text:
The GSMA mAgri team
invites to a one hour webinar on Wednesday 27th June (at 14.00 UK
time) sharing practical and actionable lessons which can be applied
to the design and marketing of mobile information and advisory
services for women smallholders.
mAgri Programme identifies opportunities where mobile can have the
most impact to mitigate these problems. They are uniquely placed to
bring together mobile network operators, agricultural organisations,
NGOs, ICT professionals and donors to act on these opportunities.
Half of all farmers in
the developing world are women, and in some countries such as Rwanda
women account for 70% of the agricultural workforce.
Women farmers are less
productive than men but if they had equal access to resources,
including quality and actionable information, women farmers
could grow 30% more food.
With a focus on service
design and marketing, this webinar will focus on how mobile
operators, VAS providers and agricultural NGOs can provide women
farmers more equal access to mobile information and advisory
services. Armed with better access to information, women farmers can
make more informed decisions, increase their resilience and
ultimately improve productivity and incomes. Subject
matter experts in gender and agriculture will share their insight and
draw on best practice from closely related programmes and initiatives
(such as gender-responsive extension programmes and using ICTs to
empower rural women).
your Webinar seat at:https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/213949574
(Source: GSMA)
Video can be produced at low cost
and has the potential to reach a very large audience. New technology,
especially digital video equipment, is making video an increasingly popular way
to inform, educate, and entertain.
The aim of this book is to
educate those working in NGOs, government agencies, and other institutions
about how they can use video for development. The book is divided into four
1. Overview of the various uses for video in development
(particularly agricultural and rural development)
2. Guidelines for using video for development, based on
research and experience
3. Nine case studies to highlight a range of possibilities
4. Resources for further information, including a
bibliography and list of relevant organizations
With a clear objective, thorough research, and high
level of organization, this book is an excellent resource for anyone who would
like to better understand how video can help reach across barriers and
accomplish development objectives.
The full book is available here.
(Source: Anancy and e-agriculture)
(Source: IICD)
Further details
The constant challenge for a fruit
producer company is to minimize the incidence of plagues and
illnesses, attain competitive prices through the increase of unitary
yield and production cost reduction, improve process and product
quality and diminish environmental impact.
It is essential for this process to
have a technological infrastructure which captures production data,
stores and process them, and disclose strategic information for
decision making.
Starting from these premises, the
FruTIC project was born. Its objective is to increase the productive
efficiency of the citric sector, favoring its competitiveness and the
completion of market requirements through the implementation of the
ICT System (Information and Communication technologies) that offers
strategic information for the citric management based on a periodic
environment and phenological monitoring of cultivation and its main
FruTIC is designed for those producers
who want to improve its profitability and get access to quality
certification standards.
An integrated producer to FruTIC is
able, for example:
To know the state of budding and flowering in their varieties
know the most favorable harvest date for its fruit
know how much water needs to be restocked by watering
receive instantaneous warnings of meteorological events
be more certain about whether or not to control a plague in the farm
know the evolution of plagues and illnesses related with citrus
To achieve a production protocol with International certifiable
FruTIC offers information to increase
profitability of citrus companies, allowing a more efficient use of
agrochemicals, a superior fruit quality and a better access to
international certifications. FruTIC data is personalized according
to the requirements of the producers adhered to the system.
FruTIC offers two types of services for
citrus management, classified as public and private. They present
information in different ways Public information: free access
information through FruTIC website. Private information: personalized
and easily reached service through the FruTIC website by means of a
user name and password.
(Source: FruTIC)Further details
Three hospitals in the towns of Saboba, Wiaga and Bawku in Northern
Ghana, are setting up an upgraded health information system,
customised to fit their specific needs. The system can help to
increase the hospitals efficiency giving more insight into patients
registrations, help to more easily keep track of pharmacy stock and
The system contains several components that will each help different
areas of the hospital.
Clinical: Patients records and registrations, prescriptions,
admissions and discharges, investigations (x-rays, laboratory,
ultrasound scans etc.) and daily measurements.
Stock and Inventory Management: Pharmacies, stocks and dispensaries,
procurements, external orders and receivables.
Human Resource: Managing staff, payroll, promotions and appraisals,
recruitment and leave of absence.
Income and Expenditure: Invoicing and billing, sponsors and patients
invoicing, refunds and deposit payments.
General Reports: Daily attendance, patient registrations, services
and their fees, drugs bulletin, clinics, inpatient and outpatient
listing as well as medical sponsors.
The system will also provide the Ghanaian Ministry of
Health with data concerning mortality, morbidity, outpatients and
inpatients, midwife returns, surgical returns and bed state
statistics. Local partner CHAG
will also have the opportunity to monitor and compare the data from
these hospitals in real time.
This health information system will be up-scaled with
the financial, technical and training support of IICD
and Cordaid, working as members of the Connect4Change
Consortium.It will be customised based on an already available
system, HAMS, created by Ghanaian organization Infotech.HAMS
is already being applied in more than 100 hospitals all over the
country. The system provides a valuable source of medical,
financial,administrative, human resources and insurance data. In
addition, it is linked to DHIS2, the central public health monitoring
system where information on all the hospitals in Ghana is accessible
at all times.
(Source: IICD)Further details
More than half of India's population
live in rural areas and off-the-map villages. Most are remote and too
isolated to benefit from the country's impressive economic progress.
Yet there's a growing desire among people in rural India to be part
of its modernisation process.
"India is a country which has more
than 600,000 villages and connecting these areas with internet
broadband will have a paradigm shift", says Sachin Pilot, the
minister of state for communications and information technology.
Increasingly the government is looking at better ways to reach
remote, rural India. And it is hoping that technology will provide a
"It's time for our IT roots to go
further inland and make sure that those areas which are tribal, rural
and far-off geographically are brought to the ambit of the IT
revolution", says Mr Pilot.
While the country boasts the world's
second fastest-growing mobile market, it is lagging behind when it
comes to internet connectivity. According to a new study by the
British risk analysis firm, Maplecroft, India is at 'extreme risk'
from a lack of 'digital inclusion.'
The country's IT revolution is
sometimes thought to benefit only the better off. According to the
study, a lack of digital inclusion could hamper the country's
economic potential as well. But while India is trailing the BRIC
nations of Brazil, Russia and China in the drive to get its
population connected to digital technologies, the government says it
has big plans.
By 2014, it wants to connect 160m
Indians to hi-speed internet. Through a range of public services,
it's hoping to bridge the digital divide and bring awareness to those
who are missing out on India's IT revolution.
"The challenge before all of us is
to create the demand among people to want these data-heavy intensive
services," says Mr Pilot.
"We are trying to educate the
people, make it a demand driven process where the villagers in
far-off areas are expecting and wanting that connectivity. And then
they will be able to pay some price for that."
(Source: BBC News)Further details
A group of young graduates in Kenya
have introduced a mobile-phone enabled technology which will help
farmers in rural Africa to link up with crop researchers,
meteorological departments and veterinary scientists to better their
farm yields.
Calvins Okello, a science graduate from
the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)
and a colleague, Gordon Owiti, have developed the new technology that
seeks to digitalize Africas agriculture and enable the government
agencies to solve the crisis of poor food distribution.
The technology, known as M-SHAMBA, a
Kiswahili word for Mobile Farming, seeks to empower farmers with the
latest technology innovations from the Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute (KARI) and the weather updates from the Kenya
Meteorological Department to increase predictability of farming.
This is a unique
new technology that gives information to farmers. This information is
stored in a chip in the phone memory and enables the farmer to
receive information on the various aspects of farming, Okello said
during the Science and Technology Innovation (STI) conference
underway in Nairobi. Farmers can receive the latest information on
cattle rearing techniques and have a chance to bargain for the
highest price for their produce by placing their produce in the
online platform. It helps the farmers to sell online, notifying
the market about the farm produce. Farmers are able to connect with
buyers from great distances but it is up to the farmer in Kisumu to
decide whether they want to sell to a buyer in Mombasa despite the
great transportation barriers, Okello said.
The information is directly obtained
from certified research, which is a more cost-effective way of
allowing the researchers to see the outcomes of their work. To make
the product more easily accessible to the farmers, the two innovators
are currently investing in translating research papers into the more
popularly spoken Kiswahili language. However, they say they are
constrained by a lack of funding.
Okello said the
software enables the farmers to manage their farm records by entering
the date of planting into an automated database, from where they are
able to receive short messages and reminders about when to plant,
based on the meteorological data findings. Owiti said the new
technology has been developed with the sole intention of enticing the
youth and those in professional cadres that agriculture can be
technological savvy and is cool.
(Source: Adeanet)Further details
The e-Navigator smartphone application
and website can search more than 3,000 items in the Joint University
Programmes Admissions System, the Information Portal for Accredited
Post-secondary Programmes and the Qualifications Register.
The e-Navigator provides students with
more information on the study opportunities in Hong Kong. It helps to
compare different programmes and figure out which ones are most
relevant to them.
All information is based on publicised
data on official websites, and students can access the sites to view
detailed information on individual programmes via hyperlinks.
Hyperlinks to various official web pages are created for users who
wish to find out more details of individual programmes.
Users can also enter their expected or
actual Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination results
to search for suitable courses.
The e-Navigator was
jointly developed by Education Bureau and Hong Kong Association of
Careers Masters and Guidance Masters (HKACMGM).
FutureGov)Further details
Solar panels have been installed in the
remote area of Ilkerin in Kenya, where many people from the Maasai
tribe live. The generator powers computers that will help to increase
the quality of education.
