By ASHLEY BURT
Grant will address lack of affordable health care services through telemedicine
Elderly people living in some of the poorest regions of the state will have improved access
to health care services due to a $1 million grant the University of Minnesota received from
the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Virtual Assisted Living Umbrella for the Elderly
(VALUE) telemedicine program will combine videoconferencing technology, Internet
access, and home monitoring devices to provide assisted living services to frail elderly
persons living independently in their home communities. These individuals will be able to
retain the benefits of remaining at home, in familiar neighborhood surroundings, while
having access to needed resources. The impact of the VALUE program in supporting
participants ability to remain in an independent living situation will be studied.
"The growing demand for assisted living services, an aging but increasingly independent
population, and shortages of professional health care workers are converging to limit
access to affordable assisted living services," says Stanley Finkelstein, PhD., professor of
laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Minnesota's Medical School. "We
have an opportunity to use these technologies to bring health services directly into the
homes of elderly people who otherwise would not have access to such services."
Finkelstein and Stuart Speedie, Ph.D., also a professor of laboratory medicine and
pathology, are principal investigators for this study.
VALUE will include two clinical partners that serve both urban and rural Minnesota.
Volunteers of America of Minnesota serves some of the poorest neighborhoods in
Minneapolis; TriCounty Hospital in Wadena serves three of the poorest rural counties in
the state. Both partners are in areas with an increasing elderly population and limited
numbers of affordable assisted living facilities. The partners will install central monitoring
sites, train staff, recruit subjects, install VALUE units in the elderly subject's homes, train
subjects, and conduct videoconference visits. The University of Minnesota will direct the
study and evaluate the program through a randomized trial.
VALUE is supported by a grant from the Department of Commerce's Technology
Opportunities Program (TOP), and matching funds from industry partners NONIN Medical,
Inc., and QRS Diagnostic, LLC and from clinical partners Volunteers of America-Minnesota
and Tri-County Hospital. TOP promotes the widespread availability and use of digital
network technologies in the public and non-profit sectors. TOP awards grants for model
projects demonstrating innovative uses of network technologies. The organization then
shares the lessons learned from theses projects to ensure the benefits are broadly
distributed across the country, especially in rural and underserved communities.
Monday, May 31, 2010
New PC to encourage older users - BBC News - 11 Nov 2009
A new computer aimed at people aged over 60 who are unfamiliar with PCs and the
internet has been unveiled.
The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks
such as e-mail and chat.
The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie
Singleton
More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to
government figures.
'Social benefit'
Each made-to-order computer takes two weeks from request to delivery and can be ordered
by post.
The computer has been developed in partnership with Wessex Computers and a website
aimed at older people called discount-age, set up by Ms Singleton.
She said she was shocked by the number of older people who do not have computers - a
survey by the Office for National Statistics in August 2009 revealed that 6.4 million people
over 65 have never used the internet.
“ there are some people who will undoubtedly feel patronised by
the very idea of a computer for the elderly ”
Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent
"I think people just don't understand them," she told BBC News. "I've been using a computer
for quite some time and I don't understand everything.
"Every time I learn a new thing to do on my computer I have to write it down so that I can
remember it."
The SimplicITy computer has no log-in screen when started up, and contains no drop-down
menus.
It opens straight to a front page called "square one" containing separate clickable buttons for
e-mail, browsing the web, files (for storing word documents and photos etc), online chat and
a user profile.
The e-mail system is a modified version of an Italian design called Eldy.
All SimplicITy users with an eldy.org address will be able to chat to each other via the "chat"
button.
The computer is built using Linux operating system, a free operating system that can be customised by users.
If people decide they no longer need the SimplicITy desktop, they can replace it with a
standard Linux desktop.
Andrew Harrop, head of public policy for charity Age Concern and Help the Aged said efforts
to get older people online should be "applauded".
