This paper focuses on the impact of technology (computers, the Internet, iPods) on the transmission of oral tradition, specifically the cantillation of the Torah, in the contemporary Jewish community. The highly detailed and musically nuanced public recitation of the Torah require that the reader memorize both the pronunciation of unvocalized Hebrew text and the […]
2012 • bar mitzvah • bat mitzvah • cantillation • community • impact of | ICTs • Jewish • oral tradition • TorahPreserving of Information Value in Oral Tradition of Minangkabau society, West Sumatera, Indonesia
Minangkabau society is very well known of their oral tradition named kaba babarito that expresses a message from one to others orally. Oral tradition of Minangkabau is very strong in many aspects of life, for example the tradition of maota di lapau (chatting on lapau), which is one way for […]
2012 • culture | preservation • indigenous / traditional knowledge • Indonesia • kaba babarito • Minangkabau • oral traditionDoes Information Really Want to be Free? Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Question of Openness
The “information wants to be free” meme was born some 20 years ago from the free and open source software development community. In the ensuing decades, information freedom has merged with debates over open access, digital rights management, and intellectual property rights. More recently, as digital heritage has become a […]
2012 • digital heritage • digital rights management • indigenous / traditional knowledge • information freedom • information system • knowledge systems • open access • open sourceArchival Aspirations and Anxieties: Contemporary Preservation and Production of the Past in Umbumbulu, KwaZulu-Natal
This paper explores the contemporary preservation and production of the past in Umbumbulu, near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. It examines the Ulwazi Programme, a web initiative run through the eThekwini Municipality that uses the existing library infrastructure, new digital technologies and municipal residents to create what its advocates term a collaborative, […]
2012 • archive • culture | preservation • custodianship • Durban | South Africa • identity • indigenous / traditional knowledge • KwaZulu-Natal • Umbumbulu • ZuluThe Wollotuka Project
This case study examines the key design features and methodology required to develop a website that best reflects the culture of an Indigenous Australian community. The study also considers general issues related to the representation and capture of Indigenous knowledge. The Wollotuka project is grounded in previous contextual design work. […]
2012 • aboriginal • community • design • indigenous design • participatory • Torres Strait Islander • user-centered • Wollotuka InstituteIndigenous Australians and ICTs (blog post)
Blurb: “I think I have witnessed both the empowering and disempowering aspects of ICTs enough to have developed a significant amount of skepticism toward the technology and especially the unnerving tendency of people to use it to amplify our pre-existing conditions rather than solve any problems. I guess I am […]
2012 • Australia • colonization / colonialism • culture • ICTs • indigenous communities • skepticism • western valuesAcquisition, Preservation and Accessibility of Indigenous Knowledge in Academic Libraries in Nigeria: The Place of ICT
Nigerians interact well with their natural environment, culminating in the accumulation of diverse experiences. These experiences result in a body of indigenous knowledge which though unique to a given society or culture, forms part of the information needed by researchers. In spite of the place of indigenous knowledge in enriching […]
2012 • challenges • culture | preservation • ICTs • indigenous / traditional knowledge • libraries • NigeriaLocally Situated Digital Representation of Indigenous Knowledge: Co-constructing a new digital reality in rural Africa
Digital re-presentation of indigenous knowledge remains an absurdity as long as we fail to deconstruct the prevalent design paradigm and techniques continuously re-framing technology within a western epistemology. This paper discusses key challenges in attempts of co-constructing a digital representation based on experiences from a longitudinal community-centred research project in […]
2012 • Africa • design • digital • indigenous / traditional knowledge • representation • situated • western valuesInformation to Iteration: Using information and communication technologies [ICT] in design for remote regions
Remote design comes with significant challenges. A major barrier to designing in remote regions is the lack of communication between designers and users. As a result, the lack of information flow leads to assumptions about the community’s needs- an inherent weakness in the design process. This study examines the role […]
2012 • challenges • communication • community • design • mobile • remote regionsMeasuring the Impact of Digital Resources: The Balanced Value Impact Model
This paper introduces an innovative new model for measuring the impact of digital heritage resources – the Balanced Value Impact Model. The Balanced Value Impact Model (BVI Model) brings together into a holistic framework aspects from disparate Impact Assessment (IA) disciplines into a cohesive and logical process. This model balances […]
2012 • balanced value impact model • digital collections • digital heritage • digital humanitiesHow the West was Played: Offering Indigenous Voice to Video Game Studies
While many scholars have addressed the presence of stereotypical representations of Native Americans in the traditional media of film and literature, there has not as of yet been much dialogue around the newer medium of video games. This is in part due to their newness, as well as a perceptual […]
2012 • gaming • indigenous aesthetics • Native American • representation • subversion • video gameEnduring Cultures – A Socio Cultural Toolkit
In the mad rush of modernization and the blind aping of Western manners, the East Indians (Roman Catholic ethnic group from the west coast of India) are slowly but steadily losing count of some of their most cherished customs and conventions, and are at the risk of being lost forever. […]
2012 • community media • cultural heritage • culture | preservation • India • indigenous / traditional knowledge • participatory • social media • toolkitThe Indigenous World 2012
