The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 71 to 85.
‘Tulu Wikipedia’ in incubation stage, 600 articles uploaded, says U.B. Pavanaja
https://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-hindu-november-26-2014-ravi-prasad-kamila-tulu-wikipedia-in-incubation-stage
<b>In all, 600 articles have been uploaded to the Tulu Wikipedia which is still in its incubation stage, according to U.B. Pavanaja, Wikipedia representative and Programme Officer, The Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru. </b>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Ravi Prasad Kamila was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/tulu-wikipedia-in-incubation-stage-600-articles-uploaded-says-ub-pavanaja/article6636113.ece">published in the Hindu</a> on November 26, 2014. Dr. U.B.Pavanaja gave his inputs.</p>
<hr />
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">Speaking at a workshop on writing articles in Tulu, using Kannada script, for Wikipedia at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management here on Wednesday, he said that since 2007 till this January there were 135 Tulu articles. The remaining 465 articles were added in the last over nine months.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">Workshops on writing articles in Tulu for Wikipedia organised in Udupi and Mangaluru had helped in adding more articles.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">Mr. Pavananja, originally hailing from Sullia in Dakshina Kannada, said that if Tulu Wikipedia was to be kept alive at least 50 to 60 articles would have to be uploaded a month and it required at least 10 dedicated writers.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">If one wants to write articles in Tulu, he or she would have to log on to bilty.com/tuluwiki and later register there like registering while creating a new e-mail id. Later one can write, edit or read articles written in Tulu using Kannada script.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy had organised the workshop as a prelude to the three-day ‘Vishwa Tuluvere Parba’ (Global Tulu Festival) scheduled at the college from December 12.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">President of the academy M. Janaki Brahmavar requested the participants to write articles about Tulu language and culture and about the coming festival and upload.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">One can contact Mr. Pavanaja through pavanaja@gmail.com.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-hindu-november-26-2014-ravi-prasad-kamila-tulu-wikipedia-in-incubation-stage'>https://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-hindu-november-26-2014-ravi-prasad-kamila-tulu-wikipedia-in-incubation-stage</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaOpennessTulu Wikipedia2014-12-07T03:21:11ZNews ItemWomen's Day Edit-a-thon at Jnana Prabodhini
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/womens-day-edit-a-thon-at-jnana-prabodhini
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia Women's Day edit-a-thon was conducted in collaboration with Jnana Prabodhini to commemorate the celebration of International Women's Day.</b>
<p>A Marathi
Wikipedia Women's Day edit-a-thon was conducted in collaboration with Jnana
Prabodhini in Pune on 9 March, 2017 to commemorate the celebration of
International Women's Day. Jnana Prabodhini is an organisation that is active
in the field of social work. The organisation enabled the bringing together of women working
in the culture and Indology sectors for this edit-a-thon.</p>
<p>The aim of
the two-hour-long edit-a-thon was to help build resources in the field of Culture, Indology and women
empowerment on Marathi Wikipedia. The edit-a-thon also introduced the
participants to editing Wikipedia and contributing to Wiki projects. In
addition to this, the workshop attempted to add references to existing articles
in order to improve their credibility.</p>
<p>The all-women event was attended by
seven women from different walks of life. The participants edited five articles
on women related to culture and Indology. Dr. Aaryaa Joshi, research scholar at
Jnana Prabodhini was one of the expert trainers at the event.</p>
<p>Link to event page on meta can be found <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Day_Edit-a-thon_at_Jnana_Prabodhini,_Pune_on_9th_March_2017">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/womens-day-edit-a-thon-at-jnana-prabodhini'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/womens-day-edit-a-thon-at-jnana-prabodhini</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-04-15T07:31:38ZBlog EntryTelugu Wikipedia stall at Vijayawada Book Festival
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikipedia-stall-at-vijayawada-book-festival
