Last weekend I went to my local library and got a library card. The awesomeness of this experience was compounded by the fact that I was able to bring my dog otto into the Library. Why the library? My apartment is overflowing with books. This is generally a wonderful thing. Last week after finishing 'Betraying Spinoza' - I went to my personal library and pulled out all my Spinoza books - and some random books by jewish philosophers like 'The Star of Redemption' by Rosenzweig. However there are a few books that might have best been checked out and then RETURNED to the library - such as "The Ultimate Journey", an NYTimes book reviewer's personal memoir on travelling the same path as the Monk in the Chinese classic 'Journey to the West'. Journey to the West is fantastic - The Ultimate Journey not so much. There are also the impulse hardcover fiction purchases that I almost always regret - and regret paying too much for. Also, I hear you can check out DVDs and CDs from the library - and that is very exciting.
The day I went to the Library was also the day that I spent some time playing with Paul's (see 13Bit) iPad - a device that will probably replace the book and I started meditating on what this will mean to a place like my neighborhood library.
I live in chinatown. A few generations ago, when my grandfather was a boy, it was a jewish neighborhood, and during my childhood it was mostly dominican. The thread that runs through all these changes, is that it is an immigrant neighborhood and the little kids probably know english better than their parents.
At the library, there were a bunch of little kids running around, checking out books, checking out DVDs, learning - all for free. What will happen in 10 years when all this 'media' is consumed on a $500 iPad?
This got me
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
India Venture & Tech Resource
My new venture in India is spurring me to keep abreast of new tech developments- this post, dear reader, is to remind me what i need to keep in mind
After making this list I have learned this - use BigTable - what whatever else google uses (GFS, Map/Reduce)
Data storage
Mongo db
Big Data from OReilly
Hibernate - Java again
Big Table - google
Languages/Framworks:
Cappuccino/Objective-J Build desktop apps in AJAX -I am not into web AJAX - it does not work well in low bandwidth situations.
Gittr - good ruby blog
Monk
F# - Nice F# Blog (I love F# and started using it 2 years at MS - if only it was interpreted)
good programming blog
Jquery
Jquery
Phone Gap
Fluid db
Sprout Core
Merb
Will I really use erlang?
Sinatra
Camping
Lambda the ultimate - it has been too long
ORMs
Sequel (ruby)
DataMapper (ruby)
The grid:
Hadoop
EC2
After making this list I have learned this - use BigTable - what whatever else google uses (GFS, Map/Reduce)
Data storage
Mongo db
Big Data from OReilly
Hibernate - Java again
Big Table - google
Languages/Framworks:
Cappuccino/Objective-J Build desktop apps in AJAX -I am not into web AJAX - it does not work well in low bandwidth situations.
Gittr - good ruby blog
Monk
F# - Nice F# Blog (I love F# and started using it 2 years at MS - if only it was interpreted)
good programming blog
Jquery
Jquery
Phone Gap
Fluid db
Sprout Core
Merb
Will I really use erlang?
Sinatra
Camping
Lambda the ultimate - it has been too long
ORMs
Sequel (ruby)
DataMapper (ruby)
The grid:
Hadoop
EC2
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Back in the Office
Yesterday was my final trip in the field.
The RapidSMS Malnutrition project was originally deployed in 3 health centers in 3 different districts. Now we are scaling up to add 4 other health centers in these 3 districts. I went to the pilot health centers to collect feedback on the existing system, and also to collect feedback on some changes that I plan on implementing.
On change I am making is associating every report with a health worker and a health center. Originally, tracking was done by the number that send the malnutrition report, but workers share numbers and numbers change, so I thought we should just explicitly send the health worker number.
The health workers thought that was a great idea, because it would be easier for them to get credit for the work they were doing. Before, you could do this by looking up the phone number, but this is sort of a usibility issue. By explicitly sending their HSA id number,the health workers will feel a more personal connection with the system.
