Canada – Page 3 – Philbu's Blog

Article: “We were on the outside looking in”: MyKnet.org – A First Nations Online Social Environment in Northern Ontario

2012/07/26 philbu No Comments

Bell, B., Budka, P., Fiser, A. 2012. “We were on the outside looking in”: MyKnet.org – A First Nations online social environment in northern Ontario. In A. Clement, M. Gurstein, G. Longford, M. Moll & L. R. Shade (Eds.), Connecting Canadians: Investigations in Community Informatics (pp. 237-254). Edmonton: Athabasca University Press.

“In 2000, one of Canada’s leading Aboriginal community networks, the Kuh-ke-nah Network, or K-Net, was on the verge of expanding into broadband services. (For more on K-Net, see chapter 14.) K-Net’s management organization, Keewaytinook Okimakanak Tribal Council, had acquired funding and resources to become one of Industry Canada’s Smart Communities demonstration projects. Among the innovative services that K-Net introduced at the time was MyKnet.org, a system of personal home pages intended for remote First Nations users in a region of Northern Ontario where numerous communities have lived without adequate residential telecom service well into the millennium (Fiser, Clement, and Walmark 2006; Ramírez et al. 2003). Shortly thereafter, and through K-Net’s community-based Internet infrastructure, this free-of-charge, free-of-advertising, locally supported, online social environment grew from its core constituency of remote First Nations communities to host over 30,000 registered user accounts (of which approximately 20,000 represent active home pages). …”

free chapter download: http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120193

Free e-Book: Connecting Canadians: Investigations in Community Informatics

2012/07/23 philbu No Comments

A. Clement, M. Gurstein, G. Longford, M. Moll & L. R. Shade (Eds.), Connecting Canadians: Investigations in Community Informatics. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press.

“Connecting Canadians represents the work of the Community Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN), the largest national and international research effort to examine the burgeoning field of community informatics, a cross-disciplinary approach to the mobilization of information and communications technologies (ICT) for community change.

Funded for four years by the SSHRC’s Initiative for the New Economy, CRACIN systematically studied a wide variety of Canadian community ICT initiatives, bringing perspectives from sociology, computer science, critical theory, women’s studies, library and information sciences, and management studies to bear on networking technologies. A comprehensive thematic account of this in-depth research, Connecting Canadians will be an essential resource for NGOs, governments, the private sector, and multilateral agencies across the globe.”

Download the book or single chapters for free: http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120193

Vortrag: IKT als Werkzeuge zur Reduktion erzwungener Mobilität

2012/05/27 philbu No Comments

Vortrag im Rahmen der 7. Tage der Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie: “Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) als Werkzeuge zur Reduktion erzwungener Mobilität” (PDF)

Aus dem Inhalt:

Indigene in Kanada & im Nordwestlichen Ontario
Sitation von First Nations im Nordwestlichen Ontario
Indigene IKT im Nordwestlichen Ontario: KO-KNET
Reduktion erzwungener Mobilität durch IKT
IKT-Anwendungspraktiken: Isolation vs. Sozialität
Indigene IKT: Ergebnisse aktueller Studien

Indigene IKT: Ergebnisse aktueller Studien:

IKT-Praktiken beeinflussen …
a) (kulturelle) Identitätskonstruktion & -verhandlung
b) (soziale) Vergemeinschaftungsformen & -prozesse
c) Kommunikationspraktiken

Entscheidend sind …
a) Kontrolle von & Bezug zu IKT
b) Soziokulturelle, geographische & politische Kontexte/Rahmenbedingungen/Möglichkeiten

Vortrag: Indigene Medientechnologien

2012/04/24 philbu No Comments

Gastvortrag im Rahmen der Vorlesung “Einführung in die Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie” (Sommersemester 2012, Leitung: Elke Mader): “Indigene Medientechnologien – Produktion & Anwendungspraktiken aus medienanthropologischer Perspektive“: Teil 1 / Teil 2 (PDF)

Aus dem Inhalt:

