May 2008 - change - Mailing Lists

PHI 2008 deadline extended
by Brian DeRenzi 31 May '08

31 May '08

PHI 2008 The deadline for poster abstracts has been extended to June 30,2008 11:59pm PST. http://www.gpphi.org/conferences/PHI2008/call-for-posters

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Guest lecturer in CSEP 590b
by Richard Anderson 27 May '08

27 May '08

Tapan Parikh will be making a guest appearance in the Computing and the Developing World class, Wednesday, May 28 at 6:30 pm. He will be talking about CAM and other mobile data collection work. Feel free to stop by for Tap's talk. (I will give the second half of the lecture - but don't feel obligated to stay for the whole thing!).

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Fwd: GP CEO to Speak at UW's Kane Hall on May 29
by Andrew Whitaker 21 May '08

21 May '08

Sorry for the forward of a forward, but this panel on microfinance looks pretty interesting. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town. Begin forwarded message: > From: "C. Leigh Anderson" <cla(a)u.washington.edu> > Date: May 21, 2008 6:08:11 AM PDT > To: <pbaf599r_sp08(a)u.washington.edu> > Cc: "'Andrew Whitaker'" <andrew(a)cs.washington.edu> > Subject: FW: GP CEO to Speak at UW's Kane Hall on May 29 > Reply-To: <cla(a)u.washington.edu> > > > > Folks -- from Angie FYI: >> Announcement from Global Partnerships: >> >> Please join us on Thursday, May 29, 2008 for a panel discussion >> featuring > Global Partnerships CEO and President, Rick Beckett. Rick, along > with other > leaders in microfinance, will discuss microcredit's role in bringing > opportunity to people living poverty. >> >> U.N. Millennium Development Goals and Microcredit: How Small Loans >> Support Sustainable Development >> >> Date: Thursday, May 29, 2008 >> >> Time: 6:30 p.m. >> >> Location: University of Washington, Kane Hall 220 and the Walker Ames >> Room 225 >> >> Panelists include: >> >> * Rick Beckett, CEO of Global Partnerships >> * Peter Bladin, VP of Grameen Foundation and Director of Grameen > Technology Center >> * Terry Provance, Executive Director of Oikocredit USA >> * Sangita Sigdyal, Deputy Director of the Microcredit Summit >> Campaign >> * Carol Welch, former U.S. Coordinator of the U.N. Millennium >> Campaign >> >> Moderator: Penny LeGate, KIRO TV news anchor and reporter >> >> The panel discussion is sponsored by the Puget Sound Millennium Goals > Project and the Center for Global Studies of the Jackson School at the > University of Washington. >> >> The event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there! >> >> Read more about this event on our website > > _________________________________________________________________ > Give to a good cause with every e-mail. Join the i'm Initiative from > Microsoft. > http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?souce=EML_WL_ > GoodCause >

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Fwd: Health, Development and Social Transformation
by Yaw Anokwa 13 May '08