Another change I am making is something called a short id. So every health center has about 30 health workers. If we numbered health workers squentially on a national level we will easily hit 3 digits - and this would complicate sending messages. So what I did was create a key based on a short id (1-30) and the health center number. This is linked to a longer nationwide id number, but health workers can keep simplier numbering system in their centers. I also implemented the same change for patients.
One of the most interesting things about this process, is that it is not just a technological issue. The 3 health centers I visited varied widely on patient drop out rate and data quality. For example,the health center in Kasungu had a large drop out rate. Care givers just would not bring their children in, and health workers would not follow up.
In Dedza, however, only 8 children missed measurements, and only 1 child dropped out of the program - because he moved. The reason for the success was that they partnered with the local head man in the community. If a care giver missed a measurement session, the head man followed up.
In Salima, the success rate was also high, not as high as Dedza though. In Selima, health workers would go into the field if a care giver missed a measurement session.
All three locations stressed the importants of explaining to the caregivers and perhaps the head man - the goal of the malnutrition survelliance project.
In Salima and Dedza, the health workers overwhelmingly in praised the rapidSMS system for reducing child malnutrition. In Kasungu, the reports were not as positive. The success of the project lies not in the technology but the processes surrounding the use of technology.
The 13Bit Labs is going to spin off a humanitarian technology company. Our implementations will be holistic solutions integrating technology, with process and people management, and education. Too often technology is seen as the solution, but the solution is really a process enabled by technology. It is these other less 'rational' and perhaps less tangible aspects that make a system successful.
I am thinking of Ellul's The Technological Society. We should not reduce everything to a optimized process, where human beings are treated as interchangable commodities and completely compartmentalize in their execution of one particular task. However, we should put systems in place that allow projects to succeed - and to ignore this is to doom projects to failure.
Obsessivly reading Martin Meredith's the Fate of Africa
The RapidSMS Malnutrition project was originally deployed in 3 health centers in 3 different districts. Now we are scaling up to add 4 other health centers in these 3 districts. I went to the pilot health centers to collect feedback on the existing system, and also to collect feedback on some changes that I plan on implementing.
On change I am making is associating every report with a health worker and a health center. Originally, tracking was done by the number that send the malnutrition report, but workers share numbers and numbers change, so I thought we should just explicitly send the health worker number.
The health workers thought that was a great idea, because it would be easier for them to get credit for the work they were doing. Before, you could do this by looking up the phone number, but this is sort of a usibility issue. By explicitly sending their HSA id number,the health workers will feel a more personal connection with the system.
Another change I am making is something called a short id. So every health center has about 30 health workers. If we numbered health workers squentially on a national level we will easily hit 3 digits - and this would complicate sending messages. So what I did was create a key based on a short id (1-30) and the health center number. This is linked to a longer nationwide id number, but health workers can keep simplier numbering system in their centers. I also implemented the same change for patients.
One of the most interesting things about this process, is that it is not just a technological issue. The 3 health centers I visited varied widely on patient drop out rate and data quality. For example,the health center in Kasungu had a large drop out rate. Care givers just would not bring their children in, and health workers would not follow up.
In Dedza, however, only 8 children missed measurements, and only 1 child dropped out of the program - because he moved. The reason for the success was that they partnered with the local head man in the community. If a care giver missed a measurement session, the head man followed up.
In Salima, the success rate was also high, not as high as Dedza though. In Selima, health workers would go into the field if a care giver missed a measurement session.
All three locations stressed the importants of explaining to the caregivers and perhaps the head man - the goal of the malnutrition survelliance project.
In Salima and Dedza, the health workers overwhelmingly in praised the rapidSMS system for reducing child malnutrition. In Kasungu, the reports were not as positive. The success of the project lies not in the technology but the processes surrounding the use of technology.
The 13Bit Labs is going to spin off a humanitarian technology company. Our implementations will be holistic solutions integrating technology, with process and people management, and education. Too often technology is seen as the solution, but the solution is really a process enabled by technology. It is these other less 'rational' and perhaps less tangible aspects that make a system successful.