<b>The Telugu Wikipedia community put up a stall at the Vijayawada Book Festival in January, in order to increase reach of the regional language encyclopaedia.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>Last in a series of book stalls set up across the Telugu-speaking region, the Telugu community set up shop at the 27th Vijayawada Book Festival from 3 to 11 January 2017 at the PWD Grounds. The community had previously set up similar book stalls in <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikipedia-stall-at-rajahmundry-book-fair-1">Rajahmundry </a>and <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikipedia-stall-at-hyderabad-book-fair">Hyderabad</a>. Considered one of the largest book festivals in India with deep-rooted cultural significance in the Telugu literary circles, the Telugu community aims to increase the reach and visibility of Telugu Wikipedia through the setting up of this stall. </p>
<p>The book festival, open for the public from 11 am to 11 pm, was inaugurated by Kendra Sahitya Akademi winner <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachapalem_Chandrasekhara_Reddy">Rachapalem Chandrasekhar Reddy</a>, with a collection of 235 stalls to browse from. The festival was organised in partnership with the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.ap.gov.in/about-ap/language-culture/">Andhra Pradesh Department of Language and </a><a class="external-link" href="http://www.ap.gov.in/about-ap/language-culture/">Culture</a><a class="external-link" href="http://www.ap.gov.in/about-ap/language-culture/"> </a>and <a class="external-link" href="http://ntrtrust.org/">NTR Trust</a>. The stall was set up by Telugu Wikipedia community members with support from CIS-A2K and NTR Trust. </p>
<p> More than 150 individuals were engaged through this event. Interested members of public would receive follow-up through "Know-How" videos of Telugu Wikipedia. This provides basic information regarding editing and contributing to Wikipedia and its sister projects. They would also receive invitations to offline events taking place in Vijayawada in the future. </p>
<p> Telugu Wikipedia editor <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pranayraj1985">User:Pranayraj1985</a> said of his experience in talking to the public about Telugu Wikipedia, "I learnt a lot about what people know about Wikipedia and what they didn't know. In general, many of the visitors exclaim when they [come to] know, there is Wikipedia in Telugu language. But, in contrast, here in Vijayawada, we could at least find handful of people who knew there is something called Telugu Wikipedia.</p>
<p> <em>The link to the events page on meta can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/2017/Stall_in_Vijayawada_Book_Festival">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikipedia-stall-at-vijayawada-book-festival'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikipedia-stall-at-vijayawada-book-festival</a>
</p>
No publisherPavan SanthoshCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaTelugu WikipediaOpenness2017-04-15T16:23:32ZBlog EntryAdikavi Nannaya University Telugu Wikipedia Workshop
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/adikavi-nannaya-university-telugu-wikipedia-workshop-1
<b>A Telugu Wikipedia introductory workshop was conducted for the students of Adikavi Nannaya University, Rajahmundry between 6- 7 January, 2017. </b>
<p> </p>
<p>A two-day Telugu Wikipedia workshop was conducted for the
students of <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adikavi_Nannaya_University">Adikavi Nannaya University</a> in Rajahmundry between 6- 7 January,
2017. The participants were post-graduate students of the Telugu Department of
the University with a notable gender ratio of 13 male and 21 female
participants.</p>
<p>The aim of the workshop was to introduce students to
Wikipedia and contributing to Wikipedia projects. They were taught basic
Wikipedia editing and the usage of Google's advanced tools. This would also
help them create tertiary sources
using primary and secondary sources. The students improved articles about their villages using references available on the
Internet. The workshop,
conducted jointly by CIS-A2K and Telugu Wikipedia community members, was key to
increasing the base of Telugu Wikipedia across the Telugu-speaking region, to cities
like Rajahmundry. Says User:విశ్వనాధ్.బి.కె., "from initial days, Wikipedia offline activities
development is Hyderabad-centric and Wikipedia activities should be done in all
areas (of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). As this event in Adikavi Nannaya
University helps in that aspect, I would like to offer all of my effort to
these kind of events."</p>
<p> Overall, the event saw the creation 32 new pages on Telugu
Wikipedia by 33 newly registered users with 99118 bytes being deleted/ added. </p>
<p>The link to event page on meta can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/2017/Adikavi_Nannaya_University_Telugu_Wikipedia_Workshop">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/adikavi-nannaya-university-telugu-wikipedia-workshop-1'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/adikavi-nannaya-university-telugu-wikipedia-workshop-1</a>
</p>
No publisherPavan SanthoshCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaTelugu WikipediaOpenness2017-04-16T08:57:21ZBlog Entry"Free-license Wings To Your Books" in Guntur
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/free-license-wings-to-your-books-in-guntur
<b>"Free-license Wings To Your Books" event held at Annamayya Library, Guntur</b>
