- change - Mailing Lists

PhD/DBA in Development Informatics (inc. Scholarship Info.) at Univ. Manchester
by Yaw Anokwa 07 Jan '10

07 Jan '10

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Heeks <richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk> Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 15:45 Subject: PhD/DBA in Development Informatics (inc. Scholarship Info.) at Univ. Manchester To: Richard Heeks <mzdssrbh(a)manchester.ac.uk> The Centre for Development Informatics at the University of Manchester is seeking high-quality PhD and DBA candidates to research topics on ICTs/information systems and socio-economic development. Some scholarships are available for those starting in September 2010; deadline dates vary but many require application before end February or end March 2010. Only very high-quality candidates will be considered. We are typically looking for those with a distinction-level Masters degree from an internationally-recognised university in an appropriate topic (which includes but is not limited to information systems, management, or development); good English skills; and a relevant topic for study backed by a proposal that demonstrates an ability to work with academic theory. Candidates may choose to study a PhD, for which they will typically be based in Manchester during much of their study, other than a period of fieldwork in a developing country. Those already in employment may choose the DBA route, taken over a four-or-five-year period and requiring roughly two two-week periods of intensive study/supervision per year in Manchester. (Scholarships are not available for DBA study.) Selected candidates will join the Centre for Development Informatics, the largest academic group working on issues of ICTs in developing countries (http://www.manchester.ac.uk/cdi) CDI will consider any topic related to development informatics although we have particular priorities at present for work on: m-finance; ICTs and small/micro-enterprise; gender implications of ICTs; IS methodologies in developing countries; e-government; ICTs and civil society organisations; ICT policy; and ICT-based offshoring. Further details about application and scholarships can be found at: http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/research/cdi/postgraduate/ Richard Heeks & Brian Nicholson Directors Centre for Development Informatics University of Manchester, UK http://www.manchester.ac.uk/cdi

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Digital scale / transaction recording device
by Bush, Cory 07 Jan '10

07 Jan '10

Greetings all, I'm trying to scope a solution for coffee cooperatives here in Rwanda that will enhance transparency into the sale of coffee at small community-level collection points, and would appreciate any thoughts / ideas / device recommendations. Basic requirements would include: - A digital scale capable of weighing up to 30kg - Ability to capture transaction information including: ID#, price per kilo, KG delivered, coffee grade, collector ID#, payment type (cash/bank) - Ability to generate a paper receipt - Ability to transmit transaction information in real-time if mobile data network available or store-and-forward batches if data network unavailable - Ability to generate daily/weekly/monthly reconciliation or summary reports - Ideally the scale, transaction device, and printer would be integrated, but not necessary - Device(s) should have low power requirements, and be able to function for a full day between charges or be powerable via standard batteries. - Device(s) should be rugged enough for use in rural settings Thanks in advance for any insight, Cory Cory Bush RW Mobile: +250-788-309287 RW Office: +250-252-580414 Skype: corycbush

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Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest
by Yaw Anokwa 06 Jan '10

06 Jan '10

The Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest, an annual competition begun in 2006, offers a $10,000 award to a software developer who has made, in the spirit of open source computing, an outstanding contribution to the nonprofit world and the ongoing work of social change. Tides Foundation, the host of the prize process, will name the next annual Pizzigati Prize winner early in spring 2010. All applications for the 2010 prize competition must be received by February 1, 2010. http://www.pizzigatiprize.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategor…

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The Girl Effect
by Yaw Anokwa 06 Jan '10

06 Jan '10

Little research has been done to understand how investments in girls impact economic growth and the health and well-being of communities. This lack of data reveals how pervasively girls have been overlooked. For millions of girls across the developing world, there are no systems to record their birth, their citizenship, or even their identity. However, the existing research summarized in this fact sheet (http://www.girleffect.org/downloads/TheGirlEffect_FactSheet.pdf) or this stunning video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvmE4_KMNw) suggests their impact can reach much farther than expected. Find out more about The Girl Effect at http://thegirleffect.org.