I am thinking of Ellul's The Technological Society. We should not reduce everything to a optimized process, where human beings are treated as interchangable commodities and completely compartmentalize in their execution of one particular task. However, we should put systems in place that allow projects to succeed - and to ignore this is to doom projects to failure.
Obsessivly reading Martin Meredith's the Fate of Africa
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What are you doing in Malawi
People ask - so what are you working on...
This is my first public policy/public heath type project and I dont have the jargon down - jargon being the signifier of intelligence and competance in our post-modern/post-structuralist/late-capitalist society.
My Project
I on a contract for UNICEF & an NGO of recent Columbia SIPA grads.
My Mission
Expand a pilot malnutrition surveillance project to eventual country wide deployment.
(This has recently been merged with a Mother/Newborn HIV/AIDS project - but that is for another post)
The History
The Malawi Ministry of Health collects data samples (ie surveys) of children's health indicators (mid upper arm circumference - muac, height/weight %). Based on these data samples the Ministry of Health and UNICEF monitor trends and deploys aid
through the country.
The Problem
The system was paper based. There was difficulty in collecting the data, getting the data back to headquarters, and entering the data into the system. At every level data was lost and corrupted.
The system had a 2 month lag. That means if a child is mildly malnurished in January, by March when she is processed in the system - she might be extremely malnurished.
The Solution
The NGO/Columbia SIPA students had a brilliant insight - move the data collection and processing online. In Africa, as in many countries, there is little internet penetration, however there is wide cellphone penetration.
The solution was to move this data collection to an text-messaging - ie SMS system. They partnered with UNICEF in NYC to program this based on RapidSMS (an open source python/Django framework pioneered by developers at UNICEF).
Moving from a paper based system to an SMS/technology solution is a fantastic advancemen.
Now UNICEF & MoH can monitor health crisis in real-time and deploy aid to greater effect.
Data collection and data quality is much better because the SMS system can send realtime feedback to the field workers (data collectors).
[Ohh I should write a novel - the data collector]
The actual work
In May, a pilot of this system was released for 3 health offices in May (there are 500 health office in Malawi). The head of the Malawi UNICEF Nutrition - Stanley (who is fantastic/helpful/visionary) wants to expand this to 15.
I'm here to upgrade the RapidSMS system, do some custom programming, hire 2 local programmers to continue the work when I leave, and to go into the field to train local health workers in using the RapidSMS system.
The Analysis
This whole project is based around statistics. From an academic,epidemiological perspective, the data is incredibly important to better understand the tradjectories of certain diseases. (e.g., are certain areas more prone to certain health issues, what sorts of measurements correlate to various diseases)
Statistics figures into this twice: first in the sampling of the data, and second in the determining of norms (we need norms in order to figure out who is deviating - who is sick)
But really do we need sampling? (You may want to stop reading now, insane rambling ahead)
We have the ability to collect and process massive amounts of data - why do we need to take a sample? Why can't we monitor every single child and deploy aid on an individual basis?
The bottleneck for processing data for EVERY child is data collection. It would be a massive undertaking to collect all this data for every child in Malawi. However if we had intelligent measuring devices that communicated their data via SMS back to the central system - we would solve much of the data collection issue. The final problem is how do we identify an individual child? (duh the chip implanted in their brain). I am thinking perhaps thumb print. This is very big brother and maybe statistical sampling prevents us from this sort of biopolitical control. (I am now having flashes of Agamben Homer Sacer and Bare Life). However I think if this data were open / open source - (and individuals were kept anonymous) - then perhaps you could avoid the sort of totalitarian techno-fascist control that is inevitable with this sort of solution... Should you even keep people anonymous? who are you protecting if you are protecting the identity of a malnourished child or a child with malaria? If all this data is open, perhaps illness based discrimination will end. (That is a radical and scary thought and I dont want to volunteer for the pilot :)
I think this is the ultimate end of technology/health/society - and we should direct it rather than hide our heads in the sand and wait for the government or business or some closed entity to control this information.
We are doing the next 13Bit documentary on water, the geopolitics of water,water and power, maybe we'll add something on the biopolitics of water - or water aid.
