Peace Corps to Wire Senegal 171
An anonymous submitter wrote: "Peace Corps Online is reporting on the White House's Digital Freedom Initiative that will place volunteers from the Peace Corps, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco in a pilot program in Senegal where they will leverage nearly 200 cybercafes and 10,000 telecenters to provide opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The idea isn't new - David Rothman proposed an Electronic Peace Corps in 1984, the Geek Corps has been doing this kind of work in Ghana for years, and the Peace Corps already has about 1,500 volunteers working in information technology."
why? (Score:2)
Re:why? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:why? (Score:2)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing
purchasing power parity - $1,580 (2001)
but still has over half it's people below the poverty line, and nearly 50% unemployment.
Re:why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:why? (Score:5, Insightful)
However long range wireless solutions might be very suitable for many of these countries for bringing internet access to the cafes, because the poverty levels means that even phone lines get stolen quite often for the copper many places (some countries have even had cases of people cutting down power cables to sell the scrap metal).
Securing a number of wireless routers might be easier than securing miles and miles of cable. Additionally, putting up phone cables is expensive, and many African countries have extremely under developed landline networks, and it's not a given that setting up wireless connections won't be cheaper.
Re:why? (Score:2, Informative)
Are there any Internet cafes in the developed world that use long-range wireless technologies? We can't even make 3G cell phone networks a reality here in the US, so I don't see how we can expect that to happen in developing countries. And if you're referring to Wi-Fi, then that's also not feasible, since 802.11b only goes about 10 miles max, even with a line-of-sight high-gain directional antenna. You'd have to put repeaters all over the countryside.
When I served with the Peace Corps in Ghana, some of the "luxury" Internet cafes in the capital were using specially-licensed microwave links to a shared VSAT Internet link, but spreading that kind of access throughout the rest of the (mostly rural) land just isn't economically possible.
What I noticed in Ghana is that any town that had been wired for electricity, no matter how small, was also wired for phone service. Unfortunately, the government-owned phone company (Ghana Telecom) has a monopoly on the entire phone industry, and they aren't interested in competition because they don't want to lose their cash cow. The result is that dial-up Internet access from small towns is already availble but extremely expensive due to the per-minute long-distance charges.
The solution, I think, is not technical but rather economical. Instead of building some fancy wireless mesh network, developing countries should work to deregulate the phone industry and open it up to competition, thus lowering the cost of Internet access everywhere.
Re:why? (Score:1)
You must submit an Essay.
Knowledge of French or Spanish is preferred.
U.S. citizenship
In most cases, a bachelor's degree
Interest in learning another language
Ability to commit to two years of service
A desire to help others and bridge cultural divides.
I could see 3 or 4 months, but 2 years of my life to be a volunteer? To me that seems like a long time to volunteer for something when you are that qualified.
Re:why? (Score:2, Insightful)
The best answer is in an article I wrote, available here: More than one way to make a difference [embedded.com]
You can also find more info about my Peace Corps experience here: Two Years, Two Months [vocaro.com]
The requirements you listed are spot-on. Note that if you don't have knowledge of Spanish or French, having a science or engineering degree can do just as much to help get you in to the Peace Corps. (Most applicants are liberal arts majors without any technical skills that the Peace Corps needs.)
I could see 3 or 4 months, but 2 years of my life to be a volunteer?
Two years is nothing -- a small fraction of your normal life span -- especially when you consider the impact those two years could have on your life. Think about it: What would you do with those two years in the U.S.? Work a nine-to-five job so you can buy that new computer and a big screen TV? I'd prefer to spend the time traveling the world, making friends, learning a new language, and discovering places I've only seen in National Geographic. But that's just me. If you can only commit three months, try the GeekCorps [geekcorps.org].
Re:why? (Score:2)
It's commonly estimated that Nigeria will have more than 18 million cellphone subscribers in 5 years time.
Why? Because building out a cellphone network is CHEAP compared to laying cable, particularly when you can expect the cables to be damaged or stolen on a regular basis.
Cellphone networks can easily be used for data transmissions - the GSM protocol allow channel bundling, so even high speed links are possible. So already today, wireless access to the internet would allow a far wider reach than landlines in Nigeria.
The reason internet cafes in the developed world use fixed line access is that the developed world is already wired. Enormous amounts of money have been sunk in laying copper wires everywhere, and the cost have already been written off, while technology keeps on increasing the amount of data we can shove down the wires. For countries with large distances and without an existing extensive landline infrastructure it is simply not cost effective.
