How apropos that my last post was focused on why the United States needs to think of investment in Africa in terms larger than ROI, especially if we want to compete with China. Apparently China got the memo, since they're committing to send a multi-dimensional peacekeeping force to support the MINUSMA mission in Mali that … Continue reading China to United States: We’ll see your “investment” and raise you a peacekeeping deployment
Obama in Africa: Too much talk about ‘investment’, not enough about political economy
Obama is touring Africa, and all the talk has been about how this is meant to lay the stage for an increased American effort to invest across the continent. More specifically, it is investment and business development that is meant to counter the weight of China's interests in Africa. But there needs to be more … Continue reading Obama in Africa: Too much talk about ‘investment’, not enough about political economy
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
My TechChange Swan Song
Cross posted from the TechChange blog This past Thursday and Friday (May 8 & 9) I participated in the ICTs and Violence Prevention workshop hosted by the World Bank’s Social Development Office. We had an excellent collection of experts from across academia, NGOs, and government who discussed the complexities of using technology for violence prevention. One … Continue reading My TechChange Swan Song
MONUSCO Gets an Offensive Boost
The ongoing peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest in the world numbering 20,000 operators, is about to get an increase in its total number of soldiers. Two thousand South African, Malawian, and Tanzanian soldiers will be deploying this summer with a mandate to seek out and engage militias operating in the … Continue reading MONUSCO Gets an Offensive Boost
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
Kristof’s False Comparison
My friend Emily pointed me to a post on Facebook from Nick Kristof about girls seeking education in Pakistan. The article highlights the risks faced by girls and women seeking educational opportunities in the tribal regions; it's well written and inspiring. It's good, mass consumption media about a serious problem. But his framing comment on … Continue reading Kristof’s False Comparison
“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?
Charles P. Martin-Shields 