Medientechnologien aus kultur- und sozialanthropologischer & ethnographischer Perspektive
Indigene Medien:
Indigene?
Indigene IKT: „outreach“ Praktiken z.B. EZLN in Mexiko, „inreach“ Praktiken: z.B. KO-NET in Kanada
Indigene Medientechnologieproduktion: Beispiel „Internet für First Nations in Kanada“
Indigene Medienanwendungspraktiken: Beispiel „MyKnet.org: Social Networking für First Nations in Kanada“ – Identitätskonstruktion, Vergemeinschaftungsformen, ethnographische Felderforschung

Presentation: Cyberactivism = cultural activism

2012/03/10 philbu No Comments

At the 2nd UnlikeUs conference in Amsterdam, I gave a talk on cyberactivism, with KO-Knet and MyKnet.org as examples for the indigenous case.

Budka, Philipp. 2012. Indigenous cyberactivism: the case of KO-Knet and MyKnet.org. Presentation at UnlikeUs conference, Amsterdam, 10.03.2012. (PDF)

Main points:

case for media / technology diversity that is cultural diversity
through activist projects and practices
need to support local languages, cultural heritage & practices
through (1) control & ownership, (2) cooperation, networking & sharing

Publications, papers & presentations about MyKnet.org

2012/02/16 philbu No Comments

This is a list of publications, papers and presentations that results from research on MyKnet.org, an online social environment for First Nations people of northwestern Ontario, Canada. For more information on MyKnet.org and the research project, take a look at the summary of the MyKnet.org research project and the MyKnet.org research website.

Publications

Bell, B., Budka, P. & Fiser, A. 2012. “We were on the outside looking in” – MyKnet.org: A First Nations online social environment in northern Ontario. In Clement, A., Gurstein, M., Longford, G., Moll, M. & Shade, L. R. (Eds.) Connecting Canadians: Investigations in Community Informatics. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press. Forthcoming.

Budka, P. 2009. Indigenous media technology production in northern Ontario, Canada. In Ertler, K.-D. & Lutz, H. (Eds.) Canada in Grainau / Le Canada à Grainau: A multidisciplinary survey of Canadian Studies after 30 years. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Budka, P., Bell, B., & Fiser, A. 2009. MyKnet.org: How Northern Ontario’s First Nation communities made themselves at home on the World Wide Web. The Journal of Community Informatics, 5(2), Online: http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/568/450

Papers and presentations at conferences

Budka, P. 2011. Connecting First Nations through media and communication technologies in northern Ontario, Canada. Paper at “American Indian Workshop (AIW)”, Graz, Austria: Graz University, 31 March – 3 April.

Budka, P. 2010. Popular culture and music in an indigenous online environment. Paper at “11th Biennial Conference of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA)”, Maynooth, Ireland: National University of Irland Maynooth, 24-27 August.

Budka, P. 2010. Indigene Medienproduktion im Nordwestlichen Ontario, Kanada. Presentation at “Tage der Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie”, Vienna, Austria: University of Vienna, 22 April.

Budka, P. 2009. Die Bedeutung von (kultureller) Identität in einer indigenen Online-Umgebung (MyKnet.org). Paper at “Internet und Identitätskonstruktion von Jugendlichen Workshop”, Vienna, Austria: University of Vienna, 30 October.

Budka, P. 2008. Indigenous territories on the World Wide Web: How First Nation people in Northwestern Ontario make themselves at home online. Paper at “Internet Research 9.0 Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers”, Copenhagen, Denmark: IT University of Copenhagen, 16-18 October.

Budka, P. 2008. Indigenous media technology production in Northern Ontario, Canada. Paper at “10th Biennial Conference of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA)”, Ljubljana, Slovenia: University of Ljubljana, 26-30 August.

Budka, P. 2008. Populärkulturen in einer First Nation Internet Umgebung: Hip Hop als Element jugendlicher Identitätskonstruktion und Repräsentation. Paper at “Wiener Tage der Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie”, Vienna, Austria: University of Vienna, 10-11 April.