Solar panels will
provide power for computer labs that will serve the local community,
students and out of school youth that are receiving vocational
training. The computers that are used are energy efficient and save
money because they are so called thin clients, a type of solution
where a computer network of multiple users is powered by just one PC
or server.Up until now, the
area of Ilkerin had no access to Kenyas national power grid and
the transport of fuel to support power generators was extremely
difficult due to its location. For this reason, the installation of
Solar Power Systems is extremely important for the area as it
provides power efficiency to support projects such this, which will
enhance computer literacy within the community of Ilkerin and
especially of youth and primary school students. Being exposed to
computers and internet ensures maasai children that they will be
enabled to benefit from a similar learning environment as their peers
in Nairobi. Developing context specific educational materials for the
children will make their education also more relevant. The
project is the product of collaboration between IICD and Edukans in
the Connect4Change consortium and local partner ILIDP.
Next step after the installation of the
generators and the computer lab is that teachers and administrators
are trained by a locally hired ICT officer. The courses will include
training on how to apply ICT in vocational training and the building
of entrepreneurial skills. In addition, local teachers will receive
training in developing educational material digitally for primary
school students.
(Source: IICD)Further details
Prime Minister Najib reveals his plans
to make education smart.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato
Sri Mohammad Najib Tun Razak, says that Malaysia is extremely
likely to adopt cheap tablet computers such as those developed in
He says that the US$ 50
price tag for the mobile internet devices makes adoption much easier.
Najib reveals that the objective is to
equip every student with a tablet computer; however at this juncture
the government expects 10 students to share one tablet.
The government will
make smart education plans to significantly improve smart childrens
performance in school. It is very important to increase the
childrens market value from cradle all the way to their
employment, he says.
(Source: FutureGov)Further details
Apurimac is the first region to provide
free Internet service through pilot virtual centers which will be
built and implemented with the support from mining companies
operating in the area, announced its regional president, Elias Ruiz
He said that through the project
"Construction and implementation of pilot virtual centers to
achieve contents in curriculum learning in primary and secondary-
Apurimac" aims to provide a quality education.
The regional authority said Apurimac is
entering to a new stage thanks to mining and stressed that rural
children have the same opportunities as the city, they will receive a
quality education.
Segovia said that mining companies
operating in Apurimac pay the cost of Internet service, while the
regional government will take care of maintenance. The proposal is
embodied in an agreement to be signed soon.
"Apurimac will be the first region
in the country that will have internet access throughout its
jurisdiction, it means, from Chincheros until Cotabambas", he
He called on teachers to be trained, so
that students receive quality education, since "the success of
this project will be thanks to them".
He added that the initiative is a great
tool that should serve to get out from the last places where Apurimac
is found in regarding the quality of education.
The symbolic act of commissioning of
the project took place on Thursday in the building of the regional
(Source: Andina
News)Further details
Women in Gomboussougou, a village in
the Centre-Sud Region of Burkina Faso, are now for the first time in
their lives able to participate in debates and municipal meetings in
their community. These meetings are also broadcasted by the community
radio started by womens association Pag La Yiri.
Before, it was unthinkable for women to
be actively involved in their community and participate in municipal
meetings, debates and exchange of ideas. However, now they can attend
any of the meetings on the agenda that is interesting to them.
The meetings are facilitated by local
citizen journalists that have received training in reporting skills.
All the discussions are being recorded in order to be broadcasted by
Pag La Yiri radio. This is a radio station by rural women
organisation Pag la Yiri, that is supported by IICD. The broadcasts
are in five local languages and French. Local primary and secondary
school teachers are also contributing to this radio project.
The municipal meetings and debates
follow after a women week that was held in February. Listeners were invited to talk about
topics related to women empowerment and gender issues in rural areas
and could call to the radio station to answer quiz questions. With
the support of IICD and Dutch capacity building organisation PSO, Pag la Yiri will continue to produce targeted
content for women, as well as integrating gender topics in existing
You can watch a video report about the
project in Gomboussougou here:
To commemorate this
day, May 17 INICTEL-UNI held the International Forum "Women and
girls in ICT". The event aims to promote the use of Information
and Communication Technologies - ICTs on women and girls as a tool to
integrate a gender equality perspective.
The event promoted by
INICTEL-UNI, share the goals of ITU to encourages governments and
institutions inviting girls and university students to spend a day on
the premises or arrange visit programs observation ("shadowing")
with female mentors in order to gain a better understanding of the
opportunities offered by ICT.
This year, the World
Day of Telecommunications and Information Society is especially
devoted to the theme of "Women and girls in ICT", adopted
by the ITU Council in 2010.
The celebration aims to
ensure that vulnerable female half of the world progress towards
equality. Gender equality is one of the main goals of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations.
The forum will bring
all the sectors involved in the field to encourage the adoption of
policies and strategies to promote ICT related to the female gender
and achieve the integration. It will feature panelists from the
following institutions: Ministry of Transport and Communications,
Ministry of Education, Department of Lima Council Engineers
Association of Peru, National Council for Science, Technology and
Innovation - CONCYTEC, National University of San Marcos, the
Regulator in Telecommunications - OSIPTEL, among other important
(Source: INICTEL
Perú)Further details
The 2012 World Telecommunication and
Information Society Award was presented to three eminent
personalities: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of
Argentina, Huawei Chairman Sun Yafang, and Academy Award winning
actor Geena Davis, founder of the Geena Davis Institute of Gender in
Media. The ceremony took place in Geneva to mark the 147th
anniversary of the establishment of ITU in 1865.
The theme for the 2012 World
Telecommunication and Information Society Day focuses on Women and
girls in ICT. It is aimed at extending digital opportunities by
providing avenues of advancement to professional women at the highest
echelons of decision-making, and by encouraging young women to seek
new careers within the sector.
In a message on the
occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, On this World
Telecommunication and Information Society Day, I call again for
wide-ranging efforts to close both the digital divide and the gender
gap. All people must be able to make the best use of
information and communications technology to help create the future
we want.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré
further reaffirmed that gender equality is a basic human right
enshrined in the UN Charter, and one of the main objectives of the UN
Millennium Development Goals.
We are focusing our
efforts this year on women and girls, using the power of information
and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide new digital
opportunities to end discrimination, and to empower women and girls
to participate fully in society Dr Touré said. Girls and young
women with ICT skills will find jobs that offer creativity,
innovation, and entirely new ways of working. And encouraging girls
into the technology industry will create a positive feedback loop
in turn creating inspiring role models for the next generation.
One such role model, is represented by
H.E. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina who has
spearheaded numerous digital initiatives such as the Equal Connect
Programme which aims to reduce the digital divide across
Argentinas educational system with a specific focus on developing
quality digital content.
Ms Sun Yafang emphasized that positive
role models and real gender equality are critical for the ICT
industry. The ICT market is full of uncertainties, requiring
companies to be highly adaptive, said Ms Sun. In light of this,
I have been promoting female manager development at Huawei. This
programme gives preference to women in manager selection when all
qualifications are equal. In this way, we can provide real
development opportunities for our female employees.
Ms Geena Davis, founder of the Geena
Davis Institute of Gender in Media, has dedicated herself to
advocating more positive representations of women and girls in the
media and knows well the importance of reinforcing positive role
(Source: ITU Newsroom)Further details
A group of primary schools in Kenyas
Pokot and Turkana tribes districts is improving its management and
education quality by using computers and training teachers and
administrators in the use of them. Ultimate goal is to significantly
reduce the dropout rate of primary schools students.
In the first year, with
the support of IICD and Edukans in
the Connect4Change consortium and local partner NCCK Northrift, 4
schools will be targeted: 2 in West Pokot County and 2 in Turkana
District. Both these areas are located in the Northern part of the
Rift Valley Province. With the support
of Edukans, community education facilitators train the School
Management Committees on their roles and responsibilities in the
management of their schools. These management committees are elected
volunteers that have the mandate to approve or dismiss schools
To this improved management training,
IICD adds a digital component. An ICT officer was hired to support
and train the schools and equipment was procured and distributed to
the schools over the last few months. Coming June, staff will be
trained in the use of basic ICT for school administration (for
instance the use of Excel) and will discuss what should be in the
administration system. This will lead to a school administration
system where teachers, headmasters and administrators can more easily
store school results and monitor dropout rates. It is also easier for
teachers and administrators to keep the enrollment lists up to date
and to act swiftly if they see that someone is not attending class
regularly. They can also see how not attending classes regularly has
affected students grades.
Another advantage of a digitalised
administration system is that it gets easier for School Management
Committees in Pokot and Turkana districts to understand how money is
spent and how this could be improved. In the future, an online
component could also be added so financial and administrative data is
also available (in a secure way) if the committee members or school
staff are not at school and still would like to access the data.
Also, the
Pokot and Turkana are pastoralist people who are in a constant
conflict over land and cattle. About a third of the the children in
the IICD-supported schools in the region are orphan or miss at least
one parent because of this conflict. There is a lot of distrust
between the people, but schools indicate that they are interested in
using computers to get closer. A proposed idea was for each school to
build their own simple website to promote their school, which can
also be used for Turkana and Pokot children to share their ideas and
poetry. Though schools are quite far apart, at some point during the
implementation phase, schools could also visit each other. Teachers
and school management committees may be from different tribes, but
their all have the same aim: improving education, and using ICT to do
The Information and
Communications Technology Ministry yesterday inked a THB-1.02-billion
(US$ 32.8 mil) tablet-computer supply contract with the Chinese
manufacturer Shenzhen Scope for the purchase of 400,000 tablets for
primary school students.