So in this case it is landline based networks that are "fancy", and wireless networks using repeaters that is the cheap, cost effective alternative.
Re:why? (Score:2)
Err.. no. Wi-Fi works perfectly well out to 25km and longer distances have been done. For references have a look here [openict.net] and look at the archives for the wireless-longhaul [openict.net] mailing list.
Also Senegal isn't that big a country
The solution, I think, is not technical but rather economical. Instead of building some fancy wireless mesh network, developing countries should work to deregulate the phone industry and open it up to competition, thus lowering the cost of Internet access everywhere.
That would be "political" actually, I agree but you're missing a couple of other important policy needs. The country must normalize their spectrum with the international open spectrum bands to make sure WiFi is legal. The other policy need is to make sure that VoIP is fully legal and unrestricted, since it makes much more efficient use of existing resources, thus dropping call costs and allowing more people to make calls.
simon
Re:why? (Score:1)
simon
Re:why? (Score:2, Insightful)
training for what, exactly? how are IT skills and improved communications going to help free impoverished countries from the grip of corrupt administrations and natural resource leeches such as Shell or deBeers?
what do these businesses sell, in any case? last i heard, putting your small business on teh internet was only useful if you are producing something someone in [affluent country here] wants - and sadly, outside of big business concerns such as oil or diamonds, that doesn't amount to much.
Re:why? (Score:5, Informative)
You can find practicly anything on the internet, no need for expensive books, all you need is a little curiousity.
As for fighting big business and governments all you need is to set up a 'poor-villages-against-whatever' mailinglist and you can organize.
That is the power of the internet: spreading information at practicly no cost.
Jeroen
Re:why? (Score:2)
Also, a free press is a great tool to help develop a country. Get people used to exercising reason skills about the circumstances of their lives and they are a lot more likely to become entrepreneurial.
Don't get me wrong, I'ld rather see a balanced mix of solar ovens, microloans, and living machine-based water processing systems, But this is an excellent start.
Of course, since it's being sheparded by the Shrub White House we can assume that the whole project will be distorted by the sort of corporate malfeasance that made so much of the "Green Revolution" a multi-million death fiasco. But it is still worth it.
Rustin
Re:why? (Score:2, Insightful)
whipping out their Pocket PC once they hear that a wifi node has been set up on top of the local
rubbish heap.
Swell! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Swell! (Score:3, Interesting)
It's all very well and good to want to provide communications access to those that don't have it, but do they *need* it?
I would have thought that tackling the causes of Africa's poverty, rather than attempt to "boost it into the 21st century" (whatever that means) would be a more effective and longer-lasting solution.
but no. we'd rather show we care enough to give them the benefits of Fark, AYBABTU, and hotmail accounts (and who wants to bet some enterprizing fellow won't work out a way to capitalise on our own greed and idiocy - Nigerian 411, anyone?)
not belittling the hard work people put into this, but it seems to be yet another case of malformed priorities/treating symptoms not cause. but then, treating symptoms doesn't carry so much responsibility/difficulty, does it?
sadly, a pointless excercise.
Re:Swell! (Score:1)
There's not much of an incentive, given that most of the causes of Africa's poverty are causes of the west's prosperity.
Re:Swell! (Score:1)
<BR><BR>and they say ken saro-wiwa died in vain.
Re:Swell! (Score:5, Insightful)
A large portion of Africa is farmland, but dedicated to export crops. There is little left over for staple farming. The money earned from these cash crops makes the landowners rich, which in turn makes the government rich. The profit is dumped into the military, buying jets and tanks, troops, training camps, etc to quell uprisings and 'protect' their country. Little is left over for urban development, health care, or infrastructure. Much of the foreign aid is absorbed by the government.
Tackling the root causes is difficult, as it is not only the western world which is profiting from Africa's poverty. It is their own leaders as well.
Please stop the "they only need food" (Score:2, Interesting)
Yes. It's exactly like if you argued they don't need a postal service at all in third world countries. Now matter how starved they are, postal service is useful. Likewise for communications. For the record, many of those countries have numerous emmigrants, and considering the price of international phone communications, you'll understand why email and cybercafes are such a success there. The emmigrant-whose-plane-ticket-was-paid-by-the-villa ge-and-who-sends-back-money is not uncommon. There are other uses too.
