Center for Innovative Applied Action Research in International Development
March 11, 2012
By engaging graduate students in applied action research the Center hopes to bring about comprehensive changes to problems faced by communities throughout the developing world, such as the millennium development goals (United Nations, 2010). Students, scholars and community members will cooperate to explore international problems, identify best practices and discuss the potential for improving local conditions. Using innovative technologies with a high diffusion rate and extensive potential for community empowerment, such as the internet and smart mobile devices, the Center hopes to obtain a higher rate of success than that of previous initiatives in the field.
Strengthening the linkages between university students in the United States and communities in developing countries will help to make the invisible tangible and enrich the lives of the individuals involved. Modern information and communication technologies (ICT) and other recent developments in science, technology and engineering have interconnected the world into a modern day “Pangea”. Yet, despite the intertwining of local and global problems, the needs of those without shelter, food and water are different to those living in a post-modern society (Maslow, 1943). A world that is interconnected, but where differences abound, benefits from providing spaces and opportunities where students and developing communities can cooperate (Vivian & Sudweeks, 2003). Through the promotion of smart phones and community-relevant applications, the promotion of openness, the use of social media, and the development of a hybrid community, this Center will engage students in applied action research studies (Gaved & Mulholland, 2005 ; Callon, 2004; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010; Bonk, 2011). The problem-oriented, participatory activities will benefit communities at home and abroad, helping to reduce not only spatial differences but also improving inter-cultural competencies and understanding.
Through the use of science, technology, and engineering, as well as data tested theories, the program’s initiatives will address problems in innovative as well as localized ways that emphasize the empowerment of the people living in these locations and graduate students. These projects aim to enable communities to address some of their current problems and increase their capacity to address future problems. Students will benefit from an inter-cultural experience that emphasizes that anyone, of any age, and any level of education, can contribute to improving the local and global community. The success of this initiative depends on the successful adoption of its components. As discussed by Rogers in the Diffusion of Innovations (2003), the decision to adopt an innovation depends on its relative advantage, its compatibility, its complexity, its triability, and its observability. Analyzing data on the socio-economic characteristics, personality variables and communication behavior of the community, and incorporating the opinions of community members and program experts, will help determine which projects are more likely to be successful, helping the projects to transition from a stage of early adoption (16%) to an early majority (50%) and then the rapid adoption by the late majority (84% of the population). Following the implementation the projects will be analyzed and modified as needed.
To increase awareness and the visualization of local problems, the Center will encourage the use of communication technologies for the empowerment of the local communities. Mobile phones can be considered the most rapidly adopted technology worldwide, with a strong democratizing impact in developing societies (UNESCO, 2011). By 2015 it is expected that most people will access the internet through mobile phones, illustrating its relative advantage (Morgan Stanley, 2009). This will allow local communities to share information about their problems and daily lives. The increased access to information via the internet does not necessarily mean increased access to reliable or pertinent information (Shapiro & Hughes, 1996). However, through the encouragement of openness, communities can have free access to the best information available. Developing a hybrid community online will allow graduate students to share with participants locally, and to learn from each other, before, during, and after their visit to the local community. They could attend workshops online and/or in person and learn from each other on a continued basis. Finally, using social media, the program will increase global interest in the program as well as raise awareness of the local problems it addresses (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010).
The cellular phone has shown a high adoption rate around the world, which suggests that the distribution of smart phones will also be highly compatible with local communities (Rogers, 2003). Developing a successful online community will require a user friendly design. While increasing information literacy may be difficult, it is a challenge that must be addressed (Jenkins, 2006). The rapid worldwide growth of social media indicates its high level of compatibility and malleability in relationship to current social interactions between community members.
As an innovation, mobile phones are generally considered user-friendly devices, even for individuals unable to read and write in their own language (UNESCO, 2011). While smart phones can have a higher complexity, participants will be instructed through the Center workshops. The Center will also provide lessons on information literacy skills, the internet, online communities, and social media. While it is difficult for people that have never used a computer to learn some of their basic functionalities, graduate students generally have a higher information literacy level and with proper support both graduate students and local community members will be able to use these technologies more effectively.
Most of these programs are scalable and new features will be tested with different communities and community members over time. The Center will test and upgrade their ICT (?) systems on a continuous basis. Mobile applications such as literacy apps, polling apps, blogging apps, geo-location apps, translation apps will be progressively incorporated into the smart phones. Participants will also learn how to take pictures, make phone calls, record videos, and utilize other basic functions of the smart phone effectively. The online community will also add features as required, but the original layout will emphasize simplicity and communication. Using social media, the Center will experiment with different forms of communication to increase international and local awareness of the program. The open licenses utilized will also be discussed and modified as needed (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/). Modern ICT leave behind a trail of valuable information that can be coded, analyzed, and used to modify the program and its pieces. Open data and social media encourage worldwide access and observability (Bonk, 2011). The high level of observability of this program allows for its rapid assessment and modification, increasing the ability to try and modify features as necessary.