The first 2,000 devices
will be delivered next week and the rest to be arrived within 60
days. The model is specifically produced for Thailand, according to
ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap.
Under the contract,
Thailand will buy 400,000 devices at THB 2,400 (US$ 81) per unit and
a contract for the remaining 530,000 units will be signed later with
the same price after the first batch of Scope Tablets passes
government quality control standards. The remaining units must be
delivered within 90 days from May 10.
The specs are higher than what was
specified in the terms of reference. This model is being produced
specifically for this project, not according to the general specs
offered in the market, he said and added that the ministrys
committee would thoroughly check the devices specification.
Thailand Post will deliver the devices,
which will have software installed, to school nationwide in July.
The devices, Scopes
Scopad SP0712 model, come in four colours- red, blue, silver and gold
and features a seven-inch touchscreen, a 1.2 GHz single core CPU, 1
GB RAM, a storage memory unit of 8GB, Googles Android 4.0 Ice
Cream Sandwich operating system, and a GPS navigation system for
monitoring and tracking purposes. The devices also come with two-year
international standard warrantee.
The purchase is under
One Tablet PC Per Child campaign promise, a series of populist
policies promoted by the ruling government which pledged to provide
the countrys 860,000 first graders with the tablet PC.
The ExxonMobil Foundation and Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
released new research demonstrating how mobile phones can help women
entrepreneurs develop and grow their businesses. The analysis across
three emerging countries -- Egypt, Nigeria and Indonesia -- concludes
there are a number of mobile technology-based solutions which, if
tailored and scaled commercially, could support the business needs of
women entrepreneurs.
Based on the research findings, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
will follow the study with a pilot program to provide women
entrepreneurs with tailored mobile phone applications that will help
them manage their businesses more effectively.
Research for the Mobile Value Added Services: A Business Growth
Opportunity for Women Entrepreneurs report was conducted by the
global management consultancy, Booz & Company. The report
concluded that the extensive and ever-increasing penetration of
mobile phones in developing and emerging markets presents a
significant opportunity to women entrepreneurs who want to develop
their micro businesses into flourishing small and growing
enterprises. Mobile value added services are products offered through
a mobile platform, such as text messaging and multimedia message
"We already know that when mobile technology is
properly incorporated into daily use, it can address an
ever-increasing range of needs", said Cherie Blair, founder of
the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. "Yet many of these
technologies are not designed with a woman entrepreneur in mind. This
groundbreaking research and subsequent pilot program will identify
the technology that is most effective for women entrepreneurs and
will provide women with new opportunities to maximize the
effectiveness and reach of their businesses".
"In recent years, we have seen mobile phones
evolve from a convenience to an essential business tool, enabling
entrepreneurs to address pressing business challenges, increase
access to new markets and operate more efficiently", said
Suzanne M. McCarron, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "Yet
all too often, women entrepreneurs around the world lack access to
the technology and resources needed to succeed. Expanding the
effective uses of mobile technology can help women earn more income
and lead to more prosperity for them, their families, their
communities and their countries".
Full Report(Source: Market Watch)
e-Agriculture includes 8 500
members from over 165 countries
A global online community on the use of
information and communication technologies in agriculture (called
"e-Agriculture") run by FAO has received a prestigious
award from the organizing body of the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS), called the WSIS Project Prize 2012.
The e-Agriculture Community today has
grown to more than 8 500 registered members from over 165 countries,
including development practitioners, policymakers, representatives of
farmer organizations, researchers, and information and communication
specialists involved in agriculture and rural development.
The e-Agriculture
Community is active on three levels. A web-based, multilingual
(English, French, Spanish) platform (www.e-agriculture.org) provides a neutral space for knowledge
sharing and collaboration. The Community also participates in
face-to-face events organized around the world, and through
in-country interventions lead by Community members and their
Holding discussion forums online allows
the Community to reach tens of thousands of individuals annually, a
level of participation that could not be achieved otherwise.
Partnerships with
international, regional and national institutions, is an integral
part of the continuing success of the e-Agriculture Community.
The e-Agriculture Community also
provides the basis for the international community to monitor
development and validation of conceptual models and methodologies,
and to package and disseminate them once tested.
The e-Agriculture Community continues
to make active use of social media, including Twitter, Facebook and
LinkedIn. The participation of young people in the sector, in
addition to seasoned experts, is encouraged through collaboration
with YPARD, including a blog series on the subject of "youth,
ICT and agriculture".
(Source: e-agriculture)Further details
The Government of Brazil is organizing,
with the support of the United Nations, the Sustainable Development
Dialogues, a forum for civil society, to be held in Riocentro,
between June 16 to 19, in the context of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20.
Ten topics will be debated, based on
their relevance to the furthering of sustainable development. They
are: (1) Sustainable development for fighting poverty; (2)
Sustainable development as an answer to the economic and financial
crises; (3) Unemployment, decent work and migrations; (4) The
economics of sustainable development, including sustainable patterns
of production and consumption; (5) Forests; (6) Food and nutrition
security; (7) Sustainable energy for all; (8) Water; (9) Sustainable
cities and innovation; (10) Oceans. The debates will be broadcast
live through the UN website.
With the support of
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Dialogues
initiative is being launched through a digital platform
in order to
provide the wide public with a democratic space for discussion. The
on-line debates on each of the ten themes of the Dialogues will be
facilitated by researchers from renowned academic institutions around
the world. The platform is available in four languages (Portuguese,
English, French and Spanish), with an in-built tool that allows the
translation of specific posts into 40 languages. It also includes a
voting system through which a set of recommendations will be chosen
for transmission to the participants of the Dialogues, in Rio.
This innovative bridge between civil
society and Heads of State and Government is expected to contribute
to the incorporation and engagement of stakeholders, based on the
understanding that public participation is essential to the promotion
of sustainable development as the paradigm for action.
For more information
visit: http://www.rio20.gov.br/ or send an
email to email@example.com
(Source: UNCSD)
In about two months
will be ready Siembra, an Internet portal that will allow to
Colombian farmers to find all the information related to production
chains, entrepreneurship programs and the status of their projects,
among other benefits.
According to Juan
Lucas Restrepo, Executive Director of Corpoica, entity that is
developing the site, 'Siembra' will be a member of Agronet, the
information system of the Ministry of Agriculture. "This portal
will enable people to make a clear innovation management and
competitive intelligence, especially from the agricultural context",
the official said.
After registration,
the person who enters to 'Siembra' can improve their knowledge of the
business where he is, meet the existing demand and supply of goods
and sectoral projects, and research findings.
'There you can
learn about events and news. Additionally, it will create a space for
video conferencing which can simultaneously connect up to 100
players. The idea is that you can also say, for which forums work ",
said Restrepo.
This initiative is
directly related to the proposed objective of Corpoica that is aimed
at promoting research, development and innovation in agriculture.
'These three components should be the guiding framework for public
sector investment", he explained.
In that sense, Corpoica
prepares to gradually adjust their capabilities, structure and
culture in order to guarantee the coherence of innovation policy for
With the launch of
'Siembra' the first beneficiaries will be the 37members of formed
groups, from which 34 have already made significant
progress. These include cocoa, cotton, bananas, potatoes
and beef.
(Source: La República de Colombia)Further details
This is the second
phase of TEDs expansion into education, following the launch
of a TED-Ed YouTube channel last month with several educational
videos. (See Free video lessons offered by leaders in innovation,
thinking.) With the new TED-Ed platform, you can use, tweak, or
completely redo any lesson featured on TED-Ed, or create lessons from
scratch based on any video from YouTube, the organization says.
In other words, the site allows users
to take any useful educational video, not just TEDs, and easily
create a customized lesson around the video. Users can distribute the
lessons, publicly or privately, and track their impact on the world,
a class, or an individual student, TED says.
Teachers also can browse TED content
based on the subject they teach. Each video on the TED-Ed site is
tagged to a curriculum subject and is accompanied by supplementary
materials to help teachers and students use or understand the video
TED-Eds commitment to creating
lessons worth sharing is an extension of TEDs mission of
spreading great ideas, the organization says.
(Source: eschool News)Further
True will launch a similar free-service
model in other major provinces, in line with its plan to expand its
Wi-Fi network to cover 60 provinces this year from the present 40.
The Bangkok service covers about 20,000
spots across the city. It is available in two options. The first
offers maximum download/upload speeds of 2 megabits per second/512
kilobits per second and free usage of five hours per month. The other
provides a download/upload connection speed of 256kb/s and 128kb/s
respectively and unlimited usage.
The service can reach a total of
150,000 users per six months. Users need to register with the project
to receive passwords to log in to the service. They have to register
for a new password every six months.
Under the collaboration, True will also
expand the Wi-Fi network by 1,000 spots per year with the focus on
hospitals, public parks and schools.
Bangkok Governor MR
Sukhumbhand Paribatra and True Online chief commercial officer
Charoen Limkangwanmongkol signed the memorandum of understanding to
continue the project. True Internet is part of the True Online group.
The governor said the BMA had approached all Internet providers to
join this project, which is open for all to take part.
True is responsible for the cost of the
network installation, equipment maintenance cost, and related cost of
the project.The parties jointly initiated the Bangkok Wi-Fi project
three years ago on an exclusive basis. At that time the service could
serve a maximum of 100,000 users.
(Source: The Nation
News Paper)Further details
Social media, video games, blogs and
wikis are playing increasingly important roles in classrooms across
the country. Some worry that incorporating more social media and
other technologies into education is leading to too much computer
time, as well as to a generation of students deficient in the
face-to-face social skills needed to survive in the workplace.