13 May '08

i was forwarded this course description. it may be interesting to those interested in health, human rights and social justice. ------------------------------ Original Message ------------------------------ Subject: [Human Rights] Course in Health, Development and Social Transformation From: "Joel Ngugi" <jngugi(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Mon, May 12, 2008 18:22 To: lawb596a_sp08(a)u.washington.edu lawa571a_sp08(a)u.washington.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear All: I am writing to let you know that next winter, I will be teaching (or, more appropriately, leading) a course on "Health, Development and Social Transformation" in the Winter. The course will be hosted by Jackson School and cross-registered here at the law school, and also at Evans School, School of Social Work, and Program on Environmental Studies. We hope to draw about 30 graduate and undergraduate students from all these schools in the course. I have included the course description and the list of topics that will be covered below. As you will see, the course will be an inter-disciplinary approach to dealing with the health crisis in the Greater Horn of Africa using a human rights and social justice framework. I hope to see some of you in the class. Please note the topics and guest lecturers are only tentative: Course Description: Health, Development and Social Transformation This course is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexities inherent in efforts to simultaneously improve health and human rights in the context of the unique economic, social, political and cultural transformations (and upheavals) occurring in the Greater Horn of Africa. It will examine the multiplicity of social, economic, cultural, legal, and political factors which affect the health and well-being of individuals and societies, and interrogate working models of approaches to favorably alter them. The course will examine ways in which public health professionals, lawyers, development agencies, anthropologists, social workers, and others have theorized about social and economic change, and the history and ethical implications of their practical engagement with development intervention. Through interdisciplinary studies, the course will seek to demonstrate the links between economic, sociological, social, and political processes, changing identities and development intervention. It will examine concrete social problems in developing countries such as public health management, access to health care, women's property rights, trade and economic development policies, the effects of armed conflicts and environmental degradation, the role of human rights, and the role of the state and regulation. The course will begin by giving the students sufficient background to understand the context in which the praxis of health amelioration, health care provision, and the improvement of underlying determinants of health (such as sanitation, clean drinking water, and health education) occurs in the setting of the Greater Horn of Africa; and critically assess the modes of production of knowledge about these challenges, and how we think and talk about them. One of the underlying themes of the course is to explore the idea that particular forms of knowledge generated and transmitted by civil society and their contestation are a key determinant in the operationalization of the human rights and social justice projects. Topics 1. Framing the Course: Defining "Health"; "Development"; "Human Rights"; "Social Transformation"; and "Social Justice" 2. The Pornography of Poverty: Representations about Africa and Poverty in Development and Human Rights Discourses 3. The Health Crisis in Africa and the Role of Health in Social Transformation Historical and Contemporary Perspectives 4. The Backdrop of Economic Development: Understanding the Challenges of Achieving Health in the Context of "Underdevelopment" 5. Analysis of current health crisis in the Greater Horn of Africa: a. HIV/AIDS b. Reproductive rights c. Malaria d. Child mortality e. Lack of access to basic health care f. Malnutrition and starvation 6. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Human Rights Perspectives (Guest lecturer from Law School) 7. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Public Health Perspectives (Guest lecturer from Global Health) 8. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Perspectives from Development Studies (Guest lecturer from Evans School) 9. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Anthropological Perspectives (Guest lecturer from Anthropology) 10. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Economic Perspectives (Guest lecturer from Jackson School) 11. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Feminist Perspectives (Prof. Sylvia Kangara - Law) 12. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Perspectives from Social Work (Peris Kibera, PhD candidate - Social Work) 13. Solving Health and Development Crisis: The Role of Technology and Standard Setting (Prof. Jane Winn - Law) 14. Solving Health and Development Crisis: Cultural/Grass Root Perspectives (Ms. Loyce Ong'udi of Rabuor Village Project) 15. Case Study: Analysis of a Current Controversy: Female "Circumcision" 16. Case Study: Analysis of a Current Challenge: HIV/Aids Pandemic 17. Obstacles: Focus on Armed Conflict (Guest speaker from Mercy Corps) 18. Obstacles: Focus on Environmental Degradation 19. So You Want to do Health, Development or Human Rights Work Abroad? (Odhalia Mbuni of Seattle City Social Work Dept & Peter Kithene, MPH student, UW) 20. Wrap-up session: So What did we Learn? Joel M. Ngugi Assistant Professor of Law University of Washington School of Law William H. Gates Hall, Rm 315 Box 353020 Seattle, WA 98195-3020 Tel: (206) 543-7611 Fax: (206) 543-5671 http://www.law.washington.edu/Directory/Profile.aspx?ID=149 _______________________________________________ Lawb596a_sp08 mailing list Lawb596a_sp08(a)u.washington.edu http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/lawb596a_sp08

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ICTD 2009 Conference
by Brian DeRenzi 13 May '08

13 May '08

Tap pointed out that the dates have been settled for ICTD 2009. The 2009 ICTD conference is scheduled for April 17-19 at CMU's Qatar campus in Doha. It will feature a keynote address on April 18 by Bill Gates. For more details, see the web page at: http://ictd2009.org/ and the call for papers: http://ictd2009.org/cfp.html

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[Fwd: Academics for Higher Education and Development (AHED), Two Volunteer Positions]
by benson limketkai 13 May '08

