The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 21 to 35.
Software Day Info
https://cis-india.org/a2k/publications/software-freedom-info
<b>An information about the competition.</b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/publications/software-freedom-info'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/publications/software-freedom-info</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaConferenceWorkshopCampaignAccess to Knowledge2011-08-22T13:24:42ZFileConsilience 2010 Report
https://cis-india.org/a2k/publications/consilience-2010
<b>A report of the proceedings</b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/publications/consilience-2010'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/publications/consilience-2010</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaWorkshopAccess to Knowledge2011-08-22T13:25:25ZFileOngoing Proof-reading Effort by ALC Student Wikimedians in Telugu Wikisource
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/ongoing-proof-reading-effort-by-alc-student-wikimedians-in-telugu-wikisource
<b>Student Wikimedians at Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada formatted and proof-read more than 1,900 folios in Telugu Wikisource during the last few weeks of November (2016). Each day, a group of twenty students uses the lab facility provided by the college after regular classes to make necessary formatting changes and fix spelling mistakes in the folios of books available in Telugu Wikisource. Till date, the student Wikipedians have proofread eight books.</b>
<p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">The work was initiated and supported by CIS-A2K members who organized a proofreading workshop of the <a href="https://te.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%B0%B8%E0%B1%82%E0%B0%9A%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95:Bible_Bhashya_Samputavali_Volume_02_Bible_Bodhanalu_P_Jojayya_2003_280_P.pdf">Bible Bhashya Samputavali Volume 06</a> on Telugu Wikisource in Andhra Loyola College during 18 to 20 November 2016. During the workshop, Telugu Wikimedian Gullapalli Nageswara Rao (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Nrgullapalli">User:Nrgullapalli</a>), along with CIS-A2K community advocate Pavan Santhosh helped students to learn about the process of digitizing book in Telugu Wikisource and other formatting aspects involved. In this event, nearly twenty students picked up the skills required to proof-read a book as well as the formatting techniques in Telugu Wikisource. Some students had also started to proof-read three other books that are currently available in Telugu Wikisource.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><img src="https://cis-india.org/ALC_Wikisource_workshop_November_2016.jpg/image_preview" alt="ALC Wikisource Workshop" class="image-inline image-inline" title="ALC Wikisource Workshop" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-876383aa-4f4a-6ed7-5efb-e440c9687414">This event also marked great effort and accomplishment of promoting gender balance and diversity in local community events — as the organizers and institution successfully assured a minimum 50% female participation rate throughout the three days. CIS-A2K member Ting-Yi Chang also gave a short introduction to the participants about the issue in Wikipedia (media) Gender Gap. Students who had previous Wikipedia editing experience at the ALC were also invited to the session, rendering around thirty female audience. The presentation included small brainstorm activities for students to discuss reasons behind the gender asymmetry online and on Wikipedia/media projects, as well as how we as community members can make a difference to help women feel more welcomed.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">A follow-up Wikisource session was conducted on 25 and 26 November 2016 for students to learn about the remaining steps in digitization and the OCR tool. Thanks to encouragement and motivation given by Principal Rev. Fr., Dr. Peter Kishore, staff members Prof. Siva Kumari, and Dr. K. Sekhar, the student Wikipedians had started to contribute to Wikisource after class for at least a couple of hours every day. These events and accomplishments show remarkable efforts and dedication from both student Wikimedians and the institutional partner.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;" dir="ltr"><img src="https://cis-india.org/Gender_gap_awareness_session_in_ALC_3.jpg/image_mini" alt="Gender Gap Awareness session in ALC" class="image-inline" title="Gender Gap Awareness session in ALC" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/ongoing-proof-reading-effort-by-alc-student-wikimedians-in-telugu-wikisource'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/ongoing-proof-reading-effort-by-alc-student-wikimedians-in-telugu-wikisource</a>
</p>
No publisherPavan Santosh & Ting-Yi ChangTelugu WikisourceCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaWikipedia gender gapWorkshopTelugu Wikipedia2016-12-30T11:00:09ZBlog EntryHabits of Living Thinkathon — Day 2 Live Blog: Deepak Menon on Water in India
https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-water-in-india
<b>The Habits of Living Thinkathon (Thinking Marathon) is being hosted by the Centre for Internet and Society in Bengaluru, India, from September 26 to 29, 2012. The event brings together a range of multidisciplinary scholars and practitioners. The workshop aims to generate a dialogue on the notion of surrogate structures that have become visible landmarks of contemporary life, and produce new conceptual frameworks to help us understand networks and the ways in which they inform our everyday practice and thought. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Deepak Menon welcomes us into his world by asking a very common question: Why is water in India of such bad quality?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">He begins by pointing out that different groups with different ideologies have varying views on water in India, and very few of these multitudes of groups actually interact with one another to share their knowledge or work together. What is clear, though, is that water is integral to Indian life, and that the major problems associated with water are those surrounding drinking water and sanitation. Most of the drinking water in India is surface water, and most of the surface water is contaminated, which has spurned an interest in using groundwater. Fifteen years ago in Bangalore, apartment buildings were built close to groundwater reserves — now, even some of the most expensive housing is built without proximity to a water resource, so water must be brought in from other areas in large quantities. Groundwater is a large issue as well, as the deeper you drill into groundwater aquifers, the more contaminants are in the water — and they are dangerous to health. Doctors are constantly treating the symptoms of contaminated water without even knowing that the cause is bad water, and this lack of knowledge is widespread across India, except for those that work in the water industry.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Ministry of Health is not connected or in regular dialogue with the ministry of water management — so no one but the water ministry touches water issues. This lack of knowledge sharing and co-operation is pervasive throughout many Indian spheres, which is why, for Deepak, the process of network creation becomes an important comprehension point. How do we create a network, especially one with the purpose of disseminating knowledge to multiple spheres of society? How do we coordinate multiple actors to mobilize these networks? How do we create both online and offline networks that engage multiple groups? Many associations or appropriate groups are uninterested in talking to one another, so how do we get these groups talking? If we are unable to connect groups within one sector, how will we do it between sectors or even regions?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Deepak is interested in a model of network existence and creation. It's hard to create a network if many basic questions (How much time does it take? How long will it last) have no answers. Issues of structure also complicate the inclusion or participation of particular actors into a network framework — some individuals and groups are not used to working in non-hierarchal environments. How do we form long-lasting networks between different groups? Does the process differ between online and offline networks?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One participant reflected on the over-drawing of water and its relation with corruption — does corruption enable over-use of water resources? Deepak responded that this happens in both industrial and private use of water, as well as many other spheres in Indian society. The participant also put forth the idea of using mobile technology to collectively map water resources. Deepak pointed out that again, this is an issue of the creation of networks — if we were able to create the collective interest in creating this mapping activity, then it would be very useful, but so far, attempts to create the needed networks have not been successful. Crowd mapping was also suggested, and it was pointed out that thinking about crowd-mapping groups is a good exercise in envisioning the kinds specifics of the networks that need to be created.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Another participant pointed out that much of the dialogue about and interaction with water exists within traditional knowledge systems, so we must be aware of these systems of consumption and understanding when dealing with water in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Deepak finishes by asking us to consider the following three questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>When have you felt most networked in your life? When do you experience a network?</li>
<li>List networks that you are part of online and offline.</li>
<li>What are the few defining characteristics that you felt that these networks possessed?</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While I do believe that networks often become apparent when you are excluded for them, as Nishant discussed on our first day, in my own experience, the identification of a network structure in an environment, I originally thought was hierarchical was when I felt the most networked. However, I have experienced my own belonging to networks before this point, but I believe that I viewed those networks that are relevant in my own life as being predominately social. I tend to see membership to most networks as being involuntary, but I believe that this stems from quite a narrow comprehension of network theory.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As for Deepak’s discussion, I believe that the search for a methodology for the creation of networks could be problematic. If it is true that the moment we see a network in its entirety is the moment that the network falls into crisis, what does this say about the essence of a network that was actively created with a specific goal in mind? Is it sustainable if the nature that connects the nodes of the network is not inherent or invisible, but constructed and clearly understood by all members? And what does this say about the orchestrator or architect of the network? When a tangible entity constructs a network, is this a hierarchical process? Can it result in a network, or is the structure created inherently hierarchical?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If you're interested in being part of this dialogue, please tweet your answers to these questions to #hol12!</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-water-in-india'>https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-water-in-india</a>
</p>
No publisherJadine LannonLive BlogThinkathonHabits of LivingDigital HumanitiesWorkshop2012-10-09T05:14:53ZBlog EntryHabits of Living Thinkathon — Day 2 Live Blog: On Technology and Affective Indian Feminism(s)
https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-technology-and-feminism
