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CFP: NSDR 2011 - 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions
by Bill Thies 21 Jan '11

21 Jan '11

CALL FOR PAPERS 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions (NSDR 2011) Co-located with MobiSys 2011 Washington, D.C., USA June 28th, 2011 http://www.dritte.org/nsdr11 Important Dates * Submission Deadline (Firm): March 25, 2011 (23:59 EST) * Notification: April 25, 2011 * Camera-ready: May 10, 2011 * Workshop: June 28, 2011 Background Following four successful workshops of NSDR at SIGCOMM 2007, SIGCOMM 2008, SOSP 2009, and MobiSys 2010, the 5th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions (NSDR11) will provide a venue for researchers to propose and discuss ideas concerning the design, implementation and evaluation of new computing and communications technologies to support the sustainable development of developing regions. NSDR specifically focuses on the technical networking and systems research challenges that arise in the development of new computing solutions appropriate for developing regions where conventional solutions are often inappropriate and the development of new research approaches and innovative designs and techniques is often required. NSDR solicits papers that either highlight important networking and systems challenges in this space or describe the deployment and evaluation of novel technologies or applications that address a specific need. Papers, Topics of Interest We encourage submission of position papers or the results of preliminary work describing interesting, original, previously unpublished ideas or results pertaining to the design, implementation and/or evaluation of networks and systems for developing regions. Accepted papers will: * Propose new research directions; * Target a specific application; * Inform design and/or deployment; and/or * Generate lively debate at the workshop. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: * Low-cost wireless connectivity * Intermittent and delay-tolerant systems * Rural network planning and spectrum management protocols and techniques * Mechanisms for emergency and urgent communications * Location-aware systems * Power-efficient systems * Low-cost computing devices * Mobile systems and applications * Middleware and mechanisms for minimizing energy, latency and storage (caching etc) * Adapting content and applications for local languages * User interfaces for low-literacy populations * Shared access devices and infrastructure, including personalization and privacy concerns * Design and evaluation of applications and in-depth case studies in the areas of public health, microfinance, agriculture, e-governance, education, monitoring, disaster management, etc. Submission Instructions Submissions must be no greater than 6 pages (six pages) in length (including figures and references), must use a minimum 10pt font and minimum 1inch margins, must be in the form of a PDF file, and must follow formatting guidelines and instructions at: http://www.dritte.org/nsdr11/submit.html Submissions that deviate from these guidelines will be rejected without consideration. Reviews will be SINGLE-BLIND: authors' names and affiliations should be included in the submission. Authors of accepted papers are expected to present their papers at the workshop. Submissions must be original work not under review at any other workshop, conference or journal. Program Committee Richard Anderson, U. Washington (Program co-chair) Bill Thies, Microsoft Research India (Program co-chair) Muneeb Ali, Princeton Saman Amarasinghe, MIT John Bennett, U. Colorado Gaetano Borrielo, U. Washington Eric Brewer, UC Berkeley S. Keshav, U. Waterloo Jonathan Ledlie, Nokia Research Margaret Martonosi, Princeton Tapan Parikh, UC Berkeley Bhaskar Raman, IIT Bombay Umar Saif, LUMS Lakshmi Subramanian, NYU Steering Committee Elizabeth Belding, UC Santa Barbara Gaetano Borriello, U. Washington Eric Brewer, UC Berkeley Ravi Jain, Google Umar Saif, LUMS Lakshmi Subramanian, NYU

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TASCHA Talk today: Public access ICT in disaster management
by Melody Clark 20 Jan '11

20 Jan '11

The first TASCHA Talk of winter quarter will take place today, Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 3:30pm in the RCB multi-purpose room (4th floor of the Roosevelt Commons Building - 4311 11th Ave NE). **Please note: if you have a UW parking permit, you can park under RCB for free using your permit!!** Public access ICT in disaster management Speakers: Maria Garrido & Beth Patin Maria Garrido and Beth Patin will discuss the role of telecenters and libraries in the context of crisis informatics, an emerging field of inquiry. Crisis informatics reframes the role of public access to ICT in emergency response as a socially distributed information system that leverages citizen-to-citizen communication in the lifecycle of a disaster. Public access to computers and internet, particularly telecenters and libraries, can play an important role in preventing and responding to disasters or emergency situations. By providing access to information and acting as information sources, public access venues enable citizen-to-citizen generated information that fulfill important needs during and after a disaster. From the use of blogs, micro-blogging, social networking sites, and more, citizen communication and information activities serve critical, logistical, community-building, and other roles. Additionally, telecenters and libraries often play a variety of roles that go beyond ICT access, acting as shelters, resource providers, and coordination centers, improvising based on community needs. -- Melody Clark Research Coordinator | Global Impact Study Technology & Social Change (TASCHA) melclark(a)uw.edu<mailto:melclark@uw.edu> | 206.685.7819 Twitter: @ictimpact www.globalimpactstudy.org<http://www.globalimpactstudy.org/>

