- change - Mailing Lists

Fwd: [Cs-grads] FW: Vodafone Wireless Innovation Challenge
by Yaw Anokwa 16 Dec '08

16 Dec '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kay Beck-Benton <kbeck(a)cs.washington.edu> Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 09:11 Subject: [Cs-grads] FW: Vodafone Wireless Innovation Challenge To: cs-grads - Mailing List <cs-grads(a)cs.washington.edu>, faculty - Mailing List <faculty(a)cs.washington.edu> ________________________________ Dear Friends, The Vodafone Americas Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of our Wireless Innovation Challenge, a new competition that seeks to identify and fund the best innovations using wireless related technology to address critical social issues around the world. We hope you will help spread the word to potential applicants by forwarding the attached fact sheet and press release, and directing them to the Foundation website at: http://www.vodafone-us.com/innovation.html and pressing the "enter" button below it, or directly reach the Challenge website at: http://challenge.vodafone-us.com Three winners will be awarded prizes of $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 for unique, late-stage wireless innovations that offer the best potential for creating social change in the areas of education, health, economic development, the environment and access to communication. The Vodafone Wireless Innovation Challenge is open to projects submitted by applicants from universities and nonprofit organizations based in the United States. Eligible projects must: · Demonstrate a multi-disciplinary approach that uses an innovation in wireless related technology to address a critical global issue · Hold the potential for replication and large scale impact · Include a business plan or basic framework for financial sustainability and rollout Applications will be accepted online from November 17 to February 2 at http://challenge.vodafone-us.com/ If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at challenge(a)vodafone.com Thank you very much for spreading the word about the Wireless Innovation Challenge, and helping to discover innovations that can change the world. Sincerely, Vodafone Americas Foundation Innovation Challenge

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Fwd: [Soasiastudents] P. Sainath Dec. 18
by Sunil Garg 16 Dec '08

16 Dec '08

see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P_Sainath Begin forwarded message: > From: "Keith Snodgrass" <snodgras(a)u.washington.edu> > Date: December 16, 2008 12:16:05 PM PST > To: soasiastudents(a)u.washington.edu > Subject: [Soasiastudents] P. Sainath Dec. 18 > Asha Seattle and AID Seattle are hosting renowned journalist and > activist P. Sainath this Thursday, Dec 18th @ > 6:30 pm in Microsoft Red West Cafe, 5600 148th Ave NE, Redmond, WA > 98052, for a > talk. Sainath is a Ramon Magsaysay award winner for his > contributions in rural journalism in India. Don't miss this > opportunity to listen to "one of the world's great experts on famine > and hunger" (as Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen puts it). > > -- > Keith Snodgrass > Associate Director and Outreach Coordinator > South Asia Center > Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies > University of Washington > w: http://jsis.washington.edu/soasia/ > p:206.543.4800 > f: 206.685.0668 > e: snodgras(a)u.washington.edu > _______________________________________________ > Soasiastudents mailing list > Soasiastudents(a)u.washington.edu > http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/soasiastudents

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CSE 590 f, Computing and the developing world seminar
by Richard Anderson 11 Dec '08

11 Dec '08

Winter quarter, the CSE 590 F seminar will meet on Wednesdays, from 3:30-4:20 in EEB 025. The plan is to highlight local work in ICTD - so if you would like to speak, let me know. A schedule will be posted as it comes together. If you want to sign up for credit for the seminar, and are not a cse grad student, send me mail, and I can get you an add code. If you are an undergrad - and want 400 level instead, send me mail, and we can work something out. - Richard

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Impact Assessment of ICT4D Projects: New Online Guide
by Yaw Anokwa 07 Dec '08

07 Dec '08

richard heeks has done a lot of work in ictd and this guide looks like a worthwhile read. ---------------------------- Subject: [wougnet] Impact Assessment of ICT4D Projects: New Online Guide From: "Richard Heeks" <richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk> A compendium of impact assessment frameworks for ICT4D projects is now available online: http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/impact-assessment-of-ict4d-projec… The compendium is a guide to how to choose and how to apply ICT4D impact assessment methods. It consists of three parts: 1. Overview: explains the basis for understanding impact assessment of ICT4D projects (including the ICT4D value chain), and the different assessment frameworks that can be used. 2. Frameworks: summarises a series of impact assessment frameworks, each one drawing from a different perspective. 3. Bibliography: a tabular summary of real-world examples of ICT4D impact assessment. IDRC, the sponsor for the compendium, is providing access on a creative commons basis, enabling the work to be freely shared and adapted. The compendium was a feed-in to the joint IDRC/Gates Foundation IPAI project - a major five-year project on impact assessment of public access to ICTs: http://www.ipairesearch.org/ The compendium is posted on the ICT4D blog to enable comments and pointers to similar ICT4D IA materials. To subscribe to the blog, visit: http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/feed/ Richard Heeks Director, Centre for Development Informatics University of Manchester, UK