<b>The Habits of Living Thinkathon (Thinking Marathon) is being hosted by the Centre for Internet and Society in Bengaluru, India, from September 26 to 29, 2012. The event brings together a range of multidisciplinary scholars and practitioners. The workshop aims to generate a dialogue on the notion of surrogate structures that have become visible landmarks of contemporary life, and produce new conceptual frameworks to help us understand networks and the ways in which they inform our everyday practice and thought. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Saumya Pant from the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad begins the day with a controversial and important talk "For the Love of Child? The Economy of Desire in Cases of Transnational Surrogacy". Pant invites us into the taboo world of international couples travelling to India to receive a child from a surrogate mother. After Oprah featured a story on Indian commercial surrogacy mothers, India has seen a surfeit of foreign couples looking for a — comparatively inexpensive — surrogate mother. Surrogate mothers must be between 20 to 45 years old, married, and have at least one child. They stay in carefully regulated spaces and are provided with vitamins, extravagant meals, and access to a television. Inspired by Sara Ahmed’s theory of <i>affective economies</i>, Pant is interested in privileging the narratives of the Indian surrogates themselves. What motivates them to participate in this emotional journal of ten months?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Inspired by transnational feminist analyses, Pant concedes that one’s privilege in the world system is always linked to another women’s oppression and exploitation. However Pant wants to push and tease out this analysis — asking us to re-imagine the agency and affectual relations that mediate these surrogacy interactions. Pant shows how emotions actually <i>do</i> things in these interactions. Emotions circulate and create relationships of attachment between child, surrogate mother, commercial parents. This affect is not permanent, rather it is ephemeral. Pant traces these circulations of economies of hope and love and shows how Indian surrogate mothers position themselves as a 'giver' — in the most non-capitalist sense of the idea — to construct and experience surrogacy as a legitimate choice.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Pant’s project raised serious issues of methodology for the participants. One participant felt that in the turn to affect theory, we neglect the very real experiences of pain and exploitation that are apparent in these interactions. All in attendance re-iterated the importance of understanding <i>how women perceive their own bodies</i>, versus the various theories that govern how they <i>should</i> see their bodies. Others discussed how this project presents a useful opportunity to tease out the ‘body’ from the ‘bodily.’</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Indeed, it seems as if Pant has stumbled on a very compelling research project — one which raises serious questions of (post)colonialism, citizenship, tourism, ethics, among others. I’m particularly intrigued by exploring the possibility of the Indian surrogate mother as a <i>Global South</i> queer figure. Much theorising in Western queer scholarship (especially explorations in queer temporality) has positioned ‘queerness’ as opposed to ‘reproduction.’ The surrogate mother calls this framing into question – how is reproduction mapped differently on bodies of women of color in the Global South? How can we imagine queer ways of actually participating in reproductive economies?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Gita Chadha from Mumbai ended the day by sharing her perspective on Thinkathon themes from her background in Feminist Science Studies. Chadha begin with raising her concerns with the metaphor of surrogacy — what does it mean to use a metaphor that is derived from such a potentially traumatic and embodied situation of women? Chadha outlines a brief history of the development of South Asian Feminist Science studies and then follows this summary by asserting that there are three major relational cognitive-affects of modernity that we continue to produce in postmodern times: the self system, the truth system, and the community system. For Chadha, the wholeness of these categories is contested in contemporary times with the digital turn: the self becomes hyphenated, the truth becomes destabilised, and the community fractured.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Coming at this digital moment from a feminist background Chadha reminds us how feminist positions on technology have shifted from viewing women as victims of technology to women as active claimants of technology. She then highlighted the particular challenge of Indian feminists who discuss issues of technology in negotiating their relationship to Western scholarship, including Dona Harraway. After reviewing this genealogy, Chadha argues that currently the real and the virtual in a sense serve as surrogates for each other and deliver a sense of self, a notion of truth(iness), and experience of community.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Chadha concludes by applying this feminist epistemology to the Pink <i>Chaddi</i> Campaign — a recent expression of ‘collective rage’ put forth by Indian women tired of the State’s regulation of the public space. Chadha draws our attention to the way that digital media was central to this campaign. While some critical feminist voices felt that the use of the <i>chaddi</i> in this campaign undermined the seriousness of the issue of violence against women, Chadha asks us to see how truth and community shift and are mediated by technology in these campaign spaces.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Chadha’s framework allowed participants to talk about how what gets lost in science is the technology of science itself – how science valorises one scholar at the cost of collaborative processes. Once again questions of the efficacy of the visual domain arise. What does it mean to prioritise the visual within the affective turn? What also emerges is the ability to assert a truth with limited knowledge.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I find Chadha’s commitment toward feminism as a particular epistemological/theoretical perspective (versus simply a mode of activism) very important. Discussions in media/digital theory often assume a de-gendered subject and Chadha does good work in bringing in the critical question of gender difference within our discussion of theory and networks.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-technology-and-feminism'>https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-technology-and-feminism</a>
</p>
No publisheralokLive BlogThinkathonHabits of LivingDigital HumanitiesWorkshop2012-10-09T09:39:08ZBlog EntryHabits of Living Thinkathon — Day 2 Live Blog: Radhika Gajjala Lectures on e-Philanthropy
https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-radhika-gajjala-lectures-on-e-philanthropy
<b>The Habits of Living Thinkathon (Thinking Marathon) is being hosted by the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India, from September 26 to 29, 2012. The event brings together a range of multi-disciplinary scholars and practitioners. The aim of the workshop is to generate a dialogue on the notion of surrogate structures that have become visible landmarks of contemporary life, and to produce new conceptual frameworks to help us understand networks and the ways in which they inform our everyday practice and thought. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Today, Radhika Gajalla gave a lecture about a body of work which she called as "Emerging forms of Surrogacy, E-Philanthropy and Digital Globalization through Online Micro-transactional Platforms". It looks at online micro-transaction platforms. She ran us through some of the history of micro-finance theory, from Yunis' methods of female empowerment to micro-finance as a profit-generating activity, and the newer online micro-finance platforms like KIVA, microplace and CARE's online micro-finance portal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Radhika also spoke about labor organization and supply chains forming for handicraft micro-enterprises in India. She identified two categories of platforms that entrepreneurs could use: sites that link buyers directly to producers, like Etsy and Ebay, and mirco-finance websites that solicit (usually Western) donors. In some cases, resources like Ebay cannot be used in India (or couldn’t in the past) because of barriers like the banning of paypal, and there is more demand for the micro-finance platforms from lenders (Westerners); these forces have worked to make the empowered entrepreneur a much more legitimate and accessible image for lenders.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Consequently, Radhika begins to identify the politics of imagery on online micro-finance platforms, and identified two aspects of the images common on these online platforms: the empowered receiver (who is being directly empowered by the loans) and the empowered giver (who is being made to feel good by being enablers for these receivers). The images being used by the MFIs are strategically used to create the sense of connection or the belonging to mutual networks with the lenders — an example of this is individuals in the West who weave seeing a picture of an Indian weaver and want to fund her not just because they interpret her as poor but also as a fellow weaver. This philanthropic model of giving also uses guilt relief as a motivation — the return on the loan is the relief of guilt.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the participant discussions, it was pointed out that the images also spur lending through the promise of improving lives. Also, this concept of using moral responsibility to prompt giving can be paralleled with the movement in Western business spheres of social responsibility.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Another participant brought up the idea of mobilization, and asks us to think about what mobilizes individuals or groups to give in to these micro-finance organizations? Is it really hope, or is it shame? To what extent can these really motivate us?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Further, participant interaction caused us to wonder if, on websites like KIVA, both lenders and receivers become nodes and entry-points into new networks, or even the sites of new network creation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As for my own thoughts, I was particularly interested in a point that one participant made on the expression of poverty in the images on KIVA: they do not showcase destitution. While they are images of poverty, they are also images of hope — the colours are bright, the subjects are smiling. Are these images much more powerful as motivators for Western donations because Westerners are desensitized to images of destitute poverty? Or are they just more accessible to Western viewers?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While destitution suggests a rigidity of causal structures that cannot be altered by either the subject or the viewer, the image of the smiling Indian woman standing in front of the spinning wheel expresses the concept that poverty is escapable using the inherent tools and skills possessed by the subject, to the only thing missing that is capital — an idea that is much more accessible to the Western donor. It is also possible that the movement in international aid and development media from images of destitution to images of hope impresses upon the donor that there has been progress in the Global South, possibly progress that can be attributed to actions of Western development initiatives, which legitimizes the donation by implicating that improvement is possible and currently taking place.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Continue to follow our live blog of the Thinkathon for more thought-provoking discussion!</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-radhika-gajjala-lectures-on-e-philanthropy'>https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-radhika-gajjala-lectures-on-e-philanthropy</a>
</p>
No publisherJadine LannonLive BlogThinkathonHabits of LivingDigital NativesWorkshop2012-10-09T05:40:08ZBlog EntryHabits of Living Thinkathon — Day 4 Live Blog: Finding and Funding the Masses
https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-4-finding-and-funding-the-masses
