Studying the Effects of Texting on Tanzanian Politics

January 2018

Recent political science graduate Naomi Dorsey has experienced life in developing countries firsthand: she was born in Guatemala, lived in Djibouti as a child for a few years, and then relocated to Costa Rica to attend high school.

“Naturally I said yes when professor Daniel Nielson asked me to join his research trip in Tanzania last summer,” says Dorsey. In East Africa, the team examined the effects of cell phone use on the socioeconomic status of women in developing countries.

“We wanted to see how text messaging impacts their involvement in local politics and their confidence in fighting for their rights,” says Dorsey. “We did initial interviews and distributed cell phones to some of the women in the study, but the project’s still ongoing.” Next summer another group of students will continue the research.

Dorsey is grateful for the generous giving that made this opportunity possible. “It’s been the journey of finding out who I am and what I want to do with my life. I know I wouldn’t be able to do that if somebody didn’t so graciously donate the money.”