"Pensioners who aren't online are missing out on hundreds of pounds in potential savings by
shopping around and can also often miss out on the best interest rates for savings accounts,
not to mention the social benefits of being online," he said.
internet has been unveiled.
The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks
such as e-mail and chat.
The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie
Singleton
More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to
government figures.
'Social benefit'
Each made-to-order computer takes two weeks from request to delivery and can be ordered
by post.
The computer has been developed in partnership with Wessex Computers and a website
aimed at older people called discount-age, set up by Ms Singleton.
She said she was shocked by the number of older people who do not have computers - a
survey by the Office for National Statistics in August 2009 revealed that 6.4 million people
over 65 have never used the internet.
“ there are some people who will undoubtedly feel patronised by
the very idea of a computer for the elderly ”
Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent
"I think people just don't understand them," she told BBC News. "I've been using a computer
for quite some time and I don't understand everything.
"Every time I learn a new thing to do on my computer I have to write it down so that I can
remember it."
The SimplicITy computer has no log-in screen when started up, and contains no drop-down
menus.
It opens straight to a front page called "square one" containing separate clickable buttons for
e-mail, browsing the web, files (for storing word documents and photos etc), online chat and
a user profile.
The e-mail system is a modified version of an Italian design called Eldy.
All SimplicITy users with an eldy.org address will be able to chat to each other via the "chat"
button.
The computer is built using Linux operating system, a free operating system that can be customised by users.
If people decide they no longer need the SimplicITy desktop, they can replace it with a
standard Linux desktop.
Andrew Harrop, head of public policy for charity Age Concern and Help the Aged said efforts
to get older people online should be "applauded".
"Pensioners who aren't online are missing out on hundreds of pounds in potential savings by
shopping around and can also often miss out on the best interest rates for savings accounts,
not to mention the social benefits of being online," he said.
Intel's Classmate comes to UK - BBC - 14 Jan 2009
A new version of a laptop
originally designed by Intel
for the developing world is
making its debut in the UK.
The newly designed
Classmate machine can be
converted from a traditional
laptop to a tablet PC to allow
children to write and draw
more naturally.
It will be available in the UK in
February, and will be sold
directly to schools as well as
via online retailer Amazon and high street store Argos.
But with a retail price of £349 the machine will not be cheap.
There are 1.3 billion school-age children around the world but only 5%
have access to a PC or the internet.
In 2007 Intel began to market its Classmate PC as a low-cost way of
getting technology into the most needy regions of the world with a
price tag of between $200 (£137) and $400 (£275).
So far Intel has sold "close to one million units" in the developing
world, and last year began to push the machine in more mature
markets.
'No conflict'
Initially it announced a deal in
Portugal which will see the device
distributed to 500,000 children
aged between six and 11 during the
course of 2009.
Gordon Graylish, deputy general
manger of Intel Europe, believes
there is no conflict between the two
markets.
"It doesn't matter whether the
children are in Mali, Vietnam, France or the US," he said.
"The research we did across both the developing and the developed
world showed that human beings are actually quite similar, with similar
needs, particularly if they are five years old."
Each of the 120 vendors signed up to sell the Classmate provides
localised software.
The main reason for Intel's push into western countries is down to the
renewed efforts governments are making to close digital divides.
Social deprivation
"Two years ago there was not a lot of interest from mature markets,
but that has changed and governments are saying they need to do
something to combat social deprivation," said Mr Graylish.
The UK government announced last year that it was to revive its Home
Access scheme by distributing one million PCs to the most needy
households.
"It is encouraging that the UK
government has publicly committed itself to driving higher
standards and better outcomes for
children by breaking down barriers
to achievement and tackling the
link between deprivation and low
educational attainment," said Mr
Graylish.
Intel is in talks with the UK
government about distributing
Classmate PCs under this scheme.
It will make the machine available
to schools at a reduced price of around £260.
The laptop comes preloaded with educational software, including
Algodoo, a 2D simulation environment designed to explain physics,
and the Easybits Magic Desktop, a simplified Windows-based interface.
