Why not an Open Election System (OES)?

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-not-open-election-system-oes.html

PRESS STATEMENT
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
March 6, 2009

"COMELEC’s OMR PROMOTES WHOLESALE CHEATING, REPORTS SHOW"

The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will use for the automated elections system (AES) in the May 2010 polls has not been fully proven as tamper- and fraud-free, will encourage wholesale cheating, and will not ensure a transparent and open election system.

Moreover, it is doubtful whether Comelec will be ready for the full automation of the elections given the time constraints based on its owncalendar.

At a time when many Filipino voters are losing trust in the country’selectoral process, what we need in order to bring trust and credibility to this political exercise is a transparent and open election system, where people will have access to election information.

It is in this regard that we call on the Comelec to look into the Open Election System (OES) once more because, among other advantages, its component of installing a public website where election data will be posted and is accessible for publicviewing will ensure a transparent and open election.

Aside from being cheaper (P4 billion) than the OMR, OES has the technological potential to deliver election results in 3-5 days.

On the other hand, we are concerned that the use of the OMR will onlybring wholesale high-tech cheating and will not guarantee a fraud- or tamper-free election based on multifold studies and reports with regard toits performance in the August 2008 ARMM elections – where at most, more than 20 problems and deficiencies were observed - as well as in the United States and other countries where OMR was used in elections.

In fact, theAssociation for Computing Machinery (ACM) – the largest educational andscientific computing society in the U.S. - adopted a resolution in 2004 calling for a “voter-verifiable audit trail” after finding election machines being “inherently subject to programming error, equipment malfunction, and malicious tampering.”

Why is it that the Comelec has not been transparent in revealing the full report of its advisory council on the August 2008 ARMM automated electionswhere, aside from the machine errors and deficiencies, it admitted thatthe poll body has inadequate IT apparatus to meet the complex requirementsof AES?

The OES, on the other hand, is not only a viable technology but it also meets the objectives for a transparent and credible election as mandatedby RA 9369.

As an automation system, the OES involves the manual counting of votes at the precinct but uses automation through the encoding of election returns followed by the electronic posting of the ERs, SOVs, COCs, and other election data – inclusive of the municipal/city tonational levels - to a public web that is accessible to the people.

While the OMR requires the tedious and costly process of educating andtraining not only election inspectors but also voters, the OES will not.

Above all, this open and transparent technology addresses the objective of RA 9369 which is to adopt and use “the most suitable technology ofdemonstrated capability taking into account the situation prevailing inthe area and the funds available for the purpose.” (Section 1) Given the other constraints to a fully-automated election system, including thelow-tech literacy of many election inspectors and tens and millions ofvoters, as well as the time constraints of the Comelec the OES is apractical remedy of introducing gradual high-tech automation while makingthe 2010 elections transparent and credible.

Among other activities, the calendared customization of systems is setuntil November 2009, training for Comelec technical personnel in December2009- February 2010, and public demonstrations in February to May 2010 – a tight schedule that provides only two-three months for education and training of the public on full high-tech election system, a first in thecountry’s fraud-ridden electoral history.

With OES, however, sufficient time is allowed to ensure people participation under a gradual introduction of full automated electionsgiven the stringent requirements to prepare the public and all otherstakeholders including the media, NGOs and other advocates for the conductof open, transparent, and credible elections.

While we note that no automation system will absolutely guarantee a fraud-and tamper-free election, the OES offers the potential of greatertransparency while complying with the rights of the voters to have accessto public information such as, in this particular case, election results.

Aside from the ERs, access to election results will allow all interestedparties as well as the voters to verify the election results and undertakenecessary measures to protect their right to vote and that of thecandidates and political parties. To us this is more important. We hearvoices from concerned individuals and organizations citing moretransparent technology like the OES as the mechanism that may help bring credibility and trust to the country’s electoral process.



For reference:

Prof. Bobby Tuazon
Director, Policy StudyCenPEG (http://www.cenpeg.org/)
Tel/Fax 9299526
Mobile Phone 0915-6418055;
Email cenpeg.info@gmail.com
Office address: 3/F CSWCD Bldg., UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) is an independent policy institute engaged in the study and analysis of governance, elections and political parties, foreign policy, and other issues. Its studies, training and education modules use multi-disciplinary perspectives and the expertise of mostly academe-based Fellows and the results are used for public and media advocacy as well as publication. Its recent publications are the bestseller Corruptionary and The Moro Reader.