Proponents say schools need to find ways to use these technologies to
improve teaching and learning, or else risk losing the attention of
digital natives.
A paper released
earlier this week by the Brookings Institution addresses how social
media, blogs and video games are improving education by increasing
access to people and information in various forms, including Twitter
feeds, blog posts, videos and books. These tools are also increasing
people's ability to share information with networks and contribute
their own thoughts.
The idea is that the data collected by
video games and social media sites can be provided, sometimes in real
time, to teachers who can then use it to better understand their
students and tailor instruction to meet individual needs.
Companies like Knewton,
Junyo and the Learn Lab in Pittsburgh and are all creating such
systems that are being used by many schools across the nation.
(Source: Huffington
Post)Further details
The Institute on
Disability and Public Policy (IDPP) is partnering with the Career
Center at American University (AU) to provide virtual access to a
host of career center services, including select professional
development workshops and virtual advising for students in the
Masters of International Affairs in
Comparative and International Disability Policy (CIDP) program.
The Master of Arts
in Comparative and International Disability Policy (CIDP) degree,
offered by the School of International
Service at American University, is the centerpiece program of the
Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP). The IDPP is led by
the Center for Research on Collaboratories and Technology Enhanced
Learning Communities (COTELCO), a joint research center at American
University and Syracuse University.
Students can
take courses from anywhere in the world,
because courses are offered entirely online, and can be experienced
in real time or accessed on demand
Anyone around the world can apply
for the CIDP Masters program
Faculty teach from geographically
dispersed locations around the world
Accelerated one year or extended
part time flexibility available
incorporate Universal Design for Learning principles, and are
accessible to blind, deaf, and mobility impaired students
cyberinfrastructure consists of an innovative combination of virtual
tools to make the program as accessible as possible
A CIDP Masters
degree empowers graduates to become global disability policy leaders.
Courses teach the necessary skills for persons with disabilities to
impact and influence the public policies that directly affect the
disability community
The Nippon
Foundation offers full fellowships for select CIDP students, with
preference given to students from the ASEAN region who are blind or
visually impaired; deaf or hard of hearing; and/or mobility impaired.
(Source: IPPD)Further details
The Institute of Systems Science
of the National University of Singapore- (NUS-ISS) and IBM have announced collaboration,
supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (iDA) and the
Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), to create
the Enterprise Social Business Centre of Excellence. This Centre will catalyze
the transformation of Singapores workforce and ensure that Singapore is
future-ready and able to leverage social media platforms to improve
productivity, connect for innovation and create communities for
competitive advantage.
Enterprise Social Business embeds
social in all of its processes, connecting people to people, people to information,
and data to insight. It is a company that engages its employees and clients in
a two-way dialogue with social tools, transparent in sharing its expertise
beyond its four walls, and is nimble in its use of insight for rapid change
and action.
This partnership allows us to
tap on IBMs technology and global expertise to deliver
Enterprise Social Business know-how to businesses and organizations in
Singapore, says Dr Christopher Chia, Chairman of the Management Board, and
Institute of Systems Science. NUS-ISS
will work closely with IDA and WDA
to align the Enterprise Social Business training curriculum to the National
Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) and develop
holistic continuing education and training pathways through various modular and
qualifications programmes to widen and deepen the capabilities of
industry professionals.
According to NUS
officials, Enterprise Social Business has the potential to unlock the
intellectual capital within organizations, connecting experts and expertise,
and paving the way for unprecedented innovation. By applying social
technologies to business processes, it can radically improve the way organizations
operate, for example, by linking skills to the right opportunities where and
when they are needed. Enterprise Social Business can reveal the untapped power
of data generated by these connections. By interconnecting key data created and
applying analytics to gain insights, NUS will be able
to make more intelligent business decisions.
(Source: FutureGov)
Global leaders from the US, Europe,
Africa and Asia joined together today to debate and define a roadmap
that will help break down barriers and overturn outmoded attitudes in
a bid get more girls into technology-related studies and careers.
A high-level dialogue held at New
Yorks Institute of International Education and hosted by the
International Telecommunication Union, the UN-specialized agency for
information and communication technology, identified misguided
school-age career counselling, the popular medias geek image
of the technology field, a dearth of inspirational female role
models, and a lack of supportive frameworks in the home and workplace
as factors that, together, tend to dissuade talented girls from
pursuing a tech career.
Inspired by the tremendous dedication
of NGOs, universities, government agencies, industry and others
around the world in organizing Girls in ICT Day events today,
participants sketched our a basic blueprint for more successful
approaches to attracting school-age girls to the fast-evolving
technology field, and agreed to work together to change attitudes and
boost female tech enrolment rates.
In his welcoming remarks to an invited
audience of over 200 gender, education and technology experts, ITU
Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré said: Over the coming decade,
there are expected to be two million more ICT jobs than there are
professionals to fill them. This is an extraordinary opportunity for
girls and young women in a world where there are over 70 million
unemployed young people.
ITUs Dr Touré closed the event with
a call for partners to collaborate with ITU on a three-year Tech
Needs Girls campaign focused around four Es: empowerment,
equality, education and employment. This is a tremendous
opportunity for us all, working together as partners, to make a real
difference, he said.
Girls in ICT Day is a new annual
event on the UN calendar, and is celebrated every year on the fourth
Thursday in April. It was established through a formal Resolution at
ITUs four-yearly Plenipotentiary Conference in 2010.
(Source: ITU Newsroom)Further details
"We and Technology", It is
the special event that the National Institute for Research and
Training in Telecommunications of the National Engineering
University, INICTEL-UNI, held this April 26 as part of the
celebrations for the International Telecommunications Day.
60 girls in public educational
institutions of San Martin de Porres and Independencia (districts of
Lima) will participate in workshops on electronics, robotics and
CANSat (Bases to build a small satellite). Also, they visited the
UNI-INICTEL facilities, laboratories and attend videoconferences with
professional women in the ICT field residing abroad.
The attendees could talk to engineers in
telecommunications and experience the site of women in this sector.
Through this event they want to promote in Peru the use of
Information and Communication Technologies - ICTs on women and girls,
as a tool to integrate a gender equality perspective.
This year's theme "Women and girls
in ICT" has been chosen by the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), United Nations agency, to celebrate the "World Day
of Telecommunications and Information Society" . Moreover, in
this way promotes the 2010 designation of the ITU, in which every
fourth Thursday of April an event takes place before the central
celebrations of May 17.
(Source: INICTEL - Peru)Further details
This report was developed by the
e-governance and Access to Information team in the Democratic Governance Group
at UNDPs Bureau for Development Policy, New York.
In this document various advantages of mobile technologies
are mentioned, how they are creating new channels of communication between
people and government and offering access to public information and basic
services to people that previously had little to no access.
Mobiles can reach remote areas more effectively
than other ICTs such as the Internet or fixed phone lines and sometimes mobile
devices are simply the only option available.
"Mobile technologies are starting to have an indelible impact
on human development, enhancing democratic governance and other
development areas such as health, education, agriculture, employment, crisis
prevention and the environment".
For people in rural areas mobile technologies can
help them reduce the information gaps and give them access to market information
from remote locations increasing trade and reducing travel costs.
This report was developed by the
e-governance and Access to Information team in the Democratic
Governance Group at UNDPs Bureau for Development Policy, New York.
In this document various advantages of
mobile technologies are mentioned, how they are creating new channels
of communication between people and government and offering access to
public information and basic services to people that previously had
little to no access.
Mobiles can reach remote areas more
effectively than other ICTs such as the Internet or fixed phone lines
and sometimes mobile devices are simply the only option available.
"Mobile technologies are starting
to have an indelible impact on human development, enhancing
democratic governance and other development areas such as health,
education, agriculture, employment, crisis prevention and the
For people in rural areas mobile
technologies can help them reduce the information gaps and give them
access to market information from remote locations increasing trade
and reducing travel costs.
"They are also being used to
educate and keep citizens and vulnerable stakeholders abreast of
environmental and energy-related issues, including weather patterns,
climate change and responsible environmental stewardship".(Source: e-agriculture)Full Report
Inspired by the Haiti
earthquake disaster in 2010, the idea of Health eVillages came about
when Donato Tramuto, Health eVillages co-founder and CEO of
Physicians Interactive, and Kerry Kennedy, founder of the Washington
D.C. based Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human
Rights, were discussing ideas about what they could
do to help the victims.
Launched in Sep 26,
2011 as a partnership between Physicians Interactive Holdings, its
subsidiary Skyscape.com, Inc. and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for
Justice and Human Rights, Health eVillages seeks to provide
healthcare professionals working in challenging clinical environments
with medical decision making, clinical diagnosis and training tools
in easy-to-use mobile devices.
New and refurbished mobile phones and
handheld devices (like iPads) are preloaded with clinical decision
support reference tools like patient records, drug guides, textbooks
and related medical data. These devices, which do not require web
access, are given to clinical and healthcare workers to ensure that
they always have medical information available. Besides medical
alerts, the devices support access to references from over 50 medical
publisher resources powered by Skyscape.com, Inc.
Nurses and clinicians in Haiti, Kenya,
Uganda and the Greater Gulf Coast area of the Southern United States
have received these devices. Health eVillages arm clinicians with
a gold standard medical reference tool-kit, so they are
prepared for any situation and are able to properly treat even the
most unique medical conditions. [In] most of the areas where these
mobile devices have been given, people dont have access to basic
electricity let alone the most advanced medical treatment, said
He added: These
devices enable them to identify the right dose, identify a condition
or seek the latest research in a particular area. For each country we
customize the software. In Haiti we have programs specific to nurses
diagnosing a disease or condition particular to Haiti. The drug and
dosage information is monitored accordingly. Patient details
can be entered in as well. Now there is no need to run around looking
for information either about a patient or a condition.
