Aidnography

Hi all, In Development News we start off on the lighter side with a great cartoon on how to end global wealth; in the build-up to the World Humanitarian Summit the role of local NGOs and the issue of aid worker sexual violence attract more reflections; Indonesia is burning; large foundations are bad about feedback; the SDGs need to get smarter about technology; ethical photography; the joys of development blogging and IDS celebrates UN @ 70. Our digital lives and the joys of working from home. Academia with a critical look at the platform capitalism of Academia.edu; the challenge to access aid workers for research; mobile technology for urban learning and ‘me and my shadow CV’ filled with academic rejections. Enjoy! New from aidnography Geek Heresy (book review) I believe that Kentaro Toyama delivered one of the most interesting and intellectually astute contributions to the ICT4D debate in many years in an engaging format that effortlessly combines professional insights, relev...

I first ‘met’ Kentaro Toyama when he was blogging as the ICT4D Jester . So when he published his book ‘ Geek Heresy – Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology ’ I was curious to learn more about his personal transition from Microsoft researcher to W.K. Kellogg Associate Professor of Community Information at the University of Michigan School of Information and, more importantly, the context of challenging the tech-centered logic that is driving a lot development initiatives, especially when teaching and learning are involved. To get straight to the point: I believe that Toyama delivered one of the most interesting and intellectually astute contributions to the ICT4D debate in many years in an engaging format that effortlessly combines professional insights, relevant anecdotal evidence from ‘the field’ and a broader theoretical framework that demands serious discussions with the development industry. No laptop left behind In some ways, the first chapter is a actually one of ...

Hi all, Development news starts with a strange interview with UN’s USG for Humanitarian Affairs who is quite happy with the system and himself…; reflections from the WHS conference; global North dominates development research; transforming Ethiopia through self-help groups; South Africa and education ICT band-aids; new project on the interface between development research, education & practice. Great new readings on social media and power in Haiyan recovery; special Cultural Anthropology issue on ‘Aftershocked’ Nepal; new guide to re-imagine activism. Digital lives with more philanthrocapitalism; Twitter & abuse; and a HBR non-essay on ‘why organizations don’t learn’. Academia reveals that MOOCs don’t run themselves and educate everybody by itself and a Malmö colleague reflects on how to academic outreach can be tricky in Sweden… Enjoy! New from aidnography New journal article on peacebuilding and anthropology Nikolas Kosmatopolous and I are very happy that our speci...

Nikolas Kosmatopolous and I are very happy that our special section on anthropology and peacebuilding will be published in the forthcoming issue of Peacebuilding . We contributed a very short article Anthropology and peacebuilding: an introduction ( pre-print ungated version on Academia.edu ) to the collection stating that Peacebuilding presents a formidable challenge to anthropology, because it “enframes” our contemporary world in particular ways. In our introduction to the special section on peacebuilding and anthropology we highlight the changing relationship between peace, conflict, culture and academic writing and how the three articles on Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and India-Pakistan address the changing relationships. The articles do not have the intention to present a coherent statement where anthropology “is” in relation to peace and conflict studies. Each of them engages with a different aspect of the discipline and broader question beyond ethnographic fieldwork. T...

Hi all, Another busy week...we welcomed two very interesting visitors this week and their talks on social media, protest movements and digital research are posted below. In Development news we look at the changing face of the ‘digital divide’, a poignant reminder from Kenya why laptops won’t fix education, reflections on the state of the state in Nepal, YouTube for charities & digital #globaldev resources. Our digital lives on the sad routines of reporting mass shootings and the algorithmic watchtower. And this week’s most interesting links are in the Academia section: An industry researcher compares her time use between academia and industry with surprising results, Purdue University pulls a talk with a reference to Edward Snowden because of their military-industrial relationship and in a great, long interview James C. ‘Weapons of the weak’ Scott reflects on a li f e in anthropology!    Enjoy! New from aidnography Örecomm & ComDev Undermining Digital Dissent ...

Hi all, Let’s wrap up another week with some food for reading, sharing, discussing and thinking! Did Saudi-Arabia bribe the UK for UN support with just 100K USD? More on SDGs, the UN system & the future of development; study confirms: white men disturb decision-making in Africa! Syrian refugees & the humanitarian caste system; tips on how to turn around an ailing nonprofit and how to make social movements more inclusive. Great new readings on ‘interrogating internships’. Digital lives on how the ‘bottom billions’ can engage with big data & how mindfulness and hacking culture have been coopted by the capitalist system. Finally, in Academia we are looking at the financial and reputational cost of predatory publishing beyond spam emails from India… Enjoy! New from aidnography Apply to our MA in Communication for Development & Advances in C4D course! Right now, applications are open for both our flagship online two-year, part-time MA in Communication for Development...