Vacuum - Edward Vielmetti in Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Pot-in-pot system for evaporative cooling of foods

Via the Uplift Network:

Prof Abba created a pot-in-pot system to keep perishable items cool in desert climates, though obviously important for people without electricity as well, through the use of two pots, one inside the other, and the space in between filled with wet sand. He won the Rolex Award, and has distributed more than 91,000 of these to people in Nigeria. Here is an excellent example of selfless entrepreneurism.

A California State Science Fair study in the San Diego area by Garrett Rueda showed up to a 23 degree F cooling effect by this system. There's a story about it in the 2001 January "Popular Science".

Technorati Tags: innovation

Rwanda

My good friend Rob Pasick is going there to teach for a little bit, and I'm trying to get some handle on what I can tell him before he goes that's useful. His notes on the planned trip to Rwanda are here.

UPDATE 9/22/2006: Rob's wife Carino's Rwanda travel blog.

UPDATE 8/28/2006:

There's press coverage from the Detroit Free Press (UM's Davidson Institute Offers Hope to Ravaged Rwanda)

To that end, Kagame's government has signed a 5-year contract with the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan to provide leadership training to high-level ministers and department heads, plus help Rwanda create a Western-style collegiate business school in which Rwandan faculty can do most of the teaching.

and from Kigali's The New Times via allAfrica.com:

Ministers and Secretary Generals are to undergo training in a bid to build internal administration capacity and improve smooth management, the Minister of Public Service and Labour, has said.

Prof. Manasseh Nshuti told The New Times in an exclusive interview at his offices in Kacyiru on August 1, that the training to be conducted in September at RIAM (Rwandan Institute of Administration and Management), would equip the Ministers and Secretary Generals with the necessary management and governance skills. "Lack of training is a cancer that threatens the national fabric and hampers service delivery of countries," Nshuti observed.

He added: "We have decided to organise these trainings within the country because taking Ministers outside would be costly. All of us shall undergo training to improve on what we already have."

Anyone with direct information please let me know. Here's a few recent blog entries that I can see:

Installing Wireless Internet in Rwanda - from NextBillion.Net - on entrepreneur Greg Whyler's efforts to vitalize RwandaTel and invest in it through his Terracom communications company. He's bringing service to the country at $60/mo - much less than the previous operator, which charged thousands - but widespread access is expected to be limited by average annual incomes of as little as $200. There was a story in the Wall St Journal (sorry, no link).

Terracom has a Favorite Links page with Rwandan sites.

Business Daily is Rwanda's "pioneer online daily".

Rwanda-Link is Rwanda's "No. 1 Directory on the Internet".

Rwanda: Les aventures du Civiliste Guillaume is a weblog from an expat in Rwanda, in French. Links in that site's blogroll include Les Aventures de Ben et Ignace au Rwanda (in French), Rwandom (in French), Expat-Blog (directory of blogs by expats, in French, Spanish, and English), and Kirstivik (mostly photoblog, in Norwegian).

Butare Theological College (FTPB) is a Protestant seminary.

With student enrollment currently at eighty, the college has plans for continued expansion. It has recently constructed a large multipurpose building and is currently expanding its teacher housing. In additions to its program in theology, there are long-term plans to develop programs in education and development. Its most immediate needs are a greater number of permanent professors and a fund from which it can make regular purchases of books for its library. Since 1970 the Faculté has been the only Protestant seminary in the country, a beacon of unity and hope for all Rwandans.

Some reports on the cybercafe situation in Rwanda:

Details of local accomodations from the IP Symposium Kigali in 2003 (from the ITU): "a cybercafe will be made available for delegates". Lists local hotels.

The Rwanda Project at the University of Maryland.

Technorati Tags: africa, rwanda

CIDC 2006: Community Informatics in Developing Countries

CIDC 2006 Community Informatics for Developing Countries
The Information Society Institute, Cape Town, South Africa
31 Aug - 2 Sep 2006

Community Informatics concerns the social
appropriation of information and communications technologies.

The practice of Community Informatics has been evident in one form
or another for many years, but the delivery of real benefits to
communities is still elusive. A number of factors mitigate against
easy success, including the necessary involvement of many
stakeholders, the problems of establishing a real understanding of
community needs, and a tendency for interventions to be driven
exclusively by funders.

The conference is designed for researchers, policymakers, community
leaders, ICT project leaders, government officials and regional
community development groups who have interests, skills and
experience in Community Informatics for developing countries.

Topics are open within the general area of Community Informatics for
Developing Countries, but include

- the emergence of the Information Society and its impact on
communities,
- shared Knowledge between and within communities,
- the determination of community needs,
- planning for communities by communities,
- effective community participation in community-based projects
- evaluation of community-based projects,
- community empowerment,
- the impact of ICT on community 'belonging',
- failure of traditional top-down approach to community projects,
- mother language education as a platform for community identity,
- stakeholder interaction in community interventions
- government as a network partner of communities,
- e-service delivery

Security and software for cybercafes: call for chapters

as seen on ciresearchers:

CALL FOR CHAPTERS
Proposals Submission Deadline: 10/1/2006
Full Chapters Due: 1/31/2007

Security and Software for Cybercafes
A book edited by Dr. Esharenana E. Adomi, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

Introduction
Cybercafes, which are places where Internet access is provided for a fee, provide the opportunity for people without access to the Internet, or who are traveling, to access web mail and instant messages, read newspapers and explore other resources of the Net. Due to the important role Internet cafes play in facilitating access to information, there is a need for their systems to have well-installed software in order to ensure smooth service delivery. A good understanding of security measures and software requirements is a sine qua non for efficient management of cybercafes.

The Overall Objective of the Book
In the field of information science, technology and management, there is dire need for an edited collection of articles in this area. The intent of the book is to provide relevant theoretical frameworks and current empirical research findings in the area. The book will be aimed toward professionals, scholars, researchers and teachers of information technology who want to improve their knowledge and understanding of security management and software requirements of cybercafes, both in industrialized and developing countries.

The Target Audience
The audience of the book will consist of professionals, scholars and researchers working in the field of information science, education, technology and management, as well as related disciplines. The text is also intended for all library and information sciences users. The book will particularly provide those working in cybercafes/cybercafe operators with insight into how to control the risks related to cybercafe networks.

Recommended topics includes, but are not limited to, the following:
# Cybercafe systems security
# Viruses and virus protection in cybercafes
# Network security devices
# Software requirements
# Cybercafe management software
# Information and security policies
# Cyber laws and cybercafes
# Government control of cybercafes
# Research in cybercafe security and software
# Cybercafes cybercrime, detection and prevention
# Case study on any of the topics

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Researchers and professionals are invited to submit on or before October 1, 2006 a 2-5 page manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by November 1, 2006 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by January 31, 2007. All submitted chapters, will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by Idea Group, Inc., www.idea-group.com, publisher of the Idea Group Publishing, Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing and Idea Group Reference imprints.

Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to:

Dr. Esharenana E. Adomi
Department of Library and Information Science
Delta State University
Abraka, Nigeria
Tel: +234 802 (0) 842 9087
E-mail: esharenana.adomi@gmail.com

(add this to the "information security" category)

Technorati Tags: cybercafe, infosec