- change - Mailing Lists

Luis Fernando Baron: Social Media and Social Movements
by Trevor Perrier 07 Nov '13

07 Nov '13

What: Social Media and Social Movements: Facebook in the interactions of Social Movement Organizations When: Tuesday, November 12th at 12 noon Where: The Allen Center, CSE 203 Please join us next Tuesday for the Change Seminar. Luis Fernando will be presenting on his current research into social media and social movement organizations around immigration issues in Washington. *Abstract* Use of Social Media is transforming communication practices within and among organizations, with important consequences for social movement organizations seeking to benefit undeserved communities such as immigrants in the US. This work seeks to illuminate how Facebook has been entangled in the practices of Social Movement Organizations (SMO) that work on immigration issues in Washington State. I focus on three complementary areas of inquiry: (a) the SMO information and communication practices; (b) their processes for expressing and forging collective identities, and (c) their *performativity*, defined as an understanding of the SMO’s multiple and fluid interactions with individuals and collectives. Results of this research will expand understanding of the intersection of technology and society, and of social media and social movements in particular, and help social and grassroots organizations improve their actions and services on behalf of immigrants in the US and other parts of the world. *About the Speaker* Luis Fernando is a Ph.D. Candidate of Information Sciences at the University of Washington (UW). He has been leader in the study of relations of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and social movements, particularly, in the field of human rights and peacebuilding in Colombia. His research spans such diverse areas as memories, public opinion and audiences studies on violence and peace processes in Colombia, uses of media for social change, immigration and information, and alternative processes of organization for development. He is defending his dissertation this coming December: *Social Media and Social Movements: Facebook in the interactions of Social Movement Organizations*. His last book on public access to computers, coauthored by Ricardo Gomez, is going to be presented in Colombia next December as well.

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Fwd: FW: Invitation for PhD students interested in future faculty positions at Ashesi University in Ghana
by Yaw Anokwa 06 Nov '13

06 Nov '13

If you are interested in teaching in Ghana, Ashesi is an incredible place. Details below. Calling all potential faculty: An introduction to Ashesi University<http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/>in Ghana By Marcia Grant<http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/news-and-events/news/1662-ashesi-welcomes-new-prov…>, PhD, Ashesi University Provost Monday, November 18, 2-4 pm Café Allegro <http://seattleallegro.com/contact/> 4214 University Way NE RSVP to jbargeron(a)ashesi.org Dr. Grant is interested in meeting Ghanaian and West African PhD students to discuss faculty and teaching opportunities on campus. Areas of focus include engineering, business, computer science, mathematics, and humanities (African history, English, psychology). Join Marcia to learn about Ashesi’s curriculum, the educational community that makes it unique, and how you can be part of it. *About Ashesi*: Ashesi <http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/> is a world-class institution that combines a rigorous liberal arts core with in-depth majors in business and computer science, and a 4-year commitment to ethical leadership development. Our mission is to educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within our students the critical thinking skills, the concern for others, and the courage it will take to transform their continent. Over 95% of Ashesi graduates have chosen to stay in Africa. 100% of Ashesi graduates have received quality placement offers. Ashesi and its leadership have received numerous awards<http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/about/awards-and-recognition-20.html>for their work improving higher education in Africa including recognition from the World Economic Forum, Aspen Institute, and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. *Learn more*: Ashesi Catalog<http://www.flipsnack.com/FB8F8BAD75E/ftnlwm9p>-- Patrick Awuah’s TED Talk<http://www.ted.com/talks/patrick_awuah_on_educating_leaders.html> -- Ashesi on CNN<http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/news-and-events/publications/brochures/1675-millio…> *For questions, contact*: Ashesi University Foundation at 206-545-6988 or jbargeron(a)ashesi.org.

