- change - Mailing Lists

Prof. Craig Warren Smith on the Second Wireless Revolution: Bringing Broadband to the "Next Two Billion" in Asia's Emerging Markets
by Nicola Dell 10 Oct '11

10 Oct '11

This Thursday at Change we will be hosting a talk by Professor Craig Warren Smith, Chairman of the Digital Divide Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Now that cell phones have reached even remote villages in Asian emerging markets, Asia's commercial supply chains and governments are now intent on achieving "broadband for all." Can this "Second Wireless Revolution" be achieved? If so, will it be beneficial or harmful to individuals, to their communities and the environment? In this talk, Craig will present a model called "meaningful broadband" which combines innovations in technology-design, public policy, finance, and ethics. Embraced by governments and ICT stakeholders in Indonesia and Thailand, this model is the basis of new public private partnerships and strategic alliances that aim to help bring balance and sustainability to the global economy. Prof Smith will focus in particular on Indonesia, which is preparing to deploy a $9.4 billion public private partnership plan, overseen by President SBY, to bring broadband meaningfully to 65 million low income Indonesians by 2014. For more on his work and Digital Divide Institute, see www.DigitalDivide.org<http://www.digitaldivide.org/> . Craig Warren Smith, born in Seattle, has been a leader of the worldwide movement to close the "digital divide" since he co-organized a major conference in Seattle hosted by Bill Gates Sr. in 1999. An expert in CSR, he was asked in 1996 to help Microsoft design its global system of corporate community relations. Since 2000 he has led efforts to formulate solutions to bring digital divide for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, as a Harvard/MIT researcher with Jeff Sachs and Nicholas Negroponte, and as a lecturer in technology policy at National University of Singapore. For the past 30 years his avocation has been the teaching and practicing of Buddhist meditation. His lectures on"spiritual computing" have been received worldwide by Google, Nokia Research, Microsoft Research, IBM Research (Almaden), Yahoo! and universities around the world. He currently teaches a training program called Mindfulness 24/7" to high tech corporate employees in Thailand. Since, 2006, he has been Senior Advisor to UW's Human Interface Technology Laboratory. Please join us for sandwiches, and to learn more about the Second Wireless Revolution: Bringing Broadband to the "Next Two Billion" in Asia's Emerging Markets! *What:* Craig Warren Smith on the Second Wireless Revolution: Bringing Broadband to the "Next Two Billion" in Asia's Emerging Markets *When:* Thursday, Oct 13th at noon *Where:* Paul Allen Center, Room 203

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TASCHA Talk: Araba Sey and Chris Rothschild
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Oct '11

10 Oct '11

TASCHA TALK: Araba Sey and Chris Rothschild October 20, 2011, from 3:30 to 4:30pm Roosevelt Commons Building, fourth floor multi-purpose room The Global Impact Study surveys were designed to collect comparable data on uses and outcomes of public access ICT use in five countries on three continents. This TASCHA Talk will reflect on a range of research design and project management issues encountered during various stages of the survey project. Araba is the research lead for TASCHA’s Global Impact Study. She is interested in the social and economic implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries. Araba holds a PhD in Communication. Chris is a Research Analyst working on the Global Impact Study. His research focus is on the impact of information access users and non-users of technology venues. Chris holds a Master of Public Administration and International Studies. TASCHA Talks are bi-weekly sessions to share, discuss, and advance new ideas around topics related to technology and social change. Learn more at tascha.uw.edu/taschatalks.

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Bill Gates III at UW CSE, October 27
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Oct '11

10 Oct '11

Bill Gates III will deliver the UW Computer Science & Engineering Distinguished Lecture at 3:30 p.m. on October 27 in the Microsoft Atrium of the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering: The Opportunity Ahead: A Conversation with Bill Gates Thursday, October 27, 2011 3:30pm, Microsoft Atrium, Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering Reception to follow Although space is limited, the event will be webcast live, and web archived. Additional information here. Abstract Advances in both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of computing offer remarkable opportunities for contributions in every sphere. Coupled with advances in natural user interfaces and pervasive computing, the next decade could see significant breakthroughs that improve our world, particularly for the poorest two billion people on earth. http://news.cs.washington.edu/2011/10/10/bill-gates-iii-at-uw-cse-october-2…

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Dimagi Field Fellow Positions in India
by neal.lesh＠gmail.com 09 Oct '11

