{"515841":{"#nid":"515841","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Project Seeks to Improve Interim, Online Communication between Cubans and Rest of World","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new effort called \u201cCuba Intercambio\u201d by the Georgia Institute of Technology is underway to help Cubans more freely access the Internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs diplomatic relations improve between the United States and Cuba, researchers in the field of human-computer interaction are taking a hard look at the impact of Internet access on the island nation, where information has been tightly controlled for more than 50 years. Understanding Internet access in Cuba now is useful to researchers and corporations that may seek to engage more directly with Cuba for business, e-commerce or tourism.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA recent study by the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech reveals that censorship, high cost and severely slow bandwidth keep Cuban residents from freely sharing information among one another and with the outside world \u2013 to the extent that Cubans regularly give login credentials to their social media accounts so others with Internet access can post on their behalf. \u201cCuba Intercambio\u201d will provide island residents with an email based method to submit online queries they cannot perform themselves to a team in Atlanta, which will manually search the Internet for Cubans and email back their results.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCuba has been called the second most isolated place in the world,\u201d says lead researcher Michaelanne Dye, a Spanish speaker and second-generation American of Cuban descent. \u201cWill Cuba at this historical moment be redefined by the Internet in any meaningful sense, and what can we learn about their development that might help other low-access areas of the world?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDye\u2019s Spring 2015 study with School Chair Annie Ant\u00f3n (also of Cuban descent) and Professor Amy Bruckman sought to understand the average Cuban citizen\u2019s Internet use. Because of telecommunications limitations on regular dialogue with Cubans, a small, non-representative initial study involved 12 personal contacts. Dye seeks to follow up with study participants over the next two years and add more individuals for a representative study through word of mouth referrals among Cubans. Cuba Intercambio will be promoted via word-of-mouth to encourage exchanges between individuals living in Cuba and the rest of the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKey Findings\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EInternet penetration in Cuba is estimated to be between 5 \u2013 25 percent, with only 5 percent having full access to the Internet.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EInternet access costs $4.50 (USD) an hour, and the average Cuban earns the equivalent of $20 (USD) per month.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESince 2015, state-run cyber cafes have opened, offering Internet access for two hours and 16 minutes for $5 (USD).\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECensorship in Cuba is largely accomplished through low bandwidth and access restrictions rather than blocking software.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EInternet access via mobile phones is not possible.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEmail access via mobile phone is slow, unreliable and generally not used.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECuban citizens generally access the Internet at school or work, or through a state-run cyber caf\u00e9.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EForeigners may be granted a license to have Internet access at home. Cubans with international friends may use the Internet at their friends\u2019 homes.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EStudy participants reported that portions of Google, Sykpe and Netflix were blocked.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFacebook is preferable to mail or phone for basic communication; Facebook is the dominant social network and website among study participants, and Facebook activity occurs during the day while at work.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EStudy participants say they do not discuss sensitive topics, such as politics, online in order to protect themselves. Mobilization and requests for help or favors still occur face to face.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA link to the full paper, presented in March at the 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2016), can be \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/michaelannedye.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/03\/cuba-cscw2016-cameraready.pdf\u0022\u003Efound here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHistorical background \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECuba was once the most connected country in the Caribbean, accounting for 32 percent of all email traffic, but its Internet development has stagnated with little improvement since the late 1990s, according to study authors.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E1996\u003C\/strong\u003E - Cuba connected to the Internet with assistance from the United States\u2019 National Science Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2001\u003C\/strong\u003E - \u0026nbsp;Cuba was at the lowest point in six dimensions of Internet access. Cuba\u2019s Internet has stagnated with little improvement since the late 1990s, according to Dye.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2013\u003C\/strong\u003E -\u0026nbsp; Cuba connected a high-speed ALBA-1 fiber optic cable to Venezuela.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFebruary 2015 \u003C\/strong\u003E\u2013 Cuba opens state-run cyber cafes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMarch 2015\u003C\/strong\u003E \u2013 Cuba launched its first, free public wi-fi service.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMay 2015\u003C\/strong\u003E \u2013Cuba was removed from the United States\u2019 \u201cState Sponsors of Terror\u201d list.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJuly 2015\u003C\/strong\u003E \u2013 Formal diplomatic relations were established between the United States and Cuba.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMarch 21, 2016 -\u003C\/strong\u003E Google to announce new Internet access for Cuba.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAccess Cuba Intercambio\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cem\u003EIn the U.S.\u003C\/em\u003E: To help answer search queries from Cubans, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/948104118584796\/\u0022\u003Ejoin the Facebook Group\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn Cuba\u003C\/em\u003E: To submit a search query to the U.S., email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:cubaintercambio@lists.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ecubaintercambio@lists.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Early Adopters of the Internet and Social Media in Cuba Still Severely Limited"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs diplomatic relations improve between the United States and Cuba, researchers in the field of human-computer interaction are taking a hard look at the impact of Internet access on the island nation, where information has been tightly controlled for more than 50 years. A recent study by the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech reveals that censorship, high cost and severely slow bandwidth keep Cuban residents from freely sharing information.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new effort called \u201cCuba Intercambio\u201d is underway to help Cubans more freely access the Internet."}],"uid":"27490","created_gmt":"2016-03-21 11:58:21","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:09","author":"Tara La Bouff","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-03-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-03-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"495761":{"id":"495761","type":"image","title":"Cuba Intercambio","body":null,"created":"1455120000","gmt_created":"2016-02-10 16:00:00","changed":"1475895253","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:13","alt":"Cuba Intercambio","file":{"fid":"204574","name":"istock_000041377480_small.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/istock_000041377480_small_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/istock_000041377480_small_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":530718,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/istock_000041377480_small_0.jpg?itok=7CSs_OYL"}},"71740":{"id":"71740","type":"image","title":"Michaelanne Dye Headshot Fall 2011","body":null,"created":"1449177396","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:36","changed":"1475894642","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:02","alt":"Michaelanne Dye Headshot Fall 2011","file":{"fid":"193577","name":"121029ar484.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/121029ar484_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/121029ar484_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5259426,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/121029ar484_0.jpg?itok=ISjnZ4tE"}},"349331":{"id":"349331","type":"image","title":"Amy Bruckman compressed","body":null,"created":"1449245696","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:56","changed":"1475895073","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:13","alt":"Amy Bruckman compressed","file":{"fid":"201016","name":"amy-bruckman_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/amy-bruckman_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/amy-bruckman_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":15651,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/amy-bruckman_0_0.jpg?itok=3HdCRWgP"}},"349351":{"id":"349351","type":"image","title":"Annie Anton compressed","body":null,"created":"1449245696","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:56","changed":"1475895073","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:13","alt":"Annie Anton compressed","file":{"fid":"201018","name":"annie-anton.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/annie-anton_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/annie-anton_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":20193,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/annie-anton_0.jpg?itok=a5on74sD"}}},"media_ids":["495761","71740","349331","349351"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/michaelannedye.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/03\/cuba-cscw2016-cameraready.pdf","title":"Read the study"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"8472","name":"amy bruckman"},{"id":"27641","name":"annie anton"},{"id":"2699","name":"cuba"},{"id":"169129","name":"internet access"},{"id":"37021","name":"Michaelanne Dye"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"},{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETara La Bouff, 404.769.5408\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["tlabouff@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}