Using donated and refurbished phones,
the project works very closely with medical officers and leaders of
target communities to ensure that information is completely
customized and specific to their area.
Health eVillages identifies clinics
through partners and associates of the Robert F. Kennedy Center and
Physicians Interactive Holdings. Staff members from the project
are sent to locations with specific programs most often requested by
the medical personnel in the area.
They have seven pilot
projects running and early data points shows that medical personnel
rate their data finding methods very helpful. We hope to raise
more funds after the competition of our pilot projects, said
Tramuto. Health eVillages clearly has big plans for the future of
mobile health technology.
(Source: AudienceScapes)Further details
Polycom, the global leader in
open standards-based unified communications (UC), announced a philanthropic
partnership with Right To Play, an international humanitarian organization that
uses the transformative power of sport and play to give hope and teach
essential skills to children living in communities affected by war, poverty,
and disease. Polycom is donating Polycom RealPresence video
collaboration solutions to Right To Play to expand the reach of their programs
by improving global communications throughout the organization; connecting
teachers, coaches, and community leaders with staff throughout the world; and
directly linking donors to see the impact of their support.
trained local coaches and community leaders means more children around the
world will be able to participate in Right To Play programs," said Johann
Olav Koss, Right To Play founder and a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
"Polycom's support and video collaboration technology will further
strengthen our programs and help us use the power of sport and play to
transform the lives of so many more children. With the ability to use video for
training and other initiatives, we can reach even more children and get them
playing and succeeding in life".
in 2000, Right To Play has developed projects in more than 20 countries in
Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. In 2012, the organization is
expected to surpass more than 1 million children participating weekly in Right
To Play programs. Koss, who serves as president and CEO, has inspired an
international team of 350 athletes including Bonnie Blair, five-time Olympic
gold medalist in speed skating to serve as Athlete Ambassadors and assist in
fundraising for Right To Play projects.
An Indian graduate student has designed
a mobile phone application that enables people with sight and hearing
impairments to send and receive text messages.
The PocketSMS application was developed
for Android smartphones, which are generally cheaper than Apple's
iPhones. The application converts text into Morse code vibrations so
that users can "feel" the message.
Regular mobile phones already use
vibrations to alert users to incoming calls or messages. Anmol Anand,
a graduate student at the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
in Delhi, realized that the same vibrations could also convey text
message content.
He used the open source Google App
Inventor to write a new application to covert each letter in a text
message into Morse code in which each letter corresponds to a set
of a short and long tones and then used the phone's hardware to
vibrate for each letter.
An accompanying application,
MorseTrainer, has been designed to teach deaf-blind users Morse code,
and to use it without having to rely on smartphone keyboards, which
can be difficult to see.
Text messaging is
growing in importance as a tool for safety and social inclusion. In
the Democratic Republic of the Congo late last year, for instance, a
group of deaf users protested for their safety late last year when
the government shut down text messaging services, the BBC reported.
In Uganda, the
National Association of the Deaf is working on a project in which
hearing students and deaf students learn how to send text messages
together. "We saw that deaf kids were not integrating",
said education consultant Sacha DeVelle, who was volunteering in
Kabale with the charity Cambridge to Africa.
When teachers began showing pairs of
hearing and deaf students how to send text messages, deaf children
became far more integrated into the school community. "It
encourages them to go on and do what they want to do, [for example]
go to university or set up a shop", DeVelle said.
Anand's collaborator, Arun Mehta
president of the Bidirectional Access Promotion Society (BAPSI)
said that internet access is just as important for the disabled as
everyone else. He said that the introduction of text-to-speech screen
reading software had meant that "the gap between the sighted and
the blind has shrunk dramatically. We would like to do that for the
deaf-blind too."
Inclusive technology can help disabled
people take part in everyday life, said Mohamed Jemni, a computer
scientis at the School of Science and Technology in Tunisia.
(Source: SciDev)Further details
Patients of Singapores
National Skin Centre (NSC) can now have an access to their treatment
records and communicate with their healthcare team from homes.
The NSC today launched
its online Patient Health Portal, the first for a health institution
in Singapore, and possibly in Asia that will enable patients to
conduct a variety of tasks related to their treatments, said Dr
Steven Thng, consultant at the National Skin Centre.
The benefit includes
corresponding with the healthcare team via email about medication,
treatment and procedure queries, he said.
Patients will also be connected to more
information concerning their medical condition.
According to him, the
NSC has more than one hundred people signing on this free service
since it was piloted late last year.
In term of confidentiality, Dr Thng
said that patients do not need to worry as they are required to use a
secured password to log onto the website.
The NSC is a public
tertiary-care institute that provides specialized dermatological
services, trains and educates both medical students and post-graduate
How can mobile communication help
improve the quality of education? A Nokia smartphone will go to the
owner of the best idea submitted to the fifth phase of the Education
for All (EFA) Crowdsourcing Challenge organized by UNESCO, Nokia and
the Pearson Foundation.
Starting on 12 March, and for a month
thereafter, education and mobile learning stakeholders are all
invited to participate by submitting mobile communication ideas for
helping achieve EFA Goal n°5 that calls for the elimination of
gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and
the achievement of gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus
on ensuring girls full and equal access to and achievement in
basic education of good quality. Participants will also be invited to
vote or comment on other ideas.
Several hundred proposals were
generated during the first four phases of the EFA Crowdsourcing
Challenge, which explored ways of using mobile communication to
potentially help attain literacy, to contribute to achieving
universal primary education, to address youth and adult learning
needs, and to improve the quality of education.
To submit an idea, participants only
need to click on the Create an Idea link to the right of the gender
challenge introductory paragraph.
The winner of the fifth
phase, who will be chosen by an expert panel of judges, will receive
a Nokia smartphone. She or he will also get a chance to win a US$
3,000 prize as well as a library of childrens books worth US$
3,000, which will be donated to a non-profit organisation of the
winners choice. Moreover, the best ideas from the EFA
Crowdsourcing Challenge will be developed into concrete projects by
Nokia and other project partners.
(Source: UNESCO)Further details
"ConnectaRSE para crecer seeks to identify and recognize the best initiatives in rural areas of the country, who have had social and economic impact on its residents and / or communities, using telecommunications as a basis.
In this context Telefónica recognized
the PNP Division of Acomayo in Cusco, third place winners in the "Grand Prize" category, for its training in the use of information systems to improve management of the police stations of Acomayo , Acopia, and Sagarará Pomacanchi.
Acomayo Police Division implemented
the system of requisitions
of people and vehicles DATAPOL in each of the stations that what they are responsible for.
The contribution which was handed over by Telefonica was S/. 10, 000 which serve to ensure the sustainability of this initiative and continue the training in the basic use of office tools, Internet and installed systems that gives us the program.
The initiative
launched by Major Wilbert Callapiña Durand was selected from 74 initiatives, as the
third best approach to rural development through ICTs for the
benefit of residents of rural communities.
(Source: Telefónica)
All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE) is deploying a suite of cloud-based applications to
more than 7 million students and nearly 500.000 faculty members in
more than 10.000 technical colleges and institutes throughout the
Part of the Ministry of Human Resource
Development AICTE is the governing body for technical education in
India, certifying and managing technical colleges and institutes.
While the demand for technical school graduates are rapidly picking
up, AICTE has faced the challenge of how to ensure consistent and
timely communications with its colleges in order to evaluate the
curriculum and quality of education. With more than 10.000 colleges
and institutes, some of which located in the most remote part of the
country, AICTE needed a solution that was scalable and not too
The Microsoft Live@edu suite of
web-based applications includes email, web-based productivity
applications and instant messaging. Each user will get 10GB of online
space for email and additional 25 GB for online storage. AICTE expects
this cloud deployment to expand students" access to high-quality
technical education and collaboration.
AICTE also plans to deploy Microsoft
Office 365, a more comprehensive suite of cloud-based productivity
tools, when it becomes available later this year.
Dr S. S. Mantha, chairman of AICTE says
that cloud implementation will "make for a truly progressive
ecosystem and contribute to the countrys technical education by
providing a better communication and collaboration platform for
institutes and students.
Deployment is underway and is expected
to complete over the next three months.
Deal starts with Uganda, and
will be rolled out to 20 more countries. Western Union and MTN Group,
Africa's largest mobile phone company, Wednesday unveiled an
international mobile money transfer service in Uganda that will be
rolled out to all of telecom provider's 16 operations on the
continent as well as five in other regions.
In October 2010, the two companies announced
they had signed an agreement to offer international mobile remittance
services in the 21 countries in which MTN operates. The five
countries which this agreement covers but are not on the African
content include Afghanistan, Cyprus, Syria, Iran and Yemen.
The service, announced at a press conference in
Kampala, marks the debut of an offering from Western Union that
allows the more than 2 million customers of MTN's mobile money
transfer service in Uganda to add funds to their accounts that were
sent through Western Union's system.
"We are indeed excited about this new
collaboration with Western Union as it extends the reach of our
innovative solutions beyond Uganda's borders", Charles Mbire,
the MTN Uganda chairman of the board of directors said. "MTN
Mobile Money has been successful in increasing financial inclusion in
Uganda. MTN will continue to offer Ugandans life enriching services".
A press statement said that senders can
transfer funds as they normally would -- either in person at 450,000
Western Union Agent locations in 200 countries and territories, from
the Western Union website in 22 countries or directly from a bank
account in selected countries.
