Publications

Warning this is very out of date. Still, here are some selected publications that I have in pre- or post-print. Please feel free to contact me.

ICTS FOR DEMOCRACY, PEACE AND RECONCILIATION, ONLINE FAKE NEWS

Bhat, K., Moreno, A., & Best, M. L. (2018). Collaborative Information Seeking through Social Media Updates in Real-Time. In Proceedings of the 2018 Conference on Human Information Interaction & Retrieval (pp 221-224). ACM.

Best, M. L. (2016). Mobile Computing and Political Transformation. Communications of the ACM, 10(59), 21-22.

Smyth, T. N., Meng, A., Moreno, A., Best, M. L., & Zegura, E. W. (2016). Lessons in Social Election Monitoring. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development. ACM.

Zegura, E., Gangwani, P., Phadke, G., Hampton, E., Marun, V., Meng, A., Best, M.L., et al. (2016). A First Look at Eyes on the Vote. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development . ACM.

Best, M. L., & Meng, A. (2015). Twitter democracy: policy versus identity politics in three emerging African democracies. In Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2015). Singapore.

Best, M. L. (2014). Facebook Democracy: The Architecture of Disclosure and the Threat to Public Life. Perspective on Politics, 12(4), 950–951.

Best, M. L. (2013). Peacebuilding in a networked world. Communications of the ACM, 56(4), 30–32.

Smyth, T., & Best, M. L. (2013). Tweet to Trust: Social Media and Elections in West Africa. Presented at the Sixth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2013), Cape Town, South Africa.

Best, M. L. (2013). Reconciliation and the Web: A case study of the design and use of Liberia’s Truth Commission website. Presented at the IFIP 12th Int. Conf. on the Social Implications for Computers in Developing Countries, Kingston, Jamaica.

Best, M. L., & Thakur, D. (2013). Telecommunications Governance in Post-conflict Developing Countries – The case of the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable system in Liberia. Presented at the IFIP 12th Int. Conf. on the Social Implications for Computers in Developing Countries, Kingston, Jamaica.

Best, M. L. (2013). Cables, Commissions, and Cybercafes: ICTs in Post-Conflict Liberia. Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

Best, M. L., & Thakur, D. (2013). Beyond Broadband: Using Information and Communication Technologies to Improve Public Service Delivery in Sierra Leone. Washington D.C.: World Bank.

Best, M. L., & Maclay, C. (Forthcoming). Social Media and Elections: The Case of Nigeria 2011. ICT4Peace Paper Series. Geneva: ICT4Peace Foundation.

Best, M. L. (2011). Mobile Phones in Conflict-Stressed Environments: Macro, Meso and Microanalysis. In M. Poblet (Ed.), Mobile Technologies for Conflict Management: Online Dispute Resolution, Governance, Participation. London: Springer.

Best, M. L., Long, W. J., Etherton, J., & Smyth, T. (2011). Rich Digital Media as a Tool in Post-Conflict Truth and Reconciliation. Media, War & Conflict, 4(3), 231-249.

Gasser, U., Best, M., & Maclay, C. (2011). ICTs and Crises: Linking Research and Implementation to Collectively Maximize Learning and Impact. In D. Stauffacher, B. Weekes, U. Gasser, C. Maclay, & M. Best (Eds.), Peacebuilding in the Information Age: Sifting hype from reality (pp. 7-8). Geneva, Switzerland: ICT4Peace Foundation.

Best, M.L. (2010). Credit the Call. Public Service Review: International Development, 16, 33-35.

Smyth, T., Etherton, J., & Best, M. L. (2010). MOSES: Exploring New Ground in Media and Post-Conflict Reconciliation. Presented at CHI, Atlanta, GA.

Best, M. L., Etherton, J., Smyth, T., & Wornyo, E. (2010). Uses of Mobile Phones in Post-Conflict Liberia. Information Technologies and International Development, 6(2).

Best, M. L., Wornyo, E., Smyth, T. N., & Etherton, J. (2009). Use of Mobile Phones in Post-Conflict Liberia. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2009).

Best, M. L., & Thakur, D. (2009). The Telecommunications Policy Process in Post-conflict Developing Countries: The Case of Liberia. INFO Journal, 11(2), 42-57.

Best, M. L., & Wade, K. (2009). The Internet and Democracy: Global catalyst or democratic dud? Bulletin of Science Technology Society, 6(2).