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FWD: RFA for CommTrack Proof of Concept Grants in India and Nepal
by Gaetano Borriello 05 Nov '13

05 Nov '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Gillian Javetski <gjavetski(a)dimagi.com> To: change(a)change.washington.edu Cc: "poc-applications(a)dimagi.com" <poc-applications(a)dimagi.com> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2013 16:27:56 +0200 Subject: RFA for CommTrack Proof of Concept Grants in India and Nepal Hi everyone, Dimagi is pleased to announce that it will support five organizations from various sectors in India and Nepal to explore the use of mobile technology for logistics and supply chain management in low-resource settings. Each organization will be supported to launch a proof of concept of CommTrack<http://www.commtrack.org/home/>, an open source mobile logistics tool that leverages CommCare and is part of the MOTECH Suite. CommTrack was developed through related projects in three countries with John Snow International. With successful deployments of the first generation of CommTrack already reaching national scale in the health sector, we are pleased to announce this opportunity for organizations to use CommTrack to strengthen their supply chain in health or other global development sectors. Through this RFA, India-based Dimagi staff will support five organizations in India and Nepal to rapidly deploy a proof-of-concept CommTrack application within twelve months of the award date. The objectives of this RFA are to: Build capacity for organizations to implement mobile solutions for improved logistics and supply chain using CommTrack over either SMS or a mobile application. Develop open source mobile applications and content that will be useful for ensuring availability of goods for health or other global development sectors. Foster an environment for organizations to assess the costs and benefits of mobile phones for logistics and supply chain and help scale mobile programs where appropriate. Awardees will each receive 10 free phones to deploy a CommTrack application designed for their organization, free access to the CommTrack cloud-based server for one year, and one month of free support from Dimagi’s experienced, India-based Field Managers, including a 2 week on-site visit to help assess supply chain bottlenecks and launch CommTrack. For further information and to download the full RFA, please refer to our website (http://tinyurl.com/commtrackpoc) Applications are due by December 23, 2013. If you have any additional questions, please email poc-applications(a)dimagi.com. (cced). Sincerely, The Dimagi Team

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Tuesday Nov 5th: Kentaro Toyama: What should be our primary focus in international development?
by Trevor Perrier 01 Nov '13

01 Nov '13

What: Kentaro Toyama: What should be our primary focus in international development? When: Tuesday, November 5th at 12 noon Where: The Allen Center, CSE 203 Please join us for this weeks Change talk by Kentaro Toyama as he shares his views on what the longterm goals of technology in development should be and lessons that he learned working in both India and Africa. *Abstract* After several years of working on ICT-for-development projects in India and parts of Africa, I came to the conclusion that to first order, technology only amplifies underlying human forces. Amplification means that where human forces are corrupt or weak, there is little positive impact that technology can have - yet corrupt or weak institutions are exactly the challenge facing many developing-world environments. That raises the big question of what else development efforts might focus on, if not providing people the tools to help themselves. I have some preliminary ideas -- not necessarily friendly to a technological outlook -- and I look forward to an opportunity to discuss and debate with people who are also invested in development and social change. *About the Speaker* Kentaro Toyama (www.kentarotoyama.org) is a visiting researcher in the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley and a fellow of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT. He is working on a book arguing that genuine human development, not technocratic intervention, should be the primary focus of international development activities. Until 2009, Toyama was assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India and founder of the Technology for Emerging Markets research group, which conducts interdisciplinary research to explore how the world's poorest communities might benefit from electronic technology. Prior to his time in India, Toyama did computer vision and multimedia research and taught mathematics at Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana. Kentaro graduated from Yale with a PhD in Computer Science and from Harvard with a bachelors degree in Physics.

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[Job] PATH is seeking a Director, Digital Health Solutions
by Nicola Dell 31 Oct '13

