The VEX-93 environment as a hybrid tool for developing knowledge systems with different problem solving techniques

The paper describes VEX-93 as a hybrid environment for developing knowledge-based and problem solver systems. It integrates methods and techniques from artificial intelligence, image and signal processing and data analysis, which can be mixed. Two hierarchical levels of reasoning contains an intelligent toolbox with one upper strategic inference engine and four lower ones containing specific reasoning models: truth-functional (rule-based), probabilistic (causal networks), fuzzy (rule-based) and case-based (frames). There are image/signal processing-analysis capabilities in the form of programming languages with more than one hundred primitive functions. User-made programs are embeddable within knowledge basis, allowing the combination of perception and reasoning. The data analyzer toolbox contains a collection of numerical classification, pattern recognition and ordination methods, with neural network tools and a data base query language at inference engines's disposal. VEX-93 is an open system able to communicate with external computer programs relevant to a particular application. Metaknowledge can be used for elaborate conclusions, and man-machine interaction includes, besides windows and graphical interfaces, acceptance of voice commands and production of speech output. The system was conceived for real-world applications in general domains, but an example of a concrete medical diagnostic support system at present under completion as a cuban-spanish project is mentioned. Present version of VEX-93 is a huge system composed by about one and half millions of lines of C code and runs in microcomputers under Windows 3.1.Postprint (published version

Tanzania: Data Strategy And Capacity Building

Tanzania has seen significant improvements to its national development data infrastructure in recent years. In February 2016 the country adopted an Open Data Policy aimed at increasing access to government data and promoting increased transparency and partnerships for social and economic development. Key government data has been made available for use by civil society organizations (CSOs) and the media through an open data portal. Additionally, the 2016-2021 National Development Plan includes among its key objectives the need to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets into its Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.However, existing data initiatives are largely government driven and do not take into account data from or about civil society actors. In particular, Tanzania lacks a dedicated platform and framework for collecting, sharing and analyzing data on philanthropy. In September 2015, inspired by similar initiatives in other East African Countries, the Foundation for Civil Society partnered with the East Africa Association of Grantmakers (EAAG) to form the Tanzania National Philanthropy Forum (TPF). The launch of the TPF marks an opportunity for the philanthropy community in Tanzania to come together and strengthen its voice and influence in national development processes

Assessing to Achieve High Performance: What Nonprofits are Doing and How Foundations Can Help

For foundation leaders to most effectively support grantees, more needs to be understood about the extent to which nonprofits are assessing performance, how they are approaching this work, and what they are looking for from their funders to support it.To better understand the state of practice of performance assessment at nonprofits, The Center For Effective Philanthropy (CEP) turned to its national panel of nonprofit leaders with questions about their assessment strategies and how they are supported. For nonprofits, measuring and improving performance is a challenging endeavor. Yet, the data from these surveys reveal that nonprofits are assessing performance -- but lack the resources they need to do all they seek to do.The report shows that most nonprofits receiving funding from large foundations collect and use information about their performance, yet many want to gather additional -- or better -- data. The typical nonprofit in the study allocates just two percent or less of its budget to assessing its performance, and few employ staff who are dedicated to this work full time. In approaching this work, only a minority of nonprofits in the study report receiving support from foundations for their performance assessment efforts

Making the Match: Finding Funding for After School Education and Safety Programs

Outlines strategies for California school and community leaders to secure cash and in-kind resources -- including public- and private-sector funding -- for ASES programs

Building Capacity for ESL, Legal Services, and Citizenship

Provides a funders' guide to opportunities, strategies, and resources for promoting immigrants' civic integration by investing in a local infrastructure of services, including English instruction, legal services, and assistance with naturalization

Global Institutional Philanthropy: A Preliminary Status Report

Philanthropy is growing and gaining visibility around the world. Private giving has an increasingly important role in addressing human suffering, promoting social justice and equitable economic growth, and strengthening and supporting a broad array of civil society goals and organizations. Yet as a field of study -- if indeed it is a "field" of study -- global philanthropy is in its infancy. It defies definition at the same time that it provokes interest and inquiry. While many have contributed to our understanding of global giving, it is fair to say that there are no individual or institutional experts. Reliable giving data can be found in only a limited number of countries. Globally comparable data is non-existent. Careful analysis of philanthropic giving through a global lens is hard to find. Given the vast and uncharted landscape of global philanthropy, any effort to define its boundaries or describe its contours is likely to be misleading. Such efforts are equally likely to obscure or at least only partially represent the rich diversity and complexity of philanthropy as it is practiced in countries and cultures around the world

African Universities: Stories of Change

Profiles successful foundation initiatives in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda that are reforming the higher education landscape in Africa

Foundation Strategies to Inform Federal Policy in the United States

Commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, TCC Group's research examined what motivates foundations to engage in advocacy, the methods they apply, and the results they achieve. Although the study focuses on federal policy, many of the factors and strategies relate directly to foundation policy reform activities at all levels of government

Safe Passage

Most young people make the transition from adolescence to adulthood with the support of their families, communities, and schools. However, 5.4 million of our nation's most vulnerable youth -- youth aging out of foster care, teenage parents, out-of-school students and those in danger of dropping out, and youth involved in the juvenile justice system -- lack the services and social supports they need to succeed as productive workers, responsible parents, and engaged citizens. Fortunately, a host of social ills -- from violence and urban decay to persistent poverty and homelessness to lost wages and the high costs of incarceration -- can be prevented by investing in cost-effective community supports that help young people who are, or who are in danger of becoming, disconnected. The strategies outlined in the YTFG publication Safe Passage highlight some of the ways we can make more prudent and effective investments in our young people

The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood

Explains the need to design early childhood policies and programs to provide stable and responsive relationships; safe and supportive physical, chemical, and built environments; and sound nutrition for lifelong health promotion and disease prevention