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Review of ICTD and ACM DEV 2010
by Eleanor O'Rourke 19 Jan '11

19 Jan '11

This Thursday at Change, we will be hosting a discussion on the recent co-located conferences ICTD and ACM DEV, which were held in London in December 2010. We will provide a overview of the goals and intended audiences of both conferences and talk about the development of the ICTD community. We will also describe a few of the papers presented, and talk about a few of the broad research themes that came out of the conferences. A number of Change members were able to attend the conferences, and they will be available to take questions and talk about some of their impressions. To learn more about ICTD and ACM DEV, check out the conference pages: ICTD: International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development ACM DEV: Symposium on Computing for Development Please join us for sandwiches, and to hear more about what happened at ICTD and ACM DEV 2010! What: Review of ICTD and ACM DEV 2010 When: Thursday, January 20th at noon Where: Paul Allen Center, Room 203

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Fwd: [EE CS Colloq] Design of Video Collaboration, Video Town Halls and a Distributed * 4:15PM, Wed Jan 19, 2011 in Gates B01
by ashish makani 18 Jan '11

18 Jan '11

This talk might be of interest to TIER & CHANGE folks, given VSee's use in refugee camps. The talk is tomorrow @ Stanford @ 4:15pm cheers ashish ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 9:37 PM Subject: [EE CS Colloq] Design of Video Collaboration, Video Town Halls and a Distributed * 4:15PM, Wed Jan 19, 2011 in Gates B01 To: ashish.makani(a)gmail.com Stanford EE Computer Systems Colloquium 4:15PM, Wednesday, Jan 19, 2011 HP Auditorium, Gates Computer Science Building B01 http://ee380.stanford.edu Design of Video Collaboration, Video Town Halls and a Distributed Social Network for Humanitarian Environments Dr. Milton Chen VSee *About the talk:* Over the last five years, the VSee <http://vsee.com/> team has worked in refugee camps from Asia to Mideast to Africa -- most recently at the Iraq-Syria border supporting Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie for a global broadcast by the UN Refugee Agency. We will present the design of three communication systems for refugee and humanitarian environments -- specifically, featuring robust network tolerance and ease of use for non-experts and illiterate first time computer users. The first system is a managed peer-to-peer multiparty video calling, application sharing, and file transfer tool. Its network tolerance made it a favorite tool among NGOs in Afghanistan for medical and education initiatives. The second system is an interactive video town hall on Facebook and Twitter where participants are physically dispersed and network-challenged. Successes include Mandy Moore's Facebook anti-malaria campaign, Nothing But Nets<http://www.nothingbutnets.net/>, and a multi-location musical exchange by PlayingForChange<http://playingforchange.org/>. The third system is a distributed social network that can be used offline and synced periodically over cost and bandwidth-constrained networks. We will share practical insight from our field experience, as well as goals for an upcoming i-ACT/Darfur Sister Schools <http://iactivism.org/> trip in March, 2011. *About the speaker:* Milton is the CEO of VSee <http://vsee.com/>, a video collaboration tool that lets you share any application with one click, and send any file with one drag. VSee is used by over 6000 enterprises such as Shell, NASA, Navy SEALs, US Congress, the National Science Foundation, and to stream video over 3G from police cars. Milton received a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Human Computer Interaction from Stanford University. His insight in how to make videoconferencing and webconferencing an everyday experience has led to more than 100 invited talks to countries ranging from Iceland to Nigeria to Saudi Arabia. He also received the DEMO God award at DEMO 06, and is the co-author of XMPP video standard. *Contact information:* Milton Chen 3188 KIMLEE DR San Jose, CA 95132 650.331.0165 -- Warm Regards ashish makani Cell : +1.765.237.8365 amakani(a)purdue.edu ashish.makani(a)gmail.com Graduate Student, Deptt. of ECE, Purdue University #329 Electrical Engineering Building , 465 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2035 "We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about." -- Albert Einstein

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Fwd: IEEE R6: Call for Papers - 2011 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
by Gaetano Borriello 17 Jan '11