The receiver of the funds simply chooses to
"pull" the transaction into a MTN Mobile Money account. The
new service also enables MTN customers to send money internationally
with Western Union directly from their Mobile Money accounts for cash
payout at Western Union Agent locations worldwide or to subscribers
of mobile phone companies with which Western Union has agreements.
Isaac Nsereko, the MTN Uganda Marketing Officer
performed a demonstration at the announcement, where he received a
remittance of US$ 5 from someone in Colorado.
Western Union has similar agreements with
Safaricom's M-Pesa in Kenya, Vodacom in Tanzania, Telmar Madagascar
and Inova in Burkina Faso, according to Marcus Cudina, Western
Union's senior vice president for strategy "This is the first
operation to launch service in the MTN Group, the others will now be
rolled out", Cudina said.
Western Union and MTN also announced that they
will give away 9,000 branded mobile "Yellow Phones" via
promotions throughout Uganda over the next few months.
MTN customers who receive these phones must
already have an active MTN Mobile Money account or sign up for one in
order to use the new remittance service.
"Our network of nearly half a million
locations, our experience in moving money across borders, and our
relationships with the world's most successful mobile operators such
as MTN, ideally position us to introduce many people to cross-border
financial services," said Nathalie Ferrant, inbound and business
development director, Middle East and Africa, Western Union.
She said Western Union's Mobile Money transfer
service will unlock new economic opportunities for thousands of
underserved consumers in Uganda, whose financial needs are not being
met elsewhere.
(Source: PC Advisor)Further details
With a staff of approximately 6000,
Barwon Health is one of the largest and most comprehensive regional
health services in the Australian State of Victoria. Having
successfully reduced the elective surgery waiting list, improved
Emergency Department wait times and finished last year with a budget
surplus, last November Barwon Health was named regional health
service of the year.
According to CIO Ann
Larkins, Barwon Healths ehealth journey began around 2005, the
success of which she ascribes to their strategy of agile development,
our approach has been about incremental developments rather than a
big bang.
Having started with a basic system that
provided pathology results online, this has been gradually developed
in stages to now provide everything offered by the larger ehealth
software providers including digital medical records, medications
management, electronic messaging to GPs via Health Level Seven. It
has become a complete one stop shop clinical system says Larkins,
not too dissimilar to some of your bigger companies
product that we are using has evolved from a much smaller base but
with much more of our input into it along the way.
The benefit of this
development methodology is that, it is a much more agile way to
respond to the requests of clinicians whereas some of the less
responsive big companies find that difficult and challenging. Weve
achieved a lot in a small time with small agile developments.
This has allowed for
department specific systems be either integrated with or developed
within the main clinical system. We respect the needs of different
departments to have their own system where there is need for them,
but where theres functionality already existing we pull them into
the core.
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) has developed 35 projects over the past
five years as part of their programme to promote socio-economic development
through the use of ICT in countries like Bolivia,
Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ghana, Mali, Uganda and Zambia.
Most of
their projects focus on promoting food
security and agricultural
economic development.
ICTs can help farmers, workers and entrepreneurs access market information,
improve quality and productivity and strengthen business skills and employment
recently published a
document that summarizes the main lessons they have learned about
the use of ICTs to boost (rural) economic development between 2006 and
Some of the
lessons that stand out are the importance of empowering and connecting
individuals, strengthening and connecting with local organizations and linking
sectors by improving knowledge flows and the policy environment.
"With the right tools, people in developing countries can
considerably improve their livelihoods and quality of life. Better access to
information and communication technology (ICT) is particularly vital in
enabling them to achieve their goals".
Nan Chiau Primary
School in Sengkang, Singapore in collaboration with Qualcomme and
Microsoft will empower its students and teachers through
custom-tailored mobile application enabling 24/7 access to
educational resources.
Under the WE learn
mobile education project, which uses 3G smartphones to create
seamless classroom experience, some 350 third-grade pupils and
teachers will experience the latest wireless technology that will
ease a student-centric model of learning where educational materials
can be accessed anytime and anywhere via smartphones.
The project is being
supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) under the ICT
masterplan in education to designate Nan Chiau Primary School as a
model for primary schools throughout Singapore and Asia.
By equipping
students with learning tools like mobile phones, our students have
24/7 access to educational content, web-based resources, and
collaborative learning tools, said Mr Tan Chun Ming, principal of
Nan Chiau Primary School.
These tools give
students the means to take responsibility for their own learning and
enable teachers to provide individualized mentoring, Chun Ming
All smartphones are equipped with
MyDesk, a mobile learning platform to enable each student to access
his or her assignments, relevant websites that contain podcasts,
textual material and video clips and educational applications, such
as mapping, drawing and animating, to practice both self-directed and
collaborative learning.
Files created by the Nan Chiau students
on their smartphones are backed-up and synchronized to a cloud-based
teaching management system, providing each student an electronic
portfolio that parents can review and teachers can access for grading
and feedback purposes.
The national Institute
of Education of Singapore is assisting teachers with the development
of customised curriculum in English, Science and Chinese, and
co-design technology to enable teachers to enact lessons using
smartphones to support the students personalized learning,
revealed Professor Looi Chee Kit, The National Institute of Education
who is responsible for the WE learning
Nan Chiau Primary
School is Singapores first school to set up the Centre for
Educational Research and Application (CERA),
the research centre for using ICT in teaching
and learning in a primary school.
Kasetsart University, one of Thailands
leading universities opened Mobile Development Centre last month to
empower its students in innovating mobile software skill.
Mobile applications
are the future for developers and we want to be a part to help
encourage more numbers of Thai mobile developers, said Assistant
Professor Dr Putchong Uthayopas, Kasetsart Universitys head of the
Department of Computer Engineering.
The huge growth of mobile devices,
especially smart phones and tablet devices, are expected to create a
lot of room for mobile applications and software and that means great
opportunity for Thai software developers and the software industry,
he added.
The centre is expected to be a role
model for other universities to set up facilities for their students
to develop mobile application and software, according to him.
We invested THB 1
million (US$ 32,460 ) to build the centre, equipped with facilities
like hi-speed internet connection, computer, and mobile devices both
smart phones and tablet across platforms, said Uthayopas.
Project head Anan
Phonphoem said the centre focuses on three mobile platforms IOS,
Android, and Windows Phone. The centres main service is to provide
facilities, including space, computers and mobile devices like smart
phones and tablets, to Kasetsart Universitys computer engineering
We set up this as a
value-added service for our students. We are not including it as a
part of the main curriculum. Almost five hundred of our engineering
students who are interested in mobile development can come to the
centre to use our facilities to develop their ideas into real
applications, he added.
Students skilled in mobile application
can use the centre to be their workshop to develop mobile apps and
then commercialize the app.
According to him, the project aims to
encourage about 70 to 80 per cent of the five hundred students to be
empowered with mobile development skills and be ready to enter the
industry as entrepreneurs. Apart from providing facilities and tools,
the centre will also offer training courses in technology and
business matters.
We will also work with the industry
sector to collaborate in bringing knowledge of technology and
business knowhow to our students, concluded Phonphoem.
The Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) Working Group for the
Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-PhilippinesEast ASEAN
Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)
identified three major projects to be included in the BIMP-EAGA Implementation Blueprint (IB)
for 2012-2016.
According to Attorney Jonalyn
Bagayan from the Mindanao Development Authority, the projects includes the roll
out of the ICT rural outreach program, the
establishment of the BIMP-EAGA
rink (submarine cable), and the implementation of the Intelligence Clearance
Identification (iClid).
The ICT Rural outreach program aims to improve ICT
literacy of rural communities through the construction of e-telecentres
equipped with e-Learning models and mobile applications.
In the
Philippines, the Committee has identified 30 pilot sites in the Autonomous
Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for the roll-out of
the e-telecentres. Each pilot site is expected to have 20 computers.
Trillink Inc. is the private sector lead of the program in the Philippines. The
latter is investing US$33 million for the installation
of around 2,000 telecentres in ARMM. Meanwhile, Brunei
has successfully implemented the programs first phase which includes training
courses on e-commerce and the establishment of e-telecentres equipped with
broadband internet, and other applications.
The BIMP - EAGA Rink project on the other
hand, aims to develop BIMP-EAGA
as a new hub and centre of investment by leveraging a Hybrid Communications
Platform which would make use of sea cable, satellite, or
terrestrial systems.
Lastly, the
iCLid project will use a combination of Radio-frequency Identification and web
technology to facilitate cross-border movement of goods and vehicles within the
BIMP-EAGA region.
Darussalam has already implemented the first phase of the project in Sungai
Tujoh and Kuala Lurah, and will extend it to Sabah and Sarawak checkpoints in
Malaysia for the second phase. Each checkpoint is estimated to cost around US$1.5 million.
When a large company or famous
philanthropist donates computers to children to advance their
learning and give them online access to the world, it makes an
impact. But when the donors are young teenagers who revamped and
renovated the computers themselves, it makes an even bigger impact.
Students and teachers at Forest Park
High School, a public magnet school in Woodbridge, Va., say their
schools computer donation program has become an essential part of
the learning experience. It has also become an essential asset for
the community.
The program combines academic learning
and hands-on lab work with community service. First students learn
about computer systems and networks. Then they rebuild used computers
and give them away to children and other schools needing computers.
It is the act of
giving that solidifies the learning experience, says Brian Hackett,
an instructional technologist at the school and co-coordinator for
the program. It becomes personal. You dont get personal in
learning until the kids see results of what they have learned.
