bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Rural Social Productive Space to Increase the Social Capital of Agribusiness Community in Agropolitan Area
Authors: Syarifudin Deden , Ishak Riza Fathoni
Published: December 2020

Agropolitan area is a concept of functional space based on agricultural production, which requires a specific population density as a capital for the productivity of the rural regions with the support of urban utilities and social infrastructure/social space. Weak social capital makes the agropolitan area grow slowly. This is the impact of unplanned productive social space as a vehicle for social capital’s growth implemented in regional plans. However, social interactions occur if the social infrastructure is well articulated in creating spatial productivity, production, and multiphase inheritance for the sustainability of agribusiness activities. This study aims to identify the importance of social productive space in the form of social infrastructure to increase the social capital in agropolitan area. The method used is a case study to observe social processes that occur from time to time, supported by in-depth interview. The results indicate a typology of social capital that is not formed instantly, but contains a long history over time due to the repetition of interaction between communities in social spaces that are not technically constructed and unplanned in the agropolitan area spatial planning. This productive space is a place to build social closeness through repetition of interaction, sharing, knowledge transfer, equalization of perceptions involving residents, and collaboration between individuals and groups. The productive space in the form of social infrastructure consists of mosques, sports fields, markets, community meeting rooms (bale), business group rooms, and farmer groups. Therefore, the plan document must consider the functioning of social space and adaptive social space based on IT connections (cafes, sports clubs, open spaces, bale, and mosque grounds) into agropolitan spatial planning.
Silence and Absence in the Political Discourse on Section 28 and Children’s Literature in the United Kingdom
Authors: Simpson Joshua
Published: December 2020

This article considers the previously unexamined political uses of children’s literature in the 1986–1988 British Parliamentary debates of the legislation that became Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. This law, now repealed, prohibited the “promotion” of homosexuality and “pretended” same-sex family relationships by local authorities in the United Kingdom. The effect of the legislation was a widespread silencing of LGBT+ people in institutions across the nation. But while much has been written about those effects and on Section 28 generally over the past 30 years, there has been less sustained attention, within the context of the debates, given to those children’s books and how they were used by politicians to justify the law. With a particular focus on two of the most prominent texts in the Parliamentary debates – David Rees’ teen novel, The Milkman’s on his Way (1982), and Susanne Bösche’s picturebook, Mette bor hos Morten og Erik, published in English as Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin (1981/1983) – this article examines the political uses and constructions of children’s texts and argues that silence and absence were a key discursive strategy deployed by supporters of the law.
“It felt better to stay quiet”
Authors: Świetlicki Mateusz
Published: December 2020

This article analyzes Kathy Kacer’s Masters of Silence (2019), a novel about Marcel Marceau – the renowned mime artist who during the war cooperated with the French Resistance – and two fictional Jewish siblings struggling with the trauma of losing their parents, anti-Semitism, and the suppression of identity in a Catholic convent in southern France. The author examines the narrative techniques used by Kacer, including the combination of fiction with history and some elements of the biography of Marceau, and demonstrates that she not only shares the next-generation memory of World War II with her young readers but also depicts nonverbal ways of coping with trauma as potentially effective and empowering. Whereas Kacer’s indifference to historical dates may be connected to her determination to portray Marceau as an adolescent role model, the novel is a successful narrative about trauma and the Holocaust history, and the depiction of Marceau’s acts of resistance does not overshadow the young protagonists who do not just quiver and follow the instructions of the adults but mainly try to gain agency.
Ingrid Lindell & Anders Öhman (red), För berättelsens skull: Modeller för litteraturundervisningen
Authors: Manderstedt Lena
Published: December 2020

Review/Recension
Casie E. Hermansson, Filming the Children's Book: Adapting Metafiction
Authors: Åberg Anders
Published: December 2020

Review/Recension
The Development and Application of Multimedia Technology in College Gymnastics Teaching
Authors: Ren Xiaojian , Cui Jiangning
Published: December 2020

In recent years, information technology has developed at a rapid pace and is almost everywhere closely linked in people’s work, life, and learning. Information technology has a certain role in improving people’s lives, enhancing learning, and promoting the quality of work. Using literature methods, interview methods, and analytical inductive methods, etc, on the basis of reading a large number of professional theoretical books on gymnastics teaching, multimedia technology, and modern teaching and reform, the application of gymnastics teaching in colleges in China has been studied theoretically. This article discusses the college gymnastics teaching compared with other cultural studies with the characteristics and studies the feasibility of multimedia technology in college physical education and the supporting role of teaching in gymnastics and gymnastics multimedia courseware design and production. It is hoped that through the research carried out in this paper, the application of multimedia technology in college gymnastics teaching in China can be given theoretical guidance and reference that can play a role in solving and answering questions in the current multimedia application process. College gymnastics workers will apply multimedia technology more effectively and skillfully in the future.
Coronavirus Pneumonia and Pulmonary Thromboembolism
Authors: Yao Mingkang , Er Saw Phei , Jiang Shanping
Published: December 2020