In addition, in almost all third world countries, have a very rich upper class, with the lastest technological toys, and which doesn't know what to do with its money (investing is boring - culturally speaking this isn't US/UK self-made-man dreams etc..., using money to get power isn't always necessary, as there is more social corruption). At the very least, those demand a good Internet access.
"Useless"? (Score:2)
Farmers who are online can't be scammed anywhere near as much as to going prices of their crops. No more sleazy dealers buying from the farmers for three cents on the dollar.
DIY basic health care. Many people in places like this still don't even understand things like boiling water before using it to clean a wound. Access to simple online data like how to recognize Kaposi's Sarcoma will save many lives.
Information on farming and husbandry. My grandparents had a small farm in Kansas during the dustbowl years and I had it hammered into me many times that much of what kept my father and all of his siblings alive through it while others lost their land or worse was that my grandfather actually talked to the extension agent. Things like contour plowing or optimized crop rotation can mean the difference between life and death. As can, btw, the ability to recognize a plant blight *before* it hits the whole crop.
Far better opportunities for women, gay people, and other disempowered groups. People can't keep you down as well when you know that others are fighting elsewhere and how they're doing it.
Education, from schooling to information for parents on childcare.
Information on repair of things like pumps and stoves, and access to places to buy parts or replacements.
Access to music and entertainment. Here we just treat stuff like Kazaa as a cool way to route around Tower Records, but for somebody in rural Senegal access to music, movies, books, and so on, including the ability to upload their own is seriously important.
I could keep going but I hope that I've made my point. Of course, phone service provides *some* of this, but from the looks of it, many of these places don't have phones yet either.
Rustin
Re:Swell! (Score:2)
It's all very well and good to want to provide communications access to those that don't have it, but do they *need* it? I would have thought that tackling the causes of Africa's poverty, rather than attempt to "boost it into the 21st century" (whatever that means) would be a more effective and longer-lasting solution.
There's no way they're going to get out of the poverty without education. They need to be able to compete with Western countries. For many people, books are too expensive, and also just unavailable. On the Internet however, there's a wealth of information about basically everything. For ambitious Africans who want to get away from poverty, the Internet is invaluable.
Re:Swell! (Score:2)
It's all very well and good to want to provide communications access to those that don't have it, but do they *need* it? I would have thought that tackling the causes of Africa's poverty, rather than attempt to "boost it into the 21st century" (whatever that means) would be a more effective and longer-lasting solution.
Perhaps poor information infrastructure is one of the root causes of Africa's poverty. The canonical example is the rural farmer who doesn't know the price of grain at the market in the city and thus is robbed blind by the middlemen. The Internet can also be used to cheaply keep in contact with Senegalese abroad. The more they stay in contact, the more money they send back as remittances. etc. etc.
Re:Swell! (Score:3, Insightful)
Exactly, wouldn't this money be better spent? On the flip side it sounds like the move is generating private investment.
From the CIA world fact book (hey its what google gave me): [CIA World Fact Book] [cia.gov]
"Senegal ... realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP."
However, I worry about the mentality that the internet can solve all our problems. I think we all saw the fallacy of that misconception after the bubble. Further, the question should be asked, is this a society that is ready for this technology? Will this have adverse impacts on a culture that has not prepared itself for such drastic change (now I sound like my old Tech and Society prof)? Will the average Senegalese be receptive to such a cultural shift?
Re:Swell! (Score:1)
Anyone who's played Sim City will know, Internet is one piece of a much larger puzzle. Or, to use a more potent metaphor, what would probably be more productive is to provide the *framework* for a modern society, and, with enough investment, they can fill the gaps and eventually become economically independent.
The problem is, we don't want that. Because that would make them rivals.
If you take a look at the financial exchange between the industrialized and emerging countries, you'll notice that there is more money coming from them towards us than from us towards them : we're not helping them, we're getting rich off of them.
Do I hear neo-colonialism?
Re:Swell! (Score:1)
"WE" is a gross overgeneralization. Apperantly I have a little more faith in humanity than you. I think most ordinary people don't want to see others suffer (WE just don't take as much action as we could/should).
About neo-colonialism, I strongly doubt there is any large number of people that are that sinister. This statement is simply paranoid conspiricy theory. However, you are VERY correct that corporations are happy to make a buck on developing nations and just as happy to exploit them. But the idea of "neo-colonialism" is far too structured. The same effect is being achieved by corporate greed, but I don't think it is in any way intentional. In other words the current economic situation of the third world is a byproduct of corporate greed.
Then again my opinion results from a sort of optomistic faith in humanity, "we suck but we don't want to".
