- change - Mailing Lists

Experiencing Research in Low-Resource Environments (Exploration Seminar)
by Eleanor O'Rourke 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Hi Everyone, Check out the following opportunity for participating in ICTD research in Ghana this summer, which was mentioned at the Change Seminar last Thursday. This seminar is organized by Dr. Araba Sey and Chris Rothschild of the UW iSchool. **************** Communication Technologies & Development: Experiencing Research in Low-Resource Environments (Exploration Seminar) Location: Accra, Ghana Department: iSchool Dates: August 22 - September 16, 2011 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Ghana ranges from no access in many rural areas to access comparable to some major US cities. What strategies do people with low incomes use to connect to others and get the information they need? How does this impact their lives? We can get answers to these questions through research and direct experience. Whether you are interested in the uses and impacts of ICTs on the lives of people in developing countries or more generally in learning about how to do field research, this seminar is an opportunity to explore researched-based learning through immersion in the people and culture of Ghana. In this seminar students will examine how people in different types of communities (urban and rural) use ICTs in their daily activities and how they feel about the impacts on their wellbeing. In contrast to historical notions of development where outside agencies determine goals with little input from the target populations, we will focus on development from the perspective of low-income populations. Students can apply the experience to their individual areas of interest, whether they be information systems, health, education, or other fields. The program will provide instruction and practical experience on using field research methods to investigate the role of ICTs in the livelihoods of low and middle-income populations. Students will also experience local history and lifestyles through visits to sites of cultural interest such as colonial slave castles, local markets, and national parks. If you are interested in ICTs, development, or just want to learn more about conducting field research, we encourage you to apply! To find out more about this seminar visit the program website (http://studyabroad.washington.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram…) If you have any questions about the program, feel free to email us: Dr. Araba Sey, Research Associate, Information School arabasey(a)uw.edu Chris Rothschild, Research Analyst, Information School chriskr(a)uw.edu

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Fwd: Support Young Social Entrepreneurs - Join us for the 2011 GSEC Banquet
by Gaetano Borriello 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kathleen Hatch <khatch(a)uw.edu> Date: Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 9:52 AM Subject: Support Young Social Entrepreneurs - Join us for the 2011 GSEC Banquet To: Gaetano Borriello <gaetano(a)cs.washington.edu> Dear Gaetano Borriello, Join the UW Global Business Center in supporting young social entrepreneurs at the 7th Annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition Banquet<http://www.bit.ly/gsecbanquet>: *An Evening of Innovation*, on February 17, 2011, from 5:30-8:30 pm, at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. The GSEC Awards Banquet will celebrate the successes of the 2011 GSEC Teams<http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/gbc/globalsocialentrepreneurshipco…>and feature keynote speaker *Dan Shine, Senior Innovation Advisor, Office of Science and Technology*, United States Agency for International Development. To learn more about GSEC and to register for the banquet, please visit our website: www.bit.ly/gsecbanquet. [image: Banquet Invitation 2011.jpg]

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No TASCHA Talk this week
by Melody Clark 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Hello, Due to unforeseen travel for field research, Judith Yaaqoubi's TASCHA Talk will be rescheduled from this Thursday, February 3 to later this quarter. We will be in touch when the TASCHA Talk is rescheduled. Thank you, TASCHA -- Melody Clark Research Coordinator | Global Impact Study Technology & Social Change (TASCHA) melclark(a)uw.edu<mailto:melclark@uw.edu> | 206.685.7819 Twitter: @ictimpact www.globalimpactstudy.org<http://www.globalimpactstudy.org/>

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Interesting Economist articles on cell phones in developing countries & the UID project(India)
by ashish makani 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Hi folks 1. An interesting & well researched economist article on cell phones being used to help social problems from counterfeit medicines to farmers getting better prices for their crops. http://www.economist.com/node/18008202 (via a HN article http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2160075) <http://www.economist.com/node/18008202>2. Also, an economist article on the UID project in India http://www.economist.com/node/18010459 (via HN : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2160118) Have a great week ahead Best, ashish

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NY Times: Google Finds It Hard to Reinvent Philanthropy
by Yaw Anokwa 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

the times has a story on the evolution of google.org. particularly insightful is the breakdown of what early approaches failed. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/business/30charity.html?pagewanted=all http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/tech-for-good-catching-up-on-googleo… is google's take on where dotorg is going.