13 May '08

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Academics for Higher Education and Development (AHED), Two Volunteer Positions Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 14:09:50 -0400 From: Sabrina Jacob <sjacob(a)cra.org> To: 'jobs(a)cra.org' <jobs(a)cra.org> Academics for Higher Education and Development (AHED) Two Volunteer Positions AHED, an NGO the mission of which is to support developing countries build capacity in higher education, has two volunteer positions: an information technology manager, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and a computer scientist, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana. www.ahed-upesed.org/en/projects/ All expenses are covered, but there is no salary. For more information www.ahed-upesed.org or Steven Davis sdavis(a)ahed-upesed.org ++++++++++++++++++++ A list of all jobs posted through CRA can be found at http://www.cra.org/ads/ To unsubscribe from this service, send e-mail to majordomo(a)cra.org with the following line in the body of the e-mail: unsubscribe jobs youraddress(a)your.com Note: Always leave subject line blank when sending e-mail to majordomo(a)cra.org

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Special class session of CSEP590b
by Richard Anderson 08 May '08

08 May '08

Next Monday evening there will be a special session of my class CSEP 590b, Computing and the developing world. The session is special, since it will have three great guest speakers, and because it is on Monday night instead of the usual Wednesday night. The class meets at 6:30 pm, Monday, May 12 in CSE 305 at UW, and in Building 99 (room 1915) on the Microsoft Campus. From: csep590b-admin(a)cs.washington.edu [mailto:csep590b-admin@cs.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Anderson Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 6:02 PM To: csep590b - Mailing List Subject: [Csep590b] Class will be held on Monday, May 12 (not Wednesday, May 14) I am shifting next week's class to Monday May 12 to accommodate my travel schedule. Class will not be held on May 14. We will have three guest speakers Yaw Anokwa will talk about Open MRS David Edelstein will talk about projects at the Grameen Technology Center Joyojeet Pal will talk about computer use in rural Indian schools. All three talks will be great. David Edelstein has requested that his segment not be archived. That means that there will not be a video archive of David's segment (nor will his segment be streamed). You will need to watch this live, either at UW, MSR, or LUMS. Overview of the Application Laboratory The AppLab, an initiative of the Grameen Technology Center, is leveraging the existing base of Village Phone Operators (VPOs) and other types of Shared Phone Operators to bring information services to the rural poor via mobile devices. It aims to: * Deeply understand the needs of people in rural and peri-urban Uganda and build innovative applications delivered over mobile devices tailored to their needs * Develop opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs to enhance their existing mobile device businesses with new value added services, serving as "information hubs" for their communities * Design applications and associated business models which are financially sustainable, can be brought to scale and demonstrate potential to be replicated globally Improved access to information can enable people to overcome market inefficiencies that cause significant barriers to economic development. Job markets do not operate efficiently in many countries because of poor information flows. Farmers in developing economies face challenges in obtaining fair market value for their crops, knowing appropriate prices for their inputs, obtaining guidance on effective farming practices, and getting up-to-date information on transportation, weather, pests, and other variables. Lack of information adversely affects quality of life. Often, people need to make significant effort just to locate health workers and medicines. There is rarely a way to verify medicine authenticity. It is often difficult for rural people to access basic health information, such as information about sexual and reproductive health. These are just a few examples of areas in which information can be delivered over mobile devices to improve livelihoods and quality of life. The Application Laboratory (AppLab), building upon an expanding network of Village Phone and Shared Phone operators, strategic partnerships from the public and private sectors and the Grameen Technology Center's deep on-the-ground experience, is uniquely positioned to deliver solutions which overcome these market problems and contribute to poverty alleviation. David Edelstein Profile David Edelstein is the Director of ICT Innovation at the Grameen Technology Center. In this role he is responsible for developing and managing the strategy and implementation of Grameen Foundation's AppLab initiative as well as several other initiatives. He brings a rich combination of extensive experience in emerging markets and in technology for development across the business, non-profit and government sectors. He most recently worked at Microsoft where he designed innovative business models to provide affordable technology products to people in emerging markets. With the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, David lived and worked in Brazil, where he developed business strategies tailored to needs of consumers and businesses in emerging economies. He also worked with the World Wildlife Fund and Brazilian organizations on conservation finance and strategy for the Amazon. Previously, David crafted and evaluated public policy for Resources for the Future and then with the White House Counsel of Economic Advisers. He holds a Masters degree in Economics and Public Policy from Princeton University and a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science and Economics from Colby College. Joyojeet Pal from UC Berkeley discusses "Computers and the Promise of Development" In this talk, we look at the recent history of technology and development, or what we have come to know as ICTD and consider some areas of promise and caution. We use extensive primary research at two major ICTD projects in India - a telecenter and e-literacy project in Kerala, and a Computer Aided Learning program in Karnataka, and illustrate how these projects have fared on some indicators of development, but also try to understand how rural users and interest groups perceive technology and how this impacts technology adoption. In Kerala, we use the results of a household survey to examine the extent of shared computer use and computer literacy service delivery through telecenter kiosks. In Karnataka, we use interviews of rural parents and stakeholders around schools with recently allocated computers, to document the aspirations related to technology and the impact of past contact with computers on these aspirations. This research is better known for findings on the ways in which children seat themselves in front of computers and control input devices, which I briefly cover. In bringing the two studies together, we raise questions on two important issues -- first, is there a case for public funding of telecenters, and second, what are the elements of rural discourse on technology that may impact such demand. Bio: Joyojeet Pal is a PhD candidate in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California at Berkeley. His research is primarily on socio-economic impacts of rural technology projects. In addition to research at Berkeley, Joyojeet has worked extensively with the Microsoft Research India on their emerging markets research, as well as with product groups on their education products for children in the developing world. Before his current research career, Joyojeet worked at the Times of India, and at Hewlett Packard. He has a Bachelor's degree in Commerce and Economics from Sydenham College, University of Mumbai.