<p>The "Free-license Wings To Your Books" (<em>"Pustakaniki Rekkalu Swecha Nakalu Hakkulu"</em> in Telugu) event, an event aimed to bring more books and content onto Telugu Wikisource was conducted by CIS-A2K with support from Annamayya Library, Guntur on 5 February, 2017. The event was primarily intended to raise awareness about free-licensing among Telugu writers and involve them in content donation on Telugu Wikisource. Telugu Wikipedia community member, User:Nrgullapalli commented on the aptness of the event saying, "this is the right event in present situation." </p>
<p>As part of the event, Writer Bhusurapalli Venkateswarlu, who had previously released his book into CC-BY-SA license and writer Peddi Sambashivarao, who supported content donation drive by encouraging fellow writers, were felicitated. The first ever Telugu book released in print directly under CC-BY-SA license - Kodihalli Murali Mohan's "Andhra Sahityamulo Biruda Namamulu" was launched at the event. CIS-A2K Community Advocate Pavan Santhosh conducted a session on the importance of free-licenses as a better alternative in current Telugu publications. The writers engaged in a discussion on the same topic. However, the event lacked female participation.</p>
<p>The link to event page on meta can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/2017/Free_Licenses-Wings_to_your_books_event_in_Guntur">here</a>.</p>
<div> </div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/free-license-wings-to-your-books-in-guntur'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/free-license-wings-to-your-books-in-guntur</a>
</p>
No publisherPavan SanthoshTelugu WikisourceCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaTelugu WikipediaOpenness2017-04-16T10:53:51ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Sangli, Maharashtra
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-sangli-maharashtra
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at Willingdon College, Sangli on 18 January, 2017</b>
<p>A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted in collaboration with Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha at Willingdon College on 18 January, 2017. The goal of the workshop was to begin the building of resources in the field of linguistics on Marathi Wikipedia. To begin with, the edit-a-thon introduced the participants to editing Wikipedia and contributing to Wiki projects. With about 50 participants(of which around 6 were female), the three-hour-long edit-a-thon involved the post-graduate and research students of the Willingdon College. </p>
<p>The edit-a-thon conducted at the Marathi Language Computer Lab of the College also focused on creating/editing Wikipedia pages related to Marathi literature and language. Extensive discussion on these issues was also conducted to develop the concept and theme of the edit-a-thon. While participants were taught basic Wikipedia editing, they were also trained in searching for relevant articles, categorisation and translation from other language Wikipedias. </p>
<p>The workshop received local media coverage by Sakal, a Marathi daily. You can read the article <a class="external-link" href="http://beta1.esakal.com/paschim-maharashtra/marathi-content-significantly-less-wikipedia-26894">here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Link to event page on meta can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Edit-a-thon_with_expert_at_Willingdon_College,_Sangli_on_18th_January_2017">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-sangli-maharashtra'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-sangli-maharashtra</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-04-16T13:22:39ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College, Kolhapur
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-rajarshi-chhatrapati-shahu-college-kolhapur
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College, Kolhapur on 23 January, 2017.</b>
<p>A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted at Shivaji's University's affiliate Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College in Kolhapur on 23 January, 2017. The edit-a-thon aimed to introduce Wikipedia to the students of the College and teach them basic editing skills. The students were trained in categorisation and translation from other language Wikipedias. In addition, the students were taught smart editing on their mobile phones using the Wikipedia app.</p>
<p>The theme of the edit-a-thon was to build resources on Marathi Wikipedia in the field of commerce, so as to keep it relevant to the students who study related subjects at the college. The three-hour-long edit-a-thon conducted at the Computer Lab of the college, involved 50 participants, a mix of male and female students. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>The link to the event page on meta can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Edit-a-thon_at_Rajarshee_Shahu_College,Kolhapur_on_23rd_January_2017">here</a>. </em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-rajarshi-chhatrapati-shahu-college-kolhapur'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-rajarshi-chhatrapati-shahu-college-kolhapur</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-04-16T14:15:43ZBlog EntryOdia Wikipedia Workshop in IIMC, Dhenkanal
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikipedia-workshop-in-iimc-dhenkanal
