Technology & Social Change Group

06/10/2023

Jason Young was part of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported collaboration this summer to set up a community Internet network in the Inuvialuit community of Ulukhaktok, Canada. The Arctic village now has a free internet option, providing a potential model for other remote areas.

A free internet option is now available in Ulukhaktok, one of Canada's most remote Arctic villages, something those involved in the project say could become a model for other places in remote areas. "I really do see this as a pilot and something that would be easy to replicate in any community in

06/10/2023

Stacey Wedlake is giving a talk on Thursday, October 12 at the Digital Inclusion Research Forum. Join us to learn more about Wedlake and Maria Garrido's work on Refugee Women's Technology Ecosystems.
Check out the talk: https://dallasfed.org/cd/events/2023/23di
Read the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2023.2237429

03/08/2023

🔖Read our new open access paper, “Learning Technology Systems in Everyday Life: Women’s Experiences Navigating Refugee Resettlement in the United States,” in the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies: https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2023.2237429

TASCHA researchers Maria Garrido, Stacey Wedlake and Katya Yefimova, and Negin Dahya and Maleeha Iqbal of the University of Toronto, studied the role of technology for refugee women in resettlement. The article provides valuable insights into refugee women's lived experiences navigating different social and technical environments, and barriers that remain to technology access and education for this population.

This article presents findings from research on women’s lived experiences with technology in refugee resettlement. Participants include focus group discussions with 22 refugee women and interviews ...

17/07/2023

TASCHA researchers developed a training resource to foster inclusive data-driven decision-making for ocean communities. Read the article and check out the video of a recent talk featuring Araba Sey, Yosh*taka Ota, and Chris Rothschild:

By Kayla Pohl

22/06/2023

We hope to see many iSchoolers past and present at this year's ALA Annual Conference! There will be sessions with Sarah Nguyễn, Chris Jowaisas, Cindy Altick Aden, and Jason C. Young of the iSchool and Technology & Social Change Group. You may also visit the iSchool's booth ( #4740) to say hello and pick up your copy of the latest faculty books, signed by the authors!

09/05/2023

iSchool doctoral researcher Charles Bugre and research scientist Stacey Wedlake shared a paper at this year’s iConference, titled “The Potential of Digital Literacy to Curb Problematic Information: An Integrative Literature Review.”

They found that some studies indicate that digital literacy can help address problematic information, but the concept and operationalization need to change. Bugre and Wedlake suggest that incorporating games into instructional practices may help.

iSchool faculty and student researchers who presented at iConference 2023 also include: Yubing Tian, Anh Le, Carole Palmer, Chris Coward, Jin Ha Lee, Megan Finn, Matthew Saxton, Nam-ho Park, and Ria Antony.

Learn more about Bugre and Wedlake's research: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1007/978-3-031-28035-1_28

01/05/2023

TASCHA's Maria Garrido and Fulbright Scholar Matias Centeno presented at the United Nations Regional Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean. They spoke on the progress of Latin America toward inclusive access to technology.
https://foroalc2030.cepal.org/2023/es

31/03/2023

GeekWire featured highlights and key lessons from the recent MisinfoDay 2023 program for Washington high school students, teachers, librarians and other educators. Chris Coward of TASCHA and CIP was one of the presenters. The program was co-organized and co-presented through a statewide partnership between the Center for an Informed Public at UW and WSU Murrow College.

Hundreds of Seattle-area high school students learned how to discern fact from fiction at the University of Washington’s 2023 MisinfoDay earlier this month. The event helped students read charts, evaluate… Read More

20/03/2023

TASCHA worked with the IFLA - International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions on Development and Access to Information (DA2i), a series of reports that monitor countries’ progress on providing meaningful access to information for all people since the U.N. 2030 Agenda was ratified in 2015. Among the findings:

-Freedom is on the decline.
-There is little progress on gender equity.
-More of the world is now online.

