Organizations serving rural communities in Kenya have found use for media as a tool of replacement for personal interface in the daily communication with the beneficiaries of their programmes in deprived areas. The in...Organizations serving rural communities in Kenya have found use for media as a tool of replacement for personal interface in the daily communication with the beneficiaries of their programmes in deprived areas. The interactions between two non-governmental organizations （NGOs） and rural beneficiaries in Isinya, Kajiado County, provide case studies of how NGOs modernize their outreach via new media and how beneficiaries respond to the change. The research was not only concerned with the presence of information technology （IT） and online facilities in remote and deprived locations. It also evaluated responses to the replacement of person-to-person contact with technologies, such as social media, the Internet, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory （CD-ROMs）, and Digital Versatile Disc （DVDs）. Conducted in four focus groups, the research evaluated the uptake of new media technologies by beneficiaries following the transition, asked whether beneficiaries engaged with the materials being communicated, and assessed whether this confluence of technology and culture had eased the flow of communication, or unsettled it. Evidence of discomfort among the older （over 50-year-old） beneficiaries stemmed from fear of failure to master the technologies and a desire for a continuation of regular interpersonal interaction with the NGO field officers （whose field trips were scaled back in preference of computer-mediated communication）. However, younger （under 40-year-old） beneficiaries were less insistent on regular interpersonal visits and were appreciative of the use of technology, and of the building of Maarifa Centres to give the beneficiaries free access to internet, DVDs, and hard drive-based information materials. Another demographic, beneficiaries aged between 40 and 50 years old, said they were not comfortable with the change and wanted the interpersonal interaction to continue, but were open to a longer-term transition once the beneficiaries were all conversant with the uses of the new technologies. The study recommends a better managed transition that accommodated the beneficiaries’ fears, misgivings, and cultural preference for verbal, face-to-face consultation.展开更多
The function of a network is affected by its structure. For example, the presence of highly interactive individuals, or hubs, influences the extent and rate of information spread across a network. In a network of inte...The function of a network is affected by its structure. For example, the presence of highly interactive individuals, or hubs, influences the extent and rate of information spread across a network. In a network of interactions, the duration over which individual variation in interactions persists may affect how the network operates. Individuals may persist in their behavior over time and across situations, often referred to as personality. Colonies of social insects are an example of a biological system in which the structure of the coordinated networks of interacting workers may greatly influence information flow within the colony, and therefore its collective behavior. Here I investigate the effects of persistence in walking patterns on interaction networks us- ing computer simulations that are parameterized using observed behavior of harvester ants. I examine how the duration of persis- tence in spatial behavior influences network structure. Furthermore, I explore how spatial features of the environment affect the relationship between persistent behavior and network structure. I show that as persistence increases, the skewness of the weighted degree distribution of the interaction network increases. However, this relationship holds only when ants are confined in a space with boundaries, but not when physical barriers are absent. These findings suggest that the influence of animal personalities on network structure and function depends on the environment in which the animals reside [Current Zoology 61 （1）： 98-106, 2015].展开更多
文摘Organizations serving rural communities in Kenya have found use for media as a tool of replacement for personal interface in the daily communication with the beneficiaries of their programmes in deprived areas. The interactions between two non-governmental organizations （NGOs） and rural beneficiaries in Isinya, Kajiado County, provide case studies of how NGOs modernize their outreach via new media and how beneficiaries respond to the change. The research was not only concerned with the presence of information technology （IT） and online facilities in remote and deprived locations. It also evaluated responses to the replacement of person-to-person contact with technologies, such as social media, the Internet, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory （CD-ROMs）, and Digital Versatile Disc （DVDs）. Conducted in four focus groups, the research evaluated the uptake of new media technologies by beneficiaries following the transition, asked whether beneficiaries engaged with the materials being communicated, and assessed whether this confluence of technology and culture had eased the flow of communication, or unsettled it. Evidence of discomfort among the older （over 50-year-old） beneficiaries stemmed from fear of failure to master the technologies and a desire for a continuation of regular interpersonal interaction with the NGO field officers （whose field trips were scaled back in preference of computer-mediated communication）. However, younger （under 40-year-old） beneficiaries were less insistent on regular interpersonal visits and were appreciative of the use of technology, and of the building of Maarifa Centres to give the beneficiaries free access to internet, DVDs, and hard drive-based information materials. Another demographic, beneficiaries aged between 40 and 50 years old, said they were not comfortable with the change and wanted the interpersonal interaction to continue, but were open to a longer-term transition once the beneficiaries were all conversant with the uses of the new technologies. The study recommends a better managed transition that accommodated the beneficiaries’ fears, misgivings, and cultural preference for verbal, face-to-face consultation.
文摘The function of a network is affected by its structure. For example, the presence of highly interactive individuals, or hubs, influences the extent and rate of information spread across a network. In a network of interactions, the duration over which individual variation in interactions persists may affect how the network operates. Individuals may persist in their behavior over time and across situations, often referred to as personality. Colonies of social insects are an example of a biological system in which the structure of the coordinated networks of interacting workers may greatly influence information flow within the colony, and therefore its collective behavior. Here I investigate the effects of persistence in walking patterns on interaction networks us- ing computer simulations that are parameterized using observed behavior of harvester ants. I examine how the duration of persis- tence in spatial behavior influences network structure. Furthermore, I explore how spatial features of the environment affect the relationship between persistent behavior and network structure. I show that as persistence increases, the skewness of the weighted degree distribution of the interaction network increases. However, this relationship holds only when ants are confined in a space with boundaries, but not when physical barriers are absent. These findings suggest that the influence of animal personalities on network structure and function depends on the environment in which the animals reside [Current Zoology 61 （1）： 98-106, 2015].