Hackett thinks education in general
should head in the direction of combining schooling with community
service. Applying academic material gives it relevance.
The students seemed
to agree. When we go to events to give the computers away, the
parents and students are overwhelmed with joy. The smiles on their
faces are amazing, said Karl Stallknecht, a student at Forest
Park. You can see the big picture.
As the students worked on restoring
computers to mint condition during class, they spoke about their
coursework with enthusiasm. They seemed to grasp the complexities of
information technology as they discussed network systems, web
hosting, cloud-based solutions, Linux operating systems, and various
software programs. Listening to their high level of discourse, it was
clear they understood as least as much about technology as the
average adult working in the field.
(Source: eschool News)More details
The digital
gap that faced by Quechua-speaking communities of the Andes could be
reduced thanks to two initiatives that create content in this
language and replace the lack of Internet connectivity with off-line
A project
sponsored by One Laptop Per Child Association (OLPC by its acronym in
English), works in an offline version, based on the Wikipedia online
in Quechua language, so that could be used by students who speak that
language and have no Internet connectivity.
wiki page in Quechua is too good and it is wasted because most
Quechua speakers do not have Internet access" told Gonzalo
Odiard to SciDev.Net, from the Association OLPC and Sugar Labs
project, global initiative, which uses a computer learning platform
for children to learn together through the computer.
Odiard had
already successfully completed a similar project in Rwanda, based on
the wiki kinyarwanda.
The project
to provide a viewer for the wikipedia offline on computers using the
XO which use OLPC program was created by Chris Ball in 2008, in
Spanish and English.
Based on
this project, "we developed a set of tools used to process files
of wikipedia dump (a kind of backup of all contents of all pages in
the wiki), select a set of pages, compress and prepare so they can be
deployed locally on computers", said Odiard.
community Somos Azúcar will do the same with wikipedia pages
in Aymara and Guarani. This Projects would be aimed at users of the
highland areas of Peru and Bolivia in the first case, and Paraguay in
the second, where these languages are spoken, and where the
population has not full Internet access.
The most
important thing is that the project has no cost. "For every
wikipedia collaborate volunteers who speak the language and that we
are working, doing quality control and selecting relevant articles",
said Odiard.
initiative, the Mozilla community in Peru, seeks to turn the Quechua
language in one of the Firefox web browser, that is why the community
has invited to all Quechua speaker and who wish, to contribute in the
construction of the project.
SciDev.Net)Further details
The ICT
Ministry and the Ministry of Finance released the draft law Easy
Pay - Digital Pay, which seeks to bring transactional services to
the entire population and expanding demand over the Internet.
The Deputy
Minister for ICT, María Carolina Hoyos Turbay and Technical Deputy
Minister of Finance, Ana Fernanda Maiguashca, presented the draft law
'Easy Pay - Digital Pay' during the Third Congress of Access to
Financial Services, Payment Systems and Tools, organized by
Asobancaria in Cartagena (Colombia).
The project
serves a new digital payments business that will allow Colombians to
make their transactions safely, efficiently and at lower cost. It
also seeks financial inclusion of the population which develops
informal productive activities, and thus tending to the formalization
of the transactions in the economy.
idea is that people can do their financial transactions from their
phones, tablets and other mobile devices, to no longer waste time on
travel and rows. It is a great alternative for people who live in
rural or remote areas of banking areas", said Vice ICT.
Deputy Minister of Finance said that it is important a balance
between protection and access to electronic transactions, as this
project is part of the strategy that seeks that more Colombians are
Now there
are over one million users of mobile transaction, this thanks to the
coordination of different actors in the government and the private
sector, who in a joint, are driving the delivery of government
subsidies through electronic wallets.
mechanism has reduced prices incurred by the national government to
meet the basic needs of vulnerable sections of the country, and also
this social service is going to be provided in an efficient, quick
and transparent way.
banking has grown substantially in recent years. According to the
latest report of the Superintendency of Colombia, the channel used by
financial users in Colombia is the cell phone, with a 26% of
MINTIC Colombia)Further
© Copyright 2017, International Telecommunication Union
The information presented within this blog comes from various organizations around the world. ITU encourages users to seek more detailed information from the original source through the links provided.
Links to third-party websites are provided for the convenience of all users. The ITU is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content on these third-party websites. ITU does not offer any guarantee in that regard nor does ITU endorse the third-party organizations, their sites or content.


text:
By Bill Sheets Herald Writer
CAMANO ISLAND — Starting next year, the public will have a new place from which to enjoy the beauty of Port Susan.
Barnum Point, on the northeast side of Camano Island, was recently bought by Island County and the Nature Conservancy for about $2 million.
The 52-acre property contains woodlands and dramatic views across the bay to the southeast from a beach and a 150-foot bluff.
The Barnum family owned the property for generations, said Kat Morgan, who manages Port Susan projects for the Nature Conservancy.
The environmental group, which preserves natural areas by purchasing them, and the county worked together to obtain grants to buy the property from the family, Morgan said.
The county will maintain the park as a natural recreation area with trails and beach access, said Helen Price Johnson, a commissioner for Island County.
It probably won't be open this year, however, said Bill Oakes, the county public works director.
"There's no parking to speak of, and it's very rugged," he said.
The county hopes to open the park next year once the parking and a trail to the beach are established, Oakes said.
Morgan said much of the property has been left in a natural state. Slow erosion of the bluff helps to preserve salmon habitat in the bay, she said. Keeping the land as it is will allow that to continue.
"It's replenishing beaches for about three miles north of the site," she said. "This one site has a big impact on the ecological function of the shoreline."
Just north is Livingston Bay, where the Nature Conservancy recently bought 10 acres. A project there has created better tidal flow in a small lagoon, Morgan said. Last year, on the east side of the bay, the organization restored 150 acres of tideland that had been diked off for more than 50 years.
All told, the Nature Conservancy and Whidbey-Camano Land Trust have preserved more than 7,000 acres of tidelands in Port Susan since 2001, according to Robin Stanton, a spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy.
Port Susan is important to salmon because it's located at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River and between the Skagit and Snohomish rivers, Morgan said.
"The pocket estuaries are really important for all the salmon coming out of the big rivers," she said. "It's all connected."
As far as the park is concerned, "it's just going to be another real asset to Camano Island and the public and visitors," said Carol Triplett, president of Friends of Camano Island Parks.
"We're really pleased this has been acquired. It's a wonderful piece of land."
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Results 1 to 4 of 4
Thread: Feeding Bottles Side Effects
30th December 2012 01:11 AM #1
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 9
Feeding Bottles Side Effects
Do feeding bottles really causes kid's teeth decay faster than a child who's breastfed?
30th December 2012 04:12 AM #2
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
- Posts
- 1,936
How To Avoid Tooth Decay When Using Bottles
Using a feeding bottle does not cause tooth decay if used properly. There are a few things that contribute to tooth decay:
- If you allow the child to hold their own bottle without you holding the child. This gives the child the opportunity to fall asleep with the bottle or suck on it for longer periods of time, which means the milk will stay in contact with the teeth longer... which contributes to tooth decay.
- Putting milk or juice in the bottle and then putting the child down for a nap. Again, it's the milk in the bottle which is in contact with the teeth for longer than it would be if the child was suckling at the breast. At the breast, when the child stops sucking, the milk stops flowing, so you could sit on the couch for an hour, with child asleep on the breast, and you wouldn't have milk touching the teeth.
If you're going to put your child down with a bottle, then just have water in the bottle. This will not contribute to tooth decay.
If you're going to allow your child to hold his own bottle, then have him do it while he is in your arms, so that you can monitor how long the milk is in contact with his teeth.
And lastly, it will be beneficial to clean your child's teeth after every bottle (unless it's a "water" bottle).
Ultimately, breast if always best, but if not possible (and sometimes it's just not) then these tips will help avoid tooth decay.
Warm Regards,
30th December 2012 08:47 AM #3
- Join Date
- Dec 2011
- Posts
- 532
It is true that bottle feeding is more likely to lead to tooth decay, but Kate mentioned the primary reasons underlying this truth. One of the biggest mistakes many parents make with bottles that lead to tooth decay is letting the baby fall asleep with a bottle the same way they would fall asleep at the breast.
When babies sleep with a bottle in their mouth the milk has time to pool in their mouth and the sugar resting on their teeth can cause damage. Formula in particularly is very high in sugar. For this reason, it is best that bottle feeders avoid putting the baby down to rest with a bottle. If the bottle is an absolute necessity, the baby should be put down with a bottle of pure water. Additionally, juice and other sweet drinks should be served in a cup rather than a bottle.
30th December 2012 10:33 AM #4
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 9
Thanks Kate and Angela.
I'm originally blaming the feeding bottle itself. Without thinking of other factors that can contribute to tooth decay. And sometimes it's should have been me to blame.


text:
Compare SEAT Garages and Specialists in Bridgwater with Who Can Fix My Car.
Enter your registration to check prices and reviews, and get your SEAT booked in today!
Compare SEAT Garages and Specialists in Bridgwater with Who Can Fix My Car.
Delighted with the work done. P&P picked up my car from my house and it was repaired on the same day. Will use them in future.
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Prompt and efficient service. Showed fault and quoted repair which was reasonable. Completed on time.
Only took a couple of days to fix the problem and they arranged for the car to be picked up.
P&P Autos in Taunton quoted and undertook the work of replacing the fly wheel and clutch. They collected the car, completed the work and delivered the car back to me. The service was excellent and my car sounds alot better. I would have no hesitation in using them again, it was hassle free.