31 Oct '13

** ** ** ** PATH**** ** ** Director, Digital Health Solutions, Technology Solutions**** **** PATH is an international nonprofit organization focused on transforming global health through innovation in order to ensure increased access and equity. We take an entrepreneurial approach to developing and delivering high-impact, low-cost solutions, from lifesaving vaccines, drugs, diagnositics and devices to collaborative programs with communities. Through our work in more than 70 countries, PATH and our partners empower people to achieve their full potential.**** **** Global health has emerged as an important factor in ensuring social, political, economic equity around the world. Access to and demand for healthcare around the world has gone through a rapid transformation in the last decade. Technology, and in particular information technology, plays an increasingly important role in enabling global health solutions and achieving more equity in access to these solutions. It is a trend that is expected to accelerate in the next decade. Despite substantial promise, however, deployment of information systems and digital health tools in global health faces many challenges, including non-standardized architecture and a fragmented technology landscape.**** **** PATH’s Digital Health Solutions Group, housed in the Technology Solutions Program, aims to strengthen health system performance through the design and deployment of effective, scalable, and sustainable digital health solutions. PATH’s vision for digital health technologies is shaped by the belief that the next generation of all global health solutions will be not only enabled but also driven by information systems. These systems will be critical to all aspects of healthcare in resource-limited environments, including prevention & education, product interventions, supply chains, and monitoring & evaluation. In addition, strong health information systems and tools will be required in the development of all such solutions, in terms of managing data, understanding markets, engaging in clinical trials, and in ensuring innovation gets to scale. These systems will facilitate storage and sharing of epidemiological and treatment data, plus global and country level logistics information that is updated -- easy to access and reliable. The systems themselves will need to be based on inter-operable, standardized, and flexible architecture.**** **** PATH is committed to building a robust digital health platform that enables its vision in global health. The Digital Health Solutions Group is expected to lead the global health community through this exciting period of transformation and growth in digital health in parts of the world that need it the most.**** **** The Director of Digital Health Group must be a global thought leader that leads the group through this phase of rapid growth and builds it into a strong industry-leading platform. This individual must be a visionary backed by substantial experience and credibility in the fields of information technology and global health. This position reports directly to the Global Program Leader of Technology Solutions, with strong collaboration with senior leadership across the organization. Areas of responsibility include:**** **** **· **Develop and direct the overall strategy and implementation for digital health solution design, architecture, standards, and product development for global-common and country-specific solutions [both supporting internal demands across PATH’s broad program areas, as well as building a platform for externally-driven projects and activities to support governments, industry, NGOS and other players in this work.**** **· **Be a global thought leader who establishes PATH as a significant player in the area of appropriate digital health solutions for low resource settings, including by authoring papers, delivering speeches, negotiating with governments, convening think tanks, and maintaining or building linkages with global stakeholders and partners (e.g., World Health Organization, World Bank, mHealth Alliance, Grameen Foundation, Asia eHealth Informatics Network (AeHIN), the GAVI Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, VillageReach, John Snow Inc., Vodafone, Qualcomm, etc.).** ** **· **Lead fundraising and business development efforts for the group, working with donors and partners globally, to build a strong platform for digital health.**** **· **Build a strong digital health platform for PATH by continuing to expand the portfolio of global projects.**** **· **Lead, and manage a world-class team distributed across the Americas, Europe, Asia, & Africa.**** **· **Foster strategic linkages between digital health solutions and other PATH programs, including:**** **o**With PATH’s internal IT team and global and country programs to integrate best practices and capabilities in HMIS to achieve effective, scalable, and sustainable global health solutions.**** **o**With PATH’s policy/advocacy work, which has a strong health systems strengthening focus.**** **o**With PATH’s senior leadership, contributing Health Management Information Systems' (HMIS') knowledge and experience to organizational discussions and helping build digital health as an important PATH platform.* *** Required Skills**** **** **· **Demonstrated leadership experience in taking a new information technology or health initiative to scale, including building a team, developing a vision and a strategy, working with a diverse set of stakeholders to execute the strategy.**** **· **Credibility as a thought leader in the digital health space (e.g., mHealth; eHealth; HMIS; social media; etc.), backed by specific technical expertise in the adoption and use of management information systems.**** **· **Strong knowledge of HMIS architecture and commercial standards and best practices.**** **· **Experience in the planning, design, development/acquisition, and deployment of HMIS solutions; experience in country-based digital health strategy, planning, and implementation.**** **· **A positive, solution-oriented, and resourceful leader willing to entertain and invest in innovation while able to prioritize ideas with “legs”.**** **· **Ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with partners and donors, including a proven ability to obtain funding.**** **· **Desirable: Experience in policy and advocacy initiatives related to health information systems.**** **· **Demonstrated track record of taking a small group of people who are geographically dispersed and developing them into a fully functioning team with clear roles and accountability structures.**** **· **Demonstrated expertise in positively managing professional, technical staff with an approach that is responsive to diverse work styles and cultures.**** **· **Available to travel nationally and internationally 35-50 % percent, including visits to PATH’s global offices.**** **· **Excellent written and verbal presentation skills; Fluency in English and a second language desirable.**** Required Experience**** **** Masters or Doctoral degree in management or business administration, management information systems, or related field plus 15 years' experience in a blend of commercial and non-commercial settings in the related field. Experience working with donors and other key stakeholders in HMIS, eHealth or mHealth strategy essential. Experience working in developing country settings highly desirable.**** ** ** *PATH is dedicated to diversity and is an equal opportunity employer.* * * *Must have legal authorization to work in the US.*** ** **