<b>An Odia Wikipedia Workshop was conducted at IIMC, Dhenkanal on 31 January, 2017</b>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-47782ce9-7a39-f103-835e-e62b1ba4da4b"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Since 2013, the Odia Wikipedia community has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal for enabling students of the institution to partake in and contribute to the Wikimedia movement. An Odia Wikipedia workshop was conducted for the students of the institution on 31 January, 2017. The students were given an orientation on the basics of editing Wikipedia on the web and on their smart phones in addition to an explanation of Wikipedia policies, history of Wikipedia and Wiki News.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The 45 English and Odia language students with a male: female ratio of 60: 40, who took part were given a live demonstration of these topics. Along with the help of supportive faculty members, the students were exposed to Commons and Incubator as well. Overall, the event saw the creation of 20 new editors on Odia Wikipedia. A follow-up workshop is also being planned for the students in the coming months.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikipedia-workshop-in-iimc-dhenkanal'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikipedia-workshop-in-iimc-dhenkanal</a>
</p>
No publisherSailesh PatnaikCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaOdia WikipediaOpenness2017-04-17T06:31:41ZBlog EntryOdia Wikipedia: Sambalpur University Workshop
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikipedia-sambalpur-university-workshop
<b>An Odia Wikipedia orientation-cum-workshop program was organised for the students of Sambalpur University on 27 November, 2016.</b>
<p> </p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-57c935f1-7aa4-2268-38e8-27623022a030">Over the last couple of years, the Odia Wikipedia community has been successful in organising workshops and outreach programs in different parts of coastal and central Odisha. With over 38 active Wikipedians (as of 2016), the Odia community is growing everyday and expanding across different parts of Odisha. The recent increase in the number of Wikipedians in western Odisha inspired the community members to conduct an introductory Wikipedia workshop in Sambalpur University.</span></p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-57c935f1-7aa4-4ad9-0835-7f6b5f11bb95"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">On 27th November 2016, an orientation-cum-workshop program for Odia Wikipedia was organised for the students of Computer Science and Application Department and the Odia Department in Sambalpur University. 57 participants, comprising 30 male and 27 female participants attended the event. 5 faculty members were also present. Dr. Chitta Ranjan Dash, the Vice Chancellor of the University was the Guest of Honour for the workshop. Three Odia Wikipedians- Mrutyunjay Kar, Jnanaranjan Sahu and Nistha Ranjan Dash facilitated the workshop as mentors.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-57c935f1-7aa4-7b5a-8d06-34217967e458"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">The workshop began with an introduction to Odia Wikipedia and Odia Wikisource digitisation efforts by Dr. Sarada Baboo, a professor from the Computer Science and Application department. The first session introduced the various Wikimedia projects to the participants. The participants were given an introduction on how to contribute to the different Wiki projects. They were also given an orientation on Wikipedia policies and guidelines. After this, the participants were introduced to Odia Wikipedia and its development over the years. The post lunch session trained participants on creating user accounts, articles, and other basic dos and don’ts on Wikipedia. During the training session, over 20 Wikipedians were able to create accounts.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-57c935f1-7aa4-a8ad-d5c7-f6bb586c1a79">The Wikipedia workshop in Sambalpur University was an important step to raise awareness about the Wikipedia movement in western Odisha, This was the first workshop in Sambalpur University and the second workshop in western Odisha after three years. Over <a href="http://suniv.ac.in/upload/List%20of%20Colleges%20_Aff.pdf">196 colleges </a> are affiliated to Sambalpur University, in seven different districts in western Odisha. A regular follow up with the University, the faculty and the students will help in furthering the free knowledge movement in western Odisha.</span></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikipedia-sambalpur-university-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikipedia-sambalpur-university-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherSailesh PatnaikCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaOdia WikisourceOdia WikipediaOpenness2017-04-17T06:44:47ZBlog EntryGoogle-translated Telugu articles prioritisation exercise: February iteration
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/google-translated-telugu-articles-prioritisation-exercise-february-iteration
<b>The February iteration of the Google-translated Telugu articles prioritisation exercise took place online.
