20,225 research outputs found

    Harnessing Collaborative Technologies: Helping Funders Work Together Better

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    This report was produced through a joint research project of the Monitor Institute and the Foundation Center. The research included an extensive literature review on collaboration in philanthropy, detailed analysis of trends from a recent Foundation Center survey of the largest U.S. foundations, interviews with 37 leading philanthropy professionals and technology experts, and a review of over 170 online tools.The report is a story about how new tools are changing the way funders collaborate. It includes three primary sections: an introduction to emerging technologies and the changing context for philanthropic collaboration; an overview of collaborative needs and tools; and recommendations for improving the collaborative technology landscapeA "Key Findings" executive summary serves as a companion piece to this full report

    Managing ubiquitous eco cities: the role of urban telecommunication infrastructure networks and convergence technologies

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    A successful urban management system for a Ubiquitous Eco City requires an integrated approach. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision making mechanism and necessary infrastructure and technologies. Rapidly developing information and telecommunication technologies and their platforms in the late 20th Century improves urban management and enhances the quality of life and place. Telecommunication technologies provide an important base for monitoring and managing activities over wired, wireless or fibre-optic networks. Particularly technology convergence creates new ways in which the information and telecommunication technologies are used. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices such as mobile phones and provides opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This paper discusses the recent developments in telecommunication networks and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities and how this technological shift is likely to be beneficial in improving the quality of life and place. The paper also introduces recent approaches on urban management systems, such as intelligent urban management systems, that are suitable for Ubiquitous Eco Cities

    Launching the Grand Challenges for Ocean Conservation

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    The ten most pressing Grand Challenges in Oceans Conservation were identified at the Oceans Big Think and described in a detailed working document:A Blue Revolution for Oceans: Reengineering Aquaculture for SustainabilityEnding and Recovering from Marine DebrisTransparency and Traceability from Sea to Shore:  Ending OverfishingProtecting Critical Ocean Habitats: New Tools for Marine ProtectionEngineering Ecological Resilience in Near Shore and Coastal AreasReducing the Ecological Footprint of Fishing through Smarter GearArresting the Alien Invasion: Combating Invasive SpeciesCombatting the Effects of Ocean AcidificationEnding Marine Wildlife TraffickingReviving Dead Zones: Combating Ocean Deoxygenation and Nutrient Runof

    Seeing the Unobservable: Channel Learning for Wireless Communication Networks

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    Wireless communication networks rely heavily on channel state information (CSI) to make informed decision for signal processing and network operations. However, the traditional CSI acquisition methods is facing many difficulties: pilot-aided channel training consumes a great deal of channel resources and reduces the opportunities for energy saving, while location-aided channel estimation suffers from inaccurate and insufficient location information. In this paper, we propose a novel channel learning framework, which can tackle these difficulties by inferring unobservable CSI from the observable one. We formulate this framework theoretically and illustrate a special case in which the learnability of the unobservable CSI can be guaranteed. Possible applications of channel learning are then described, including cell selection in multi-tier networks, device discovery for device-to-device (D2D) communications, as well as end-to-end user association for load balancing. We also propose a neuron-network-based algorithm for the cell selection problem in multi-tier networks. The performance of this algorithm is evaluated using geometry-based stochastic channel model (GSCM). In settings with 5 small cells, the average cell-selection accuracy is 73% - only a 3.9% loss compared with a location-aided algorithm which requires genuine location information.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by GlobeCom'1

    The Revolution of Mobile Phone-Enabled Services for Agricultural Development (m-Agri Services) in Africa: The Challenges for Sustainability

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    The provision of information through mobile phone-enabled agricultural information services (m-Agri services) has the potential to revolutionise agriculture and significantly improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Africa. Globally, the benefits of m-Agri services include facilitating farmers’ access to financial services and sourcing agricultural information about input use, practices, and market prices. There are very few published literature sources that focus on the potential benefits of m-Agri services in Africa and none of which explore their sustainability. This study, therefore, explores the evolution, provision, and sustainability of these m-Agri services in Africa. An overview of the current landscape of m-Agri services in Africa is provided and this illustrates how varied these services are in design, content, and quality. Key findings from the exploratory literature review reveal that services are highly likely to fail to achieve their intended purpose or be abandoned when implementers ignore the literacy, skills, culture, and demands of the target users. This study recommends that, to enhance the sustainability of m-Agri services, the implementers need to design the services with the users involved, carefully analyse, and understand the target environment, and design for scale and a long-term purpose. While privacy and security of users need to be ensured, the reuse or improvement of existing initiatives should be explored, and projects need to be data-driven and maintained as open source. Thus, the study concludes that policymakers can support the long-term benefit of m-Agri services by ensuring favourable policies for both users and implementers

    Harnessing Technology in Schools Survey 2007: technical report

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    This technical report provides a detailed review of the methods used and the data gathered for this survey. The report also provides copies of the research instruments used in this survey

    Emerging Opportunities: Monitoring and Evaluation in a Tech-Enabled World

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    Various trends are impacting on the field of monitoring and evaluation in the area of international development. Resources have become ever more scarce while expectations for what development assistance should achieve are growing. The search for more efficient systems to measure impact is on. Country governments are also working to improve their own capacities for evaluation, and demand is rising from national and community-based organizations for meaningful participation in the evaluation process as well as for greater voice and more accountability from both aid and development agencies and government.These factors, in addition to greater competition for limited resources in the area of international development, are pushing donors, program participants and evaluators themselves to seek more rigorous – and at the same time flexible – systems to monitor and evaluate development and humanitarian interventions.However, many current approaches to M&E are unable to address the changing structure of development assistance and the increasingly complex environment in which it operates. Operational challenges (for example, limited time, insufficient resources and poor data quality) as well as methodological challenges that impact on the quality and timeliness of evaluation exercises have yet to be fully overcome

    Multi Source Handphone Charging System For Communication During Emergencies

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    Emergency situations may arise due to natural disaster occurrences or when chance takes one to a remote location. In settings like this, communication requires that mobile devices are powered on in the expectation of access to relief and rescue services. However, in many cases the electricity supply will be broke down. Usually, alternative energy sources provide the needed power to mobile phones in such circumstances. These alternative energy sources exhibit peculiar limitations that affect availability. This work was aimed at merging various alternative sources into a unit that will provide potential to a mobile phone with an emphasis on enhancing the efficiency of a hand-cranked electric dynamo source. Three power sources are employed which are active human power in the electric dynamo, solar panels and a pair of rechargeable batteries. Preliminary tests and analysis were conducted for hardware selection and assembly. The completed system contains a manual switch for the energy sources, a dc-dc regulation, battery charging electronic layout and a torchlight for illumination. An improved efficiency of 87.5% was achieved for the dynamo with the system able to deliver an average 0.4 W during operation. An average of 21 minutes elapsed before a minimum charge was delivered to a basic phone. The charging times for a smartphone to a determined level was found to be 108 minutes, 86 minutes and 72 minutes for the solar source, dynamo source and battery source, respectively. The developed unit is useful to people to keep it as a tool that they can rely on to power up their mobile phone in order to send emergency rescue message
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