Unconnected People Research Articles

A Detailed Phenomenology of Poltergeist Events

The objective of this paper is to propose a reference point in the phenomenology of poltergeists either for people who want to know more about these phenomena or for researchers looking for cases and sources associated with some particular phenomenon. In parallel, an ongoing work is conducted aimed at building a global case repository of poltergeist cases with their phenomenological characteristics and their sources, which will be available soon at www.macropk.org. A historical view of the 50+ qualitative and quantitative studies of the poltergeist phenomenon is presented along with the different authors/researchers and the publications associated. The different types of phenomena observed are studied from four angles: the physical impacts on the environment, the interactions with people, other features such as duration, focus effect, and contagion, and how the phenomena ended. Each type of event is illustrated through different cases extracted from our case repository (about 1250), often with a short extract from (one of) the sources describing some key characteristics. A discussion about the validity of these data is then developed, looking in particular at testimonials, fraud detection, legal impacts, and the similarity of description of unconnected people. These elements tend to give a strong plausibility to the diverse phenomena observed, even the more “bizarre” ones. Considering all these cases and the details associated with them could help to build a more global picture of the phenomenon. This could provide more ideas based on facts to develop current and new hypotheses, as well as new psychophysical models, in order to make progress in comprehending the phenomenon. A list of the 105 cases used in the description of the phenomenology is provided along with their sources and their distribution across historical periods and geographical areas.

Social network-structural position and obesity: Evidence from a national study

This study expands on research on the social-structural bases of obesity by examining the role played by individuals' positions within their egocentric social networks in shaping body mass index. We argue that individuals’ tendency to be a bridge between otherwise unconnected people can affect body mass index. Furthermore, health-specific resources flowing through their networks might interact with this network-structural position to shape this association. Using multivariate analyses of recent nationally representative data on older Americans, we find that occupying a bridging position within a network is negatively related to the likelihood of being obese. Moreover, people who have this bridging potential tend to benefit more from health-related knowledge in their networks than those who do not have it. Our findings underscore the importance of considering social network position and the functional specificity of ties in understanding the structural bases of health problems like obesity. We close by discussing implications of these findings for future work on obesity including potential insights into important health disparities.

Project Planning as an Instrument for Performance of Universal Service Projects in Kenya

Universal Service Projects are a vital supporter of the availability and accessibility of ICT services in rural, remote, and local income areas of Kenya. Without these projects, millions of unconnected people who reside outside the profit boundary of commercial players will not reap the social and economic benefits brought about by advancements in the ICT sector. To ensure the success of projects, it is paramount for project managers to identify and put more emphasis on planning. Projects usually experience a number of challenges during the planning implementation period, including time and cost overruns, among others. The study objective was to examine the influence of project planning on the performance of universal service projects in selected areas of Kenya. The study was undertaken on the education broadband connectivity project and the voice infrastructure projects undertaken by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK). The study was anchored on the theory of change. The target population is 443 respondents, while the sample size is 209 respondents. The study made use of stratified random sampling, simple random sampling, and purposive sampling techniques to select respondents. The study used both the questionnaire and interview schedule. Quantitative data was analysed and presented in percentages, mean and standard deviation and frequencies, respectively, while qualitative data was analysed using common thematic areas. The study found that USF governance project planning activities had a positive influence on project success. The study concluded that USF project planning influences project success. The study recommended that the reporting structure adopted by the Universal Service fund should allow for timely action to be undertaken during planning phases.

Short message service usage may improve the public's self-health management: A community-based randomized controlled study.