17 Jan '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <conference-services(a)ieee.org> Date: Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 2:00 PM Subject: IEEE R6: Call for Papers - 2011 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference To: gaetano(a)cs.washington.edu <http://www.ieee.org/> Dear IEEE Members, On behalf of the organizing committee, I am pleased to announce the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) on 30 October - 1 November 2011, in Seattle, Washington. The inaugural IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference provides the perfect venue for anyone involved in humanitarian projects to join their peers in Seattle. The audience for this conference will include technologists, representatives from NGOs, governments, academe, funders and industry. This will provide an opportunity to share your work, meet others involved in humanitarian technology, create new projects and meet with funders. Our sessions will address a wide range of topics and we hope you'll submit a paper and plan to join us in Seattle. Home to a growing medical and biotech industry along with world leading software companies and a host of foundations you'll find can offer a wealth of opportunities to improve your knowledge, increase your network and expand your reach. We look forward to seeing you in Seattle in 2011. Call for Papers Abstract Submission: March 11, 2011 Acceptance Notice: July 17, 2011 Full Paper Submission: August 7, 2011 For more information: ieeeghtc(a)ieee.org Technical Sessions: - Health, Medical Technology and Telemedicine - Disaster Warning and Response - Water Planning, Availability and Quality - Power for Off-Grid Users - Power Infrastructure / Renewable / Sustainable Energy - Connectivity and Communications Technologies for Remote Locations - Educational Technologies - Agricultural Technologies - Humanitarian Technology Challenge Conference Program include welcome reception, tutorial sessions, poster sessions, social networking. IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference 2011 October 30 - November 1, 2011 Seattle, Washington USA www.ieeeghtc.org Best regards, Paul Kostek Chair 2011 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference ------------------------------ To unsubscribe from E-Notices, visit http://ewh.ieee.org/enotice/options.php?SN=Borriello&LN=CONF Please be certain to include your IEEE member number. If you need assistance with your E-Notice subscription, please contact Khanh Luu at k.n.luu(a)ieee.org. [image: IEEE Footer with mailing address] <http://www.ieee.org/>

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Fwd: Call for Proposals: Commissioned Case Studies on ICTs, Climate Change and Development
by Yaw Anokwa 17 Jan '11

17 Jan '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Heeks <richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk> Date: Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 04:32 Subject: Call for Proposals: Commissioned Case Studies on ICTs, Climate Change and Development To: Richard Heeks <richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk> This is a call for proposals for the writing of commissioned case studies on the topic of ICTs, climate change and development. Proposals should be submitted by 11th February 2011. BACKGROUND Recognising both the growing impact of climate change in developing countries and the growing role of ICTs, Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is funding a two-year project on ICTs, climate change and development. The project is coordinated by the University of Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics (project web site: www.niccd.org) As part of the project, a series of short case studies will be commissioned and written during 2011 on various aspects of this topic. Case studies should be original and evidence-based analyses of already-implemented (i.e. not proposed) initiatives related to ICTs and climate change in developing countries. They could be related to use of ICTs in climate change mitigation, monitoring, adaptation or strategy in developing countries. The case studies should be 1,500-2,000 words in length, and aimed at a "reflective practitioner" audience. They should provide a brief description of the initiative, but focus mainly on analysis (of impacts, enablers/constraints, and lessons learned/recommendations including - where applicable - reflections on scaling up). Selected authors will be commissioned to write the case study using the following template format: - Title & Author(s) - Initiative Overview (including classification according to project ICCD Overview Model*) - Application Description (hardware / software / telecommunications) - Formal Drivers (e.g. climate change issue faced) and Objectives/Purpose for ICT usage - Stakeholders involved - Impact: Costs and Benefits - Evaluation: Failure or Success - Enablers / Critical Success Factors - Constraints / Challenges - Recommendations / Lessons Learned - Further Information *Available from: http://niccd.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/overview-model-of-icts-climate-change… PROCESS / TIMESCALE We require proposals to be sent electronically by 11th February 2011, and aim to confirm accepted proposals by the end of February. Proposals will be selected on the basis of quality and value-added of the proposal; expertise of the author(s); and with a view to ensuring overall geographical and topic coverage. First drafts of the case studies will be due by the end of April 2011. Final drafts will be due by the end of June 2011. Finalised copies of the case studies will be made available online and disseminated via the project network. It is also our intention to publish select case studies as part of a book to be produced at the end of the project in 2011. PAYMENT Authors will be contracted by the University of Manchester to produce a draft version of the case study, followed by a finalised version that acceptably meets quality requirements following draft review comments. A payment of £600 (British pounds) will be made on acceptance of the final draft of the case study. PROPOSAL Proposals should be sent to: niccd.project(a)gmail.com by 11th February 2011. They should consist of the following: a) Title of proposed case study, and author(s). b) 300-500 word executive summary of the case study's rationale, focus and content. The executive summary should highlight the importance and value-added of the proposed case study to the ICTs, climate change and development field. d) Two-page CV for each proposed author focusing particularly on past publication and contract research experience in ICCD or related areas. Reference to sample publications that demonstrate relevant writing experience would be an asset. You are welcome to contact us in advance of the deadline if you have any queries at niccd.project(a)gmail.com. This call can be found at: http://www.niccd.org/casecall.htm Richard Heeks & Angelica Ospina Climate Change, Innovation and ICTs Research Project

