News: Announcements

December 2, 2010

TASCHA Talk: Building on the results of the Landscape of Public Access Technology in Developing Countries — which examined 25 countries — Ricardo Gomez (Assistant Professor, iSchool) and Fernando Baron (Ph.D. student, iSchool) did an in-depth study in a single country: Colombia. Using a refined research methodology, they validated trends from the Landscape study (ie., types of users and main uses of public access computing, role of infomediaries, and issues of trust, fees, and education. Gomez and Baron will also explore new topics — ICTs and violence, the relationship between mobile phones and community radio, and users perceptions of impact.

TASCHA Talk: Tyler Davis (Ph.D. candidate, Evans School of Public Affairs) will provide an overview of some some of the work he has done to apply benefit-cost analysis principles and standards to social programs. The talk will begin with an outline of the benefit-cost analysis approach, with an example from the Army Corps of Engineers, the institution that developed these standards in the United States. Next, Tyler will discuss how benefit-cost analysis has been used in other fields, including social programs.

November 30, 2010

TASCHA’s two Winter 2010 seminars continue to focus on the Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies. The Inventory Database course will bring students together to help with the development of an online database of public access venues in Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Lithuania, and the Philippines. The Benefit Cost Analysis seminar is designed to parallel the research process for scholars and practitioners interested in benefit cost analysis. Students will participate in three research processes: research design, data analysis, and presentation of policy relevant findings.

November 22, 2010

To further engage the University of Washington and Information School communities in mutual sharing of knowledge and learning, the Global Impact Study is leading research seminar sections on a variety of topics. Possible topics include literature reviews, analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, and applying research findings to practice in the library and information sciences field.

October 7, 2010

This past summer, Mike Best, the Principal Investigator of the Collaborative Knowledge Sharing in-depth study, presented a paper at the 19th annual Asia Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) conference in Singapore. The paper, written on preliminary findings from Mike’s in-depth study, Connecting in Real Space: How People Share Knowledge and Technologies in Cybercafés, was very well-received and prompted vigorous discussion with conference attendees, earning “best paper of the session” accolades.

October 2, 2010

TASCHA Talk: Melody Clark will discuss her experience as a graduate research assistant at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries program. In addition to talking about her personal experience, Melody will also provide an overview of the goals and priorities of the Global Libraries program, as well as some challenges they face working in developing countries. She will also introduce some interesting questions for discussion related to public libraries and technology use in developing countries, and how these questions could offer possibilities for future research.

September 29, 2010

Research teams in Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, and the Philippines have recently begun implementation of the user and venue surveys. A total of approximately 1000 public users and 250 operators of public access ICTs will be surveyed across approximately 250 randomly selected public access locations throughout each country.

Most low-cost, easily implementable ICTD innovations are designed for developing-country contexts. Examples include mobile money, SMS (e.g. Ushahidi, Frontline SMS), and e-skills training programs. This interactive session focuses on the factors that facilitate or mitigate the transfer of these innovations to communities facing economic and social challenges in richer countries.

September 23, 2010

The research team for the Non-Instrumental Use study began pilot testing of survey instruments in Brazil on September 16. Throughout the trip so far, the researchers have had the opportunity to explore different public access venues and identify possible challenges they may encounter in the study’s implementation.

September 21, 2010

Public access venues provide an arena for people to connect with their friends and family. Given that more than 9% of the population in the Philippines (over 8 million Filipinos) are working abroad, this in-depth study will explore how public access venues in the Philippines are used by families left behind by Filipinos working overseas.