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Re: [change] [IP] Re: amazing and appalling at the same time
by Sunil Garg 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

This is veering off-topic in relation to Bob's original post, but in any case: I think choosing to participate in ICTD research is really a matter of personal interest. I suspect that the people you refer to as "high caliber" are ones who were high performers in CS undergrad, which generally is theory heavy in that graphics, algorithms, and programming languages are subject areas of focus, so it's natural that they would be drawn to those fields. ICTD, including telemedicine, is extremely interdisciplinary, where successful projects involve fields ranging from ethnography and psychology, HCI, etc., for project design, to techincal skills for implementation work in extremely resource-constrained environments. On top of that, it's a very new field, so bringing all of that together is a daunting task in working towards a PhD thesis, especially in CS, and from what I've seen requires the initiative and dedication that come with strong personal interest in the field. And for the record, at least at the University of Washington, where I'm a CS undergrad, there do exist high-caliber professors and students working on ICTD issues. For reference: http://change.cs.washington.edu/ Regards, Sunil On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 5:54 PM, David Farber <dave(a)farber.net> wrote: > > > Begin forwarded message: > > From: > Date: December 4, 2008 8:08:03 PM EST > To: dave(a)farber.net > Subject: PLEASE ANONYMIZE - Re: [IP] Re: amazing and appalling at the same > time > > PLEASE ANONYMIZE - thanks > > From: "Bob Frankston" <Bob19-0501(a)bobf.frankston.com> >> Date: December 4, 2008 5:08:12 PM EST >> To: <dave(a)farber.net>, "'ip'" <ip(a)v2.listbox.com> >> Subject: RE: [IP] amazing and appalling at the same time >> > > Telemedicine should be too boring to write about. >> > > Perhaps that is the problem. I worked in a lab with graduate-level > computer scientists in health informatics. None of the students were > what I would describe as high caliber. Those students worked on > 'sexier', more 'hardcore' PhD topics, like graphics, algorithmics, and > programming languages. I could not be dragged kicking and screaming to > work on 'telemedicine', and I suspect most high caliber CS researchers > would be the same. > > > PLEASE ANONYMIZE - thanks > > > > > > ------------------------------------------- > Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now > RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ > Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com >

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Fwd: [phi-wg] Recruitment of Informatics Advisor: Mozambique
by Bill Lober 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