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Fwd: CFP on Heritage, Development, & Digital Technologies in sub-Saharan Africa
by Brian DeRenzi 17 Jan '11

17 Jan '11

Deadline is Feb 1. See the attached PDF for more information. Brian ---------- Forwarded message ---------- *** DEADLINE EXTENDED to FEBRUARY 1st *** Subject: RE: CFP on Heritage, Development, & Digital Technologies in sub-Saharan Africa Dear Friends & Colleagues, As you know, recent scholarship in development studies has highlighted the importance of new digital technologies as tools for furthering social justice, and has revealed continued economic and educational inequalities. How are information communication technologies (ITCs) being used, challenged, implemented, incorporated in grassroots and institutional heritage development in sub-Saharan Africa? We are thinking of this topic rather broadly to challenge what is meant by heritage and development and how new technologies contribute to new configurations and opportunities. How do new technologies expand definitions of research, policy, advocacy, activism, archiving, education, museums, community. Areas may include: blogging; archiving & publishing; music, film, arts & culture; networking; digital storytelling; and so on. I've attached the CFP to this message. I hope you will also consider forwarding it to anyone you think may be interested in this topic. We have extended the original deadline for proposals from January 15th to Feb 1st. All the best, Marla Jaksch, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Women's & Gender Studies The College of New Jersey Networked Fellow, Digital Humanities Initiative (DHi@Hamilton College)

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Bringing Seattle's global-health expertise to poor people here at home.
by Yaw Anokwa 14 Jan '11

14 Jan '11

Community health teams will soon be dispatched into poor areas of South King County, modeling global-health programs used in Africa. http://crosscut.com/2010/12/28/health-medicine/20495/Bringing-Seattle-s-glo…

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Rising Voices Seeks Micro-Grant Proposals for Citizen Media Outreach
by Rosalyn Mahashin 14 Jan '11