In 2019, a novel pneumonia, called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), spread rapidly throughout the world. This novel global pandemic severely threatened public respiratory health and medical services. To date, except for the common respiratory symptoms, coagulation disorders, especially pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), has been proven as an important complication in severe COVID-19 patients, and the incidence of PTE causes poor clinical outcome and increased fatality. Therefore, it is important that healthcare providers, including respiratory physicians, emergency medicine specialists, hematologists, cardiologists, infectious disease specialists, and other specialists, recognize that patients with COVID-19 are at increased risk of PTE, and ensure that appropriate prophylaxis is administered to the appropriate patients, and that they effectively manage PTE when it does occur. The mechanism of PTE in patients with coronavirus pneumonia consists of endothelial injury, activated platelet, cytokine storm, and a suppressed fibrinolytic system. Early prophylaxis, antiviral therapy, anticoagulation, and supportive treatment are beneficial to COVID-19 patients. In this review, we summarize the harm that coronavirus pneumonia wreaks and highlight the clinical relationship between PTE and coronavirus infection. The potential mechanism and the prophylaxis and therapeutic measures are also discussed to call for more effort and research to investigate the strategies for PTE in COVID-19.
Political Families and Support for Democracy in Pakistan
Authors: Yadav Vineeta
Published: December 2020

Political families are common across many countries in Asia, including Pakistan. Politicians from political families (PPFs) make decisions with the goal of maximizing the political prospects of the entire family, in contrast to non-PPFs, who maximize their individual political self-interest. This changes the impact they have on their country. Scholars find that the presence of PPFs is associated with significantly worse development and governance outcomes, including in Pakistan. However, we know much less about their impact on political outcomes. In this paper, we use original data from a 2018 systematic national survey of about 150 Pakistani politicians to investigate PPFs’ support for key democratic institutions and practices. We find that compared to non-PPFs, Pakistani PPFs are significantly more supportive of instrumentally useful institutions and practices such as free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, and a free media, but no different in their low level of support for human rights.
Myanmar’s Transition and the Resurgence of Buddhist Nationalism
Authors: Reny Marie-Eve
Published: December 2020

Myanmar began a transition in 2011 that ended almost 50 years of military rule. During the transition, a nationalist movement called for protecting Buddhism from an “Islamic threat.” Anti-Islam nationalism was not new in Burmese history, yet the timing of its resurgence deserves attention. I argue that the incumbents’ anticipated electoral weakness in transitional elections was the primary reason for its resurgence. The incumbents sought to maximize societal support, and they faced a strong contender, the National League for Democracy, whose probability of winning was high. Social opposition was also significant by the time military rule ended. In a campaign to pass reforms to better “protect” Buddhism, the incumbents used monks to cast doubt on the NLD’s ability to represent Buddhist interests and to recruit former regime opponents who were nationalists. The incumbents garnered wide support for the reforms, yet it was insufficient for an electoral victory.
The Korean National Pension Service
Authors: Jung Hoyong
Published: December 2020

In July 2018, the Korean National Pension Service (KNPS), one of the world’s largest pension funds, introduced a stewardship code, and in February 2019 it first exercised active shareholder engagement in an investee. Using an event study methodology, we examine whether this institutional investor’s active shareholder engagement affected the stock market. We find that the stock value of the KNPS’s investees was reduced after the active shareholder engagement. The effect was larger in the case of small-cap stocks, companies in which the KNPS has a 5–10% share, and firms with a lower environmental, social, and governance grade. This implies that market concerns about government intervention are valid, and institutional reforms are necessary, including specific guidelines to balance shareholder and management rights.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATIONAL AMBIDEXTERITY, AND MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE IN THE ERA OF INDUSTRY 4.0: A PROPOSED MODEL
Authors: Seng Cheong Cheah , Cheng Ling Tan
Published: December 2020

Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) is changing the landscape of global manufacturing. As a developing nation, Malaysia’s manufacturing sector is a leading contributor to the nation’s GDP but its growth is in declining mode recently. Facing competition from countries with lower labour cost, Malaysia needs alternative ways to achieve competitive advantage. Many of its manufacturers are new to IR4.0 and also cautious of investing in such technologies to increase its manufacturing performance. Realizing this, Malaysia’s government introduced a policy on IR4.0 by focusing on the people, process and technology. The goal is to increase the skill set of the existing workforce through knowledge enhancement and adoption of advance manufacturing technologies. However, high level of transformation is needed, collaboration with external parties is important, and internal business processes and operating models need to change too. Many of them are lack in slack resources to pursue both explorative and exploitative learning. Organizational ambidexterity, which is the ability of a firm to manage both of these activities is crucial for proper knowledge management and improving manufacturing performance. The objective of this paper is to examine such interconnection from the context of a developing country as information from extant literature is scarce, especially on the balanced approach to source, transfer and protect the knowledge for optimum gain in manufacturing performance. Three main activities of knowledge management will be examined namely external knowledge sourcing, knowledge mobility and knowledge protection. The inclusive of knowledge protection also narrow the literature gap as it tends to be left out in previous studies due to its conflicting nature with other knowledge management activities. All the hypotheses and resulted conceptual model will be grounded with theories of Resource-Based view (RBV), Knowledge-Based View (KBV), Dynamic Capabilities and OA.
Graves’ disease: introducing new genetic and epigenetic contributors
Authors: Razmara Ehsan , Salehi Mehrnaz , Aslani Saeed , Bitaraf Amirreza , Yousefi Hassan , Colón Jonathan Rosario , Mahmoudi Mahdi
Published: December 2020

Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) accounts for 90% of all thyroid diseases and affects 2–5% of the population with remarkable familial clustering. Among AITDs, Graves’ disease (GD) is a complex disease affecting thyroid function. Over the last two decades, case–control studies using cutting-edge gene sequencing techniques have detected various susceptible loci that may predispose individuals to GD. It has been presumed that all likely associated genes, variants, and polymorphisms might be responsible for 75–80% of the heritability of GD. As a result, there are implications concerning the potential contribution of environmental and epigenetic factors in the pathogenesis of GD, including its initiation, progression, and development. Numerous review studies have summarized the contribution of genetic factors in GD until now, but there are still some key questions and notions that have not been discussed concerning the interplay of genetic, epigenetic, and immunological factors. With this in mind, this review discusses some newly-identified loci and their potential roles in the pathogenicity of GD. This may lead to the identification of new, promising therapeutic targets. Here, we emphasized principles, listed all the reported disease-associated genes and polymorphisms, and also summarized the current understanding of the epigenetic basis of GD.
Tissue selective effects of bazedoxifene on the musculoskeletal system in female mice
Authors: Cabelka Christine A , Baumann Cory W , Lindsay Angus , Norton Andrew , Blixt Nick C , Le Gengyun , Warren Gordon L , Mansky Kim C , Novotny Susan A , Lowe Dawn A
Published: December 2020

The actions of selective estrogen receptor modulators are tissue dependent. The primary objective of the current study was to determine the tissue selective effects of bazedoxifene (BZA) on the musculoskeletal system of ovariectomized (OVX) female mice, focusing on the strengths of muscle-bone pairs in the lower hindlimb. Treatment with BZA after ovariectomy (OVX+BZA) did not prevent body or fat mass gains (P < 0.05). In vivo plantarflexor muscle isometric torque was not affected by treatment with BZA (P = 0.522). Soleus muscle peak isometric, concentric and eccentric tetanic force production were greater in OVX+BZA mice compared to OVX+E2 mice (P ≤ 0.048) with no effect on maximal isometric specific force (P = 0.228). Tibia from OVX+BZA mice had greater cortical cross-sectional area and moment of inertia than OVX mice treated with placebo (P < 0.001), but there was no impact of BZA treatment on cortical bone mineral density, cortical thickness, tibial bone ultimate load or stiffness (P ≥ 0.086). Overall, these results indicate that BZA may be an estrogen receptor agonist in skeletal muscle, as it has previously been shown in bone, providing minor benefits to the musculoskeletal system.
Concepciones y reflexiones sobre calidad, evaluación y acreditación institucional
Authors: Campaña Vargas Leidy Johana , Gómez Salamanca Lina Piedad , Mono Castañeda Alexi
Published: December 2020

Las instituciones de educación superior han desarrollado estrategias para mejorar sus servicios ofertados y obtener así reconocimiento a nivel nacional e internacional. Entre todas, la alternativa más reconocida ha sido la implementación de procesos de acreditación. El presente artículo tiene como fin abordar las diversas concepciones sobre procesos, su ejecución en diferentes lugares del mundo y sus fortalezas y debilidades en Colombia. Se realizó una revisión de literatura para obtener información sobre las etapas y los elementos necesarios para la implementación de procesos de acreditación. Se concluyó que, si bien estos procesos presentan algunos vacíos, son necesarios para unificar los criterios de formación de los estudiantes y evaluación institucional, que enriquecen la participación de la comunidad educativa.
Calidad de las instituciones de educación superior desde la perspectiva de América Latina y el Caribe
Authors: Páez Luna Dora Ligia , Camargo Celis Diana Rocío , Muriel Perea Yasser de Jesús
Published: December 2020