An interesting posting from Mozambique. I know a bit more about this, if anyone is interested. If this is not appropriate for this list, please yell at me privately! Bill >Subject: recruitment of Informatics Advisor: Mozambique >Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 17:20:27 +0200 >From: "Mindy Hochgesang" <HochgesangM(a)mz.cdc.gov> >To: "Mindy Hochgesang" <HochgesangM(a)mz.cdc.gov> > >Please see recruitment advert as posted on >FedBizOps to close December 17, 2008. For >complete information on position and application information, please go to > ><https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=36515ba3f6d3df596cf0ec…>https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=36515ba3f6d3df596cf0ec… > >Please forward to those who may be qualified and interested >_______________________________________________________ >Description >The Department of Health and Human Services, >Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is >seeking applications from qualified applicants >for an Informatics Advisor position located in >Maputo, Mozambique. The resultant contract shall >be a Personal Services Contract (PSC). See PL >109-149, Section 215(1), Reference 22U.S.C.2669(c). > >SOLICITATION NUMBER: >POSITION NUMBER: MZ-PSC-09 >ISSUANCE DATE: 12/02/2008 >CLOSING DATE/TIME: 12/17/2008 at 3:00PM Eastern Standard Time >POSITION TITLE: Informatics Advisor >BASIC SALARY: CDC PSC Pay Band B, $67,260 to $ >107,180 per year -- Final compensation will be >based on individual salary history, work >experience, and educational background. >PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: One Base Year and Four Option Years >PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Maputo, Mozambique >SECURITY CLEARANCE: NACI (Non-sensitive) >AREA OF CONSIDERATION: United States Citizens >and residents and third country nationals. >Citizens and permanent residents of the host >country are not eligible for this position. > >The Informatics Advisor is responsible for >coordinating and managing all health information >systems activities funded through PEPFAR >Mozambique, including the development of routine >information systems for service delivery, >national surveillance and reporting systems. The >ITA is responsible for the expansion of hardware >and connectivity infrastructure and software >development activities. This position has the >authority to develop, monitor, steer and >prioritize informatics and applications >development activities based on CDC and USG >Mozambique team priorities and resources. This >position is responsible for the development of >scopes of work, functional specifications, and >contracts, with clear deliverables for these activities. > >Management of informatics projects, including >applications development Tracks and monitors >the progress of all PEPFAR-supported informatics >activities in MOH and key USG implementing >partners, to ensure that these activities are >well planned and continue to reach set >milestones. Using experience in informatics and >team leadership, incumbent meets routinely with >informatics partners to assess plans, progress, >and priorities. Responsible for basic project >management and tracking and applications >lifecycle planning and supervision. Uses >technical expertise to provide technical >assistance and consultation to partners in order >to facilitate the progress of these activities. >Reports routinely to the CDC Strategic >Information (SI) Team Lead and technical working >group (TWG) leads on progress of relevant activities. 40% > >Coordination of health information systems >strengthening activities Develops and monitors >all informatics and health information systems >strengthening activities. Provides updates to >the CDC and, as appropriate, other USG technical >leads, on progress of these activities, and >assists in the planning of future resource needs >and activities. Facilitates information sharing >across projects by convening routine >applications technical working groups (TWGs), >both nationally and specific to the relevant >program area. Participates on national technical >working groups and standards bodies to assure >the creation and implementation of national >systems development standards. Provides guidance >to the PEPFAR Mozambique technical teams related >to capacity for informatics at the MOH and key >USG implementing partners, prioritization of >resources and partners, partner selection, and >budgeting for upcoming fiscal years. 20% > >Systems analysis and design Conducts analyses >of information systems operations and >information flow, focusing on USG-funded >partners including Ministry of Health. >Periodically conducts an inventory to assess the >capability of information systems used at MOH >and key implementing partners to manage programs >supported by PEPFAR. Uses judgment in >identification of potential but practical >improvements in both paper and electronic health >information systems. Provides guidance on >strategies for developing and implementing >communication standards across systems. 20% > >Requirements gathering Develops clear and >methodical requirements documentation for each >informatics project. Works closely with >technical staff from the partner team and >relevant program areas to ensure that each >informatics project has a clearly defined set of >requirements, timeline, and deliverables. >Provides technical assistance to the partners in >work plan development, with clear deliverables >and program activity monitoring. 20% >_______________________________________________ >phi-wg maillist - phi-wg(a)mailman.amia.org >http://mailman.amia.org/mailman/listinfo/phi-wg

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USAID has launched GlobalDevelopmentCommons
by Yaw Anokwa 30 Nov '08

30 Nov '08

USAID has launched GlobalDevelopmentCommons at http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/gdc/ The Global Development Commons initiative seeks innovations that to make knowledge more accessible and affordable to help people in developing countries solve social and economic problems. The Commons seeks to catalyze the international development community to become more open and collaborative through information and communication technologies. The site profiles successful applications of technology that improve access to information in developing countries.

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www.hci4d.org
by Osvaldo Rodriguez 27 Nov '08

27 Nov '08

Hi ALL During the last months with my group in Argentina we have worked on the site: www.hci4d.org •www.hci4d.org (Human Computer Interaction for Development) is entended to provide a platform for exchange of information, ideas, opinions and experiences, for those in research, practice and education in the world of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). •It should also serve prospect masters and PhD students to discover the different active groups and activities within research in ICT4D. A “Funding” slot will be maintained where possible grants, scholarships and employment offerings will be announced. •It will mostly reflect the information that circulates in mailing lists such as tier(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu, hci4d(a)googlegroups.com and change(a)cs.washington.edu •The idea of this site stems from the workshop on development carried out in April 2008 in Florence Italy. (HCI for community and international development workshop at CHI 2008). •At present the site is administrated and maintained by my group at Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina. It would be very useful to get your input on the groups you work and any relevant information on ict4d so as to include them. I would like to stress the importance on getting information, in particular, for the funding slot. Working in research in an undeveloped country is not simple and not missing possible opportunities really helps. Dr. Osvaldo Rodriguez Contact: editor(a)hci4d.org

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FW: [dub] TODAY @ dub: Kentaro Toyama from MSR India talks on "Human-Computer Interaction in Global Development"
by Saleema Amershi 22 Nov '08

