Following on the back of 2 funded research projects, the activities and practices of the CNA grou... more Following on the back of 2 funded research projects, the activities and practices of the CNA group at the University of Brighton have undergone a period of change. The absence of funding and time to pursue research proposals currently has forced us to be creative by exploring how the academic curriculum and resources of a UK university can support the formal requirements of HE student learning and the more informal learning needs found in community practice through the development of community media/informatics learning partnerships. So that consideration might be given to the potential for CI academics, in the absence of research and development funding, to engage in meaningful community ICT research and practice partnerships, a number of CNA community informatics/media partnership activities are presented briefly through the joint lenses of community empowerment and community development lens. The significance of community voice and community learning in facilitating and enabling active citizenship and empowered communities through community informatics practices is also explored.
Collective intelligence for the common good is considered here in terms of its contribution to so... more Collective intelligence for the common good is considered here in terms of its contribution to social transformation at the micro level of community. A critical evaluation of the knowledge limitations of research programmes currently focussing on collective intelligence is presented before the case is made to widen collective intelligence research efforts and understanding. The application of a 'common good' focus to collective intelligence research and practice provides a contextualising space for community practice in the digital age to be considered through a philosophy of community technologies. Community media is presented as providing tools, spaces and processes for such critical considerations to be made. Community learning and community-based learning theories are discussed and drawn together to illustrate how community-university partnerships can be developed to facilitate and promote collective intelligence for the common good. The paper concludes with an introductory discussion of the Community Media 4 Kenya (CM$K) community-university partnership as an exemplar of collective intelligence for the common good.
Introduction Attempts to ameliorate social inequalities through public access computing and Inter... more Introduction Attempts to ameliorate social inequalities through public access computing and Internet programmes, with few noticeable exceptions, often prove ineffective in making sustainable impacts on improving quality of life, promoting social inclusion or building healthy communities. Information communication technologies (ICT) alone can not provide the material conditions necessary to address the diverse and often competing social needs found in geographic communities. Indeed, in policy and funding circles there has been a lack of contextualised consideration of how ICT might be used to address social needs and wants in an empowering sort of way. Short-term project funding for public access computing parachuted into local communities (Day & Harris, 1997) combined with technologically deterministic ignorance among policy makers (Day & Schuler, 2004; Schuler & Day, 2004) and their advisors have frequently combined in recent decades to miss opportunity after opportunity for develo...
The paper argues that the human-centred approach should be considered as an alternative to the te... more The paper argues that the human-centred approach should be considered as an alternative to the techno-economic model of the EC information society. This alternative approach should be based on the principles of democratic participation of citizens and social cohesion. Using a community development based approach the paper introduces concepts of partnership, tripartite collaboration and universal participation. Having evaluated a human-centred approach to the information society this is then applied to the results of four case studies of Danish and Swedish community teleservice centres (CTSCs), and the subsequent lessons drawn.
The social sustainability of any community technology activity is dependent on whether or not it ... more The social sustainability of any community technology activity is dependent on whether or not it forms an integral part of, and contributes to, the shared experiences that constitute community life. Drawing from this premise the paper presents a human-centred exploration of community informatics (CI) by proposing that, as a field of study and practice, a central goal should be to develop shared understandings of ways in which ICT contribute to building and sustaining active and healthy communities. The diversity of community ICT practices have the potential to contribute to a collective knowledgebase that is not only of import as a resource for academic investigation but also in terms of its broader social significance to community life. With this in mind, the authors analyse and critically evaluate the significance of the emerging symbiosis between community technology and community research. Applying a human-centred perspective of CI to a community technology research and developm...
Following on the back of 2 funded research projects, the activities and practices of the CNA grou... more Following on the back of 2 funded research projects, the activities and practices of the CNA group at the University of Brighton have undergone a period of change. The absence of funding and time to pursue research proposals currently has forced us to be creative by exploring how the academic curriculum and resources of a UK university can support the formal requirements of HE student learning and the more informal learning needs found in community practice through the development of community media/informatics learning partnerships. So that consideration might be given to the potential for CI academics, in the absence of research and development funding, to engage in meaningful community ICT research and practice partnerships, a number of CNA community informatics/media partnership activities are presented briefly through the joint lenses of community empowerment and community development lens. The significance of community voice and community learning in facilitating and enabling active citizenship and empowered communities through community informatics practices is also explored.
Collective intelligence for the common good is considered here in terms of its contribution to so... more Collective intelligence for the common good is considered here in terms of its contribution to social transformation at the micro level of community. A critical evaluation of the knowledge limitations of research programmes currently focussing on collective intelligence is presented before the case is made to widen collective intelligence research efforts and understanding. The application of a 'common good' focus to collective intelligence research and practice provides a contextualising space for community practice in the digital age to be considered through a philosophy of community technologies. Community media is presented as providing tools, spaces and processes for such critical considerations to be made. Community learning and community-based learning theories are discussed and drawn together to illustrate how community-university partnerships can be developed to facilitate and promote collective intelligence for the common good. The paper concludes with an introductory discussion of the Community Media 4 Kenya (CM$K) community-university partnership as an exemplar of collective intelligence for the common good.
Introduction Attempts to ameliorate social inequalities through public access computing and Inter... more Introduction Attempts to ameliorate social inequalities through public access computing and Internet programmes, with few noticeable exceptions, often prove ineffective in making sustainable impacts on improving quality of life, promoting social inclusion or building healthy communities. Information communication technologies (ICT) alone can not provide the material conditions necessary to address the diverse and often competing social needs found in geographic communities. Indeed, in policy and funding circles there has been a lack of contextualised consideration of how ICT might be used to address social needs and wants in an empowering sort of way. Short-term project funding for public access computing parachuted into local communities (Day & Harris, 1997) combined with technologically deterministic ignorance among policy makers (Day & Schuler, 2004; Schuler & Day, 2004) and their advisors have frequently combined in recent decades to miss opportunity after opportunity for develo...
The paper argues that the human-centred approach should be considered as an alternative to the te... more The paper argues that the human-centred approach should be considered as an alternative to the techno-economic model of the EC information society. This alternative approach should be based on the principles of democratic participation of citizens and social cohesion. Using a community development based approach the paper introduces concepts of partnership, tripartite collaboration and universal participation. Having evaluated a human-centred approach to the information society this is then applied to the results of four case studies of Danish and Swedish community teleservice centres (CTSCs), and the subsequent lessons drawn.
The social sustainability of any community technology activity is dependent on whether or not it ... more The social sustainability of any community technology activity is dependent on whether or not it forms an integral part of, and contributes to, the shared experiences that constitute community life. Drawing from this premise the paper presents a human-centred exploration of community informatics (CI) by proposing that, as a field of study and practice, a central goal should be to develop shared understandings of ways in which ICT contribute to building and sustaining active and healthy communities. The diversity of community ICT practices have the potential to contribute to a collective knowledgebase that is not only of import as a resource for academic investigation but also in terms of its broader social significance to community life. With this in mind, the authors analyse and critically evaluate the significance of the emerging symbiosis between community technology and community research. Applying a human-centred perspective of CI to a community technology research and developm...
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Papers by Peter Day