La calidad educativa conlleva la formación integral de ciudadanos y, por tanto, es fundamental para el desarrollo de las personas y los países. El sector educativo está llamado a responder con pertinencia y calidad a las demandas sociales y económicas de los países de América Latina y el Caribe. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el concepto de calidad desde la perspectiva de seis países de esta región para identificar cómo funcionan sus sistemas de aseguramiento de la calidad y establecer similitudes y diferencias. Se utilizó el estudio de caso y el análisis documental como técnicas de recolección de información. El criterio para seleccionar los casos fue pertenecer a la Red Iberoamericana para el Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior (RIACES) y tener posicionamiento en los rankings. Los resultados muestran que a partir de la década de 1990 se fortalecieron más las políticas de mejoramiento de la calidad en las instituciones de educación superior de la región. Se concluyó que, a pesar de los avances logrados, aún persiste un gran desafío en la integración regional de los sistemas, la respuesta a las necesidades del contexto y la medición del impacto.
Local e-Government in Sweden - Municipal Contact Center implementation with focus on Citizens and Public Administrators
Authors: Bernhard Irene Cecilia
Published: December 2020

Abstract The aim of the article is to analyze the implementation of municipal contact centers (CCs) – an e-government initiative on the local level- from the perspectives of citizens and public adiminstrators. This article is based on case studies from four Swedish municipalites. The results indicate that the CCs: contribute to increased access to municipal service, localize public services and combine different services into a one-stop practice striving to provide a “holistic” approach to the individual citizen in her local context. However, the quality of the service also depends on the organization of the work  within the back office of the municipality. All issues from citizens were registered which contribute to increased knowledge about the citizens’ needs and perceptions regarding municipality services and planning in urban issues.
Community, Group and Individual: A Framework for Designing Community Technologies
Authors: Erete Sheena L.
Published: December 2020

In this paper, I draw on sociology a­­­­­­­­­­­­nd urban studies literature to describe a framework with three components that should be considered when designing community technologies: community, group, and individual. I use this framework to discuss current community technologies and describe three best practices vital for the success of community technologies: 1) increasing social cohesion and social capital, 2) engaging small groups of community members, and 3) encouraging participation through interest-based technologies. I use an example of a community technology to illustrate how each of these dimensions can be incorporated into the development of new technologies.
Internet Access At Public Access Venues In A Developing Countries: Lessons from Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Wijaya Stevanus Wisnu , Polina Agnes Maria
Published: December 2020

This paper aims to present differences between male and female internet users in terms of their internet access, including the information they seek, their ICT uses, their frequency of use, and their barriers. This paper reports data from 400 internet café users in urban and non-urban areas in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.The results show that there were some differences between the male and female users. Firstly, the number of male users who visited in internet café was slightly higher than that of female users. Secondly, in terms of information the users seek, female users in urban areas were more interested in accessing education and health contents than male users, whereas in non-urban areas female users were more interested in educational contents and agricultural contents. Secondly, in terms of the ICT uses, male users in urban areas tended to have more interest in using ICT for e-commerce and business than female users. On the other hand, in non urban areas, female users tended to have a higher interest in using ICT for blogging/social networking than male users. Next, with regard to frequency of use, in both urban and non-urban areas male users visited an internet café more often than female users. Finally, in term of barriers in using ICT; the most serious barriers both in urban and non-urban areas were distance, cost, content and services.
From Pebble to Avalanche: How Information and Communications Technologies Empowered Underprivileged Actors Through Ages
Authors: Konieczny Piotr
Published: December 2020

Accompanied by growing literacy, information and communication technologies (ICT) have empowered states, organizations, but also – and perhaps most crucially – individuals, creating a more liberal and democratic environment. While also used as tools of social control, those technologies have often been used by revolutionaries and other agents of social change, aiding not only the surveillance state and for-profit organizations, but also individuals and non-state social actors, like social movements. In this paper I review literature on literacy and ICT, and, backed up by the results of a recent survey of international social movements, I conclude that at this pattern of empowerment, traceable throughout the human history, is continuing with the most recent information revolution.
First Mile Challenges to Last Mile Rhetoric: Exploring the Discourse between Remote and Rural First Nations and the Telecom Industry
Authors: Philpot Duncan , Beaton Brian , Whiteduck Tim
Published: December 2020

