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Monday, December 13, 2010

Technology As We See IT

This week's technology topics follow:


Snippet # 1
New America Foundation, November 19, 2010


Topic:
Innovation and technology

Link:

Description:
This article describes innovative technological initiatives to empower the marginalized population.  Ms. Rhea discussed three innovative designs:  Human-centered design (HCD), Appprpriate technology (AT), and Participatory technology design (PD).   HCD focuses on describing the process of the technology design, AT focuses on the parameters of efficient and less expensive technology solutions to he participants, and PD focuses on the active participation of the constituents.

Why do I like it:
I like this article because it illustrates technology solutions to the marginalized population who may not have access to technology but have the capacity to learning.

Snippet # 2
Technology Review, November 22, 2010

Topic:
Green IT/energy

Link:

Description:
This article describes a method of creating energy from biogas by Huishan, a Chinese firm, to mitigate emission of methane to the environment.  According to the article methane is more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.  The item that will be used to produce biogas is cow manure.   Producing electricity from manure has been minimal, only two mega-watt.  But Huishan’s initiative is expected to produce 20 million cubic meters of biogas.

Why do I like it:
I like it because it illustrates how serious China has become about green house emission and protecting climate.

Snippet # 3
Wired, November 29, 2010

Topic:
Technology and science
Link:

Description:This is unbelievable!  A story about computer programming competition for highschool protégés from around the world.   This year’s competition took place at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.  Three hundred and fifteen protégés competed.  Among them were a kid from Belarus and a kid from the States.  The two had an intense rivalry although the kid from Belarus was a clear favorite.  The competitors are allowed to use three programming languages, Pascal, C, and C++.  The Pascal is popular in Asia and East Europe while C and C++ are widely used in the States. 

Why do I like it:
I like this story because it describes the passion for science, math, and computer among the students all around the world.

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