</b>
<p> </p>
<p>The Google-translated Telugu articles prioritization is an online exercise intended to prioritize and improve over 1,900 machine-translated articles on Telugu Wikipedia. This project was initiated in 2009 when Google translation project took place on Telugu Wikipedia in several rounds. Jointly organised by the Telugu Wikipedia community and CIS-A2K, this exercise saw the participation of 2 Wikipedians. </p>
<p> 47 out of 116 articles have been prioritised for further improvement. Says Telugu Wikipedian <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Meena_gayathri.s">User:Meena gayathri.s</a>, "I improved Machine translated articles earlier and my major problem is
whether my contribution is being channelled properly or not. I always
used to think if we can have a list of articles that separates articles
that needed to be improved from that of deleted; it will help a lot in
this heavy task. This exercise is helping in the same aspect and that is
why I'm contributing to this in every iteration."</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/google-translated-telugu-articles-prioritisation-exercise-february-iteration'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/google-translated-telugu-articles-prioritisation-exercise-february-iteration</a>
</p>
No publisherPavan SanthoshCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaTelugu WikipediaOpenness2017-04-18T05:02:13ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal, Aurangabad
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-savitribai-phule-mahila-ekatma-samaj-mandal-aurangabad
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal in Aurangabad</b>
<p>Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal, a social work organisation working with underprivileged sections of society in Aurangabad partnered with CIS-A2K to conduct a Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon on 13 April, 2017. The aim of the workshop was to introduce Wikipedia to the participants and enable them to contribute to Wiki projects. The theme of the edit-a-thon was to build resources on topics related to rural development and women's empowerment. The four hour edit-a-thon was attended by 30 participants who made a total of 300 edits. 15 new articles were created and 60 images were uploaded to Commons. </p>
<p>The link to the event page on meta can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Thematic_Edit-a-thon_at_Savitribai_Phule_Mahila_Ekatma_Samaj_Mandal,_Aurangabad">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-savitribai-phule-mahila-ekatma-samaj-mandal-aurangabad'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-savitribai-phule-mahila-ekatma-samaj-mandal-aurangabad</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-04-19T11:44:41ZBlog EntryNASA Space Apps Challenge 2017
https://cis-india.org/openness/events/nasa-space-apps-challenge-2017
<b>The NASA Space Data Challenge (Hillhacks Pre-event) will be hosted at the Centre for Internet & Society's Bengaluru office on Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.</b>
<p><img alt="Pre-event Banner" class="full-width richtext-image" height="331" src="https://sa-media-2017.s3.amazonaws.com/media/images/Pre-Event_Banner.width-800.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJQG3YOIUOOAQEQ4Q&Signature=ZJtdQM31dRzmEALLngJXVjH3p2U%3D&Expires=1492710139" width="664" /></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Calling all hackers, designers, makers, the open source community, space enthusiasts and the ones who will join us for the main NASA Space Apps Challenge Hackathon.</p>
<p>We are thrilled to share with you that members of <a href="https://hillhacks.in">Hillhacks</a> would join us to talk about the amazing work they have done so far and about their upcoming hill hacks too.</p>
<p>Also joining would be OpenCube Labs to share their experience of their projects in previous editions of the NASA Space Apps Challenge.</p>
<p>This pre-event will be a great place for you to get your doubts out of the way about the main hackathon.</p>
<p>You possibly can meet potential team members who can give you additional dimensions for your project. You can learn how you can best leverage the data available from NASA and tackle the challenges by them.</p>
<p>See you there!</p>
<p>Participant registration is now open! <a href="https://2017.spaceappschallenge.org/locations/">Click here</a> to view Space Apps 2017 locations to find an event near you and sign up.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/events/nasa-space-apps-challenge-2017'>https://cis-india.org/openness/events/nasa-space-apps-challenge-2017</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaSpace AppsOpennessOpen ScienceEvent2017-04-20T16:53:35ZEventComments on the Right to Information Rules, 2017
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/comments-on-the-right-to-information-rules-2017
<b>On March 31st, 2017, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training released a Circular framing rules under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (“RTI Rules”). The Ministry invited comments on on the RTI Rules. CIS submitted its comments on April 25, 2017.</b>
<h3 dir="ltr">1. Preliminary</h3>
<p dir="ltr">1.1 On March 31st, 2017, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training released a Circular framing rules under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (“RTI Rules”). The Ministry invited comments on on the RTI Rules.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">2. The Centre for Internet and Society</h3>
<p dir="ltr">2.1. The Centre for Internet and Society, (“CIS”), is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with diverse abilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, and open access), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">3. Comments</h3>
<p dir="ltr">3.1 General Comments</p>
<p dir="ltr">The new RTI Rules introduce various procedural hurdles and provides a great deal of discretionary power to the CIC in dealing with RTI applications and appeals. One of the provisions which has attracted attention in the past also is the abatement of appeals upon the death of the RTI applications. This provision, explored in more detail is especially objectionable in light of the threats that RTI activists face.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">3.2 Specific Comments</p>
