- change - Mailing Lists

Change Forum - Post questions for next week!
by Eleanor O'Rourke 14 Apr '10

14 Apr '10

Hi Everyone, This is a reminder to post your questions for our panel discussion next week to the new Change Forum. The panel will consist of Change members with experience working in developing countries, and they will be answering questions about their experiences and whether they've found that ICT projects are having any impact on development. Posting questions is a great way to let panel members know what you are most interested in hearing about. Post your questions as comments under the heading "Are ICTD Projects Really Helping?". Check it out at: URL: uwchange.posterous.com Password: uwchange (you should only need to enter this once) See you all next Thursday, at 12pm in PAC 203

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Open Data Kit Awarded Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest
by Yaw Anokwa 08 Apr '10

08 Apr '10

UW's Open Data Kit, a modular set of tools that’s helping nonprofits across the world collect data, via mobile phones, on everything from deforestation to human rights violations, has won the fourth annual Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. http://change.washington.edu/2010/04/open-data-kit-awarded-pizzigati-prize-…

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Bo Qin on SmartVMS
by Eleanor O'Rourke 07 Apr '10

07 Apr '10

This Thursday at Change, Bo Qin will be discussing his work on SmartVMS, an alternative messaging system designed for people who prefer using a vocal interface. SmartVMS is a communication tool built to provide a low-cost option for people who prefer a voice interface to sending messages, but prefer to know exactly how much the call will cost. In developing regions, two main problems that prevents users from using their mobile phones effectively are illiteracy and price-sensitivity, and SmartVMS can help solve those two problems. People who are illiterate can’t use text messages, and SmartVMS provides the alternative of using voice messages. People who are poor and price-sensitive want to know exactly how much they are spending on each call. With direct calls, it’s difficult to keep track of the money spent, but with text messages, it’s very clear to the user how much each text message cost. SmartVMS lets the user input how much he/she wants to spend on each voice message, and the software calculates how long the maximum length of the voice message should be based on per second billing. The initial prototype was developed on Android and was tested on 9 UW students, focusing on the concept and interface testing. What: Bo Qin on SmartVMS When: Thursday, April 8 at Noon Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 203

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Change Meeting for CSE Affiliates Day
by Yaw Anokwa 06 Apr '10

06 Apr '10

This Thursday at Change, we will be trying something special for CSE Affiliates Day. We will be hosting the “Technology for Under-Served Regions” session. Please note the change in time and place. 11:40-11:45: Introduction and Overview, Carl Hartung 11:45-12:00: Digital Study Hall Evaluation Study, Amit Saxena 12:00-12:15: Open Data Kit, Carl Hartung 12:15-12:30: Building a Grassroots Transportation Information System, Ruth Anderson Find out more at http://www.cs.washington.edu/affiliates/meetings/talks0910.html#3-305 What: CSE Affiliates Day When: Thursday, October 22 from 11:40 to 12:30 Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 305

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Change Discussion Forum
by Eleanor O'Rourke 05 Apr '10

05 Apr '10

Hi Everyone, In response to our meeting last Thursday, I set up a blog to provide us with a space for talking about potential discussion topics for this quarter. Check it out: URL: uwchange.posterous.com Password: uwchange (you should only need to enter this once) For those of you who missed the first meeting, we will be alternating between our usual talks and group discussions this quarter. We want to cover topics that are of interest to the Change community at UW, so please use this blog as a way to suggest areas that interest you. I have posted brief overviews the discussion topics that were suggested on Thursday. Feel free to expand and iterate on these, or post additional areas of interest. To use this Posterous blog: Email It: The easiest way to post to this blog is to send an email to post(a)uwchange.posterous.com. The subject title of your email will be the post title, and content of you email will be the post content. You DO NOT need to set up an account to do this - just email away. Comment: Make comments using the web interface via the "comment" link at the end of each post. Again, you DO NOT need to set up an account to do this. If you choose "follow" this blog, you can also email your comments in response to new posts.