09 Oct '11

Hi everybody, We're looking to hire one or more people for our work in India. We're flexible on start time, though sooner the better. take care, neal Dimagi[1] is looking for Field Fellows for our expanding work in India. We are looking for adventurous individuals with an eagerness to work with frontline health workers and help us deploy technologies to improve health care delivery in urban and rural communities. As a field fellow, you will travel extensively in India to help deploy CommCare[2], a mobile application for community health workers. We have an extensive range of partner organizations across 8 states in India and as a fellow you will travel to field sites from the cloud forests of Maharashtra to the arid deserts of Rajasthan and the dusty plains of Uttar Pradesh to meet with them and their health workers. Your work will include leading trainings, conducting research, and providing support for the CommCare program. You'll join our team of international fellows and share lessons learned and expertise from across the globe. Our Field Fellow program is designed for people seeking field experience. Fellows will receive a small, volunteer stipend to cover living costs, all travel expenses, and a healthcare plan. We request a 12 month commitment. We require English fluency as well as working knowledge of Hindi or another Indian language. The only other requirements are that you be an outstanding communicator and problem solver. Any technical skills, research experience, or other foreign languages are plusses. The profile of a candidate who will be happy in this position is someone who easily adapts to new environments, enjoys travel and field work, likes to tinker with things, and prefers independence and improvisation to super specific tasks. At Dimagi, you will have freedom to pursue your own interests and grow your skill set as well as make a real impact around the world. If interested, please send your resume and cover letter to jobs(a)dimagi.com. [1] http://www.dimagi.com [2] https://www.commcarehq.org/

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Fwd: [Cs-grads] UW-One Laptop Per Child student organization
by Yaw Anokwa 07 Oct '11

07 Oct '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lindsay Michimoto <lindsaym(a)cs.washington.edu> Date: Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 16:39 Subject: [Cs-grads] UW-One Laptop Per Child student organization To: cs-grads(a)cs.washington.edu -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: OLPC Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:19:50 -0700 From: Daniel MT <damt(a)uw.edu> To: S. Morris Rose <rose(a)cs.washington.edu> Dear Sir/Madam, I'm one of the officers of the UW-One Laptop Per Child student organization. We are also part of the Engineers Without Borders UW Chapter and we truly believe your students could benefit from our activities, so we were wondering if you could please forward the following message to your students mailing list. Thanks in advance. We are the One Laptop per Child group at the University of Washington. Our group develops apps for the XO laptop, a simple computer distributed to schoolchildren in the developing world. These laptops foster self-empowered learning and are supplied by the One Laptop per Child Association. Our work helps increase the educational, social, and practical value of these laptops by developing new applications for them. Currently we are recruiting for new members. All students regardless of background or programming experience are welcome to join us. There are many opportunities available in our group: visual user-interface design, application design, learn how to program in Python, improving programming skills, leadership possibilities, making new friends and many more! We've already made a Checkers game app, and we are working on a Geography quiz app. The next application we make could be your idea! On every Monday at 5:30 pm, we are meeting at the Electrical Engineering Building, room 026. Our first few meetings will have everyone participating in making a simple little app to get everyone comfortable and friendly. People interested in developing will be able to learn Python from scratch (CSE 142 experience recommended). People interested in design will get to practice the process of user-centered UI design and development. After the ramp-up period, we'll start tackling the real applications we want develop for the year! See you next Monday ;-) students.washington.edu/olpc

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Fwd: Grant opportunity for optimizing immunization systems in low- and middle-income countries
by Nicola Dell 07 Oct '11

07 Oct '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Balderston, Beth <bbalderston(a)path.org> Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 6:44 PM Subject: Grant opportunity for optimizing immunization systems in low- and middle-income countries To: "nixdell(a)cs.washington.edu" <nixdell(a)cs.washington.edu> Dear Nicki,**** ** ** Would you be able to share this announcement with the Change mailing list? Just let me know if I should send this to someone else. **** ** ** Questions should be directed to Grand Challenges Explorations ( www.grandchallenges.org/path).**** ** ** Thanks!**** ** ** ~Beth Balderston**** ** ** = = =**** ** ** *Grant opportunity for optimizing immunization systems in low- and middle-income countries* ** ** The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations initiative is offering US$100,000 grants to pursue unconventional ideas that could transform immunization supply systems in the world's poorest countries. **** ** ** The availability of new vaccines and the funding to rapidly introduce them into developing country immunization programs offers a great opportunity to save millions of lives. However, with these opportunities, come challenges. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations aims to ensure that systems entrusted with delivering these vaccines are up to the task.**** ** ** "This is the time to think outside the box if we want to ensure new vaccines reach the millions of people in the poorest countries. The time for 'business as usual' has passed—it's time for bold ideas," says Michel Zaffran, Director of PATH’s project Optimize and Senior Adviser in the World Health Organization's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.* *** ** ** *Grant priority areas* ** ** The Grand Challenges Explorations Round 8 covers several topics including innovations that “Design New Approaches to Optimize Immunization Systems.” Scientists, inventors, non-governmental organizations, ministries of health, and entrepreneurs from around the world are invited to apply. Grants of US$100,000 will be awarded to promising two-page proposals that address one or more of the following priority areas:**** ** ** 1. Vaccine characteristic prioritization.**** 2. Immunization supply system design.**** 3. Environmental impact.**** 4. Information systems.**** 5. Human resources.**** 6. Vaccination acceptance.**** ** ** Projects demonstrating success will have the opportunity to receive additional funding up to US$1 million.**** ** ** Proposals are being accepted online and the closing date for submission is *November 17, 2011*. For more information or to apply, visit: * www.grandchallenges.org/path***** ** **

