Solidifying the Pillars of a Society (using open-source knowledge)

hmm.. add info here later... pillars of a society are like the legs on a stool. the more legs the more stable. good governance, informed citizens, security, human rights, environmental responsibility, ...

The Conquest of Malaria: Italy 1900-1962

Whenever I read the news about malaria, it always seems that its focused on raising money for bed nets or vaccines. Rarely have I seen an article about countries that made a determined effort and eradicated malaria.

In The Conquest of Malaria, Frank M. Snowden attempts to outline the systems that Italy employed to defeat the terrible disease. Italy was considered a malaria hot zone for over 60 years. It didn't help that it was involved with WW1, WW2, and had a Fascist leader who didn't put public health at the top of his agenda. Still, the Italian managed to win the battle, and it's label as a malaria free zone occurred around 1969.

So, I don't have time to read 275+ pages before Thurs... so skimming, here's what I found out:

Causes for prolonged period of malaria (and other medical catastrophes)

• armed conflict
• population displacement
• drug resistant strains
• environmental havoc
• climatic change

What malaria did to Italy:

• undermined agricultural productivity
• decimated the army
• destroyed communities
• left families impoverished

Initial approach to solving the problem

• "magic medicine" ie. silver bullet of medicine, quinine
• "magic insecticide" ie. DDT

Final Victory occurred when:

• return of peace
• reestablishment of public health infrastructures and schools
• introduction of DDT
• five year plan to erradicate fever as a nation
• rise of education and civil rights
• rise of women's rights, labor, and the achievement of universal literacy and social justice
• universal education about the disease to take the public how to advance their own health
• treatment given without cost

Today's main approach

• magic thinking 1: lowtech: make impregnated mosq. bed nets cheaper and more available
• magic thinking 2: antispasmodic vaccine or re-engineered mosquito

This historical study is both encouraging and cautionary. Italy, formerly one of the world's greatest empires (Roman) was powerless against malaria as many other 3rd world nations are today. However, they managed to defeat it. Gives some hope. Especially since we, as a world, has accumulated more wisdom since then.

One of Snowden's quotes: "Malaria REFLECTS the totality of the relations of human beings with one another and with their environment."

Apple Picking (continued): Mountain Apples

Terrace farming worked for the Incas... is it even worth considering? :)
Incidentally, Machine 16 is not a machine.

The non-terrace side of the tree would be a problem. Perhaps make mini-U platforms circle the tree? Dunno.

Apple Picking (Continued): You Pick Fun

Many people like to go apple picking (You Pick) as a recreational activity. Why not make the activity even more fun for kids? Here's the concept for a Dr. Seus apple picking machine. Basically, an apple is picked and put into a kinetic sculpture (like a Dr. Seus contraption) that feeds the apple though a vast labyrinth of interesting stuff. At the end of the apple's journey, the apple is made into juice (or possibly baked into pie?) and given to a child who watched the process.

There are other educational possibilities with this idea that I might explore, time permitting.
There are other FUN possibilities that do not need a kinetic sculpture as well. :)














Some examples of kinetic sculptures in Vancouver? Try the entrance way to Science World, or the cement factory on Granville Island. Imagine a apple making its way through the maze of metal... and getting juice at the end of it! :)

Solving Malaria

Malaria is a world health issue that undulates through our newspapers: Sometimes its big news and at other times it doesn't seem to exist. Recently Belinda Stronach and Tony Blair wrote an article in The Globe and Mail... interesting combination, I didn't think they knew each other! The "comments" section of the article tastes rather bitter - people seem to enjoy disliking Belinda. Well, she's probably doing more about the problem than the people who write the bitter comments.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080924.wcomalaria25/BNStory/Entertainment/

Yes, well, now to do the home work. How to solve a problem like malaria? What is malaria? What causes it? A quick stroll to wikipedia yields,

Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 515 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom are young children in Sub-Saharan Africa.[1] Malaria is commonly associated with poverty, but is also a cause of poverty and a major hindrance to economic development.

