A computer system is much more than just code: it consists of technology, its users and the processes that they follow. User experience (UX) covers all aspects of users’ interaction with products and services and how they are perceived, learnt and used. UX design prioritizes human values and relationships in the development of technology, to derive maximum value from our interactions with it. It...
The digital revolution of the first decade of this new century has brought many wonders, yet it has also has ushered in a bewildering array of unanticipated consequences. We now find ourselves in a volatile and hyperconnected world where risk has been globalized. Our tightly-coupled systems have become interdependent, creating feedback loops so complex that predictive analysis is of...
Global Pulse is predicated on the understanding that today “new data” is being generated as a by-product of people’s activities at a rate that is unprecedented in human history. That deluge of passively produced data may hold insights about how, for better or worse, people’s lives are impacted by shocks like volatility in food and fuel prices.
Part of Global Pulse’s approach is learning how to...
Global Pulse is looking for signals that could be used as proxy indicators for collective changes in human behaviors in response to the early impacts of crises. In addition to our hypothesis about mobile services as sensors, another potentially valuable type of data is that generated by information seeking behaviors - specifically, by what people search for online.
An individual search is a...
The use of mobile phones for quick-time data collection is proliferating around the world. To get a better understanding of the scale and scope of these new data collection efforts, the Global Pulse initiative partnered with MobileActive.org, a global network of people using mobile technology for social change, to conduct a survey of present and planned mobile data collection efforts. The survey...
How do you find indicators for changes human well-being in “big data”? How do you know which “digital signals” are relevant enough to warrant further investigation? These questions are at the core of Global Pulse’s research.
The video below, from Global Pulse’s 8 November briefing to the UN General Assembly, provides a succinct overview of five research projects we completed with our partners (...
Global Pulse is excited to announce its contribution to a unique new iPad app, called “PopTech: World Rebalancing,” which is available now from the Apple app store. The interactive app was developed by PopTech, and incorporates some of the preliminary results from Global Pulse’s Global Snapshot of Wellbeing project, a collaboration with Jana to experiment with replicating the standards of...
Prepared for the United Nations Global Pulse team, the Future of Real-Time Report identifies key trends emerging around the capture and transmission of real-time information streams.
Evolving data-rich technologies are providing organizations, governments and businesses with a rapid way to monitor the well-being of communities and individuals without significant infrastructure or spend. For...
Description:
The objective of this ongoing collaborative project is to experiment with new tools that can replicate the standards of traditional household surveys, in real-time on a global scale. In particular, Jana and Global Pulse are testing the potential of deploying mobile surveys, over SMS, in multiple countries. The project will also explore the feasibility of conducting longitudinal...