1. Rethinking “Development” in the
Age of Social Media
Peace and Conflict Conference 2012 Leslie Chan
University of Toronto University of Toronto Scarborough
http://peaceandconflict.ca/rootsandlegacies/
2. “ What has Wikipedia
got to do with the 49
percent of the
population of Congo
that lacks sustainable
access to improve
water resources?”
YochaiBenkler (2006)
The Wealth of
Network
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/wealth_of_
networks/Chapter_9%2C_section_2
5. “Today’s technology can empower civil
society, including the diaspora, to collaborate and
support the development process. This
collaboration is about shifting the emphasis from
organizations to people, and empowering them
to solve their own problems and develop their
own solutions using maps.”
World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region
ObiageliEzekwesili,
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2012/01/world-bank-and-google-join-forces-to.html
15. The World of Journal Publishing According to Thomson’s ISI
Science Citation Index
Data from 2002
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=205
19. “ What has Wikipedia
got to do with the 49
percent of the
population of Congo
that lacks sustainable
access to improve
water resources?”
YochaiBenkler (2006)
The Wealth of
Network
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/wealth_of_
networks/Chapter_9%2C_section_2
22. Industrial Networked
Information Economy Information Economy
• High entry cost • Relatively low entry
• Turing raw cost
materials into • Knowledge as raw
goods
• Firms and material
Corporation • Distributed production
• Vertical • Horizontal organization
organization • Flexible decision
• Centralized decision making
making • Customization
• Standardization
27. “In the 17th century, imperial cartographers had an advantage over
local communities. They could see the big picture. In the 21st
century, the tables have turned: local communities can make the
biggest on the ground difference. Crowdsourced citizen
cartographers can help make it happen.” (Caroline Anstey)
Here’s another version:
“In the 21st century, for-profit companies like Google Inc have an
advantage over local communities. They can use big license
restrictions. With the Google-Bank partnership, Google can use
local communities to collect information for free and make the
biggest profit. Crowdsourced citizen cartographers can help make it
happen.” (Ushahidi)
http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2012/01/25/google-inc-world-
bank-empowering-citizen-cartographers/
“knowledge” society as a key accelerator for developmentTechnological optimism – one laptop per child, mobile in Africa Development as social technology?Story of SahuWikipedia and the Congolese Commons based peer productioncollaborative, decentralization, non-proprietary Where is the evidence for the emergence of a non-market based production? Wikipedia often seen as an examplary example(not driven by market signal?)Open university vs University RankingAuthority and reputation in the digital age: (quality, excellence, world class)Non filtered, Changing development landsacpe – question of aid and aid effectiveness, new playersGPG challenges such as climate change, biodiversity, food security, migration, financial instability and human security do not recognize borders. Knowledge as Global Public Goods – under appreciated (WSIS, Global Knowledge partnership – heavy emphasis of the role of technology in driving development) -- innovation : how to level playing field for new innovation?Information Philanthropy – missed the development lessons(we have increasingly found that it is necessary to think of technology, not as a tool of mediation and arbitration (or of mobilisation and organisation) but as a condition of living. The extraordinary focus on granting access and facilitating inclusion in the digital world often misses out on the need to build social, cultural, political, intellectual, financial and emotional infrastructure that allows for a new kind of collaboratively formed action to come into being).post-colonial approach to addressing the importance of ranking as an emerging information and possible governance tool in the globalised and marketised world.Need better understanding of not just the material effects of technology, but the creative, intellectual and cultural effects – understanding technology as socially shaped and “a way of being” ( going online and being online)Need to better understand – design, intentionality, consequences understanding technology as a means that ought to be used to achieve a particular set of ends:understand and even prescribe the role of technology in “developing” spaces—as simply a means to material rather than creative or intellectual ends.imagine that there just may be a relationship between technology and alternative ways of being with technology in the “developing world”.
For example, farmers can use their phones to receive weather reports, harvest prices, information about fertilizers all by SMS. With this valuable information at hand, they can plan better and increase their crop yields.Mobile phones and SMS also play a vital role in improving peoples' lives in the emerging markets, by giving patients access to valuable medical information.For example, mPedigree in Ghana offers an SMS authentication service to verify prescribed medications (e.g., malaria treatments) and fight the plague of counterfeit drugs. It reaches up to 50 percent of current usage with significant economic and social impact.Problem with ICT4DImporting technologyBlocking local innovation
metrics of total publications and citations.Top 15 countries account for 82% of total publicationsAuthor with African institutional affiliation account for less than 1% of global output, and S. Africa has the highest output. The rest are “invisible”Consequence of trying to publish in “International” journal results in neglect of important local problems and solutions that are appropriate for local conditions.
Consequences of publishing in “internatioanlly” indexed journals
“If the product is free, you are the product”
Caroline Anstey concludes her announcement with the following:“Where once charts were vital to guide mariners to safe harbors, today's interactive maps can guide development to the places it is needed most. Crowdsourced mapping platforms can serve as a foundation allowing citizens not just to map but to give feedback on the reach and quality of the services in their community. And that information can be used to improve service delivery, fight corruption and track resources. Citizen cartographers, yes, but also citizen monitors, citizen evaluators, citizen-driven development.”“In the 17th century, imperial cartographers had an advantage over local communities. They could see the big picture. In the 21st century, the tables have turned: local communities can make the biggest on the ground difference. Crowdsourced citizen cartographers can help make it happen.”Here’s another version:“In the 21st century, for-profit companies like Google Inc have an advantage over local communities. They can use big license restrictions. With the Google-Bank partnership, Google can use local communities to collect information for free and make the biggest profit. Crowdsourced citizen cartographers can help make it happen.”But crowdsouring like this is not new. To wit : Commerical academic publishers have been getting free content from the academic community, and then locking up the content through copyright and price restrictions
Medknow Publications, with 50+ journals, is the largest publisher in India for academic and scientific biomedical journals. Medknow pioneers in 'fee-less-free' model of open access publishing and provides immediate free access to the electronic editions of the journals without charging the author or author's institution for submission, processing or publication of the articles.
