Years ago amazing visionary, mentor, colleague, and friend Brian Cantwell Smith (philosopher, computer scientist, and brilliant idea generator) described Philosophy as the hallway from which all other disciplines were doorways. Physics, Art, Literature, and so on — the analogy works — they all open from a foundation of philosophical thought, inquiry, and critical awareness. For Philosophy, especially in the USA, this seminal position as the foundation of everything has waned for a number of reasons within the Academy, but the analogy seems so apt it should live on.
To that end, I’ll carry it further — if philosophy and philosophical thought are the hallway, then technology is the air duct (breathing new ideas and thoughts into all disciplines), and the electrical wiring (connecting heretofore separate “schools” of thought with new, energetic ways of doing things), and it is the lighting system (shedding light on new ways of visualizing, conceptualizing, and sharing information).
Technology is no longer a luxury enjoyed by only the World Wide Web countries (US, Europe, Asia) and technological solutions are far from being just for technologists – it is core to everything we do, to all “disciplines”. In the sciences there is a great amount of work going on in 3D areas — that innovation is moving to the Humanities too. The Arts have a close connection with technology that can be seen in digital media departments at top Universities: NYU UCLA. The work going on in Law schools in intellectual property reflects the new issues created with digital media, its ownership and use. Libraries and Information Schools are tackling new ways to archive and “preserve” digital assets. There are now large bodies of work in digital archives: http://www.whitmanarchive.org/ Biologists are making new discoveries by using new technology. In health there is amazing work going into visualizing data, showing trends and properties of data that may not have been seen before the tools existed. Surgery is being transformed by robotics work – robot-assisted surgery. Every discipline has incorporated innovations in technology into their research, methodologies, and practices.
We are all using new technology and Web 2.0 solutions in our everyday lives to find and form new communities, to collaborate, to communicate, and to share: Instant Messaging, Skype (VoIP), Google Docs, RSS feeds, podcasting. The question is no longer whether or not to make use of technology – the question now is how. At Intrah I’m joining a team that asks this question and works to find innovative ways of using new and existing technologies to make healthcare information accessible where it is needed most.
Posted by
Jess Mitchell on 2/22/2008 • Tags: ICT4d, Social Networking, Technology
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With the start of the new year, it is traditional to predict trends for the coming months. So I thought I’d take a look at our ICT work and identify what I see as trends for our work moving forward and for ICT for development in general. I don’t think any of these predictions are earth-shattering, but they should be helpful as guides for our work and areas for further discussion.
Generally, I see two strong trends and then one I’m not so confident about:
- Greater focus on using cell phones and text messaging to connect systems to users
- Broader acceptance of Open Source technologies in nonprofits and in the developing world
- Increased use of social networking tools to improve communications among people doing this work and people using our systems (this trend is “iffy” because I don’t know if this is something that will really take off in 2008, at least in our organization)
Cell phones and text messaging
It is clear that cell phones are the fastest growing and probably most accessible technology for two-way communication in the developing world. Text messaging, in particular, has become an efficient way to send and receive necessary information, more ubiquitous than email. People in the developing world are more likely to have access to a cell phone than to an Internet-connected computer, they are familiar with the technology, and it is generally cheaper for them. Some unique uses of the technology I’ve seen recently are texting locations of mobile HIV clinics in South Africa and tracking epidemics in Rwanda.
We will need to take advantage of this trend to make our Web-based systems, such as iHRIS, easier for our clients to use, particularly in areas where there is no Internet access. The cell phone may even be a solution for accessing just-in-time information from online repositories, such as the HRH Global Resource Center.
Open Source technologies
I see a promising trend for Open Source technologies becoming more widespread in both the sectors that we work in–nonprofit and public health–and the countries where we work. As Open Source becomes more familiar and thus more trustworthy, the advantages will become too clear to deny. The costs are significantly lower, and the potential for turning over systems to local developers to maintain and grow is much higher.
For our part, we’ll be using such technologies as the Asterisk telephony system and possibly Open Source software on cell phones in addition to the standard LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) set of development technologies, as well as releasing all of our software developed in-house under Open Source licenses and actively encouraging outside developers to improve them. I expect we will expect our partners to also leverage Open Source technologies. Most importantly, though, I am hearing from the country level that strategic technology plans are being made based on adopting Open Source software for everything from servers to desktops. .
What about social networking?
I think the surge of social networking tools, such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and more, is a very exciting development for those of us who live with always-on, high-speed Internet connectivity. But how does that translate to our work in low-resource settings? I’m not sure, but many nonprofits are exploring that question now and sharing their ideas.
Social networking tools are so powerful and so popular because they tap into our very basic human desire to connect and share with one another. Last year we dipped our toe in the water through this blog and virtual learning environments, which were essentially online communities for sharing information. Perhaps this year we can use them more thoughtfully as a way to better connect with dispersed employees, volunteers and even our clients who are using the technologies we develop. We can exchange ideas, get feedback and work collaboratively faster and more effeciently than we have before.
But for that to happen, the tools have to be accessible, easy to use and compelling. We should start with a few small, targeted projects and see what happens. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we should harness those free tools that have already been developed for us, tools like Twitter and YouTube. Tapping into the power of these tools will require creative thinking and a willingness to experiment, as well as time to see what works best for us and our community.
Does anyone have any ideas or predictions for 2008? Please share them in the comments.
Posted by
Shannon Turlington on 1/21/2008 • Tags: Cellphones, FOSS, ICT4d, Mobile Technology, NPtech, Open Source, Public Health, Social Networking
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