Part I: The openness presentation
Matthew Smith from IDRC presents the openness hypothesis - more openness leads to better development. He defines openness as access, participation, and collaboration. Openness is not the ICTs per se but rather the way we organize the usage of ICTs. Some way of using technologies is more open than the others. The mechanisms through which the hypothesis may work are two: First, openness amplifies the effects of ICTs - e.g., open access to information leads to knowledge, which drives development; second, openness encourages transformative social innovations using ICTs - e.g., the bar to use ICTs for innovation is lowered.
Q&A:
What is the downside of openness? How to define the core of the concept of openness? What are the institutional changes that are needed for openness?
Part II: Two debaters – Rohan Samarajiva and Rafal Rohozinsk - debate on one statement: “Be it resolved that mobiles have the potential to be the most transformative ICT in developing countries."
Rohan once claimed that mobile phones cannot change much of the development progress but now he admitted that he was wrong. Through a cross-national survey, he found that mobile phones are even more popular than radio in many Asian countries. He gave out two cases in which mobile phones either greatly reduced the costs of maintaining a family business or helped to make a everyday living and argued that mobile phones do change ordinary people's lives. He emphasized that compared to other ICTs (e.g. , computers), mobiles have the "potential" to be most tranformative.
Rafal counter-argued that this statement is technology determinism. Mobiles are not able to transform much if no changes in structure, institutions, and other conditions are made. Using historical examples such as people's expectation of light bulbs to change the world, he pointed out that focusing on ICTs themselves may mislead our resource allocations and those fundamental needs may not be satisfied.
Moderator Heloise Emdon made a final comment that after the ICT4D project reached a substantial penetration rate of mobiles, some may think they can pack up and leave. She said, it is only the beginning.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
PAN ALL 09 day 2: Learning clinics
Clinic 1 - Communication for policy impacts
the sequence to address your audiences: 1. private sector, 2. policy makers, 3. academia.
budget 15-20% of the whole budget on communication strategy.
reach the right audience using the right channels. e.g., radio more effective in certain countries than others.
what about web prescence: get on the top of search list (google front page), dont get hung up on hits (look for readers who stay, are they from the desired audience, make sense of web analytics)
but media do not have direct policy impacts. difficult to clip, store, and pass on.
how to communicate: story-telling, better have a single point, news releases getting less effective,
take-away message: audience is king.
the sequence to address your audiences: 1. private sector, 2. policy makers, 3. academia.
budget 15-20% of the whole budget on communication strategy.
reach the right audience using the right channels. e.g., radio more effective in certain countries than others.
what about web prescence: get on the top of search list (google front page), dont get hung up on hits (look for readers who stay, are they from the desired audience, make sense of web analytics)
but media do not have direct policy impacts. difficult to clip, store, and pass on.
how to communicate: story-telling, better have a single point, news releases getting less effective,
take-away message: audience is king.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
PAN ALL 2009 day 1: The “Change Talk Show”.
[note: the low-end barrier to my live blog was finally solved by moving to another room.]
A talk show about how to make changes using ICTs.
The host - Michael Clarke from IDRC
First respondent - Angelo
Second respondent - Helani Galbaya
Third respondent - Alvin
Michael: How to measure changes? How to tell a good story about changes when we have them? How to define the role of a changer?
1. Angelo - Individual improvements as the results of changes
2. Helani - Policy outcomes as the results of changes
Qs: How to replicate the sucessful cases?
As: Policy windows are accessible in some countries such as India.
Qs: Use multiple media tools to communicate? how to craft the story to diverse audiences?
As: we have an active blog, which attracts a certain group of ppl. important to get on the newspapers and TV shows to get the policy makers' attention. short presentations to policy makers and others.
Qs: how to make the project results accessible to the policy makers and civil society?
As: e.g., use videos to talk to civil society. personalize the stories and put them into a game show format. ask the audiences to participate. not only learning but also playing.
3. Alvin - design challenges associated with the CHITS project in phillipines.
Qs: what was the project about?
As: cellphone-based innovation (structured sms) when children are experiencing traumas. the whole design was inappropriate for the culture. children text sms for their parents in the culture - "voice-activated".
we rewrote the proposal and changed it into a new project.
no deep analysis and engagement about the ppl who actually used it - that was the problem.
4. Qs: how to engage dif stakeholders when making changes?
Helani: private sector provides the products and services. but we need to make sure gov doesnt block that supply.
Alvin: we learned in the hard way to know engaging stakeholders is important.
5. International experts to answer questions.
Laurent: it is not just research. so what? what is this research about? doing research is not just a vacuum. can be used for either practice or policy change.
Qs: SO WHAT? so what difference you made at the end of the day?
Angelo: types of ppl you didnt think helpful came on board and contributed. engaging different stakeholders and making them come together. new partnerships, new projects, new arenas of research come afterwards.
Helani: examples. policy change. decrease of cost.
Alvin: middle-age women realized that they can use the technology. health system managers can merge old and new sets of data. the world is the operating room (for health professionals).