(I will be uploading pictures - once I get a non-unicef internet connection - hopefully tonight. I am starting to crave meat - how much longer will my pescatarianism hold out)
This is my first public policy/public heath type project and I dont have the jargon down - jargon being the signifier of intelligence and competance in our post-modern/post-structuralist/late-capitalist society.
My Project
I on a contract for UNICEF & an NGO of recent Columbia SIPA grads.
My Mission
Expand a pilot malnutrition surveillance project to eventual country wide deployment.
(This has recently been merged with a Mother/Newborn HIV/AIDS project - but that is for another post)
The History
The Malawi Ministry of Health collects data samples (ie surveys) of children's health indicators (mid upper arm circumference - muac, height/weight %). Based on these data samples the Ministry of Health and UNICEF monitor trends and deploys aid
through the country.
The Problem
The system was paper based. There was difficulty in collecting the data, getting the data back to headquarters, and entering the data into the system. At every level data was lost and corrupted.
The system had a 2 month lag. That means if a child is mildly malnurished in January, by March when she is processed in the system - she might be extremely malnurished.
The Solution
The NGO/Columbia SIPA students had a brilliant insight - move the data collection and processing online. In Africa, as in many countries, there is little internet penetration, however there is wide cellphone penetration.
The solution was to move this data collection to an text-messaging - ie SMS system. They partnered with UNICEF in NYC to program this based on RapidSMS (an open source python/Django framework pioneered by developers at UNICEF).
Moving from a paper based system to an SMS/technology solution is a fantastic advancemen.
Now UNICEF & MoH can monitor health crisis in real-time and deploy aid to greater effect.
Data collection and data quality is much better because the SMS system can send realtime feedback to the field workers (data collectors).
[Ohh I should write a novel - the data collector]
The actual work
In May, a pilot of this system was released for 3 health offices in May (there are 500 health office in Malawi). The head of the Malawi UNICEF Nutrition - Stanley (who is fantastic/helpful/visionary) wants to expand this to 15.
I'm here to upgrade the RapidSMS system, do some custom programming, hire 2 local programmers to continue the work when I leave, and to go into the field to train local health workers in using the RapidSMS system.
The Analysis
This whole project is based around statistics. From an academic,epidemiological perspective, the data is incredibly important to better understand the tradjectories of certain diseases. (e.g., are certain areas more prone to certain health issues, what sorts of measurements correlate to various diseases)
Statistics figures into this twice: first in the sampling of the data, and second in the determining of norms (we need norms in order to figure out who is deviating - who is sick)
But really do we need sampling? (You may want to stop reading now, insane rambling ahead)
We have the ability to collect and process massive amounts of data - why do we need to take a sample? Why can't we monitor every single child and deploy aid on an individual basis?
The bottleneck for processing data for EVERY child is data collection. It would be a massive undertaking to collect all this data for every child in Malawi. However if we had intelligent measuring devices that communicated their data via SMS back to the central system - we would solve much of the data collection issue. The final problem is how do we identify an individual child? (duh the chip implanted in their brain). I am thinking perhaps thumb print. This is very big brother and maybe statistical sampling prevents us from this sort of biopolitical control. (I am now having flashes of Agamben Homer Sacer and Bare Life). However I think if this data were open / open source - (and individuals were kept anonymous) - then perhaps you could avoid the sort of totalitarian techno-fascist control that is inevitable with this sort of solution... Should you even keep people anonymous? who are you protecting if you are protecting the identity of a malnourished child or a child with malaria? If all this data is open, perhaps illness based discrimination will end. (That is a radical and scary thought and I dont want to volunteer for the pilot :)
I think this is the ultimate end of technology/health/society - and we should direct it rather than hide our heads in the sand and wait for the government or business or some closed entity to control this information.
We are doing the next 13Bit documentary on water, the geopolitics of water,water and power, maybe we'll add something on the biopolitics of water - or water aid.
(I will be uploading pictures - once I get a non-unicef internet connection - hopefully tonight. I am starting to crave meat - how much longer will my pescatarianism hold out)
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