Friday, June 29, 2012
Exploring Neighbourhoods in Georgia: Promises and Challenges for Collaboration
Posted by
Natia
at
10:51 AM
0
comments
Labels: Cooperation, Georgia, Housing, Social Capital
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Freelancer.com | Far from Workable for Finding Statistical Expertise!
It seems like an exciting possibility. So does Freelancer.com work for statistical expertise?
Unfortunately, Freelancer.com runs far below expectations. (This is a polite way of saying that the system is dysfunctional for anyone with advanced needs.) The website is clunky, hard to maneuver, stitched together on the fly, probably useful for the most basic transactions, but not for more sophisticated transactions. It's also dreadfully slow.
As for the quality of the bids on Freelancer.com, we received two good ones, among the 23 bids. But the majority are people who plainly shouldn't be bidding, since they have no clue what they're writing about. This creates extra work, as you sort through things. Unfortunately the system for evaluating these bids is not good – remarks that you enter disappear, and while there is all sorts of supposed snazzyness to the left and the right on your screen, it really seems as if no one has done any usability tests. You run around in circles. If Freelancer had intended to set up a system to make it deliberately difficult to choose, they would have done a splendid job.
Freelancer.com does have support, but it doesn't work for you. Several times I received no response. When persisting (because I wanted access to deliverables I had set), I was told to wait "around 2 minutes", and more than 15 min. later I still hadn't heard back (see below). I then was instructed to read their FAQs on issues even though clearly the website didn't work. 50 minutes later I was still online with support giving me intermittent attention, still trying to find a fix for a very basic problem. And in the end, when they couldn't fix the problem – they just threw me out of their support line and terminated the conversation.
Overall, a deeply frustrating process with Freelancer.com, taking me hours of time. They also have a hefty fee structure, so that even projects that don't succeed end up costing you quite a bit -- may be worth thinking about, and they mentioned they have 3 million employers and freelancers signed up, but less than half of that as completed projects.
If there isn't a better way of finding statistical expertise, the market in the foreseeable future will remain local, and running through personal connections and networks. If anyone knows of a better system of finding statistical experts out there, please let us know.
Posted by
HansG
at
7:43 PM
2
comments
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Gender Attitudes in Azerbaijan
Posted by
Anonymous
at
12:48 PM
0
comments
Labels: Attitudes, Azerbaijan, Gender
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Georgia: A Liberal or Socially Conservative Country?
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Counting Crowds & Crowds Counting | Jacobs' Method
This discussion has now been revived, after the new political coalition around Bidzina Ivanishvili started its full-scale entry into politics by gathering supporters on central Freedom Square of Tbilisi. Widely varying estimates of attendance numbers have been put forward. The Georgian police estimated the size of crowd as 30 000, supporters of Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream claimed that about 300 thousand people gathered on Freedom square, however, independent observers suggested 80 thousand attendees had come to the rally.
The analysis is based on visual assessment of density in the parcels, following Jacobs' method. Where people are
- standing tightly we assigned the score 0.23,
- crowded but not pushing each other, we assigned the score 0.42
- standing in a distance of one person’s arm, we used the score of 0.93.
Now, several remarks on these numbers:
- Jacobs' approach only yields rough numbers, +/-20%.
- numbers work both ways, as various people have pointed out; it may be worth coming to some sort of consensus in Georgia how many people Freedom Square holds when it's crowded, and then apply that consistently.
- ultimately, quantity is not legitimacy; a protest that is conducted civilly and that gets people to engage and discuss is plenty legitimate, so the entire numbers game is a bit problematic, and not only in Georgia.
That being said, we think the Jacobs method is as good as it gets, for quick assessments. Since we only counted 13 parcels, out of 29, and want to make this method more broadly available, we encourage our readers to be involved! Crowds can help count crowds.
Use our raw materials to assess the number of attendees. Download the spreadsheet, use the robust Jacobs method, and send it back to us when you are done. Also, feel free to send your comments and estimations, the topic is open for discussion!
Posted by
David
at
1:27 PM
0
comments
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Caucasus Barometer data in Slate | Kendzior & Pearce
(And we are glad to say they used some of our data.) Katy regularly examines the question on how the Internet impacts various parts of life, and has been great at mining the Caucasus Barometer for interesting insights. Find more of her work on her blog.
The Slate article is definitely worth a read, and right here.
Posted by
HansG
at
4:09 PM
0
comments
Friday, May 25, 2012
Women in Parliament: How Do Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan Compare to Other Countries?
Posted by
Natia
at
2:38 PM
2
comments
Labels: Parliament, South Caucasus, Women
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Bela Tsipuria on the Post-Colonial Aspect of Georgian Literature
Georgia is not always described as a classical colony, as it was closely intertwined with Russian and later Soviet elites. Yet, as Tsipuria argues, Georgia had many of the key features of a colony. It lacked sovereignty, had no borders, was administered by a significant non-Georgian elite, with politics and even culture dominated by an Imperial center.
