Meta-heuristic algorithms to improve fuzzy C-means and K-means clustering for location allocation of telecenters under e-governance in developing nations

The telecenter, popularly known as the rural kiosk or common service center, is an important building block for the improvement of e-governance in developing nations as they help in better citizen engagement. Setting up of these centers at appropriate locations is a challenging taskinappropriate locations can lead to a huge loss to the government and allied stakeholders. This study proposes the use of various meta-heuristic algorithms (particle swarm optimization, bat algorithm, and ant colony optimization) for the improvement of traditional clustering approaches (K-means and fuzzy C-means) used in the facility location allocation problem and maps them for the betterment of telecenter location allocation. A dataset from the Indian region was considered for the purpose of this experiment. The performance of the algorithms when applied to traditional facility location allocation problems such as set-cover, P-median, and the P-center problem was investigated, and it was found that their efficiency improved by 20%–25% over that of existing algorithms

Towards inclusive GIS in the Congo Basin: an exploration of digital map creation and an evaluation of map understanding by non-literate hunter-gatherers

Sustainable and socially just natural resource management is one of the fundamental development challenges humanity is facing today. Communities living in remote areas possess unique insights about their natural resources. While this knowledge is critical to climate change, it is difficult for them to engage in environmental protection. Geographic Information Science (GIS) plays a central role in resource management, as it is utilised in spatial decision making processes. However, the literature argues that its use is too challenging for marginalised communities. Working with indigenous hunter-gatherers in the Congo Basin without prior exposure to technology or maps, this research moves towards enabling them to become active stakeholders in decision making so that they understand how to capture environmental knowledge and gain power through ownership. (Participatory) GIS, Human Computer Interaction, Action Research and Citizen Science concepts are adapted to the local context to address the lack of mapping of these areas, and the increased understanding of if and how digital, high resolution orthographic maps incorporated in digital mapping tools can be understood by people with no prior exposure to maps and technology. Different set-ups of low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and consumer grade cameras were tested and evaluated for suitability to generate high-resolution maps in-situ for previously unmapped and disconnected contexts. Applying a computer log analysis approach to overcome local obstacles, three experiments were carried out to test whether the resulting aerial orthophotos are understood as a representation of familiar geographical landscapes. For each of the experiments, a bespoke app functioning without an internet connection was developed. The research shows that the majority of the 136 participants could find as well as edit known features on the map and all participating groups were able to utilise a map for a Treasure Hunt game. Additionally, a number of methodological amendments are proposed to allow standardised research methods to be applied in a context where usability experiments are significantly challenged

Global Digital Cultures: Perspectives from South Asia

Digital media histories are part of a global network, and South Asia is a key nexus in shaping the trajectory of digital media in the twenty-first century. Digital platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and others are deeply embedded in the daily lives of millions of people around the world, shaping how people engage with others as kin, as citizens, and as consumers. Moving away from Anglo-American and strictly national frameworks, the essays in this book explore the intersections of local, national, regional, and global forces that shape contemporary digital culture(s) in regions like South Asia: the rise of digital and mobile media technologies, the ongoing transformation of established media industries, and emergent forms of digital media practice and use that are reconfiguring sociocultural, political, and economic terrains across the Indian subcontinent. From massive state-driven digital identity projects and YouTube censorship to Tinder and dating culture, from Twitter and primetime television to Facebook and political rumors, Global Digital Cultures focuses on enduring concerns of representation, identity, and power while grappling with algorithmic curation and data-driven processes of production, circulation, and consumption

Discovering design: enhancing the capability to design at the cultural interface between first Australian and western design paradigms

This thesis claims that the First Australian design paradigm is distinct from the paradigms of design articulated in the Western canon (such as the rational and reflective design paradigms). I also investigate what it means to design at the cultural interface between First Australian and Western design paradigms, and identify the capability dimensions that are valued when expanding the freedom to design, from within a First Australia design paradigm as well as at the cultural interface. The methodology is informed by approaches to decolonising research at the cultural interface, which respect Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being. My approach to the methodology informs the phenomenological basis of this study; I use Ricoeur’s approach to hermeneutical phenomenology (HP), as it appears to be suited to cross-cultural interpretation and compatible with the principles of Indigenous standpoint theory that guide research at the cultural interface. The results reveal that First Australian design should be understood as a process of experiential, reflective, respectful, relational discovery, rather than creation. It emphasises the relational aspect and should be understood as a process of connecting people with each other, and to the wider social and natural systems, to maintain a sense of harmony. When designing at the cultural interface between First and Later Australians, the most important differences and tensions seem to occur in the axiological and epistemological dimensions: the principles, the normative questions of what should be designed associated with innovation and creativity, the knowledge system characteristics, and issues of cultural identity and community. Valued capabilities when expanding the freedom to design at the cultural interface include the capability to develop empowering partnerships, and to maintain the integrity of cultural reproduction at the cultural interface