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Worlwide Grid Helps in the Fight Against Heart Disease

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/03/worlwide-grid-helps-in-fight-against.html

Worldwide Grid Helps in the Fight Against Heart Disease

MEDIA RELEASE
Catania, Italy, Tuesday, 3 March 2009

The latest work on the genetic causes of one of the world's biggest killers, coronary artery disease, will be published in the March 2009 issue of Nature Genetics. The research done by teams from the Cardiogenics consortium used the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) infrastructure. EGEE manages the world's largest multi-disciplinary computing grid and enabled the researchers to do two years' work in fewer than 45 days. This allowed them to identify possible genetic candidates for the causes of a disease which kills over two million people a year in Europe alone.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of heart disease and is a leading cause of death worldwide. It is one of the root causes of angina, heart failure and arrhythmias. This work could allow researchers to better understand why the disease develops and may offer new approaches for pharmacological prevention and treatment.

"Until recently, we looked at one variation at a time when trying to find new genes associated with disease", said David Tregouet, Pierre & Marie Curie University (UPMC), France. "In this work we are using an original approach which lets us look at several variations at once. So, instead of investigating the effect on CAD risk of the 378,000 individual genetic markers available in this project, more than 8.1 million combinations were tested. We could do this large number of calculations thanks to EGEE".

The work was done in three stages to successfully narrow down the genetic sequences within a person's chromosomes that could make them susceptible to CAD. In the first stage, almost 8.1 million configurations of genetic markers were examined and 29 specific combinations were identified as possibly associated with susceptibility to CAD. Focussing on these 29 combinations, the second stage was able to bring this number down to just one combination of four genetic markers confirmed to be strongly associated with the risk of CAD. When these four genetic markers were investigated in additional studies, covering a total of almost 12,000 individuals, there was a strong correlation between their presence and the risk of having CAD.
One of the possible explanations behind why these four genetic markers seem to indicate that a person may be at an increased risk of CAD, is that they overlap with genes that regulate an enzyme called lipoprotein (a). A raised level of lipoprotein (a) is used by doctors around the world to diagnose CAD. When the Cardiogenics consortium compared the levels of the enzyme in one of the studies, they found that there was a strong correlation between high lipoprotein levels and the presence of the identified gene sequences.

Cardiogenics, an EU-project coordinated in Lübeck, Germany, aims to discover genetic variations leading to coronary artery disease, to uncover the underlying disease mechanisms and help to develop new treatments.

The Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) project is co-funded by the European Commission. The project aims to provide researchers, in both academia and industry, with access to major computing resources, independent of their geographic locations.
EGEE's main aims are:1. To build a secure, reliable and robust grid infrastructure2. To supply a computing service for many scientific disciplines3. To attract, engage and support a wide range of users from science and industry, and provide them with extensive technical and training support.

For more information about Biomedical Applications of Grid Computing, contact:

Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña
Project Leader for ADMU
EUAsiaGrid Project
Website: http://www.euasiagrid.org/
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com
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International Summer School on Grid Computing (Nice, France)

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/03/international-summer-school-on-grid.html

Dear Colleagues:

On behalf of the EUAsiaGrid Project (http://www.euasiagrid.org/) - Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) I would like to invite you (or any of your colleagues who might be interested) to participate in the International Summer School on Grid Computing on July 5 - 17, 2009 at Sophia Antipolis in Nice, France.

Website: http://www.iceage-eu.org/issgc09/


Here are the links to the leaflet and poster:

http://www.iceage-eu.org/issgc09/files/leaflet.pdf
http://www.iceage-eu.org/issgc09/files/A3-slide.pdf

Best Regards,

Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña
Project Leader for ADMU
EUAsiaGrid Project(http://www.euasiagrid.org/)
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com

DETAILS:

About the School:

The School will be held in Sophia Antipolis, a technology centre near Nice in the South of France. This is a rare opportunity to hear about the latest achievements from Europe, North America and Asia, as well as to gain experience of a variety of Grid systems. The School will boost students' capabilities for research and innovation thanks to lectures, discussions, laboratory sessions, tutorials and group work. These activities will be delivered by leading authorities in the fields of advanced grid technology, applications of e-Science and distributed systems research.