Budka, P. 2007. The new mediation of traumatic experiences: the First Nations online environment MyKnet.org and suicides in Northern Ontario, Canada. Paper at “Sites/Cites of Trauma Workshop”, Gothenburg, Sweden:Gothenburg University, 5-6 October.

Budka, P., Grünberg, G., & Trupp, C. 2007. Indigene und Internet in den Amerikas. Ein komparatives medienanthropologisches Projekt. Presentation at “Wiener Tage der Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie”, Vienna, Austria: University of Vienna, 26-27 April.

Bell, B., Budka, P., & Fiser, A. 2007. “We were on the outside looking in” – MyKnet.org: a First Nations online social network in Northern Ontario. Paper at the “5th Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN) Workshop”, Montreal, Canada: Concordia University, 20-22 June.

Report on the MyKnet.org and Facebook Online Survey, April – December 2011

2012/01/31 philbu No Comments

Budka, Philipp. 2012. Report on the MyKnet.org and Facebook Online Survey, April-December 2011.
http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/course/view.php?id=7

Abstract

This report presents and discusses findings of an online survey which aims to contribute to the understanding of First Nation online practices. By looking at two popular web services, MyKnet.org, a regional First Nation homepage environment, and Facebook, the global leader in online social networking, it becomes clear that for the First Nation people of northwestern Ontario the internet is the most important communication medium. These two online services have become ubiquitous media technologies that are used to connect and represent people in this remote region. They are well integrated into people’s daily lives and practices; not only as communication tools, but also as subjects of discussion. As participants to this online survey (N=117) indicate, the popularity of MyKnet.org and Facebook is mainly due to the fact that those online services are easy and free to use for keeping in touch with family and friends. Besides maintaining and fostering social connections, people also utilize MyKnet.org and Facebook to share stories about cultural activities as well as music and videos, which is considered an important cultural practice. Survey results suggest further that while Facebook has replaced MyKnet.org in terms of online communicating and connecting, the Aboriginal online service is still being used for creating and designing web presences as well as for local information gathering and sharing.

The full report (PDF)

Links
MyKnet.org research website
MyKnet.org
KO-KNET

TAZ Artikel “Social Network für Indianer – ‘Wir waren zuerst da!'”

2010/06/09 philbu No Comments

von Sunny Riedel, TAZ, 08.06.2010 (Print, PDF und Online)

“MyKnet ist eine soziale Online-Umgebung von Indianern für Indianer”, erklärt Philipp Budka vom Institut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie der Universität Wien. Seit ein paar Jahren forscht er über das Internetportal und dessen Provider Knet.

Das Herzstück ist MyKnet.org, eine Ansammlung von Homepages, über die Angehörige der First Nations, wie sie sich selbst bezeichnen, miteinander kommunizieren.

Wie die meisten Aboriginals werden auch die First Nations stark benachteiligt. Ihre Siedlungen und Reservate sind häufig weit voneinander entfernt, Straßen gibt es kaum. Nur im Winter, wenn Flüsse und Seen zugefroren sind, brausen Trucks über diese “winter roads”. Im Sommer können die Distanzen nur per Flugzeug bewältigt werden. Die fehlende Perspektiven in der Isolationbringt Probleme mit sich. Depressionen, Alkoholismus, Arbeitslosigkeit und eine hohe Selbstmordrate sindAlltag.

“Grund dafür ist die Unterdrückung der First Nations und die Missachtung ihrer Kultur durch die Mehrheitsgesellschaft”, erklärt Philipp Budka. Um das Web 2.0 dafür zu nutzen, die eigene Kultur zu fördern, hatte das Tribal Council, ein Zusammenschluss der politischen Führer der Indigenen, die Organisation Knet 1994 gegründet. Im Jahr 2000 folgte das soziale Netzwerk MyKnet.org.

mehr auf: http://www.taz.de/1/netz/netzkultur/artikel/1/wir-waren-zuerst-da/

Presentation: Indigene Medienproduktion im Nordwestlichen Ontario, Kanada

2010/04/23 philbu No Comments

Philipp Budka
(Universität Wien)

