BarCamp Sheffield and Digitize This Book!

I'm in Sheffield for BarCamp, a 1st for me. Looking forward to various sessions including using a web browser to run a business, usability, 3rd sector, open source, sustainability and creating communities. ...



Yesterday - and interesting company on the train today - another book arrived for review:

Digitize This Book!: The Politics of New Media, or Why We Need Open Access Now (Electronic Mediations) (Paperback) by Gary Hall.

I'm also editing Shreves Drupal 6 Themes book review and will post it soon.

The Gretta Foundation - Increasing the Global Nurseforce

I was asked recently if I could assist a nurse in Tanzania regards training in the UK. As ever things are not straight forward in terms of funding and opportunities for overseas students. Several UK university schools did kindly respond with information about the current situation. Not unrelated then, I noticed this announcement on the GANM (Global Alliance for Nursing and Midwifery) list:



I wanted to distribute the link to the Gretta Foundation to the GANM membership.

As you all know, one of the biggest requests that we get in the GANM are those that involve education. This includes not only requests for online continuing education, but also opportunities for nurses to obtain advanced nursing degrees without leaving their countries, their families and their communities.



I came across this today on the web and I forward on to all of you. The Gretta Foundation (named after Gretta Styles) has - as its mission -

"Our mission is to increase the global “Nurseforce” by providing full nursing scholarships to impoverished persons living in disease-burdened nations.

Nursing scholarship recipients, or Gretta Scholars, attend in-country nursing programs. In repayment for the scholarship assistance, graduating scholars serve for a predetermined period of time in their country’s clinics and hospitals."

For more information, visit: http://grettafoundation.org

My source: GANM - Global Alliance for Nursing and Midwifery list; images from Gretta Foundation.

Blackmarket for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge No.11

Pick Your Brains and Expand Your Non-Knowledge here!

Hi, we hope you can make it down to the Bluecoat on Saturday 29 November for this final Liverpool Live 08 event, on the last weekend of the Liverpool Biennial...

Blackmarket for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge No.11 is a lively installation full of hustle, bustle and brains which will have 50 experts sitting at numerous individual tables, sharing their knowledge with members of the audience over thirty minute one-to-one sessions. The Blackmarket event is free, and members of the public can listen in to any of the conversations, or for £1 (or even €1), you can book an expert for your own private half hour dialogue. Get to the check-in early though, or you may find yourself having to do some serious bribing and bartering to get near your expert of choice!

This unique art installation takes traditional methods of knowledge transfer out of the stuffy archives and hushed library reading rooms, and throws them into an arena of discussion and banter, taking on the buzz of market stalls and stock exchanges. Blackmarkets have so far taken place in Berlin, Vienna, Istanbul, Warsaw, Hamburg and Graz.

The topic for the Liverpool edition is: ‘ON WASTE. The Disappearance and Comeback of Things and Values.’ Experts have been invited from the diverse fields of garbology, ecology, philosophy, economy, pathology, entomology and alchemy (those who know how to make gold from dirt).

More information about the event is available on our website and you can also download the full list of experts who will be present on the night:

Please feel free to forward this e-flyer to anyone you think might be interested in coming along.

Kind regards,
Phil
Phil Olsen
www.thebluecoat.org.uk

Mobile Academy is a project by Hannah Hurtzig with changing partners, based at HAU, Berlin. Presented in association with the Live Art Development Agency. Supported by Arts Council England, Liverpool Culture Company and the Goethe Institute Manchester. www.mobileacademy-berlin.com

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Wish I could make this, great idea and No. 11 already. ....!

My source: Philosophy In Pubs list

Qualcomm offers PC alternative for developing nations

Article in English
Article en Français plus bas.

The battle lines are well and truly drawn between Qualcomm and Intel, as the smartphone and PC architectures converge to form the mobile internet device (MID), a category that companies from both heritages are chasing.
And Qualcomm, with customary agility, has pulled one rug from under its rival’s feet, by releasing a platform for low cost, low power MIDs, geared to developing economies, and designed to be an alternative, not a complement, to Windows PCs.
The PC industry has come up with various low cost, web-optimized designs for developing economies, from initiatives like One Laptop Per Child, but actual products have been slow to emerge at suitable price points. Qualcomm is taking up the challenge with Kayak, which it says will fit between a phone and a PC in capabilities, and will use the cellular link instead of a wired broadband connection. This shows Qualcomm making the reasonable assumption that data-capable wireless networks such as EDGE, and in many cases 3G, will spread more rapidly in many economies than wires.
Kayak is a reference platform based on Qualcomm's dual-core MSM7 Series chipsets, with a reduced component set, and applications accessed via the Opera browser. As multimedia and other capabilities come into demand even in low cost markets, future versions may also run the Snapdragon chipset, which is geared to MIDS and to consumer electronics and is a direct competitor to Intel’s Atom.
Kayak devices will be able to plug into a TV, computer monitor or have a built-in display. They support a keyboard and mouse and can play music files and 3D games. The first OEM to promise trial designs is Taiwan’s Inventec, indicating a cost base that is appealing to these price sensitive manufacturers.
Qualcomm believes Kayak devices will sell for $400 or less when bundled with service deals from carriers, and here lies the advantage that it holds over Intel and Atom – its close ties with cellcos, especially in the CDMA world, which will enable it to present Kayak-based devices as a means for those carriers to penetrate new, high growth markets without the burden of heavy subsidies.
"The Kayak PC alternative is a great example of how Qualcomm is leveraging cloud computing over wireless broadband networks to help bring new areas of the world into the global online community for the first time," said Luis Pineda, senior VP of marketing and product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, in a statement.