<b>The Habits of Living Thinkathon (Thinking Marathon) is being hosted by the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India, from September 26 to 29, 2012. The event brings together a range of multi-disciplinary scholars and practitioners. The aim of the workshop is to generate a dialogue on the notion of surrogate structures that have become visible landmarks of contemporary life, and to produce new conceptual frameworks to help us understand networks and the ways in which they inform our everyday practice and thought. </b>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant Shah of the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore began the final day of the THinkathon with his presentation “Citizen action in the time of the network: beyond spectacles of change.” Nishant begins by describing the climate of the current digital moment. We are dealing with unprecedented questions of territory. Democratic states are facing resistance with their promising notes for the future. With increasingly queer boundaries between ‘citizen’ and ‘State’ mediated by digital relations, we are looking at a radical re-imagining of the role of the State and its sovereignty.</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">These past few years – in the midst of the Arab Spring – we’ve heard a lot about the <i>new</i> era of digital activism. Shah is interested in pinpointing what is actually ‘new’ about this activism. He begins with a bold assertion: this newness is indicative of new forms of citizen action, but not necessarily <i>new infrastructures</i> of activism. Shah argues that what is actually ‘new’ about this activism is that these digital technologies present an imperative that (activist) events be rendered intelligible and accessible within their paradigms. These technologies presume that a legible and intelligible network exists, despite temporal and geographical differences. What becomes evident is that the system makes invisible those actions that cannot be interpreted by the system – they only recognise actions that can be accounted for by the system. The study of networks presents a problematic proposition because of its self-referential network – any phenomenon is explained only through its relationality with other phenomena. To illustrate this, Shah presents the provocative question: “If a tree falls in a lonely forest and nobody tweets about it, has it really fallen?” The very acts of witnessing have been replaced by tools of networking.</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">Shah roots his epistemology within a case study of the Shanzhai Spring Festival Gala in China. He shows how discourse around this event has marked it as a ‘failed’ event and representative of how there can be no citizen action within authoritarian contexts. Shah suggests that another way of looking at this event is a phenomenon which cannot be accounted for by the network – a radical critique presented by activists that cannot be rendered intelligible by the current system. This raises a larger anxiety for Shah and the participants: if events do not become accessible it always gets counted as a failure and gets lost in public memory.</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">Shah’s presentation raised vibrant discussion on the politics of visibility, knowing, and the avante-garde. Participants suggested that Nishant look into the work of artists and theorists like Ariella Azoulay who attempt to conceptualise actions outside of the paradigm of rights, citizenship, and propriety. What does it mean to do in action <i>knowing</i> that it will be shut down – a politics of despair, if you will. What also becomes apparent is the <i>limits</i> of revolution – there has not been a transformation of a system. Rather, the system has included more citizens into its fold. The conversation reveals that we need to find a more critical way to discuss networks – a language in which the network is not clichéd, but rather porous.</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">Renée Ridgway from NEWS Amsterdam follow’s Shah’s presentation with her presentation “Surrogacy: Bodies, States, Networks: Crowdfunding for funding the crowds, a new model for the distribution of wealth?” Ridgway takes a departure from other presentations by directly implicated the participants in one of her current art projects. Ridgway reviews one of her current research-art projects on documenting indigenous plants in Kochin Kerela – a location with histories of Dutch colonialism. Ridgway has visited and exhibited in Kerela in the past and is now interested in expanding on her work and developing a documentary about these issues. She asks the participants: how does she fund this project without the State?</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">In rooting questions of State reparation, (neo)colonialism, race, and other central political questions within a tangible project – Ridgway invites the crowd into critical discussion. Participants remain wary of the way in which technology can serve as a ‘trojan horse’ to build collaboration with communities. What becomes apparent is that Ridgway, as an artist, has become a surrogate for the State for the people she worked with on the project in India. Questions of collaboration remained central to this discussion – how do we imagine collaboration as a condition of care by the network, one that requires investment and material labour to perform a particular task. Also, questions of neoliberalism emerged. What is a collective process that relies on affective and material labour by diverse peoples becomes lost in the narrative of ‘individual’ artist.</p>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify; ">I share participants concern that we complicate the role of an artist. What becomes apparent is that dynamics of class, race, and (neo)colonilism can manifest themselves in the technological realm. While I agree that technology can present a compelling platform to explore solidarities and collaborations across difference, it can simultaneously function as a site that reifies these oppressions.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-4-finding-and-funding-the-masses'>https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-4-finding-and-funding-the-masses</a>
</p>
No publisheralokLive BlogThinkathonHabits of LivingDigital HumanitiesWorkshop2012-10-09T06:55:50ZBlog EntryWikipedia Workshop on Template Creation and Modification Conducted in Bengaluru
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-workshop-on-template-creation-and-modification-conducted-in-bengaluru
<b>A Wikipedia workshop on template creation, modification was conducted in Bengaluru on 30 July 2017. Here is a report.</b>
<p>A Wikipedia workshop on template creation, modification was conducted in Bengaluru on 30 July 2017. 9 Wikipedians, mostly associated with <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Karavali_Wikimedians">Karavali Wikimedians</a> and Kannada Wikimedia projects attended the workshop. A template is a Wikipedia page created to be included in other pages. Templates usually contain repetitive material that might need to show up on any number of articles or pages. They are commonly used for boilerplate messages, standard warnings or notices, infoboxes, navigational boxes and similar purposes.<sup>1</sup> The workshop was requested by Kannada Wikimedians.</p>
<p>The workshop started with explaining template and its importance. This was followed by discussing structure of a template, and creation of a simple template with a couple of variables. This activity continued for sometime, and designing a template with CSS markup was shown. Following this different types of templates such as infobox, navbox, sidebar, informational templates such as Hatnote were shown and discussed. On Wikipedia there is a Special page with a list of wanted templates. The participants studied the page and started making a list of templates they should create or improve. It was found that a good number of templates on Kannada Wikipedia don't have proper documentation in native languages. The participants came to a conclusion that attempts should be made to properly localize the template. During the workshop the participants spent sometime to translate and localize some template documentations.</p>
<p>The workshop was a preliminary one in nature and should be followed up by an advanced workshop.</p>
<h2>Image credit<br /></h2>
<ul><li>
<a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kannada_wiki_workshop_on_Template_02.jpg">File:Kannada wiki workshop on Template 02.jp</a>g by <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Gopala_Krishna_A">User:Gopala Krishna A</a> from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license<br /></li></ul>
<h2>Footnotes</h2>
<ol><li><a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Template">Help:Template</a> on English Wikipedia, accessed 10 August 2017</li><li>Special:WantedTemplates on a Wikipedia<br /></li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-workshop-on-template-creation-and-modification-conducted-in-bengaluru'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-workshop-on-template-creation-and-modification-conducted-in-bengaluru</a>
</p>
No publishertitoWikipediaWorkshopKannada WikipediaAccess to Knowledge2017-08-10T06:48:26ZBlog EntryKannada Wikipedia Workshop
https://cis-india.org/openness/events/kannada-wikipedia-workshop
<b>A Kannada Wikipedia workshop is being organized by the Centre for Internet and Society in Mysore on March 24, 2013. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja will be participating in this workshop. The one day workshop will begin at 10 a.m. in the morning and shall end at 5.00 p.m. in the evening.</b>
<h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading"><span dir="auto">ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ:ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನ/೯</span></h1>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸೇರಿಸುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೪ರಂದು ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಿಟ್ಯೂಶನ್ ಆಫ್ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ಸ್ ಸಭಾಂಗಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡದ ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶದ ಸಂಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಉಳ್ಳವರು, ಬ್ಲಾಗಿಗರು, ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರು, ಲೇಖಕರು ಎಲ್ಲ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬಹುದು.</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.AE.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.AE.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B2.E0.B2.A8.E0.B2.A6_.E0.B2.89.E0.B2.A6.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.A6.E0.B3.87.E0.B2.B6">ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನದ ಉದ್ದೇಶ</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಪರಿಚಯ</li>
<li>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಪಾದಕ ಆಗುವ ವಿಧಾನ</li>
<li>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪ್ರಾತ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಕೆ</li>
<li>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪ್ರಾತ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಕೆ</li>
<li>ಕನ್ನಡದ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಲೇ ಬೇಕಾದ ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುವುದು</li>
<li>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಲೇಖನ ಮತ್ತು ಚಿತ್ರ ಸೇರಿಸುವುದು</li>
</ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.AF.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.AD.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.97.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.AC.E0.B2.B9.E0.B3.81.E0.B2.A6.E0.B3.81">ಯಾರು ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬಹುದು</span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ಕನ್ನಡದ ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶದ ಸಂಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಉಳ್ಳವರು, ಬ್ಲಾಗಿಗರು, ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರು, ಲೇಖಕರು, ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಗರು(ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಾದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಉಳ್ಳವರು)</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.A6.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.A8.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.82.E0.B2.95_.E0.B2.AE.E0.B2.A4.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.A4.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.A5.E0.B2.B3">ದಿನಾಂಕ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಥಳ</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಿಟ್ಯೂಶನ್ ಆಫ್ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ಸ್</b></li>
</ul>
<p>ಜೆ.ಎಲ್.ಬಿ. ರಸ್ತೆ<br /> ಮೈಸೂರು - ೫೭೦೦೦೫</p>
<ul>
<li><b>ದಿನಾಂಕ</b>: ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೪, ೨೦೧೩, ಭಾನುವಾರ (ಇಡೀ ದಿನ)</li>
</ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.95.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.AF.E0.B2.95.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.B0.E0.B2.AE_.E0.B2.AA.E0.B2.9F.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.9F.E0.B2.BF">ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಪಟ್ಟಿ</span></h2>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಸಮಯ</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಕಾರ್ಯಸೂಚಿ</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಮಾತನಾಡುವವರು</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಟಿಪ್ಪಣಿ, ಉಪಯೋಗ</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೯:೫೦ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ</td>
