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Communication

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The Communication Working Group is focused on communication improving health and human security status in the U.S.

The mission of the Communication working group is to optimize the health, human security, resilience, and sustainability of Americans and their communities of interest globally. 

Members

bevcorwin Kathy Gilbeaux Maeryn Obley mdmcdonald

Email address for group

communication@m.resiliencesystem.org

Rapid Appraisal Methods

usaid.gov

WHAT IS RAPID APPRAISAL?

Rapid Appraisal (RA) is an approach that draws on multiple evaluation methods and techniques to quickly, yet systematically, collect data when time in the field is limited. RA practices are also useful when there are budget constraints or limited availability of reliable secondary data. For example, time and budget limitations may preclude the option of using representative sample surveys.

BENEFITS – WHEN TO USE RAPID APPRAISAL METHODS

Rapid appraisals are quick and can be done at relatively low cost. Rapid appraisal methods can help gather, analyze, and report relevant information for decision-makers within days or weeks. This is not possible with sample surveys. RAs can be used in the following cases:

  • for formative evaluations, to make mid-course corrections in project design or implementation when customer or partner feedback indicates a problem (See ADS 203.3.6.1);

  • when a key management decision is required and there is inadequate information;

  • for performance monitoring, when data are collected and the techniques are repeated over time for measurement purposes;

  • to better understand the issues behind performance monitoring data; and

  • for project pre-design assessment.

The Age of Big Data

Image/Chad Hagen - The New York Times Company

submitted by Samuel Bendett

by Steve Lohr - The New York Times -February 11, 2012

GOOD with numbers? Fascinated by data? The sound you hear is opportunity knocking.

Mo Zhou was snapped up by I.B.M. last summer, as a freshly minted Yale M.B.A., to join the technology company’s fast-growing ranks of data consultants. They help businesses make sense of an explosion of data — Web traffic and social network comments, as well as software and sensors that monitor shipments, suppliers and customers — to guide decisions, trim costs and lift sales. “I’ve always had a love of numbers,” says Ms. Zhou, whose job as a data analyst suits her skills.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

X24 - Mexico - Exercise 24

VizCenter - San Diego State University

February 8, 2012 - 8:00am

Purpose of X24 México

Exercise 24 (X24) México is the third iteration of a primarily virtual, open-invitation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise with real-world functional components that is hosted by San Diego State University’s “Immersive Visualization Center” (VizCenter).

Participants include DHS/Office of Health Affairs, NORAD-NORTHCOM, US Customs and Border Protection/Global Borders College, Mexican Army and Navy, Mexico Federal Police, Ministry of Defense from Vietnam, India National Disaster Management Agency, World Shipping Council, Red Cross, Pacific Disaster Center, NYK Logistics, National defense University, and growing.

X24 México Goals

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Mapping Digital Media

soros.org - Open Society Foundations

The values that underpin good journalism, the need of citizens for reliable and abundant information, and the importance of such information for a healthy society and robust democracy: these are perennial, and provide compass-bearings for anyone trying to make sense of current changes across the media landscape.

The Mapping Digital Media project, which examines these changes in-depth, aims to build bridges between researchers and policymakers, activists, academics, and standard-setters across the world. It also builds policy capacity in countries where this is less developed, encouraging stakeholders to participate and influence change. At the same time, this research creates a knowledge base, laying foundations for advocacy work, building capacity, and enhancing debate.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Local Towns Signing Up for Twitter and Facebook for Emergency Comm.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security News Wire - December 7, 2011

Following the lead of several other cities and federal agencies, the town of Wilton, Connecticut recently launched a Facebook page and Twitter account to help communicate with residents and share information during a disaster

Following the lead of several other cities and federal agencies, the town of Wilton, Connecticut recently launched a Facebook page and Twitter account to help communicate with residents and share information during a disaster.

Two major storms, including Hurricane Irene, left many Wilton residents without water or electricity for up to a week and sent a strong signal to emergency officials that they needed to improve disaster communications.

To that end, the town created an official Emergency Facebook Page as well as a Twitter account.

Speaking before the Wilton Board of Selectman, Fire Chief Paul Milositz, who is also the town’s emergency response director, said, “We have to get better at [communication with residents].”

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Crowdsourcing Democracy Through Social Media

submitted by Tim Siftar

Georgia Tech

ATLANTA – Oct. 11, 2011 – Today the citizens of Liberia will participate in just their second presidential election since the country emerged from a brutal civil war in 2003, and in such an environment the specter of violence or other unrest is never far away. But what if social media, a Georgia Tech professor is asking, could identify and even help prevent dangerous situations from occurring?

When nearly 40 million Nigerians took to the polls last April to elect a new president, many of them went online to share comments about their chosen candidates on blogs, Twitter or other social media platforms. They also used these new media tools to report what they saw. “Listening” to much of it was Georgia Tech Associate Professor Michael Best, which just might have saved a few lives.

During the election, Best provided technical support for a Nigerian group that wanted to use social media as a means for tracking the election process and identifying any problems that cropped up. Best and his team of researchers designed a social media aggregator tool that could pull content from about 20 different sources (including Twitter) and analyze the data in real time using keywords.

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The Next Five Years in Health IT: ONC's Plan for the Future

by Helen R. Pfister and Susan R. Ingargiola, Manatt Health Solutions - ihealthbeat.org - October 11, 2011

On Sept. 12, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released an updated strategic plan for implementing a nationwide health information network. The Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2011-2015 sets forth activities to improve health care through use of health IT tools.

Below is an overview of the Strategic Plan and some of the federal government's newest initiatives, including the Query Health initiative, the electronic health record data segmentation initiative and various initiatives to drive consumer engagement in health care, such as the recent proposed regulation affording individuals direct access to laboratory results.

Strategic Plan Background

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'Wi-fi Refugees' Shelter in West Virginia Mountains

BBC News - September 12, 2011

       

Nichols Fox lives alone in a home powered primarily by gas just outside the Quiet Zone

Dozens of Americans who claim to have been made ill by wi-fi and mobile phones have flocked to the town of Green Bank, West Virginia

There are five billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide and advances in wireless technology make it increasingly difficult to escape the influence of mobile devices. But while most Americans seem to embrace continuous connectivity, some believe it's making them physically ill.

Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic radiation caused by waves from wireless communication.

"It's a horrible thing to have to be a prisoner," she says. "You become a technological leper because you can't be around people.

"It's not that you would be contagious to them - it's what they're carrying that is harmful to you."

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