Reunion Intel Corporation 15.11.06

Durante el mes de Noviembre nos visito la Sra. Kathi R. Kitner, Ph.D. (anthropologist)  para realizar un estudio de la forma en que usamos las nuevas tecnologias computacionales como tambien los aparatos modernos de comunicacion.

Mitchel Varas

De esta forma ella describe su trabajo en nuestra comunidad

In July and November, 2006, Peñalolén was visited by researchers from Intel Corporation, the multinational chip manufacturer based in Santa Clara, California. During November, one researcher,Dr. Kathi Kitner, a cultural anthropologist working in the social science division of Intel, People and Practices Research (PaPR), carried out a series of interviews and visits with various persons and groups in Peñalolén. She is working on a project for Intel entitled "Community Based Technology Adoption" which focuses on understanding the process of communities adopting (or not!) new technologies like computers, cell phones, the Internet, digital cameras, MP3 players, etc. Key to this understanding is learning how people are making the technology work for them in the areas of economic development, education, health and government. The research team has visited communities in China, the United States, Canada, India and South Africa. The researchers have found, however, that even when problems such as a lack of electricity or the cost of a PC have been overcome, many people still do not like to use computers because they don't see how they can be relevant for their own lives. A good percentage of people interviewed have told the research team that they don't need computers, they need jobs.
Can computers and the Internet be made relevant for all (not just well-to-do) people around the world?
Because the Internet has been developed in a great part by people in the developed economies, websites and online services may not adequately serve the majority of the world's population. For example, what are the things most important to residents of
an agricultural village in India? Or to a poor township in South Africa? What about in a ghetto in Chicago? What are the most important things in life for those who live in Peñalolén? Dr. Kitner came to Peñalolén because it has the reputation of more successfully using ICTs to help develop the municipality's economy and improve the
social conditions of Peñalolénos than do many other places in the world. There is El Encuentro telecenter, El Encuentro community radio, new telecenters sprouting up around Peñalolén, digital libraries (BiblioRed), El Centro Yunus, and the entire government of Peñalolén is going online and digital. She wishes to understand if these types of developments are helping people in some way, if they enjoy them, use them, and how such developments could be improved in the future. She is also particularly interested in if and how women and men use the TICs in different ways, and if so, how and why.
She will be retuning to Peñalolén at the end of April/early May, 2007 to wrap up her research, particularly with regard to women and the use of TICs.

Kathi R. Kitner, Ph.D.
People and Practices Research/
Intel Research
http://www.intel.com