News

February 11, 2010

Although the Global Impact Study’s basic approach remains the same, we’re learning along the way and our thinking is evolving. This post summarizes the updates in the project’s research design, articulated around four basic components: (1) inventory and surveys that provide a big-picture view; (2) focused studies of specific mechanisms through which public access impacts livelihoods; (3) an assessment of indirect and aggregated impacts, which takes the community as the unit of analysis and looks at non-users and alternative information sources; and (4) a look at alternatives and complements to public access, focusing on mobile phones.

January 26, 2010

The Landscape Study closed 2009 with an impressive collection of papers published, presented, or accepted for presentation in community informatics, ICTD, and information science journals and conferences.

December 10, 2009

Briefs are important communication tools for linking research findings to policy and practice — and ultimately affecting change. Because face it: in the attention economy no one has time to read the full report. Here’s the format we’ve developed at the Technology & Social Change Group for writing a research brief.

November 16, 2009

What’s important is the ability to gather with others and the possibility to be accompanied in your work. To be able to ask questions and bounce around ideas. I’ve been thinking for some time that public-access venues and coworking spaces are connected. This is why. They provide access to helpful people — librarians, dinamizador@s, infomediaries, the-guy-sitting-across-the-table-from-you.

October 29, 2009

People have strong beliefs about “libraries.” There are true believers and skeptics. Our work at TASCHA, recently changed from CIS, has been thinking about libraries as mechanisms for community development, especially outside the US. We have been trying to step back and focus on what they DO and what FUNCTIONS they serve. I understand libraries […]

October 7, 2009

CIS is now the Technology & Social Change (TASCHA) group! Over the last 10 years we have grown from a three-person team to more than a dozen researchers and program staff, with affiliated faculty from across the University of Washington and a global network of research partners. This year we came together to reflect, take stock of our strengths and emerging trends, and examine who we are, how we work, and how we can affect change. Our new name is the result of this process — and in the coming months you’ll witness a number of changes.

October’s Technology & Disability in the Developing World marked the beginning of a multi-stakeholder dialogue on accessible technology and employability in low-income regions. Discussions focused on policy, social research, technology, and design.

September 29, 2009

On Friday, October 2, 2009, we’re co-sponsoring a one-day workshop on technology and disability in the developing world. Michele Frix and Philip Neff, two of our affiliated researchers, will present their findings.

September 25, 2009

Over the past 1.5 days I had the privilege of attending Harvard Forum II: ICTs, Human Development, Growth and Poverty Reduction. Convened six years after the first event, HF2 was convened to allow the (mostly) same 20 participants to reflect on what has changed since 2003 and what they believe are the most important trends […]

September 23, 2009

The Non-instrumental Use of ICT as a Component of General ICT Skill Acquisition Study will explore the benefits library and telecenter users gain from playing computer games, sending email, and chatting. These types of uses — known as “non-instrumental” — are often ignored in studies on public access to ICT. But we suspect that they can help people develop the comfort, skills, and expertise they need to improve their social and economic situations, particularly in the areas of employment and education.