Research

by Sumandro Chattapadhyay last modified Dec 30, 2019 05:39 PM

Making Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India

by Shweta Mohandas — last modified Dec 18, 2019 12:10 PM

We believe that voice interfaces have the potential to democratise the use of internet by addressing barriers such as accessibility concerns, lack of abilities of reading and writing on digital text interfaces, and lack of options for people to interact with digital devices in their own languages. Through the Making Voice Heard Project supported by Mozilla Corporation, we will examine the current landscape of voice interfaces in India.

Making Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India - Read More…

State of the Internet's Languages 2020: Announcing selected contributions!

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha — last modified Nov 01, 2019 06:12 PM

In response to our call for contributions and reflections on ‘Decolonising the Internet’s Languages’ in August, we are delighted to announce that we received 50 submissions, in over 38 languages! We are so overwhelmed and grateful for the interest and support of our many communities around the world; it demonstrates how critical this effort is for all of us. From all these extraordinary offerings, we have selected nine that we will invite and support the contributors to expand further.

State of the Internet's Languages 2020: Announcing selected contributions! - Read More…

Comments to the United Nations Human Rights Commission Report on Gender and Privacy

by Aayush Rathi, Ambika Tandon and Pallavi Bedi — last modified Dec 30, 2019 05:40 PM

This submission to UNHRC presents a response by researchers at the CIS to ‘gender issues arising in the digital era and their impacts on women, men and individuals of diverse sexual orientations gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics’. It was prepared by Aayush Rathi, Ambika Tandon, and Pallavi Bedi in response to a report of consultation by a thematic taskforce established by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy on ‘Privacy and Personality’ (hereafter, HRC Gender Report).

Comments to the United Nations Human Rights Commission Report on Gender and Privacy - Read More…

Decolonizing the Internet’s Languages 2019 - From Conversations to Actions

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha — last modified Nov 01, 2019 05:53 PM

Whose Knowledge? is organising the Decolonizing the Internet's Languages 2019 gathering in London on October 23-24 — with a specific focus on building an agenda for action to decolonize the internet’s languages. Puthiya Purayil Sneha is participating in this meeting with scholars, linguists, archivists, technologists and community activists, to share the initial findings towards the State of the Internet’s Language Report (to be published in 2020) being developed by Whose Knowledge?, Oxford Internet Institute, and the CIS.

Decolonizing the Internet’s Languages 2019 - From Conversations to Actions - Read More…

The Mother and Child Tracking System - understanding data trail in the Indian healthcare systems

by Ambika Tandon — last modified Dec 30, 2019 05:18 PM

Reproductive health programmes in India have been digitising extensive data about pregnant women for over a decade, as part of multiple health information systems. These can be seen as precursors to current conceptions of big data systems within health informatics. In this article, published by Privacy International, Ambika Tandon presents some findings from a recently concluded case study of the MCTS as an example of public data-driven initiatives in reproductive health in India.

The Mother and Child Tracking System - understanding data trail in the Indian healthcare systems - Read More…

Big Data and Reproductive Health in India: A Case Study of the Mother and Child Tracking System

by Ambika Tandon — last modified Dec 06, 2019 04:57 AM

In this case study undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development (BD4D) network, Ambika Tandon evaluates the Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) as data-driven initiative in reproductive health at the national level in India. The study also assesses the potential of MCTS to contribute towards the big data landscape on reproductive health in the country, as the Indian state’s imagination of health informatics moves towards big data.

Big Data and Reproductive Health in India: A Case Study of the Mother and Child Tracking System - Read More…

Doing Standpoint Theory

by Ambika Tandon and Aayush Rathi — last modified Dec 06, 2019 04:59 AM

Feminist research methodology has evolved from different epistemologies, with several different schools of thought. Some of the more popular ones are feminist standpoint theory, feminist empiricism, and feminist relativism. Standpoint theory holds the experiences of the marginalised as the source of ‘truth’ about structures of oppression, which is silenced by traditional objectivist research methods as they produce knowledge from the standpoint of voices in positions of power. In this essay published on the GenderIT website, Ambika Tandon and Aayush Rathi [1] discuss the practical applicability of these epistemologies to research practices in the field of technology and gender.

Doing Standpoint Theory - Read More…

Digital mediation of domestic and care work in India: Project Announcement

by Ambika Tandon and Aayush Rathi — last modified Oct 10, 2019 08:09 AM

It is our great pleasure to announce that we are undertaking a study on digital mediation of domestic and care work in India, as part of and supported by the Feminist Internet Research Network led by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The study is exploring the ways in which structural inequalities, such as those of gender and class, are being reproduced or challenged by digital platforms. The project sites are Delhi and Bangalore, where we are conducting interviews with workers, companies, and unions. In Bangalore, we are collaborating with Stree Jagruti Samiti to collect qualitative data from different stakeholders. The outputs of the research will include a report, policy brief, and other communication materials in English, Hindi, and Kannada. This study is being led by Ambika Tandon and Aayush Rathi, along with Sumandro Chattapadhyay.

Digital mediation of domestic and care work in India: Project Announcement - Read More…

Call for Contributions and Reflections: Your experiences in Decolonizing the Internet’s Languages!

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha — last modified Aug 07, 2019 12:29 PM

Whose Knowledge?, the Oxford Internet Institute, and the Centre for Internet and Society are creating a State of the Internet’s Languages report, as baseline research with both numbers and stories, to demonstrate how far we are from making the internet multilingual. We also hope to offer some possibilities for doing more to create the multilingual internet we want. This research needs the experiences and expertise of people who think about these issues of language online from different perspectives. Read the Call here and share your submission by September 2, 2019.

Call for Contributions and Reflections: Your experiences in Decolonizing the Internet’s Languages! - Read More…

Call for Essays — #List

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha — last modified Oct 11, 2019 05:07 PM

The researchers@work programme at CIS invites abstracts for essays that explore social, economic, cultural, political, infrastructural, or aesthetic dimensions of the ‘list’. We have selected 4 abstracts among those received before August 31, 2019, and are now accepting and evaluating further submissions on a rolling basis.

Call for Essays — #List - Read More…

Document Actions