Judy- I agree completely! I think part of the "good" you refer to is enabling "the poor" to design solutions to their own problems. Kenya, as you point out, is a wonderful example of a country with many very smart people (at all of levels of society) who are turning out creative solutions relevant to their challenges rather than waiting for technology/expertise to be introduced/imposed from the outside. We need to listen carefully to those individuals and follow/support their lead (and enable them to publish what they are discovering)!!!! (and while we're at it, how about some investments of faculty energy and funds to helping create innovations labs in universities in developing countries) sherri From: change-bounces@change.washington.edu [mailto:change-bounces@change.washington.edu] On Behalf Of judy wawira Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 7:42 AM To: Jerome White Cc: change@change.washington.edu Subject: Re: [change] [SPAM] $35 touchscreen tablet launched in India May have missed out the cynism "But, at least we've got another device to help us generate publications :)" I think its an amazing feat, but it its time to move away from manufacturing devices for the poor (whether technical or not). This just limits exploration of potential uses, and i wonder if the existing caste system in India has a role to play in the definition of the product As for politial mileage, if it is for the social good and brings development, i dont mind if you get credit for it( a phenomenon witnessed in the upgrade of roads infrastructure in enya as part of the current president's legacy) I hope that while academics continue to work at getting publishing and grants to work in developing countries, the current trend of "dumping " technology for the sake of it stops, and we leave some good in the areas where we work Judy On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 9:15 AM, Jerome White <jerome@cs.caltech.edu> wrote: This is a good point. And it kind of depends on how they are defining the "fringes of society." The Rupees' taken a hit against the dollar recently, so it's hard to tell what the article actually meant in terms of local money. However, assume, conservatively, that the cost of this device will work out to Rs. 1500 -- that's still a tremendous amount of money for a lot of people. However, there is a "rural/poor" segment that could afford this: those making between 5 and 10 thousand Rupees a month. In fact it's what some spend on a mobile phone. However, with the mobile, there is very compelling reason to make such an investment. A similarly compelling reason, from their perspective, to own this device isn't clear to me. But, at least we've got another device to help us generate publications :) jerome On 06-Oct-2011, at 4:11 PM, Fritz Meissner wrote:
How much is $35 to the poorest of the poor? I recall an economics study that paid Indian workers the equivalent of a monthly salary, I think that was 50USD... 35USD is beyond cheap in the West but perhaps still not affordable in that context.
OTOH if the tablet is locally made, perhaps just the work that the manufacturer provides will be beneficial.
Fritz
On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 1:32 AM, Joyojeet Pal <joyojeet@gmail.com> wrote: I agree with Yaw on this -- sure, it is great that this technology is so cheap, and one can argue that similar such efforts have brought up new technology innovations (Netbook etc) and various other benefits, what is deeply problematic is the idea that this will solve the issues of development in India, and Indian minister Kapil Sibal's announcing the project as being some kind of a dig out of exclusion (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/india-announces-35-tablet -computer-to-help-lift-villagers-out-of-poverty/2011/10/05/gIQAPT8PNL_story. html)
If you look at UNDP's latest HDI report on India, you may find that someone should find this claim at least quixotic, given that the country ranks 119th in the world for what ranks are worth. India as a state spends among the lowest on education (3.6%) and healthcare (1.1%) and has an income inequality problem that is by all measure growing yearly, gender inequity is 0.748 (on a scale of the 'best' at 0.212 and 'worst' at 0.814). the average Indian spends 4.4 years in formal schooling.. the list goes on and on.
i'm not saying this is not a significant achievement, my concern is tying this to development in such a way, in fact specifically in the perception that this could be the state's part in providing development in india. i think it hurts the cause of folks working in this space at the very least.
On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa@gmail.com> wrote: the hype around this tablet is terrible.
i think it's great to have cheaper technology, but android tablets, even cheap $35 android tablets, will not lift villagers out of poverty. i wish it were that easy...
On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 15:49, Rahul Banerjee <banerjee@cs.washington.edu> wrote:
Sorry for the spam, but I couldn't resist sharing such wonderful news:
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/India-announces-35-tablet-computer -for-rural-poor-2203509.php
(Actually, the government is subsidising its price (which would be closer to $50), but it's still pretty amazing that something like this exists at all)
-- Rahul _______________________________________________ change mailing list change@change.washington.edu http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change
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