<td>ನೊಂದಣಿ</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರು/ಇ-ಅಂಚೆ/ಮೊಬೈಲ್/ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಬಳಕೆದಾರರ ಹೆಸರು ಜೊತೆಗೆ,<br /> ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದರ ಉದ್ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಸ್ವಾಗತಕಾರರ ಬಳಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೦:೦೦</td>
<td>ಸ್ವಾಗತ</td>
<td>ಪವನಜ</td>
<td>ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರ ಪ್ರತಿಪಲಾಪೇಕ್ಷೆಗಳ ವಿವರಣೆ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೦:೧೫ - ೧೧:೧೫</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ</td>
<td>ಪವನಜ</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಎಂದರೆ ಏನು?<br /> ಇದನ್ನು ಸಂಪಾದಿಸುವವರು ಯಾರು ಮತ್ತು ಏಕೆ?<br /> ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದ ಇತರೆ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳು</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೧:೧೫ - ೧೧:೩೦</td>
<td align="center" colspan="3">ಚಾ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೧:೩೦ - ೧೨:೦೦</td>
<td>ಕ್ರಿಯೇಟಿವ್ ಕಾಮನ್ಸ್</td>
<td>ಕಿರಣ್ ರವಿಕುಮಾರ್</td>
<td>ಕ್ರಿಯೆಟೀವ್ ಕಾಮನ್ಸ್ (Creative Commons) ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿವರಣೆ.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೨:೦೦ - ೧೩:೦೦</td>
<td>ಪ್ರಾತ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಕೆ</td>
<td>ಪವನಜ</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕ ಆಗುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ, ಸಂಪಾದಿಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ, ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೩:೦೦ - ೧೪:೦೦</td>
<td align="center" colspan="3">ಊಟ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೪:೦೦ - ೧೪:೧೫</td>
<td>ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ೧೦೦೦ ಯೋಜನೆ ಪರಿಚಯ</td>
<td>ಪವನಜ</td>
<td>ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ,<br /> ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಆಯ್ಕೆಯ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಲೇಖನಗಳ ಸಂಪಾದನೆ, ಪರಿಷ್ಕರಣೆ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ, ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವಿಕೆ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೪:೧೫ - ಕೊನೆಯವರೆಗೆ</td>
<td>ಪ್ರಯೋಗ (hands-on)</td>
<td>ಎಲ್ಲರೂ</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.AF.E0.B2.82.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.87.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.95.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81">ಸ್ವಯಂಸೇವಕರು</span></h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF:Pavanaja" title="ಸದಸ್ಯ:Pavanaja">Pavanaja</a> (<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%B0_%E0%B2%9A%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9A%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%9F:Pavanaja" title="ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಚರ್ಚೆಪುಟ:Pavanaja">talk</a>) ೦೭:೩೭, ೧೧ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೦೧೩ (UTC)</li>
<li>ಕಿರಣ್ ರವಿಕುಮಾರ್</li>
<li>ನವೀನ್ ಜೋಯಿಸ್</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.AD.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.97.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.B2.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.87.E0.B2.9A.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.9B.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.81.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81">ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಲು ಇಚ್ಛಿಸುವವರು</span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ನೀವೂ ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗಲು ಇಚ್ಚಿಸುವುದಾದರೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು # ಮುಂದೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿ ಅಥವಾ ~ ಅನ್ನು ನಾಲ್ಕು ಭಾರಿ ಟೈಪಿಸಿ ಸಹಿ ಮಾಡಿ.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>ಹಾಲತಿ ಸೋಮಶೇಖರ</li>
<li>ಮಾಲಿನಿ ಅಭ್ಯಂಕರ್</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.AE.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.AE.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B2.E0.B2.A8.E0.B2.95.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.95.E0.B3.86_.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.AF">ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಹಾಯ</span></h2>
<dl style="text-align: justify; "><dt>ಬೆಂಬಲ</dt></dl>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ ನೆಟ್ ಅಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು</li>
</ul>
<dl style="text-align: justify; "><dt>ಉಪಯುಕ್ತ ಕೊಂಡಿಗಳು</dt><dt>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.82.E0.B2.9A.E0.B2.A8.E0.B3.86">ಸೂಚನೆ</span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವವರು ಲ್ಯಾಪ್ಟಾಪ್, ಪವರ್ ಸ್ಟ್ರಿಪ್ (extension switchboard) ಮತ್ತು ಅಂತರಜಾಲ ಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಡಾಂಗಲ್ ತಂದರೆ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು.</p>
</dt></dl><ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/events/kannada-wikipedia-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/openness/events/kannada-wikipedia-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaWorkshopOpennessEvent2013-03-15T09:52:18ZEventMarathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal, Satara
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-dalit-mahila-vikas-mandal-satara
<b></b>
<p>A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at the Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal in Satara on 4 August 2017. The organisation, working on issues of women's rights, gender, justice and violence against women, was given an introduction to editing on Wikipedia. Voluntary organisation Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal is eager to implement innovative projects for the students and field activists. It has decided to integrate Wikimedia Projects and training modules for capacity building of students and movement volunteers. To get the overall introduction of Wikimedia Projects and basic skills, this workshop was organised for faculty and selected students. The edit-a-thon was attended by 10 female and 5 male participants. </p>
<p>Sana Patel, a participant emphasises, "I realised the need to contribute gender related content. It is very important to write about women's issues and laws'. The edit-a-thon resulted in 13 new editors discovering Wikipedia for the first time. 20 articles were improved and five images were uploaded. A follow-up workshop on building content on women-related issues has been planned with the Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal as well as other like-minded organisations in Satara. Onkar Tapase, a participant opines, "as a journalist, I see a great potential to contribute" </p>
<p>The meta page of the event can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Edit-a-thon_at_Muktangan_Naw_Vichar_Prerana_Kendra,Satara">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-dalit-mahila-vikas-mandal-satara'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-dalit-mahila-vikas-mandal-satara</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaWorkshopMarathi Wikisource2017-10-24T11:52:24ZBlog EntryWikipedia Workshop for Kannada Science Writers
https://cis-india.org/openness/events/wikipedia-workshop-for-kannada-science-writers
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society in partnership with Wikimedia Chapter India and KRVP, Bangalore, is organizing a workshop for Kannada science writers at Karnataka Rajya Vijnana Parishath Conference Hall in Banashankari, Bangalore on March 17, 2013. The one day workshop shall begin at 10 a.m. in the morning and will conclude at 5.00 p.m. in the evening. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja will be participating in the event.</b>
<hr />
<p>The information was published in the Kannada wikipedia page <a class="external-link" href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B5%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%95%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%80%E0%B2%A1%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%AF:%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%AE%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AE%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%B2%E0%B2%A8/%E0%B3%AE#.E0.B2.AD.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.97.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.B2.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.87.E0.B2.9A.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.9B.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.81.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81">here</a>.</p>
<hr />
<h1 class="firstHeading"><span dir="auto">ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ:ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನ/೮</span></h1>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿಸುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೧೭ರಂದು <a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%95%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%A8%E0%B2%BE%E0%B2%9F%E0%B2%95_%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%BE%E0%B2%9C%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF_%E0%B2%B5%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%9C%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9E%E0%B2%BE%E0%B2%A8_%E0%B2%AA%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%B7%E0%B2%A4%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%A4%E0%B3%81" title="ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು">ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ತಿನ</a> ಸಭಾಂಗಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡದ ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶದ ಸಂಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಉಳ್ಳವರು, ಬ್ಲಾಗಿಗರು ಕೂಡ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬಹುದು.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.AE.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.AE.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B2.E0.B2.A8.E0.B2.A6_.E0.B2.89.E0.B2.A6.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.A6.E0.B3.87.E0.B2.B6">ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನದ ಉದ್ದೇಶ</span></h2>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಲೇಖಕರನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಿಗೆ ಪರಿಚಯಿಸುವುದು</li>
<li>ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ/ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕ್ರೂಡೀಕರಣ</li>
<li>ಮೂಲ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಪುಟಗಳನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕಿ ತೆಗೆದು ಅವನ್ನು ಅಭಿವೃದ್ದಿ ಪಡಿಸುವುದು</li>
<li>ಕನ್ನಡದ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಲೇ ಬೇಕಾದ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಂಬಂಧಿ ಪುಟಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುವುದು</li>
<li>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುವಾದ ವಿಧಾನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ-ಸಹಿತ ವಿವರಣೆ</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.AF.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.AD.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.97.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.AC.E0.B2.B9.E0.B3.81.E0.B2.A6.E0.B3.81">ಯಾರು ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬಹುದು</span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ, ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಲೇಖಕರು, ಬ್ಲಾಗಿಗರು, ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರು, ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಗರು(ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಾದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಉಳ್ಳವರು)</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.A6.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.A8.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.82.E0.B2.95_.E0.B2.AE.E0.B2.A4.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.A4.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.A5.E0.B2.B3">ದಿನಾಂಕ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಥಳ</span></h2>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b>ಸ್ಥಳ</b>: <b>ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು<br /></b>ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಭವನ,<br /> ಕ.ರಾ.ವಿ.ಪ. ಸಭಾಂಗಣ<br /> ನಂ.24/2 ಮತ್ತು 24/3, 21ನೇ ಮುಖ್ಯರಸ್ತೆ,<br /> ಬನಶಂಕರಿ 2ನೇ ಹಂತಬೆಂಗಳೂರು - 560 ೦೭೦<br /> ಟೆಲಿಫ್ಯಾಕ್ಸ್ : 080 - ೨೬೭೧೮೯೫೯<br /> ದೂರವಾಣಿ : 080 - ೨೬೭೧೮೯೩೯</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>ದಿನಾಂಕ</b>: ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೧೭, ೨೦೧೩, ಭಾನುವಾರ (ಇಡೀ ದಿನ)</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.95.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.AF.E0.B2.95.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.B0.E0.B2.AE_.E0.B2.AA.E0.B2.9F.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.9F.E0.B2.BF">ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಪಟ್ಟಿ</span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<table class="listing" style="text-align: justify; ">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಸಮಯ</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಕಾರ್ಯಸೂಚಿ</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಮಾತನಾಡುವವರು</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center; "><b>ಟಿಪ್ಪಣಿ, ಉಪಯೋಗ</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೯:೫೦ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ</td>