Reference information for later:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria
http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html


Some themes that come to mind:
- the female mosquito is the dominant infection vehicle
- high probability of occurring in areas of poverty
- in areas with weak social infrastructure, it can cause poverty
- occurs in areas with weak social infrastructure
- occurs in areas with weak health services
- occurs in tropical/hot regions of the Earth
- anti-malarial drugs are too expensive for the people who need it
- mosquito nets are too expensive for the people who need it
- general impression from many 1st world citizens is that malaria can be eradicated if we throw money at the problem to buy nets and medicine

Braindump of possible solutions:
- bed nets (as mentioned in the article)
- mosquito control
- increased financial aid
- genetically modified mosquitoes
- anti-malarial drugs
- increase foreign aid (WHO, UN, poignant commercials, survivor talks, celebrity driven initiatives ... etc.)
- increased scientific research into drug therapy, vaccines, delivery, reduced cost... etc.
- media initiatives such as the Stephen Lewis Foundation commercial (HIV/AIDS)
listed under /archives/stephenlewisfoundation. Just replace "husband" with mosquito and "HIV AIDS" with malaria. Same message. http://rethinkcommunications.com/

Some alternative solutions:

• work to fix the poverty issue while addressing malaria (ie. teach someone how to fish instead of just giving them fish). build communities as you address the health issue. Perhaps some small business associated with local net building can start with the help of organizations such as Kiva. Have to get the ball rolling somewhere and it might as well be relevant.

• team up with programs like the One-Laptop per child, and possibly partner them with groups like Innocentive. Some surprising solutions could come for those who need the help the most. We can teach and help each other.
  

• encourage 1st world people to give up newspaper subscriptions. for the same cost, one can pay for anti-malarial treatment (approx. 1US dollar for the drug, delivery, and administration costs). Trees also like this idea.
  

• have an Olympic style "Countdown" clock for common World goals (eradicating Malaria for example). this can provide a mental goal for large communities.

• improve the status of women in problem countries. If a mother is in good health and in good status, the family is in a much better position. if a mother is infected with malaria during birth, everyone is at risk.

• build a health care system using local people. educate well so that they can replicate their educations to others. Use technology to speed up the rate and quality of education. Technology such as cell phones can also be used to transcend large distances, allowing people to be more productive with their time.

• modify the female mosquito so that it can become a health agent instead of a parasite (ie. drug delivery or nutrition delivery)... some fancy technology needed to do this.

• create a device that emits a high frequency sound or energy that mosquitoes dislike (but not noticeable to humans, and safe).

• create a device that emits a high frequency sound/energy/scent that mosquitoes LIKE. Setup a booby trap.

• promote the spread of natural mosquito predators

Some random mind wandering...

The more I think about it, malaria is disease that occurs when there are deep breakdowns in a society: politically, environmentally, socially, and economically. If each of these pillars stood up, malaria infection rates would probably dramatically decrease and eventually disappear (as it has done in 1st world nations). The problem with malaria, is that it can keep these pillars from rising again, keeping the society in a terrible cycle. Infrastructure is key. A concerted effort from the government is key. Even if the rest of the world provided enough nets, the problem would still exist in a fundamental form.

I found a book, "The Conquest of Malaria"... will have to give it a quick skim.

NOTES TO SELF: The US is willing to finance a $700 billion dollar bailout of its failing financial system. Iraq war costs ~$200 million a day. How much is needed to finance the recoveries of less developed nations? Can we build world security by strengthening nations instead of invading them? Shift from me to we on a global scale. What if we created a group, mirroring a military model, for economic and social battles, an army of specialists that can work with nations to give them frameworks to build the important pillars of society. Nation "tutoring" without the military implications.

Apple Picking: Less Humans More Robots

Homework for this week: Design an apple picking machine. Anything goes, it just has to pick apples from a tree and bring them down.

Additional possible constraints can include:
- pick only ripe or semi-ripe apples
- don't damage apples and trees
- transport apples to a storage area
- can operate 24HR7
- safe for workers
- green for environment
- sustainable
- easy to maintain
- usable in many types of orchards

Ok, with that in mind, I shall ignore all the additional possible constraints and just brainstorm all possibilities. :) Nutty... nutty... :P

WEBSITE: Moodstream... wow!

No, they're not the new ipod nanos... they're Moodstream dials!