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Re: [change] [SPAM] $35 touchscreen tablet launched in India
by Rahul Banerjee 05 Oct '11

05 Oct '11

I totally agree :) Also, the way these ministers are hijacking this event for political mileage leaves a really bad impression. While lifting "villagers out of poverty" is a rather tenuous proposition (and quite frankly, beyond the scope of a single "miracle" device), this tablet is definitely packed with potential, though not for the "poorest of the poor", where the most impact is needed in India. It will probably be a bigger success with talented kids who generally don't have access to laptops and tablets (think kids living in rural areas, with electricity, but without good schools) and they would benefit from having a "hacker-friendly" device. This is _not_ a significant fraction of India, but it is a sizeable population. -- Rahul On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Joyojeet Pal <joyojeet(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I agree with Yaw on this -- sure, it is great that this technology is so > cheap, and one can argue that similar such efforts have brought up new > technology innovations (Netbook etc) and various other benefits, what is > deeply problematic is the idea that this will solve the issues of > development in India, and Indian minister Kapil Sibal's announcing the > project as being some kind of a dig out of exclusion > (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/india-announces-35-tablet…) > If you look at UNDP's latest HDI report on India, you may find that someone > should find this claim at least quixotic, given that the country ranks 119th > in the world for what ranks are worth. India as a state spends among the > lowest on education (3.6%) and healthcare (1.1%) and has an income > inequality problem that is by all measure growing yearly, gender inequity is > 0.748 (on a scale of the 'best' at 0.212 and 'worst' at 0.814). the average > Indian spends 4.4 years in formal schooling.. the list goes on and on. > i'm not saying this is not a significant achievement, my concern is tying > this to development in such a way, in fact specifically in the perception > that this could be the state's part in providing development in india. i > think it hurts the cause of folks working in this space at the very least. > > > On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> the hype around this tablet is terrible. >> >> i think it's great to have cheaper technology, but android tablets, >> even cheap $35 android tablets, will not lift villagers out of >> poverty. i wish it were that easy... >> >> >> On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 15:49, Rahul Banerjee <banerjee(a)cs.washington.edu> >> wrote: >> > Sorry for the spam, but I couldn't resist sharing such wonderful news: >> > >> > http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/India-announces-35-tablet-compute… >> > >> > (Actually, the government is subsidising its price (which would be >> > closer to $50), but it's still pretty amazing that something like this >> > exists at all) >> > >> > -- >> > Rahul >> > _______________________________________________ >> > change mailing list >> > change(a)change.washington.edu >> > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> change mailing list >> change(a)change.washington.edu >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >

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Fwd: [SPAM] $35 touchscreen tablet launched in India
by Yaw Anokwa 05 Oct '11

05 Oct '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joyojeet Pal <joyojeet(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 16:11 Subject: Re: [change] [SPAM] $35 touchscreen tablet launched in India To: Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa(a)gmail.com> i have a paper forthcoming in an edited book on development in India, a raw version of which is here, in which i specifically address the issue of why india has seen ICTs as key to Development. Not sure if it would be of interest to Change, but just in case... http://joyojeet.people.si.umich.edu/IndiaAspire.pdf On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > the hype around this tablet is terrible. > > i think it's great to have cheaper technology, but android tablets, > even cheap $35 android tablets, will not lift villagers out of > poverty. i wish it were that easy... > > > On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 15:49, Rahul Banerjee <banerjee(a)cs.washington.edu> wrote: > > Sorry for the spam, but I couldn't resist sharing such wonderful news: > > http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/India-announces-35-tablet-compute… > > > > (Actually, the government is subsidising its price (which would be > > closer to $50), but it's still pretty amazing that something like this > > exists at all) > > > > -- > > Rahul > > _______________________________________________ > > change mailing list > > change(a)change.washington.edu > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change(a)change.washington.edu > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change

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Fwd: Please distribute: GSEC 2012 application announcement
by Gaetano Borriello 05 Oct '11

