In a recent article in The New York Times talking about research on water use in Rwanda, the author, after going through a fairly long recitation of why privatizing the water supply for the poorest of the poor in one of the poorest countries of the world hasn't been a stampeding success, writes: "In summary, providing drinking water to subsistence communities is much more than simply providing access."
Likewise, although the study of community informatics, which focuses on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in communities, isn't about water systems, the same rather obvious observation holds true. Access (in this case ICT in the form of computers, Internet connections, data, etc.) is not enough -- especially if the folks getting the access can't pay for it, can't understand it, can't support it, or can't figure out how to use it in any way that is meaningful to them.
In response to a recent blog post of mine, Tim O'Reilly tweeted: "sobering account of how open data is used against the poor..."
My blog post pointed out that, in the absence of efforts to ensure that those outside the current loop of active digital users have the means to actually use data that is currently being made "open," the effect might be to further "enrich the (digital and otherwise) rich" and "immiserate the poor."
Several readers provided helpful examples of how "open data" or digitization has driven land fraud in Nova Scotia, Canada; the securing of unfair health service advantages in the US; and the general detachment of the middle class digerati from the poor and marginalized in India.
Community informatics started as a confluence of the following participants:
academics concerned with how ICT was being used (or not used) at the grassroots level
grassroots folks, particularly those working in locally based ICT networking, telecenters, and community technology centers looking to connect with others with similar interests and to gain some understanding and longer-term perspective on what they are doing
public officials concerned with how ICT could be used to support economic and social development among the poor and marginalized
those in the private sector with a sense of corporate social responsibility, or who are responding to the evident markets at the "bottom of the pyramid."
Out of this a new way of approaching ICT is emerging that includes an understanding and acknowledgment of the community as an owner as well as a user of the data and the technology, and of community processes as an integral part of how a system comes to be used and given value in practice. This approach recognizes that systems need to be usable (and not just accessible) by the community as the system owner.
Central to the community informatics approach is the concept of "effective use," which points directly to the range of preconditions that are necessary for communities (or individuals) to be able to turn "access" into something meaningful and useful in their daily lives.
Having water flowing by one's house but not being able to afford it for one's family must be as frustrating as, for example, seeing a computer or the Internet or a cell phone or a flood of data being made "open" and "accessible" but not having the financial, literacy, numeracy, interpretive, or other means to use these tools to make a difference in one's life circumstances.
Community informatics is about making sure that everyone everywhere has the opportunity to make effective use of the wondrous tools that we all now take for granted.
— Michael Gurstein is Executive Director of the Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development, and Training (CCIRDT) in Vancouver, British Columbia and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Community Informatics.
Right, but if you can't afford access to the information, then, yes, of course, you are not liberated.
I've always thought, for instance, that you could free a society faster by providing 100 copy machines rather than 100 military weapons. If such information is only available electronically, or is accessible in a way that it cannot easily be understood, intervening in a community still is, um, intervening.
Now, if the information isn't related to a control thing, that's something altogether different. That could be your point--i.e., leading a civil group to information that will improve their quality of life can be compared to leading the group to understanding how to establish safe drinking water.
If that's the point, I get it and am just a slow learner.
I'm not so sure that "information liberates society" so much as information liberates and empowers some individuals who in turn may impact on society.
But what if you can't afford to access the information, or if it is in a language you don't understand (or if you can't read at all), or if the information is presented in a form that only a few people can work with because of the software and so on. Doesn't that then mean that only those people who can use that information are empowered or "liberated".
Community informatics is concerned to understand those processes and then to provide means and supports for those who may not otherwise be able to access or use the information (or the Internet or computers) to achieve benefits in their lives.
I'm not sure I understand the controversy. Information generally liberates society while the stifling of information is a method of governance.
So, if information is out there--but skewed--that seems logically no different than China controlling Google or the former Soviet Union controlling the media. It's basically the same as not having the information at all.
If information is truly available and ne'er-do-wells utilize the data to prey upon those less savvy, is that any different than information-related consumer scams in the U.S.? I'm not a scam advocate, of course, but it seems like community informatics is just puffery of an age-old problem of information access.
Thanks to everyone who commented on my Intro post. My intention was to give a flavour for the kind of work that folks doing community informatics do which is to help to transform simple "access" into meaningful and effective "uses" by among others the marginalized and poor, those in less developed countries, indigenous peoples.
How do we ensure the benefits of the Internet to those who who don't necessarily start off from a strong base of literacy let alone digital literacy, with a sufficient financial base to have their own in home computers (or cell phones accessing the Internet), or a good understanding of the value that Internet use can provide.
The Internet and computers are wondrous tools but unless we have the skills and the means to make use of them they might just as well be just so much static electricity or bricks with typewriter keys.
I'll be discussing this more and with examples in some later blogposts.
Good points marjansik. I think you and Michael are identifying that the concept of community informatics is shared access and value, which would be both access and literacy; otherwise it is not a true community.
What you are identifying is the principles that would bring this to life. I think that is the problem - the ideal world does not exist. There is going to have to be a concerted effort to build the literacy and noncommercial access if community informatics is to be realized. Libraries are of no value to those who cannot read.
I remember a cult chapter of The Twilight Zone where immense aliens came to earth... To Serve Man... Actually, that was the tittle of the chapter. And humanity got served... as main course, of course...
I think the basic concept of privatizing something as basic as water service in order to supply it to the poorest of the poor in Rwanda qualifies for an Ig Nobel Prize. Its the same as donating money to the Haitian government hoping for THEM to distribute it to the people in need. As most people who know know, the only people the Haitian government knows who need something is THEM, the government people. So to hope that a privatized program to supply water for the poor in Rwanda seems to be... well, not the right way or the right idea to begin with.
Faith, as defined by st. Paul is hoping for that we don't know, but hoping for something we DO KNOW, NOT TO HAPPEN THIS TIME is not faith, its delusion or psychosis. Whatever technology we may use, if the main effort is ill conceived the failure is not technological but old plain human greed and immorality. And for that we don't need technology to help us achieve our full potential.
Michael, please focus on some other example that has the potential to make us achieve the best in us. OR at least, redefine the proposition as to how Community Informatics can avert another corruption scheme happening in an unknown part of the world.
On the other hand, thank you for sharing something that we may never get to know is happening.
Given the Rwandan analogy, does this mean that Facebook/MySpace/etc aren't going to attract users that aren't in profitable advertising demographics? It seems like the UI for facebook changes to target only young and affluent users -- and almost actively annoys the users who don't have the latest and greatest computer hardware.
So where are the open online communities that accept and cater to the less affluent users?
I agree with you too Micheal on the fact that, having an access to technology is as important as understanding (being literate) how to use it purposefully. And somehow, the emphasis today is getting a better access rather than being literate....
Gee Michael, at first blush I wasn’t sure if you were discussing Rwanda water supply issues or community informatics,But after taking a second pass, I realized this was more about you than any of the surrounding issues.
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