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Big Data and Development at ICTD'13
by VANESSA FRIAS MARTINEZ 28 Oct '13

28 Oct '13

We invite researchers to present their work and participate in a special session on "Data Science and Development: Scaling Human Behavior Studies into the Millions" at the ICTD'2013 conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The session will be held on December 10th, 2013, from 09h00-13h00. We welcome both novel research and work that has already been published. The objective is to create a community around the areas of Big Data and Development. If interested, email an abstract of your work to the session organizers (Vanessa Frias, Josh Blumenstock, and Amit Nanavati) at bigictddata(a)gmail.com. Submissions made by November 15 will be given full consideration. Session Abstract. The pervasiveness of mobile technologies, social media, and digital sensors is quickly generating vast quantities of digital traces that reveal a wide range of human behavior. This session focuses on understanding how the information extracted from such large-scale datasets can be used by researchers, policymakers, and organizations working for social development. ________________________________ Este mensaje se dirige exclusivamente a su destinatario. Puede consultar nuestra política de envío y recepción de correo electrónico en el enlace situado más abajo. This message is intended exclusively for its addressee. We only send and receive email on the basis of the terms set out at: http://www.tid.es/ES/PAGINAS/disclaimer.aspx

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Cynthia Moses: Environmental Education in the DRC with the International Conservation and Education Fund
by Trevor Perrier 28 Oct '13

28 Oct '13

What: Cynthia Moses: Environmental Education in the DRC with the International Conservation and Education Fund When: Tuesday, October 29th at 12 noon Where: The Allen Center, CSE 203 Join us for this weeks Change talk by Cynthia Moses on here work with the International Conservation and Education Fund (INCEF) an NGO working in the Democratic Republic of Congo promoting the health and wellbeing of human and wildlife populations through local video disseminations. Abstract INCEF was founded on 3 principles: 1) The revolutionary change in communications technology in recent years and the fact that the barriers to production and dissemination – technical, physical, financial – have either disappeared or have been greatly reduced; 2) using this technology successfully to create actual change is not likely to occur unless people profoundly understand the risk to their own health and well-being and also have a sense of what they can actually do themselves to prevent trouble. We have created a production style that uses first-person testimony and relies on productions in local languages and the voices of local people; and 3) dissemination – how the films are shown. In the case of INCEF, films are taken into the field by teams of two trained educators who measure impact by quantity of viewers, quality of responses before and after each film, and through anecdotal reactions. This methodology has shown positive results in challenges throughout Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo on issues ranging from conservation and to basic health issues, to the complexities of understanding how zoonotic diseases are spread and the repercussions of shifting climates. About the Speaker Cynthia Moses, founder of Moses Films Ltd., has been making award-winning wildlife and conservation films for nearly two decades. Her work has aired on National Geographic, PBS, the Discovery Channel, NBC, as well as internationally. Almost a decade after it was produced, New Chimpanzees (1995) is still considered the definitive film on chimpanzee cultural traditions. Odzala: Islands in the Forest (1999) was essential in convincing the government of the Republic of Congo to expand that park to four times its original size. Living with Gorillas (2000) was the first film to document the behavior of Western Lowland Gorillas. She was part of the team that produced the Emmy nominated Discover Magazine (1995-1999) science series. Her two-hour special Gorillas: Primal Contact (2003) is the first film to cover all three recognized subspecies of gorillas. Her work in Africa and around the world has motivated her to become more involved in conservation serving as a consultant for the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, producing several short films for The Wildlife Conservation Society on conservation issues in central Africa, and more recently as founder of the International Conservation and Education Fund whose mission is to integrate conservation and health issues through grassroots outreach education.

