General H.R. McMaster recently published an op-ed in the New York Times on the folly of thinking war can be easily won, and the intellectual gymnastics policy makers will do to maintain that illusion. As I read his analysis, many of his observations are germane when thinking about the drive to "tech-up" peacekeeping operations. McMaster's … Continue reading Complex Peacekeeping and Tech: Don’t forget the politics and the people
Technology
Rob Baker: Managing risk in the open data and crowdsourcing space
Rob Baker, currently a Presidential Innovation Fellow with USAID, was willing to sit down with me earlier this year to discuss risk management and ethics in crowdsourcing in disaster and conflict-affected regions. He's incredibly smart, insightful, and brings a deep technical expertise to the practice of crisis mapping and crowdsourcing given his many years of … Continue reading Rob Baker: Managing risk in the open data and crowdsourcing space
“Crowdsharing” and Violence Prevention
One thing I'm working on in my doctoral research is understanding why crowdsourcing works in conflict management and resolution...or should at least logically work based on the various theories of conflict management and resolution developed and refined over the last 40 or so years. In this post, I'm going to use Kenyan election violence as … Continue reading “Crowdsharing” and Violence Prevention
New look, new content
Greetings readers! You'll notice that the site looks quite different, and indeed has a new title. This is because my coursework in my Ph.D. program has ended, and I've moved into a new phase of my research and professional life: preparing to write a dissertation. Calvin sums this process up perfectly: With all this in … Continue reading New look, new content
This is not a mHealth Project
I was going through the BBC this morning, and after reading all about the new Pope (who believes that condoms may be morally acceptable but only to stop the spread of disease), I came across this far more interesting article about how public health researchers in Tanzania are retrofitting iPhones to act as field microscopes. So … Continue reading This is not a mHealth Project
“Africa’s Silicon Savannah”…What will Kenya get from Konza?
I was on BBC earlier today and came across this article on Konza Technology City, a tech center that will be built in Kenya outside Nairobi. In a bit of excitement I posted a comment on Facebook that this could be a boon to investment...then I re-read the article. I think that, indeed, it could be … Continue reading “Africa’s Silicon Savannah”…What will Kenya get from Konza?
2013 Update: Kenya, TechChange and TC109
So 2013 is off to a roaring start. I just relocated to a new place in the Petworth neighborhood in D.C. and learned that all the staff I worked with at the U.S. Institute of Peace back in the day all live within 5 blocks of me. But the big things on the horizon are … Continue reading 2013 Update: Kenya, TechChange and TC109
Crowdsourcing 2013’s Content!
So with the new year starting Tuesday, I will be continuing to blog into 2013. The past year has mostly focused on my interest areas, political science, conflict and technology. But I've also mused on things that are not my "core expertise", such as gun control and domestic politics. Since I'll be finishing coursework this … Continue reading Crowdsourcing 2013’s Content!
A thought on Gaza and Twitter
If an airstrike happens in Gaza and no one live tweeted it, did it happen? That I’m even pondering this question demonstrates a shift in the evolution of information control in military operations. Perhaps the issue we’re facing is that in times past we needed a barrier between the publicly available information about combat operations … Continue reading A thought on Gaza and Twitter
Kenya Trip! Mixed method research on mobile phones for peace
Since the end of the fall semester of 2011, I have been working on a paper that integrates theories of ethnic cooperation and information asymmetries to understand why mobile phones can have a significant effect on conflict prevention. You can find the working paper here. I presented this paper in Australia at the University of … Continue reading Kenya Trip! Mixed method research on mobile phones for peace
Charles P. Martin-Shields 