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Nathan Myhrvold salon: "Are We Ready for the Future?"
by Scott Macklin 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

Hi everyone, Call this a “mini TED-like” event. Actually, we’re scooping Nathan Myhrvold’s TED talk by a week…So let’s just call it a special sneak preview. Yes, it’s President’s Day. Yes, we’re charging $20 to cover facility and lunch costs, but it’s going to be a heck of a conversation and networking opportunity. And it’s the official “hard launch” for Four Peaks. RSVP http://fourpeaks.eventbrite.com/ Join us, Monday, February 21, 2011 at 11:30 for a Four Peaks Salon: “Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest: Are We Really Ready for the Future?” Intellectual Ventures CEO (and former Microsoft CTO) Nathan Myhrvold will kick things off with his live on-camera interview with me. Salon participants will enjoy lunch while they catch an exclusive big screen viewing of the show as it’s being conducted two floors below in the UWTV studios. Myhrvold will then come upstairs and in collaboration with Four Peaks thought leaders, will initiate a larger, participatory conversation with everyone in attendance. More details: Did you know that we all have a laboratory in our home? It’s called “the kitchen.” Intellectual Ventures CEO (and former Microsoft CTO) Nathan Myhrvold will explain to Media Space host Hanson Hosein why his new 2,400-page book Modernist Cuisine is destined to turn the kitchen upside down (along with the food blogosphere) and reinvent cooking. Myhrvold will also discuss his provocative ideas on innovation and invention, and whether the technology-centric Pacific Northwest is as competitive as its citizens would like to believe that it is. www.modernistcuisine.com We'll pursue this line of conversation considerably further in the Four Peaks salon that follows the show with "Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest: Are We Really Ready for the Future?" Myhrvold writes in the Harvard Business Review "that invention is set to become the next software: a high-value asset that will serve as the foundation for new business models, liquid markets, and investment strategies." We'll convene leaders from the technology, entrepreneurial, venture capital and academic worlds to discuss whether those elements are truly needed -- and what we need to accomplish in our own region to secure our economic future. A UWTV/MCDM/Four Peaks event: Monday, February 21, 2011 11:30 – 2:30 p.m., Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall, University of Washington Admission $20 (includes lunch – a thought-provoking way to spend President’s Day) **FREE parking Salon conversation leaders will include: - Nathan Myhrvold (Intellectual Ventures) - Susan Sigl (Washington Technology Industry Association) - Wanda Gregory (University of Washington Center for Serious Play) - Tony Benton (Community Affairs Director for Clear Channel Radio-Seattle) About Four Peaks: www.fourpeaks.org About Media Space: www.uwtv.org/mediaspace About the MCDM: www.mcdm.uw.edu Follow the hashtags #FourPeaks and #ModernCuisine on Twitter for event information. (Also, save the date for our next Four Peaks salon, March 5th with Guiding Lights/American Patriot creator, Eric Liu).

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Request for students that have done international fieldwork
by Joe Sullivan 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

Greetings Changers. I am working on a project in HCDE to understand the way that student engineers work in resource constrained settings. We are most interested in people who make stuff. What information did you need? What information and communication resources did you use? What challenges did you face? What creative workarounds did you experience? Even if you think that nothing revolutionary happened on your trip, we still are interested in your experience. Would you be willing to share a story or two with us? Can we take you out for coffee? It should take about an hour. Please contact me or my research partner, Karen Saville, if you are willing to help. Thanks a million. Joe Sullivan Researcher Technology & Social Change Group University of Washington jcs23(a)uw.edu Karen Saville ksaville(a)uw.edu

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Ricardo Gomez on Public Access to Computing
by Eleanor O'Rourke 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

This Thursday at Change, we will be hosting a talk by Ricardo Gomez, an Associate Professor at the iSchool who specializes in the social impacts of communication technologies, especially in community development settings. People who don’t have computers at home or at work go to public places such as libraries, telecenters and cybercafés to use computers and the Internet. Dr. Gomez has been studying public access computing in 25 developing countries, and recently completed fieldwork for an in-depth study in Colombia. What kind of people use public access computers? What do they do in these places? And what difference does it make? Quick presentation of the international study, followed by discussion of emerging findings in Colombia. Opportunity to get involved in further data analysis if you are interested. Please join us for sandwiches, and to learn more about Ricardo Gomez’s research on public access to computing in developing countries! What: Ricardo Gomez on Public Access to Computing When: Thursday, January 27th at noon Where: Paul Allen Center, Room 203