Development work and Internet (Score:2)
that's a bit rosy-glasses, but the do-what-you-can-with-what-you-have part is very valid and useful.
Now, the impact on society is another thing, but, (sadly?) most countries ready for a digital revolution have been watching American cable TV for most of a generation, and the Internet may actually reduce that damage...
Feel free to ask me questions on this one, I'll try to check the spam ma^H^H^H^H^H^Hhotmail account.
Re:Swell! (Score:1, Interesting)
My (anonymous) opinion. Do both. It's different aid from diffrent people.
Re:Swell! (Score:1)
This is good but... (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=4657 [linuxjournal.com]
Re:This is good but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This is good but... (Score:4, Insightful)
You said yourself that you need skilled labour.
Skilled labour means good education.
For education to work you need to get people to look beyond their horizon into the world. What better medium than the internet to do this?
Jeroen
Re:This is good but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Books?
Re:This is good but... (Score:2)
When you compare how many books you can fill with a google search I think that internet connection isn't so expensive afterall.
Jeroen
Re:This is good but... (Score:1)
Re:This is good but... (Score:1)
Maybe crop rotation would help their farming, but when you only have one crop to grow (as is the case in most instances), what are you going to rotate it with, even if you DO know extensively about crop rotation.
Re:This is good but... (Score:3, Insightful)
What do you think the Internet is. It's basic infastructure. Computers and the Internet move information -- FAST and EFFICIENTLY.
Not only is that important for health, education and general quality of life, but employment can arise through it too.
The Internet is no longer a simple luxury. In fact, my specific job would be impossible without the Internet, but it has nothing to do with the Internet. It's just how we deliver our product.
web access provides real-time access to prices (Score:2)
I remember reading somewhere that the main use that rural Indians found from internet access was access to real-time pricing information in the big cities (so they know what price to put goods at). It also helps businesses to find more competitive rates for parts and supplies that they need to buy. These are significant business advantages.
From a consumer level, it makes sense. It gives the local consumer more power to shop for price and can often save unnecessary meetings or travelling. One uneducated woman I knew wanted internet access (in the USA) so she can have access to job applications and help wanted ads. Just from the standpoint of medicine, the internet contains oodles of information about treatment options, the pro's and con's of therapy and just disease information.
These are pretty obvious advantages, and in a third world, they count for a lot. I'm not saying that technology and net infrastructure is the most important thing (and certainly aid projects are subject to misuse, hoarding of resources and abuse), but they provide a lot of opportunity which westerns can't even begin to calculate.
rj
Re:web access provides real-time access to prices (Score:1)
That being said, I think that we should not measure an economy by whether it is net-enabled or not. Yes we should bring connectivity to these countries, but that should be in addition to, not instead of making a concerted effort to bringing the basics of a stable economy. I am merely proposing that we should not treat this as an experiment to see what the internet can do to a community plagued by economic problems. We should ensure that we give the tools to use the knowledge as well as the knowledge itself. In short, let's not forget about this country like we've forgot about countries in the past.
Re:This is good but... (Score:2, Informative)
The Internet is a fantastic tool, and yes, while there are many things that Senegal does need before it can advance in the world -- the Internet, while not the be-all-end-all solution, can do a lot of good.
Check out the draft of my paper here:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~cfarivar/senegal/draf t.html [berkeley.edu]
And Now the News... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:And Now the News... (Score:1)
Re:And Now the News... (Score:2)
I get about five or six of the "Nigerian Minister" a month, and it's the only one that I get that is really identifiable as a confidence trick. That was the sense in which I intended "scam".
Since spam is a numbers game (so many responses per million e-mails sent), I'd guess that they don't care whether your address is in the US or the UK. If you tried to buy one of their products from out of the country, they would probably seize the opportunity to charge you extra for shipping. And then they would just keep the money, and say that the package must have been lost in the international mail.
Always has to be hardware (Score:5, Interesting)
Well at least Cisco and HP are branching into new market and away from the saturated ones.
Re:Always has to be hardware (Score:2, Interesting)
IT infrastructure permits to nurses to know better about new drugs, to exchange knowledge. it permits communication in a land where phone is very expensive.
Funny thing is Senegal is one of the most connected country in sub-saharian africa, 45Mb where Niger have only 2Mb. And it is the richest in west-africa (may be Nigeria is on par).
IMHO it is just another way to promote american engineering and products to a potentially good marketplace. Why not Mali, or Niger which are in a much more problematic state ?