05 Oct '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wren McNally <wrenmc(a)uw.edu> Date: Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 9:59 AM Subject: Please distribute: GSEC 2012 application announcement To: Gaetano Borriello <gaetano(a)cs.washington.edu> Dear Gaetano, We could use your help to distribute the application announcement for our 8th annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC). Please join our efforts to reach as many students worldwide as possible – spread the word far and wide through your networks! For your convenience, I provided messages below my signature for social media and email distribution. The GSEC application deadline is November 9, 2010. Any enrolled university student – in any field, at any level of study – is eligible to apply. GSEC business ideas may focus on any subject area and must address a problem of poverty in developing countries. Great news for 2012: · We will select 15-20 teams to participate in GSEC Week (Feb. 27 – Mar. 2, 2012) ; · Travel scholarships will be given to international teams, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; · At least $30,000 in prizes will be awarded, including a global health and an Information & Communications Technology (ICT) prize! Please contact me with any questions. Thank you in advance for your support! Wren McNally Assistant Director, Faculty & Community Programs Global Business Center/CIBER Foster School of Business, University of Washington Lewis Hall 315, Box 353200, Seattle, WA 98195 T: (206) 543-4109 Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) www.facebook.com/GSECUW 8TH ANNUAL GLOBAL SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION (GSEC) ANNOUNCEMENTS: Facebook – www.facebook.com/GSECUW Students worldwide are invited to apply to GSEC: submit applications by Nov. 9, 2011! GSEC will give at least $30,000 in prizes, as well as travel scholarships, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. **Rules, application, and guidelines on the GSEC website** Twitter – @GSECUW Students worldwide: submit social biz ideas to GSEC by 11/9/2011. Travel support, great exposure, mentorship, $30k in prizes! #socent Email – Please spread the word: Applications are open for the 8th annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC)! Apply by November 9, 2011 GSEC invites students around the world – across disciplines and levels of study to – to submit innovative business solutions to poverty in developing countries. 15-20 student teams from around the globe will be invited to Seattle for GSEC Week 2012 (Feb. 27 – Mar. 2), where they present to 400+ professionals, and compete for $30,000 in monetary prizes, including global health and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) prizes! Travel scholarships available for international teams, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rules, guidelines, and application available on the GSEC Rules & Prizes page . Questions? Contact: gsec(a)uw.edu Blogs – Let your readers know about GSEC and the application deadline! Share your experience. Spread the news that GSEC teams are making a difference! · 2011 winning teams Sanergy’s pilot project in Kenya aims to serve 5000 people and create +80 jobs! Thanks to GSEC, they met with two Rotary Club chapters in Nairobi, one of which led to a connection that with a company that now supplies the cement used in their toilets. They were recently invited to join the Clinton Global Initiative and SOCAP11. · How does Wello (2011 global health prize team) plan to impact 1,000,000 lives in the next 5 years? With the support of Seattle funders, they’re launching a pilot project in November. · Remember the 2012 GSEC team who sought to support rice farmers in Mali? As a result of GSEC, Malo Traders gained valuable insights from the PATH Ultra Rice program and participated in the Unreasonable Institute this summer.

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Abraham Flaxman on Computer Coded Verbal Autopsy: measuring cause-specific mortality with machine learning
by Nicola Dell 03 Oct '11

03 Oct '11

This Thursday at Change we will be hosting a talk by Abraham Flaxman about computer coded verbal autopsy in resource-poor environments. Abraham Flaxman is a computer scientist hiding out in the Global Health Department at the University of Washington. He was trained in the theoretical aspects of randomized algorithms, but now spends his days measuring population health with statistical models. Abie blogs about applications of computer science to global health at http://healthyalgorithms.wordpress.com. TALK ABSTRACT:**** Cause-specific mortality data is critical information for public health decision-making, but in many areas of the world it is not routinely recorded. In the past several decades, Verbal Autopsy (VA) has emerged as an interview-based approach to fill the gap. Until recently, however, the methods for implementing and analyzing VA were costly, time-consuming, and not validated. The Population Health Metrics Research Consortium (PHMRC) changed this, however, through a recently completed, multisite validation study, which meticulously collected over 10,000 VA interviews for which the underlying cause of death was known with near certainty (aka “Labeled Data”). Since the majority of the PHMRC researchers had never heard of *machine learning* before I showed up, I was able to dazzle them with my basic knowledge of some off-the-shelf computer science technology. However, as we dug deeper, we found that even measuring how well a VA analysis method performs is non-trivial. Many, many work hours later, we have now wrapped up an analysis, which was recently published in a special issue of Population Health Metrics (http://www.pophealthmetrics.com/series/verbal_autopsy) In this talk, I will tell you about the verbal autopsy interview, the PHMRC validation study, our new metrics to quantify the quality of VA analysis methods, and the results of the "horserace" of analytic methods that we ran, where we found that a variant of the Random Forest classifier yields the highest quality results, better even than human experts. Please join us on Thursday for sandwiches, and to learn more computer coded verbal autopsy! *What:* Abraham Flaxman on Computer Coded Verbal Autopsy: measuring cause-specific mortality with machine learning *When:* Thursday, October 6th at noon *Where:* Paul Allen Center, Room CSE 203

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