During the 2012-2013 academic year, the National Center for Digital Government (NCDG) is hosting five international scholars. Each is researching ways to make both government and technology more accessible in their home countries. The Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) is delighted to have the following scholars in our ranks this year:
- Diego Rafael Canabarro is a research assistant at the Center for International Studies on Government of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. His research explores the relationship between the adoption of information and communication technology, state capacity, and democracy.
- Raquel Galindo-Dorado is a professor of economics and business and director of the International Academic Research Program at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She is working on a project with the Harvard Kennedy School that is assessing the curricular needs and innovations at business management graduate programs throughout Latin America. She will then use that research as a template for evaluating graduate public policy programs in the same region.
- Dwi Elfrida Martina is an e-service officer at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies of the Republic of Indonesia. During her NCDG fellowship, she is also pursuing a master’s degree in public policy and administration at CPPA. Her research focuses on internet governance and inclusion in the information society.
- Toks Oyedemi is a lecturer at the Department of Communication at UMass Amherst. His research explores the intersection of (dis)empowerment, social inequality and communication technology throughout Africa. Currently he is examining patterns of digital inclusion and exclusion among South African youth.
- Sreela Sarkar is an instructor at the Social Thought and Political Economy program and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication at UMass Amherst. While at NCDG, Sarkar is working on two collaborative research projects: 1) Examining the intersection of broadband internet access with collaborative governance practices and civic participation in western Massachusetts; and 2) A comparative study of the effect that technology use in health programs has on notions of “modern citizenship” among marginalized groups in South Africa and India.
NCDG was created with support from the National Science Foundation to develop research and infrastructure for the emerging field of information technology and governance. It is housed at CPPA, the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at UMass Amherst.