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NSDR 2010 (deadline in 10 days)
by Yaw Anokwa 01 Apr '10

01 Apr '10

CALL FOR PAPERS 4th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions: NSDR 2010 (now merged with the ACM Wireless Networks and Systems for Developing Regions Workshop - WiNS-DR) Co-located with the 8th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications and Services (MobiSys 2010) San Francisco, CA, USA June 15th, 2010 http://www.dritte.org/nsdr10 Important Dates * Submission Deadline: April 9, 2010 (23:59 PST) * Notification: May 3, 2010 * Camera-ready: May 17, 2010 * Workshop: June 15, 2010 Background Following three successful workshops of NSDR at SIGCOMM 2007, SIGCOMM 2008 and SOSP 2009, the 4th ACM Workshop on Networked Systems for Developing Regions (NSDR'10) 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. The 4th NSDR workshop is also merging efforts with the ACM Wireless Networks and Systems for Developing Regions workshop (WiNS-DR) which was co-located with MobiCom 2008. More than a billion, less fortunate, people on this planet survive on less than a dollar a day. Appropriate Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD) has the potential to significantly impact the lives of many in the bottom billion. The decreasing cost and increasing access to information and communication technologies (e.g., mobile phones) are rapidly enabling access to new services and markets for previously disconnected populations. However, due to a variety of factors, including cost, literacy, education, and organizational capacity, conventional approaches to technology design and implementation are often not relevant. Addressing this requires engagement of several disciplines, including but not limited to economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science, and expertise in a variety of application areas - including government, health, finance and agriculture. Thus, in addition to considering the specifics of networking protocols and architectures, the aim of the workshop is to consider the entire system by which networking and communication is provided, all the key technical stakeholders, and the overall system lifecycle from economic modeling to deployment. 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. 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. 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/nsdr10/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. Steering Committee Elizabeth Belding, Univ. of California at Santa Barbara, USA Gaetano Borriello, Univ. of Washington, USA Eric Brewer, Univ. of California at Berkeley, USA Ravi Jain, Google, USA Umar Saif, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan Lakshmi Subramanian, New York University, USA Program Committee Gaetano Borriello, U. Washington (Program Co-Chair) Bhaskaran Raman, IIT-Mumbai (Program Co-Chair) Muneeb Ali, Princeton Ken Banks, Kiwanja.net Eric Brewer, UC Berkeley Ravi Jain, Google Sharad Jaiswal, Alcatel-Lucent Mahesh Marina, Univ. of Edinburgh Prasant Mohapatra, UC Davis Vivek Pai, Princeton Tapan Parikh, UC Berkeley Umar Saif, LUMS Lakshmi Subramanian, NYU Bill Thies, MSR India Arun Venkataramani, Univ. of Massachusetts

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Fwd: [CoE Students] UW Engineering | Early Bird Registration for NAE "Grand Challenges" Seattle Summit
by Sunil Garg 01 Apr '10

01 Apr '10

The Student Design Competition theme is "Improving Human Wellbeing in the Developing World." -Sunil Begin forwarded message: > From: Andrea Perkins <andreap(a)u.washington.edu> > Date: March 19, 2010 10:05:19 AM PDT > To: "faculty(a)engr.washington.edu" <faculty(a)engr.washington.edu>, "staff(a)engr.washington.edu" <staff(a)engr.washington.edu>, "students(a)engr.washington.edu" <students(a)engr.washington.edu> > Subject: [CoE Students] UW Engineering | Early Bird Registration for NAE "Grand Challenges" Seattle Summit > > > Early registration rates end April 1! > > Seattle Summit: May 2‑3, 2010 > > > The century ahead poses challenges as formidable as any from millennia past, and engineers will play a key role in solving them. The University of Washington Seattle Summit is focused on the following grand challenges: > · Engineer better medicines > > · Engineer the tools of scientific discovery > > Join the conversation. > > > Edward Crawley, Ford Professor of Engineering; Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics and of Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology > > > Bonnie Dunbar, President and CEO, Museum of Flight > > > Mike Griffin, King-McDonald Eminent Scholar and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Director, Center for System Studies, The University of Alabama in Huntsville > > > Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington; Director, UW eScience Institute; Chair, Computing Community Consortium > > > Nicholas A. Peppas, Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering; Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy; Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin > > > Suzie Pun, Robert F. Rushmer Associate Professor in Bioengineering, University of Washington > > > Larry Smarr, Founding Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications & Information Technology, University of California, San Diego > > > Sunday, May 2 > Meany Hall, University of Washington campus > - Student Design Competition > - Summit Kick-off > > Monday, May 3 > Washington State Convention Center, downtown Seattle > > - Engineer Better Medicines: Nicholas A. Peppas, Suzie Pun, Lonnie Edelheit, Bruce Montgomery and Matthew O’Donnell > > - Engineer the Tools of Scientific Discovery: > Larry Smarr, Ed Lazowska, Mike Griffin, Ed Crawley and Bonnie Dunbar > > Detailed schedule » > What are the grand challenges? Learn more: watch a video or visit theNAE site. > > > > > www.engr.washington.edu/naesummit > THIS EMAIL WAS SENT BY: > UW College of Engineering, Loew Hall, Box 352180, Seattle, WA 98195-2180 > © 2010 University of Washington | Manage Your Subscriptions | Contact Us | Privacy Policy! > > > _______________________________________________ > Students mailing list > Students(a)engr.washington.edu > http://lists.engr.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/students

