[liberationtech] Seeking funding help for a research project

[Stephen Michael Kellat]

Greetings.

I've been trying to stay in the background on liberationtech and liberationtech-jobs due to the nature of my current job.  My employer is not a happy one especially when the agency head has impeachment under active consideration against him.  That there are rules at work forbidding my naming my employer makes it awkward and does require some dancing around fine lines.

I am an independent researcher who has been trying to get back to an academic role.  I've sounded out probable institutions in northeast Ohio and haven't found any takers.  In light of projects like Outernet where there is an attempt at satellite delivery of Internet access to the disadvantaged, further work is perhaps required.  Originally the group backing Outernet wanted NASA cooperation to launch their own cubesat satellite into orbit but were turned down.  They're current distributing data via a leased transponder on a commercially operated satellite in a much higher orbit than a cubesat would typically be found.

As a trained academic librarian and still an information broker today, research is needed to better understand the collection development policies behind what Outernet is streaming.  Observation of their data stream to provide qualitative judgment while attempting to judge their policies against what a library might utilize, for example, would help better systematize understanding of the group's work.  Preparing background history of launching file servers into orbit, an endeavor that stretches back to 1990 with a group of US & UK ham radio operators launching an experimental satellite called PACSAT/AMSAT-OSCAR 16, is needed to help people who sling code for a living understand the background to a data transit platform not always understood by all.

To minimize complications for anyone giving money, I set something up on generosity.com to receive funds.  This certainly doesn't relieve me of tax liability as I am not tax-free as an independent operator by any stretch but this would help relieve some administrative burdens for anybody wishing to donate.  The donations point for this proposed 2 year project is: https://www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/fixing-potholes-of-the-information-superhighway

The goal over 2 years is to research, write, and present.  The main conference of focus is the Christian Scholars Conference hosted by Lipscomb University.  Other speaking opportunities, if available, would also be pursued.  Publication through outlets such LISNews.org would be considered as well as the E-LIS OA archive.

Stephen Michael Kellat, MSLS
Ashtabula, OH
https://launchpad.net/~skellat