woensdag 1 december 2010
Microsoft researches user interface for the illiterate
Creating smarter iconic images for different countries and cultures is a key challenge
Computerworld - Microsoft Corp.'s research arm is working on technology that would enable its engineers to build a user interface for the illiterate.
Scientists in Microsoft Research's laboratory in Bangalore, India, have been working on the project since 2005, according to P. Anandan, the facility's managing director. The scientists are building prototypes of the user interface now, but Microsoft has no immediate plans for including it in a product, Anandan said.
"Many people in the world -- about 50% in India -- cannot read and write," Anandan told Computerworld. "For them, a textual interface where they have to read and write just is not useful. You can show a lot more in a picture."
Anandan and his team from the Bangalore lab were in Redmond, Wash., this week for Microsoft's seventh annual TechFest gathering. They were among many of Microsoft's 800 Ph.D.-level researchers from around the world who attended the event to show off projects they are working on.
On Tuesday, the scientists gave the press and Microsoft research partners a glimpse of their work. They then rolled out a more comprehensive showcase on Wednesday and Thursday for Microsoft's own employees.
Anandan said part of the challenge in developing the new interface is to overcome the barrier of using reading and writing to interact with the computer. What it largely comes down to is coming up with better icons, he added.
Another problem lies in the fact that different countries, different cultures and even people from different towns respond differently to iconic images. Anandan explained that the average image used in the U.S. for a home would look like two sides of a home and a slanted roof. However, someone looking for housekeeping work in India might see that icon and assume that it was a hut and not a nice home. In India, the icon for a home would have to represent a two-story dwelling, he said.
"One part of this work is not so much about the icons but about the vocabulary a community speaks," he added. "Every iconic interface depends on the application you're creating it for and the community you're focusing on. You have to think of language, the country and the job people do."
Creating a user interface for people who are illiterate, however, can also help in the effort to improve more traditional interfaces, as literate people can also benefit from richer and more meaningful icons, noted Anandan.
"There's a certain amount of vividness that you get through images and sound that you don't get through text," he added.
vrijdag 26 november 2010
Project begeleiding 3
Volgende week tussen presentatie, kort en krachtig. Presentatie 10 min, 20 min bespreken. Helderen analyse probleem, locatie hoe gaan mensen ermee om. Wat hebben wij te bieden, wat dragen we bij.
Strategie, wat is het probleem en hoe oplossen? Nog geen Kits, wel de eerste aanzettingen. Wat hebben we gevonden, maar vooral hoe gaan we het oplossen.
Beeldende presentatie, benaderen vanuit je rol in het project.
nu taken specifiek gaan doen, meer kijken naar het project vanuit je rol.
(Angst, welke angst?)
Boodschap verstoppen in bijv. Het spel. Het echte leven speels maken, en dus begrijpbaar voor de kinderen. Nabootsen van iets in het echte leven om hun voor te bereiden voor wat er ‘later’ gaat gebeuren. Wat gaan we precies vertellen? Hoe kan dat iets meer zijn dan alleen maar onze feitelijk informatie, hoe zouden die kinderen er zelf ( Nu/ OF LATER) over na denken.
Welke spelletjes zijn er? Hoe werken die?
Analfabetisme. Andere beeldtaal toepassen. Studie naar de beeldtaal. Hoe zouden wij dat gaan gebruiken in onze vormgeving. (II/MV)
Beeldtaal voor kinderen.
Nu de studie doen, geen sausje dat we later erbij gooien. We moeten weten hoe de beeldtaal daar in elkaar zit. Taal eigen maken > inzetten voor het concept.
Concept, en beeldtaal lopen later samen.
Wat is relevante media in Afghanistan? (radio, analfabeet, lokale radio) (bijvoorbeeld een hoorspel wat aansluit op ‘ons’ spel)
Content, wat gaan we nu eigenlijk vertellen!
maandag 22 november 2010
Quickpoint-cards
Voorbeeld van communicatie met analfabeten of mensen die de taal niet beheersen. Deze quickpoint-cards kregen Nederlandse soldaten mee op hun missie naar Afghanistan.
