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The Africa program aims to create links between MIT and a number of African universities for the purposes of solving community-derived problems and the creation of a sustainable academic research environment in these African universities. Our first project involves the codevelopment, with students form African universities, of computer-based instructional and research tools for the main project. It is also to show that cooperation is indeed feasible. Instead of reaching for a book or a phone, young people today are more likely to use the internet to search for information. However, much of the information available on the internet is of dubious quality and may not apply specifically to students. Bloobird seeks to take advantage of the lower threshold of access to information on the internet [compared to more traditional mental health access points] in order to make relevant mental health information and resources more accessible to students. This resource does not seek to replace, but rather to supplement, traditional mental health services by providing an additional gateway for students to access information and care. While initially designed to serve the MIT community, this project was designed as a framework that facilitates personalization of topics and services for use at other universities. Features that will be available include general information, a message board, confidential real-time communication with a trained peer, and of course referrals to additional resources. Bloobird has the potential of including individuals who would otherwise be left out of the mental health network, reducing the stigma associated with seeking mental health services, and increasing student knowledge and awareness of mental health issues. Four billion people lack basic education, government, and economic services due to a lack of affordable telecommunications infrastructure. Just as donkeys travel from village to village-delivering goods, DonkeyNet enables any physical transport to deliver connectivity to this needed global market. DonkeyNet has
developed a patent-pending technology that provides high-bandwidth
intranet and Internet access for rural markets lacking connectivity
at a fraction of the fixed and variable costs of current alternatives.
DonkeyNet’s store-and-forward wireless network uses Mobile
Access Points to physically DonkeyNet is seeking funding to develop the system and launch the network in various countries including China, India, and Latin American countries. Addressing the unmanageable rise in health care costs requires the spirit of innovation, development, enterprise, action, and service that the IDEAS competition promotes. One area where the burden on individuals is increasing the most is payment for prescription drugs. Not only does the stand-alone Medicare plan not cover drugs for the elderly, but many others also have to pay out-of-pocket because they either do not have health insurance or their health plans do not cover the drugs they need. Some end up not buying the medication they need. DrugSave will ameliorate this problem by providing a centralized web and telephonebased tool for people to find the best price for their medication and to learn about any government or pharmaceutical patient assistance programs for which they qualify. Overcoming the difficulty in finding the resources to afford one’s drugs is a large step in improving many people’s quality of life. EASE is an acronym for Expediting Access to Standard Education. The aim of the program is to improve access to basic education in Africa through sponsorship programs and the establishment of libraries in villages. We believe that education holds the solution to most of the world's problems. Yet, many children are denied the opportunity due to financial constraints. We are convinced that a little effort on our part will go a long way to help. Although the program has hopes of expanding to other African countries, the initial scope is limited to Ghana. The current focus is to sponsor underprivileged children through Junior Secondary School (JSS), which forms the core of basic education in Ghana. The general goals of EASE are to:
"If my child can have a Winnie the Pooh doll that says 'nose', when you squeeze its nose, 'hand', when you squeeze its hand, why can’t she have a toy that speaks Cree?" Out of this idea, spoken by Jolene Crebs, a Chippewa Cree Indian, was born the desire to create a device that not only spoke the words of Native Americans, but also had the ability to capture words, phrases and stories of elders and children alike, and make them available for use in the community for generations to come. It is with this in mind we hope to create a "toy" that will not merely act as a recording and playback device, but become a true talking stick that acts as a catalyst for getting elders and children together for the purpose of sharing and capturing knowledge that would otherwise be lost to the world forever.
The goal of
this project is to reduce the environmental impact of leaking gasoline
storage tanks by making continuous testing of the monitor wells
around the tanks possible at low cost. This new technology will
enable tank owners in developing countries to catch leaks earlier
and limit environmental damage. This low cost approach will be attractive
to a cost sensitive industry that is reluctant to pay for expensive
testing that does not contribute directly to profits.
The Ghana New Ventures Competition Inc. is an international not-for-profit organization established in the United States and Ghana, with the mission of "Building the infrastructure of entrepreneurship in Ghana". It will achieve this through an annual, nationwide business plan competition. The business plan competition will consist of a series of events that fulfill 3 functions: provide training
to youth and aspiring entrepreneurs in tertiary institutions in
the basics of entrepreneurship and business planning
Arsenic and pathogens are two of the most significant drinking water concerns in the developing countries. While much of the current research effort by the scientific community focuses on independent treatment for arsenic and pathogens; the drinking water in Bangladesh, Eastern India (West Bengal), and Nepal are contaminated with both arsenic and pathogens. In addition, many of these treatment systems are inappropriate in a number of ways. As a result, people have not choice but to continue to drink contaminated water, leading to horrible health consequences. Our innovate drinking water treatment design not only treats both contaminants simultaneously, but is also technically, socially, and economically appropriate. This project aims at coming up with a TV program that features interviews of successful and inspirational people at their work environments with the purpose of motivating the viewers to pursue their dreams by learning from people who have made it in their respective fields despite their backgrounds and telling the secret of their success.