Mr Graylish is convinced that laptops can play a vital role in
transforming education.
"Education through technology can have a profound effect on
children," he said.
"It's important that we are not cynical. Bear in mind that some of us
got excited when we got ballpoint pens."
originally designed by Intel
for the developing world is
making its debut in the UK.
The newly designed
Classmate machine can be
converted from a traditional
laptop to a tablet PC to allow
children to write and draw
more naturally.
It will be available in the UK in
February, and will be sold
directly to schools as well as
via online retailer Amazon and high street store Argos.
But with a retail price of £349 the machine will not be cheap.
There are 1.3 billion school-age children around the world but only 5%
have access to a PC or the internet.
In 2007 Intel began to market its Classmate PC as a low-cost way of
getting technology into the most needy regions of the world with a
price tag of between $200 (£137) and $400 (£275).
So far Intel has sold "close to one million units" in the developing
world, and last year began to push the machine in more mature
markets.
'No conflict'
Initially it announced a deal in
Portugal which will see the device
distributed to 500,000 children
aged between six and 11 during the
course of 2009.
Gordon Graylish, deputy general
manger of Intel Europe, believes
there is no conflict between the two
markets.
"It doesn't matter whether the
children are in Mali, Vietnam, France or the US," he said.
"The research we did across both the developing and the developed
world showed that human beings are actually quite similar, with similar
needs, particularly if they are five years old."
Each of the 120 vendors signed up to sell the Classmate provides
localised software.
The main reason for Intel's push into western countries is down to the
renewed efforts governments are making to close digital divides.
Social deprivation
"Two years ago there was not a lot of interest from mature markets,
but that has changed and governments are saying they need to do
something to combat social deprivation," said Mr Graylish.
The UK government announced last year that it was to revive its Home
Access scheme by distributing one million PCs to the most needy
households.
"It is encouraging that the UK
government has publicly committed itself to driving higher
standards and better outcomes for
children by breaking down barriers
to achievement and tackling the
link between deprivation and low
educational attainment," said Mr
Graylish.
Intel is in talks with the UK
government about distributing
Classmate PCs under this scheme.
It will make the machine available
to schools at a reduced price of around £260.
The laptop comes preloaded with educational software, including
Algodoo, a 2D simulation environment designed to explain physics,
and the Easybits Magic Desktop, a simplified Windows-based interface.
Mr Graylish is convinced that laptops can play a vital role in
transforming education.
"Education through technology can have a profound effect on
children," he said.
"It's important that we are not cynical. Bear in mind that some of us
got excited when we got ballpoint pens."
One Laptop per Child targets Middle East and East Africa - BBC - 29 April 2010
By JONATHAN FILDES
The group behind the "$100 laptop" has formed a partnership which it hopes will deliver computers to every primary school child in East Africa.
The partnership between One Laptop per Child (OLPC) and the East African Community (EAC) aims to
deliver 30 million laptops in the region by 2015.
OLPC has also announced a partnership with a UN agency which aims to deliver 500,000 machines in the
Middle East.
Both the UN agency and the EAC first need to raise cash for the laptops.
The two groups aim to find donors to help pay for the machines, which currently sell for more than $200, despite intentions to sell them for less.
"At the end of the day, it all comes down to money," Matt Keller of OLPC told BBC News, talking about the EAC partnership.
"Ideally, we would live in a world where governments can equip every kid to be educated, but that's not
the case."
Tech trials
He said the EAC was currently drafting a letter to US President Barack Obama to ask if the US could
provide assistance to pay for the project. The countries were also exploring links with the aid community, he said.
"This is a very ambitious project for which we will have to partner with various people and institutions to mobilise and fund the resources required to meet our objectives by 2015," said Ambassador Juma
Mwapachu, secretary general of the EAC.