<td>ನೊಂದಣಿ</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರು/ಇ-ಅಂಚೆ/ಮೊಬೈಲ್/ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಬಳಕೆದಾರರ ಹೆಸರು ಜೊತೆಗೆ,<br /> ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದರ ಉದ್ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಸ್ವಾಗತಕಾರರ ಬಳಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೦:೦೦</td>
<td>ಸ್ವಾಗತ</td>
<td>ಓಂಶಿವಪ್ರಕಾಶ್/ಪವನಜ</td>
<td>ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರ ಪ್ರತಿಪಲಾಪೇಕ್ಷೆಗಳ ವಿವರಣೆ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೦:೧೫ - ೧೧:೧೫</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ</td>
<td>ಓಂಶಿವಪ್ರಕಾಶ್</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಎಂದರೆ ಏನು?<br /> ಇದನ್ನು ಸಂಪಾದಿಸುವವರು ಯಾರು ಮತ್ತು ಏಕೆ?<br /> ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದ ಇತರೆ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳು</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೧:೧೫ - ೧೧:೩೦</td>
<td align="center" colspan="3">ಚಾ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೧:೩೦ - ೧೨:೦೦</td>
<td>ಕ್ರಿಯೇಟಿವ್ ಕಾಮನ್ಸ್</td>
<td>ಓಂಶಿವಪ್ರಕಾಶ್</td>
<td>ಕ್ರಿಯೆಟೀವ್ ಕಾಮನ್ಸ್ (Creative Commons) ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿವರಣೆ.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೨:೦೦ - ೧೩:೦೦</td>
<td>ಪ್ರಾತ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಕೆ</td>
<td>ಓಂಶಿವಪ್ರಕಾಶ್/ಪವನಜ</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕ ಆಗುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ, ಸಂಪಾದಿಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ, ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೩:೦೦ - ೧೪:೦೦</td>
<td align="center" colspan="3">ಊಟ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೪:೦೦ - ೧೪:೧೫</td>
<td>ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ೧೦೦೦ ಯೋಜನೆ ಪರಿಚಯ</td>
<td>ಓಂಶಿವಪ್ರಕಾಶ್</td>
<td>ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ,<br /> ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಆಯ್ಕೆಯ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಲೇಖನಗಳ ಸಂಪಾದನೆ, ಪರಿಷ್ಕರಣೆ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ, ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವಿಕೆ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>೧೪:೧೫ - ಕೊನೆಯವರೆಗೆ</td>
<td>ಪ್ರಯೋಗ (hands-on)</td>
<td>ಎಲ್ಲರೂ</td>
<td>ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.AF.E0.B2.82.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.87.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.95.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81">ಸ್ವಯಂಸೇವಕರು</span></h2>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>~<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF:Omshivaprakash" title="ಸದಸ್ಯ:Omshivaprakash">ಓಂಶಿವಪ್ರಕಾಶ್</a><sup>/<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%B0_%E0%B2%9A%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9A%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%9F:Omshivaprakash" title="ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಚರ್ಚೆಪುಟ:Omshivaprakash">ಚರ್ಚೆ</a>/<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B5%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%B6%E0%B3%87%E0%B2%B7:Contributions/Omshivaprakash" title="ವಿಶೇಷ:Contributions/Omshivaprakash">ಕಾಣಿಕೆಗಳು</a></sup> ೦೬:೩೩, ೧೧ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೦೧೩ (UTC)</li>
<li><a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF:Pavanaja" title="ಸದಸ್ಯ:Pavanaja">Pavanaja</a> (<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%B0_%E0%B2%9A%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9A%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%9F:Pavanaja" title="ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಚರ್ಚೆಪುಟ:Pavanaja">talk</a>) ೦೭:೩೭, ೧೧ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೦೧೩ (UTC)</li>
<li><b><a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%B0_%E0%B2%9A%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9A%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%9F:Sbblr0803" title="ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಚರ್ಚೆಪುಟ:Sbblr0803"><span>ಅಭಿರಾಮ</span></a></b></li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.AD.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.97.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.B2.E0.B3.81_.E0.B2.87.E0.B2.9A.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.9B.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B8.E0.B3.81.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B5.E0.B2.B0.E0.B3.81">ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಲು ಇಚ್ಛಿಸುವವರು</span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ನೀವೂ ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗಲು ಇಚ್ಚಿಸುವುದಾದರೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು # ಮುಂದೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿ ಅಥವಾ ~ ಅನ್ನು ನಾಲ್ಕು ಭಾರಿ ಟೈಪಿಸಿ ಸಹಿ ಮಾಡಿ.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>ಟಿ. ಆರ್. ಅನಂತರಾಮು</li>
<li>ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆ</li>
<li>ಹಾಲ್ದೊಡ್ಡೇರಿ ಸುಧೀಂದ್ರ</li>
<li><a class="new" href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF:Srimysore&action=edit&redlink=1" title="ಸದಸ್ಯ:Srimysore (ಪುಟವು ಇನ್ನೂ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿತವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ)">ಟಿ. ಜಿ. ಶ್ರೀನಿಧಿ</a> (<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%B0_%E0%B2%9A%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9A%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%9F:Srimysore" title="ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಚರ್ಚೆಪುಟ:Srimysore">talk</a>) ೦೮:೦೪, ೧೧ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೦೧೩ (UTC)</li>
<li>ಯಶಸ್ವಿನಿ</li>
<li>ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ಎಸ್.</li>
<li>ಕೆ. ಎಸ್. ನಟರಾಜ (ಕರಾವಿಪ)</li>
<li>ಎ.ಸತ್ಯನಾರಾಯಣ</li>
<li>ಕೊಳ್ಳೇಗಾಲ ಶರ್ಮ</li>
<li>ಜಿ. ವಿ. ನಿರ್ಮಲ</li>
<li><a class="new" href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF:Akashbalakrishna&action=edit&redlink=1" title="ಸದಸ್ಯ:Akashbalakrishna (ಪುಟವು ಇನ್ನೂ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿತವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ)">Akashbalakrishna</a> (<a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%A6%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%AF%E0%B2%B0_%E0%B2%9A%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9A%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%9F:Akashbalakrishna" title="ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಚರ್ಚೆಪುಟ:Akashbalakrishna">talk</a>) ೦೯:೧೧, ೧೧ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೦೧೩ (UTC)</li>
<li>ನಾರಾಯಣ್</li>
<li>ವೈ. ಸಿ. ಕಮಲ</li>
<li>ಟಿ ಎಸ್ ಗೋಪಾಲ್</li>
<li>ಶ್ರೀಧರ ಬಾಣಾವರ</li>
<li>ಸುಮನ ದಿನಕರ್</li>
<li>ಟಿ ಎಸ್ ಶ್ರೀಧರ</li>
<li>ಡಾ| ವಸುಂಧರಾ ಭೂಪತಿ</li>
<li>ಗೀತಾ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮೂರ್ತಿ</li>
<li>ಎನ್.ಎ.ಎಂ. ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್</li>
</ol> <dl style="text-align: justify; "><dt>ವಾಸ್ತವೋಪಮ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವಿಕೆ (Virtual participation)</dt></dl>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">ನೀವು ದೂರದ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಿಂದ <b>ಯೂಟ್ಯೂಬ್ ಲೈವ್ ಸ್ಟ್ರೀಮಿಂಗ್</b> ಮೂಲಕ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬಹುದು. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ವಿವರಗಳನ್ನು ಈ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನದ ದಿನ ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಲಾಗುವುದು. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು # ಮುಂದೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿ ಅಥವಾ ~ ಅನ್ನು ನಾಲ್ಕು ಭಾರಿ ಟೈಪಿಸಿ ಸಹಿ ಮಾಡಿ.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರು></li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><span class="mw-headline" id=".E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.AE.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.AE.E0.B2.BF.E0.B2.B2.E0.B2.A8.E0.B2.95.E0.B3.8D.E0.B2.95.E0.B3.86_.E0.B2.B8.E0.B2.B9.E0.B2.BE.E0.B2.AF">ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಹಾಯ</span></h2>
<dl style="text-align: justify; "><dt>ಬೆಂಬಲ</dt></dl>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ ನೆಟ್ ಅಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು</li>
<li>ವಿಕಿಮೀಡಿಯ ಇಂಡಿಯ ಚಾಪ್ಟರ್</li>
<li>ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು</li>
</ul>
<dl style="text-align: justify; "><dt style="text-align: justify; ">ಉಪಯುಕ್ತ ಕೊಂಡಿಗಳು</dt></dl><ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/events/wikipedia-workshop-for-kannada-science-writers'>https://cis-india.org/openness/events/wikipedia-workshop-for-kannada-science-writers</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaWorkshopOpennessEvent2013-03-14T11:41:41ZEventSummary of the CIS workshop on the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/summary-of-cis-workshop-on-dna-profiling-bill-2012
<b>On March 1st, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society organized a workshop which analysed the April 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill and its potential implications on human rights in India.</b>
<hr />
<p><i>This research was undertaken as part of the 'SAFEGUARDS' project that CIS is undertaking with Privacy International and IDRC</i>.</p>
<hr />
<p>Think you control who has access to your DNA data? That might just be a myth of the past. Today, clearly things have changed, as draft Bills with the objective of creating state, regional, and national DNA databases in India have been leaked over the last years. Plans of profiling certain residents in India are being unravelled as, apparently, the new policy when collecting, handling, analysing, sharing and storing DNA data is that all personal information is welcome; the more, the merrier!<span> </span></p>
<p>Who is behind all of this? The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in India created the 2007 draft DNA Profiling Bill<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn1">[1]</a>, with the aim of regulating the use of DNA for forensic and other purposes. In February 2012 another draft of the Bill was leaked which was created by the Department of Biotechnology. The most recent version of the Bill was drafted in April 2012 and seeks to create DNA databases at the state, regional and national level in India<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn2">[2]</a>. According to the latest 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill, each DNA database will contain profiles of victims, offenders, suspects, missing persons and volunteers for the purpose of identification in criminal and civil proceedings. The Bill also establishes a process for certifying DNA laboratories, and a DNA Profiling Board for overseeing the carrying out of the Act.</p>
<p>However, the 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill lacks adequate safeguards and its various loopholes and overreaching provisions could create a potential for abuse. The creation of DNA databases is currently unregulated in India and although regulations should be enacted to prevent data breaches, the current Bill raises major concerns in regards to the collection, use, analysis and retention of DNA samples, DNA data and DNA profiles. In other words, the proposed DNA databases would not only be restricted to criminals…</p>
<h2><b>DNA databases...and Justice for All?</b></h2>
<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6959954129_fefd0f928a.jpg" /></p>
<p class="italized">Source: <span> </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/libertasacademica/">Libertas Academica</a> on flickr</p>
<p class="italized"><a class="external-link" href="http://dnaphenomena.blogspot.in/2011/05/dna-profiling.html"></a>Du<span>ring the workshop </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn3">[3]</a><span>on the 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill, DNA</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn4">[4]</a><span> was defined as a material that determines a persons´ hereditary traits, whilst DNA profiling</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn5">[5]</a><span> was defined as the processing and analysis of unique sequences of parts of DNA. Thus the uniqueness of DNA data is clear and the implications that could potentially occur through its profiling could be tremendous. The 2007 DNA Profiling Bill has been amended, yet its current 2012 version appears not only to be more intrusive, but to also be extremely vague in terms of protecting data, whilst very deterministic in regards to the DNA Profiling Board´s power. A central question in the meeting was:</span></p>