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Fwd: Vittana happy hour at Barça this Friday! Come celebrate $100k and more
by Justine Sherry 01 Apr '10

01 Apr '10

Fun! (Sent from my rotary phone.) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Vittana" <questions(a)vittana.org> Date: Apr 1, 2010 10:24 AM Subject: Vittana happy hour at Barça this Friday! Come celebrate $100k and more To: <stinie(a)gmail.com> Hello Seattle Vittanians, We have had a huge month, and the denizens of the Emerald City (that’s you!) have been a tremendous part of that. Here are a few of the things that have happened at Vittana this past month: We launched a brand-new website and a huge marketing campaign around March Madness<http://vittana.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dad36fd13ecc03d0d9aefda4f&…>that just ended last night. In the process, we doubled our user base, passed *$100,000 in total amount lent*, then turned around and *raised over $50,000 in March alone*, ultimately helping fund over *100 students*. Because of you, those students are able to get their degrees to become nurses, accountants, lawyers, mechanics, teachers and much more. Wow! Now, it’s time to celebrate. We’re going to be hanging out on the upper level of Barça on Capitol Hill with our friends from SeaMo (Seattle Microfinance<http://vittana.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dad36fd13ecc03d0d9aefda4f&…>) all evening on Friday, so come grab a drink with us. We want to celebrate with the people who made it happen – you, our lenders. So come after work, bring a friend, and we’ll have a fantastic time. *The important stuff:* *When:* April 2, 6 to 9 pm *Where:* Barça, 1510 11th Ave., Seattle, WA *How much:* There will be a $10 suggested donation *RSVP here:* http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=111815992163036&ref=ts<http://vittana.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dad36fd13ecc03d0d9aefda4f&…> Most importantly, there will be *happy hour drink specials from 6-9 pm*. Hope to see you there! Lindsey -- Lindsey Maxfield Communities & Operations Manager, Vittana P.S. Make sure you drop by the site sometime today – you might be surprised why what you see. ------------------------------ You are receiving this mail because you're a Vittana lender or signed up to be notified about updates. If you'd prefer not to receive emails from us, please click here to be removed from this list<http://vittana.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=dad36fd13ecc03d0d9aefda4f&…> . Vittana 206 1st Ave S., Suite 310 Seattle, WA 98104

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This Thursday at Change
by Eleanor O'Rourke 31 Mar '10

31 Mar '10

Welcome Back Everyone! Tomorrow (Thursday April 1) will be the first Spring Quarter Change Meeting at 12pm in room 203 in the Paul Allen Center. We have no talk scheduled for this week so it will be an informational meeting, but it will provide a good opportunity for you to meet or reconnect with others in the ICTD community at UW and learn about what we have lined up this spring. This quarter we will be alternating each week between our usual talks and group discussions about pertinent topics in ICTD, which will be led by those taking Change for credit. The goal is to build a more interactive ICTD community and foster collaboration. We will begin scheduling these discussion topics tomorrow, so please bring ideas and opinions about the ares you would be most interested in discussing. Finally, sandwiches and pastries will be provided by Le Fournil every week at Change this quarter (thanks to Gaetano Borriello and Google!) so bring your appetite. See you all tomorrow, Nell

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CS job opportunity with the Clinton Foundation in Rwanda
by Yaw Anokwa 30 Mar '10

30 Mar '10

Job announcement for Clinton Health Access Initiative, Developer / Software Engineer, Rwanda Be part of a young, dynamic team at the Clinton Health Access Initiative and work closely with high-level administrators at the Ministry of Health in Rwanda. Continue development of a database of high quality and reliable information about the national health system that is used to drive strategic decisions and long-term planning. Take the opportunity to work in an unconventional technology development environment that requires a practical roll-up-your-sleeves, ‘can do’ approach. This is an opportunity to work on a prestigious, high-profile project in the Rwandan eHealth arena with potential for expanding into other areas and/or countries. The job is located in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and requires a commitment of 9 months. Interested candidates should contact Erik Josephson (ejosephson(a)clintonfoundation.org) See attached job description for further details.

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