Preventing Heart Disease in Africa One Tablet at a Time

As we’ve discussed in class, actual technologies themselves have little impact on development. It is only when they are used to effectively deliver the aspirations of poor people that they may be able to positively influence their lives and livelihoods (Unwin, 76). That is what Arthur Zang, a young Cameroonian engineer, had in mind when he built the first fully touch screen medical tablet that could soon save hundreds of lives. The Cardiopad enables people with heart disease living in remote locations to perform heart exams, while the results are transmitted from the nurse’s tablet to that of the doctor who then interprets them. In a part of the world where there is one cardiologist per 70,000 people, where many have great difficulty traveling to urban centers to seek medical care, and where the cost of medical exams is prohibitive for most of the population, the Cardiopad is bound to save thousands of lives.

Taking in factors of development, the Cardiopad has advantages and disadvantages. The factors that might inhibit the Cardiopad from being effective are infrastructure, user interface, and cost effectiveness. Access to high bandwidth and electricity is limited in remote villages, so a wireless solution might fall short. Then cables and wires are susceptible to deterioration and tampering, making the psychical infrastructure an inhibiting factor. However the engineer assures that “The Cardiopad is equipped with a battery that can independently power the machine for more than seven hours.” The other issue is user interface. Nurses and doctors in remote areas will have to be trained on how to use the heart exam software, and that will cost money. I’m not saying it cannot be done, but general acceptance and motivation could be an inhibiting factor. Then there is cost effectiveness. Because the Cardiopad is still in its pilot stage and not yet available on the market, its price isn’t fixed. Hospitals in remote areas are already underfunded and in poor condition. The tablets will have to be privately funded or petitioned for public funding – which isn’t guaranteed. But hopefully like other tablets for development we have learned about in class, they will be available under for $100 and subsidies can cover at least part of the cost.

Overall, I think the Cardiopad is a huge step forward in putting ICTs to use for development. At only 24 years old, Arthur Zang has engineered a device that crosses not only thousands of miles across the African continent, but also propels humanity years into the future towards saving the lives of more people in more regions across the globe.

Original Article:

http://www.ictworks.org/news/2012/02/14/bi-weekly-ict4d-retrospective-important-links-february-1-14-2012
Product Website:

http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/cardiopad-african-invention-save-lives

http://www.biotechware.com/prodotti/cardiopad-pro

MOBILE LEARNING TOOLKIT: Newest form of interactive development or another failed project?

Jennifer Parker’s master thesis project, “Mobile Learning Toolkit,” is designed to empower trainers in Africa and other developing contexts to integrate mobile learning into their teaching. Developed for Mycoop.com (an organization that teaches agricultural cooperative management techniques to people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America) and Presented at Politecnico di Milano, Italy in July 2011, Parker’s Mobile Learning Toolkit is an adaptable handbook that outlines techniques for using mobile technology in educational training systems. Although the toolkit was originally designed training sessions in the agricultural sector, it is open source and can be adapted to other sectors that would benefit from using mobile technology. The 98-page handbook is broken down into four sections: Delivering Content, Gathering Feedback, Assigning Tasks, and Providing Support.

An important point reiterated throughout the toolkit is the importance of face-to-face trainings, and how mobile technology is not a replacement for face-to-face education, but rather an enhancement to it. Many of the SMS, voice, and photo-based modules ask participants to report on and gather data from their daily experiences before attending face-to-face sessions, and the trainings are built around content that comes directly from participants.

Looking at Parker’s project through the lenses of our topics for this week (barriers to access, traditional knowledge systems, information & communication needs, and why do ICT4D projects fail?), I can already see where the Mobile Learning Toolkit is advantageous to development and where it falls short. I’ll focus on what she does right first. Firstly, this seems to be a realistic, demand-driven goal. Because mobile phones are already being incorporated into the agricultural sector for development, Parker is “enhancing what’s already going on” – a quote from the short clip on Why ICT4D projects fail. Secondly, she emphasizes the importance of face-to-face training, really working from a grassroots level. Parker wants to meet the farmer and see a SMS picture of his/her crop, which really gives a personalized touch to her project. Thirdly, regarding the structural aspect of the Mobile Learning Toolkit, it appears that this is a low budget project, and because the beneficiary can use the handbook as much or little as they want to, the project can continue after the funds are exhausted. Now I’ll focus on where the project falls short. Firstly, although Parker says that this module can be applied everywhere to all sectors, I don’t think that it can incorporate specific problems unique to each country. I think that the Mobile Learning Toolkit is applying a generic solution to all countries and sectors, and assuming that one solution fits all. Secondly, I think that the toolkit takes more educated training than she assumes. The only way to ask for support is through the handbook, phone, and toolkit itself. So if an educator can’t understand or is having technical difficulties with the phone or manual, then it will be left unused and a failed project. Thirdly, Parker should realize that the presence of mobile phones doesn’t increase amount of money made in a sector, it just redistributes wealth to those who have a mobile from those who do not. Eventually, the farmers or educators who don’t have a toolkit will be driven out of the market, and then that will create more problems in the future.

Overall however, I think that Parker’s project is a step in the right direction. The Mobile Learning Toolkit offers participants to experience the benefits of mobile learning themselves while also empowering them to use mobile learning methods to reach their own trainees, thus multiplying the impact throughout the entire development training pyramid.

 

Blog where I found the article: http://www.mobileactive.org/blog

Supplementing Info: http://mobileactive.org/research/mobilelearningtoolkit

China Expanding Its International Media Footprint

With the Chinese media already on tight patrol, you wouldn’t expect one of their largest news channels to expand to worldwide proportions. But recently, officials announced that China’s CCTV News is going to increase its coverage to 156 countries, hoping to reach more than 219 million homes worldwide. The Communist country has long endured a contentious relationship with its news networks. David Bandurski, editor of the China Media Project, said, “The role of the media as defined by the (Communist) Party is to serve the party’s interests.” When the role of the media for development purposes is to provide truthful and valuable information to marginalized people, this produces somewhat of a conflict. Not only is truthful information not reaching rural and marginalized communities in China, but the government wants to expand coverage for its public image, something that has gained criticism since the Olympics in 2008. The international event provided China with the opportunity to display its organization and beautified tradition, but it consequently highlighted its political repression and stifling security. Although the growing CCTV claims its intent on “delivering balanced information and reporting swiftly and from all angles,” their newly appointed editor, Hu Zhanfan recently reprimanded journalists who placed the truth above loyalty to the party, saying news must always reflect “our party and country’s political stance.” This appears disheartening for the millions of Chinese who recently witnessed the killing of a South Korean coast guard officer by a Chinese fisherman, and heard little of it in the news. Going back to the purposes ICT4D, Chinese fishermen and coast guards are stakeholders in communicating that information. They would need information on where to be cautious of dangerous fishermen at sea and to be wary of possible lootings, to look out for violent storms, or where overfishing taking place. Instead, the CCTV will not be providing those stakeholders with that information. They will just be securing their public image in television homes around the world and maintaining their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/01/31/world/asia/AP-AS-China-TV-to-the-World.html?scp=9&sq=internet%2C+world&st=nyt

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/08/china-state-television-global-expansion

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/chinas-cctv-looks-to-follow-the-al-jazeera-model-but-struggles-to-break-free-from-state-ownership_b109515