6. Michael: how to communicate the good story?
Kevin: who your key target audience is? get the right msg to the right person at the right time. e.g, private sector is not the ordinary audience. speaks the business langauge if u address private sector. dont start with the story. start with the target audience.
the role of change agents? Michael: the monk and hogdog story. change must come from within. create the conditions for ppl to change themselves.
7. Audience: target younger ppl for change?
Alvin: if one person already has the pontencial to change, she learns a new skill, she is still her. but it doesnt change her from her own perspective.
Helani: policy intellctuals who can engage in policy debates. young scholars who have the academic backgrounds and can publish in journals are not necessarily policy intellectuals. we train them and teach them the skills.
Angelo: fear is one of the difficulties to change.
A talk show about how to make changes using ICTs.
The host - Michael Clarke from IDRC
First respondent - Angelo
Second respondent - Helani Galbaya
Third respondent - Alvin
Michael: How to measure changes? How to tell a good story about changes when we have them? How to define the role of a changer?
1. Angelo - Individual improvements as the results of changes
2. Helani - Policy outcomes as the results of changes
Qs: How to replicate the sucessful cases?
As: Policy windows are accessible in some countries such as India.
Qs: Use multiple media tools to communicate? how to craft the story to diverse audiences?
As: we have an active blog, which attracts a certain group of ppl. important to get on the newspapers and TV shows to get the policy makers' attention. short presentations to policy makers and others.
Qs: how to make the project results accessible to the policy makers and civil society?
As: e.g., use videos to talk to civil society. personalize the stories and put them into a game show format. ask the audiences to participate. not only learning but also playing.
3. Alvin - design challenges associated with the CHITS project in phillipines.
Qs: what was the project about?
As: cellphone-based innovation (structured sms) when children are experiencing traumas. the whole design was inappropriate for the culture. children text sms for their parents in the culture - "voice-activated".
we rewrote the proposal and changed it into a new project.
no deep analysis and engagement about the ppl who actually used it - that was the problem.
4. Qs: how to engage dif stakeholders when making changes?
Helani: private sector provides the products and services. but we need to make sure gov doesnt block that supply.
Alvin: we learned in the hard way to know engaging stakeholders is important.
5. International experts to answer questions.
Laurent: it is not just research. so what? what is this research about? doing research is not just a vacuum. can be used for either practice or policy change.
Qs: SO WHAT? so what difference you made at the end of the day?
Angelo: types of ppl you didnt think helpful came on board and contributed. engaging different stakeholders and making them come together. new partnerships, new projects, new arenas of research come afterwards.
Helani: examples. policy change. decrease of cost.
Alvin: middle-age women realized that they can use the technology. health system managers can merge old and new sets of data. the world is the operating room (for health professionals).
6. Michael: how to communicate the good story?
Kevin: who your key target audience is? get the right msg to the right person at the right time. e.g, private sector is not the ordinary audience. speaks the business langauge if u address private sector. dont start with the story. start with the target audience.
the role of change agents? Michael: the monk and hogdog story. change must come from within. create the conditions for ppl to change themselves.
7. Audience: target younger ppl for change?
Alvin: if one person already has the pontencial to change, she learns a new skill, she is still her. but it doesnt change her from her own perspective.
Helani: policy intellctuals who can engage in policy debates. young scholars who have the academic backgrounds and can publish in journals are not necessarily policy intellectuals. we train them and teach them the skills.
Angelo: fear is one of the difficulties to change.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Coming up: PAN ALL 2009
I will live blog PAN ALL 2009 conference between June 12 and 14 in Penang, Malaysia. This conference is going to be a gathering of Southeast Asian scholars and practitioners who work in the area of Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D). Please visit their awesome conference website for more information.
http://panall.crowdvine.com/
I will twitter it too. Follow me if you want to get the latest updates.
http://twitter.com/viyu
http://panall.crowdvine.com/
I will twitter it too. Follow me if you want to get the latest updates.
http://twitter.com/viyu
Sunday, April 26, 2009
[Singapore] On AWARE: State and society
AWARE is the well-known (well, known now) local women's groop which has gone through serious internal conflict recently. A group of new members took over the executive power by taking advantage of the tyranny of majority. They outnumbered supporters of the existing executive team in the annual election. The existing executive team is claimed to be too pro-homosexuality and has to be replaced all together. Out of the many dramatic stories unfolding themselves along time, I like the response from Minister in Prime Minister's Office the most. Mrs Lim Hwee Hua said:
One last note - please don't take me wrong. I am not asking for the state's intervention in civil society's affairs. I am asking for the state's tolerance of conflicts in civil society. Empower civil society to allow it to evolve through conflict solving, with the help from the state institutions when necessary.
"This is not a national dispute and should not upset the balance and tenor of our open, tolerant and secular society."If the society is already open and tolerant, how come we see dramas like this happening here and now? We tend to forget the reasons why we establish nation-states. It is exactly because civil society is not perfect and we need institutions to adress and solve serious conflicts within it. But I agree with Mrs. Lim that this is not a national dispute, yet...