Best, M. L., Smyth, T. N., & Serrano-Baquero, D. (2009). Designing for and with Diaspora: A Case Study of Work for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia. Paper presented in the Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’09).

Thakur, D., & Best, M. L. (2008). The Telecommunications Policy Process in Post-conflict Developing Countries – the Case of Liberia. Paper presented at the The 36th Research Conference on Communication, Information, and Internet Policy (TPRC).

Best, M. L., Serrano-Baquero, D., Abbasi, H., Pon, C. L., Roberts, D. L., & Smyth, T. N. (2008). Video Sharing as a Tool for Post-conflict Reconciliation in Liberia, 9th Global Information Technology Management Association Conference. Atlanta, GA.

Best, M. L., Serrano-Baquero, D., Abbasi, H., Pon, C. L., Roberts, D. L., & Smyth, T. N. (2008). Design of Video-Sharing Kiosks for Liberian Post-Conflict Reconciliation, CHI 2008, HCI4D Workshop. Florence, Italy.

Best, M. L., Jones, K., Kondo, I., Thakur, D., Wornyo, E., & Yu, C. (2007) Post-Conflict Communications: The Case of Liberia. Communications of the ACM, 50(10), 33-39.

Thakur, D., Best, M. L., & Jones, K. (2007). Regulatory Independence and the Development of the Telecommunications Sector: The Liberian Telecommunications Authority. Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology.

Best, M.L.& Wade, K. (2007). Democratic and Anti-Democratic Regulators of the Internet: A Framework. The Information Society. 23(5), 405-411

Best, M. L. (2004). Can the Internet be a Human Right? Human Rights & Human Welfare, 4(1).

SOCIAL, CULTURE, GENDER, POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Best, M. L., & Maier, S. (2017). Gender, Culture and ICT Use in Rural South India. Gender, Technology and Development, 11(2).

Best, M. L., & Taylor, M. Z. (2012). Broadband Enabled Innovation. In ITU (Ed.), Trends in Telecommunication Reform. Geneva: ITU.

Best, M.L. & Kenny, C. (2009). ICTs, Enterprise and Development. In T. Unwin (Ed.)ICT4D: Information and Communication Technology for Development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Best, M.L. & Kumar, R. (2008). Sustainability Failure of Rural Telecenters: The Sustainable Access in Rural India Project. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(4), 31-45.

Best, M. L., & Maier, S. (2007). Gender and ICT Use in Rural South India. Gender Technology and Development, 11(2).

Kumar, R., & Best, M. L. (2006). Social Impact and Diffusion of Telecenter Use: A Study from the Sustainable Access in Rural India Project.Community Informatics, 2(3).

Kumar, R., & Best, M. L. (2006). Impact and Sustainability of E-Government Services in Developing Countries: Lessons Learned from Tamil Nadu, India. The Information Society, 22(1).

Best, M. L. (2004, October 7). ICT and Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development. Paper presented at the Climate Change Issues & Initiatives in the ICT INdustry, Montebello, Quebec.

Best, M. L., Jhunjhunwala, A., & Maclay, C. M. (2001, April 4). Link Up Rural India. The Economic Times.

Best, M. L., & Maclay, C. M. (2002). Community Internet Access in Rural Areas: Solving the Economic Sustainability Puzzle. In G. Kirkman, J. Sachs, K. Schwab & P. Corneilus (Eds.), The Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002: Readiness for the Networked World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

INFRASTRUCTURES AND ACCESS

Best, M. L. (2014). The Internet That Facebook Built. Communications of the ACM, 57(12), 21–23.

Best, M., Garg, S., & Kollanyi, B. (2013). Understanding & Rethinking Shared Access: How People Collaborate & Share Knowledge & Technologies in Ghanaian Cybercafés. Global Impact Study Research Report Series. Seattle: Technology & Social Change Group, University of Washington Information School.

Best, M. L., Kollanyi, B., & Garg, S. (2012). Sharing in Public: Working With Others in Ghanaian Cybercafés. Fifth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2012). Atlanta, GA: ACM.

Best, M. L. (2010). Connecting In Real Space: How People Share Knowledge and Technologies in Cybercafés. Presented at the 19th AMIC Annual Conference, Singapore.

Best, M.L.. (2008). End-User Sharing. In ITU (Ed), Trends in Telecommunications Reform. Geneva: ITU.

