New Media and Social Change Summit and Digital Divide

I attended the New Media and Social Change Summit today as a scribe, which means that I got to do all the copying down for my table and helping to better synthesize what we reported out. I tried to take more of a backseat role, but as anyone who has ever encountered me in a classroom on a topic that at least halfway catches my interest knows, it's hard to get me to keep quiet. However! I am proud to state that the conversation at my table naturally evolved into discussions on the digital divide, barriers to access, and buy-in from marginalized communities, at which point I jumped in the deep end :)

Part of what we were discussing was thinking up action ideas of how to combat the issues surrounding the new media and social justice issues. I think that one of the ones with the most potential was to create hybrid virtual/physical networks of communities to facilitate the spread of information. (This would be a great opportunity to utilize more social network analysis (SNA) methods, actually). People, already connect with one another via informal or formalized networks. A formal physical network might be something like a civic organization or churches, while a virtual network might be a community blog or a Facebook group that functions much like older bulletin boards did to facilitate the spread of information but at a much faster rate. Aside from formal institutions that would serve as 'nodes' (to use SNA terminology), there may also be informal community leaders who unite networks. Connections that branch out from these 'nodes' are called 'spokes', with the idea that you even tually end up with something vaguely resembling wagon wheels as you have networks connecting to one another via overlapping individuals, etc. In the absence of actual increased access to technology on the part of marginalized groups, a hybrid approach would ensure that each type of member is not left out of important information loops.

In the second portion of the summit, we focused more specifically on action steps. We recognized that we have to go to the people most affected by the digital divide to find out both their wants and their needs (This is actually what I'm trying to do right now by assisting in the computer basics classes). From there, we can make sure that the issue is being framed in a way that is meaningful to the community. With that background knowledge, we would employ a three step approach to social reform:

1. Make our case to existing community organizations and other leaders of why access to technology should be important for the community. Engage in 'train the trainer' activities so that insiders can make the perpetuation of knowledge self-originating and self-sustaining within the communities as they spread the knowledge. These individuals would be recognized and credible leaders within the community.
2. Sponsor video game nights to address young people in the community to show how technology can impact their lives. Current generation console systems (Xbox 360, Wii, and Playstation3) are all equipped with internet browsers and wireless network adapters, so the need for separate computers just for social media and internet purposes is less important than it used to be. If youth in public housing projects own one of these systems, they are not getting the full functionality out of the machines without internet access. If events can show them how much consistent access could benefit their hobbies and interests, the next logical next step would be to show them additional things they may enjoy or how they can use technology in new ways to interact, innovate, and engage. For example, Netflix gets you unlimited legal movie streaming on the PS3 or 360 (and coming very soon to the Wii and is available on regular computers) for less than $10/month. Online streaming customizable radio stations (last.fm or Pandora) can allow people to discover new music and listen to current favorites without having to purchase expensive CDs or download content illegally. These services are not usable with dial-up, spotty wireless connections, or via cell phones.
   
3. With such a groundswell of interest in technology access and demonstrated digital literacy through the use of classes, the community could then make a compelling case to utility companies, such as Comcast and Verizon, to expand high speed, broadband internet access into public housing projects or other communities that have previously been deemed "not profitable."

In other news, this will be my last semester at VCU. I have been accepted to transfer into Virginia Tech's Public Administration and Public Affairs PhD program for the Fall 2010 semester! The faculty there have already begun connecting me with other Tech researchers who seem to be very interested in some of the digital divide research and library projects I'm working on this semester. The Center for Digital Discourse and Culture seems especially promising for continuing this work and expanding in new and exciting directions. Never fear, gentle reader, for I initiated this blog as a space to detail my academic happenings, both in regards to teaching and learning, and not to be ceased after mere months!

Research Interests

While I have studied a variety of topics throughout my academic career, the unifying theme to date has been technology. Some of my recent work has included ways that technology may be changing the debate surrounding the legitimacy of sex work, the aftereffects of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the U.K. in terms of surveillance technology and citizens' rights, and investigating the barriers that continue to perpetuate the technology/digital divide in terms of citizen engagement in political processes and access to services.

While technology may be an ongoing theme in my research, my background in Sociology and feminist theory provide the lenses through which I interpret the world. I see the area of Public Administration/Affairs as being the site for transforming theory into practice and action. A continuing aspect of my work, both inside and outside of academia, is social equity. I look at the ways in which race, class, and gender, in addition to other categories, interact within society, often stratifying it according to the "matrix of domination," which denotes the ways in which these classifications interact to privilege certain groups over others. The term 'matrix' is used here because it indicates that these categories do not simply have an additive effect of discrimination and oppression (or conversely, privilege), but instead, they affect different people differently depending on other circumstances. Without more knowledge of how these interactions occur, we will not be able to better tailor public policy decisions to help more groups in society, nor will we be able to understand the ways that the government and nonprofit sectors may be reaching or not reaching these populations in effective ways.

My current research for this semester centers around three main projects:

1. I am working with a group of classmates to assist the Richmond Public Library System in determining how to continue making the library a relevant source of information in the age of technology. In this, we will be exploring ways to position the library as a leader in the community to better effect social change through increasing access to technology and facilitating improved use of technology.
2. Continuing my research from last spring comparing the reactions of the U.S. government following 9/11 with the U.K. response following the 7/7 London bombings, I will be comparing the approaches that both the U.S. and the Spanish governments took following so-called "fourth wave" terrorist attacks (foreign attacks by non-state actors) of 9/11 and the 2004 Madrid train bombings, both believed to be perpetrated by al-Qaeda .
3. In late February 2010, I will be presenting a paper that applies postmodern and feminist theoretical lenses to the 9/11 Commission Report's analysis and recommendations and illustrates how approaching a global event from a single perspective, in this case the Public Administration field, will only provide limited understanding of events.