<blockquote class="italized"><i>Should DNA databases be created at all? </i></blockquote>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p>The following concerns were raised and discussed during the workshop:</p>
<h3>● The myth of the infallibility of DNA evidence</h3>
<p>The Innocence Project<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn6">[6]</a>, which was presented at the workshop, appears to provide an appeal towards the storage of DNA samples and profiles, as it represents clients seeking post-conviction DNA testing to prove their innocence. According to statistics presented at the workshop, there have been 303 post-conviction exonerations in the United States, as a result of individuals proving their innocence through DNA testing. Though post-conviction exonerations can be useful, they cannot be the basis and main justification for creating DNA databases. Although DNA testing could enable post-conviction exonerations, errors in matching data remain a high probability and could result in innocent people being accused, arrested and prosecuted for crimes they did not commit. Thus, arguments towards the necessity and utility of the creation of DNA databases in India appear to be weak, especially since DNA evidence is <i>not </i>infallible<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn7">[7]</a>.</p>
<p>False matches can occur based on the type of profiling system used, and errors can take place in the chain of custody of the DNA sample, all of which indicate the weakness of DNA evidence being used. DNA data only provides<i> probabilities</i> of potential matches between DNA profiles and the larger the amount of DNA data collected, the larger the probability of an error in matching profiles<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn8">[8]</a>.</p>
<h3>● <b>The non-criteria of DNA data collection</b></h3>
<p>How and when can DNA data be collected? The amended draft 2012 Bill remains extremely vague and broad. In particular, the Bill states that <i>all</i> offences under the Indian Penal Code and other laws, such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, are applicable instances of human DNA profiling. Section B(viii) of the Schedule states that human DNA profiling will be applicable for offences under <i>´any other law as may be specified by the regulations made by the Board´</i>. This incredibly vague section empowers the DNA Profiling Board with the ultimate power to decide upon the offences under which DNA data will be collected. The issue is this: most laws have loopholes. A Bill which lists applicable instances of human DNA profiling, under the umbrella of a potentially indefinite number of laws, exposes individuals to the collection of their DNA data, which could lead to potential abuse.</p>
<h3>● <b>The DNA Profiling Board´s power</b></h3>
<p>The DNA Profiling Board has ´absolute´ power, especially according to the 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill. Some of the Board´s functions include providing recommendations for provision of privacy protection laws, regulations and practices relating to access to, or use of, stored DNA samples or DNA analyses<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn9">[9]</a>. The Board is also required to advise on all ethical and human rights issues, as well as to take ´necessary steps´ to protect privacy. However, it remains unclear how a Board which lacks human rights expertise will carry out such tasks.</p>
<p><b>No human rights experts</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>Despite the various amendments<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn10">[10]</a> to the section on the composition of the Board, no privacy or human rights experts have been included. According to the Bill, the Board will be comprised of many molecular biologists and other scientists, while human rights experts have not been included to the list. This can potentially be problematic as a lack of expertise on privacy and human rights laws can lead to the regulation of DNA databases without taking civil liberties into consideration.</p>
<p><b>Vague authorisation for communication of DNA profiles</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>The Bill also empowers the Board to ´authorise procedures for communication of DNA profiles for<i> civil proceedings</i> and for crime investigation by law enforcement and <i>other agencies</i>´<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn11">[11]</a>. Although the 2007 Bill <a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn12">[12]</a>restricted the Boards´ authorisation to crime investigation by law enforcement agencies, its 2012 amendment extends such authorisation to ´civil proceedings´ which can also be carried out by so-called ´other agencies´.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn13">[13]</a> This amendment raises concerns, as the ´other agencies´ and the term ´civil proceedings´ remain vague.</p>
<p><b>Protecting the public</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>The Board is also authorised to ´assist law enforcement agencies in using DNA techniques to protect the public´<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn14">[14]</a>. Over the last years, laws are being enacted that enable law enforcement agencies to use technologies for surveillance purposes in the name of ´public security´, and the 2012 draft Bill is no exception. Many security measures have been applied to ´protect the public´, such as CCTV cameras and other technologies, but their actual contribution to public safety still remains a controversial debate<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn15">[15]</a>. DNA techniques which would effectively protect the public have not been adequately proven, thus it remains unclear how the Board would assist law enforcement agencies.</p>
<p><b>Sharing data with international agencies…and regulating DNA laboratories</b></p>
<p>In addition to the above, the Board would also encourage cooperation between Indian investigation agencies and international agencies<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn16">[16]</a>. This would potentially enable the sharing of DNA data between third parties and would enhance the probability of data being leaked to unauthorised third parties.</p>
<p>The Board would <i>also </i>be authorised to regulate the standards, quality control and quality assurance obligations of the DNA laboratories<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn17">[17]</a>. The draft 2012 Bill ultimately gives <i>monopolistic control</i> to the DNA Profiling Board over<i> all</i> the procedures related to the handling of DNA data!</p>
<h3>● <b>The DNA Data Bank Manager</b></h3>
<p>According to the 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn18">[18]</a>, it is the DNA Data Bank Manager who would carry out ´all operations of and concerning the National DNA Data Bank´. All such operations are not clearly specified. The powers and duties that the DNA Data Bank Manager would be expected to have are not specified in the Bill, which merely states that they would be specified by regulations made by the DNA Profiling Board.</p>
<p>The Bill also empowers the Manager to determine appropriate instances for the communication of information<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn19">[19]</a>. In other words, law enforcement agencies and DNA laboratories can request the disclosure of information from the DNA Data Bank Manager, without prior authorisation. The DNA Data Bank Manager is empowered to decide the requested data.</p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span>DNA access restrictions</span></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><span> </span><span>Are you a victim or a cleared suspect? You better be, if you want access to your data to be restricted! The 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn20">[20]</a><span>states that access to information will be restricted in cases when a DNA profile derives from a victim or a person who has been excluded as a suspect. The Bill is unclear as to how access to the data of non-victims or suspects is regulated.</span></p>
<h3>● Availability of DNA profiles and DNA samples</h3>
<p>According to the amended draft 2012 Bill<a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftn21">[21]</a>, DNA profiles and samples can be made available in criminal cases, judicial proceedings and for defence purposes among others. However, ´criminal cases´ are loosely defined and could enable the availability of DNA data in low profile cases. Furthermore, the availability of DNA data is also enabled for the ´creation and maintenance of a<i> population statistics database</i>´. This is controversial because it remains unclear how such a database would be used.</p>
<h3>● Data destruction</h3>
<p>According to an amendment to section 37, DNA data will be kept on a ´permanent basis´ and the DNA Data Bank Manager will expunge a DNA profile only once the court has certified that an individual is no longer a suspect. This raises major concerns, as it does not clarify under what conditions individuals can have access to their data during its retention, nor does it give volunteers and missing persons the opportunity to have their data deleted from the data bank.</p>
<h2>Workshop conclusions</h2>
<p><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3235/3080247531_bf04a5cbe5.jpg" /></p>
<p>Source: <span> </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/micahb37/">micahb37</a> on flickr</p>
<p>The various loopholes in the Bill which can create a potential for abuse were discussed throughout the workshop, as well as various issues revolving around DNA data retention, as previously mentioned.<span> </span></p>
<p>During the workshop, some participants questioned the creation of DNA databases to begin with, while others argued that they are inevitable and that it is not a question of whether they should exist, but rather a question of how they should be regulated. All participants agreed upon the need for further safeguards to protect individuals´ right to privacy and other human rights. Further research on the necessity and utility of the creation of DNA databases in regards to human rights was recommended. In addition to all the above, the Ministry of Law and Justice was recommended to pilot the draft DNA Profiling Bill to ensure better provisions in regards to privacy and data protection.</p>
<p>A debate on the use of DNA data in civil cases versus criminal cases was largely discussed in the workshop, with concerns raised in regards to DNA sampling being enabled in civil cases. The fact that the terms ´civil cases´ and ´criminal cases´ remain broad, vague and not legally-specified, raised huge concerns in the workshop as this could enable the misuse of DNA data by authorities. Thus, the members attending the workshop recommended the creation of two separate Bills regulating the use of DNA data: a DNA Profiling Bill for Criminal Investigation and a DNA Profiling Bill for Research. The creation of such Bills would restrict the access to, collection, analysis, sharing of and retention of DNA data to strictly criminal investigation and research purposes.</p>
<p>However, even if separate Bills were created, who is to say that when implemented DNA in the database would not be abused? Criminal investigations can be loosely defined and research purposes can potentially cover anything and everything. So the question remains:</p>
<blockquote class="italized"><i>Should DNA databases be created at all? </i></blockquote>