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Fwd: [TIER] code for the Americas [psa]
by Yaw Anokwa 24 Oct '13

24 Oct '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Eric A. BREWER <brewer(a)cs.berkeley.edu> Date: Thu, Oct 24, 2013 at 6:52 AM Subject: [TIER] code for the Americas [psa] To: tier(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu We are holding a multi-city computing contest and I was hoping that you could help us spread the word. Our contest aims to leverage technology to help improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable and poorest groups in the Americas. It would be great if members of TIER and the larger Berkeley community participated. The event will take place this November 2-3 in a dozen countries and over 20 locations, including Harvard and Stanford universities. It is focused on immigration to the US and migration in Latin America. The goal is twofold: -contribute to immigration policy making by analyzing public data -visualize and map data, build apps, websites and other tools for migrants, nonprofits that work with them, and researchers who study human flows in the Americas. The event is an opportunity for students to showcase their skills and contribute to an important cause. It is also a way to meet and connect with like-minded people. The contest is fun, too: It offers a chance to compete with others, from Silicon Valley to Brazil, from Washington D.C. to Canada and Spain. Participants can follow our list of challenges:http://www.americas.datafest.net/challenges, or of course work on their own ideas. Projects will focus on issues that are local, national, or regional. Students can join contest by: Attending in-person a local event Participating online by following simple instructions: http://www.americas.datafest.net/about/how-to-participate-virtually. (For example, we have teams in Georgia and Texas who are interested in joining by video the local event in Alabama). Forming their own local event. Our website has the details: http://www.americas.datafest.net and I will be happy to provide any additional information. Thank you very much for your consideration. Best, Teresa Bouza ------------------------------------- Teresa Bouza Deputy Bureau Chief, EFE, Washington DC www.efe.com 2012 Knight Fellow at Stanford University phone: 917-257-5835 twitter: @terebouza skype: teresa.bouza blog: http://www.computationalreporting.com/ _______________________________________________ TIER mailing list Website: http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu TIER(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu https://www.millennium.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tier

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Fwd: [TIER] Project "Celerate" (Rural Broadband) announcement
by Matt Podolsky 23 Oct '13

23 Oct '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Yahel Ben-David <yahel(a)berkeley.edu> Date: Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 9:58 AM Subject: [TIER] Project "Celerate" announcement To: TIER <tier(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu> Shameless self-promotion: http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2013/10/22/google-grants-2m-to-researchers… Here's the fresh press release: http://denovogroup.org/main/celerate-announcement/ _______________________________________________ TIER mailing list Website: http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu TIER(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu https://www.millennium.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tier

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Ghana Information Management position opportunity
by Sherrilynne Fuller 23 Oct '13

23 Oct '13

May be of interest. Sherrilynne Fuller, Ph.D. Professor Department of Biomedical Informatics School of Medicine and Department of Health Services (Adj) School of Public Health and Information School University of Washington SLU – BIME BOX 35-8047 Seattle, Washington, 98195-4985 206-616-4575 206-221-2671 (FAX) 360-440-7341 (Cell) sfuller(a)uw.edu SKYPE: sherrilynne_fuller -----Original Message----- From: wahifp-members-bounces(a)wahifp.org [mailto:wahifp-members-bounces@wahifp.org] On Behalf Of Dorothy K. Gordon Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 6:57 PM Cc: wahifp-members(a)wahifp.org Subject: [Wahifp-members] Job availability Anglican University College of Technology, a new higher education institution located at Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, requires the services of someone with expertise in Information Management, and enough experience to be appointed Senior Lectureship or above, to be the Programme Coordinator in charge of a B.Sc. Degree programme in Health Information Management, at the University College's School of Food & Health Sciences. Interested applicants should submit CVs and scanned copies of Certificates to the institution's Management via adm(a)angutech.edu.gh Dorothy K. Gordon Director-General Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT Mobile: 233 265005712 Direct Line: 233 302 683579 Website: www.aiti-kace.com.gh Encrypt Everything - https://gpgtools.org https://silentcircle.com

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