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Kushal Chakrabarti on Enabling Student Loans in the Developing World
by Yaw Anokwa 03 Jan '10

03 Jan '10

This Thursday at Change, Kushal Chakrabarti will be discussing his work bringing student loans to the developing world through the power of person-to-person microfinance. Please note the new room number. "Kushal is the co-founder and CEO of Vittana. Vittana makes it possible for students around the world to get a student loan to finish college. We work with microfinance organizations to develop student loan programs from scratch, often for the first time ever in their respective countries. Students from those programs appear on http://vittana.org and, because of tiny $25 and $50 loans made by people around the world, are able to attend college, get real degrees, and find better jobs. Today, there are student loans in Peru, Paraguay and Nicaragua because of Vittana with new programs spinning up Mongolia, Cambodia, Philippines and many other countries. In past lives, Kushal was a computational biologist (we couldn’t make that up if we tried) and artificial intelligence expert. Most recently, he ran the recommendations team (“We thought you might like Y because you bought X”) at Amazon.com. He was recently voted as the “#1 game-changer” in philanthropy by Huffington Post." What: Kushal Chakrabarti on Enabling Student Loans in the Developing World When: Thursday, January 7 at Noon Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 203

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UNICEF seeking Technical Team Adviser
by Yaw Anokwa 22 Dec '09

22 Dec '09

Apply now! UNICEF is looking to hire a Technical Team Adviser for the the newly created Technology 4 Development Coordination Unit in Uganda. More information can be found at: http://share.unicefinnovation.org/terraw/technology-specialist-t4d-unit-kam…

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FW: computer science teaching in Bangladesh
by neal lesh 22 Dec '09

22 Dec '09

Hi everybody, A friend passed this on to me. Note the close deadline (Jan 4th) and timeline for interested North American applicants. Take care, neal -----Original Message----- Dear Friends and Colleagues, I am happily ensconced in an extraordinary new venture in Bangladesh: the Asian University for Women. Our challenge is to provide a quality liberal arts education to women from all over South and South-East Asia, the majority of whom would be unable to get an education otherwise. Currently, we have 300 students from 14 countries- a veritable tower of Babel - amd are growing in leaps and bounds. The reason I'm writing is that we need professors! We are starting a Master's program in Computer Science/Information and Communication Technology (CS/ICT) and looking for teachers interested in developing the Undergraduate and Graduate Program (and in living in Bangladesh!). A description of the available posts can be found at our website www.asian-university.org. If you know of anyone who might be interested in coming here, could you please pass the word? The immediate need is for teachers so currently this should not be considered a research position. However, our vision is an integration of pedagogy, applied research and entrepreneurship for both student and teacher alike. I am working to set up a few research programs that respond directly to the regional needs and we are already working with CMU in a joint internship program. Anyone who comes is in a great position to help determine our research direction. Applications from North America are due Jan. 4th (applicants from this region have until the beginning of February). Because this is so soon, I've asked that any applicants from my contacts be considered even if the application is incomplete. So applicants should send in what they have by Jan. 4 and mention my name. Polly K. Pook Associate Professor Asian University for Women 20/A M.M. Ali Road Chittagong 4000, Bangladesh Mobile: (88) 019 266 730 31 pookpolly(a)gmail.com

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"Design for the Other 90%" exhibit in Portland
by Sunil Garg 22 Dec '09

22 Dec '09

Just saw an article about this, for anyone interested: http://www.oregonlive.com/art/index.ssf/2009/12/review_design_for_the_other… http://www.actioncenter.org/update/20090916/other90 Presented by Mercy Corps and The Lemelson Foundation, Design for the Other 90% features some of the most inspired inventions to improve the lives of low-income people around the world. Go to other90.cooperhewitt.org/about for complete information about this innovative and uplifting exhibition revealing the power of design to improve the lives of millions. WHERE: Mercy Corps Gallery 28 SW 1st Street Portland, OR 97204 WHEN : Runs October 22, 2009 - February 27, 2010

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ITID Journal Focuses on Human-Computer Interaction for Development
by Yaw Anokwa 18 Dec '09

