There is a growing interest within researchers to find ways for their work to be relevant to society. The possibility of influencing policy is one option to catalyse change in the use of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). This paper proposes a set of questions to aid the ICT4D community in exploring the complexity of the policy processes where their research could be of use. The final aim is to better inform all stakeholders by understanding the context where they participate in policymaking. The main argument is that influencing policy requires intent from the onset of a research project and not only ex post communication strategies. After all, not all research can or should influence policy. In the case of ICT4D, the review of the existing literature shows that policy has not been an explicit area of interest in the domain due to the notions of "policy" and "development" that prevail. The framework developed in this chapter is aimed at allowing the research community interested in policy impact to take into consideration aspects of the policymaking process and to not only communicate results wisely but also identify meaningful and timely research questions and their connection with policies and pinpoint appropriate methods.

Este libro de investigación, es producto de la participación de diferentes integrantes vinculados a semilleros y grupos de investigación ubicados en el contexto regional, nacional e internacional tales como: GOMATECIN, CIEDUS, Ciencias del Lenguaje, Pedagogía infantil, Educar 2030, Laboratorio de Enseñanza, Historia y Filosofía de la Biología (UFBA), Competências Profissionais e Produção de Conhecimento na Contemporaneidade (COMPORTI), CRIDI, y el Laboratorio de Neurociencia (LabNEC-UFPA); cuyos intereses están relacionados con la tecnología desde el campo social y educativo. Se resalta igualmente, la participación de investigadores de la Universidad Santiago de Cali, la Institución Universitaria Escuela Nacional del Deporte, Universidad del Valle, Universidad del Cauca, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), Universidade Federal do Pará, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Universidad Federal de São Carlos, Universidad Andina y Universidade Licungo.

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The Escherichia coli’s membrane protein OmpA has been identified as a potential biosurfactant due to their amphiphilic nature, and their capacity to stabilize emulsions of dodecane in water. In this study, the influence of surfactant type, concentration, preservation time and droplet size on the crystallization of n-dodecane and water, in oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with six rationally designed Escherichia coli’s OmpA-based peptides was investigated. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) protocol was established using emulsions stabilized with Tween 20® and Tween 80®. A relationship between the surfactant concentration and the crystallization temperatures of n-dodecane and water was observed, where the crystallization temperatures seem to be dependent on the preservation time. A deconvolution analysis shows that the peak morphology possibly depends on the interactions at the interface because the enthalpic contributions of each Gaussian peak remained similar in emulsions stabilized with the same peptide. Adsorption results show that the main driver for adsorption and thus stabilization of emulsions is polar interactions (e.g. H-bonding) through the hydrophilic parts of the peptides. Those peptides with a preponderance of polar interaction groups distribution (i.e. NH2, COOH, imidazole) showed the highest interfacial activity under favorable pH conditions. This suggests that custom-made peptides whose hydrophilic/hydrophobic regions can be fine-tuned depending on the application can be easily produced with the additional advantage of their biodegradable nature.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought a wave of uncertainty that created a demand for different kinds of knowledge worldwide, the global South included. The digitalisation of international debates unleashed some barriers to participation and facilitated the integration of global South researchers. This article reflects on the review of global South research projects and information from Southern Voice’s digital knowledge hub. It shows examples and argues that further recognition from external actors of global South research and findings and the possibility of exerting leadership set new precedents for knowledge production and sharing. We conclude that the continuation and encouragement of these trends can help to reduce the knowledge asymmetries between the global North and the global South.