GDELT just released their new Global Visualization dashboard, and it's pretty cool. It blinks and flashes, glows and pulses, and is really interesting to navigate. Naturally, as a social scientist who studies conflict, I have some thoughts. 1) This is really cool. The user interface is attractive, it's easy to navigate, and it's intuitive. I … Continue reading Big News: The GDELT Global Dashboard
Technology
Quick thoughts from the #Tech4PP Twitter chat
I followed (and even participated!) in NDI's Twitter chat today on using technology to increase political party and electoral participation. If you're interested you can find the thread by searching the hashtag '#Tech4PP'. There were a lot of good examples of tech being used to increase participation, make processes more transparent, and boost inclusion in the … Continue reading Quick thoughts from the #Tech4PP Twitter chat
MCIT/NUS ICTs in Emergency Survey: Replication data
I spent the last two months managing a research collaboration between Samoa's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the National University of Samoa, collecting nation wide data on how people use information and information technology to respond to natural disasters. This data will feed into my dissertation, as well as be useful to … Continue reading MCIT/NUS ICTs in Emergency Survey: Replication data
Poverty (and Social Development Writ Large) is Not an Innovation Problem
I came across an article a friend posted on Facebook yesterday about the work that the MasterCard Foundation is doing to reduce poverty in Africa. Since some of my work is in the 'techno-innovation 4 development' sector, I was curious to give it a read. It was everything that makes me *sigh* and/or *shake my … Continue reading Poverty (and Social Development Writ Large) is Not an Innovation Problem
Call for abstracts! Proposed ISA panel on Crowdsourcing and Violence
My colleague Dr. Pamina Firchow and I are organizing a panel for next year's ISA meeting in New Orleans (Feb. 15-21, 2015) on crowdsourcing and the study of violence and violence prevention. Below you'll find our panel description, and instructions for submitting an abstract to us. We'll need them by May 23 so we can make … Continue reading Call for abstracts! Proposed ISA panel on Crowdsourcing and Violence
The Prevention Problem: Thinking about Rwanda 20 years later
Of my areas of interest, the two that stand out are violence prevention and technology. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, and I've been keeping track of the media coverage which has included the usual themes of never again, and a call to seek the tools and capacity to prevent such … Continue reading The Prevention Problem: Thinking about Rwanda 20 years later
Learnings from ISA
Another March, another ISA conference. 2014 has been good, especially since the networking and socializing was matched by excellent feedback on what I presented. The highlights: What I thought was a failed experiment in getting Twitter to love me actually teased out some interesting methodological challenges that other panelists on the Crowdsourcing Violence panel faced. … Continue reading Learnings from ISA
Headed to Toronto soon…
I'll be at the International Studies Association annual convention from March 26-30 presenting two papers (never again will I submit two abstracts for papers that have to be written from scratch...) on Crowdsourcing methodology and technology in peacekeeping operations. Should be a lot of fun - feel free to give me feedback on the papers … Continue reading Headed to Toronto soon…
Samoa Update: What “Kickstarting an Emergency” got me thinking
Andrej Verity, who works at UN-OCHA, wrote a thought provoking and enjoyable post earlier this week about alternative crowdfunding and Kickstarter-type mechanisms for distributing aid funding to beneficiaries during disaster response. I posted a few short thoughts in the comments section of the post, but thought it'd be good to expand on them a bit. Hopefully … Continue reading Samoa Update: What “Kickstarting an Emergency” got me thinking
Tech4Dev Conference: Call for abstracts closes Oct. 14
My colleague Dr. Paula Lytle and I will be hosting one of the sessions at next June's Tech4Dev conference, focusing on the policy side of integrating technology into disaster response and preparedness. The Federal Polytechnic Institute in Lausanne is hosting the event; they do a great job and the city of Lausanne is lovely. If … Continue reading Tech4Dev Conference: Call for abstracts closes Oct. 14
Charles P. Martin-Shields 