TASCHA at Spark 2013

May 23, 2013

The 4th Global Forum on Telecentres, Spark 2013, will take place in Granada, Spain May 28-29. Four TASCHA researchers are looking forward to attending the forum to participate in conversations on technology and development and present on various TASCHA research projects. Chris Coward & Maria Garrido will be presenting on TASCHA research, and Melody Clark & Chris Rothschild will attend, participating in various sessions and live Tweeting from the event.

Happy International Women’s Day: Women & ICT

March 8, 2013

Today, March 8, 2013, is International Women’s Day. Access to technology can empower women and girls of all ages, giving them the access and skills to participate in today’s digital and information society. We’re celebrating this day by showcasing some of the research we’ve done about women and technology, as well as highlighting some of the work our partners and associated organizations have done regarding women and technology.

Global Impact Study at World Summit of Information Society (WSIS)

February 22, 2013

TASCHA Director, Chris Coward, will be participating on a panel organized by IFLA during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) +10 review Meeting in Paris, France, February 25-27, 2013. The panel, Supporting Knowledge Societies through Public Access to the Internet, will cover various issues related to public access to technology. This is a great opportunity for Chris to present the findings of the Global Impact Study, the largest, most comprehensive study on public access centers to date.

Global Impact Study will release final report soon

February 18, 2013

The Global Impact Study, a research project led by TASCHA, is excited to announce the upcoming release of the study’s final research report soon! After five years of research design, research implementation, and data interpretation and analysis, we are looking forward to finalizing and sharing the final report. The final report will be posted on the Global Impact Study website, but if you’d like to receive the final report via email, please sign up here.

February 4: Do public access ICTs have an impact on socio-economic development? Findings of the Global Impact Study

January 28, 2013

This iSchool Research Conversation and TASCHA Talk, presented by Araba Sey, discusses insights from the Global Impact Study. It outlines some dimensions of public access as a strategy for socio-economic development, addressing questions such as: who uses public access ICTs and why, what value do users perceive, what types of outcomes have users experienced and in what areas? Based on these findings we suggest how vested interests might realistically characterize the nature of public access impacts and make decisions about the role public access could play in their development agendas.

Mapping eInclusion actors in the European Union

December 10, 2012

Commissioned by the EU Joint Research Centre IPTS, Telecentre-Europe and the Technology & Social Change Group are conducting an online survey that aims to provide a ‘map’ of telecentres, libraries, and other eInclusion actors that operate in the European Union. The survey will be available in 13 languages and is part of the larger research project MIREIA: Measuring the Impact of eInclusion Actors on Digital Literacy, Skills, and Inclusion goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe. The online survey will be launched on January 2, 2013.

TASCHA faculty member off to Seville for research residency

September 20, 2012

TASCHA Research Assistant Professor Maria Garrido leaves today to participate in a five-week research residency at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) in Seville, Spain. Maria will be working with researchers at the Information Society Unit designing a study to better understand the role of eInclusion intermediaries, such as telecenters and libraries, in advancing social and economic policy goals.

August 9: Social Representations of Community Multimedia Centres in Mozambique

August 2, 2012

TASCHA Talk: Sara Vannini August 9, 2012   Social representations are systems of ideas, values, and practices people adopt to interact with their reality. Starting from this construct, this research investigates community multimedia centres in Mozambique and their perceptions by the local communities. Community multimedia centres are a particular kind of public access to ICTs…

Research on libraries and disasters presented at American Library Association conference

June 27, 2012

TASCHA research on the role of public libraries and telecenters during a disaster was presented on June 23 at the 2012 American Library Association (ALA) conference as part of the panel, “Expecting the Unexpected: Libraries Respond to Profound Change.” iSchool PhD candidate, Beth Patin, participated on the panel on behalf of the research team behind the Libraries, Telecenters, and the 2010 Chile Earthquake research project.

April 12: From co-working to hackerspaces: An introduction to innovation spaces

April 3, 2012

TASCHA Talk: Chris Coward April 12, 2012 We all know what the typical telecenter or library computer space looks like—people sitting behind monitors along rows of desks, working away on whatever it is they are doing. This model serves a purpose, and as our research indicates, people can benefit greatly from the sort of access…