| Humaninet ICT Features
Last Updated: 12/28/2007
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HumaniNet's
ICT Features section includes articles and reports of topical
interest to
team members and managers in humanitarian development
and relief, missionary work, and aid projects around
the
world.
Small, effective, affordable – the Sabre I BGAN:
Read more about our test of this new BGAN terminal, which enables affordable phone calls and Internet access in an easy-to-use system.
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Practicing for the Real Thing: Exercise Khichadi and ICTs on a Mountain Ridge
Gregg Swanson discusses the importance of team training in the field and presents five findings on ICT employment in disaster response. Read the full article.
Holding down usage over RBGAN and BGAN – 11 tips for controlling your costs. Eric Hoenigmann and Mike Bizub present some excellent suggestions on how to reduce unnecessary and unexpected usage with the RBGAN satellite terminal and its recently arrived cousins in the BGAN series. Read the full article. . .
Setting up an RSS feed - in minutes.
Srini Penchikala describes RSS, an easy way to be alerted to new content on multiple blogs and websites, and explains how you can set up RSS for the HumaniNet Team Blog. Full article.
Maps 2.0 - Geospatial Tools for Nonprofits and Humanitarian Relief - This groundbreaking project was one of the 21 Featured Projects that was showcased at the annual NetSquared Conference in May. A newly-formed GIS team is now preparing a field demonstration for the Nepal disaster simulation in late August. Read more on Maps 2.0.
How Much Power Does Your Laptop Need? - Larry Bentley, a veteran electrical engineer and expert in power systems, answers such questions as: what can you do to reduce the power draw for longer life on battery? Or if you are operating on portable power, what can you do to minimize power consumption from the limited supply? Read Larry's article and also a bio summary of his experience.
With this article, HumaniNet launches a new community of practice in power for portable and remote operations. If you are interested in this topic, or have specific questions on power management in the field, please email us at info@humaninet.org.
Big Five Criteria - HumaniNet's proposed yardstick for field usability of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Two articles by Gregg Swanson describe the Java Lava simulation in Indonesia in late October, some of the ICT lessons learned, and the value of such exercises
to relief organizations:
Exercise Java Lava – a Unique Field Simulation to Prepare for Natural Disasters
Observations from a week under a volcano – and 12 reasons why relief organizations should conduct simulations
You may download a Powerpoint (text only, 75 kb) on Exercise JavaLava (thanks to Steve Glassey) |
The BGAN: mobile broadband for deployed teams
Gregg Swanson describes the BGAN terminals now available and the testing of the Hughes 9201. Connecting by wireless, multiple users access the Internet over satellite easily and reliably - but watch the cost.
Blogging: reaching a global audience easily and affordably – from anywhere
Teresa Crawford, who set up the new HumaniNet blog, describes in this ICT Feature article how a blog can enable field managers to share information seamlessly with decision makers and supporters, at almost no cost.
ReliefWeb - A Platform for NGO Information Partnerships. On
February 22, HumaniNet and N-TEN co-hosted a Webinar featuring
Sebastian Naidoo, Managing Editor of top,
the world’s leading on-line gateway to information
on humanitarian emergencies and disasters.
Sebastian discussed how NGOs, particularly in the humanitarian
response field, can make more use of some of the coordination
tools and services offered by the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
in particular the ReliefWeb information system.
To download the presentation Powerpoint and audio, please
go to the webinar
page.
Email in Remote New Guinea. Where
there's a will, there's a way (PDF, 539k)
Compressing your email, saving $. If you depend upon remote
satellite or HF radio services for your email, you may
have heard of "compression" and asked: how does
it work, and how does it help? Read
more and learn about
the popular UUPlus solution.
An Energy Solutions Toolkit for ICT
Projects. All NGO
and humanitarian managers know that electricity in remote
and austere locations is too often unreliable, unpredictable,
or nonexistent. USAID has recently introduced a web-based
interactive toolkit called "Powering ICT" which will help users select
the most cost-effective mix of ICT and energy systems for
projects in off-grid and poorly electrified areas. The
toolkit provides useful information about the energy requirements
of ICT equipment, energy solutions for rural ICT projects,
and decision-making support tools in the form of spreadsheets
and web-based calculation tools. You will also find case
studies from around the world and links to other related
resources on the web. The toolkit was developed by Winrock
International and the Academy for Educational Development.
Collaborative Workspace Project. We are
using Plone to build out our internal infrastructure and
facilitate online information sharing with our partners.
Click here for the
latest information.
ICT Information Service. More information on selecting and using
portable satellite devices, for voice or data, is presented on
HumaniNet’s ICT Information Service. Because of the rapid
changes in satellite communications, including new services and
a trend toward lower prices, humanitarian managers should periodically
revisit their communications strategies and service provider
agreements.
We welcome suggestions for new content at any time. Please contact
us at info@humaninet.org.
Previous ICT Features articles:
go to ICT
Information Service |