<p><br clear="all" /></p>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007, <a href="http://dbtindia.nic.in/DNA_Bill.pdf">http://dbtindia.nic.in/DNA_Bill.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012: Working draft versión – 29th April 2012,</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref3">[3]</a> Centre for Internet and Society, <i>Analyzing the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012, </i>25 February 2013, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/analyzing-draft-human-dna-profiling-bill">http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/analyzing-draft-human-dna-profiling-bill</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref4">[4]</a> Genetics Home Reference: Your Guide to Understanding Genetic Conditions, <i>What is DNA?, </i><a href="http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna"><i>http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna</i></a><i> </i></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref5">[5]</a> Shanna Freeman, <i>How DNA profiling Works, </i><a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/dna-profiling.htm"><i>http://science.howstuffworks.com/dna-profiling.htm</i></a><i> </i></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref6">[6]</a> Innocence Project, <i>DNA exoneree case profiles, </i><a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/"><i>http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/</i></a><i> </i></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref7">[7]</a> Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), <i>Essentially Yours: The Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia (ALRC Report 96), </i>´Criminal Proceedings: Reliability of DNA evidence´, Chapter 44, <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/44-criminal-proceedings/reliability-dna-evidence">http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/44-criminal-proceedings/reliability-dna-evidence</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref8">[8]</a> Ibid.</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref9">[9]</a> Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012: Working draft version – 29th April 2012, Section 12(o, p, t), <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/draft-dna-profiling-bill-2012.pdf">http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/draft-dna-profiling-bill-2012.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref10">[10]</a> Ibid: Section 4(q)</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref11">[11]</a> Ibid: Section 12(j)</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref12">[12]</a> Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007, Section 13, <a href="http://dbtindia.nic.in/DNA_Bill.pdf">http://dbtindia.nic.in/DNA_Bill.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref13">[13]</a> : Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012: Working draft version – 29<sup>th</sup> April 2012, Sections 12(j), <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/draft-dna-profiling-bill-2012.pdf">http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/draft-dna-profiling-bill-2012.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref14">[14]</a> Ibid: Section 12(l)</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref15">[15]</a> Schneier, B.(2008), <i>Schneier on Security, </i>´CCTV cameras´, <a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/06/cctv_cameras.html">http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/06/cctv_cameras.html</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref16">[16]</a> Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012: Working draft version – 29<sup>th</sup> April 2012, Sections 12(u) and 12(v), <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/draft-dna-profiling-bill-2012.pdf">http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/draft-dna-profiling-bill-2012.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref17">[17]</a> Ibid: Section on the ´Standards, Quality Control and Quality Assurance Obligations of DNA Laboratories´</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref18">[18]</a> Ibid: Section 33</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref19">[19]</a> Ibid: Section 35</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref20">[20]</a> Ibid: Section 43</p>
<p><a href="file:///C:/Users/Owner/Documents/Documents/CIS%20blog%20on%20DNA%20Bills.docx#_ftnref21">[21]</a> Ibid: Section 40</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/summary-of-cis-workshop-on-dna-profiling-bill-2012'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/summary-of-cis-workshop-on-dna-profiling-bill-2012</a>
</p>
No publishermariaWorkshopInternet GovernanceSAFEGUARDS2013-07-12T15:33:25ZBlog EntryA workshop to improve Telugu Wikipedia articles on Nobel laureates
https://cis-india.org/openness/a-workshop-to-improve-telugu-wikipedia-articles-on-nobel-laureates
<b>Many articles about Nobel laureates are missing in the Telugu Wikipedia. Recently undergraduate students from four different disciplines of the Andhra Loyola College (ALC), Vijayawada gathered to create and improve articles related to Nobel laureates.</b>
<p>Spanned for three days—from August 16 through 18—54 students from the department of Telugu, Botany, Statistics and Physics edited articles related to Nobel laureates, improved the content quality and inserted images that were already there in Wikimedia Commons. There was a great balance of equal participation in the number of female and male students. During this sprint 124 existing articles on Telugu Wikipedia were improved and 118 of them saw images being added. Though it was challenging for me to manage so many participants, I was partly successful in mentoring some of the students who in turn helped their friends with basic editing.</p>
<p>Apart from educating the students about editing Wikipedia, I demonstrated about digitising “Kavitvatattva Vicharam”, a book authored by by Kattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy in 1913 and is considered as the first modern literary criticism in Telugu literature, on Telugu Wikisource. Some of the students tried to proof-read the book for the first time.</p>
There is a plan laid out to work with a small subset of these participating students again for different kind of academic-centric projects like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QRpedia">QRpedia</a> project. To keep the activity more regular, the students are are creating the missing Botany-related articles. We are hoping to work with remaining students at least once in every quarter.
A few recommendations for bettering the students’ understanding of Wikipedia and the community that Telugu Wikipedian <a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Chaduvari">User:Chaduvari</a> had shared earlier came quite useful during this event. Based on his inputs I did my best elaborating the [Wikipedia] project structure and community dynamics to the new editors. Another long time Wikimedian <a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rajasekhar1961">Rajasekhar</a> followed up on the Wikisource activity remotely. B. Manikantha, a students from the Arts department shares, “Until now I always had a notion that Wikipedia might be some sort of entertainment website where we can listen to music and play games. But after attending this workshop I could understand how great it is as a learning platform. Also I learnt about one of our professors<a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%97%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%AE%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AE%E0%B0%BE_%E0%B0%B8%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%AC%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B5%E0%B1%81"> Dr. Gumma Sambashivarao</a> who is a noted author, and how the articles about more such authors could be made available online in our language.” “It was fun translating articles in my favourite subject—war. I’m hoping to continue my contributions further”, he adds.
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More details in the <a href="http://goo.gl/8EjA1C">event page</a> on Telugu Wikipedia.
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/a-workshop-to-improve-telugu-wikipedia-articles-on-nobel-laureates'>https://cis-india.org/openness/a-workshop-to-improve-telugu-wikipedia-articles-on-nobel-laureates</a>
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No publisherPavan SanthoshTelugu WikisourceCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaWorkshopTelugu Wikipedia2016-09-12T15:01:15ZBlog EntryFree Arduino Workshop (For Beginners)
https://cis-india.org/openness/free-arduino-workshop
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore invites you to a hands-on-free Arduino workshop in its office on 3 March 2012. The workshop will be held from 11.00 a.m. to 3 p.m.</b>
<h2>What is Arduino?</h2>
<p>Arduino, an Italian name meaning "strong friend", is a popular "open-source electronics prototyping platform based around a microcontroller. It accepts inputs, such as signals from sensors (light, temperature, moisture, etc.) or data from the Internet or wireless devices, and sends output signals to devices, such as LEDS, motors, speakers, MIDI sequencers, computers, and so on."</p>
<p>In simpler terms: It is a ready-to-use creative platform, designed to provide interactivity between humans, smartphones, PCs, sensors and the physical world. It is especially a boon for creative people who don't have a technical background and want to translate their wildest techno-ideas to reality in a snap.</p>
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<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/YrflS">A comic by Jody Culkin, introducing Arduino</a></p>
<h2>What can Arduino Do?</h2>
<p>Applications of Arduino could include anything under the sun, from making your LED lights glow in reaction to the weather to interactive punching bags: your imagination is the limit (besides the sensors).</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/lF1s8">Check what some folk did with a bunch of cameras for an amazing music video all in one day</a></p>
<p>For other examples, <a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/tkvJz">check out the Boing Boing listing</a></p>
<h2>Who can Attend?</h2>
<p>The workshop is especially meant for interaction designers, artists or anyone else enthusiastic to get started with creative projects and don't have prior experience with electronics, interfacing and all that hack talk. It would help to have a general understanding of instructional programming languages, but this shouldn't be a problem for starts as you will pick it up as we go along. Besides, we are super-friendly and patient folk who will assist participants to demystify geek code.</p>
<h2>Apply Now</h2>
<p>We have only 20 seats for this free workshop. Participants will work in groups of two. The workshop will last 4 hours, over a lunch break. All materials will be provided, and it would be great if you could get your laptop. </p>
<p>To apply please send a brief intro about yourself and why you think you will benefit from this to yelena@cis-india.org. Selected participants will be notified shortly.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/2DM2j">A map, showing the location of CIS</a></p>
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<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/2DM2j"><strong>VIDEOS</strong><br /></a></p>
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<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLwqQUA.html?p=1" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLwqQUA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/free-arduino-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/openness/free-arduino-workshop</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessEvent TypeWorkshopVideo2012-04-28T04:07:50ZEventOpen Standards Workshop at IGF '09
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/dcos-workshop-09
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society co-organized a workshop on 'Open Standards: A Rights-Based Framework' at the fourth Internet Governance Forum, at Sharm el-Sheikh. The panel was chaired by Aslam Raffee of Sun Microsystems and the panellists were Sir Tim Berners-Lee of W3C, Renu Budhiraja of India's DIT, Sunil Abraham of CIS, Steve Mutkoski of Microsoft, and Rishab Ghosh of UNU-MERIT.</b>
<p>Sir Tim Berners-Lee started the session with an address on various rights. Rights, he noted can range from being things like the rights to air and water to the right not to have the data carrier you use determine which movie you watch. Then, there are tensions between rights: the right to anonymity can clash with the right to know who posted information on making a bomb. Berners-Lee stated that for 2009, he has chosen to pursue one particular right: the right to government-held data. This data can include everything from where schools are to emergency services such as locations of hospitals. Today, we are talking about standards. </p>