The MIT Braintrust team, a neuroscience-oriented service club, is developing an Internet training tutorial geared to patients with neurological disorders. This tutorial teaches patients and caregivers how to access extensive information and support resources available online. Material is presented in a simplified format intended to be accessible to patients with cognitive, visual and motor coordination impairments. Content ranges from the basics of web surfing to more complex concepts like website evaluation. The tutorial teaches users to locate medical information using Medline, and to find and participate in e-mail support groups for information and emotional support. It will also include a guide to useful websites. With our community partner, The Healing Exchange BRAIN TRUST, the team plans to implement this tutorial via computer stations in clinics, hospital waiting rooms and libraries. Our goal is to improve quality of life for patients and caregivers by helping them get involved in online communities and learn about online health resources. Lexaria is a unique digital community website for writers that allows them to store and share their writing. Writers can collaborate through Lexaria without needing to have technical knowledge or skills. Instead of subscribing to paid services from a tutor, writers help each other through the free services of Lexaria. To make the writing process more educational and enjoyable by enabling writers to:
Develop inexpensive microfilm storage device and reader to improve access to books in developing countries.
From households to laboratories, society today uses a large number of batteries for various purposes. Most batteries are disposed of in landfills, polluting the environment with dangerous chemicals and taking up a large amount of space. Our project proposes an alternative source of portable energy by using the power of compressed air. Electrical energy can be harvested from mechanical energy resulting from the force of compressed air on a fan through the use of a generator. Our battery would be reusable for a long period of time without losing its efficiency and would not contain any chemicals harmful to the environment. NKOMA aims to increase the success rate on the baccalaureate (final high school examination) in Gabon and thus to decrease the number of students dropping out of high school. It identifies the sources of failure such as the lack of adequate reading sources, appropriate practice exercises, tools with which to evaluate students’ progress and it incorporates the solution to these problems in a highly interactive web application that has an artificial intelligence ability to act like a personal tutor for the student who uses it. NKOMA may also help teachers to identify their students’ strength and weaknesses and therefore it helps teachers prepare better lectures.
Pure Water will find a feasible and sustainable solution for potable water accessibility in rural areas in Nicaragua. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America, with over half of the population unemployed and over 80% of the rural population without access to safe water. Our team will work closely with community partners (NGOs, local students and artisans) in all the stages for the creation, development, implementation and monitoring of a household water filter with optimized pathogen removal efficiency and flow rate. Our solution will innovate in technology, methodology, monitoring and in the interaction model with community collaborators. We will use a real-time feedback and iteration system for our research and product development. Moreover, Pure Water will ensure local availability of knowledge and skill to reproduce the technology transferred. In order to accomplish this goal, we will train local potters from four rural settings (San Francisco Libre, San Juan Oriente, La Paz Centro and Calle Real de Tolapa) to produce home-maid filters to replace broken or malfunctioning devices. These potters will also act as promoters and information sources who provide incentives for appropriate usage of the technology. Finally, we will monitor and assess the results of our project for a period of 6 months.
Salvation
Army Data Collection System
The Socially Conscious Purchasing Tool serves the community by providing a means for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. Using the tool, consumers can quickly and easily access a database containing detailed information on manufacturers’ production practices. Consumers equipped with the tool can readily distinguish between products that are environment-friendly versus those whose production processes involve heavy pollution. Likewise, consumers can choose not to purchase products that exploit child labor. The Socially Conscious Purchasing Tool consists of two physical parts: a Handspring Visor Neo PDA with Springboard Expansion Slot and a Symbol Technologies CSM 150 Bar Code Scanner Springboard Module. The bar code scanner reads product bar codes and interfaces with the PDA, which contains the database on production practices. After the consumer scans the product, the PDA displays the database entry. Today, racism as alive and hiding behind a smoke screen of "cultural barriers.” Soul Food for Every Culture is a class designed to break down these cultural barriers through the preparation of cultural foods. All people who have kitchen common sense and an open mind will be able to participate. By working together in teams, Soul Food for Every Culture will break down cultural barriers within the group of participants. This class will instill an appreciation and understanding of other cultures in its participants along with an awesome heaping of great food! Students Review gathers data from current college students (undergraduate, graduate, professional) online & makes them freely available for search and read with the ideal of improving the information available to prospective students in their application and college search process. I believe that having made an informed decision, students will generally be more satisfied with their college choice. (Currently greater than 1 out of 3 is dissatisfied. source = current students Review data (3900 surveys) ). We also believe that the student body will become more effectively matched to each university, yielding higher return rates on both sides of the education equation. |