Solving Canada’s digital divide remains a significant issue, particularly considering how broadband networks have an impact on remote and rural areas politically, economically, socially, and culturally. Attached to this, as well, are the politics of the historical relationship between remote and rural First Nation communities, corporations, and the government. The way in which the relationship between remote and rural First Nations, the federal and provincial governments, and the telecommunications industries is reproduced is largely through discursive means. One of the consequences of this is that many outsiders to this issue are largely misinformed through documents and press releases. These documents frame remote and rural First Nations as helpless and dependent upon government and telecom industry intervention in order to secure their dependence upon their services. We argue that this is another form of political colonialism; a form of colonialism which seeks to create dependence upon the service economy for its own survival. In this paper, we examine the discourse surrounding the issue of remote and rural broadband connectivity as a means of exploring the reproduction of established narratives of First Nations dependence upon aid and service. We also explore how First Nations communities are using websites and documents of their own to counter these portrayals of their ‘plight’ by emphasising their desire to own and operate ICT services in their communities with local members, for local members. We conclude that there is a significant challenge that remote and rural First Nations face, but that the steps that have been taken are towards escaping the cycle of co-dependency.
The Cancellation of the Community Access Program and the Digital Divide(s) in Canada: Lessons Learned and Future Prospects
Authors: Blanton Chris
Published: December 2020

The Government of Canada's recent termination of its Community Access Program eliminated a major source of funding for organizations that connect disadvantaged individuals and communities to the Internet. Nevertheless, inequalities in Internet access and usage continue to exist. In the absence of a coordinated national policy to address digital divides, responsibility for providing Internet access to low-income Canadians devolves primarily onto large civic and regional libraries. This devolution works to the particular disadvantage of remote and rural areas, which tend to have neither an affordable supplier of residential broadband nor the economic base to support library systems large enough to provide community access sites. For communities in this situation, the First Mile paradigm offers some hope. In the broader context, future Internet connectivity initiatives in Canada should look beyond simply providing "access," and link the individual's effective use of information and communication technologies to the well-being of the community in which the individual is situated.
GoFred: Municipally-Owned ICT Utilities in Fredericton, New Brunswick
Authors: Richard Mike , Philpot Duncan
Published: December 2020

N/A
From the First Mile to Outer Space: Tamaani Satellite Internet in Northern Quebec
Authors: McMahon Rob , Mangiok Thomassie
Published: December 2020

Across Canada, discrepancies of access to broadband exist between urban centres and rural and remote Aboriginal communities. Government, public and private sector organizations are partnering to address these digital divides. Some employ a ‘First Mile’ approach that foregrounds how community-based institutions are driving development. This article provides a First Mile case study from the Inuit territory of Nunavik. We describe the cultural, social and political contexts the people of Nunavik and their government navigated to establish broadband in the region’s 14 northern villages. The Kativik Regional Government is building and administering infrastructure that delivers public services and encourages economic development, balancing centralized efficiencies with the needs of residents in villages like Ivujivik.
Building First Nation Owned and Managed Fibre Networks across Quebec
Authors: Whiteduck Tim , Beaton Brian
Published: December 2020

In Canada, small rural and remote communities continue to struggle to access equitable and affordable high speed internet connections that address local priorities and needs. The First Nations Education Council (FNEC) is working with their community partners across Quebec to plan and operate a First Nation owned and managed fibre network to deliver broadband connections throughout each community. Public and private partnerships were established by FNEC to fund and construct the regional and local networks connecting these rural and remote communities. The paper describes the history of this development along with its future goals. Sharing infrastructure and network support services with all the other service providers (health, education, administration, justice, policing, homes, etc.) in each of these communities helps to sustain the ongoing operation and maintenance of the network.
Community Informatics in Cities: New Catalysts for Urban Change
Authors: Horelli Liisa Marjatta , Sadoway David
Published: December 2020

Editorial - JoCI Spedical Issue on URban Planning and Community Informatics
Rethinking Third Places: Contemporary Design With Technology
Authors: Memarovic Nemanja , Fels Sidney , Anacleto Junia , Calderon Roberto , Gobbo Federico , Carroll John M.
Published: December 2020

Oldenburg’s properties of third places were established almost three decades ago. In order to understand if these properties still hold and if and how ICTs changed the concept of third places, we looked at affordances and practices in nine third places in Paris. Our findings point out that most of the properties have changed and also three new ones have emerged mixing the physical and the virtual. We also provide implications for ICTs that aim at stimulating and supporting properties of third places.
ICTs Encouraging Changes in the Citizen's Relationship with Government and Urban Space: Brazilian Examples
Authors: Bugs Geisa
Published: December 2020