Best, M. L. (Ed.). (2006). Last Mile Initiative Innovations: Research Findings from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Best, M. L. (2006). A Global Survey of Spectrum License Exemptions. Paper presented at the The 34th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC), Washington, DC.

Best, M. L., & Pehrson, B. (2006). Understanding Broadband Technologies. In ITU (Ed.), Trends in Telecommunications Reform. Geneva: ITU.

Best, M. L., & Pehrson, B. (2006). The Broadband Era Arrives. In ITU (Ed.), Trends in Telecommunications Reform. Geneva: ITU.

Neto, I., Best, M. L., & Gillet, S. E. (2005). License-Exempt Wireless Policy: Results of an African Survey. Information Technologies and International Development, 2(3), 73-90.

Best, M. L., & Pehrson, B. (2005). Broadband Provisioning for Developing Countries. Geneva: ITU.

Best, M. L. (2003). The Wireless Revolution and Universal Access. In ITU (Ed.), Trends in Telecommunication Reform. Geneva: ITU.

HCI FOR DEVELOPMENT

Best, M. L., & Smyth, T. N. (2011). Global/Local Usability: Locally Contextualized Usability in the Global South. In I. Douglas & Z. Liu (Eds.), Global Usability (pp. 9-22). London: Springer-Verlag.

Dearden, A., Best, M. L., Dray, S., Light, A., Thomas, J., Buckhalter, C., Greenblatt, D., et al. (2008). User Centered Design Considered Harmful. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(2).

Best, M. L. (2008). Designing Interactive Systems for Development: Rethinking System Fundamentals, DIS 2008 Workshop on Building an International Community. Cape Town, South Africa.

Best, M. L., Serrano-Baquero, D., Abbasi, H., Pon, C. L., Roberts, D. L., & Smyth, T. N. (2008). Video Sharing as a Tool for Post-conflict Reconciliation in Liberia, 9th Global Information Technology Management Association Conference. Atlanta, GA.

Best, M. L., Serrano-Baquero, D., Abbasi, H., Pon, C. L., Roberts, D. L., & Smyth, T. N. (2008). Design of Video-Sharing Kiosks for Liberian Post-Conflict Reconciliation, CHI 2008, HCI4D Workshop. Florence, Italy.

Sin, M., Escobedo, M., & Best, M. L. (2004). A Directory Service for Multi-Literate Users. Paper presented at the IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo, Taipei, Taiwan.

Escobedo, M. A., & Best, M. L. (2003). Convivo Communicator: An Interface-Adaptive VoIP System for Poor Quality Networks Information , Communication & Ethics in Society, 1(3), 167-180.

PUBLIC POLICIES, PROVOCATIONS, ASSESSMENTS AND EVALUATIONS

Best, M. L. (2014). Thinking Outside the Continent. Communications of the ACM, 57(4), 27–29.

Best, M.L. & ITU. (2013). Measuring the World’s Digital Natives. In Measuring the Information Society (pp. 127–158). Geneva: ITU.

Fajebe, A. A., Best, M. L., & Smyth, T. N. (2013). Is the One-Laptop-Per-Child Enough? Viewpoints from Classroom Teachers in Rwanda. Information Technologies and International Development, 9(3), 29-42.

Best, M. L., Thakur, D., & Kolko, B. (2010). The Contribution of User-Based Subsidies to the Impact and Sustainability of Telecenters: The eCenter Project in Kyrgyzstan. Information Technologies and International Development, 6(2).

Best, M. L., Thakur, D. & Kolko, B.E. (2009). The contribution of user-based subsidies to the impact and sustainability of telecenters – the eCenter project in Kyrgyzstan. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2009).

Best, M.L., Kolko, B., Thakur, D. & Aitieva, M. (2007). Assessment of Economic Growth Impacts of the eCenters Project in Kyrgyzstan.

D. Thakur, K. Jones, & M. L. Best. (2006). Evaluation of the USAID Leland Initiative in Nigeria (2000-2005).

Best, M. L. (2006). A Global Survey of Spectrum License Exemptions. Paper presented at the The 34th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC), Washington, DC.

Best, M. L. (2006). Kali, Creator and Destroyer: A Personal Recollection on Media Lab Asia Information for Development, 4(1).

Neto, I., Best, M. L., & Gillet, S. E. (2005). License-Exempt Wireless Policy: Results of an African Survey. Information Technologies and International Development, 2(3), 73-90.