Good garage
Really good service
Top team, excellent service, work booked in promptly, completed on time, old parts kept to show me. Very happy and would use again.
Helston Garages was founded in 1960 by Mr & Mrs Carr Snr, as a filling station and repairs workshop located in the small Cornish town of the same name. In the beginning, the business dealt in and serviced Austin, MG, and Morris cars.
A period of expansion started when Helston was bought by the Carrs' son and daughter-in-law, Mr & Mrs Carr, in 1975. Helston's first acquisition was a Renault dealership in Taunton; in the years since, the story for Helston has been one of continuous but stable growth.
Today the group is one of the 25 largest in Britain, and its 37 franchise dealerships provide customers throughout Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset with high-quality new and used cars and vans from thirteen different manufacturers (as well as servicing facilities for three more brands). Helston Motor Group is very proud of its history and is determined to retain the principles of honest dealing, customer service and staff welfare that are responsible for its 51 years of success.
K and R Auto Services Ltd, located in Tauton, is an independent garage that has been servicing and repairing all makes of car and light commercials since 1985 using factory trained technicians with state of the art tooling; this allows K and R to offer fleet companies and private individuals a one stop shop centred around excellent service with affordable pricing.
During 2009 K & R relocated to their new site having outgrown the original premises (all be it a stones throw away), enabling them to expand their services into new and used car sales, bodyshop smart repairs, paint-less dent removal, interior trim repair on velour, leather, plastics, and fabric as well as a valet department and a bespoke parts department to name but a few.
The new fully automated M.O.T bay and service centre has been designed to cater for all manufactures cars and light commercials all are serviced to the manufacturers standards; some of our partners include major fleet companies such as Wessex Water, British Gas, the Highways Agency and the One link platform. All these groups recognise the need for quality repairs, reduced vehicle down time with guaranteed workmanship at a reasonable cost (cheapest is not always the best). K and R have won the coveted Fleet Garage of the year several times; a credit to their staff and all concerned.


text:
Review the details of creating a poster using PowerPoint, including size, color, text, illustrations, and printing options. Share tricks for adding pizazz to your poster.
November 18, 2009
Dana Main Conference Room
No need to register, just show up.
Questions? Contact the Reference Desk at 656-2201 or email@example.com.
BioX Poster Session by StanfordEdTech used under the Creative Commons License.


text:
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Lotto Pumas 2006-07 official copa libertadores shirt in gold.Features screened on sponsors in front and on the sleeves.Sublimated sponsors are also in front and back of the shirt.Tricolor Mexican flag is stitched on in front of the collar.100% polyester.
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Address: 1640 E. Washington Blvd.
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Phone: 1-800-945-7291
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text:
Hugh Jackman Gossip
Hugh Jackman gossip, latest news, photos, and video.
Hugh gets the most miles
JDH Imagez/ Splash
Check out Hugh Jackman on his scooter with his dog in New York yesterday. His wife and daughter were there too. And look, they're not freaking out and comparing being papped to being molested by a child toucher, Kristen Bell. Have you read that Rolling Stone feature on the paparazzi yet? Click here Full Story
Hugh & James are coming
Wasn't super excited about X-Men: Days Of Future Past until this morning. Because look at these great shots of Hugh Jackman and James McAvoy promoting the film in London today. They're both in leather jackets. Great. They're both hot, obviously. Great. But they're also our favourites – two of the nicest, kindest actors in the business, always gracious, always generous, always fun. Full Story
Katie's front row friends
Larry Busacca/ Getty
Katie Holmes calls herself a fashion designer too, even though she hasn't presented at NYFW for a few seasons. That might be the excuse though if asked why she doesn't support her friend Victoria Beckham at her shows. But she did sit front row at Donna Karan's 30th anniversary last night soooooo… Posh and Katie totally broke up. Full Story
Not even Hugh?
I mean, it doesn't get better than Hugh Jackman. He's so nice, he's so funny, he's talented, he's gorgeous. But can he pull off a terrible, terrible haircut? Hugh is working on a new movie with Neill Blomkamp and he posted this photo of his new hair on Instagram Full Story
Trick-or-treat it's Hugh Jackman
Jackson Lee/ Splash
I was thinking yesterday about Celebrity Halloween. Halloween has been taken over by Celebrity, don't you think? Celebrities are our costumes. And the costumes worn by celebrities are the news. Is there a hierarchy then for Celebrity Halloween? Let's say Tori Spelling and KFed Jr show up with all their kids at the same time that Brange shows up + 6. Full Story
Jennifer and Nicholas go to The Butler
Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult attended the X-Men wrap party together in Montreal – click here for a refresher. On Sunday night Hugh Jackman apparently set up a private screening for all of them to see The Butler which was the #1 movie of the weekend. Full Story
Hugh Jackman isn't Bruce Willis
Wenn, Splash
You know that already. But it's a good time to point it out, again, because for those of you who would argue that it's not Bruce Willis's fault, and not the celebrity's fault, well…how come Hugh Jackman isn't an asshole? I know you think reporters are stupid and ask stupid questions. Full Story
Cranston and Jackman
Wenn, Russ Einhorn/ Splash, Michael Buckner/ ROBYN BECK/ Getty
Two decent men. Two wonderful actors. I thought it'd be a nice way to end another day of bad news. Here's Hugh Jackman in London at the premiere The Wolverine. He's awesome and generous and great at his job, all aspects of it, as usual. And here's Bryan Cranston getting his star on the Walk of Fame, supported by his Breaking Bad costars Aaron Paul, who looks happier for Cranston than he would for himself, Anna Gunn, R. Full Story
Jackman + Jakey
247PapsTV/ Splash
The trailer for Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, was released yesterday. Hugh's daughter goes missing. He's in a rage trying to find her. Jakey's the cop on the case. Paul Dano's the creep who probably isn't the creep since they're making him look like the creep in the preview. Full Story
Totally forgot about The Wolverine
When Lainey asked if I wanted to write about The Wolverine's new trailer, I had a moment of, "What is she talking about…?" and then I remembered Hugh Jackman's new movie, due in July. But I forgot about it. I even wrote about the first Full Story
Hugh Jackman's passion
Is playing Wolverine. No seriously. It is. It's his life's work. And you know what? He's really, really good at it. Jackman has been, even through the awfulness of X-Men 3 and the unspeakable horror of Wolverine: Origins, the perfect Wolverine. But the material was definitely going sideways on him. Full Story


text:
By 2020 every new home will meet much higher performance standards, delivering outstanding comfort, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency, and value. Homes will become more sophisticated in how they are designed, engineered, produced, tested, sold, and serviced—and more like other advanced products in our lives, such as our iPhones and our cars. Building science will be at the heart of the equation, understood and embraced by everyone in the home building industry.
As a kid growing up in Wales, I dreamed of being an architect. I went to college to study product design, focusing on cars, so it's no surprise that I still look at every home in the context of a car—design, performance, controls, and comfort.
When I moved to the United States in 1986 to direct GE's Living Environments program, which focused on building homes using new materials and technologies, I was full of ambitious plans to change the housing industry. Even then, I saw the outlines of what's become the foundation of our work at IBACOS: whole-house integration. It's not just about technology. We're focusing on building systems and business processes, with the eventual goal of making net-zero homes viable on a production builder scale.
What I didn't predict was how long it would take for the home building industry to start filling in those outlines. Over the last 26 years, I've learned that this industry isn't so quick to embrace innovation—or the collaboration that's required to achieve it. Back in 2007, IBACOS founded the Best Practices Research Alliance (www.theresearchalliance.org) to bring together production home builders, business and quality management experts, and leading suppliers to address industry challenges. But the fallout from the housing crisis has focused us even more sharply on the need for collaboration and change.
Home buyers have changed, too. In the wake of the housing crash, there aren't as many of them, they have less buying power, and they have different expectations and needs than they did just a few years ago. Home buyers want homes that are economical to buy, as well as healthy, comfortable, and "familiar."
Some will argue that high performance needs to be accompanied by avant-garde design, saying that home buyers want their homes to look completely unique. While that's true of some buyers, many find comfort in tradition and don't want to live in or next to a home that's too far from the norm. They also want them to be economical to own, which means they should be energy efficient, water saving, more durable, and low maintenance.
But there is good news, because the industry has made real progress over the last few years, both in terms of building science and in terms of business processes. We have the ability, right now, to deliver the kind of homes buyers are looking for, but only if we address some of the challenges along the way.
Technological Challenges and Potential Solutions
Advancements in materials, products, and applications have made virtually airtight homes possible. For example, in our own Alliance Energy Efficiency Lab Home outside of Pittsburgh, we achieved a 0.54 ACH50 leakage rate, or less than the leakage allowed through an opening the size of a 3-by-3-inch Post-it note.
But as building envelopes have dramatically improved, the environment inside of them hasn't. Improving indoor air quality and dealing with moisture—both in the air and its possible buildup in walls—has become the next big challenge for building systems research.
At the same time, the quality of that air has declined. In homes without adequate ventilation, both biological contaminants (molds, pollen, pet dander, etc.) and chemical contaminants (carbon monoxide, car exhaust, VOCs, formaldehyde, etc.) can be present in much greater concentrations than in outdoor air.
Moisture buildup in walls can be another unintended consequence of a tight house. It can cause rot and structural damage, and provide a breeding ground for mold, further polluting indoor air and affecting homeowners' health.
To address these challenges, it's important that we understand what's coming, and, since we've been focused on the future of the building industry for almost 25 years, we have a good idea what the future home building industry will look like.