Information Technologies & International Development (http://itidjournal.org/itid), an interdisciplinary open-access journal that focuses on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICTs) with the "other four billion" has just published its Winter 2009 issue. This special issue deals with Human-Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) where as the editors state, "[the focus is] on the wider issues of designing, developing, and deploying technologies in developing regions, placing socio-cultural aspects at the core of study". As always, the journal is filled with a number of great articles, but make sure to check out the articles from the "young" researchers listed below. All three offer interesting perspectives on this growing field. Human-Computer Interaction for Development: The Past, Present, and Future Melissa R. Ho, Thomas N. Smyth, Matthew Kam, and Andy Dearden http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/420/188 Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in research into the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of developing regions, particularly into how such ICTs might be appropriately designed to meet the unique user and infrastructural requirements that we encounter in these cross-cultural environments. This emerging field, known to some as HCI4D, is the product of a diverse set of origins. As such, it can often be difficult to navigate prior work, and/or to piece together a broad picture of what the field looks like as a whole. In this paper, we aim to contextualize HCI4D-to give it some historical background, to review its existing literature spanning a number of research traditions, to discuss some of its key issues arising from the work done so far, and to suggest some major research objectives for the future. Orality-Grounded HCID: Understanding the Oral User Jahanzeb Sherwani, Nosheen Ali, Carolyn Penstein Rosé, Roni Rosenfeld http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/422/190 While human-computer interaction (HCI) methodologies are designed to be general, they have most often been applied in the context of literate end users in the West. These methodologies may, however, need rethinking for application in HCI for the developing world (HCID) contexts, where many of the basic assumptions that underpin the methods may not always hold true. In this article, we present an overview of one factor that is significantly different in the HCID context-the literacy of the end user-by drawing on the literature of orality, and we offer a framework for HCID methodology that we argue is more appropriate for the HCID context. Based on this framework, we then present guidelines for design and user research methodologies in such contexts, highlighting seminal HCID research that corroborates these guidelines. Stories from the Field: Reflections on HCI4D Experiences Yaw Anokwa, Thomas N. Smyth, Divya Ramachandran, Jahanzeb Sherwani, Yael Schwartzman, Rowena Luk, Melissa Ho, Neema Moraveji, Brian DeRenzi http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/427/195 Human-computer interaction for development (HCI4D) requires considerable time in the field interacting with users. While this is true for most HCI work, fieldwork in developing regions presents unique challenges due to differences in culture, language, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. As a group of nine HCI4D researchers, we have adopted a systematic approach to reflect on the challenges we have encountered in the field. Arising from this exercise are three contributions: The first is our research method itself, which uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative instruments to elicit and synthesize individual experiences. The second, intended for beginning researchers, is a set of lessons learned and suggested strategies for navigating the unique challenges of HCI4D research. The third, intended for the HCI4D community at large, is a critical reflection on the field itself, inspired by our findings. Topics covered include the incentives and agendas of the research world, the importance of managing expectations, the nature of "participation" in HCI4D, and the conflict between research and development more generally.