The organisation represents the governments of Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. Some of the countries have already run small trials with the machines, including Rwanda which has more
than 20,000 pupils using them.
Mr Keller said the country already had an order for 70,000 more and had shown the other countries in the
area the benefit of technology in schools.
The partnership with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aims to distribute half a million laptops to
Palestinian children throughout the Middle East.
UNRWA looks after more than four million Palestinian refugees in five countries
It has been conducting trials with 1,500 machines in the region and has begun to distribute a further 2,100
to a school in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza strip.
"For us it is vital to get computers to our kids," Adnan Abu Hasna of UNRWA told BBC News.
"We think many people and individuals will support the idea."
'Tipping point'
OLPC has had difficulty selling its computers and its alternative vision of education around the world.
The organisation - a spin out from US university MIT - originally aimed to sell the low-cost laptops in lots of
one million to governments in developing countries for $100 each.
However, it had difficulty getting governments to commit to bulk orders.
The rugged machines - which are designed specifically for children in the developing world and run both
Linux and Microsoft Windows - are now offered in single units for around $200 each.
Mr Keller said that there were currently around 1.6 million machines distributed around the world, with
commitments for another 400,000.
He admitted the project had still not reached its "tipping point", but said if the EAC was successful it may
prove to be the decisive moment for the project.
"We want [these computers] to be as a fundamental as electricity," he said.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10091177
The group behind the "$100 laptop" has formed a partnership which it hopes will deliver computers to every primary school child in East Africa.
The partnership between One Laptop per Child (OLPC) and the East African Community (EAC) aims to
deliver 30 million laptops in the region by 2015.
OLPC has also announced a partnership with a UN agency which aims to deliver 500,000 machines in the
Middle East.
Both the UN agency and the EAC first need to raise cash for the laptops.
The two groups aim to find donors to help pay for the machines, which currently sell for more than $200, despite intentions to sell them for less.
"At the end of the day, it all comes down to money," Matt Keller of OLPC told BBC News, talking about the EAC partnership.
"Ideally, we would live in a world where governments can equip every kid to be educated, but that's not
the case."
Tech trials
He said the EAC was currently drafting a letter to US President Barack Obama to ask if the US could
provide assistance to pay for the project. The countries were also exploring links with the aid community, he said.
"This is a very ambitious project for which we will have to partner with various people and institutions to mobilise and fund the resources required to meet our objectives by 2015," said Ambassador Juma
Mwapachu, secretary general of the EAC.
The organisation represents the governments of Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. Some of the countries have already run small trials with the machines, including Rwanda which has more
than 20,000 pupils using them.
Mr Keller said the country already had an order for 70,000 more and had shown the other countries in the
area the benefit of technology in schools.
The partnership with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aims to distribute half a million laptops to
Palestinian children throughout the Middle East.
UNRWA looks after more than four million Palestinian refugees in five countries
It has been conducting trials with 1,500 machines in the region and has begun to distribute a further 2,100
to a school in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza strip.
"For us it is vital to get computers to our kids," Adnan Abu Hasna of UNRWA told BBC News.
"We think many people and individuals will support the idea."
'Tipping point'
OLPC has had difficulty selling its computers and its alternative vision of education around the world.
The organisation - a spin out from US university MIT - originally aimed to sell the low-cost laptops in lots of
one million to governments in developing countries for $100 each.
However, it had difficulty getting governments to commit to bulk orders.
The rugged machines - which are designed specifically for children in the developing world and run both
Linux and Microsoft Windows - are now offered in single units for around $200 each.
Mr Keller said that there were currently around 1.6 million machines distributed around the world, with
commitments for another 400,000.
He admitted the project had still not reached its "tipping point", but said if the EAC was successful it may
prove to be the decisive moment for the project.