<p dir="ltr">3.2.1 Rule 4 of the RTI Rules states that the fees for providing information under the RTI Act would be ‘as notified by Central Government from time to time’. While the RTI Rules also prescribe the fee for filing RTI applications, this phrase provides a window to increase the fees through subsequent notifications. We recommend that the phrase “or as notified by Central Government from time to time” be deleted in order prevent prohibitive increase in the fees in future.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">3.2.2 Rule 4 of the RTI Rules also specifies the fees for provision of information via floppies and diskettes. There is no plausible reason to engage in continued rulemaking applicable to outdated modes of data storage. It would be of much more help if the rules were to prescribe fees for CDs, DVDs and email. We also submit that no fees need be charged for information provided through emails, and this mode of communication must be adopted where possible.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">3.2.3 Rule 8 (1)(viii) states that every appellant must affirm that they have not filed an appeal pertaining to similar matters before the Commission or any court. However, the same matter can lead to multiple counts of causes of actions, and the principle of res judicata barring further action should not apply in these cases. Therefore, it is recommended that this requirement is deleted.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">3.2.4 Rule 12 permits the withdrawal of an appeal on the request of the appellant and the abatement of an appeal on the death of the appellant. This provisions needs to be evaluated in light of the increasing number of cases of threats received by RTI activists. There have been close to 400 documented cases of attacks on RTI applicants,[1] including cases of murder and physical assault. This provision will serve to enable withdrawal of RTI appeals through harassment and other means of coercion.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Further, the abatement of an appeal upon death of an RTI appellant is a clause without any merit and could translate into murders of appellants to cause abatement of the appeal. Additionally, the Supreme Court’s judgment in the matter of Union of India v. Namit Sharma[2] must be kept in mind which clarified the position that RTI applications and appeals are not in the nature of lis and deal with the question of whether requested information ought to be disclosed. Therefore, there is no reason why appeals should abate upon the demise of the appellant.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">3.2.5 Rule 14 permits the CIC to return complaints due to non-compliance with the procedural rules in Rule 13. Such rules[3] have been used in the past to return complaints on unreasonable or artificial grounds. This is an example of additional procedural hurdles introduced by through the rulemaking process instead of making the process more citizen friendly.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">3.2.6 Rule 15 (iii) of the RTI Rules gives the CIC the discretion to close a case without even allowing hearing to the applicant. There is no requirement on the CIC to provide a detailed reasoning of its determination either. This rule is in violation of the right to be heard before adjudication under natural justice principles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p dir="ltr">3.7 The redressal mechanism under Rule 16 of the RTI Rules leaves a lot to be desired. Beginning with the use of the term ‘communication’ to refer to the complaint regarding a non-compliance of the CIC’s order, the rule takes a cavalier approach to addressing the significant number of cases of non-compliance with the CIC’s order. Further, there is no clear procedure spelt out with regard to how the CIC will deal with such matters and whether parties may be heard before making an adjudication. Further, there is an inconsistency in that a communication may be rejected if not submitted in the prescribed format, whereas in the case of appeals it clearly stated that they may not be returned/rejected only on the ground of non-compliance with the format.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">[1] http://attacksonrtiusers.org</p>
<p dir="ltr">[2] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/47938967/</p>
<p dir="ltr">[3] Rule 9 of the RTI Rules, 2012.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/comments-on-the-right-to-information-rules-2017'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/comments-on-the-right-to-information-rules-2017</a>
</p>
No publisheramberOpennessRTICall for Comments2017-04-27T09:25:42ZBlog EntryChemistry research in India 'still not in big league'
https://cis-india.org/openness/news/ians-april-24-2017-chemistry-research-in-india-still-not-in-big-league
<b>Despite an increase in research output and international collaboration, chemistry research, "the central science", in India is "still not in the big league", an analysis has revealed.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Originally published by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.ians.in/index.php?param=category/20/10004">IANS</a> on April 24, 2017, the news was carried on the <a class="external-link" href="http://news.indiaonline.in/Chemistry-research-in-India-still-not-in-big-league-1733663">India Online</a> news portal</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Researchers Subbiah Arunachalam, Muthu Madhan and Subbiah Gunasekaran carried out a scientometric analysis of contributions from India in leading multidisciplinary chemistry journals over the 25-year period 1991-2015.<br /><br />The study of measuring and analysing science research is called scientometrics.<br /><br />"Chemistry is the 'central science'. Whether it is drugs and pharmaceuticals, materials, or several other areas, chemistry plays a key role. In times past, say till about four decades ago, there was a strong tradition of natural products chemistry in India, but later on the emphasis moved to other branches of chemistry," the authors told IANS when asked why is it important for India to take a lead in chemistry research.