Check out the infographics explaining the findings:

By Doug Parry and Maria Garrido

09/03/2023

259 million fewer women than men use the internet, especially in less developed countries. Despite efforts to close the gender digital divide, progress has been slow. Our new research on the gender digital divide in Ghana has revealed disconnects between perceptions and action, as well as some solutions: https://tascha.uw.edu/despite-policies-societal-barriers-hinder-young-womens-stem-education-in-ghana/

24/02/2023

TASCHA's Stacey Wedlake will be on a panel at NDIA's Net Inclusion 2023 Conference - March 1: "What We Can Learn From Digital Inclusion Research: How Practitioners Apply Research." Alongside Joyce Abbott, John Horrigan, Roberto Gallardo & Aaron Sankin.

Wed 3/1 • 10- 11:30am CT https://netinclusion2023.sched.com/event/1B31K/what-we-can-learn-from-digital-inclusion-research-how-practitioners-apply-research

11/02/2023

Check out this report on our community archives project, a collaboration between TASCHA and the Tacoma Public Library. The overall purpose of the project is to bring community members and organizations together to carry out a fully participatory process to broaden participation and inclusion within cultural heritage collections.

This report describes the Phase I activities and outcomes of The Community Archives Center for Tacoma, which is a two-year IMLS National Leadership Project (LG-250126-OLS-21) being carried out by the...

14/12/2022

Introducing the new TASCHA website! The new TASCHA website has been in the works for some time and we are proud to announce the site is now live and located at the same address: tascha.uw.edu. We welcome visitors with featured content focused on our projects and publications. Visit us at https://tascha.uw.edu/

The Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) is a center for multidisciplinary research at the UW Information School that explores the complex relationship between digital technologies and...

15/11/2022

Senior Research Scientist, Jason Young, will speak about the project, "Exploring The Benefits and Challenges of Community-Powered Connectivity In The New Arctic" at tomorrow's NNA Annual Meeting. More at

Panel: Arctic Economies, Development, and Well-Being

25/10/2022

Apply for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Opportunity Fund Fellowship. Applications from people working on broadband access, adoption, equity, and use are encouraged. Deadline to apply is October 31st.https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/Fellowship-Call-2022.pdf

20/09/2022

The Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund aims to support a new generation of broadband scholars, practitioners, and advocates. Apply for the fellowship by October 15th.

07/09/2022

Mentor an MLIS student! The student-led iSTAMP pairs students earning their Masters in Library and Information Science degrees with professionals in the field. Applications close Sept. 10! Apply today https://ischool.uw.edu/alumni/get-involved/istamp

Mentor an MLIS student! The student-led iSTAMP (Student-to-Alumni-Mentorship Program) pairs students earning their Master of Library and Information Sci...

15/08/2022

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently awarded a total of more than $1.3 million in funding for research projects led by faculty at the University of Washington Information School. The projects include efforts to help libraries combat misinformation, foster inclusion of neurodiverse people, and diversify the librarianship field.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently awarded a total of more than $1.3 million in funding for research projects led by faculty at t...

26/07/2022

Even before the official launch of Loki’s Loop in June 2022, the research team at the University of Washington Information School received numerous requests for collaboration from across the world. The first two organizations they agreed to support are in New Zealand and Latvia. In addition to the benefits to the local communities, the partnerships have been useful for learning how the game translates to different cultures. The team is using these case studies to better support organizations in other countries that want to localize the escape room games. Keep reading on the TASCHA blog https://bit.ly/3OwtrpP

Localizing the Misinformation Escape Room: How organizations outside the US are adapting the game to serve their communities Update Technology & Social Change Group on July 25, 2022 Even before the official launch of Loki’s Loop in June 2022, the research team at the University of Washington Infor...

11/07/2022

The Benefits and Challenges of Community-Powered Connectivity In The New Arctic project will launch interdisciplinary research into community-powered telecommunications systems in support of the economic, scientific, and socio-cultural needs of Inuvialuit communities in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Learn about the planning grant and project https://bit.ly/3R2UR99

This planning grant will launch interdisciplinary research into community-powered telecommunications systems in support of the economic, scientific, and socio-cultural needs of Inuvialuit communities in Canada’s Northwest Territories. This planning will guide and inform subsequent full research pr...

