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SUMMARY:Information and Communications Technology for Development: Current
  Trajectories - Melissa Densmore (MSR Bangalore)
DTSTART:20130425T140000Z
DTEND:20130425T150000Z
UID:TALK44639@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Eiko Yoneki
DESCRIPTION:In my work\, I have worked on a number of projects using infor
 mation and communications technologies to address problems of socio-econom
 ic development.  I’ve learned that while technologies and the problems t
 hey are endeavoring to solve can be very straightforward\, the problem of 
 actually implementing the solutions can be quite complex. The widespread a
 vailability of mobiles has opened up numerous opportunities for creative a
 pplication of technology for development. At the same time\, there are man
 y opportunities for basic research around systems and networking – parti
 cularly in developing protocols robust to the infrastructural realities in
  places like India and Ghana\, and also in the development of systems that
  can scale reliably at lower cost. In this talk\, I will talk about what h
 as worked and what hasn’t in our efforts to use information technologies
  for development\, and to create a research agenda around these questions.
 \n\nBio:Melissa Densmore is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Technology fo
 r Emerging Markets Group (TEM) at Microsoft Research India. TEM is a multi
 disciplinary group engaged in a range of technical and social-science rese
 arch. By combining a variety of backgrounds and training\, we are able to 
 engage deeply with some of the complex problems associated with poverty an
 d scarce resources. Our goal is to study\, design\, build\, and evaluate t
 echnologies and systems that are useful for people living in underserved r
 ural and urban communities.\nDensmore’s research examines the ways in pe
 ople choose and use information technologies\, especially new information 
 technologies. Her dissertation was based on a 3 year ethnographic study of
  the use of Internet and mobile technologies by health practitioners and N
 GO staff in a health financing program in Uganda.  Prior work includes a d
 elay-tolerant tele-consultation system for doctors in Ghana and contributi
 ons to infrastructure enabling village health centers to consult with doct
 ors at the Aravind Eye Hospitals. Recipient of the 2008 Yamashita Foundati
 ons for Change Prize\, she has been doing ethnographic fieldwork\, systems
  design\, and deployments in Ghana\, India\, Mexico\, Rwanda\, and Uganda 
 since 2004. Melissa completed her PhD at University of California\, Berkel
 ey in Information Management and Systems\, where she was supervised by Eri
 c Brewer (EECS)\, John Chuang (iSchool)\, and Dean AnnaLee Saxenian (iScho
 ol). She has an MSc in Data Communications\, Networks and Distributed Syst
 ems from University College London\, and holds a BA in Computer Science fr
 om Cornell University.\n
LOCATION:FW26\, Computer Laboratory\, William Gates Builiding
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