<br /><br />But, as modern chemical research depends more and more on information technology - computer-based data collection and processing - India has to "try hard to keep pace" with progress worldwide, they said.<br /><br />The study comes against the backdrop of comments on chemistry research in India made in three recent reports prepared by Nature Index, Elsevier and Thomson Reuters. <br /><br />According to the Nature Index report, chemistry is doing well in India and it is the top performer, while the Thomson Reuters report, prepared for the Department of Science and Technology, says research in the field is growing rapidly in the country.<br /><br />However, India, despite its huge share of the world's population (about 17 per cent), continues to be poorly represented in the top journals, the study revealed.<br /><br />The country's share of papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society is 0.7 per cent compared to 58.4 per cent for US, 7.6 per cent for Germany and 5.1 per cent for China, and its share in Angewandte Chemie International Edition is 1.2 per cent, compared to 28 per cent for Germany, 25.3 per cent for US and 9.9 per cent for China.<br /><br />This could be due to the fact that till recently, Indian universities did not encourage mobility across disciplines.<br /><br />"That only a small number of Indian researchers and institutions publish in leading journals is also a matter for concern. India accounts for only a small number of papers in the top one percentile of the most highly cited chemistry papers, whereas China leads the world," the study pointed out.<br /><br />Chemistry research in India is still not in the big league, the authors said.<br /><br />"If we look at chemistry worldwide, what we do in India does not make big news among chemists and other scientists," they said.<br /><br />The researchers compared India's performance with that of China as a benchmark.<br /><br />"Overall, the number of chemistry papers from India increased steadily between 2007 and 2014. We have not compared India and China in this study but have merely highlighted a couple of points to emphasise how far we have to go," the authors clarified.<br /><br />China is way ahead not only in chemistry but in all sciences. In terms of number of papers and average citations, they have been ahead of India for several years, they said.<br /><br />To address the gaps, the authors suggest that researchers and funders need to identify important questions and areas of research and focus their attention on those areas.<br /><br />"At the practical level, we should have many summer schools and winter schools for young researchers, encourage collaboration, invite overseas researchers, and so on. Accountability and time-bound completion of projects are a must," the authors added.<br /><br />Of the study authors, Arunachalam and Madhan are in the DST Centre for Policy Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru while Arunachalam is also associated with the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru. Gunasekaran is in the Knowledge Resources Centre, Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/news/ians-april-24-2017-chemistry-research-in-india-still-not-in-big-league'>https://cis-india.org/openness/news/ians-april-24-2017-chemistry-research-in-india-still-not-in-big-league</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpenness2017-04-28T02:03:26ZNews ItemBig Data and Positive Social Change in the Developing World: A White Paper for Practitioners and Researchers
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/big-data-and-positive-social-change-in-developing-world
<b>I was a part of a working group writing a white paper on big data and social change, over the last six months. This white paper was produced by a group of activists, researchers and data experts who met at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Centre to discuss the question of whether, and how, big data is becoming a resource for positive social change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).</b>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Bellagio Big Data Workshop Participants. (2014). “Big data and positive social change in the developing world: A white paper for practitioners and researchers.” Oxford: Oxford Internet Institute. Available online: <a class="external-link" href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=2491555">http://ssrn.com/abstract=2491555</a>.</p>
<h2>Summary</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our working definition of big data includes, but is not limited to, sources such as social media, mobile phone use, digitally mediated transactions, the online news media, and administrative records. It can be categorised as data that is provided explicitly (e.g. social media feedback); data that is observed (e.g. mobile phone call records); and data that is inferred and derived by algorithms (for example social network structure or inflation rates). We defined four main areas where big data has potential for those interested in promoting positive social change: advocating and facilitating; describing and predicting; facilitating information exchange and promoting accountability and transparency.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In terms of <span class="ff5">advocating and facilitating</span>,<span class="_0 _"> </span> we discussed ways in which volunteered data may <span class="_0 _"> </span>help organisations to open up new public spa<span class="_0 _"></span>ces for discussion and awareness<span class="_0 _"></span>-building; how both aggregating data and working across different databa<span class="_0 _"></span>ses can be tools for building awa<span class="_0 _"></span>reness, and howthe digital data commons can also configure new<span class="_0 _"></span><span class="ff5"> </span>communities and actions<span class="_0 _"></span> (sometimes serendipitously) through data science and aggregation. Finally, we also<span class="_0 _"></span> looked at the problem of overexposure and ho<span class="_0 _"></span>wactivists and organisations can<span class="_0 _"></span> protect themselves and hide their digital footprin<span class="_0 _"></span>ts. The challenges w<span class="ls2">e</span> identified in this area were how to interpret data<span class="_0 _"></span> correctly