The Hegelian state - The highest values and best traditions of a
society could be politically embodied and expressed by the state. - from Terence Chong's Embodying society's best: Hegel and the Singapore state.
The Foucauldian society - Social conflicts produce themselves the valuable ties that hold modern societies together and provide them with the strength and cohesion they need. - from Bent Flyvbejerg's Habermas and Foucault: Thinkers for civil society?
One last note - please don't take me wrong. I am not asking for the state's intervention in civil society's affairs. I am asking for the state's tolerance of conflicts in civil society. Empower civil society to allow it to evolve through conflict solving, with the help from the state institutions when necessary.
Monday, February 23, 2009
[Singapore] An official perspective of new media
Are the differences between traditional media and new media due to the level of trust, bias, and informativeness? Let us look at the 2007 Oxford Internet Institute survey. Among Internet users, Internet is a bit more reliable than TV (6.8 out of a 10-point scale vs. 6.7) and more reliable than newspapers (5.8). Among Internet non-users, TV is the most reliable medium (6.3) but Internet is rated the same as newspaper (5.7). Is it because Internet users are mostly wild wild heads who hate anything from the Easy Easy East, aka, the traditional world? Internet users score higher than non-users in confidence in the government (!), scientists, and not surprisingly, people on the Internet. They have the same level of confidence as non-users in doctors and people in the country. Only slightly lower than non-users in confidence in people they know (3.8 out of a 5-point scale vs. 3.9).
Are new media less informative than traditional media? When rating the importance of different media for information, both users and non-users choose talking to other people as the most important channel (3.7 out of a 5-point scale). The gap lies in Internet as information source. Users rate Internet almost as important as talking to others (3.6) whereas non-users treat Internet as the least important medium (1.7). So what can we conclude? It depends on who you are talking to. Informativeness is a perception measure rather than a factual measure.
How about the places "which are more considered, more moderated, where people put their names down and identify themselves"? Are they seldom seen online? I have no answer to this question. We have to do a comprehensive content analysis in order to have an answer. What I can say is the Internet and public sphere have been paired up for a long time. Researchers have witnessed many successful trials.
If there is a fatal critique to my discussions above, it will be "your data are not from Singapore!" Yes, you are right. But are there any such data? Let me know...
Are new media less informative than traditional media? When rating the importance of different media for information, both users and non-users choose talking to other people as the most important channel (3.7 out of a 5-point scale). The gap lies in Internet as information source. Users rate Internet almost as important as talking to others (3.6) whereas non-users treat Internet as the least important medium (1.7). So what can we conclude? It depends on who you are talking to. Informativeness is a perception measure rather than a factual measure.
How about the places "which are more considered, more moderated, where people put their names down and identify themselves"? Are they seldom seen online? I have no answer to this question. We have to do a comprehensive content analysis in order to have an answer. What I can say is the Internet and public sphere have been paired up for a long time. Researchers have witnessed many successful trials.
If there is a fatal critique to my discussions above, it will be "your data are not from Singapore!" Yes, you are right. But are there any such data? Let me know...
TODAYonlineMr Lee noted there will always be a role for traditional media to present trusted, unbiased and informed opinions even if some may feel that the information generated by traditional media is rather tame compared to what’s online.
“There is a place called the Wild Wild West and there are other places which are not so wild. And the new media, some of it are Wild West and anything goes, and people can say anything they want, and tomorrow (they) take a completely contrary view,” said Mr Lee.
Acknowledging that “that is just the way the medium is”, he added: “But even in the Internet, there are places which are more considered, more moderated, where people put their names down and identify themselves. And there is a debate which goes on and a give-and-take, which is not so rambunctious but perhaps more thoughtful.” That said, he noted traditional media has seen its viewership and readership numbers going up.
Monday, February 16, 2009
[China] The network of social networking sites
kaixin001.com
xiaonei.com
douban.comA picture is worth of a thousand words? Are these images self-explanatory? So here is what I read from the pictures.
The biggest problem with kaixin001.com is that the site cannot distinguish itself from so many similar sites. Some of those were named almost the same. The result of nasty commercial competition? xiaonei.com is clearly more integrated with existing sites than the other two. Most of the related sites are news sites (e.g., xianhuanet), video sites (e.g., tudou), and one community site (i.e., mop). So which kind of news are xiaonei users reading and which kind of community do they participate in? CCTV and mop...But caution here! I don't know how exactly "related sites" are calculated in google database. Now, let's look at douban. The only news site it relates to is MSN's chinese site. verycd.com, the ultimate download site, is only related to douban. No wonder why douban said they have very little to do with "current affairs"...
A last thing I am thinking is that TouchGraph ranks facebook friends according to "connectiveness centrality", which I understand as how much one contact cross-cut your different clusters of social connections. Using this standard, douban relates to blog sphere and entertainment sites. kaixin001 relates to blog sphere (another section of it, though) and other similar SNSs. xiaonei does not really connect anything because those sites have already been well connected to each other. Can we say xiaonei ranks lower than the other two sites in terms of connectiveness centrality? What is the implication of these differences?
[Supported by TouchGraph Google]
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