Re:Always has to be hardware (Score:5, Insightful)
Better laws can theoretically be attained in semi-democratic and democratic countries through providing information about current laws, and things that are going up for voting in the legislative body, as well as providing a conduit for citizens to contact their government members in order to influence policy.
Better courts can be attained, especially in countries that utilize a common law standard, by having the court system linked up, so all judicial reviews can be viewed quickly, easily and instantaneously. Thus, the court system can act more consistently as a whole across the entire nation-state, as opposed to the personal habits of each judge. Also, abuses in the system can be reported easier across great distances, if the other branches of the government are plugged in as well.
Banks are another institution that really need to be connected, and have a sharing of information between them. Computers are very useful in documenting a credit history on individuals, making it much easier to call up, so any bank can view it much faster for when determining whether or not to give an individual a loan. Transfers between institutions are better handled electronically as well.
The Internet also provides a cheap way for local nation-wide businesses to post job listings, theoretically allowing for out of work people to be put in touch easier with companies that need workers, improving the overall economy. Though, it is important to note that the US has had some serious flaws with this, but not to the point where its completely useless. I have found work off an Internet job posting before.
Along with increased mobility, you also have a better chance of affordable communication with relatives within the country. Thus, despite the physical distance potentially developing between citizens and their families, all touch won't be lost.
And of course, there is always the benefit of being able to access a wealth of information sources on the Internet that encourage people to view other places in the world and see how they function, so that they might demand change at home.
The point is, just because IT infrastructure seems like a luxury, improved and increased communication between all levels of society is an inherently good thing for democratic institutions, as well as developing market economies. It might not be as useful as building a power plant, or teaching them better farming techniques, however the companies helping here aren't farming or power companies. They're IT companies, so they're helping the way they know how to help.
Re:Always has to be hardware (Score:1)
Ok, maybe it's not directly giving aid but given information on how to do something yourself, or how to contact someone else who has knowledge of a particular area has got to be a useful tool. Just because many of us have become blase about the potential of the internet, doesn't mean it is in actuality any less useful than it ever was.
It's pretty fashionable to bash the whole IT as aid effort as you've done, but I'd argue that a decent IT infrastructure is just as valid an undertaking for a developing nation as almost anything else you could do.
It comes with no strings attached, can't be appropriated, creates trade links and benefits everyone, both in the receipient country and in the donating country. There isn't a great deal else you can say all that about...
Re:Always has to be hardware (Score:1)
But I thought the USA already has the best laws and courts that money can buy...
Fallacy of Other People's Volunteering (Score:2, Insightful)
Here, there's the misappropriated tech support for the third world:
Most countries need better laws, courts, banks not IT infrastructure.
I would also prefer it if the U.S. had better courts and laws- they're currently better than most countries, but could also stand a lot of improvement. I'm not volunteering as a lobbyist, political activist, or even writing my representatives about those issues. Instead, I do some network administration and general tech support for a couple local non-profits. Are my efforts better spent elsewhere?
The short answer is no:
-I want to build on the knowledge I already have.
-I want to feel satisfied at the end of the day for having solved some small network problem, gotten a donated computer up and running, etc.
-I want an external and personal source of motivation: other volunteers and employees who immediately appreciate and recognize my efforts (and they couldn't have done it themselves) because it helps them do their job.
-I might want to get a paying job doing something similar with the references and skills I've built volunteering.
Large scale societal and infrastructural issues take lots of time, money, and effort beyond the abilities of volunteers to fix alone. It's good to be aware of efforts in those larger-scale issues and support them, but it's easier to get volunteers to do something they already know and want to do. (Contrast with "Hey guys, let's dig a latrine in Cambodia!" recruitment method)
If someone were to go to Senegal or other country with IT work in mind, they may come into intimate contact with the more fundamental problems and shift their efforts accordingly, where as reading a speculative slashdot post about the 'real' problems may put them off from volunteering altogether.
Re:Always has to be hardware (Score:1)
Gee. Dosen't it strike you as a bit ironic that the forum in which you have chosen to advocating these changes ... is on the internet!
There is nothing more precious than information.
yay (Score:3, Funny)
Re: yay (Score:1)
> Now I will get twice as many BUSINESS PROPOSALS...
Think supply and demand! You can drive a harder bargin when there's competition.
Open Source is crucial... (Score:2, Interesting)
Sutil slogan changes... (Score:5, Funny)
Yuppie: "Make lan, not war"
Re:Sutil slogan changes... (Score:1)
In an effort to promote standardization in the English language, I must correct this.