Published : 13/11/2008

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Qualcomm va lancer un PC dédié aux pays émergents

13-11-2008: Par Thomas Pagbe

Le ‘Kayac PC’ se connecte à Internet via une connexion 3G

Après le projet OLPC, celui d'Intel, et de NComputing, Qualcomm, le leader mondial des puces pour téléphones pour mobiles se lance également dans la course aux PC low cost, destinées aux pays émergents.

Sa solution, baptisée ‘Kayak PC’ est un dispositif de connexion qui permettra de se connecter à l’internet mobile via deux technologies 3G, CDMA et WCDMA, sans passer par une connexion filaire, ou par un ordinateur, tout en fournissant aux utilisateurs les capacités d’un PC de bureau. Il s'agit en fait d'un boîtier à mi-chemin entre le téléphone mobile et l'ordinateur (voir photo).

"La large empreinte du réseau 3G signifie que le sans fil est la réponse pour fournir au monde entier un accès à Internet, et spécialement aux marchés émergents", assure Luis Pineda, vp marketing et produits chez Qualcomm. "Le Kayak PC est un grand exemple de la manière dont Qualcomm tire profit du cloud computing à travers le réseau internet sans fil".

En plus du processeur dual-core Mobile Station Modem, la version d’origine du dispositif devrait embarquer la version complète du navigateur Opera, un accès vers des applications de productivité Web 2.0, des services notamment hébergés par les promoteurs du cloud computing (Google, IBM, Amazon, entre autres).

Le dispositif pourra être branché aussi bien sur un moniteur que sur un écran de télévision. Qualcomm a également décidé "d’ouvrir" son modèle. Le ‘Kayak PC’ pourrait servir de plate-forme de base pour des fabricants qui pourront lui ajouter les solutions logicielles ou matérielles.

Fabriqué par la société taïwanaise Iventec Corporation, la machine devrait être testée en Asie du sud-est tout au long du premier trimestre 2009.

REUSSI : http://reussi.org

MDPI Foundation Open Access Journals
http://www.mdpi.org   http://www.mdpi.net

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Legal notice:
Except stated explicitely, this message shall not be construed as the official position of above mentionned entities.

Notice légale:
A moins que cela ne soit explicitement indiqué, ce message ne constitue la position officielle des entités mentionnées ci-dessos
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My source: Community Informatics Listservs

HC2009 April 2009, W-Tech 2009, IHE-Europe Vienna Workshop 2009

The following items may be of interest to Health Informatics Professionals. Please contact the organisers direct for more information or to book. Feel free to pass on to colleagues.

HC2009 - Shaping the Future 28-30 April 2009

Closing date for submissions is 1^st December. Don’t miss your opportunity…. submit now and see the HC:Showcase.



W-Tech: Co-hosted and organised by BCS Women’s Forum.

A FREE motivational showcase supporting women interested in IT – Tues 3rd Feb, London.

Meet with some of the smartest IT professionals, the biggest recruiters in IT, attend career development workshops, revamp and submit your CV, prepare yourself for that next interview or promotion.




IHE-Europe Vienna Workshop
22-23 April 2009

Sharing clinical documents and integrating workflow

The event will provide an in depth review and discussion of IHE solutions in parallel sessions for users and suppliers. Also an opportunity to visit the 2009 Connectathon.

The Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise organisation (IHE) in Europe has asked IHE-Austria to organise this two day workshop. It will provide an in depth review and discussion of IHE solutions in parallel sessions for users and suppliers. The main focus will be on the nature and means of applying the IHE document and image sharing facilities to improve the real world of clinical practice.

There will also be the opportunity to visit the IHE-Europe connectathon, which will be held in Vienna at the same time. During the week around 80 different suppliers will show that their software can interoperate with that of three other suppliers to perform clinical tasks correctly as described in the relevant IHE specifications. Connectathon visitors gain a real understanding of the way IHE enables suppliers to work together to obtain interoperability of systems in a very enjoyable atmosphere. Experts from all healthcare specialties will be present including medical imaging.

For detailed information and registration visit the IHE-Austria homepage.

