WilliamsMemo16

This study will be based on data collected through multi-sited:
 * Methodological**
 * //participant observation// as a research student in the Unite for Sight NGO student chapters, clinics, eye camps and global health conference (Albany NY, Accra Ghana and New Haven CT)
 * //ethnographic interviews// of ophthalmologists (Albany N Y, Denver CO, Baltimore MD, Ghana, Kenya, Kathmandu Nepal)
 * //comparative analysis of archival and policy documents// for: (1) medical technology transfer and (2) preventable blindness diseases (e.g. bi-lateral cataracts, congenital cataracts, onchocherciasis vector and control)

Focusing on the work of Dr. Sanduk Ruit and his colleagues in Nepal, this study will contribute to the empirical record of "appropriate technology design" and "technology choice" with a description of small incision cataract surgery (SICS) technology-practice and comparison to the previous extra capsular cataract extraction (ECCE) surgery technology-practice including design issues and valences.
 * Empirical**

This study will advance conceptualization of organizational theory in respect to transnational networks and complexity theory. More specifically, it will describe any shared characteristics of entrepreneurial NGOs with a humanitarian focus including their patterns of formation, self-organization, and how ICT use is implicated.
 * Conceptual/Theoretical**

This study will contribute to the body of theoretical work on SCOT with an analysis of the intraocular lens as a boundary object and, or, political artifact. Specifically, it will show how the definition of the intraocular lens changes subtly with respect to its place (e.g. manufacturing laboratory, shipping box, operating room, operating tent, human eye) and how because each place is socially constructed depending upon political and cultural factors, some with a more static frame of reference than others, the definition of IOL navigates space and time in a very particular way.

The study will also draw on and contribute to scholarly literatures that examine international medical technology transfer. An anticipated result is a more general theoretical framework for international medical technology transfer that recognizes that it is not just transferring medical artifacts and techniques, but also involves the translation of culture and values between industrialized and developing societies. This framework would not just describe the technological content of transfer, but would also articulate the decision-making process at multiple levels of participation by multiple actors.

Results of this study can help transnational NGOs work with national and local governments to develop flexible and robust technology transfer programs for appropriate technology choice.
 * Practical**