From: sam rossiter <ozzysamuk@yahoo.com>
As some of you will be aware I writing an evaluation
of the project that you are running with the Easton
residents network (ERN).
My methodology for doing this has been one of action,
or participatory research what this means is that I
have come to the project with no predetermined theory
that Im out to prove or disprove.
In this style of enquiry there is no real distinction
between the researcher and the researched (subjects in
conventional research speak). The idea is that we are
all defined as participants, and that we all have
equal footing in determining what questions will be
asked, what information will be analysed, and how
conclusions and courses of action will be determined.
The thinking is that you will know more about the
project and the constraints that you are operating
under, and so will know what kind of questions it is
useful to have asked and answered.
This quote kind of explains what Im trying to do
One of the central goals of qualitative evaluation is
to provide detailed descriptions of programs through
the eyes of stakeholders, along with the insights of
the evaluator, the place of the evaluator is to
integrate the views of many stakeholders providing
feedback on those views so that everyone understands
the program better than before. (Posovac and Carey,
1989,p 236 )
So far what I have done is to go and speak to the
people who are receiving the computers in the ERN
project; and tried to get their take on what they will
actually use the computer for, what they feel about
the ERN project, and what kind of training they might
want.
It seemed that this was the most basic level at which
to begin my enquiry.
Where I have found uncertainty or scepticism I have
tried to enthuse people about the advan
tages of linux,
and of the potential of the Internet generally to
provide information and communication possibilities,
and I hope that in so doing I have already made a
small contribution to the project.
What Ive found is that most of the computer
recipients already have some considerable computer
experience and that there is a certain amount of
(understandable?) resistance to using a completely new
operating system. Although it should be noted that
these are generalisations and some people are open to
the idea of linux and some have little or no
experience with computers.
I have noted that the computers in the three sheltered
housing schemes (Greenhaven, Millhouse, and Baynton)
have a potentially larger user base that the other
computer locations. The benefits for the elderly
residents are likely to be significant if they are
able to make full use of the technology.
Some possible uses that have been raised by the
wardens or myself include:
Researching Genological information
Locating friends or relatives
Contacting friends and relatives who are
geographically distant
Making cheap voice calls overseas (is this possible on
the wireless network?)
Recording personal histories online
Contacting or making friends in other supported
housing blocks
Ordering shopping online
Finding medical information
Finding information about council services
Contacting service providers
Once the Green haven node is in place I propose to
spend some time speaking to and coaching the residents
there in order to find out what kind of questions they
have, and what they find the most interesting
applications are. Hopefully this will lead to the
development of a program that can be applied to other
sheltered housing schemes, as they become part of the
network.
I realise that it is no small task just to get the
technical details of a project such as this resolved,
and equall
y that most of the time that is committed is
on a volunteer basis. Neither do I underestimate how
many hours have been committed to the project as a
labour of love, and I hope that my questioning is
taken in the spirit that it is intended – to prompt
friendly debate and useful analysis rather than as
any implied criticism.
Questions that have occurred to me whilst talking to
people, or hanging around in the lab have included:
Are the three partners (Bristol wireless/ ERN/ Linux
IT) working well together?
How could the information sharing between them be
improved?
Would a project e-mail list be useful?
Have ERN got clearly defined project aims?
Is Bristol Wireless in a position to try to clarify
what they are trying to achieve?
Who is providing training and help for these new linux
users?
If training is not availible can they use the more
familiar windows operating system- or will this mean
they are not allowed to use the wireless network?
Can they help each other, if just a few champions
are trained?
Are there enough volunteer hours available to support
the ten groups?
Or do funding sources need to be found for trainers?
Do you need to stimulate demand for Internet
connectivity?
Or just service a pre-existing demand?
If you feel you have answers to any, or all of these
questions, then please let me know your thoughts.
Equally if you can think of better questions that I
could spend my time investigating then please let me
know.
Thanks Sam
). From this, we will have a schedule of broadcasts for the day, and a list of appropriate text/image content.
, several projects reaching critical stages.
