My only reservation about an "ecology of need" is an implication that there are a sequence of "readiness" opportunities, that it's hard to do "d" before doing "a," "b," and "c." There is a need/readiness system, and the system also includes - almost inevitably but not at all obviously - an indigenous capacity to succeed. Social interventions that ignore those "positive deviants" where success can be a foundation for further success will almost inevitably fail; others, that build on local capacity to enhance locally derived strategies for success, are far more sustainable because they have local sponsors, invested in expanding their efficacy.
One of the more interesting approaches is a formal evaluation of that "positive deviance" adapted by the Institute of Positive Deviance at Tufts. http://www.positivedeviance.org/ The Institute of Positive Deviance has begun to ramp up a variety of programs in a variety of social services to demonstrate this approach. In education, for example, there is http://www.teacherdrivenchange.org/teacherdrivenchange/2008/07/index.html. Their model is a slightly more academic spin on the older organizers' strategies framed by people like Saul Alinsky (well represented here http://www.itvs.org/democraticpromise/alinsky.html). In short, this is anti-imperialism: solutions don't come from one place and get dropped on another; they've got to be home grown, nursed, and with local support. For the Digital Divide this means well documented local change has the greatest transportability, since others can see what people went through in creating their own solutions. It is the process that can be transferred, not it's product. On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 8:46 AM, Jaevion Nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > Thanks, this is very useful. I really like the last idea of the ecology of > need. I beleive it is one of the things that are preventing the > sustainability for nmany social interventions and programmes across the > world and in the Caribbean. For example in Jamaica, several persons enter a > community provide persons with the opportunity but illiteracy, poverty, > culture, etc prevents the programme from making that exponential impact that > it had intended to. The result is that within months the programme fails and > is forced to withdraw from the community. The designers then go back to the > drawing board. To be able to understand the ecology of need we cannot just > recognise a problem in a handful of persons and beleive then that it > warrants intervention. Proper research must be done at phase one to > determine the needs of the individuals living wthin a specific area - the > truth is these programs really need a wholistic approach. You may be going > to reduce illiteracy but you will have to include poverty reduction > components such as school feeding programmes, uniform allowances, travel > stipend, etc. > > Regards, > Jaevion Nelson > Marketing & Partnerships Coordinator > Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network > www.jamaicayouthadvocacynetwork.org > > Asst. Programmes Officer > Violence Prevention Alliance > www.vpajamaica.com > > > Jaevion Nelson (Jae) > > > Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:36:26 -0700> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: > [email protected]> Subject: Re: [DDN] Google Insights - > social networking> > The intervener--all of us who want to help--studies the > culture and the need> before choosing a path. Before choosing a technology.> > > Where there is a "digital divide" there are often--usually--other > divides.> For example: there may be no Internet in the area to be served. Or > there may> be Internet but many of the intended beneficiaries have no > electricity.> > Or they cannot read. Cannot read what is on the computer > screen, whether it> is in English or Twi.> > That is: there is an "ecology > of need." If the good-hearted social> entrepreneur does not have a complete > map of the territory of need, it is> almost certain that he or she will > blunder.> > Steve Eskow> > > > On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 4:57 AM, Taran > Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:> > > This post from the Trinidad and > Tobago Computing list may be of interest> > to some. It demonstrates > geographical distribution of social network> > use. It is a nice datapoint, > I think.> >> > Richard Jobity wrote:> > > > ********************************************************************> > > > Computing - General Discussion on Computing in Trinidad and Tobago> > >> > > > ********************************************************************> > > > http://royal.pingdom.com/?p=336> > >> > > With the help of Google data, we > have looked at 12 of the top social> > > networks to answer a simple, but > highly interesting question:> > >> > > Where are they the most popular?> > > >> > > The social networks we included in this survey were MySpace, > Facebook,> > > Hi5, Friendster, LinkedIn, Orkut, Last.fm, LiveJournal, > Xanga, Bebo,> > > Imeem and Twitter.> > > Popularity by country (how we got > the data)> > >> > > Google Insights for Search makes this quite easy for > you. For a search> > > term (for example "MySpace"), it will highlight the > regions where that> > > search term is the most popular. Google calls this > "regional interest".> > >> > > This "regional interest" should give a good > indication of which regions> > > (in this case countries) a social network > is most popular in.> > >> > > Google also provides a nice heat map of the > results. We have included> > > the heapmaps for all the social networks > below.> > >> > >> > > http://www.google.com/insights/search/#cat=&q=imeem&geo=&date=&clp=&cmpt=q> > > >> > >> > > http://www.google.com/insights/search/#cat=&q=facebook&geo=&date=&clp=&cmpt=q> > > >> >> > --> > Taran Rampersad> > Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad> > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> > http://www.knowprose.com> > > http://www.your2ndplace.com> >> > Pictures: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/> >> > "Criticize by creating." — > Michelangelo> > "The present is theirs; the future, for which I really > worked, is mine." -> > Nikola Tesla> >> > > _______________________________________________> > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing > list> > [email protected]> > > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide> > To unsubscribe, > send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the word > UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.> >> > _______________________________________________> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list> > [email protected]> > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide> To unsubscribe, > send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word > UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > _________________________________________________________________ > News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now! > http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspx > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the word UNSUBSCRIBE in > the body of the message. > -- Joe Beckmann 22 Stone Avenue Somerville, MA 02143 617-625-9369 _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
