Enhancing Empowerment in Social Life Networks

Tamara Ginige 42760100

Supervisor – Prof Deborah Richards

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Outline

Overall objective of the collaborative project Main focus of my research within the collaborative project User Empowerment Key Problem – Overall project Possible solution Social Networks and Social Life Networks Research Approach Progress in the last six months High Level Conceptual Architecture of Mobile Based

Information System Research plan for next year

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Overall objective of the collaborative project

To investigate how to develop a Mobile Based Information System (MBIS) to assist the livelihood of people in developing countries using a new concept called Social Life Networks (SLN).

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Main focus of my research in the collaborative project

To investigate how to design, implement and evaluate software applications in the proposed Mobile Based Information System to facilitate processes to empower individuals and community.

This research will produce an empowerment model a software artefact

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User Empowerment and Empowerment Theory

User empowerment is a process. Via that process individuals learn to see a closer

correspondence between their goals and sense of how to achieve them their efforts and life outcomes1

The empowerment theory suggests that actions, activities or structures may be empowering, and the outcome of each process results in a level of being empowered2

1Mechanic, D. (1991). "Adolescents at risk: New Directions." Seventh Annual Conference on Health Policy 12(8): 638-643

2Zimmerman, M. A. (1988). "Citizen participation, perceived control and psychological empowerment " American Journal of Community Psychology 16(5): 725-750

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Empowerment Processes and Outcomes

Level of analysis

Process (“empowering”)

Outcome (“empowered”)

Individual

Decision making skills

Sense of control

Managing resources Critical awareness

Team work skills Participatory behaviours

Community

Access to resources Organisational coalitions

Accessible government

Improved community leadership

Tolerance for diversity

Participatory behaviours

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Key Problem – Overall Project

Sri Lankan farmers do not have easy access to farming information.

Information required: Dynamic: market prices, supply and demand situations for their

produce, farming hands, weather patterns Static: pests, fertilizer, soil types, seeds, transportation

Un-informed decision making

Leads to financial hardship, feeling helpless, frustrated and less empowered

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Key Problem

Example: Growing the same crop in an area the same season Taking these crops to the local market at the same

time

Outcome Oversupply Wastage

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Current Information exchange among farmers

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New opportunities to solve the problem and enhance empowerment

There are new opportunities to solve this problem using

Widespread use of mobile phonesFeatures of Web 2.0Social Networks

Mobile Growth in the World

Growth of Mobile Phone Usage

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010*

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Subscriptions (in millions)

Su

bsc

rip

tion

s (m

illio

n)

Per

10

0 in

hab

itan

ts

*EstimatesSource: ITU World Telecommunication /ICT Indicators database

Global mobile cellular subscriptions, total and

per 100 inhabitants, 2000-2010*

Penetration by Continents

CIS** Europe The Amer-icas

Arab States

World Asia & Pacific

Africa0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140 131.5

120.0

94.1

79.4 76.1 67.8

41.4

Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, 2010*

* Estimate** Commonwealth of Independent StatesRegions are based on the ITU BDT Regions, see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/definitions/regions/index.htmlSource: ITU World Telecommunication /ICT Indicators database

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Mobile Growth in Sri Lanka

80% of the population uses a mobile phone1

ICT usage of farmers2: 6% of farmers use computers 68% of farmers own a mobile phone

1Telecommunications. (2011). "Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka." Retrieved 28/11/2011, from http://www.trc.gov.lk/information/statistics.html

2Lokanathan, S. and N. Kapugama (2012). Smallholders and Micro-enterprises in Agriculture. Knowledge-based Economies. Colombo, Sri Lanka, LIRNEasia.

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Web 1.0 and User Empowerment via Web 2.0

Web 1.0 Two groups: Information consumers and information

producers

Web 2.0 Two groups started to merge. Information consumers have become information producers

-> can lead to user empowerment Results of this empowerment : Blogs and wikis, and

websites such as Wikipedia and YouTube Micro-blogs Information aggregation

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Social Networks

Connecting People

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Social Life Networks - SLN

Connecting People and Public Resources

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Creating a better market dispersion

Land Market

Market A

Mkt B

Market C

Farmer A

Farmer B

Farmer C

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Review of available mobile applications

Type Domain Description Countries

Access to Information

Farming mKrish delivers crop advice to farmers in rural India by mobile phone. China Mobile sends information about planting techniques, pest management and market prices to farmers.

India, China

Mobile as a sensor

Health In Uganda and Mozambique, new mobile diagnostic equipment are getting used.

Uganda and Mozambique

eMarket Farming TradeNet in Ghana links buyers and sellers. CellBazaar provides a text-based classified ad service in Bangladesh

Ghana, Bangladesh

Selling Fisheries In India fishermen are using to negotiate price before coming on shore.

India

mLearning Education mLearning projects have been piloted in Africa, India and Bangladesh.

Africa, India, Bangladesh

Money transfer

Banking M-PESA, a mobile phone-based money transfer service.

Kenya

There is no user empowerment in these mobile applications.

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User Empowerment

Given some information

How can we assist user to act on that information

From user action

How can we extract useful information

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Research Approach

Design science research approach will be used.

Relevance of the problem Literature review Design and implementation of empowerment model

as an artefact How to test the artefact Field testing of the artefact Evaluation of results Design changes and continuation of iterative process

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Progress - last six months

Technology Review Social Networks, User empowerment through use of Web 2.0, Growth

of micro blogging, Social Life Networks, Available mobile applications

Review of information and empowerment needs of farmers Focus group meetings, surveys, reports Future interview with other researchers in Sri Lanka - Ethics

application has been submitted

Review of empowerment theory and other empowerment studies Publication of a poster and two international conference papers Involvement in the design of high level conceptual architecture

for Mobile Based Information System

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High Level Conceptual Architecture of MBIS

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Collaborative Research Team

Agriculture Ontology and localisation of

application for SLN by the Sri Lankan research group

Information Aggregation Unit by the American research group

Mobile User Interface by the Italian research group

Empowerment Model by Macquarie UniversityKM and Query Engine by UWS

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Research Plan – Next 12 months

Analyse of information and empowerment needs of farmers

Design and implementation of possible processes for empowerment

Publication of results in an International Conference

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Thank You.