leaves households vulnerable to exploitation by intermediaries, costs utilities millions of dollars annually, and destabilizes the local power grid. In this talk, I will present some early findings from remote monitoring of power quality and reliability conducted in 25 informal settlements in Kampala by Spotlight Kampala – a research initiative aiming to offer actionable insight into access challenges in informal communities Kampala. The broad objectives of the projects are to gain insight into how community members meet their energy needs, the prevalence of informal connections, and for households and businesses that are connected (either formally, informally, or both), is their connection safe, reliable, high-quality, and affordable? *Resources for Attendees* None *Seminar Details* *Location*: Tuesdays from 12-1pm in 271 CSE2 (The Bill and Melinda Gates Center) *Zoom:* https://washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611 <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611__;!!K-H…> *Presenter Bio* June Lukuyu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. She recently received her Ph.D. in ECE at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Systems Technologies from Loughborough University. Her research focuses on how to develop and plan for inclusive and sustainable energy systems and technologies for underserved communities, centering on promoting social development, sustainability, and human empowerment. Best, UW Change Organizers

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Change Seminar 2/14: June Lukuyu - Spotlight Kampala: Illuminating Energy Access Inequities in Informal Urban Communities
by Innocent Obi 10 Feb '23

10 Feb '23

Hi Everyone! At next week's Change seminar (Feb 14th), we will be hearing from Prof. June Lukuyu from UW ECE. June's talk is titled "Spotlight Kampala: Illuminating Energy Access Inequities in Informal Urban Communities". Check out our website: www.change.washington.edu! *Description* Informal settlements (commonly known as slums) – home to nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population – face persistent inequities in the accessibility, reliability, quality, safety, and affordability of electricity service. Further, they face structural barriers to securing legal access to the electricity grid. This has created a complex informal electricity resale market of unmetered connections controlled by landlords and informal electricians, providing a marginal level of grid access and engendering new vulnerabilities. Illegally tapping into nearby distribution infrastructure results in numerous fatalities from electrocution, leaves households vulnerable to exploitation by intermediaries, costs utilities millions of dollars annually, and destabilizes the local power grid. In this talk, I will present some early findings from remote monitoring of power quality and reliability conducted in 25 informal settlements in Kampala by Spotlight Kampala – a research initiative aiming to offer actionable insight into access challenges in informal communities Kampala. The broad objectives of the projects are to gain insight into how community members meet their energy needs, the prevalence of informal connections, and for households and businesses that are connected (either formally, informally, or both), is their connection safe, reliable, high-quality, and affordable? *Resources for Attendees* None *Seminar Details* *Location*: Tuesdays from 12-1pm in 271 CSE2 (The Bill and Melinda Gates Center) *Zoom:* https://washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611 *Presenter Bio* June Lukuyu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. She recently received her Ph.D. in ECE at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Systems Technologies from Loughborough University. Her research focuses on how to develop and plan for inclusive and sustainable energy systems and technologies for underserved communities, centering on promoting social development, sustainability, and human empowerment.

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Change Seminar 2/7: George Hope Chidziwisano - Using Smart Home Technologies to Support Domestic Activities in the Global South
by Innocent Obi 02 Feb '23

02 Feb '23

Hi Everyone! At next week's Change seminar (Feb 7th), we will be hearing from George Hope Chidziwisano (he/him) of Carnegie Mellon University. Hope's talk is titled "Using Smart Home Technologies to Support Domestic Activities in the Global South." Check out our website: www.change.washington.edu! *Description* Smart home technologies have significantly contributed to the design of new applications that improve people’s domestic lives, such as systems for energy monitoring, home surveillance, activity tracking, and air quality monitoring. Even though homes are not the same across the globe, human computer interaction (HCI) research on smart home technologies overwhelmingly takes place in western societies. In this talk, Hope will present his work focusing on using smart home technologies to support domestic activities in the Global South, specifically in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Generally, his findings suggest that people in the Global South are interested in using sensor-based technologies, and they quickly find different ways of appropriating them to suit their needs. Hope will focus on the unexpected ways people use these technologies and their reflections on using them to support domestic activities. He will conclude his presentation with a discussion about the unintended consequences which accompany the deployment of smart home technologies in the Global South. Hopes’ work presents opportunities for designing smart home technologies to support people’s needs beyond western societies. Further, his work expands on existing discussion about smart home technologies by considering marginalized perspectives on how they can be used in the home *Resources for Attendees* * None *Seminar Details* *Location*: Tuesdays from 12-1pm in 271 CSE2 (The Bill and Melinda Gates Center) *Zoom:* https://washington.zoom.us/j/93100061611 *Presenter Bio* George Hope Chidziwisano is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on designing sensing technologies for resource constrained areas. More specifically, he conducts design-oriented studies in the Global South, where he collaborates with local technicians and families to design, develop, and deploy novel sensing technologies that have the potential to solve some of the challenges facing homes. Hope’s research has received recognition from Google Research and ACM COMPASS. Hope was a fellow in the Data Science for Social Good program; a program affiliated with the University of Washington’s eScience Institute. He used his expertise in machine learning, natural language processing and deep learning to contribute to a project on identifying disinformation in online news articles. Hope has also participated in the Global Innovation Exchange program (University of Washington and Tsinghua University) where he practiced a variety of human-centered design methods to develop novel sensing techniques, user-friendly interfaces, and cutting-edge computer technologies. Before joining CMU, Hope completed his Ph.D. and M.A. in Information and Media at Michigan State University. Hope completed his undergraduate studies in Computer Science and Physics at the University of Malawi. Best, UW Change Organizers

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