Submit your innovation to create microwork jobs in developing countries by April 2, 2012

31 January 2012

infoDev and Nokia IdeasProject launch global competition to drive innovation in mobile microwork and create jobs

m2Work Announcement.docx

m2Work, a global challenge by the World Bank’s infoDev and Nokia’sIdeasProject, is offering a total of US$ 40,000 in cash prizes and one-of-a-kind business mentorship to entrepreneurs with good ideas for mobile microwork. Microwork refers to small digital tasks people can perform anywhere to supplement their income. With the support of the World Bank, UKaid and the government of Finland, the contest aims to create jobs and stimulate sustainable growth.Currently, most microwork requires access to computers. m2Work aims to transfer these tasks to mobile phones, which could have broad job creating potential given the five billion cellular phones in the developing world.

The contest’s high-profile jury, which includes representatives of Nokia, the World Bank, academia and the wider technology investment sector, will award individual prizes based on each idea’s potential development impact, innovativeness and feasibility. Submissions will be accepted through April 2, and the first spot prizes are available now.

infoDev, a global partnership program in the World Bank, uses its vast network of Mobile Applications Labs(mLabs) and business incubators to help tech entrepreneurs every step of the way, from a seed-stage idea to a thriving start-up that creates sustainable jobs. The m2Work challenge wants to fuel the race for the best ideas and spark a goal-oriented, global discussion about mobile microwork.

Everyone in the iDISC network is invited to distribute this message to their (local) partners and through their social media channels. Please forward or use any of these links:

Forward the official m2Work launch announcement (attached here)

Visit the official m2Work portal: http://www.ideasproject.com/m2work

Follow m2Work on Twitter: http://twitter.com/infoDev

Like m2Work on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/infoDevWBG

Keep up with m2Work news: http://www.infoDev.org

Contact person: Nicolas Friederici (infoDev / World Bank), email: nfriederici@worldbank.org

TPRC is now soliciting abstracts of papers, proposals for panels, tutorials and demonstrations, and student papers for presentation at the 2012 conference, to be held September 21-23, 2012 at the George Mason University Law School, in Arlington, Virginia. These presentations should report current theoretical or empirical research relevant to communication and information policy.

Contributions may be from any disciplinary perspective – the sole criterion is research quality. Topic areas in previous conferences have included competition, antitrust, and other market issues; broadband deployment and adoption; spectrum and wireless application policy; media, old and new; intellectual property, technology, and Internet law; privacy, security, identity and trust; governance and institutions; innovation and entrepreneurship; and distributional outcomes and social goals.

Submission opens on March 1, 2012 at http://www.tprc.org.  The deadlines are:

March 31, 2012: Main conference abstracts, and proposals for panels, tutorials and demonstrations. Acceptances/rejections will be provided by May 31, 2012. Complete papers for accepted abstracts will be due to TPRC on August 15, 2012.

April 30, 2012: Student papers. The student paper competition requires submission of completed papers rather than abstracts.  Acceptances/rejections will be provided by June 30, 2012.

Details about submission requirements and review criteria can be found on these web pages:

Conference Papers

Panels and Tutorials

Demonstrations

Student Paper Competition

The journals Telecommunications Policy and Journal on Information Policy will both invite papers for special issues from this year’s conference.

Host: George Mason University School of Law

Platinum: Comcast

Gold: U.S. Telecom Association; Google

Silver: Time Warner Cable

Bronze: Georgetown U./Communication, Culture & Technology Program; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; Sprint

Academic: The Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law at Michigan State University; The Public Policy Research Center at the University of Florida; The Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida; Syracuse University School of Information Studies; University of Pennsylvania Law School – Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition

Contributing Sponsor: The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Please address inquiries to info@tprc.org.

http://lirneasia.net/2011/12/2012-greetings/

Mr Abhisit holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Oxford. He was elected to the Parliament of Thailand at age 27, and became the leader of the Democrat Party leader in 2005.  He was one of the youngest Prime Ministers in Thai history.

He will discuss how he grappled with problems of media policy and regulation during his tenure as Prime Minister and the role played by policy intellectuals in the major changes made in media policy and regulation in recent years.

Previous keynoters from the countries hosting the conference were Dr Emmanuel Lallana (Philippines), Ms Rama Bijapurkar (India), Dr. Liu Cai (China), Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan (Sri Lanka) and Dr. Chen Jinqiao (China).