14 Jan '11

Rising Voices Seeks Micro-Grant Proposals for Citizen Media Outreach Application Deadline: Friday, February 4, 2011 at 11:59 PM GMT URL to article: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2011/01/11/rising-voices-seeks-mi… It has been more than three years since Rising Voices began with a simple mandate: to help bring new voices from underrepresented communities to the global conversation through the use of citizen media. We have been accomplishing that by providing microgrant funding, as well as technical and mentoring support to our grantee communities. Ever since the first microgrant competition was announced in May 2007, we have provided seed funding to 24 projects from around the world to help turn their ideas into reality. The diversity of these grantee projects has made Rising Voices a unique place on the web to have a firsthand look at places around the world, such as Tamatave, Madagascar [1] and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia [2], through the first-person accounts of these new bloggers. Beginning on January 11th, 2011, Rising Voices is launching the latest round of microgrant funding and is now accepting project proposals from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or individuals for funding of up to $4,000 USD for digital media outreach projects around the world. Ideal applicants will present innovative and detailed proposals to teach citizen media techniques to underrepresented communities that are poorly positioned to discover and take advantage of tools like blogging, video-blogging, or podcasting on their own. Who is Eligible to Apply This funding opportunity is open to both NGOs and private individuals. However, if an NGO does not have experienced citizen media trainers on their staff, it is extremely important that they seek collaboration with the local blogging community to find the right trainer(s) with the necessary skills. On the other hand, it would also be highly beneficial for individual applicants to partner with an existing NGO from the communities they plan to serve in order to strengthen the project's impact. What Kind of Projects May be Funded Rising Voices seeks project proposals that share our mission of bringing voices from new communities, as well as underrepresented language groups to the online global conversation through the use of citizen media. The projects' primary activities should be to provide citizen media training workshops to the target community, as well as ongoing support and mentoring to the participants. Please see our roster of current [3] and alumni [4] grantee projects for examples of previously funded projects. Examples of potential projects include: Distributing flip video cameras to local residents to help map and document environmental issues affecting the area and to propose solutions. Partnering with a local library with a computer lab to train youth how to record and document the history of their local neighborhood by using mp3 recorders to interview local elders. Organizing blogging workshop for local artisans to help them market their work online, but also tell the story and history of their handicrafts. Distributing $10 digital cameras to two different groups in different neighborhoods and create a Flickr group where they interact with each other's photographic perspectives of their city. Application Process Interested applicants should complete the online proposal application form (link here <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/risingvoicesmicrogrants> [5]), which should also include a detailed budget. If you would like to download the application questions to complete offline in order to upload later, please download the text document here (PDF<http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/files/2011/01/Rising-Voices-Grant-Appl…>[6] format). While we welcome and encourage projects from all corners of the global, all applications must be completed in English. [5] Rising Voices outreach grants will range from $2,000-4,000 USD. Please be as thoughtful, specific, and realistic as possible when drafting your budgets. Applicants are encouraged to submit budgets for less than the maximum $4,000 USD as smaller grants allow us to fund more projects. The application deadline is February 4th, 2011 at 11:59 PM GMT. All applicants will receive a confirmation email indicating that we have received your proposal. The proposals will be reviewed by a committee of Global Voices staff and volunteers, as well as members of previous Rising Voices grantees. We will announce the grant recipients by February 28, 2011. Expectations of Successful Grantees Successful projects will be prominently featured on the Global Voices networks. Grantees will be required to sign a grant agreement, which will outline accounting, reporting, and other terms and conditions regarding how funds will be distributed. Grantees will also be required to post regular project updates to the Rising Voices website, be in regular communication with Rising Voices staff, as well as actively participate in the Rising Voices community. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section below or by sending an email to eddie [at] globalvoicesonline [dot] org. ------------------------- URLs in this post: [1] Tamatave, Madagascar: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/project-foko/ [2] Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/nomad-green-mongolia/ [3] current: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/ [4] alumni: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/inactive/ [5] link here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/risingvoicesmicrogrants [6] PDF: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/files/2011/01/Rising-Voices-Grant-Appl… -- Rosalyn Mahashin | MPA '11 Evans School of Public Affairs | University of Washington Research Assistant | Global Libraries | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Google Voice: (206) 651-5875

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Communication Technologies & Development in Ghana (Exploration Seminar)
by Yaw Anokwa 14 Jan '11

14 Jan '11

araba sey (from ischool and tascha) is organizing a seminar in ghana this summer. looks like an amazing opportunity to see ghana while learning about ict and development. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Araba Sey <arabasey(a)uw.edu> Communication Technologies & Development: Experiencing Research in Low-Resource Environments (Exploration Seminar) Location: Accra, Ghana Department: iSchool Dates: August 22 - September 16, 2011 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Ghana ranges from no access in many rural areas to access comparable to some major US cities. What strategies do people with low incomes use to connect to others and get the information they need? How does this impact their lives? We can get answers to these questions through research and direct experience. Whether you are interested in the uses and impacts of ICTs on the lives of people in developing countries or more generally in learning about how to do field research, this seminar is an opportunity to explore researched-based learning through immersion in the people and culture of Ghana. In this seminar students will examine how people in different types of communities (urban and rural) use ICTs in their daily activities and how they feel about the impacts on their wellbeing. In contrast to historical notions of development where outside agencies determine goals with little input from the target populations, we will focus on development from the perspective of low-income populations. Students can apply the experience to their individual areas of interest, whether they be information systems, health, education, or other fields. The program will provide instruction and practical experience on using field research methods to investigate the role of ICTs in the livelihoods of low and middle-income populations. Students will also experience local history and lifestyles through visits to sites of cultural interest such as colonial slave castles, local markets, and national parks. If you are interested in ICTs, development, or just want to learn more about conducting field research, we encourage you to apply! To find out more about this seminar visit the program website (http://studyabroad.washington.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram…) If you have any questions about the program, feel free to email us: Dr. Araba Sey, Research Associate, Information School arabasey(a)uw.edu Chris Rothschild, Research Analyst, Information School chriskr(a)uw.edu

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