Background and AimsThe last decade has witnessed unprecedented growth in mobile phone use. It links millions of previously unconnected people. The ubiquity of mobile phones, which allows for use of the short message service (SMS), offers new and innovative opportunities for disease prevention and health education. SMS usage appears to be a feasible, popular, and effective way of improving health literacy. This study measured the effect of SMS health education on the improvement of health management in Shenzhen, China.MethodsThis was a community‐based randomized controlled study. A total of 32 communities were randomly chosen out of 320, then about 200 participants were randomly sampled from each selected community. The subjects were equally divided into two groups at random. About half of the participants received health intervention messages via Internet‐based SMS for almost a year. The data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical methods.ResultsThe proportion of participants involved in self‐health management increased from 30.92% to 38.68% over the year (χ 2 = 42.49, p < 0.001) in the intervention group. People with marginal health literacy reported the highest increase (10.92%), while people with low health literacy reported the smallest (5.25%). The control group showed no difference in baseline and final health management proportions (28.02% and 29.64%, p > 0.05). No statistical difference in the prevalence of chronic disease (15.16% and 13.89%, p > 0.05) was found before and after the intervention in the intervention group. The prevalence in the intervention group was lower after the intervention than it was in the control group (17.33%, χ 2 = 14.45, p < 0.001).ConclusionsSMS may be a powerful tool for improving the public's health literacy and health management because it is widely available, popular, affordable, and instant.

Big Communications: Connect the Unconnected

In this article, we present the analysis of the digital divide to illustrate the unfair access to the benefits brought by information and communications technology (ICT) over the globe and provide our solution termed big communications (BigCom) to close the digital divide and democratize the benefits of ICT. To facilitate the implementation of BigCom, we give a complete framework of BigCom considering both technological and non-technological factors as well as a set of suggestions for content providers, mobile network operators, and governments. By implementing BigCom, we aim to connect the last 3.7 billion unconnected people living in far-flung and underdeveloped areas and achieve the goal of global and ubiquitous connectivity for everyone in the 6G era.

Demand for Off-Grid Solar Electricity: Experimental Evidence from Rwanda

AbstractHigh hopes are pinned on market-based dissemination of off-grid technologies to complement expensive grid extension in providing electricity to the nearly 1 billion unconnected people in de...

Rural electrification through mini-grids: Challenges ahead

Recent debates on how to provide electricity to the roughly one billion still unconnected people in developing countries have identified mini-grids as a promising way forward. High upfront costs of transmission lines are avoided, and unlike home-scale solar, mini-grids can provide sufficient electricity for productive uses. Indeed, mini-grids play a crucial role in accomplishing the goal of the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Initiative to provide universal access to electricity by 2030. This note outlines the challenges the mini-grid sector faces to achieve that potential. To date, few examples of sustainably working mini-grid programs exist. We identify regulatory issues, low electricity demand in rural areas, high payment default rates and over-optimistic demand projections as among the key challenges. Business models that account for high transaction costs in rural areas and that are based on realistic demand forecasts could considerably increase the commercial viability of mini-grids.

Realities of participatory community-based environmental rehabilitation projects: a case study of soil erosion countermeasures in western Kenya

This study attempts to describe the realities of participatory development projects in western Kenya, where severe soil degradation has occurred, using participatory observation methods. Six aid organizations administered development projects for environmental rehabilitation in the area; however, less than 10% of study area residents participated in project activities. This article argues that this lack of participation was fuelled by a disjuncture of understanding between aid organizations, community-based development organizations, and area residents about project purposes and goals. It suggests that in order for participatory development projects to be successful all stakeholders must understand and take ownership of the project. People who the aid organization called “community” often turned out to be a collection of unconnected people. In addition, not everyone who was involved participated out of a desire to stop soil erosion. Many people were not directly impacted by the gullies and their motivation for participation was purely for economic reasons. Thus, growing seedlings and planting them was seen more as a source of income than as a way to repair and restore the local environment. Such motivations need to be considered when creating participatory development projectsKeywords: participatory development, community development, environmental rehabilitation, Luo, Kenya

Rural Electrification through Mini-Grids: Challenges Ahead

Recent debates on how to provide electricity to the roughly one billion still unconnected people in developing countries have identified mini-grids as a promising way forward. High upfront costs of transmission lines are avoided, and unlike home-scale solar, mini-grids can provide sufficient electricity for productive uses. Indeed, mini-grids play a crucial role in accomplishing the goal of the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Initiative to provide universal access to electricity by 2030. This note outlines the challenges the mini-grid sector faces to achieve that potential. To date, few examples of sustainably working mini-grid programs exist. We identify regulatory issues, low electricity demand in rural areas, high payment default rates and over-optimistic demand projections as among the key challenges. Business models that account for high transaction costs in rural areas and that are based on realistic demand forecasts could considerably increase the commercial viability of mini-grids.