The article discusses the influences of ICT mass usage, specially the Internet, on citizen's relations with the government and urban space. Recent advances on ICT are encouraging new forms of socialization, consumption, production, citizenship, and activism. Citizens are showing willingness to act and influence urban structures. They organize themselves in the virtual world, but think and act on the physical space. Brazilian examples of public manifestations and online activism initiatives originated or supported by social media and social networks illustrate the theory around ICT. The article concludes that new interfaces are emerging between citizens, the government, and urban spaces.
Users and Uses of Internet Access Points in Bangladesh: A Case Study of Community Information Centers (CICs)
Authors: Hossain Mohammad Delwar
Published: December 2020

This study through a theoretical framework and using the case study and survey approaches investigates the uses and benefits of these Community Information Centers (CICs) and the several ways in which these CICs are impacting the lives of the rural people. Two thirds (69%) of the users come to the centers to send emails. The other purposes are browsing for any information (63%), entertainment (60%) and voice chatting (47%). The types of information people sought from the CICs are news (88%), education (59%), entertainment (55%), business (47%), health (27 %), government (23%), agriculture (9 %) and other (3%). most of the users (87%) mentioned that the information and use was leading to their personal development. In terms of satisfaction about the CICs, more than one third of the users (36%) were satisfied.
Assessment of Mobile Voice Agricultural Messages Given to Farmers of Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu, India
Authors: Muthiah Ganesan
Published: December 2020

The study describes the assessment of mobile phone based agricultural voice messages disseminated to farmers of Cauvery delta zone in Tamil Nadu, India, during September, 2012 to June, 2013. The present study was conducted in July, 2013 for about 20 days period through telephonic interview using a well structured questionnaire with randomly selected 200 farmers across five districts (Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Thiruchirapalli, Thiruvarur and Cuddalore of Cauvery delta zone in Tamil Nadu, India). The survey results showed that majority of the farmers have adopted the agricultural information disseminated through their mobile phone. In addition, Chi square analysis showed that the farmers with irrespective of socio economic characteristics such as gender, age, education, land holding and farming experience have adopted the agricultural information. More than half of the farmers had expressed that either all or most of the agricultural information were useful. Majority of them had expressed the information received on their mobile phone were trust worthy. With reference to satisfaction level of farmers, almost all the farmers were very satisfied with audio quality, simplicity of language and contents of voice messages. Majority of the farmers’ have indicated that the mobile voice messages were of better as compared to other sources of information that they were accessing.
Influences and Experiences of Using Digital Devices in Laterlife
Authors: Russell Helen , Young Kirsty
Published: December 2020

This paper is informed by a qualitative research project that investigated the influences and lived experiences of using digital devices in laterlife. Devices included in the study were computers, mobile phones, cameras, mp3 players and DVDs. Participants in the study were aged 70 to 83 and resided in urban coastal areas of Australia. Researchers found that the adoption of technologies centred on uses and relevance for the digital devices. Pragmatic and affective considerations impelled the older adults to take up specific devices; which then enabled them to be autonomous, functionally independent and enhanced their relationship with others.
Do ICTs Help To Maintain Social Capital In The Disaster Recovery Phase? A Case Study Of The L'aquila Earthquake
Authors: Tagliacozzo Serena , Arcidiacono Caterina
Published: December 2020

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially of the social networking sites (SNSs), in emergency situations is constantly on the rise. With this study, we have investigated the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) after the massive changes that occurred in the physical environment following the L’Aquila earthquake (central Italy) in 2009. Two years after the disaster, thirteen key individuals affected by the earthquake were interviewed through semi-structured interviews. Results suggest that new media can serve, to some extent, similar functions of sustaining the creation and maintenance of social relationships as the ones previously fulfilled by physical spaces. Although limited, this research may have the potential to open up an interesting debate on the web-mediated construction of the concept of “place” in the wake of a disaster.
Digital order and political disorder: thoughts about opposite effects of digital media on emerging societies
Authors: Villanueva-Mansilla Eduardo
Published: December 2020

As the debates on how to govern the Internet continue, the actual outcomes of digital access have to be considered when discussing how to represent and govern such a global system. This point of view discusses the reasons for considering the Multistakeholder model currently being proposed as a step backwards as the issues that actual usage of the Internet by individuals and communities cannot be dealt with by it, and instead is just entrenching the interests of both powerful nation-states and corporate actors in a way that furthers non-democratic control of a global resource.
Sensitizing concepts for the next community-oriented technologies: shifting focus from social networking to convivial artifacts
Authors: Cabitza Federico , Simone Carla , Cornetta Denise
Published: December 2020