6. Tage der Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie, Workshop “Medien und Medienkritik aus kultur- und sozialanthropologischer Perspektive”
Insitut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie, Universität Wien
22.04.2010

Abstract

Indigene Gruppen, Organisationen und Netzwerke sind weltweit verstärkt daran interessiert ihre soziokulturellen, politischen und ökonomischen Lebensumstände mittels unterschiedlichster Medientechnologien zu kommunizieren. Reichweite und Fokus indigener Medienproduktionen sind dabei ebenso unterschiedlich wie politische, technische und infrastrukturelle Rahmenbedingungen. Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Einblick in die indigene Medienproduktion im Nordwestlichen Ontario, Kanada, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der historischen, geographischen sowie soziokulturellen Kontexte. Anhand von Fallbeispielen wird einerseits die politische und kulturelle Bedeutung klassischer Massenmedien, wie Zeitung, Radio und Fernsehen, sowie spezieller Kommunikationsmedien, wie Community Radio, für die indigenen Menschen in dieser abgeschiedenen Region aufgezeigt. Andererseits wird der Frage nachgegangen wie indigene BenutzerInnen neuer Medien, wie World Wide Web und Internet, Inhalte selbst produzieren, verändern, reproduzieren und kommunizieren. Weitere Fragen die in diesem Vortrag andiskutiert werden sind: Wie gestaltet sich das Verhältnis von Medientechnologien zu Sprach- und Wissenserwerb bzw. -weitergabe? Welchen Einfluss haben neue Medien auf traditionelle soziale Strukturen? Was bedeutet User-generated Content von persönlichen Homepages für etablierte Massenmedien? Welche Bedeutung haben diese Fallbeispiele indigener Medienproduktion für Österreich?

Indigene Medienproduktion im Nordwestlichen Ontario, Kanada on Prezi

First Nations students need Internet technology, advocates say

2010/03/16 philbu No Comments

from the straight.com

Denise Williams believes strongly that broadband Internet access can help First Nations in British Columbia broaden the opportunities available on their often rural or remote reserves. The 27-year-old member of the Cowichan Tribes likens high-speed pipes to the roads that connect a community to the rest of the world.

“It’s the infrastructure that’s going to strengthen the entire social fabric of the community,” Williams told the Georgia Straight at a café in Kitsilano. “So, it’s education, it’s health, it’s justice, it’s economy—it’s all of that.”

Williams is the youth initiative officer for the First Nations Education Steering Committee, a West Vancouver–based organization established in 1992 to support First Nations education activities in the province. While 80 of the 203 First Nations in B.C. are still waiting for broadband—a plan to connect them could be announced by the end of the year—the committee is looking at using Internet technology to facilitate the teaching of classes in band-run and independent schools on reserves.

High-speed connectivity allows on-line teleconferencing and video conferencing, as well as interactive applications that incorporate slide shows and instant messaging, to be employed in the delivery of distance education, Williams noted. Using such synchronous technologies, a teacher can remotely instruct a class comprising students in several locations.

…

full story at:
http://www.straight.com/article-254208/first-nations-kids-need-net

Article: MyKnet.org: How Northern Ontario’s First Nation communities made themselves at home on the World Wide Web

2010/01/12 philbu No Comments

Budka, P., Bell, B., & Fiser, A. 2009. MyKnet.org: How Northern Ontario’s First Nation communities made themselves at home on the World Wide Web. The Journal of Community Informatics, 5(2), Online: http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/568/450

Abstract

In this article we explore the development of MyKnet.org, a loosely structured system of personal homepages that was established by indigenous communities in the region of Northern Ontario, Canada in 2000. Individuals from over 50 remote First Nations across Northern Ontario have made this free of charge, free of advertisements, locally-driven online social environment their virtual home. MyKnet.org currently comprises over 25,000 active homepages and strongly reflects the demographic and geographic profile of Northern Ontario. It is thus youth-based and built around the communities’ need to maintain social ties across great distances. We draw upon encounters with a range of MyKnet.org’s developers and long time users to explore how this community-developed and community-controlled form of communication reflects life in the remote First Nations. Our focus is on the importance of locality: MyKnet.org’s development was contingent on K-Net, a regional indigenous computerization movement to bring broadband communications to remote First Nations. MyKnet.org is explicitly community-driven and not-for-profit, thus playing an important role in inter- and intra-community interaction in a region that has lacked basic telecommunications infrastructure well into the millennium.