Georgian culture and literature thus developed in response to this colonialism, that arrived at the same time as modernity. As the state could not develop Georgian identity, it was left to culture to define Georgia -- thus the central role of writers, as reflected in street names in cities throughout Georgia. According to Tsipuria, the debate to which extent the state can be trusted to take the lead in society, continues. Eventually Russia became a liminal space, on the side, as Georgians tried to define themselves toward a European vision of modernity, under the theme of "relocating Georgia".
Briefly modernists defined their own space in the First Georgian Republic, as a cultural oasis, bringing together Georgian, Russian, Armenian and even Polish avantgardists. This glimpse of free modernism was post-colonial in various ways, in its assertion of experimentation and freedom. Yet this moment was snuffed out quickly with the Soviet take-over. Seeking to assert its own artistic vision, the Soviet Empire centralized cultural production, suggesting and even enforcing its approach, duplicating via mimicry, and marginalizing alternatives.
The symbolists tried to fight back. Tsipuria highlights how some of the artists used the facade of Socialist Realism to introduce their own national and modernist symbols. While much of that spirit was purged in the 1930s, a double narrative came back after the Second World War, that was both Soviet and personal, characterized by ambivalence. The double narrative created a rich texture, and creative tension, but also, Tsipuria said, created a double discourse, some of which still creates challenges for current debates in the country, in "how to manage the reality that the new freedom grants".
Interested in attending or even presenting in these sessions? The easiest way is to join the Works-in-Progress group on Facebook.
Posted by
HansG
at
4:08 PM
1 comments
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Public Opinion about Women in Parliament in Georgia
Posted by
Natia
at
11:52 AM
1 comments
Labels: Georgia, Parliament, Public Opinion, Women
Monday, May 14, 2012
Getting information from the internet – how does it affect Georgians’ views?
Since having access to the internet drastically increases the amount and varies the type of information available to people, the question of political implications naturally follows. As Georgians begin accessing information from online sources, how are their assessments of their governments and others changing?
- Under the present government in Georgia do you completely agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or completely disagree that people like yourself are treated fairly by the government?
- To what degree does the court system in Georgia treat all citizens equally or to what degree does it favor some over others?
- Would you say that the most recent election was conducted completely fairly, to some extent fairly, or not at all fairly?
- In Georgia today, do you think or not that people like yourself have the right to openly say what they think?
- How well do you think TV journalists in Georgia inform the population about what is actually going on in Georgia?
Posted by
Lucy Flynn
at
10:01 AM
0
comments
Friday, May 11, 2012
Political Participation and Democracy in Azerbaijan
Posted by
Anonymous
at
9:56 AM
0
comments
Labels: Attitudes, Azerbaijan, Democracy, Transition
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Ethnic versus European Identity: The Case of Georgia
Posted by
Natia
at
11:06 AM
0
comments
Labels: Caucasus, European Union, Georgia, Youth
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Georgian get-togethers: Private Problems versus Politics
Posted by
Natia
at
2:15 PM
0
comments
Labels: Civic Engagement, Democracy, Georgia, Politics
Friday, March 30, 2012
CB 2011 Preview | Attitudes towards IDPs in Georgia

Posted by
Wesli
at
10:51 AM
0
comments
Labels: Abkhazia, Internally Displaced Persons, Tskhinvali, UNHCR
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Blood Donation in Georgia: Obstacles and Opportunities
Posted by
Natia
at
4:34 PM
2
comments
Labels: Caucasus Barometer, Georgia, Public Health, World Health Organization (WHO)
Friday, March 16, 2012
Brookings Event - Internally Displaced Persons and Host Communities: The Limits of Hospitality?
Most of the world's 27 million people who have been internally displaced by conflict do not live in camps; rather they live with family members or friends or are dispersed within communities. One frequently overlooked aspect of displacement is the impact of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the communities which host them—communities which are often poor and marginalized themselves.
On March 22, the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) will host a discussion of two recent reports on IDP and host community relations: "Can You Be an IDP for Twenty Years? A Comparative Field Study on the Protection Needs and Attitudes Toward Displacement Among IDPs and Host Communities in Azerbaijan" and "The Effects of Internal Displacement on Host Communities: A Case Study of Suba and Ciudad Bolívar Localities in Bogotá, Colombia."
The event is at The Brookings Institution, Saul/Zilkha Rooms, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC: Thursday, March 22, 2012, 12:00 — 1:30 pm.
Posted by
HansG
at
4:27 PM
0
comments
Labels: Azerbaijan, Internally Displaced Persons
Perceptions of Good Citizenship in Georgia
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Georgia and the EU’s Economic Woes

Posted by
Wesli
at
10:33 AM
0
comments
Labels: Economy, Employment, Europe, European Union