The cooperating site and partner university agree to protect the Federal investment in the CPE from common hazards throughout the life of the project. In case of CPE related damage after installation, a professional determination will be made of the cause of the damage (coordinated through the ADEC office).  The cooperating site agrees to use reasonable and prudent care in protecting the equipment from fire, theft and vandalism. The (cooperating site or partner university) will assume any liability that might occur to person or property from the CPE.

The cooperating site and partner university will not discriminate in the opportunity it affords to persons using the CPEs and connectivity as part of the AISEP research project.

The cooperating site and partner university will cooperate with the ADEC PI and Co-PIs as requested in reporting to the National Science Foundation and in welcoming onsite evaluations as required by the project and the granting agency.

Cooperation in Participatory Research

Throughout the life of the project, ADEC will be collecting, testing and measuring traffic information, as well as other technical and engineering information related to the research and development of an advanced Internet satellite network.  Some of this testing and measurement will be unobtrusive, and in other cases, persons at local sites will be asked to actively participate in testing and recording results.

This project values full participation of all users in this research and open and transparent measurement and reporting. We define participatory research as systematic inquiry, with the collaboration of those affected by the issue being studied, for purposes of education and taking action or effecting change.  The North Central Regional Rural Development Center will serve as the overall coordinating entity for the diffusion of innovation, learning effectiveness and media attributes research.  This center headquartered at Iowa State University will be responsible for obtaining human subjects clearance for any research activities conducted at the local sites, including the baseline survey to be conducted using a modification of the Pew Foundation research instrument from the study of the Internet and American Life.  Additional information about each of the local sites will be recorded at the time of the baseline survey and discussion of the participatory research activities anticipated for that site will be discussed and agreed upon.  At this time, a decision will be made as to whether the site will participate in an ADEC orientation related to Internet possibilities. Previous research has shown the importance of introductory training programs, not only for purposes of computer literacy, but to introduce new Internet users to the possible serious uses that can be made of the Internet for informational, educational, economic and social development opportunities.

Local sites will be asked to participate in this project based upon various communities of interest. The AISEP project will be looking at cultural and ethnographic dimensions of Internet use with various communities including pre-adolescent/youth learning centers; adolescent/youth learning centers; libraries and public access technology/learning centers; minority serving colleges and universities; rural and remote extension learning centers; non-profit organizations and other locations related to adult learning and education. We anticipate that this research will lead to better indicators of what works in terms of eliminating barriers to serious Internet use and greater digital inclusion.

The following guidelines will be used in establishing the research to be accomplished at each location:

1.         The community of interest will be clearly described and defined.

2.         The participating local site and university will have concern with and/or experience with the issues to be addressed.

3.         Users at the local site will have the opportunity to participate in the research process.

4.         Attention will be given to assuring that the community understands the project and processes to be used and opts into the project.

5.         The local site facilitators and users will be enabled to contribute their intellectual resources to the research process.

6.         The research process and results will be fully shared with the community of interest and will become a part of the overall learning process.

7.         Opportunities will be sought to facilitate collaboration between the local site and other sites, participants and resources external to the community.

8.         The researchers will look to empower the community of interest and the users.

9.         Participants will have an opportunity to learn about research methods.

10.       The researchers will learn more about the issues and needs of the community of interest.

11.       The process will be flexible and allow for change in methods and focus if necessary.

12.       Procedures for appraising experiences during implementation of the research will be included.

13.       Community participants will be involved in analytic issues: interpretations, synthesis and the verification of conclusions.

14.       All participants in the research should benefit from the research process and outcomes.

15.       There will be a fair and open process for acknowledging and resolving differences between researchers and community participants as related to interpretation of the results.

16.       All research products will be shared with the community of interest. Individual privacy will be protected and differences will be respected.

17.       The local sites will be viewed as full members of the research team.

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Local Site Coordinator

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Partnering University Representative

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ADEC Representative