V. Maugis, N. Choucri, S.E. Madnick, M.D. Siegel, S.E. Gillett, M.L. Best, et al. (2005). Global E-Readiness – for what? Readiness for E-Banking. Journal of Information Technology for Development, 11(4), 313-342.

SELECTED EDITORIALS AND OPINION PIECES

Tucker, W. D., Bidwell, N. J., & Best, M. L. (2015). Celebrating Gary Marsden. Information Technologies and International Development, 11(4), iii–iv.

Best, M. L. (2012). Special Editorial from Michael Best. Information Technologies & International Development, 8(2).(1).

Bar, F., & Best, M. L. (2011). From the Editors. Information Technologies & International Development, 7(4), iii-iv.(1).

Bar, F., & Best, M. L. (2011). Exploring Facets of Community. Information Technologies & International Development, 7(2), iii-iv.(1).

Best, M. L., & Bar, F. (2010). Forward. Information Technologies & International Development, 6(SE), v.(1).

Bar, F., Best, M. L., & Toyama, K. (2010). Building on Seven Years of Collaborative Effort. Information Technologies & International Development, 6(4), iii-iv.(1).

Best, M. L. (2010). Understanding Our Knowledge Gaps: Or, Do We Have an ICT4D Field? And Do We Want One?. Information Technologies & International Development, 6(SE), 49-52(1).

Best, M. L., & Bar, F. (2009). Crossing the Disciplines. Information Technologies and International Development, 5(3), iii-v.(1).

Best, M. L., Bar, F., & Wilson, E. J. (2008). ITID 2.0. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(2), iii-iv.(1).

Bar, F., & Best, M. L. (2008). Announcing ITID 2.0. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(4), iii-iv.(1).

Bar, F. & Best, M.L. (2008). Assessing the Impact of Public Access to ICTs. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(3).

Best, M.L. & Wilson, E.J.III (2008). Real Synthetic Scholarship. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(1).

Best, M.L. & Wilson, E.J.III (2006). The Velocity of Rebirth. Information Technologies and International Development, 3(4).

Best, M.L. & Wilson, E.J.III (2006). $10 Million For Your Thoughts? Information Technologies and International Development, 3(3).

Best, M.L. & Wilson, E.J.III (2006). In Celebration of the Gray Zone. Information Technologies and International Development, 3(2).

Best, M. L., & Wilson, E. J., III. (2006). Information Will Be Free. Information Technologies and International Development, 3(1).

Wilson, E. J., III, Best, M. L., & Kleine, D. (2005). Moving Beyond “The Real Digital Divide”. Information Technologies and International Development, 2(3), iii-v.

Wilson, E. J., III, Best, M. L., & Kleine, D. (2005). Open Access Publishing and the Creative Community. Information Technologies and International Development, 2(4), iii – iv.

Best, M. L., & Wilson, E. J., III. (2004). Can IT Start-Ups Slay Telecommunication Incumbents? Stories of David versus Goliath. Information Technologies and International Development, 2(1), iii – v.

Best, M. L., Wilson, E. J., III, & Maclay, C. (2004). The World Summit in Reflection: A Deliberative Dialogue on the WSIS. Information Technologies and International Development, 1(3-4), 1-3.

Wilson, E. J., III, & Best, M. L. (2004). Creating Necessary Knowledge.Information Technologies and International Development, 2(2), iii-v.

Wilson, E. J., III, & Best, M. L. (2004). Looking Back, Moving Forward.Information Technologies and International Development, 1(3-4), v – vii.

Wilson, E. J., III, & Best, M. L. (2004). What Can We Expect from the World Summit. Information Technologies and International Development, 1(2).

Wilson, E.J., III, & Best, M.L. (2003). China Versus India: Contrasting Strategies, What Consequences? Information Technologies and International Development, 1

MEMETICS

Best, M. L. (2006). Adaptive Value Within Natural Language Discourse. Interaction Studies, 7(1).

Best, M.L. & R. Pocklington. (1999). Meaning as Use: Transmission fidelity and evolution in NetNews. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 196(3), 389-395.

Best, M.L. (1998). Memes on Memes: A critique of memetic models. Journal of Memetics, 2(1).

Pocklington, R., & Best, M. L. (1997). Cultural Evolution and Units of Selection in Replicating Text. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 188, 79-87.

Best, M.L. (1997). Models for Interacting Populations of Memes. Journal of Memetics, 1(2).