Getty images made this nifty web application to present their stock photos, video, and music in an intuitive and entertaining way. I like it because it's simple and somehow satisfying - it feels like you're creating something. :) After you set your sliders controls (happy/sad, calm/lively, humerous/serious... etc) associated images and music stream to you browser, full size, like a mashed up music video. There are presets that you can choose from as well (the round dial with six icons) for preset moods. If you press a preset button, the sliders automatically move like the EQ sliders on an audio program. Cool.



















But wait, that's not all!

While the media is streaming over your browser, you can pause the stream and ADD it to your MOODBOARD interface. Moodboards collect all the images/sound that you find valuable so that you can inspect it later in closer detail. BELOW: The lower right "+" and Pause buttons can be used to add media to the moodboard (upper right hand corner).














Moodstream found a way to present stock images in a entertaining and relevant way (well, actually, I don't know how accurate their sliders are, but I think the concept is great). :) A site such as this should appeal to people who:

1. search for media
2. negotiate prices for media
3. purchase media
4. approve final purchases

Agencies involved with advertising, branding, design... etc. would be interested in a site such as this; however, it would probably be used as an inspirational tool rather than the tool for searching for media (since the interface is rather slow if you know exactly what you're looking for.)

Give it a swirl.

NEW MEDIA: I Want You to Want Me

I Want You To Want Me explores the search for love and self in the world of online dating. The creators of the exhibit, Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar, gather vast amounts of online data (from popular online dating sites every few hours) and organize it into balloons, metaphorically. The exhibit attempts to chronicle long term dating relationships across ages, genders, and sexualities. The target audience is anyone who is curious about online dating or human relationships in general.

The presentation of the data highlights general trends in dating. What are the most popular first dates? What are the most popular turn-ons? Who has interesting self descriptions? Some of the data representations are somewhat abstract and not entirely clear, but they do give a ephemeral sense of interest regardless.

The data is presented on a 56" high resolution touch screen. The touch screen draws in the user more intimately than a mouse and keyboard. Females are red balloons and males are blue balloons. The darker colours represent people who are older, and the lighter colours represents youth. The interactive sky is also colour coded... but I can't remember why. :) Inside the balloons are video silhouettes of the potential dates. The software, created by Jonathan and Sep, also recommends ideal setups.















The exhibit appears very fluid and emotional... not bad for presenting large statistical numbers. The topic is definitely engaging and current (since the software is constantly updating with new information). I'd like to see it in person one day. :) The work was originally commissioned by the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for their show, Design & the Elastic Mind in Feb. 2008. Check out I Want You To Want Me.


ASIDE:

Jonathan Harris' background is in computer science but his real passion is storytelling. He merges programming, statistics, anthropology, art, and storytelling into his works. Are people in Asia mostly happy or sad? Are people in the US usually happier on sunny days? Check out We Feel Fine to find the answers. He also "shares" his computer code under a Creative Commons share-alike license.

WEBSITE: The World is My Canvas

My World is a Canvas is an engaging, funny website featuring the world's greatest Position Art artist, Stavros. He's an awkward Euro-concept-artist who says silly things with even sillier facial expressions. I found it hilarious.

The website is a promotional vehicle for Nokia's N82 GPS enabled smart phone. Stavros, creates "Position Art" by holding onto his N82 while plotting routes through cities to make pictures. According to Stavros, the world is his canvas and the N82 is his brush. The N82 is a GPS smart phone with multimedia capabilities. The N82, competitor to the iPhone 3G, is likely geared towards a youngish crowd (25-40), who like gadgets, and who like to travel.

The interesting thing about the website is that it lacks any overt Nokia branding. This low key approach, typical of viral-type advertising, allows the user to "get to know" Stravros as a quirky personality and not as "Nokia-man. " The website is like a low pressure sales pitch, showing the N82 only as a tool... of Position Art. If you have an inner geek, you may get a kick out of Stavros.

From the technical side of things, the video personality looks great. The site is clean and a sense of depth is accomplished by showing Stavros in 3 different zoom positions. Other Links on the site include:

1. Link to Stavros's blog.
2. Link to creating Position Art (using your mouse cursor).
3. Link to sharing via Facebook, Stumbleupon... etc.

Say hello to Stavros.

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