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Fwd: NSDR 2011: 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions
by Gaetano Borriello 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bill Thies <thies(a)microsoft.com> Date: Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 12:17 AM Subject: NSDR 2011: 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions To: Bill Thies <thies(a)microsoft.com> Cc: Richard Anderson <anderson(a)cs.washington.edu> Dear Colleagues, Please consider submitting a paper to NSDR 2011, to be held in conjunction with MobiSys in Washington, D.C. this June. Six-page papers are due March 25. Best wishes, Bill Thies Richard Anderson PC Co-chairs --- CALL FOR PAPERS 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions (NSDR 2011) Co-located with MobiSys 2011 Washington, D.C., USA June 28th, 2011 http://www.dritte.org/nsdr11 Important Dates * Submission Deadline (Firm): March 25, 2011 (23:59 EST) * Notification: April 25, 2011 * Camera-ready: May 10, 2011 * Workshop: June 28, 2011 Background Following four successful workshops of NSDR at SIGCOMM 2007, SIGCOMM 2008, SOSP 2009, and MobiSys 2010, the 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions (NSDR11) will provide a venue for researchers to propose and discuss ideas concerning the design, implementation and evaluation of new computing and communications technologies to support the sustainable development of developing regions. NSDR specifically focuses on the technical networking and systems research challenges that arise in the development of new computing solutions appropriate for developing regions where conventional solutions are often inappropriate and the development of new research approaches and innovative designs and techniques is often required. NSDR solicits papers that either highlight important networking and systems challenges in this space or describe the deployment and evaluation of novel technologies or applications that address a specific need. Papers, Topics of Interest We encourage submission of position papers or the results of preliminary work describing interesting, original, previously unpublished ideas or results pertaining to the design, implementation and/or evaluation of networks and systems for developing regions. Accepted papers will: * Propose new research directions; * Target a specific application; * Inform design and/or deployment; and/or * Generate lively debate at the workshop. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: * Low-cost wireless connectivity * Intermittent and delay-tolerant systems * Rural network planning and spectrum management protocols and techniques * Mechanisms for emergency and urgent communications * Location-aware systems * Power-efficient systems * Low-cost computing devices * Mobile systems and applications * Middleware and mechanisms for minimizing energy, latency and storage (caching etc) * Adapting content and applications for local languages * User interfaces for low-literacy populations * Shared access devices and infrastructure, including personalization and privacy concerns * Design and evaluation of applications and in-depth case studies in the areas of public health, microfinance, agriculture, e-governance, education, monitoring, disaster management, etc. Submission Instructions Submissions must be no greater than 6 pages (six pages) in length (including figures and references), must use a minimum 10pt font and minimum 1inch margins, must be in the form of a PDF file, and must follow formatting guidelines and instructions at: http://www.dritte.org/nsdr11/submit.html Submissions that deviate from these guidelines will be rejected without consideration. Reviews will be SINGLE-BLIND: authors' names and affiliations should be included in the submission. Authors of accepted papers are expected to present their papers at the workshop. Submissions must be original work not under review at any other workshop, conference or journal. Program Committee Richard Anderson, U. Washington (Program co-chair) Bill Thies, Microsoft Research India (Program co-chair) Muneeb Ali, Princeton Saman Amarasinghe, MIT John Bennett, U. Colorado Gaetano Borrielo, U. Washington Eric Brewer, UC Berkeley S. Keshav, U. Waterloo Jonathan Ledlie, Nokia Research Margaret Martonosi, Princeton Tapan Parikh, UC Berkeley Bhaskar Raman, IIT Bombay Umar Saif, LUMS Lakshmi Subramanian, NYU Steering Committee Elizabeth Belding, UC Santa Barbara Gaetano Borriello, U. Washington Eric Brewer, UC Berkeley Ravi Jain, Google Umar Saif, LUMS Lakshmi Subramanian, NYU

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IIIT Delhi recruiting for faculty position in "IT and Society"
by Richard Anderson 24 Jan '11

24 Jan '11

Pankoj Jalote has asked me to forward information about faculty positions in IT and Society at IIIT Delhi. http://www.iiitd.ac.in/Positions/PDF/IIITD-FacultyForITandSociety2011.pdf I can provide a small amount of additional context, based on my visit to IIIT Delhi last year. - Richard -

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