Solutions for donations of medical equipment that go unused, communication problems on farms and cholera, and why a computer is coming after your job – these are the highlights in engineering and design for global development, as tweeted in 140 characters or less.
For up-to-the-minute updates from E4C on Twitter, please follow us at @Engineer4Change.
Interesting look at a prosthetics clinic in Ibarra, Ecuador that works with @d_rev_org: http://bit.ly/14aoo14
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) March 2, 2013
D-Rev designs low-cost, high-quality prostheses for patients around the world. This video takes us inside a clinic in Ecuador where patients are fitted and learn to use their new limbs.
new initiative aims to develop #affordable, robust #medical tech (ex. combo x-ray & ultrasound) for poor countries: http://bit.ly/12eHjwj
— iana (@iana_aranda) March 1, 2013
Up to 70% of complex medical devices sent to Africa aren’t used, the World Health Organization reports, but the Swiss firm EssentialTech has a solution.
Very interesting post by @ICT_Works: A computer can do your international development job, thanks to open data http://dld.bz/ckNdj
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) February 28, 2013
Development professionals, dust off your resumes: Computers are coming for your jobs.
“Why Hubs?” @kalanthinks talks about why tech hubs are booming across Africa: http://dld.bz/ckNwU RT @WhiteAfrican
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) March 1, 2013
Here’s a thoughtful narrative description of tech hubs from Jonathan Kalan, an expatriate member of iHub in Nairobi, Kenya. Africa’s hub boom has emerged to fill a vacancy left by businesses such as coffee shops and Internet cafes that never really caught on in East Africa, Kalan says.
“The Gravity Light was sexy & different, but it’s highly unlikely that it will ever work” – @Mitra piles on the controversy #E4CWebinars
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) February 28, 2013
Controversy is no stranger to Mitra Ardron, CEO of Lumeter, a solar power company that operates in emerging markets. He dished it out in heaps during his presentation for the E4C Webinar Series. We tweeted highlights under #E4Cwebinars.
A beetle-mimicking bottle! MT @rockforlight: self-filling water bottle uses nanotech to pull water from the air http://bit.ly/VMcrON
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) February 27, 2013
We’ve seen tech that mimics the water-gathering namib beetle before, but for some reason, we haven’t seen a water bottle until now. And it seems like such a good idea (if it works).
How radio shows for farmers in #Bangladesh are boosting crop yields – http://gu.com/p/3exyy/tf #ag
— Catapult_Design (@Catapult_Design) February 23, 2013
A radio station in Bangladesh helps farmers share tips on seeds, pests and the changing climate, The Guardian reports.
“Stories are the currency of human contact” – robert mckee. Fantastic reminder… MT @iana_aranda #socialimpactdesign
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) February 22, 2013
Iana Aranda, at E4C, tweeted highlights from the Social Impact Design Summit at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
How many deaths from cholera can be prevented each year? “Significant Figures” from National Geo’s Scienceblogs. http://scienceblogs.com/significantfigures/index.php/2013/02/13/accuracy-precision-and-significance-the-misery-of-cholera/ …
— Peter Gleick (@PeterGleick) February 18, 2013
Cholera really is an engineering problem.
