TASCHA Launches Development and Access to Information Dashboards
“The rights and capacity to use, create, and share information in ways that are meaningful to each individual, community, or organization.” July 8th 2020 – The Technology & Social Change Group at the University of Washington Information School has released the Development and Access …
Technology Access and Education for Refugee Women in the Context of Covid-19
Local Context: Seattle & Refugee Women In Seattle, home of major technology giants like Amazon and Microsoft, twenty-five percent of people living in poverty do not have internet access at home and twenty-one percent do not have a mobile or smartphone. Many people also lack the skills to …
Strategies and Resources for Tech Assistance During a Pandemic
By: Stacey Wedlake, TASCHA Research Coordinator & Analyst As I wrote in my previous blog post, the ability to access basic needs during a pandemic relies on digital skills. As we’re seeing more and more, the pandemic exacerbates our societies’ inequalities, and communities in vulnerable …
Volunteer geographic information in the Global South: barriers to local implementation of mapping projects across Africa
The world is awash in data—by 2020 it is expected that there will be approximately 40 trillion gigabytes of data in existence, with that number doubling every 2 to 3 years. However, data production is not equal in all places—the global data landscape remains heavily concentrated on English-speaking,…
Tech Assistance During a Global Pandemic
It is difficult to “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” without the ability to use the internet to meet personal needs such as connecting with loved ones, accessing health services, paying bills, and shopping for groceries. A recent study identified that 20% of Seattle residents living alone relied on …
Data challenges for public libraries: African perspectives and the social context of knowledge
This article sheds light on the collection and use of data by libraries in sixteen countries across Africa. It highlights the challenges that librarians and library organizations face in gathering, analyzing, and presenting data of various types for self-advocacy. In this study, qualitative data from…
Practitioners and Researchers Connect to Address Tech Access and Education for Refugee Women
For refugee women in Seattle and King County, technology education plays a key role in learning to navigate life in their new community. Our research team explored refugee women’s experiences with technology-related programs and services as part of the Refugee Women and Technology Education …
Ocean Data for Decision-Making
This project draws upon principles of knowledge democracy to develop data for decision-making (D4D) tools and resources that local organizations can use to more effectively work with (and within) their target communities and with scientists and policy makers to generate and use marine data to manage marine resources and ecosystems.
Examining the Role of Public Libraries in Combating Misinformation
Libraries have the potential to be key players in combating misinformation and threats to democracy. This project develops a community lab model for use in public libraries in Washington.
Development and Access to Information 2019
In response to governments’ commitment to promote meaningful access to information (A2I) as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the report provides a range of indicators of how well countries are performing. Looking at four different pillars of access – connectivity, social…