"We want [these computers] to be as a fundamental as electricity," he said.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10091177
Adjustments help seniors stay employed
Adjustments help seniors stay employed
Home > ST Forum > OLDER WORKERS' WAGES
May 29, 2010
WE THANK Madam Ee Kit Heng ('CPF cuts based on age, which is not a reasonable factor', last Saturday) and Captain Rakesh Dir ('CPF cut a contradiction', Wednesday) for their views on the Central Provident Fund contribution rates for older employees.
While Singapore has seen the employment rate of older residents aged 55 to 64 rise from 43 per cent in 1999 to 57 per cent last year, it is still significantly lower than the overall employment rate of 76 per cent for all age groups. We have introduced various measures to improve the ability of older workers to stay employed.
In our labour market, wages still contain significant elements of seniority-based pay, where wages increase automatically with age regardless of workers' productivity and performance. This may result in older workers becoming less competitive. Some wage adjustment is, therefore, necessary in order to maintain the employability of workers as they age.
Singapore's approach is twofold. First, an adjustment through the CPF contribution rates for older workers, which applies to all firms across the board. Second, allowing employers to adjust the salaries of their workers as they reach age 60. However, employers should not do so automatically, but should take into account the ability and performance of their workers as well as other relevant factors.
In addition, since 2007, the Workfare Income Supplement has also helped to boost the annual income of older, low-income employees and make up for the lower CPF contribution rates.
The Ministry of Manpower will continue to work with the tripartite partners to enhance the employability of older employees, through training, skills upgrading and job redesign. This will reduce the element of seniority-based pay in wage structures, and hence reduce the extent of wage adjustments that older workers will face.
Farah Abdul Rahim (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
Ministry of Manpower
Home > ST Forum > OLDER WORKERS' WAGES
May 29, 2010
WE THANK Madam Ee Kit Heng ('CPF cuts based on age, which is not a reasonable factor', last Saturday) and Captain Rakesh Dir ('CPF cut a contradiction', Wednesday) for their views on the Central Provident Fund contribution rates for older employees.
While Singapore has seen the employment rate of older residents aged 55 to 64 rise from 43 per cent in 1999 to 57 per cent last year, it is still significantly lower than the overall employment rate of 76 per cent for all age groups. We have introduced various measures to improve the ability of older workers to stay employed.
In our labour market, wages still contain significant elements of seniority-based pay, where wages increase automatically with age regardless of workers' productivity and performance. This may result in older workers becoming less competitive. Some wage adjustment is, therefore, necessary in order to maintain the employability of workers as they age.
Singapore's approach is twofold. First, an adjustment through the CPF contribution rates for older workers, which applies to all firms across the board. Second, allowing employers to adjust the salaries of their workers as they reach age 60. However, employers should not do so automatically, but should take into account the ability and performance of their workers as well as other relevant factors.
In addition, since 2007, the Workfare Income Supplement has also helped to boost the annual income of older, low-income employees and make up for the lower CPF contribution rates.
The Ministry of Manpower will continue to work with the tripartite partners to enhance the employability of older employees, through training, skills upgrading and job redesign. This will reduce the element of seniority-based pay in wage structures, and hence reduce the extent of wage adjustments that older workers will face.
Farah Abdul Rahim (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
Ministry of Manpower
Friday, May 28, 2010
Mother tongue made easier (and fun)
YouthInk writers on how they would like to see language taught in schools
Click here to read the full story.
YouthInk writers on how they would like to see language taught in schools
Click here to read the full story.
Tech groups push to get broadband to older U.S. residents - ComputerWorld - 6 Apr 2010
By Grant Gross
IDG News Service - Broadband offers many benefits for older U.S. residents, including telemedicine, increased contact with family and friends, and shopping without leaving the house, but they subscribe to the service at a much lower rate than other people, some advocates for the elderly said Tuesday.
In an effort to change that trend, several technology vendors and groups that work with older people on Tuesday launched Project GOAL (Get Older Adults Online), an organization that plans to serve as a clearinghouse for programs and resources. Project GOAL will work with organizations working with the aging population to stress the benefits of broadband and to connect older adults with services such as computer training, said Debra Berlyn, executive director of Project GOAL.