Short Message Service (SMS) Applications for Disease Prevention in Developing Countries

BackgroundThe last decade has witnessed unprecedented growth in the number of mobile phones in the developing world, thus linking millions of previously unconnected people. The ubiquity of mobile phones, which allow for short message service (SMS), provides new and innovative opportunities for disease prevention efforts.ObjectiveThe aim of this review was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of SMS interventions for disease prevention in developing countries and provide recommendations for future work.MethodsA systematic search of peer-reviewed and gray literature was performed for papers published in English, French, and German before May 2011 that describe SMS applications for disease prevention in developing countries.ResultsA total of 34 SMS applications were described, among which 5 had findings of an evaluation reported. The majority of SMS applications were pilot projects in various levels of sophistication; nearly all came from gray literature sources. Many applications were initiated by the project with modes of intervention varying between one-way or two-way communication, with or without incentives, and with educative games. Evaluated interventions were well accepted by the beneficiaries. The primary barriers identified were language, timing of messages, mobile network fluctuations, lack of financial incentives, data privacy, and mobile phone turnover.ConclusionThis review illustrates that while many SMS applications for disease prevention exist, few have been evaluated. The dearth of peer-reviewed studies and the limited evidence found in this systematic review highlight the need for high-quality efficacy studies examining behavioral, social, and economic outcomes of SMS applications and mobile phone interventions aimed to promote health in developing country contexts.

Communicating the Right Emotion to Generate Help for Connected Versus Unconnected Others

This study investigated the effectiveness of positive versus negative and of other-focused versus mixed- (ego- and other-) focused feelings evoked in advertisements promoting help for connected versus unconnected needy people. Results showed that when help is asked for people to whom respondents feel connected, positive (vs. negative) and mixed-focused (vs. other-focused) feelings led to more positive ad evaluations and increased respondents’ helping intentions. When help was needed for unconnected people, the negative ads were most effective. Furthermore, it was investigated whether the effect of other-focused versus mixed-focused feelings on ad evaluations and helping intentions was mediated by people’s motivation to help.

John Myhill: Language, Religion and National Identity in Europe and the Middle East (Discourse Approaches to Society and Culture)

In this book, John Myhill sets out to develop a predictive taxonomy of the relative ‘‘success’’ of various nationalist movements. His argument is an essentially linguistic one since for Myhill, as for others before him, nationalism is itself a linguistic phenomenon, wherein a group of otherwise unconnected people ‘‘imagine’’ themselves to form a coherent national whole based on their use of a common language. For Myhill, this conceptualization of linguistic nationalism is an analytical given, and a purported isomorphism between language and national identity undergirds his entire analysis. The question, then, is not whether or how a language can come to performatively construct a nation, but rather which languages are the most suitable for doing so. In the simplest of terms, Myhill argues that those nationalisms that are based on the linguistic practices of a sufficiently homogenous group of speakers (what he terms ‘‘small languages’’) are positive and successful (e.g. Norway), whereas those nationalisms that are based on the amalgamation of diverse groups of speakers subsumed under a common standard (‘‘big languages’’) are negative and destructive (e.g. Germany). In addition, according to Myhill, even those nations built on sufficiently ‘‘small’’ languages (i.e. where everybody speaks the same language) will only be successful if none of the constituent groups within the nation belong to what he terms a ‘‘pre-modern national church’’—that is, a religious affiliation where membership is determined on ethnic and/or national grounds. Myhill’s account is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its generally reductive and essentialist use of such concepts as ethnicity, religion and nation. In the interest of space, however, I restrict myself here to a discussion of what I see as the major linguistic shortcomings of Myhill’s proposals—shortcomings that I believe render Myhill’s analysis, at best, incomplete. The crux of my critique lies in Myhill’s almost total inattention to the intricate workings of language ideologies in