when supplementary information may b<span class="_0 _"></span>e lacking; organisational capacity constraints aro<span class="_0 _"></span>und processing and storing data,<span class="_0 _"></span> and issues around data dissemination, i.e. the pos<span class="_0 _"></span>sible negative consequences of inadvertently ide<span class="_0 _"></span>ntifying groups or individuals<span class="_0 _"></span>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Next, we looked at the way big data can help describe and predict, functions which are particularly important in the academic, development and humanitarian areas of work where researchers can combine data into new dynamic, high-resolution datasets to detect new correlations and surface new questions. With data such as mobile phone data and Twitter analytics, understanding the data’s comprehensiveness, meaning and bias are the main challenges, accompanied by the problem of developing new and more comprehensive ethical systems to protect data subjects where data is observed rather than volunteered.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The next group of activities discussed was facilitating information exchange. We looked at mobile-based information services, where it is possible for a platform created around a particular aim (e.g. agricultural knowledge-building) to incorporate multiple feedback loops which feed into both research and action. The pitfalls include the technical challenge of developing a platform which is lean yet multifaceted in terms of its uses, and particularly making it reliably available to low-income users. This kind of platform, addressed by big data analytics, also offers new insights through data discovery and allows the provider to steer service provision according to users’ revealed needs and priorities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our last category for big data use was accountability and transparency, where organisations are using crowdsourcing methods to aggregate and analyse information in real time to establish new spaces for critical discussion, awareness and action. Flows of digital information can be managed to prioritise participation and feedback, provide a safe space to engage with policy decisions and expose abuse. The main challenges are how to keep sensitive information (and informants) safe while also exposing data and making authorities accountable; how to make the work sustainable without selling data, and how to establish feedback loops so that users remain involved in the work beyond an initial posting. In the crowdsourcing context, new challenges are also arising in terms of how to verify and moderate real-time flows of information, and how to make this process itself transparent.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Finally, we also discussed the relationship between big and open data. Open data can be seen as a system of governance and a knowledge commons, whereas big data does not by its nature involve the idea of the commons, so we leaned toward the term ‘opening data’, i.e. processes which could apply to commercially generated as much as public-sector datasets. It is also important to understand where to prioritise opening, and where this may exclude people who are not using the ‘right’ technologies: for example, analogue methods (e.g. nailing a local authority budget to a town hall door every month) may be more open than ‘open’ digital data that’s available online.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our discussion surfaced many questions to do with representation and meaning: must datasets be interpreted by people with local knowledge? For researchers to get access to data that is fully representative, do we need a data commons? How are data proprietors engaging with the power dynamics and inequalities in the research field, and how can civil society engage with the private sector on its own terms if data access is skewed towards elites? We also looked at issues of privacy and risk: do we need a contextual risk perspective rather than a single set of standards? What is the role of local knowledge in protecting data subjects, and what kinds of institutions and practices are necessary? We concluded that there is a case to be made for building a data commons for private/public data, and for setting up new and more appropriate ethical guidelines to deal with big data, since aggregating, linking and merging data present new kinds of privacy risk. In particular, organisations advocating for opening datasets must admit the limitations of anonymisation, which is currently being ascribed more power to protect data subjects than it merits in the era of big data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our analysis makes a strong case that it is time for civil society groups in particular to become part of the conversation about the power of data. These groups are the connectors between individuals and governments, corporations and governance institutions, and have the potential to promote big data analysis that is locally driven and rooted. Civil society groups are also crucially important but currently underrepresented in debates about privacy and the rights of technology users, and civil society as a whole has a responsibility for building critical awareness of the ways big data is being used to sort, categorise and intervene in LMICs by corporations, governments and other actors. Big data is shaping up to be one of the key battlefields of our era, incorporating many of the issues civil society activists worldwide have been working on for decades. We hope that this paper can inform organisations and<br />individuals as to where their particular interests may gain traction in the debate, and what their contribution may look like.</p>
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<p><b><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/big-data-and-positive-social-change.pdf">Click to download the full white paper here</a></b>. (PDF, 1.95 Mb)</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/big-data-and-positive-social-change-in-developing-world'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/big-data-and-positive-social-change-in-developing-world</a>
</p>
No publishernishantBig DataPrivacyInternet GovernanceFeaturedOpennessHomepage2014-10-01T03:52:35ZBlog Entry