Special Issue: CI & Indigenous Communities in Canada—The K-Net Experience

2010/01/12 philbu No Comments

The Journal of Community Informatics Special Issue: CI & Indigenous Communities in Canada – The K-Net (Keewaytinook Okimakanak’s Kuhkenah Network) Experience

Table of Contents
http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/issue/view/27

Editorial

The K-Net Experience: Thematic Introduction to the Special Issue
Brian Beaton, Susan O’Donnell, Adam Fiser, Brian Walmark

K-Net, Community Informatics and Service Delivery: An Evolving Paradigm
Michael Gurstein

Articles

MyKnet.org: How Northern Ontario’s First Nation Communities Made Themselves At Home On The World Wide Web
Philipp Budka, Brandi Bell, Adam Fiser

How K-Net and Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk are Using Videoconferencing for Community Development
Mary Milliken, Susan O’Donnell, Elizabeth Gorman

Out from the Edges: Multi-site Videoconferencing as a Public Sphere in First Nations
Fenwick McKelvey, Susan O’Donnell

Representation and Participation of First Nations Women in Online Videos
Sonja Perley

Implementation of Information and Communication Technology in Aboriginal Communities: A Social Capital Perspective
Javier Mignone, Heather Henley

Case Studies

Managing Changes in First Nations’ Health Care Needs: Is Telehealth the Answer?
Josée Gabrielle Lavoie, Donna Williams

Notes from the field

In Search of Community Champions: Researching the Outcomes of K-Net’s Youth Information and Communications Technology Training Initiative
Kristy Tomkinson

A Community Informatics Model for e-Services in First Nations Communities: The K-Net Approach to Water Treatment in Northern Ontario
Michael Gurstein, Brian Beaton, Kevin Sherlock

Reports

Enabling and Accelerating First Nations Telehealth Development in Canada
Valerie Gideon, Eugene Nicholas, John Rowlandson, Florence Woolner

ON-LINE RESOURCES about Keewaytinook Okimakanak, the Kuhkenah Network (K-Net) and Associated Broadband Applications
Brian Beaton

Ontario Asks Canada To Reconsider Un Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples

2009/12/31 philbu No Comments

Let’s see if it works…

Official Press Release Government of Ontario, December 22, 2009

As part of Ontario’s continued efforts to enhance cooperation, and to build strong relationships with Aboriginal people based on mutual respect, Premier Dalton McGuinty has asked the Government of Canada to reconsider its position on the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ontario supports a review of Canada’s position on the Declaration as a means to demonstrate its commitment to improving the lives of Aboriginal people throughout Canada. Reconsideration of the Declaration would demonstrate Canada’s willingness to foster an open dialogue to improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples.

more: http://media.knet.ca/node/7607

NishTV

2009/07/09 philbu 1 Comment

NishTV and its founder Richard Ogima are using new and social media services to cover Aboriginal life in Canada and in particular in the region of Northern Ontario, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. It broadcasts positive and inspiring messages about issues that concern Aboriginal people, e.g. homelessness in Vancouver in connection with the Olympics in 2010, or the challenge of losing weight. And NishTV reports from events and happenings in the Aboriginal communities, e.g. the 2009 Pow-Wow in Thunder Bay.

from http://www.nishtv.com/about-nishtv

NishTV is Northern Ontario’s hottest website that captures the heartbeat of the Anishinabek Community. We use video-media in a youthful, trendy and positive way to give the Native experience more zest and coolness. Our aim is to represent and give exposure to those cool people who never get recognized for the things they are doing or who need a little exposure because they are stepping out in the community with arts, leadership, business or other creative projects.
….

more at:
http://www.nishtv.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/nishtv?gl=CA&hl=en

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