Program Chair: Dr Michael Arnold, University of Melbourne

Key dates:

Abstract Submission date: 30 March 2012

Notification of Acceptance: 31 May 2012

Final Paper Submission date: 30 June 2012

Call for papers will be release by 30 November, at: www.TechnologyandSocietyinAsia.org

Academic papers (refereed), industry papers (selected for relevance), and posters welcome. Student research papers and posters particularly encouraged. Refereed papers to be published in IEEExplore, a selection of papers to be invited for submission to IEEE Technology & Society.

Co-sponsors: IEEE SSIT, IEEE Victorian Section, IEEE Singapore Section, IEEE India Council, SSIT Australia, SSIT Japan. Additional countries expected.

For details contact: information@technologyandsocietyinasia.org

Changing the dates or location of a conference that has been in planning for over a year is a serious matter.  The dates were fixed quite some time back and arriving at consensus on alternative dates will be very difficult.  In our effort to contain costs, many, if not all, tickets have been purchased at lowest available prices.  This means that there will be considerable losses if changes are made.  In any case, we must first establish that it is not possible to hold the event in Bangkok.

The risks to holding the conference in Bangkok take the following forms:

1. Will the Suvarnabhumi Airport be affected by the flood and close?

a. A related matter is the cancellation of flights.  How will this affect attendees?

2. Will be Emerald Hotel, where the conference is to be held, be affected by the flood?

a. Will it be possible to stay in the hotel?

b. Even if it is possible to stay, will the hotel be able to provide food and services?

3. Will Chulalongkorn University, where the tutorials will be held on Dec 7-8, be affected by the flood?  [Not relevant to all]

a. Will it be possible to go from the hotel to the university by MRT?

4. Will it be possible to get from the Airport to the hotel?

LIRNEasia as the administrative partner has been monitoring the above risks systematically, with the help of our colleagues at Chulalongkorn University.

Risk 1 is the most serious.  If Suvarnabhumi closes we have no alternative but to hold the conference elsewhere, or postpone/cancel the event.  So far it appears that this will not happen: http://www.tatnews.org/newsletter/e-News/sent/AOT-Release/AOT-Release-04-11-2011.html.  In an example of completely irresponsible journalism, a photo of the old Don Muang airport under water has been circulated.  But Don Muang does not handle international flights.   We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

With regard to Risk 1a, it does appear that certain flights are being cancelled, not because the airport is affected, but because passenger traffic is down, as a result of wrong perceptions that all of Thailand is under water.  We advise all attendees to closely monitor the flights they are booked on.  Generally, rescheduling of travel because of flights cancelled by the airline will not impose additional costs on the traveler.  If there are problems, please let us know.

Risk 2:  We are in constant contact with the Hotel and have been assured that the conference can be held there and the necessary services provided.  The hotel is located in an area of central Bangkok protected from flood.  We do understand the hotel has incentives to tell us all is well.  Prashanthi Weragoda, our Event Manager for CPRsouth6, will be in Bangkok in a few days and we will have eye-witness reports.

Risk 3:  Our local hosts, who are even more concerned about the situation than us, assure us the university, which is in central Bangkok, is dry.  Please note that Risk 3 is relevant only to the subset of attendees involved in the tutorials.

Risk 3a:  The MRT from the hotel to the university is elevated and is operational.

Risk 4:  The main highway from the airport to the city is elevated and safe from flooding:  http://www.thailandtourismupdate.com/ArticleInfo/50/423/Flooding-FAQ,-10-November-2011.   Thus, all that must be monitored are the roads from the highway to the hotel.  No problems at present.

As part of risk management we are looking at possible backup locations within Bangkok, close to the airport.

Therefore, at the present time we see no reason to announce any changes.  But please be assured that we are monitoring the situation very closely and will do our best to manage the risks and ensure that a successful conference in held.