The objective of this Center is not only to develop a sustainable organization, but to facilitate the development of sustainable communities and individuals. Having access to high quality information, and knowing how to use it, is important to both individuals in the United States and abroad. The smart phone will be a window into the internet for the whole family, providing access to formal and informal educational content, and billions of pages of useful information.
The incorporation of these new technologies through the use of action research methods will increase their effectiveness. This includes traditional methods, such as participatory rural appraisal and local observations, and more recently developed methods (Chambers, 1997; Wang & Burris, 1997). Online communities, such as methodscape.com by SAGE, are spaces where researchers regularly share innovative action-oriented participatory methodologies such as participatory video, qualitative mobile research, and photovoice projects. Emerging best practices will be constantly considered and discussed by the project organizers. To increase local adoption, the Center will develop a series of open courses that will discuss international development problems and their relevance within the local content. These courses will adapt and modify current openly accessible materials so that they are relevant to the local community. The effective localization of material will increase its use by the community. During the open courses graduate students and community members will interact and build personal relationships, engaging in dialog around a number of relevant subjects. During students’ visit to the local community, they will further analyze local problems, and use traditional and innovative research methods to learn about local problems and discuss possible solutions. By developing an online community, university students partnered with non-governmental organizations such as Compatible Technology International (http://www.compatibletechnology.org/) will be able to adapt and share open hardware blueprints for devices that can then be printed or produced locally. Tools such as 3D printers are increasingly becoming accessible and their applications for development projects require further study. Once participants return to the United States we hope that the relationship with the local community continues and further involvement is promoted through social media. Films, image galleries, auto-ethnographic stories and other qualitative and quantitative findings will be shared through social media to increase the global observability of the study’s findings (Wang, 1999). In addition, the online community site will include in depth descriptions of projects and their current needs, similar to those currently provided by sites such as Kiva.org or DonorsChoose.org. However these profiles will include not only requests for financial support, but, more importantly, will encourage graduate students across the United States with relevant skills to apply and compete for internship positions. Bridging space through technology to make the distant personal is one of the objectives of the Center.
The implementation of these programs can also be effectively analyzed using a production function model. For inputs the program will apply the first five years of funding to train and hire personnel, build an engagement center in Tanzania, and an online infrastructure. This will involve the initial development of the online community, as well obtaining smart mobile devices for individual participants. The smart phones will be distributed per family unit, preferably to the female head of the household. It is expected that the device will be shared by family members. Other inputs include faculty members at the University of Minnesota, and graduate students. In its process, community members will be encouraged to volunteer and participate in the workshops in Tanzania, as well as to collect data about their local communities through the use of a blog and photovoice methodology. The online course will be taught by a facilitator and will encourage critical thinking as well as a discussion of culture and daily life. The online course will provide a certificate of completion to local community members as well as a credit to student participants. As the project’s output we hope to organize a vibrant hybrid community, as well as to learn from both community members and local experts about local problems and how graduate students can address some of the needs of the community through action research in their areas of scholarship.
We hope that through this involvement, the projects will enjoy greater rates of success and that the engagement of students and community members will persist long after the initial involvement of the student. In its outcomes, we hope that through the use of social media, the broader international community will become aware and collaborate in solving these local and global problems, and encourage other graduate students to participate. As one community is successful in addressing their problems and sharing their stories, the Center hopes to expand similar initiatives to other countries and communities.
Works Cited
Bonk, C. J. (2011). The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education. New York: Jossey-Bass.
Callon, M. (2004). The role of hybrid communities and socio-technical arrangements in the participatory design. Journal of the Center for Information Studies, 3-10.
Chambers, R. (1997). Whose Reality Counts? Putting the First Last. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.
Gaved, M., & Mulholland, P. (2005 ). Grassroots Initiated Networked Communities: A Study of Hybrid Physical/Virtual Communities. IEEE, 1-10.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture:Media Education for the 21st Century. The MacArthur Foundation, 70.
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons , 59-68.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 370-396.
Morgan Stanley. (2009). The Mobile Internet Report. New York: Morgan Stanley.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation. New York: Free Press.
Shapiro, J. J., & Hughes, S. K. (1996). Information Literacy as a Liberal Art. Educom Review, 1-5.
UNESCO. (2011). UNESCO Mobile Learning Week Report. Paris: UNESCO.
United Nations. (2010). Keeping the promise: a forward-looking review to promote an agreed action agenda to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. New York: General Assembly United Nations.
Vivian, N., & Sudweeks, F. (2003). Social Networks in Transnational and Virtual Communities. Informing Science, 1431-1437.
Wang, C. (1999). Photovoice: A Participatory Action Research Strategy Applied to Women’s Health. Journal of Women’s Health, 185-192.
Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, Methodology, and Use for Participatory Needs Assessment. Health Education and Behavior, 369-387.
This is a compelling proposal. To take it even further, connecting the use of ICTs for more information use to actions on the ground (making the connection from information to action) could be a bit more explicit. Also, when citing references providing a hint of what the author said or what the cite provides would help the reader follow your argument. There were a few points where there were references, but the content of the author’s main points were not within the text so it left the reader hanging a bit. The use of the model in this example was good.