Project GOAL will also sponsor a series of forums to discuss issues related to delivering broadband to older people, Berlyn said.
Older people need technology training programs, they need assistance with online safety, and they need to be shown the benefits of broadband, Berlyn said during a press conference. "Many people don't see the value of the Internet," she said.
Older people can use broadband to shop during bad weather, research medical conditions and use telemedicine services, said Thomas Kamber, executive director of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), based in New York City. One critical issue that broadband can help older adults with is social isolation, he added.
"So many seniors are very socially isolated and don't have as many face-to-face contacts as they would like to every day," he said. "Technology opens up this amazing channel to connect people across geographies. One of our participants is telling me that he's e-mailing people he went to high school with in West Virginia."
Many OATs participants also use broadband to look for part-time work, said Kamber, who will serve on Project GOAL's advisory committee. "We're finding so many people who want to stay engaged in the workforce," he said. "Many people are working past the age of 60 now, either because they need the money or they want to stay relevant."
Only about 35% of U.S. residents over age 65 subscribe to broadband, compared to about 65% of the population as a whole, said Blair Levin, executive director of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative, the group that put together the agency's national broadband plan. That digital divide grows larger for older U.S. residents who are members of racial or ethnic minorities -- only 21% of them have broadband service, Levin said.
The FCC's broadband plan proposes a national Digital Literacy Corps to help older people and other groups learn about broadband and computers, but the government alone won't be able to bring broadband to underserved groups, Levin said.
"If the federal government tries to tackle barriers to adoption on its own, it will fail," Levin said. "We must instead draw upon the power of community groups, private companies and government altogether. We must crowd-source adoption."
Among the sponsors of Project GOAL are AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Microsoft, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, T-Mobile and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.
Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174899/Tech_groups_push_to_get_broadband_to_older_U.S._residents
Official website: http://theprojectgoal.org/
IDG News Service - Broadband offers many benefits for older U.S. residents, including telemedicine, increased contact with family and friends, and shopping without leaving the house, but they subscribe to the service at a much lower rate than other people, some advocates for the elderly said Tuesday.
In an effort to change that trend, several technology vendors and groups that work with older people on Tuesday launched Project GOAL (Get Older Adults Online), an organization that plans to serve as a clearinghouse for programs and resources. Project GOAL will work with organizations working with the aging population to stress the benefits of broadband and to connect older adults with services such as computer training, said Debra Berlyn, executive director of Project GOAL.
Project GOAL will also sponsor a series of forums to discuss issues related to delivering broadband to older people, Berlyn said.
Older people need technology training programs, they need assistance with online safety, and they need to be shown the benefits of broadband, Berlyn said during a press conference. "Many people don't see the value of the Internet," she said.
Older people can use broadband to shop during bad weather, research medical conditions and use telemedicine services, said Thomas Kamber, executive director of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), based in New York City. One critical issue that broadband can help older adults with is social isolation, he added.
"So many seniors are very socially isolated and don't have as many face-to-face contacts as they would like to every day," he said. "Technology opens up this amazing channel to connect people across geographies. One of our participants is telling me that he's e-mailing people he went to high school with in West Virginia."
Many OATs participants also use broadband to look for part-time work, said Kamber, who will serve on Project GOAL's advisory committee. "We're finding so many people who want to stay engaged in the workforce," he said. "Many people are working past the age of 60 now, either because they need the money or they want to stay relevant."
Only about 35% of U.S. residents over age 65 subscribe to broadband, compared to about 65% of the population as a whole, said Blair Levin, executive director of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative, the group that put together the agency's national broadband plan. That digital divide grows larger for older U.S. residents who are members of racial or ethnic minorities -- only 21% of them have broadband service, Levin said.
The FCC's broadband plan proposes a national Digital Literacy Corps to help older people and other groups learn about broadband and computers, but the government alone won't be able to bring broadband to underserved groups, Levin said.