Rohan Samarajiva, CEO of CPRsouth’s administrative partner LIRNEasia

14 November 2011

Many who engage with Communication Policy Research south (CPRsouth), our primary vehicle for capacity building, are associated with the field of communication. It is a wide, sprawling field, which has experienced significant growth in Asia in recent times. An enterprising graduate student took the trouble to poll senior scholars on what they believed to be the most important task for communication scholarship. The responses are here. My views are also included

To read more click here

LIRNEasia seeks self-motivated and quality-conscious individuals as interns, a part of its Graduate fellowship Program. The position will be for a period of six months:

Interns are expected to:

• Deliver reliable, high-quality research on current projects and proposals under the guidance of a mentor
• Take responsibility for the quality of your work and ensure that the methodology is clear and well documented
• Summarize and logically present findings of your work so that results can be rapidly digested
• Communicate the findings through written, graphical or oral presentation
• Demonstrate self-confidence and initiative in the work you undertake
• Agree to a minimum 6-month commitment [i]

A high degree of competence in English is an absolute requirement. Knowledge of Tamil, Hindi, Chinese or a major Asian language will be a plus.

The ideal candidate should:

• have a good academic record in a numerate discipline that can be supported by output not limited to GPA and exam results
• be able to compile, synthesize and present facts clearly, and write material that presents the facts with clear accompanying analysis;

Academic qualifications and/or experience in one of the following fields will be a definite advantage: ICT/telecom industry, economics, law or public policy.

The application should consist of:

• The application form (Download the application form from http://tiny.cc/Internship)
• A research proposal that has overlap with LIRNEasia’s areas of research
• One-two page resume including achievements and phone/email contacts of two persons who can provide references

Areas of Research

• Role of Universities in Development. Universities in developing countries are exhorted to be more relevant, but their role is not well articulated. In preparation for a workshop on the theme to be held in December 2011, LIRNEasia will prepare a concept paper on the state of university research, teaching and service in Sri Lanka from the supply side as well as the demand side. Supply side metrics will include standard measures of university outputs while the demand side will include a survey of employers.

• Quality-based competition. Understanding quality-based competition and the policy and regulatory tools to ensure quality of service in ICT services is likely to be increasingly important as broadband diffuses.  The assignment will be a comprehensive literature survey anchored on seminal works by Albert Hirschman and George Akerlof.  This stream of work will be intersected with new research on behavioral economics associated with Daniel Kahneman and Richard Thayer.  It could lead to proposal writing and/or to a publication.

• Knowledge-based Economies (KBE). In the developing economies of Asia, agriculture continues to remain at the forefront of the economy. Despite often employing the highest share of labor, it is often the lowest contributor to the GDP. In light of this, LIRNEasia conducted a study of selected agriculture value chains in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka as well as a meta-study of existing studies in Thailand. The research work in this regard is nearing completion. However, the dissemination of the research still remains. The assignment will include playing an active role in ensuring the dissemination of the material including drafting on press releases and preparing presentations to relevant stakeholders. In addition, LIRNEasia has just conducted a micro enterprise survey on farmers and other non-growers. The assignment will also include analyzing the data sets and writing of academic papers. (http://lirneasia.net/projects/2010-12-idrc-main-project/knowledge-based-economies/ )

• Teleuse at the Bottom of the Pyramid (T@BOP4).  Teleuse at the bottom of the pyramid, or Teleuse@BOP, pioneered by LIRNEasia in 2005, is an unique series of cutting edge demand-side studies on ICT use among the BOP. It was one of the first large regional studies to assess demand for ICT services among emerging Asia’s BOP in a systematic way. Teleuse@BOP4 (2011) is currently underway. (http://lirneasia.net/projects/2010-12-idrc-main-project/teleusebop4/ )

• Indicators: Measuring the ICT sector/Industry performance  (http://lirneasia.net/projects/2008-2010/indicators-continued/)

What LIRNEasia offers

• Stimulating environment, working alongside high-caliber colleagues
• International exposure from working on cross-country projects
• Possibility of developing the research into a final-year thesis (for students returning to academic programs at the end of the internship).
• Remuneration in the form of a monthly allowance
• Accommodation will be provided for the duration of your stay inSri Lanka
• Airfare from your home city toColombowill also be provided

Previous interns

Previous interns included Aileen Aguero, Haymar Win Tun, Juhee Kang and Priyanwada Herath (http://lirneasia.net/about/lirneasia-alumni/).  As a result of the internship, Aileen and Juhee got a number of co-authored publications.