22 Nov '08

-- Saleema Amershi PhD Student Computer Science and Engineering University of Washington http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/samershi From: dub-bounces(a)dub.washington.edu [mailto:dub-bounces@dub.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Saleema Amershi Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:54 AM To: dub(a)dub.washington.edu Cc: 'Natalie Linnell'; 'Kentaro Toyama' Subject: [dub] TODAY @ dub: Kentaro Toyama from MSR India talks on "Human-Computer Interaction in Global Development" TODAY at noon! -- Saleema Amershi PhD Student Computer Science and Engineering University of Washington http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/samershi From: dub-bounces(a)dub.washington.edu [mailto:dub-bounces@dub.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Saleema Amershi Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 10:32 AM To: dub(a)dub.washington.edu Cc: 'Natalie Linnell'; 'Kentaro Toyama' Subject: [dub] Wednesday @ dub: Kentaro Toyama from MSR India talks on "Human-Computer Interaction in Global Development" Hello Dubers! I'm very pleased to announce that this Wednesday, Kentaro Toyama, the assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India (MSRI), will be speaking at DUB on "Human-Computer Interaction in Global Development." In this talk, Kentaro will discuss several ongoing projects from MSRI's Technology for Emerging Markets Group which he leads in Bangalore, India. Since the opening of MSRI in January 2005, Kentaro and his team have done some amazing work applying both social-science research and technology innovation towards meeting the needs of people in emerging markets and in underserved communities throughout India and other developing regions worldwide. He is also a great speaker, so please come join us! Details below. Note that DUB will be held on Wednesday at our usual location in MGH 420. See you there! Thanks, Saleema ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Where:* MGH 420 (directions below) *When:* November 19th, 12-1:20PM *Who:* Intros by Natalie Linnell (CSE), Talk by Kentaro Toyama (Microsoft Research India) Food will be provided! TITLE: Human-Computer Interaction in Global Development ABSTRACT: In the young field of "information and communication technology for development" (ICT4D), the goal is to apply new computing and communication technologies for global socio-economic development. How do you design user interfaces for an illiterate migrant worker? Can you keep five rural schoolchildren from fighting over one PC? What value is technology to a farmer earning $1 a day? Ideas and methodologies from human-computer interaction research are critical to this work, and in this talk, I'll discuss relevant projects from the Technology for Emerging Markets group (http://research.microsoft.com/research/tem <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.microsoft.com%2Fresearch% 2Ftem&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHxXX9sJiLiP-MDTsbqveaxBDMe2w> ) at Microsoft Research India. We have a multidisciplinary team of researchers exploring solutions in agriculture, education, healthcare, microfinance, and so forth, in the hopes of identifying new ways for technology to support the growth of the world's poorest communities. BIO: Kentaro Toyama is assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India (MSR India) <http://research.microsoft.com/india> , which opened in Bangalore in January, 2005; he played a critical role in establishing the lab and is responsible for helping guide its direction and growth. In addition to his responsibilities to MSR India overall, Kentaro leads the Technology for <http://research.microsoft.com/research/tem> Emerging Markets research group as a principal researcher, and is a co-founder of the IEEE/ACM <http://research.microsoft.com/workshops/ictd2007> International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD). Before being named assistant managing director of MSR India, Kentaro spent seven years in MSR Redmond, Washington, U.S.A., and in Cambridge, U.K., working on computer vision, multimedia and geographic information systems. Kentaro earned his Ph.D. in computer science at <http://cs-www.cs.yale.edu/homes/toyama/> Yale University and received a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University. During the autumn of 2002, he took personal leave from Microsoft to teach mathematics at Ashesi University <http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/> in Ghana. SPEAKER SCHEDULE You can see the entire speaker schedule for the quarter here: http://dub.washington.edu/events/meetings/. You can also subscribe to the Google Calendar feed by either searching for "dub group" within Google Calendar or adding designusebuild(a)gmail.com <mailto:designusebuild@gmail.com> in the Google Calendar interface. Please send me a mail (samershi(a)cs.washington.edu <mailto:samershi@cs.washington.edu>) if you are interested in giving a talk or have a suggestion for a speaker. SEMINAR LOCATION We are meeting in room 420 (on the 4th floor) of Mary Gates Hall (MGH). MGH is located north of Drumheller Fountain (see map below). South Central Campus Map south central map -- Saleema Amershi PhD Student Computer Science and Engineering University of Washington http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/samershi

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fundraiser dinner this Sunday for Bahia Street
by Alan Borning 20 Nov '08

20 Nov '08

Hi all - my older son Mo is on the board of directors for Bahia Street, which runs a school for economically-impoverished girls who live in the shantytowns in Salvador, Brazil (http:// www.bahiastreet.org) For the past 3 years or so they've been putting on a big fundraiser dinner, with lots of good food, at Agua Verde Restaurant. It's this Sunday, starting at 4:00, with dinner at 5:30 or so. Margaret Willson & Rita Conceição, Bahia Street founders, will be there. (Margaret won the Seattle PI's Jefferson Award last year for her work on this.) It's $40/person, or more if you can afford to donate it. If you're interested let me know and I'll put you on the evite list so that you can sign up. Alan

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