a framework for information access in rural and remote communities
TRANSCRIPT
A Framework for Information Access in Rural and Remote Communities.
Presented at: ISTAS 2016October 20-22, 2016
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Sameer Verma, Ph.D.Professor, Information SystemsSan Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco, CA 94132 USA
Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
● Professor, Information Systems● College of Business● Interests: Access to Information,
Remote/offline networks, Free and Open Source Software, Digital Commons, Open Data.
Introduction
● Universal access to the Internet– Tool for empowering– Take ownership
– Build capability and capacity
● Analyze very specific, but central problems in the field● Propose a framework
– Access to electricity– Access to the Internet
● Three case studies– Madagascar, Jamaica, India
Access to Information
● The limited scalability of analog access● 48.6% of the world's population is connected● Internet access is not a binary variable (yes/no)
– Throughput, latency, etc.
● High variance in use cases– Email, Web, Netflix
Access to Electricity
● 1.2 billion people live without any form of electricity– South Sudan is at 5.06%
– Samoa sits at 100%
● Rural electrification rate sits at 67%– Latin America: 85%
– Africa: 26%
Devices
● Low-powered mobile devices– Smartphones
– Tablets
● Year-on-Year (YoY) growth of 9.8% in 2015 (1.43 billion units shipped)
● Expect to ship 1.86 billion units in 2019● Estimated mobile devices worldwide: 4.61
billion units
Framework
ElectricityIn
tern
et
Framework
ElectricityIn
tern
et
Case Studies
● Madagascar– Town of Maroantsetra in eastern Madagascar.
– Surrounding rural villages not on the electrical grid.
– Non-traditional power sources such as water turbines, solar panels and diesel generators.
Madagascar: Location
Madagascar: Server
Content Delivery
● Pathagar (http://pathagar.info)
– Python Django
– Embedded database
– OPDS: Open Publication and Distribution System
● Malagasy and French
Case Studies
● Jamaica– Primary school in August Town, a small town on the
outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica.
– On electrical grid.
– Single DSL line. Not reliable.
Jamaica: Location
Jamaica: Server
Jamaica: Content Delivery
● Pathagar (http://pathagar.info)
– Python Django– OPDS: Open
Publication and Distribution System
● Moodle– Learning Management
System– Class-based materials
Case Studies
● India– Bhagmalpur, a small village in Uttar Pradesh, India.
● Hundred kilometers north of Varanasi.
– Unreliable electrical grid. ● Solar + diesel generators.
– Unreliable Internet access. ● 2G/3G dongle.
India: Location
India: Server
India: Server
India: Content Delivery
● Wikipedia● TED Talks● Khan Academy● Openstreetmap● Project Gutenberg● Audio/Music● Pathagar
1TB hard drive for offline content
Framework
ElectricityIn
tern
et
Conclusion
● Begin with the use case.● Examine access to electricity.● Examine access to the Internet.● Select network infrastructure technology.● Select content delivery technology accordingly.● Focus on off-the-shelf equipment.● Focus on Commons licensing.
Future Scope
● Community participation● Learning analytics
Community participation
Bailey, A., McNaughton, M., Muschette, N. and Verma, S. (2015) The Role of ICTs in Early Childhood Education in Jamaica: Early Observations from a One Laptop per Child Pilot Project. Caribbean Journal of Education. Vol 37, No. 1
Analytics - XOVis
Eventual Consistency
Cloud
Micro-Cloud
Micro-Cloud
Micro-Cloud
CouchDB
CouchDB
CouchDB
CouchDB
Incremental replication
XOVis: Quest for Data
Workshop
Sameer Verma [email protected]
Anish Mangal [email protected]
Leh, Ladakh. Perhaps the highest solar-poweredoffline content service.
Thank you