• Agüero, A., de Silva, H. & Kang, J. (2011) Bottom of the Pyramid expenditure patterns on mobile phone services in selected Emerging Asian countries. Information Technology and International Development, 7(3), special edition, to be published 10 September 2011.
• Sivapragasam, N. & Kang, J. (2011) The Future of the Public Phone: Findings from a six-country Asian study of telecom use at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Information Technology and International Development, 7(3), special edition, to be published 10 September 2011.
• Sivapragasam, N., Agüero, A. & de Silva, H. (2010).  The potential of mobile remittances for the bottom of the pyramid: findings from emerging Asia. INFO: The Journal of Policy, Regulation and Strategy for Telecommunications, Information and Media. Moreinformation: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1923885&show=html. Available at: http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Migrant-paper-Info-journal.pdf

Application submission

Download the application form from http://tiny.cc/Internship

Please submit your application and the other documents to info@cprsouth.org  by 30 September 2011.

Guest Editors
Xu Yan Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
Yu-Li Liu, National Cheng-chi University, Taiwan
Yun-Tsai Chou,  Yuan Ze University, Taiwan
Ting-jie Lu, Beijing University of Posts & Telecoms, PRC

Submission by September 1, 2011

The telecommunications has experienced radical changes in last decade.
>From technology perspective, the transition towards next generation
network (NGN) has dramatically accelerated in terms of quality, speed and
ubiquity. “Internet of Things” is becoming a reality and communications
has no longer been limited to person to person interactions.

>From business perspective, convergence is now a common phenomenon and
almost no single operator can claim itself as pure telecommunication
service provider. Innovative business models such as “Apple Store” have
broken the walled garden of mobile operators and have made it possible for
users to become application providers.

>From policy perspective, universal broadband access has been on the top
agenda of more and more governments. In addition to facilitating
Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), governments are trying hard to find creative
ways to allocate more spectrums for wireless broadband access. Another
concern of regulators is how to build-up trusted identities in the
Cyberspace.

All these changes in telecommunications have significant implications to
Chinese communities, be individual economies in the Great China region, or
Chinese communities living in Western or other regions. For instance, what
is the cultural implication of the fact that the Internet-based TV
broadcasting has enabled overseas Chinese to access almost every channel
of China Central TV (CCTV) for free? What is the real value for farmers in
the countryside of China to access broadband Internet?

This special issue of the Chinese Journal of Communication (CJoC) is to
address the latest dynamics of telecommunications in Chinese communities
from technology, business and policy perspectives. Topics could include
but are not limited to:

1.      Digital Divide
2.      Diffusion of New Services in Great China and other Chinese Communities
3.      Comparison of User Behavior of Chinese and Non-Chinese
4.      Towards Next Generation Network: Related Issues
5.      Media Convergence and Its Implications
6.      Telecommunications Business Innovation and Its Economic, Social and
Political Implications
7.      Competition: New Players and New Platforms
8.      User Roles and Social Networking
9.      Internet Governance
10.     Regulatory Framework in the Era of Convergence
11.     Spectrum: Technical, Commercial and  Regulatory Solutions
12.     Transformation of Traditional Telecommunications Operators

Both qualitative and quantitative approaches to the issue are welcome.
Collaboration of Chinese scholars and non-Chinese scholars are encouraged.
The purpose is to address the concerned issues in the Chinese communities
from cross-national perspectives.

Submissions should conform to the editorial guidelines of the Chinese
Journal of Communication to be found at http://www.informaworld.com/cjoc
under “Instructions for Authors.” Papers for consideration in this special
edition should be e-mailed to xuyan@ust.hk. Planed publication date is
September 2012.

Download: the Call for Papers in PDF format.

The CPRsouth6 Tutorial sessions will be held for Young Scholars on the fundamentals of technology, markets, regulation and policy.  It is intended to prepare them to become policy intellectuals and to give high quality research-based presentations.  The young scholars participating in the tutorials will also attend the CPRsouth6 conference that follows. Tutorials will be on 7-8 December 2011 and the conference on 9-10 December 2011.

Who will qualify?

• Entry level officers of government/regulatory agencies
• Entry/mid level officers of private companies in the communication industries
• Masters/PhD students in Economics, Public policy, Communications and Journalism
• Entry/mid level officers in NGOs/INGOs.
• Researchers from think tanks
• Journalists interested in regulation and public policy, with an emphasis in communication

For more info on submitting applications please visit here