This paper proposes a set of sensitizing concepts for the evolution of technologies supporting both online and hybrid communities. These concepts regard the affordances that a network community and its technological infrastructure should offer to its members, grounding and extending the notion of network communities and the related concepts proposed in the literature; in particular, we focus on the community affordance we denote as conviviality, and discuss it in light of several previous research contributions to see it as an important facet of community interaction that should orient the design of its enabling technology. To this aim, the paper also proposes an initial set of three principles that should inform the design of convivial artifacts, namely bounded openness, collaboration-orientedness and selective inclusiveness, and illustrate them with some examples as further sensitizing concepts for the Communities & Technologies field.
Engaging Academia: Strengthening the Link Between Community and Technology
Authors: Schuler Douglas
Published: December 2020

This paper explores ways in which academia could change to be more socially relevant in relation to communities ICT. It is intended to advance ideas and further discussion. Socially relevant means encouraging the creation of information and communication systems that support human development, social learning, collaborative problem-solving, self-governance — and civic intelligence generally. Because the build-out of these systems has such profound implications of surveillance and control that the early warning function is particularly critical.  This paper is primarily addressed to the academic community that focuses on the use of ICT in the social lives of "ordinary" citizens.
Using IT to ‘do good’ in communities?
Authors: Bødker Susanne
Published: December 2020

In this paper I will position myself in relation to the current state of affairs in community technology. In particular I’ll look at how people at large participate in technology mediated activities and what this means for our understanding of them and our methods and roles as researchers when studying them (and as activists when engaging with them).
CI 101: Community Informatics as General Education
Authors: Carroll John M , Obeysekare Eric
Published: December 2020

In some countries, university students fulfill a set of general education requirements in addition to the core requirements for their major program of study. The role of general education requirements is to broaden students, particularly with respect to general skills and knowledge such as reasoning, communicating, understanding the natural and social world, and appreciating cultures, the arts, and human values. In this paper, we propose that community informatics can be part of contemporary general education. We present a brief course outline for a notional CI 101 in order to promote more concrete consideration and critical analysis of this proposal.
Communities in Context: Taking Control of Their Tools in Common(s)
Authors: De Moor Aldo
Published: December 2020

In this exploratory paper, we outline some issues of inter-community socio-technical systems governance. Our purpose here is not to solve these issues, but to raise awareness about the complexity of socio-technical governance issues encountered in practice. We aim to expand on the rather abstract definition of community-based Internet governance as proposed in the Internet for the Common Good Declaration, exploring how it plays out in practice in actual collaborating communities.  We introduce a simple conceptual model to frame these issues and illustrate them with a concrete case: the drafting and signing of the declaration. We show some of the shortcomings of and socio-technical fixes for Internet collaboration support in this particular case. We end this paper with a discussion on directions for strengthening the collaboration commons.
A Framework to Research the Social Determinants of ICTs for E-Health
Authors: Newman Lareen , Lupiáñez-Villanueva Francisco
Published: December 2020

This article discusses the challenges of combining significantly different methodological approaches to investigate citizens' access to e-health.  Although e-health has continued to expand around the globe, emerging evidence is that if not managed carefully, e-health will further exacerbate health inequities. We argue that, to guide further research to better understand the digital divide's impact on e-health access, we need to better understand both the quantitative relationships between and the qualitative explanations for ICT use and e-health access, ie the social determinants of ICTs for e-health.
Community Mediation through ICTs: Seeking to Bridge Digital and Community Divides
Authors: Bailey Arlene , Ngwenyama Ojelanki
Published: December 2020

Information and communication technologies are being utilized to support social and economic development in marginalized communities in developing countries.  In this paper, we explore an emerging role for telecentres - that of community mediation.  Our research is based on empirical observations through a field study, and an analysis of local newspaper articles.  We investigate ways in which these community mediation strategies through telecentres may support social inclusion and development of social capital.  The evolving role of telecentres in the area of peace-making suggests that the factors explored in this study will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in telecentre implementations.
User Centred Methods for Measuring the Value of Open Data
Authors: Frank Mark , Walker Johanna
Published: December 2020

A project to identify metrics for assessing the quality of open data based on the needs of small voluntary sector organisations in the UK and India. We used small structured workshops to identify users’ key problems and then worked from those problems to understand how open data can help address them and what the key attributes must be for successful use.  We then piloted different metrics that could be used to measure the presence of those attributes. This user-centred approach to open data research highlighted some fundamental issues with expanding the use of open data from its enthusiast base.
Enhancing Citizen Engagement with Open Government Data
Authors: Canares Michael Parmisano , Marcial Dave , Narca Marijoe
Published: December 2020