Subtle. [reference.com]
Thank you.
Re:Sutil slogan changes... (Score:1)
Re:Sutil slogan changes... (Score:1)
Now, if he was speaking in Spanish it would be different and I wouldn't correct. Seeing as it was an English post, the spelling is 'subtle' not 'sutil'.
Re:Sutil slogan changes... (Score:2)
And even if in technical books I don't read "subtle" a lot to make it sound all the alarms, I just don't had to hurry writing the title and don't checking if it was ok. But I agree that is bad enough that all must talk one language here to add another language to understand to be capable to read slashdot properly.
Re:Sutil slogan changes... (Score:2)
I'll agree. This is why I explicitely put in "Standardizing English" in the quote. I was just secretly hoping you spoke Spanish natively, and weren't just an idiot American.
But I agree that is bad enough that all must talk one language here to add another language to understand to be capable to read slashdot properly.
I'm still pissed off that you can't put in Japanese characters in here. They are standard unicode, and if it's my journal, why can't I write in Japanese?
Re:Sutil slogan changes... (Score:2)
Some of the worst
How long before... (Score:2, Funny)
(What is the number of the senegalese penal code that prohibits such scams???)
Helping out online (Score:4, Informative)
Rus
What will it do? (Score:5, Insightful)
Besides, the people in this country can't afford Coke as a general rule -- even when they can, they return the glass (yes, glass!) bottle right away to get the deposit back and put the Coke in a plastic bag to drink. There are already enough cybercafes in Dakar; perhaps this cash should be going towards helping the little Muslim boys that run around the streets, forced into virtual slavery (via begging) in order to make a few bucks for their master.
Re:What will it do? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What will it do? (Score:2, Insightful)
Anything's better than the upbringing they currently get: hating jews and americans (altho it's worse in other more fundamentalist Islam countries). What kills me is how many people via pop media actually fall for the line that the problem actually is their objects of hate, instead of their enslaving masters, mullahs, ayatollahs and other desperate hate mongering cleric authorities and war lords.
Re:What will it do? (Score:1)
I'm an American currently studying in Senegal, and I can tell you that this is most certainly not the case here.
Re:What will it do? (Score:1)
Re:What will it do? (Score:1)
Rural internet, eh? 90% of the population aged 10-30 are illiterate in Senegal -- the whole country, not just the rural areas. I think that they've got other priorities than communicating with the village down the road, such as wondering if that person upstream from you is taking a piss or just washing their clothes...
Re:What will it do? (Score:2)
"Well, that might help the people in cities, but what about most of the people who live in rural areas?"
Exactly. This will promote a small amount of growth in the developed areas that already have the wealthiest people. What these people primarily need, for long-term growth, is a better education, on a large scale. Better teachers, lots of books, etc. While you do need economic infrastructure development programs like this that build "from the top down", the only way to create real, meaningful widespread change is to also have programs that promote long-term growth from the bottom up, i.e. amongst the poorly educated majority of people.
80% of the population of Africa is under 25, young people who are more open to new and positive ideas and are faster learners; this implies that there is a lot of potental for positive change at the moment. Not to belittle the US efforts here, but programs like this are nicer for political image because they tend to show results relatively fast, i.e. after a few years. But for SERIOUS positive change, you need programs that are only going to show results 20 years down the line (e.g. better education country-wide for all children!), and nobody is willing to wait that long.
I hope they setup webcams (Score:2)
Business Opportunity (Score:3, Funny)
Great. Now AOL will be intercepting 2 billion spams / month, from a new country tld.
Buzzspeak - English translation (Score:3, Insightful)
leverage (vb): means "use"
Alternative trendy buzzwords and phrases:
enabled
facilitate deployment
fixed resource empowerment
consolidate operational dynamics
foster tangible goals
Re:Buzzspeak - English translation (Score:3, Informative)
"Leverage" is about using a small investment to achieve a large result. Those of us who actually study a subject before being snitty about it call this the Multiplier Effect.
In this context, the goal is to use a relatively small investment in telecommunications and electronics to provide a tool, a "lever", that will then cause larger, desired change.
Go away, little boy and leave criticism to those of us who actually *do* know the proper meanings of words.
Rustin
Re:Buzzspeak - English translation (Score:2)
You want to dispute it? Cool. Give me an alternative to "leverage" that conveys the same sense that I explained.
