#DATAevolution

by Kelley Johnson

According to NGO Malaria No More, Malaria could be the first disease to be cured by a mobile phone. No, there isn’t an app that dispenses medicine (yet…), but mobile technology is making collecting data about the disease easier and faster, helping the organization faster mobilize resources to stop malaria.

Graphic from Malaria No More about mobile phones fighting the disease.

In a pilot program in Tanzania called SMS for life, health care providers reported their stock of anti-malarial drugs to ensure that people didn’t seek treatment only to be told that the drugs they needed weren’t available. At the beginning of the mobile reporting, 26% of were out of the drugs at some point, but at the end of the reporting, the numbers were down to 1%.

A program in Nigeria worked with mobile phones to combat the problem of counterfeit anti-malarial drugs, letting patients confirm that the drugs they had purchased were genuine. These programs help to track medicines, which are an important step towards efficient management of resources.

In this example of Big Data for development, we see a collection of data that would normally be seen in a retail setting used for a higher purpose. The same technology is used by retailers to keep track of purchasing and stocking trends so that they can move around resources. We can see that technology that is originally developed for profit can have positive implications in the development world.

One of the common criticisms of Big Data for development is the lack of informed consent by study participants, but this example has no tracking of actual malaria patients, just medical supplies reported by healthcare providers.

References

https://www.malarianomore.org/news/blog/challenge-4-data-mobile

Taylor L, Schroeder R. 2015: Is bigger better? The emergence of big data as tool for international development policy. GeoJournal 11 october 2014

by Kelley Johnson

A capture from AIDSVU showing the prevalence of HIV in the Milwaukee, WI, USA compared with the population with a High School education.

AIDSVu is an interactive map that uses data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to visually display people living with HIV in the United States. The map breaks down other factors than a person’s diagnosis, including poverty, education level, income inequality and whether or not people in the area have health insurance. The AIDSVu maps are an excellent example of how Big Data can be used in the field of development.

A capture from AIDSVu

Although the information contained in the report is from several reports done by the CDC, it presents it in a much more accessible format and collects it all in one place for easy and open access.

This data meets the two UN Global Pulse report’s criteria (as referenced by our definition article about Big Data) for big data and development. It contextualizes the data by comparing several factors so that even a casual reader can see that certain areas have higher levels of the disease. The information is sophisticated and accessible, with countless uses for organizations that work to help people with the disease. For example, the map breaks the data down according to how people living in that county became infected, an invaluable resource for health departments and community organizations working towards prevention. The website also provides resources for testing and care.

Sources:

http://aidsvu.org/

http://www.unglobalpulse.org/sites/default/files/BigDataforDevelopment-GlobalPulseMay2012.pdf

by Kelley Johnson

Photo courtesy of The White House’s Flickr showing President Obama participating in a Twitter question and answer session.

In the article Blogs and Bullets: New Media in Contentious Politics, we learn how to analyze new media for its effect on politics. There are five levels of analysis that the article explores, and three of these levels can be seen easily in contemporary American politics.

Individual Transformation

This concept makes politics more accessible than traditional forms of media such as news broadcasts or articles, and can change the way people understand information about politics. However, it can make people more passive in their political participation, for example by choosing to tweet about something instead of attending a rally.

An example of this transformation in the 2016 American Presidential election was the Democratic debate on November 14. Using the hashtag #demdebate, users reacted in real time to the debate, including Republican contender Donald Trump. The moderator in the debate even mentioned the online comments when she framed additional questions to the candidates. Without this forum, the average interested viewer trying to decide who to vote for would have no chance to change the focus of the questions to what they want to hear about.

Intergroup Relations

Intergroup Relations builds upon the idea that you can use the internet to facilitate communication between disparate groups. It can also be that it is even more polarizing, as many social media users have seen, being used by opposing groups to trade barbs about important political issues.

One example of intergroup relations is the use of the hashtag #lovewins, created in order to celebrate the American Supreme Court descision legalizing gay marriage throughout the country. Obviously the hastag garnered a lot of support and positive messages, but, as all hashtags, it could also be used for negative comments. It is a way to gather all commentary about the issue.

Collective Action

During the Arab Spring, new media forms such as Facebook and Twitter, came onto the scene as a meaningful way for the revolution to burn. These forms of communication can help get around an oppressive government, a way to protest without the risk of assembling, or a way to communicate with other supporters of a movement without having to be physically together. A large social media campaign can encourage people who would not have been active to come forward, once they see popular support is so large.

An example of this is contemporary American politics is the Black Lives Matter movement, including the #blacklivesmatter hashtag, which gathered support throughout the country and the world, and started a meaningful conversation about violence.

Conclusion
These three factors in particular can help us to examine the effect of new media on politics. As evidenced by the examples above, New Media has a great effect on politics, and will continue to have a greater effect as these variations of media permeate the mainstream and influence the course of elections, movements and activism.

References 

Aday, S., Farrell, H., Lynch, M. et al. 2010: Blogs and Bullets: New Media in Contentious Politics, Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

http://www.ibtimes.com/democratic-debate-2016-live-updates-best-twitter-reactions-memes-analysis-it-happens-2182594

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/11/14/hillary_clinton_took_a_tough_9_11_question_from_twitter_during_the_debate.html

http://www.hrc.org/blog/advocates-allies-celebrities-and-companies-celebrate-historic-supreme-court

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/us/black-lives-matter-evolution/