<p>The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a fifteen-year old body in which all kinds of people come together for purposes of setting standards around the World Wide Web. Thus, everything from HTML, which is used to write Web pages to WCAG, which are guidelines to enable people with disabilities access websites through assistive technologies. W3C conducts its discussions openly: anybody who has a good idea has a right to participate in its discussions -- it does not matter who one works for, who one represents -- what does matter are the ideas one brings to the table. The kinds of standards that W3C deals with are of interest to an immensely wide-ranging group of people. Even ten-year olds have actually expressed their opinions about standards like HTML. All this openness of participation must be guaranteed while ensuring that the processes move forward.</p>
<p>Next spoke Renu Budhiraja of the Department of Information and Technology, which is a part of the Indian government. She started off by hoping that this workshop would be not only a platform to share knowledge, but also to reach consensus on a few matters. Next, she laid out why open standards are extremely important for the Indian government. What citizens want in their interactions with the government are ease of interaction and efficiency. For them it is immaterial whether a certain service is provided by Department A or Department B. Thus we need to move towards a single-window government service for citizens, enabling them to interact easily with the government's various departments. While such an initiative must be centralized for it to be effective, it is crucial that its implementation be decentralized and suited to each district or localities' needs.</p>
<p>There is, understandably, a huge institutional mechanism behind ensuring that these systems are based on open standards. We have expert committees, consisting of academics and knowledgeable bureaucrats, and working groups, which include industry groups. Through these, we have evolved a National Policy on Open Standards, which is currently in a draft stage, but shall be notified soon. This policy outlines the principles based on which particular standards required for governmental functioning are to be chosen or evolved. This document will ensure long-term accessibility to public documents and information, and seamless interoperability of various governmental services and departments. It will also reduce the risk of vendor lock-in and reduce costs, and thus ensure long-term, sustainable, scalable and cost-effective solutions.</p>
<p>Ms. Budhiraja noted that there are a few aspects of the policy that bear discussion in a forum such as the IGF. First is the issue of whether royalty-free is the only choice for innovation. All other things equal, between royalty-free and reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) standards, of course royalty-free is to be preferred. But what if a superior technology (JPEG200 vs. JPEG) is RAND? What should the government's position be in such a case? Further, what should the government's position be when in a particular domain a RAND standard is the only option? </p>
<p>Next is the issue of single vs. multiple open standards. When interoperability is what we are aiming at, can multiple standards be recommended as some in the industry are asking us to do? And then is the issue of market maturity. The government sometimes finds itself in a situation where a standard is available, but well-developed products around that standard aren't and there aren't sufficient vendors using that standard. All these issues are of great practical importance when a government works on a policy document on standards.</p>
<p>Next up was Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society. His presentation was on open standards as citizens' and consumers' rights. He started off by citing the example of the Smart Card Operating System for Transport Application (SCOSTA) standard, and the implications that the SCOSTA story has on large-scale projects such as the National Unique ID project currently under way in India. SCOSTA, an open standard, was being written off as unimplementable by all the MNC smart card vendors who wished to push RAND standards. IIT Kanpur helped the government develop a working implementation. Within twenty days, the card manufacturers submitted modified cards for compliance testing by NIC. Because of SCOSTA being an open standard, local companies also joined the tender. The cost went down from Rs. 600 per card to Rs. 30 per card. This shows the benefits of open standards as a means of curbing oligopolistic pricing, and working for the benefit of consumers.</p>
<p>From a rights-based perspective, access to the state machinery is a primary right. Citizens should not be required to pirate or purchase software to interact with the state. If e-governance solutions are based on proprietary standards, not all citizens would be equal. The South African example or requiring a particular browser to access the election commission's website shows that in a rather drastic fashion. When intellectual property interferes with governmental needs, governments have not been shy of issuing compulsory licences. This was seen when during the Great War the United States government pooled various flight-related patents and compulsorily licensed them, as well as what we are currently seeing with many Aids-related drugs being compulsorily licensed in developing countries. Thus, there are precedents for such licensing, and governments should explore them in the realm of e-governance. Many countries now have statutes that guarantee the right to government-held information. Government Interoperability Frameworks should take these into account, and mandate all government-to-citizen (G2C) information be transacted via open standards. This must be backed up by a strong accessibility policy to ensure that the governments don't discriminate between their citizens.</p>
<p>Proprietary standards act like pseudo-intellectual property rights, just as DRMs do. They add a layer on top of rights such as copyright, and can prevent the exercise of fair use and fair dealing rights because of an inability to legally negotiate the standards in which the content is encoded in a cost-free manner. In guaranteeing this balance between copyrights and fair dealing rights, free software and alternative IP models play a crucial role. Because of software patents being recognized in a few countries, development of free software which allows citizens to exercise their fair use rights is harmed in all countries.</p>
<p>Steve Mutkoski of Microsoft spoke next and placed the standards debate in a large context. He noted that standards are a technicality that are only a small part of the large issue which is interoperability in e-governance and delivery to citizens. The real challenges are organizational and semantic interoperability. Frequently interoperability is not harmed by technical issues, but by legal and organizational issues. Governments used to work on paper; during the shift to electronic data, they didn't engage in any organizational changes. Thus they continue to function with electronic data the same way that they did with paper-based data. Governments often lack strong privacy policies regarding the data that each of their departments holds. This harms governmental functioning. Additionally, legacy hardware and software have to be catered to by the standards we are talking about: sometimes an open standard just will not work. </p>
<p>Standards don't guarantee interoperability, and there is significant work done on this by noted academics ("Why Standards Are Not Enough To Guarantee End-to-End Interoperability" Lewis et al.; "Difficulties Implementing Standards" Egyedi & Dahanayake; "Standards Compliant, But Incompatible?" Egyedi et al.). Mandated standards lists will not help address interoperability issues between different implementations of the same standard. What would help? Transparency of implementations; collaboration with community; active participation in maintenance of standards, etc., would help. There is a need for continued public sector reform, with a focus on citizen-centric e-governance, and a need to engage with the question of whether government-mandated standards lists lead the market or follow the market.</p>
<p>Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, a senior researcher at UN University, Maastricht, spoke next. He started by noting that technical standards are left to technical experts. That needs to change, which is why discussing open standards at the IGF is important. He next set off a hypothetical: imagine you go to the city council office in Sharm el Sheik, and at the parking lot there it says that your car has to be a Ford if you are to park there; or if the Dutch government insists that you have a Philips TV if you are to receive the national broadcaster's signal. While these might seem absurd, situations like this arise all the time when it comes to the realm of software. Thus, the social effects of open standards are of utmost importance, and not just their technical qualities. Analysing the social effects of open standards takes us back to the economics of technology and technological standards. Technological standards exhibit network externalities: their inherent value is less than the value of others using them. Being the only person in the world with a telephone won't be very useful. Technological standards also exhibit path dependence: once you go with one technological format, it is difficult to change over to another even if that other format is superior to the first. Thus, clearly, standards benefit when there is a 'natural monopoly'. The challenge really arises when faced with the question of how to ensure a monopoly in a technology without the supplier of that technology exhibiting monopolistic tendencies. This can only be done when the technology is open and developed openly, of which the web standards and the W3C are excellent examples. If the technology or the process are semi-open, then because of the few intellectual property rights attached to the technology, some would be better off than others. Just as governments cannot insist on driving a particular make of cars as a prerequisite for access to them, they cannot insist on using a particular proprietary standard as a means of accessing them.</p>
<p>Many interesting questions arose when the floor was thrown open to the audience. "Should governments only mandate a particular standard when it is certain that market maturity exists?" Not really, since governmental decisions also give signals to the market and help direct attention to those standards. It would be best if roadmaps were provided, with particular under-mature standards being designated as "preferred standards", thus helping push industry in a particular direction. Examples where this strategy has borne fruit abound. This is also the strategy found in the Australian GIF. On the issue of multiplicity of standards, Sir Tim was very clear that they have to be avoided at all costs. He gave the example of XSLT and CSS, which are both stylesheet formats. He noted that their domain of operation was very different (with one being for servers and the other for clients), so having two standards with similar functions but different domains of operation does not make them multiple standards. Multiple standards defeat the purpose of the standardization process.</p>
<p>It was noted that governmental choices are of practical importance to citizens. During the Hurricane Katrina emergency, the federal emergency website only worked properly if Internet Explorer was used. How do we move forward? We must move forward by having policies that strike a balance between allowing for the natural evolution of standards and stability. The Government Interoperability Frameworks must be dynamic documents, allowing for categorization between standards and having clear roadmaps to enable industry to provide solutions to the government in a timely fashion. Governments must be strong in order to push industry towards openness, for the sake of its citizens, and not let industry dictate proprietary standards as the solution. Some opined that since there are dozens of domains that governments function in, maintaining lists of standards is a time-consuming process that is not justified, but others rebutted that by noting that for enterprise architectures to work, governments have to maintain such lists internally. Opening up that list to citizens and service providers would not entail greater overheads.</p>
<p><strong>Sunil Abraham talking Open Standards at IGF09</strong></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/dcos-workshop-09'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/dcos-workshop-09</a>
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No publisherpraneshOpen StandardsConsumer RightsDigital GovernanceFair DealingsFLOSSWorkshopOpenness2011-08-23T02:54:03ZBlog Entry