"If the federal government tries to tackle barriers to adoption on its own, it will fail," Levin said. "We must instead draw upon the power of community groups, private companies and government altogether. We must crowd-source adoption."
Among the sponsors of Project GOAL are AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Microsoft, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, T-Mobile and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.
Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174899/Tech_groups_push_to_get_broadband_to_older_U.S._residents
Official website: http://theprojectgoal.org/
Thursday, May 27, 2010
$2.8m IT aid for 60 non-profit pre-schools to lighten admin workload - Straits Times - 25 May 2010
By Ang Yiying
SIXTY childcare centres and kindergartens run by non-profit groups in Singapore are to receive a US$2
million (S$2.8 million) boost that will put them on the IT track.
The gift from the Lien Foundation and the United States-based Salesforce.com Foundation will make
available to the pre-schools an array of Web-based applications to manage data - such as student
profiles or fee-collection information - and lighten the administrative workload of their teachers.
Even in a country as wired-up and high-tech as Singapore, teachers in some of these pre-schools have
been, for instance, marking attendance manually and getting administrative assistants to file hard-copy
attendance sheets.
Of the US$2 million donation, half will come from the Salesforce.com Foundation.
It will take the form of licences to use the Web-based applications of its commercial parent,
Salesforce.com, a Web-based business applications provider. The 11-year-old foundation, the
philanthropic arm of the business, has so far helped more than 8,200 non-profit groups in 70 countries
with donated or discounted Salesforce.com licences.
The other half of the donation, from home-grown philanthropic organisation the Lien Foundation, will pay
for customising the Web-based applications to fit the pre-schools' purposes, IT training and hardware.
Of the 1,300 childcare centres and kindergartens here, roughly four in 10 or 540 are run by non-profit
operators such as voluntary welfare agencies, foundations and religious groups.
Sixty centres will be shortlisted from the 540 based on their existing ties with the Lien Foundation and
their operators' willingness to adopt change through IT.
A consultant from Salesforce.com will evaluate the needs of each participating pre-school, which will
choose from a suite of Web modules it can use to manage its data.
Lien Foundation chief executive officer Lee Poh Wah told reporters yesterday that the foundation is
pumping funds into non-profit pre-schools because of the 'dismal state of IT adoption' in them.
These schools lack the budget to put such systems in place, he said, adding: 'This, to me, is not an IT
project, but is a major change-management exercise.'
Ms Lindsey Armstrong, the Salesforce.com executive vice-president for Japan and the Asia-Pacific,
explained that Web-based applications are more suitable for non-profit groups than traditional client
server-based applications because they cost less to set up and maintain.
A pilot programme involving five centres will start next month.
Two of the five have been confirmed: the Singapore Muslim Women's Association (PPIS) childcare centre
in Sembawang and the Presbyterian Community Services' childcare centre at Yishun.
Ms Nadhira Koyakutty, who oversees early childhood education for PPIS' five childcare centres, said she is
expecting teachers' manual tasks to be lightened and student records to be streamlined.
Within 1-1/2 years from next month, all 60 participating centres will be on board the programme, which
is expected to help 600 teachers.
SIXTY childcare centres and kindergartens run by non-profit groups in Singapore are to receive a US$2
million (S$2.8 million) boost that will put them on the IT track.
The gift from the Lien Foundation and the United States-based Salesforce.com Foundation will make
available to the pre-schools an array of Web-based applications to manage data - such as student
profiles or fee-collection information - and lighten the administrative workload of their teachers.
Even in a country as wired-up and high-tech as Singapore, teachers in some of these pre-schools have
been, for instance, marking attendance manually and getting administrative assistants to file hard-copy
attendance sheets.
Of the US$2 million donation, half will come from the Salesforce.com Foundation.