Oh, btw, "weasely" conveys timid. As in "trying to weasel out". Which would also require that the original usage had been mine. What the ever-loving fuck have you ever seen in this post or any other post of mine here or anywhere else that could possibly be described as "timid"?
Rustin
Re:Buzzspeak - English translation (Score:1)
though quite clearly you're failing on the ultimate goal there.
Re:Buzzspeak - English translation (Score:2)
This because leverage means (in more general sense than in its strict definition of using a lever to move an object) using smaller force (or amount etc) to achieve similar effect as using bigger force (etc). This is what a lever does -- it "converts distance to force" (same amount of work is done by either applying smaller amount of force over longer distance as bigger force over shorter distance).
And that's why many people (myself included) do think that majority of usage cases for "leverage" are in fact buzzspeak. People who think leverage is "just fancier way of saying 'use'" clearly do not understand meaning of the word.
Woo-hoo! Where to next? (Score:3, Funny)
What's that? Peace Corps? Yes. Overseas only? I see. Nothing inside the US? Aha.*click*
Never mind.
from CIA Factbook (Score:3, Insightful)
COMMUNICATIONS
-
Telephones - main lines in use:
234,916 (2001)
-
Telephones - mobile cellular:
373,965 (2001)
-
Telephone system:
general assessment: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system
international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
-
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 10, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998)
-
Radios:
1.24 million (1997)
-
Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)
-
Televisions:
361,000 (1997)
-
Internet country code:
.sn
-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
15 (2002)
-
Internet users:
40,000 (2001)
Lesser-developed countries flock to cell phones to get around there out-dated, out-moded, out-period telephone communications, I guess.Sounds like the Peace Corps needs to Wi-Fi Senegal rather than wire it.
I'd love to go (Score:2)
Considering those are the three weapons I'd love to have...sign me up!
Woah, 1500 IT workers? (Score:4, Interesting)
Until "IT" is a Peace Corps job category like Education, Agriculture, Health, and Environment, Peace Corps will not be taking IT seriously.
I speak from experience.
-JB (Volunteer - Poland 15, 1999-2000)
Why English teachers? surely French? (Score:2)
Why loads of English teachers? French is the mother tongue for most people in Senegal (official language? can't remember). Is the intention to teach the kids a second language?
Re:Why English teachers? surely French? (Score:2)
Umm... Mother tongue? Unless I'm really bad at geography I'd guess something less European - Imposed colonial tongue perhaps but not mother tongue. As for why English? Well first off the Peace Corp is American not French and secondly English has definitely surpassed French as the language of international discourse especially for business but increasingly for diplomacy as well (Which really has the French steamed) perhaps in Senegal the use of French as a common tongue among different tribes and their economic ties to their old imperial masters would be a good reason to prefer it to English but even then I think you are commiting your nation to a linguistic backwater.
WTF!? (Score:2, Funny)
Senegal the next Nigeria? (Score:1)
hmmm.... (Score:2)
Peace Corps Wire Segal ?
Hey, you forgot a few links... (Score:2)
Charity Starts at Home (Score:2)
Re:Charity Starts at Home (Score:2)
Do you think that not having broadband in ones home makes one a "charity case"? Or were you just joking and I missed it? Or are you really suggesting that charity (in general) should never be provided to other countries?
Re:Charity Starts at Home (Score:2)
No, what's needed is wireless broadband (Score:3, Insightful)
But the idea of wiring Senegal is all wrong. What's needed is wireless. Wireless internet (e.g. 802.11b Wi-Fi) is a far more appropriate solution in a country like Senegal where traditional wireline infrastructure is going to be subject to harsh environmental conditions and being destroyed by political unrest. Wi-Fi long-distance links can span 30 km in a single hop, and the towers like cell towers can be powered with generators. Wi-Fi delivers true broadband, 802.11b is 10Mbps, and 802.11a and 802.11g can deliver more like 30Mbps.
Broadband is essential. With broadband you can deliver the killer app (yeah, I said killer app) of the rural internet which is Voice over IP. People in Senegal, well, the literacy rate isn't so high, and VoIP is what's really useful to people as it allows them to call members of their family who may be off making money in other parts of the world, to call into town to check crop prices, to call their relatives in the city. Of course this requires policy to make sure that VoIP is legal and that the national telco doesn't try to block it to protect their own profits.
If you're interested in wireless long-distance links, you might be interested in a mailing list on the subject, wireless-longhaul@openict.net. You can subscribe here [openict.net], and the mailing list home page is here [openict.net].
