July 8, 2011
After two years of fieldwork, we convened our research partners from around the world for a project-wide workshop during the last week of June, 2011. This workshop is significant in the Global Impact Study timeline, as it launched the next phase of our study – data analysis and integration. The majority of the workshop was devoted to sharing and discussing the emerging findings from each of the research activities.
June 27, 2011
The in-depth study, The Impact of Public Access Venue (PAV) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Available at Libraries on Sustainable Livelihood Strategies and Outcomes, will explore the impact of education, income generation, and employment opportunities on users of public access to ICT venues. This study, employing the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach, will take place in Botswana. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is particularly concerned with how (lack of) access to capital assets shapes vulnerability to shocks and trends, as well as the ability of individuals, households, and communities to cope with them. The livelihood strategies emanate from the interplay of vulnerabilities, capital assets, and the transforming structures and processes.
June 16, 2011
Co-PI of the Mobile internet in-depth study, Jonathan Donner, participated in the “Social Media for Development” workshop in Hangzhou, China in March 2011. He presented a position paper based on some of the hypotheses of the Mobile internet study at a pre-conference event of the Annual CSCW (Computer Supported Collaborative Work) conference.
May 22, 2011
It’s been 10 years! On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, the TASCHA team brought together our colleagues, supporters, and fans to celebrate a decade of research on technology and social change.
April 28, 2011
Over the past few months, the survey analysis working group of the Global Impact Study has been planning for and implementing the user and venue survey data analysis. This working group, comprised of Mike Crandall, Chris Rothschild, George Sciadas, and Araba Sey, is working with the University of Washington’s Center for Statistical Consulting in the data analysis phase of the study. The Center for Statistical Consulting is helping to run the data, as well as advising the working group on options for statistical analyses.
April 18-21, 2011 was very busy and productive for us here at the Global Impact Study. We held two workshops – one on survey data analysis and one on our project-wide data integration plan. During the survey data analysis workshop, we reviewed initial user survey data to identify three high-level reports that we will produce this spring: a user profile report, a report on services offered at public access ICT venues and how people are using them, and a report on perceived impacts of using public access ICT.
April 26, 2011
This Friday, April 29th, join Fernando Baron, Ricardo Gomez, and Brittany Fiore-Sifvast for a coding pizza party. Help code a slew research papers on information and communication technologies for development, as part of an ongoing iSchool study — ICTD Narratives Study, 2000-2010 — that explores a decade of ICTD discourse. Results may be presented at the ICTD2012 conference next in Atlanta.
April 25, 2011
In this TASCHA Talk, Chris Coward and Melody Clark will reflect on their experiences at the Santiago Forum. You will hear two different perspectives. Chris attended the first two forums and has been a longtime follower of telecenters through his research. Melody comes from the library field and for her this was her first encounter with the telecenter community. The “talk” will begin with opening thoughts from Chris and Melody, to be followed by discussion.
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.