It will take the form of licences to use the Web-based applications of its commercial parent,
Salesforce.com, a Web-based business applications provider. The 11-year-old foundation, the
philanthropic arm of the business, has so far helped more than 8,200 non-profit groups in 70 countries
with donated or discounted Salesforce.com licences.
The other half of the donation, from home-grown philanthropic organisation the Lien Foundation, will pay
for customising the Web-based applications to fit the pre-schools' purposes, IT training and hardware.
Of the 1,300 childcare centres and kindergartens here, roughly four in 10 or 540 are run by non-profit
operators such as voluntary welfare agencies, foundations and religious groups.
Sixty centres will be shortlisted from the 540 based on their existing ties with the Lien Foundation and
their operators' willingness to adopt change through IT.
A consultant from Salesforce.com will evaluate the needs of each participating pre-school, which will
choose from a suite of Web modules it can use to manage its data.
Lien Foundation chief executive officer Lee Poh Wah told reporters yesterday that the foundation is
pumping funds into non-profit pre-schools because of the 'dismal state of IT adoption' in them.
These schools lack the budget to put such systems in place, he said, adding: 'This, to me, is not an IT
project, but is a major change-management exercise.'
Ms Lindsey Armstrong, the Salesforce.com executive vice-president for Japan and the Asia-Pacific,
explained that Web-based applications are more suitable for non-profit groups than traditional client
server-based applications because they cost less to set up and maintain.
A pilot programme involving five centres will start next month.
Two of the five have been confirmed: the Singapore Muslim Women's Association (PPIS) childcare centre
in Sembawang and the Presbyterian Community Services' childcare centre at Yishun.
Ms Nadhira Koyakutty, who oversees early childhood education for PPIS' five childcare centres, said she is
expecting teachers' manual tasks to be lightened and student records to be streamlined.
Within 1-1/2 years from next month, all 60 participating centres will be on board the programme, which
is expected to help 600 teachers.
¥1 deals redrawing netbook PC market - The Japan Times (2 Apr 09)
By MINORU MATSUTANI
Personal computers for as little as ¥1 are currently on sale, attracting flocks of customers and sending shock waves through Japanese PC makers. Major electronics retailers Bic Camera Inc. and Yodobashi Camera Co. have since July been selling a package of a netbook computer and an Internet connection card for as cheap as ¥100, or sometimes even ¥1, on condition that customers keep using EMobile Ltd.'s wireless data service for at least two years.
A netbook is a simplified notebook computer with a smaller display and no DVD drive. It is used mainly to surf the Internet and for e-mail. A netbook usually retails at around ¥40,000 to ¥60,000, but EMobile Ltd. has made the huge discounts possible by paying sales incentives to retailers in a bid to gain long-term
subscribers of its wireless Internet services.
Total shipments of netbooks soared to 1.2 million units last year, up from 100,000 in 2007, and much of the increase can be attributed to EMobile's so-called one-coin PC campaigns, said Harunobu Tobe, a market researcher at Fuji Chimera Research Institute Inc.
Personal computers for as little as ¥1 are currently on sale, attracting flocks of customers and sending shock waves through Japanese PC makers. Major electronics retailers Bic Camera Inc. and Yodobashi Camera Co. have since July been selling a package of a netbook computer and an Internet connection card for as cheap as ¥100, or sometimes even ¥1, on condition that customers keep using EMobile Ltd.'s wireless data service for at least two years.
A netbook is a simplified notebook computer with a smaller display and no DVD drive. It is used mainly to surf the Internet and for e-mail. A netbook usually retails at around ¥40,000 to ¥60,000, but EMobile Ltd. has made the huge discounts possible by paying sales incentives to retailers in a bid to gain long-term
subscribers of its wireless Internet services.
Total shipments of netbooks soared to 1.2 million units last year, up from 100,000 in 2007, and much of the increase can be attributed to EMobile's so-called one-coin PC campaigns, said Harunobu Tobe, a market researcher at Fuji Chimera Research Institute Inc.
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