My source: BCS

Health, Social Care Legislation & Hodges model

The table below indicates some of the key legislation in HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE presented using the four care domains of Hodges' model:

Mental Health Acts 1959, 1983, 2007 Mental Capacity Act 2005 Data Protection Act 1998 - 2018	Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill Health Act 2006 (pharmacies) Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 Human Tissue Act 2004
Health Act 2006 (smoking indoors) Carers Act 2004 Care Standards Act 2000 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (section 21) Children Act 1989	Health and Social Care Act 2001, 2008 Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001. MHA 2007 (advocacy) NHS Redress Act 2006 (clinical negligence claims) Human Rights Act 1998

(The links that were originally posted above have now been removed.)
The focus above is UK, but can be readily updated - revised to reflect other countries.

Rationale for assignment to specific care (knowledge) domains:

This is were much of what is placed above is subjective and Hodges' model can show its situated, person-centred, multi-contextual potential. For example, public and patient involvement in the NHS needs to be driven and sanctioned politically, which is what Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 set out to achieve. In operation and procedure the mental health act is very much concerned with individuals, who are accorded specific roles and definitions. The data protection act is primarily concerned with personal data.

Scientifically, or more specifically - biologically and morphologically speaking - human fertilisation and conception is a physical event, initiating a (profound) developmental process. The profundity is expressed elsewhere: what it means for individuals, couples and their families, cultures. The individual (intrapersonal domain) comes to the fore when politicians are given a free vote on such emotive and ethically sensitive issues. The sciences domain is not a complete emotional void, science provides images and vistas of wonder.

This blog post is not comprehensive. There is of course much more legislation to be taken into account; discrimination, equality and diversity, health and safety...

Additional links:

Mental Health History Timeline
Public Health Timeline - ADPH
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services.

New Drupal based Social Media Classroom

I learned of this new initiative on the Drupal for Libraries list in a post by Ari Davidow.

Using Drupal with the help of a MacArthur grant, author and educator Howard Rheingold has set up:

Social Media Classroom and Collaboratory

Welcome to the Social Media Classroom and Collaboratory. It’s all free, as in both “freedom of speech” and “almost totally free beer.” We invite you to build on what we’ve started to create more free value. The Social Media Classroom (we’ll call it SMC) includes a free and open-source (Drupal-based) web service that provides teachers and learners with an integrated set of social media that each course can use for its own purposes—integrated forum, blog, comment, wiki, chat, social bookmarking, RSS, microblogging, widgets , and video commenting are the first set of tools. The Classroom also includes curricular material: syllabi, lesson plans, resource repositories, screencasts and videos. The Collaboratory (or Colab), is what we call just the web service part of it. Educators are encouraged to use the Colab and SMC materials freely, and we host your Colab communities if you don’t want to install your own. (See this for an explanation of who “we” are).

This provides an interesting perspective on the use of open source tools with value-added service provision.

[ This link still works, but 'News' refers to 2008 ... ]

Research Capability Programme NHS UK - consultation

From: The NHS-HE CONNECTIVITY PROJECT Forum - Malcolm TeagueSent: Thursday, 30 October, 2008 16:42:25
Subject: Research Capability Programme - consultation

Consultation on the wider use of patient information

I attended a briefing event on the Research Capability Programme yesterday in Birmingham which was very informative and excellent progress is being made. It was mentioned that the researchers view was under-represented at the moment in the consultation on the wider use of NHS data eg for clinical research. Researchers currently represent only 2% of the responses. But I have just completed it as an NHS user which was the category that best fitted, so everyone can take part. It also takes you through the scenarios gently step by step. Anyway it would be great if you could encourage as many colleagues to take part as possible at:

Formerly:
http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/research/consultation

There were a series of RCP briefing events so some of you may already have attended elsewhere. The presentations are going to be made available so I will endeavour to pass those on in some way later. The NHS-HE Forum got a positive mention from Sir Alex Markham!

Many thanks,

Malcolm

Ye Olde paper: 1996 "Humans, information and science"

I learned this past week that the abstract of an old paper is available online. Published in 1996 this was pre-website days and information in a nursing context is a subject I've often thought of returning to

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Volume 24 Issue 3
1996: Pages 591 - 598.

Published Online: 28 Jun 2008
Humans, information and science

ABSTRACT

The use of information forms the basis of nursing policies, standards and professional codes of conduct. Although used intuitively, nurses must now also grapple empirically with information needs often defined by others, and with the technology used to capture and process it. Even the briefest contemplation of 'information' reveals a truly pervasive concept. Information is ubiquitous. In order to care effectively in the so-called 'information age' health care professionals need to understand information.

This paper is a small contribution to that effort, attempting to conjoin the disparate fields of health and the information sciences, and the basic sciences upon which they are based. This paper explores how definitions of information formulated in computing and communication theory relate to health and other aspects of human experience. The strategy adopted to achieve this is threefold. First, there is the vexed question of defining data, information and knowledge. Second, I consider how communication — that essential nursing activity — relates to information, meaning and the messages people seek to convey to each other. Thirdly, clinical situations are described in an information-oriented manner, using the concepts of 'redundancy' and 'entropy'. The conclusion provides an historical perspective.

Jones, P. (1996), Humans, information and science. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 24: 591-598. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1996.23321.x