Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Africa Analysis: Science going social - SciDev.Net
Africa Analysis: Science going social - SciDev.Net
Africa's mobile Internet boom could revolutionise the way scientists, policymakers and the public interact, says Linda Nordling.
Africa's mobile Internet boom could revolutionise the way scientists, policymakers and the public interact, says Linda Nordling.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Pambazuka - The war on Africa’s family farmers
Pambazuka - The war on Africa’s family farmers
Proposing ‘grandiose solutions without first diagnosing the causes of what ails Africa and her people has never stopped the World Bank, corporations and the odd billionaire from prescribing the wrong medicine for the continent,’ writes Joan Baxter, as the Bank makes plans to ‘unlock’ the future of African agriculture.
Proposing ‘grandiose solutions without first diagnosing the causes of what ails Africa and her people has never stopped the World Bank, corporations and the odd billionaire from prescribing the wrong medicine for the continent,’ writes Joan Baxter, as the Bank makes plans to ‘unlock’ the future of African agriculture.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Whose choice? ICTs for “development” and the lives people value
Whose choice? ICTs for “development” and the lives people value
Recognising that ICTs are powerful tools shaping people’s everyday lives, practitioners, policy-makers and academics in the ICT for development (ICT4D) field engage with these technologies in the name of “development”. Yet understandings of development differ and too often remain implicit and removed from participatory processes involving the intended users. Techno-euphoria and the focus on universal access distracts from the very individual choices people should have to integrate technologies in their everyday practices (or not). Working with Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach and its view of development as freedom, this open conversation will discuss the diverse and potentially conflicting ideologies embedded in state ICT policies and technical artefacts and the intended and unintended consequences. It will explore potential technological and process innovations which could lead to more participatory decision-making on policy and technology design – an area where all countries can be classified as “developing”.
Recognising that ICTs are powerful tools shaping people’s everyday lives, practitioners, policy-makers and academics in the ICT for development (ICT4D) field engage with these technologies in the name of “development”. Yet understandings of development differ and too often remain implicit and removed from participatory processes involving the intended users. Techno-euphoria and the focus on universal access distracts from the very individual choices people should have to integrate technologies in their everyday practices (or not). Working with Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach and its view of development as freedom, this open conversation will discuss the diverse and potentially conflicting ideologies embedded in state ICT policies and technical artefacts and the intended and unintended consequences. It will explore potential technological and process innovations which could lead to more participatory decision-making on policy and technology design – an area where all countries can be classified as “developing”.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Panguipulli Public Library No.296 | EIFL
The Panguipulli Public Library No.296 | EIFL
The Panguipulli Public Library No. 296 is now reaching farmers in remote and mountainous areas of Southern Chile through radio.
The radio programmes are aimed at informing farmers about new farming methods, pest control, environmental conservation and many other important issues. They are part of the library’s innovative information outreach programme, which uses a variety of communication technologies to reach farmers who live and work in the valleys and mountains of Valdivia province, and to connect them to each other, to markets and to other resources.
The Panguipulli Public Library No. 296 is now reaching farmers in remote and mountainous areas of Southern Chile through radio.
The radio programmes are aimed at informing farmers about new farming methods, pest control, environmental conservation and many other important issues. They are part of the library’s innovative information outreach programme, which uses a variety of communication technologies to reach farmers who live and work in the valleys and mountains of Valdivia province, and to connect them to each other, to markets and to other resources.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
On Science Publishing § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
On Science Publishing § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
The scientific paper has long been the unit of scientific knowledge. Now, with print media lapsing into obsolescence, the internet is poised to transform science publishing and science itself.
The scientific paper has long been the unit of scientific knowledge. Now, with print media lapsing into obsolescence, the internet is poised to transform science publishing and science itself.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
New Chinese Dam Project Fuels Ethnic Conflict in Sudan | International Rivers
New Chinese Dam Project Fuels Ethnic Conflict in Sudan | International Rivers
With serious human rights concerns surrounding the development of the
Kajbar dam in Sudan, Peter Bosshard of International Rivers says the
companies involved need to respect the interests of local people.
With serious human rights concerns surrounding the development of the
Kajbar dam in Sudan, Peter Bosshard of International Rivers says the
companies involved need to respect the interests of local people.
Pambazuka - Tunisia’s revolution: Self-organisation for self-emancipation
Pambazuka - Tunisia’s revolution: Self-organisation for self-emancipation
In the wake of the ousting of entrenched Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Horace Campbell reflects on events in the country, regional implications and the inspirational example of the Tunisian people in organising for a new future.
In the wake of the ousting of entrenched Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Horace Campbell reflects on events in the country, regional implications and the inspirational example of the Tunisian people in organising for a new future.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The beautiful and the damned
The beautiful and the damned
The beautiful and the damned
The links between rising inequality, the Wall Street boom and the subprime fiasco
Economics focus
THERE was not a single year between 1952 and 1986 in which the richest 1% of American households earned more than a tenth of national income. Yet after rising steadily since the mid-1980s, reckon Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, two economists, in 2007 the income share of the richest percentile reached a staggering 18.3%. The last time America was such an unequal place was in 1929, when the equivalent figure was 18.4%. The similarities in the evolution of income inequality in the years leading up to the Depression and the global economic crisis make for one of the most striking parallels between the two episodes.
The beautiful and the damned
The links between rising inequality, the Wall Street boom and the subprime fiasco
Economics focus
THERE was not a single year between 1952 and 1986 in which the richest 1% of American households earned more than a tenth of national income. Yet after rising steadily since the mid-1980s, reckon Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, two economists, in 2007 the income share of the richest percentile reached a staggering 18.3%. The last time America was such an unequal place was in 1929, when the equivalent figure was 18.4%. The similarities in the evolution of income inequality in the years leading up to the Depression and the global economic crisis make for one of the most striking parallels between the two episodes.
Monday, January 17, 2011
The First Twitter Revolution? - By Ethan Zuckerman | Foreign Policy
The First Twitter Revolution? - By Ethan Zuckerman | Foreign Policy
Friday evening, Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali boarded a jet for Malta, leaving his prime minister to face streets filled with protesters demanding a change of government in the North African country. The protests began weeks earlier in the central city of Sidi Bouzid, sparked by the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed university graduate whose informal vegetable stall was shuttered by the police. His despair exemplified the frustration that many Tunisians felt with their contracting economy, high levels of unemployment and inequality, censored media and Internet, and widespread corruption. Protests spread from city to city, with trade unions, lawyers, and countless unemployed Tunisian youth demanding a change to an economic system that appeared to benefit a small number of families close to power and leave ordinary citizens behind. ...
Ethan Zuckerman is a senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and co-founder of Global Voices, which has been following the events in Tunisia since protests broke out in late December.
Friday evening, Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali boarded a jet for Malta, leaving his prime minister to face streets filled with protesters demanding a change of government in the North African country. The protests began weeks earlier in the central city of Sidi Bouzid, sparked by the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed university graduate whose informal vegetable stall was shuttered by the police. His despair exemplified the frustration that many Tunisians felt with their contracting economy, high levels of unemployment and inequality, censored media and Internet, and widespread corruption. Protests spread from city to city, with trade unions, lawyers, and countless unemployed Tunisian youth demanding a change to an economic system that appeared to benefit a small number of families close to power and leave ordinary citizens behind. ...
Ethan Zuckerman is a senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and co-founder of Global Voices, which has been following the events in Tunisia since protests broke out in late December.
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