Statische gegevens onderwijs Afghanistan
Scholing
Elke jaar is op 22 maart (2 hamal in de Afghaanse zonkalender) de tweede dag van de Perzische (Hidjri-Shamsi) jaartelling en ook het begin van een nieuw studiejaar. Volgens officiële bronnen gaan elk jaar iets meer dan 5 miljoen Afghaanse leerlingen naar school. Het onderwijs in Afghanistan is anders opgebouwd dan in de westerse landen en ook anders dan in de buurlanden. Kinderen gaan op 6 jarige leeftijd naar school. VHet onderwijs wordt ingedeeld in basisscholen (klas 1 t/m,6), middelbare scholen (klas 7 tot 9) en lycea klassen 9-12. De scholen zijn de hele winter, vanaf eind Qaus (21 december tot 21 maart) dicht. Een belangrijke reden daarvoor het probleem van verwarming tijdens koude winters. Sinds enkele jaren krijgen de kinderen in de zomer ook één maand (Asad = leeuw) tussen zomervakantie (23 juli tot 23 augustus). Leerlingen hebben 3 maal per jaar een examen. De studenten van hogescholen en universiteiten hebben jaarlijks twee maal een examen. Het hoogste aantal studiepunten dat op de basisschool (klas 1-3) behaald kan worden is 40. Bij de klassen 4-12 van de scholen en universiteiten kan er per jaar maximaal 100 studiepunten behaald worden.
Uit recent onderzoek van Stichting SAN is gebleken dat de Jongeren in Afghanistan al langere tijd van onderwijs zijn verstoken. Meisjes eenvoudigweg omdat de Taliban onderwijs aan hen verbood, en jongens omdat zij al op jonge leeftijd voor lokale krijgsheren moesten vechten. Door het gebrek aan scholing is het analfabetisme onder de bevolking dan ook enorm. Volgens Unicef is 86% van de vrouwen in Afghanistan analfabeet en 65% van de mannen. Het tekort aan leerkrachten en gebrek aan schoolmaterialen verergeren de ontwikkelingsachterstand.
Feiten en cijfers: Over de aantallen jongens en meisjes in de schoolleeftijd en de aantallen scholen, zowel in de hoofdstad Kabul alsook in de provincies, zijn de gegevens als volgt
| Jongens | Kabul | 282.086 | 44% |
| Meisjes | Kabul | 359.770 | 56% |
| Jongens | Provincies | 2.490.058 | 70% |
| Meisjes | Provincies | 1.054.103 | 30% |
| Jongensscholen | Kabul | 5 |
| Meisjesscholen | Kabul | 2 |
| Jongensscholen | Provincies | 4246 |
| Meisjesscholen | Provincies | 803 |
| Jongensscholen | Kabul | 59 |
| Meisjesscholen | Kabul | 22 |
| Jongensscholen | Provincies | 918 |
| Meisjesscholen | Provincies | 114 |
| Jongensscholen | Kabul | 41 |
| Meisjesscholen | Kabul | 38 |
| Jongensscholen | Provincies | 721 |
| Meisjesscholen | Provincies | 138 |
| Jongensscholen | Kabul | 105 | 63% |
| Meisjesscholen | Kabul | 62 | 37% |
| Jongensscholen | Provincies | 5885 | 84% |
| Meisjesscholen | Provincies | 1083 | 16% |
80% van de scholen van voor de oorlog is verwoest. Na de langdurige oorlog moeten er 3400 scholen gerenoveerd worden. Daarnaast moeten er 8000 nieuwe scholen gebouwd worden. 40% van de kinderen kan niet naar school, daarvan is 63% meisje. Van elke 1000 pasgeboren zuigelingen sterven er 147. Slechts 13% van de bevolking heeft toegang tot schoon drinkwater, 70% van de inwoners is ondervoed; 50% van de kinderen heeft groeistoornissen; van alle meisjes in de schoolleeftijd kan er maar 37%studeren. 63% van die meisjes kan vanwege tradities, armoede, tekort aan scholen leerkrachten en lesmateriaal nog niet naar school.
