Beth E. Kolko

Representing Bodies in Virtual Space: The Rhetoric of Avatar Design

This article discusses the rhetorical aspects of avatars, or virtual selves, within multiuser graphical virtual realities (GVRs). In both text-based and graphical virtual worlds, users are represented in the world by discursive or visual avatars. Because the manner in which users in a synchronous shared environment are represented affects how they are able to communicate, the design of an avatar affects the communicative possibilities within a virtual world. This essay examines the development of GVRs in order to question how representations of selves in these newer versions of cyberspace relate to on-linecommunication. The focus here is particularly on how bodies in GVRs are gendered, and how differing modes of gender inscription might affect online interaction. Ultimately, GVRs raise the issue of how the visual affects the verbal when both are mediated by technology.

Communication as information-seeking: the case for mobile social software for developing regions

In this paper, we describe several findings from a multi-year, multi-method study of how information and communication technologies have been adopted and adapted in Central Asia. We have found that mobile phone usage is outpacing the rate of Internet adoption, that access to the Internet is primarily through public access sites carrying with it issues regarding privacy and surveillance, that people rely on their social networks as information sources, that public institutions tend to be fairly weak as citizen resources, and that information seeking and communication are conflated in peoples usage patterns with different technologies. In addition, in the developed world social networking software has grown rapidly and shown itself to have significant potential for mobilizing a population. Based on the collection of findings from Central Asia and observing patterns of technology usage in other parts of the world, our research leads to the conclusion that exploring mobile social software holds significant potential as an ICT that meshes well with preexisting patterns of communication and information seeking and also leverages the most predominant pattern of technology adoption. Many of the findings from this research echo results from studies in other geographic areas, and so we anticipate that much of this research will be relevant to developing regions generally.

Resistance to globalization: Language and Internet diffusion patterns in Uzbekistan

This paper discusses how the Internet can facilitate cultural expression that resists the homogenizing effects of globalization. It examines how local cultures adapt their linguistic behavior and language choices to the Internet and express themselves in culturally meaningful ways without being subsumed by a global agenda. The research reported in this paper is based on a survey administered in Uzbekistan, a post-Soviet, multilingual society that is experiencing the pressures of global culture as well as Russian culture. Literature about language, nationalism, and Internet use in multilingual societies is presented, and the linguistic setting of Uzbekistan is described. The results of the survey relevant to Internet use, online language choices, and perceptions of language on the Web are reported here.

Studying mobile phone use in context: cultural, political, and economic dimensions of mobile phone use

This paper discusses the need for studying mobile phone use within the context of a society, with consideration of the cultural, political, and economic factors that influence phone use. Such contextual study is especially valuable in a culture that sharply differs from the industrial, predominantly Western perspective in which mobile phones and applications are developed. This paper presents a case study of mobile phone use in Uzbekistan, a Central Asian republic with a unique socio-political environment that is experiencing growing mobile phone use. A review of literature related to mobile phone use in developing, non- Western countries are presented. Some results of interviews about perceptions and use of mobile phones in Tashkent are discussed.

Building a transportation information system using only GPS and basic SMS infrastructure

This work consists of two main components: (a) a longitudinal ethnographic study in Kyrgyzstan that demonstrates the importance of transportation resources in the developing world and how to plan for an appropriate ICT solution, and (b) the results of a proof-of-concept system engineered to create a bottom-up, transportation information infrastructure using only GPS and SMS. Transportation is a very important shared resource; enabling efficient and effective use of such resources aids overall development goals.

Reducing Maternal Mortality: An Ultrasound System for Village Midwives

On average a woman dies in childbirth approximately every 90 seconds, and the majority of these deaths take place in Africa and Asia [1]. While ultrasound imaging is an effective tool for identifying maternal mortality risk factors, it is nearly absent in many rural healthcare facilities in developing regions due to the high costs of both equipment and required training. To leverage existing healthcare systems commonly found in these contexts, we have focused on increasing the diagnostic capabilities of village midwives -- often central medical figures in rural and low-income communities. We have developed a low-cost, portable, easy-to-use ultrasound system designed specifically to enable local midwives to identify high-risk conditions for referral to a well-equipped health care facility. Our focus has been on designing an appropriate system for our context. Specifically, we had to: simplify our user interface, support a solitary work environment, balance cost and features, and create an integrated teaching help system. This paper describes technical, socio-technical, and socio-cultural factors, drawn from our collaboration with the University of Washington Department of Radiology and our field experiences with midwives in Uganda, that have influenced our design.

Hackademia: building functional rather than accredited engineers

Hackademia is a semi-formal learning group that introduces largely non-technical students to basic technical skills by presenting them with open-ended challenges in a peer-based, collaborative environment. This project has two main goals: the near-end goal has been to use a collaborative design model to develop a working, scalable model for teaching engineering literacies in higher education, and the long-term goal is to create participatory opportunities for end-users to develop innovative technologies. This paper describes progress towards the short-term goal, and lessons learned from two years of work to develop a semi-structured educational experience influenced by participant desires. Hackademia leverages a participant-observer research model and participatory research methods such as autoethnographies, experience blogging, and semi-structured focus groups.

Computer games in the developing world: The value of non-instrumental engagement with ICTs, or taking play seriously

This paper argues that it is important to study non-instrumental uses of ICT, including computer games. Specifically, the article presents the results of qualitative and quantitative work spanning eight years of investigation in Central Asia focused on computer gaming in public Internet cafes as well as private spaces. The results presented demonstrate that people do indeed play games in resource constrained environments. The paper demonstrates that games constitute a significant portion of the ICT ecology in developing regions and provide a pathway to peoples “first touch” of a computer, that gamers have more frequent interaction with technology than basic Internet users, that games bring more diverse users to computers by providing a pathway to ICT use for people with lower levels of education, and that games can motivate innovation in the technology space. Additionally, our findings indicate that both genders engage in game playing. The article makes the case that games can be a source of informal learning about ICT, and as such, games and gaming culture in the developing world merit further study.

Adapting usability testing for oral, rural users

Traditional usability methods are of limited use when evaluating systems designed for distant, diverse populations. In this paper, we describe a study conducted in two Ghanaian villages that evaluated an audio computer designed for people living in oral cultures. Informed by ICTD and orality-grounded HCID, we modified existing usability testing practices and we reflect on the utility of these adaptations. We found that conducting a culturally appropriate study often meant forgoing more traditional approaches in favor of flexible, opportunistic methods. We acknowledge the challenges of adapting traditional usability methods for oral, rural users. However, we found that by implementing strategic modifications led by local staff, our study produced valuable, actionable results.

The contribution of user-based subsidies to the impact and sustainability of telecenters - the eCenter project in Kyrgyzstan

We examine the extent to which user-based subsidies can promote the sustainability and development impact of telecenters, where sustainability is defined in financial and social terms. We do this by looking at a coupon scheme used by the USAID funded eCenter network in Kyrgyzstan. The network consisted of partnerships with existing commercial computer centers which provided fee-based ICT services to their communities. The eCenter program temporarily provided subsidized coupons for Internet access and computer training to users of these centers.