[Air-L] Book announcement: "Favela Digital - The other side of technology".

[David Nemer]

Dear AoIRist and CI-ers,

* I apologize in advance for the self-promoting email*

My first book "Favela Digital - The other side of technology" was published
in October in Brazil, and now is available on Amazon. The idea for this
book came up during the fieldwork I did in Vitória, Brazil for my doctoral
dissertation. My research aims to understand the experience of marginalized
people in community technology centers and how this experience informs the
ways we think about what constitutes "empowerment" and "disempowerment"
vis-à-vis technology. The book "Digital Favela - The other side of
technology" is an opportunity to show, in photos, the reality I lived in
during six months visiting the marginalized communities of São Benedito,
Bairro da Penha, Itararé, Gurigica, Jaburu e Consolação. Along with the
team from Varal Communications Agency, I captured the everyday life in the
favelas and how the residents use digital technology. My goal with this
book is to make people aware that alternative use of such technologies, in
these areas of social abandonment, is legitimate and deserves our
attention. The photos are followed by testimonials given by residents, my
own observations, or parts of academic papers. The texts critically engage
the reader with social issues of technology use in favelas and in society
in general. The book is also a way to highlight themes addressed by Social
Informatics in order to trigger discussions involving the general public.
It amplifies critical issues of the life in the favelas for everyone,
including academics.

http://favela-digital.com

Sales of the book Favela Digital will be donated to the NGO Varal
Communication Agency. Varal rescues homeless teens from the favelas and
provides them with communication training.

Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Favela-Digital-other-side-technology/dp/8581730590/

Thanks,
-- 
*David Nemer*
PhD Candidate in Social Informatics
School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University
Editor of the Social Informatics Blog - http://socialinformaticsblog.com
http://www.dnemer.com dnemer at indiana.edu