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get a job at kiva.org
by Yaw Anokwa 06 May '08

06 May '08

Named as one of the top ideas in 2006 by the New York Times Magazine, Kiva (www.kiva.org) is the world's first person-to-person lending marketplace for the poor. Kiva's goal is to reduce global poverty by letting consumers lend to and connect with a specific developing world entrepreneur online. Kiva is looking for a software engineer to help them grow their website. If you are interested, check out http://www.kiva.org/about/job-engineer

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[Fwd: [Soasiastudents] Computers and development in India May 13]
by Sunil Garg 05 May '08

05 May '08

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FW: [cis-uw] POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Communications Specialist for the ICTD Program, Seattle, WA
by Richard Anderson 05 May '08

05 May '08

From: cis-uw-bounces(a)mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:cis-uw-bounces@mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Nancy Lou Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:06 PM To: cis-uw(a)u.washington.edu; cis-network(a)u.washington.edu Subject: [cis-uw] POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Communications Specialist for the ICTD Program, Seattle, WA Hello - Please help us spread the word about the following opportunity with the CIS ICT & Development Program: -------------------- The Information & Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) program at the Center for Information & Society (CIS) in the UW Information School investigates disparities of access to information and communication resources worldwide and the corresponding impact on socio-economic development. The ICTD program currently has three active grants with funds exceeding $4.5 million dollars. We are an open, ethical, highly engaged and collaborative community based on trust, transparency and mutual respect. We believe in the importance of quality of life, embracing diversity, making a difference and having fun. The ICTD program has an outstanding opportunity for a Communications Specialist to join our growing team. This individual will be responsible for the development, production, and dissemination of all ICTD communications, including online media, press releases, journal submissions, research reports and summaries, presentations, and videos. They will devise a communication strategy for all aspects of ICTD communications (internal and external) and will devise standards, templates, and processes to ensure quality and consistency. They will write and edit as needed, and hire and manage any additional staff required, such as graphic designers, editors, media relations specialists, and web development experts. Job Location: 4311 - 11th Ave NE, Seattle Posting Date: 04/29/2008 Closing Date: 05/18/2008 A full description of the position is available here<http://www.cis.washington.edu/about/jobs/ictd-communications051808.html>. To learn more about the ICTD program and our research areas, please visit us at http://www.cis.washington.edu/ictd.

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