The research deals primarily with the research question – How can engagement of civil society organizations with open government data be enhanced? To answer the question, an action research was conducted in two provinces in the Philippines. The research showed that for capacity building programs to be effective, they should be relevant to the condition of the CSOs and the individual needs of learners; conducted with a long-term view of ensuring use and actual impact to the organization and the constituencies that they serve; and focused on higher-order results like changes in practices and behavior of organizations and individuals.
Understanding Information need and media habit of poor farmers in Bangladesh
Authors: Jalil Mohammad Muaz , Jalil Mohammad Shahroz
Published: December 2020

Relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and poverty remains unclear.  The result is likely to remain such if focus is not given to the understanding of needs of the poorer community whose problems ICT interventions are supposed to solve. The present study is an attempt in that direction and it does so by trying to understand the media habit of poor farmers in Bangladesh.  The study covered 7 major agricultural sectors across 15 districts (out of 64) of Bangladesh. It is hoped that the detailed sector disaggregated findings of the study can be used in better designing of interventions to leverage ICTs, which can address key constraints in different agricultural value chains within Bangladesh.
Editorial: Cosmopolitanism versus Traditionalism and the need to talk about a different divide
Authors: Villanueva-Mansilla Eduardo
Published: December 2020

Editorial for 12(3)
Creating an Understanding of Data Literacy for a Data-driven Society
Authors: Wolff Annika , Gooch Daniel , Cavero Montaner Jose J. , Rashid Umar , Kortuem Gerd
Published: December 2020

Society is become increasingly reliant on data, making it necessary to ensure that all citizens are equipped with the skills needed to be data literate. We argue that the foundations for a data literate society begin by acquiring key data literacy competences in school. However, as yet there is no clear definition of what these should be. This paper explores the different perspectives currently offered on both data and statistical literacy and then critically examines to what extent these address the data literacy needs of citizens in today’s society. We survey existing approaches to teaching data literacy in schools, to identify how data literacy is interpreted in practice. Based on these analyses, we propose a definition of data literacy that is focused on using data to understand real world phenomena. The contribution of this paper is the creation of a common foundation for teaching and learning data literacy skills.
Data Literacy defined pro populo: To read this article, please provide a little information
Authors: Crusoe David
Published: December 2020

Data literacy is of fundamental importance in societies that emphasize extensive use of data for information and decision-making. Yet, prior definitions for data literacy fall short of addressing the myriad ways individuals are shepherds of, and subjects to, data. This article proposes a definition to accurately reflect the individual in society, including knowledge of what data are, how they are collected, analyzed, visualized and shared, and the understanding of how data are applied for benefit or detriment, within the cultural context of security and privacy. The article concludes by proposing opportunities, strengths, limitations and directions for future research.
Data literacy conceptions, community capabilities
Authors: Matthews Paul
Published: December 2020

To delineate and describe the data literacy concept, a core set of data competencies are identified, and a further four varieties – each with a different focus of attention – are described. These are named research (an academic focus), classroom (a secondary educational focus), carpentry (a practical training focus) and inclusion (a community development focus). It is argued that the inclusion focus helps data literacy to be construed as a community capability. The capabilities approach enables us to see data literacy as conferring a holistic freedom to operate, where the technical gains only make sense within a framework of social functions and goals.
Perceptions of ICT use in rural Brazil: Factors that impact appropriation among marginalized communities
Authors: Prado Paola , Tirado-Alcaraz J. Alejandro , Câmara Mauro Araújo
Published: December 2020

This study of digital inclusion among the rural poor examines how residents of remote mountain communities in Brazil perceive the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). It analyzes social factors that impact ICT appropriation and the behaviors and attitudes that advance digital literacy among marginalized rural populations. The authors conducted factor analysis and logistic regressions to survey data collected. Results confirm the presence of a gender divide in ICT adoption. Women were more likely to perceive that ICT use brings social benefits to the community, and considered that ICTs provide better opportunities for the young.Este estudio sobre inclusión digital entre los pobres en comunidades rurales examina cómo es que los residentes de comunidades serranas remotas en Brasil perciben el uso de la las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TICs). Analiza los factores sociales que impactan la apropiación de TIC, así como el comportamiento y las actitudes que permiten el avance de la alfabetización digital en poblaciones rurales marginalizadas. Los autores realizaron un análisis factorial y regresiones logísticas de la información recolectada a través de encuestas. Los resultados confirman la presencia de una brecha de género en la adopción de TIC. Las mujeres son más propensas a percibir que el uso de ICT trae beneficios sociales para la comunidad, y también consideraron que las TICs proporcionan mejores oportunidades para los jóvenes.