Personal Computer or PC turned 25 on August 12. May 2007 will be my 20th aniversary of using PC. This story of CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/biztech/08/11/ibmpcanniversary) may take many of us to “those” days.
Media use patterns are shifting in developed markets. Will similar things happen in emerging markets?Excerpt from BBC story on OFCOM study. It is noteworthy that the regulator is studying time use. This would not have happened if not for the introduction of converged regulation in the UK.
Bridging the digital divide is important. It may not be as important as ensuring safe water for all, or adequate healthcare, in terms of meriting investment of scarce public resources, but it is definitely important enough to merit concerted action to remove the artificial barriers to private supply. One of the best ways this can be done is by improving the knowledge that is brought to bear on the process. The optimal way to achieve this is to create an environment within which international best practices are adapted to local circumstances by in-situ policy intellectuals. Some of these local experts could be in regulatory agencies and in government; but the optimal results will be achieved through participatory processes where all stakeholders, including the consumers are represented by knowledgeable experts.
Iraq is an Asian country. While LIRNEasia is unable at this time to work in Iraq, our hearts are with the people of Iraq as they use ICTs to cope with the crazy murderousness of their world. A excerpt from today’s New York Times story: “Your call cannot be completed,” it says, “because the subscriber has been bombed or kidnapped.” Cellphones have long been considered status symbols in developing countries, Iraq included. But in an environment where hanging out is potentially life threatening, cellphones are also a window into dreams and terrors, the macabre local sense of humor and Iraqis’ resilience amid the swells of violence.
LIRNEasia was invited to a meeting by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaveli Development to discuss dam safety, based on the concept paper we developed last year in collaboration with a large number of partners. Work is underway to develop a project for World Bank funding that includes dam safety and the upgrading of hydrological and metereological information systems connected to the Sri Lanka’s water resources. The World Bank task managers present emphasized that the project development as well as its implementation must be done in adherence to the principles of consultation, participation, ownership of the project by all parties, and transparency. LIRNEasia was the only non-governmental entity at the meeting that had 30-40 attendees. In my comments, I expressed our appreciation of the invitation and offered to share our expertise in the handling of public consultation projects and community involvement in last-mile disaster warning.
A journalist report on Google\’s mesh network that is now operational in Mountain View, CA: \”In the first week in August I drove down to Mountain View on a sweltering afternoon looking to test out the promise of free or cheap phone calls and ubiquitous internet access over a city-wide wi-fi network. Thanks to Google, the city has been blanketed by wi-fi, which will soon allow its residents to connect to the wireless internet all over the city for free. Using a technology called mesh, Google has placed hundreds of wi-fi nodes on lamp posts around the city that can connect your laptop or handheld device to the internet. For a town that gets the service, it\’s like living in a giant wi-fi hotspot.\” Full story
By Frank Ling Washington 03 August 2006 Scientists expect more deadly earthquakes and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. Countries in the region are making progress towards a regional warning and alert center. Wolf says that relaying the warning from central governments to their people remains a major challenge. “The technical side is quite easy to install because this is just technology we know,” he explained. “Once the warning shows up in the national warning system in a country, the difficult part is for a country to set up an internal civil defense system to get the warnings to the endangered areas and to the last mile.
Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics will be conducting a household computer literacy survey in October 2006. The questionnaire for the survey has been posted on their website for comments. Comments have been requested by August 14, 2006. The document can be found HERE The documents includes instructions on how to send comments.
Arab Mobile Phone Subscriptions Jump 70% in 2005 Source: www.cellular-news.com/story/18589.php The number of mobile phone subscriptions in the Arab world has grown by a whopping 70 percent in 2005, underlining a strong consumer demand coupled by increased liberalization and competition in Arab telecom markets, according to a recently published Madar Research study. The study also reveals that Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have achieved mobile phone penetration levels among their population that are comparable with those prevalent in Europe and Pacific Rim countries.
Later this year, T-Mobile plans to test a service that will allow its subscribers to switch seamlessly between connections to cellular towers and Wi-Fi hotspots, including those in homes and the more than 7,000 it controls in Starbucks outlets, airports and other locations, according to analysts with knowledge of the plans. The company hopes that moving mobile phone traffic off its network will allow it to offer cheaper service and steal customers from cell competitors and landline phone companies like AT&T. “T-Mobile is interested in the replacement or displacement of landline minutes,” said Mark Bolger, director of marketing for T-Mobile. Wi-Fi calling “is one of the technologies that will help us deliver on that promise.” Major phone manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung and Motorola are offering or plan to introduce phones designed for use on both traditional cell and Wi-Fi networks.
Often a response is a result of a stimulus. Evacuation drills are stimulus-response models; the drill is activated by a siren and the people are expected to react by hurrying to safety zones, in most cases defined by the community’s response plan; i.e. activating an existing emergency response plan.Social Cognition is encoding, storing, and retrieving social information and applying the cognition to social situations.
A excerpt from my analysis of the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act in Lanka Business Online: Will we be ready the next time? The sad answer is no. The government has enacted framework legislation that falls short not only on basic criteria such as effective operation of a disaster authority, sustainable and stable funding and accountability, but even on clarity of drafting. No attempt has been made in the design to insulate the authority from the weaknesses of existing government institutions, though the Act does succeed in insulating the authority from public funds. The Road Map, reflecting an admirable commitment to action, is an excellent starting point for mapping priorities and achieving results.
The report presents a summary of the comments and observations made in the presentations and panel discussions on the 7 sessions of the Forum: Using ICTs for Effective Disaster Management. The Forum is an output of the CTO regional capacity building programs. The comments and observations made in this report are based on the outline of the Forum’s program, CTO suggested disaster management matrix, from observations made, and conversations with stakeholders at a Forum held at the Heritance Hotel in Ahungalla, Sri Lanka, 26-29 June 2006. The intent of this report is to identify issues for further consideration regarding the social scientific methodology of using ICTs in Disaster Management and to provide a set of notes that mention the various core activities of the participating stakeholders. View copy of report — CTO Report Using ICT for DM June 2006.
The Sri Lanka Disaster Minister is quoted by the Sunday Times (23 July 2006, p. 2) as stating that “In the wake of last week’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Indonesia, the country was fully prepared within 23 minutes as an early warning reached the Met Department.” According to the 17 July timeline.ppt, the PTWC and the Japanese Center issued the first bulletin within 17 minutes of the earthquake. The Minister indicates that the entire country was fully prepared within 6 minutes of receiving that bulletin.
New Straits Times – Malaysia News Online Unlike other natural calamities, the worst effects of the tsunami are now mostly avoidable. So following the catastrophe, countries around the ocean’s rim, helped by the United Nations and other partners, went about putting an early warning system into place. None of the fancy equipment and good intentions made a difference last Monday when a 7.7-magnitude undersea quake south of Java triggered a tsunami that smashed into 200 kilometres of coastline around Pangandaran. What ensued was a scaled-down reprise of December 2004: communities caught by surprise, the death toll mounting as bodies are uncovered and, most regretfully, alarm bells lost in transmission.
Nandan Jayasinghe — We will start the event by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Next is a 2 minute meditation. Nuwan Waidyanatha — Welcome all partners including, Dr. Gordon Gow (University of Alberta), Dr. Dileeka Dias (Director Dialog Communication Research Lab), Prof Rohan Samarajiva (Director LIRNEasia), Mr.