Re:No, what's needed is wireless broadband (Score:2)
No, I'd really like to see some figures on that. Wooden poles and copper wires are cheaper than steel towers and wireless routers. (Was that a rhyme?)
I can't find a hard price. I found http://www.gildertech.com/public/telecosm_series/
Think about it
I'm really not following your logic here. You're suggesting that if a region doesn't have a power grid, then we can still go ahead and put in a Wi-Fi network anyway? You need a computer to use Wi-Fi, and you can't use a computer without electricity! In any case, providing electrical power is far more important than Wi-Fi, so it's not a simple dollar-for-dollar comparison. I mean, being able to turn on a light bulb is more important than hooking up to a Wi-Fi network, so a power grid should take priority over Wi-Fi even if it costs more.
No, again you are wrong. Laptops run on solar power. So do PDAs. network equipment also requires little power typically. There are VoIP "phones" that are not full computers, that can connect directly into the IP network. Also, there are many locations that have power through generators, or wired power, but gaps between them that don't.
Oops. I was typing too fast and doing the calculations in my head, and I got to thinking in Kbps instead of Mbps. Sorry. Let me revise my figures then. Let's say 802.11g is giving you 30 Mbps, as you said. That means if there are 1000 users online at once (quite possible, since you're suggesting we share the Wi-Fi link with all 10 million people in Senegal), then each user would get less than 4 kilobytes per second. And besides, isn't Wi-Fi limited to 256 simultaneous connections, anyway? I think my points still stand, or did I have another brain-fart?
Perhaps I don't, so please explain what I said that was so "lame". Am I wrong in thinking that most Wi-Fi routers puke out when they get to around 30 or so simultaneous connections?
Yes, you're wrong about that. Although there are Wi-Fi APs that include routers, many don't. Those are just home/SOHO solutions. WiFi is really just a "wireless ethernet" at it's most basic, that is, a way to get data from one point to another. At each base station, the WiFi devices may be connected to any of the available routing and switching equipment that can be used with a normal TCP/IP network. So, each base station can tap into the data stream, and do whatever they like with it. Wi-Fi doesn't care how many "connections" there are, it's all TCP/IP packets.
Anything that's possible with regular wireline, can be done with WiFi. WiFi doesn't care about routing, switching etc. The intelligence is at the edge of the network, just like the internet.
I realize you think I'm only trying to attack your ideas, but I'm not -- I had the same ideas myself when I was in the Peace Corps! But after reading up on Wi-Fi and thinking a lot about the possibilities, I realized that there are just too many problems with Wi-Fi, and I'm mentioning the caveats here. It would be great if it could work, but I don't believe it's possible for Wi-Fi to share an Internet connection throughout the rural areas of a developing country.
OK.
simon
I get offers like this all the time (Score:2)
Us only (Score:2, Insightful)
technology backend (Score:2)
mp
Peace Corps not part of Homeland Security (Score:5, Informative)
Re:oh nice.. almost ... (Score:2)
I can't believe that they actually want to waste time and wire the area, why not WiFi towers that double as cell phone towers so we won't have to ALSO go install those with volunteer labor?
I am completely for getting information and social/spiritual ideas to the masses though.
Re:Educate women instead of developing cybercafes (Score:2, Insightful)
I think this is very worthwhile but would only work in cities where you have electricity - for part of the day at least...
Re:Yeah, great (Score:2)
West African nations are renowned on all levels for political/economic corruption.
Not to be nitpicky, but this is different from the USA, how, exactly?
Re:Yeah, great (Score:2)
For example, cops here are dicks, but when's the last time you had to pay one off to stop him from mugging you?
Well its not like that sort of thing is even common in Senegal either. And its not as if US doesn't have corruption or racism problems (a la Rodney King) in their police force. And America is FULL of people trying to bilk people all over the world out of their money with scams - I know, I get their spam in my inbox almost every day. Corporate corruption is rife too; its not as if Enron was an exception. Enron was only exceptional for its size. The US has corruption on ALL LEVELS. This is how it works in every country in the world, no country is special or morally superior in any way. I will grant that certain types of corruption will have lower percentages in the US than in some other countries, but all of it is still everyday occurring stuff.
There is so much dirt on both sides here, it really isn't worth it to start a mud-fight, we could both be drudging up muck for a long time about the US and various other countries, which is a silly exercise, and certainly not constructive. I'm not attacking the US, I'm just saying that the US certainly can't be claimed to be a role model when it comes to these things.