08/07/2022

With the end of the academic year, it’s time to review TASCHA’s work of the past year. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to play a role. On one hand we had to either postpone projects or replace field-based methods with remote methods (e.g. Zoom interviews), directly impacting the course and outcomes of these efforts. On the other hand, the pandemic has shined a spotlight on digital inequities, thereby giving increased importance to our work. Read about all that we've accomplished on our latest blog, 2021-2022: TASCHA Academic Year in Review https://bit.ly/3PbsJyT

07/07/2022

New report describes the Phase I activities and outcomes of The Community Archives Center for Tacoma project. The two-year IMLS National Leadership Project brings community members and organizations together to carry out a fully participatory process to broaden participation and inclusion within cultural heritage collections. https://bit.ly/3OE6Hoq

This report describes the Phase I activities and outcomes of The Community Archives Center for Tacoma, which is a two-year IMLS National Leadership Project (LG-250126-OLS-21) being carried out by the Tacoma Public Library (TPL) with support from the University of Washington (UW). The overall purpose...

29/06/2022

If you're at , make your way to our open session "Researching Misinformation in ICTD" today, June 29th at 1:30pm PST in CSE2 001. https://ictd.org/schedule/

June 27 8.00 Registration + Coffee 8.30 ICTD Opening + Paper Session #1 10.00 Break 10.30 Paper Session #2 12.00 Lunch 13.30 ICTD Open Sessions 15.15 Break 15.45 ICTD Open Sessions 18.00 Virtual Op…

24/06/2022

You can still register for next week. Attend our 2 sessions, "Reconfiguring ICTD Research in the Wake of COVID-19" and "Researching Misinformation in ICTD" Learn more https://ictd.org/schedule/

June 27 8.00 Registration + Coffee 8.30 ICTD Opening + Information & Society 10.00 Break 10.30 Equity & Justice 12.00 Lunch 13.30 ICTD Open Sessions 15.15 Break 15.45 ICTD Open Sessions 17.…

16/06/2022

Loki’s Loop games immerse people in an interactive escape room of manipulated media, social media bots, deepfakes, and other forms of deception to learn about misinformation. These games are designed to improve people’s awareness of misinformation tactics and generate reflection on the emotional triggers and psychological biases that make misinformation so powerful. Loki’s Loop games are available for libraries, schools, and organizations with an educational mission, in both online and in-person versions. Loki’s Loop is a research project of the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public in partnership with the UW Technology & Social Change Group, UW GAMER Research Group and Puzzle Break. Learn more https://bit.ly/3tB195M

Loki's Loop is a virtual escape room research project sponsored by the University of Washington Information School.

06/06/2022

The new project lead by TASCHA Senior Research Scientist Chris Jowaisas, Public Library Internet Connectivity (PLIC), focuses on collecting and analyzing the types, speeds, and costs of internet connections at the 17,000+ public library outlets in the US. https://bit.ly/3zslrlw

The project is focused on collecting and analyzing the types, speeds, and costs of internet connections at the 17,000+ public library outlets in the United States. Currently, there is no comprehensive dataset for internet connectivity for public libraries. This project is focused on assembling and a...

16/05/2022

How can you use an escape room to help inform library patrons about misinformation? Join this WebJunction webinar on June 14th to learn about new programming resources for your library! https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/misinformation-escape-room.html

How can you use an escape room to help inform library patrons about misinformation? Join this webinar to learn about new programming resources for your library!

10/05/2022

New report on the social, cultural & technological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in family farming: the case of Washington State by Fulbright Fellow Matias Centeno and TASCHA Principal Research Scientist Maria Garrido https://bit.ly/3FC0aXN

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated transformations that we were expecting to happen in decades. The so-called "new normal" gave way to a covidianity characterized by structural instability affecting daily life, the fragility of economic systems and political cycles, speeding up technical shifts,....

12/04/2022

As part of the “Leveraging Open Data for Community Benefit” project, an exploration of open data was undertaken to identify and examine open data sets that could be used in helping public library staff learn about their communities and assist them in planning programs and services. See the new guide on Leveraging Use of Open Data by Public Library Staff for Community Benefit: Process for Data Sources and Questions https://bit.ly/3NNLIQl

As part of the “Leveraging Open Data for Community Benefit” project, an exploration of open data was undertaken to identify and examine open data sets that could be used in helping public library staff learn about their communities and assist them in planning programs and services.

07/04/2022

Today is We hope you’ll join us in investing in the futures of University of Washington Information School students and ensuring that every student has access to our programs and research. Make your gift at: givingday.uw.edu/ischool

Uniting Passion with Purpose