Title: Pastoralists picture land use
Authors: Massimiliano Rossi, Italo Rizzi
Source: ICT Update, Issue 52: December 2009
Publisher: CTA Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU)
Date (published): December 2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
A team of researchers combine maps, satellite images and participatory mapping techniques to develop an accurate picture of land use among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia...In an effort to better understand changing land patterns and preserve indigenous knowledge, researchers are using participatory mapping techniques. Spatial visualization tools, such as three-dimensional modelling, rural appraisal community maps, printed maps and even screen-based computer planning exercises with communities, can help to give an overview of natural available resources and how they are shared among the various land users.

Title: Online Deliberation : Design, Research, and Practice
Editors: Todd Davies and Seeta Peña Gangadharan
Pages: 350 pp.
ISBN: 9781575865546
Source>: Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes, Volume 182
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Date (published): 04/11/2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: book
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf, Attention! 12,45 MB)
Abstract:
Can new technology enhance local, national, and global democracy? Online Deliberation is the first book that attempts to sample the full range of work on online deliberation, forging new connections between academic research, web designers, and practitioners.
Since the most exciting innovations in deliberation have occurred outside of traditional institutions, and those involved have often worked in relative isolation from each other, research conducted on this growing field has to this point neglected the full perspective of online participation. This volume, an essential read for those working at the crossroads of computer and social science, illuminates the collaborative world of deliberation by examining diverse clusters of Internet communities.

Title: Talking Book Pilot Results
Pages: 10 pp.
Source: literacybridge.org
Publisher: Literacy Bridge
Date (published): 16/09/2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
The Talking Book is an affordable and durable audio computer that enables people to record, access, and share knowledge—regardless of poverty, illiteracy, and lack of electricity. The Talking Book was developed between 2007 and 2008 to increase literacy skills and to spread audio information of any kind. The portable, battery-powered device allows users to record and play 70 hours of audio messages, copy messages between devices, access recordings by customizable categories, and interact with learning applications.
This document reports on the results of an initial pilot that began in early 2009 and focused on spreading health and agriculture information in a remote village in Ghana.

See also:
The talking book of Literacy bridge
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) Secretariat blog, 04/11/2009

Title: Are fixed phones a viable solution for development anymore?
Author Editor: pcastillo
Source: AshokaTech
Date (published): 08/12/2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow Madan Mohan Rao, founder of Rural Telecom Foundation, has modified an almost-extinct technology to serve the specific communication needs of rural India. The RTF is using a modified party line system on the wire line service of the BSNL (government owned telecom company), to provide connectivity to villagers as a group rather than as individual subscribers.
(via http://twitter.com/AshokaTech )

Title: Local Governments Offer Data to Software Tinkerers
Author Editor: Claire Cain Miller
Source: NYTimes.com
Publisher: The New York Times Company
Date (published): 06/12/2009 (07/12/2008 in the print edition)
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Many local governments are figuring out how to use the Internet to make government data more accessible. The goal is to spawn useful Web sites and mobile applications — and perhaps even have people think differently about their city and its government.

“It will change the way citizens and government interact, but perhaps most important, it’s going to change the way elected officials and civil servants deliver programs, services and promises,” said Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, which is one of the cities leading the way in releasing government data to Web developers.

(via http://lirneasia.net/ )

Title: SMSONE: Micro-Local News From India To Make Silicon Valley Jealous
Author: Sarah Lacy
Source: TechCrunch
Date (published): 30/11/2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
I’m talking about SMSONE Media, a company I met in Pune about a week ago. Like most of the impressive companies I saw in India, it’s aimed squarely at the base of the pyramid and is using basic SMS to deliver services to people some of India’s most unconnected areas. It was started by Ravi Ghate, who proudly points out that none of his core team graduated from high school, much less attended an IIT or IIM. (Typically not something you brag about in India.)
SMSONE is basically a very-local newsletter...And what readers get is pretty powerful. Right now there is no way to get a timely message to people in a village. There’s no Internet access, no TV, no local paper, and frequently no electricity. All they have is a basic mobile phone.

( via http://twitter.com/ict4d )

Title: Financial literacy meets the mobile network operator
Author: Olga Morawczynski
Source: CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
Date (published): 07/12/2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
“Ecosystem” seems to be a big buzzword in the mobile money space. Many mobile network operators (MNOs) are extending their focus beyond what they consider to be the killer applications – storing and transferring money and cultivating strategies to offer financial services at scale.

The cornerstones of a viable network are trust and ubiquity, but this is no easy task. MNOs not only need to find the appropriate partners, they also need to make the ecosystem relevant to the daily lives of their users.