April 19, 2011
Two TASCHA researchers, Ricardo Gomez and Elizabeth Gould, received a Literati Network for Excellence “Outstanding Paper” award for The cool factor of public access to ICT: users perceptions of trust in libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés in developing countries.
April 18, 2011
Adding to Melody and Maria’s update on our crisis informatics project in Chile, I wanted to share this newspaper clip from La Prensa, the local newspaper for the Maule region. The article highlights our local partner, ATACH, and provides a nice overview of the project, how the research will be conducted, and why it matters.
Man under a tree, a photo by jschinker on Flickr.
Spent some time scanning Flickr today for images with Creative Commons licensing that relate to our work. Some of these images possess visual elements that I like, in others the “content” i…
In my last post I contrasted training (as technical proficiency) with education (as creative, critical thinking) in the context of a Krugman column which argued that middle class jobs are being hollowed out by technology progress which eliminates jobs that can be routinized, including legal and health analysis, which were thought to have required too […]
At TASCHA, we talk a lot about computer skills training: how to operate a mouse, surf the Internet, save a document to enhance digital literacy among community members for the purpose of promoting social and economic development and inclusive communities. Because our work has focused on economically poor people (a contested term of course–feel free to […]
April 11, 2011
As part of our TASCHA Talk series, George Sciadas will bring us on a guided tour of information society statistics and analysis. George will describe, synoptically, the evolution of quantitative research in ICTs from the early days and the preoccupation with access through major milestones such as the digital divide, e-commerce and the ICT sector, to its present state of affairs internationally. This domain provides the common ground for multi-disciplinary research including the quest for “impacts.”
April 2, 2011
Given the proliferation of public access venues, such as cybercafes, telecentres, and public libraries, in developing countries, it is important to understand what value and perceived costs users associate with using and having access to these venues. By employing benefit cost analysis (BCA) methodologies, this in-depth study will explore the costs and benefits of providing and using public access information and communication technologies (ICT).
April 1, 2011
In the early 2000s, Chile was considered a leader in Latin America in terms of its comprehensive and integrated national ICT policy, the Agenda Digital. Action lines included a campaign for digital literacy, networks of telecentres, access in schools, e-government initiatives, favourable import conditions for hardware, and an appropriate regulatory framework. Dorothea will discuss her recent paper, which draws on research that combined interviews with key civil servants leading each of the action lines at the national level with five months of ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with microentrepreneurs — from one of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the country — at the local level.
March 29, 2011
TASCHA researchers, Maria Garrido and Beth Patin, visited Chile in February to participate in fieldwork for their study investigating the role of telecentres and public libraries in disaster management. The visit included focus groups with public access venue users and staff, interviews with government officials, and visits to telecentres and public libraries affected by the 2010 earthquake and tsunami. Maria, Beth, and their partners from ATACH made many interesting preliminary observations about how these public access venues adapted and responded to local community needs following the disaster.
March 28, 2011
Maria Garrido and Beth Patin visited Chile in February 2011 for the first week of a month of fieldwork for a TASCHA research project investigating the role of telecentres and public libraries in disaster management. During the visit, Maria and Beth worked with representatives from ATACH, TASCHA’s Chilean research partner, conducting three focus groups with…