Schoolgeld en overige: Het schoolgeld in Afghanistan bedraagt ongeveer 20 euro per jaar per kind. Toch kunnen velen dit bedrag niet betalen. Ook overige schoolmaterialen: boeken, schriften, potloden, etc., kosten veel geld. Voor veel Afghaanse families vormt dit een onoverkomelijke barrière.
Helpen?
Helpt U met een storting (ieder bedrag is welkom) op giro: 50.21.843 o.v.v. schoolgeld, een kind naar school!
Afghan Women Joining Armed Forces In Greater Numbers, Challenging Convention
November 01, 2010
By Farangis Najibullah
Khatool Muhammadzai loves martial arts, underwent commando training in pre-Taliban Afghanistan, and has logged 500 official jumps as the only female paratrooper in the country's post-Taliban military.
But the middle-aged general, Afghanistan's highest-ranking woman officer, wants to be known as a peacemaker.
Muhammadzai, who first served in Afghanistan's Moscow-backed military in the 1980s, rejoined the armed forces after the Taliban was overthrown in 2001. Today, through her work at the Defense Ministry on military education and training issues, Muhammadzai has emerged as a model of Afghanistan's ambitious plan to attract women into its military ranks and to raise the profile of women soldiers.
Women can play a key role in the government's efforts to build a modern military and defense force. But recruiting is no easy task in Afghanistan's deeply conservative society, where many don't even approve of women leaving their homes, let alone joining ranks in traditionally male-dominated organizations like the military.
For Muhammadzai, the question is elementary. "It's everybody's duty to serve their country, to protect it," the general says. "Why shouldn't Afghan women get involved? So many women from foreign countries are in Afghanistan as a part of international coalition troops and to protect our nation. For us, Afghanistan is our own home. Why shouldn't we serve our own country?"
Muhammadzai concedes, however, that despite her rank she still encounters people who are not ready to accept a woman in uniform. But with their numbers on the rise -- some 1,000 women are currently serving in the Afghan armed forces, up from a starting point of basically zero -- women soldiers are positioned to be not only peacemakers but groundbreakers.
Still In Harm's Way
Last month, 30 fresh recruits graduated to the Afghan military after completing six months of training at a Kabul-based academy set up exclusively for women.
There they mastered the types of weapons and military vehicles they would depend upon on the front line, although there is little chance of them being deployed into combat.
Violence against women rooted in Afghan society: UN
(AFP) – Nov 30, 2009
KABUL — Violence against women is widespread and deeply rooted in Afghanistan, where they are becoming less active in public life eight years after the Taliban regime collapsed, the United Nations said Monday.
The world body has spearheaded a 16-day campaign to eliminate violence against women, which is due to end on December 10, the anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights.
"Violence targeting women and girls is widespread and deeply rooted in Afghan society. It is not adequately challenged and condemned by society and institutions," said Norah Niland, chief UN human rights officer in Afghanistan.
"The space for women in public life is shrinking. The trend is negative," she told a Kabul news conference.
Banned from public life under the iron fist of the Taliban regime from 1996 until the 2001 US-led invasion, women still struggle for their rights in the impoverished, deeply conservative and war-torn country.
"No real peace and national development are possible without the elimination of violence against women," added Zia Moballegh, acting country director for the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development.
"Women who try to advocate for their rights in public life are being subject to violence and physical attacks," he said.
Islamist insurgents destroy girls' schools in Afghanistan and the Afghan parliament has yet to approve a draft law on violence against women.
"Elimination of violence against women will not be possible without a national will and also the determination of men," Moballegh said.
UN official Niland highlighted the scourge of rape in Afghanistan.
"Our field research finds that rape is under-reported and concealed, and a huge problem in Afghanistan. It affects all parts of the country, all communities and all social groups," she said.
"Women risk rape in their homes, villages and detention facilities. Shame is quite often attached to rape victims, not perpetrators. Victims often find themselves prosecuted for the offence of adultery," Niland said.
Adultery is punishable by jail in Afghanistan and there is no explicit provision in the 1976 Afghan penal code that criminalises rape.
Only 12.6 percent of women over the age of 15 can read and write, and 57 percent of girls are married off under the legal age of 16, the UN says.
The country's maternal mortality rate is the second highest in the world, with nearly 25,000 deaths per year.