18 Dec '09

Information Technologies & International Development (http://itidjournal.org/itid) an interdisciplinary open-access journal that focuses on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICTs) with the "other four billion" has just published its Winter 2009 issue. This special issue deals with Human-Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) where as the editors state, "[the focus is] on the wider issues of designing, developing, and deploying technologies in developing regions, placing socio-cultural aspects at the core of study". As always, the journal is filled with a number of great articles, but make sure to check out the articles from the "young" researchers listed below. All three offer interesting perspectives on this growing field. Human-Computer Interaction for Development: The Past, Present, and Future Melissa R. Ho, Thomas N. Smyth, Matthew Kam, and Andy Dearden http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/420/188 Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in research into the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of developing regions, particularly into how such ICTs might be appropriately designed to meet the unique user and infrastructural requirements that we encounter in these cross-cultural environments. This emerging field, known to some as HCI4D, is the product of a diverse set of origins. As such, it can often be difficult to navigate prior work, and/or to piece together a broad picture of what the field looks like as a whole. In this paper, we aim to contextualize HCI4D-to give it some historical background, to review its existing literature spanning a number of research traditions, to discuss some of its key issues arising from the work done so far, and to suggest some major research objectives for the future. Orality-Grounded HCID: Understanding the Oral User Jahanzeb Sherwani, Nosheen Ali, Carolyn Penstein Rosé, Roni Rosenfeld http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/422/190 While human-computer interaction (HCI) methodologies are designed to be general, they have most often been applied in the context of literate end users in the West. These methodologies may, however, need rethinking for application in HCI for the developing world (HCID) contexts, where many of the basic assumptions that underpin the methods may not always hold true. In this article, we present an overview of one factor that is significantly different in the HCID context-the literacy of the end user-by drawing on the literature of orality, and we offer a framework for HCID methodology that we argue is more appropriate for the HCID context. Based on this framework, we then present guidelines for design and user research methodologies in such contexts, highlighting seminal HCID research that corroborates these guidelines. Stories from the Field: Reflections on HCI4D Experiences Yaw Anokwa, Thomas N. Smyth, Divya Ramachandran, Jahanzeb Sherwani, Yael Schwartzman, Rowena Luk, Melissa Ho, Neema Moraveji, Brian DeRenzi http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/427/195 Human-computer interaction for development (HCI4D) requires considerable time in the field interacting with users. While this is true for most HCI work, fieldwork in developing regions presents unique challenges due to differences in culture, language, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. As a group of nine HCI4D researchers, we have adopted a systematic approach to reflect on the challenges we have encountered in the field. Arising from this exercise are three contributions: The first is our research method itself, which uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative instruments to elicit and synthesize individual experiences. The second, intended for beginning researchers, is a set of lessons learned and suggested strategies for navigating the unique challenges of HCI4D research. The third, intended for the HCI4D community at large, is a critical reflection on the field itself, inspired by our findings. Topics covered include the incentives and agendas of the research world, the importance of managing expectations, the nature of "participation" in HCI4D, and the conflict between research and development more generally.

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Looking for EMR/OpenMRS project manager in Malawi
by Yaw Anokwa 17 Dec '09

17 Dec '09

more partners in health hiring. the job posting is at http://pih.org/youcando/join/Malawi_EMR_Manager_0809.pdf. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Hamish Fraser <hamish_fraser(a)hms.harvard.edu> Date: Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 6:27 PM Asking for a little help here. We at PIH are looking for a replacement EMR project manager for our site in Neno Malawi as Evan moves to bigger things. This person needs to have solid IT skills and data management and project management skills if possible or at least an interest and feel for it. They need to support the IT and satellite internet systems, manage the OpenMRS implementation, ideally building their own forms and reports, and also manage the linked Baobab implementation. One option would be to go with a mainly IT support person and find a more public health/informatics person to complement them if that was more feasible. If you know any budding global health informatics/IT people looking for an exciting and challenging job with real systems and lots of patients please put them in touch. I can forward you the job description.

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