In over seventy articles and country reports, The Indigenous World 2012 gives a comprehensive update on the current situation of indigenous peoples and their human rights, and reports on the most important developments in international processes of relevance to indigenous peoples during 2011. The majority of the country reports document […]
2012 • human rights • indigenous issues • participatoryA Parallel World for the World Bank: A Case Study of Urgent: EVOKE, An Educational Alternate Reality Game
In 2010, the World Bank launched Urgent: EVOKE, an alternate reality game. The game, which was designed to promote the World Bank Institute’s vision of positive global change through social innovation, made substantial use of Web 2.0 tools like blogs, personal profiles and social networks. This article offers a case […]
2012 • alternate reality game • EVOKE • gamification • serious games • social change • World BankThe Fate of a Digital Slate: Unexpected Issues with Deployment in Rural India
As many UX professionals know, an initial rosy impression about the usability of a system may be trumped by unexpected issues seen in the context of actual deployment. These kinds of surprises can be especially dramatic when working in the area of ICT4D (Information and Communication Technology for Socio-Economic Development). […]
2012 • challenges • deployment • digital slate • failure • ICT4D • India • rural • usability • user experienceFolklore 2.0: Preservation Through Innovation
The very cultural heritage that gives indigenous peoples their identity, now far more than in the past, is under real or potential assault from those who would gather it up, strip away its honored meanings, convert it to a product, and sell it. Each time that happens the heritage itself […]
2012 • cultural heritage • culture | preservation • folklore • innovation • intellectual property • traditional cultureEmpowering women through ICT (Spider ICT4D Series)
In March 2008, The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) gender help desk organized a workshop on gender, ICT and development. The aim of the workshop was to get an overview of actors and activities in Sweden in the area […]
2012 • gender • ICT4D • ICTs • SIDA • SPIDER • womenTelecentre Replication Initiative in Borneo, Malaysia: The CoERI Experience
Abstract There are many bridging-the-digital-divide initiatives implemented by various government agencies and non-governmental organisations throughout the world. Numerous studies have been conducted to identify the critical success factors in providing remote and rural communities equitable access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Malaysia has its fair share of successes and […]
2012 • Borneo • CoERI • eBario • ICT4D • Malaysia • rural • telecenter • UNIMASDesigning User Interfaces for Novice and Low-Literacy Users
One of the greatest challenges in developing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for global development is that 41% of the population in the least developed countries is non-literate and even the literate among the poor are only novice users of technology. I will describe work we have done over the […]
2012 • design • HCI4D • human computer interaction • ICT4D • ICT4D@Penn • information literacy • text-free • user interfaceIntellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions
The objective of this booklet is to offer general and basic information on the interface between intellectual property (IP) and traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs), and genetic resources (GRs). It briefly addresses the most important questions that arise when considering the role that IP principles and systems can […]
2012 • culture | preservation • indigenous / traditional knowledge • intellectual property • misappropriation • protection • traditional cultureWIPO Traditional Knowledge Documentation Toolkit
A wide range of tools and proposals have been developed over the past decade or so to protect traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) (including using classical IP systems, developing sui generis legislation, applying defensive protection instruments, among others). Special attention has been given to documentation and the […]
2012 • documenting • indigenous / traditional knowledge • intellectual property • toolkit • traditional culture • WIPOICTs for Indigenous Knowledge Preservation
Public libraries in South Africa engage with local communities to preserve indigenous knowledge. This involves teaching them to use ICT tools. Indigenous knowledge affects the well-being of the majority of people in developing countries. Some 80% of the world’s population depends on indigenous knowledge to meet their medicinal needs, and […]
2012 • community memory • culture | preservation • ICTs • indigenous / traditional knowledge • knowledge systems • libraries • library database • myth • participatory • South Africa • Ulwazi Programme • ZuluExploring the Link between ICT Intervention & Human Development through a Social Capital Lens
While it is generally accepted that information and communication technology (ICT) can lead to development, the process through which this may happen remains unclear. At the core of this debate is the very definition of the term ‘development’. In this thesis, I adopted Amartya Sen’s definition. According to Sen (1999), […]
2012 • actor network theory • development • ICT4D • impact of | ICTs • mountain regions • Myagdi | Nepal • research • social capitalKate Hennessy discussing her work
See also Repatriation, Digital Media, and Culture in the Virtual Museum Kate Hennessy is an Assistant Professor specializing in Media at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology. She is an anthropologist and new media artist with a PhD in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia and […]
2012 • anthropology • cultural heritage • new mediaICTD Interventions – Trends over the Last Decade
Abstract In this study, we examine Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) technology interventions that have been developed over the last decade. The purpose is to provide a snapshot of the trends that have characterized ICT4D technology interventions from the period starting 1995 to 2010. This paper presents three […]
2012