Scope:

Grid Computing is an important new approach to distributed computing. Thanks to the combination of regular structures and dynamic algorithms, Grid Computing can deliver computational as well as large, sustained data-rich and knowledge-intensive resources across heterogeneous contributing sites. Grid Computing therefore enables rapid advances in many disciplines. This will be set in the context of web2.0 and similar developments. The School will provide an in-depth introduction to Grid technologies that underpin e-Infrastructure and Cyberinfrastructure. It will present a conceptual framework to enhance each student’s ability to work in this rapidly advancing field. Reports from world leaders in deploying and exploiting Grids will complement lectures from research leaders shaping future e-Infrastructure. Hands-on laboratory exercises will give participants experience with widely used Grid middleware.

Graduates of the School will:

be familiar with the fundamental components of Grid environments, such as authentication, authorisation, resource discovery, and resource access
be able to use Grid environments for basic and advanced job submission and distributed data management
be conversant with Grid achievements worldwide
be alert to emerging Grid applications
appreciate the potential of e-Infrastructure and be aware of new research opportunities

The programme includes the use of at least six grid and web service technologies. This allows students to make comparisons and see different approaches to common challenges in distributed computing. The school will conclude with an integrating practical that will enable students, working in teams, to bring together all they have learnt via an extended exercise that simulates collaborative research using e-Infrastructures. However, it means that the school doesn't set out to generate experts in a specific grid technology. Similarly, the school concentrates on the architectural approach of these systems and does not have opportunity to discuss underpinning technologies, such as digital networks, nor to examine other approaches to distributed systems.

The participants, students and staff, will meet like minded people from many parts of the world and form long-term working relationships. We therefore believe that it is important that all the participants enjoy the summer school and make good use of the breaks, leisure opportunities and social programme.

A Day at the School:

The School will consist of lectures in the morning and practical exercises in the afternoon. Lectures will tackle the principles, technologies, experiences and exploitations of Grids. They will also review the research perspectives and report recent significant successes. Equipment will be available at the School site for the practical exercises. A social programme will support the curriculum so as to help students to form lasting friendships and enhance collaborative research.

A Day at the Summer School

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PCSC 2009: PROGRAM (As of 25 February 2009)

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/pcsc-2009-program-as-of-24-february.html

To All Concerned:

Please find below a copy of the PCSC 2009 Program (as of February 25, 2009).

From,

Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña
Co-Chair
Program Committee
PCSC 2009

9th Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC 2009)
March 2 – 3, 2009, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines
Website: http://ccs.su.edu.ph/pcsc2009/theconference.html

Organized by the Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP)
Hosted by Silliman University, Dumaguete City


PROGRAM (Tentative, as of 25 February 2009)

Day 1. Monday, March 2, 2009.

Morning Session to be held at the Main Auditorium

Time Activity
0800 – 0900 Registration
0900 – 1000 Opening Session
1000 - 1020 Coffee Break
1020 – 1110 Keynote Speaker 1: Dr. Ben Malayang
1110 - 1150 Keynote Speaker 2: Prof. Masayuki Numao
1150 – 1200 Announcements/ COMELEC
1200 - 1330 Lunch

Afternoon Sessions are to be held in Parallel


1330 - 1400

Parallel Session A: (Room A)
Parallel Session B: (Room B)
Parallel Session C: (Room C)

Room A: Keynote Speaker 3: Dr. Rachel Edita Roxas

Room B: Invited Speaker 1: Dr. Vena Pearl Bongolan

Room C: Invited Speaker 2: Dr. Kardi Teknomo


1400 - 1420

Room A: EL1
Room B: EL2
Room C: EL3

1420 – 1500

Room A: AR1
Room B: OT1
Room C: OT2

1500 - 1520 : Coffee Break

Parallel Session D: Room A
Parallel Session E: Room B
Parallel Session F: Room C

1520 – 1550

Room A: Invited Speaker 3: Dr. Jaime Caro
Room B: Invited Speaker 4: Dr. Rafael Saldana
Room C: Invited Speaker 5: Dr. Felix Muga

1550 – 1610

Room A: AR2
Room B: IP1
Room C: OT3

1610 – 1630

Room A: AR3
Room B: IP2
Room C: OT4

1630 – 1650

Room A: AR4
Room B: IP3
Room C: OT5

1650 - 1710

Room A: AR5
Room B: IS1
Room C: RP1

1710 – 1730

Room A: AR6
Room B: IS2
Room C: RP2

1730 - 1745 Break

1745 – 2030 Conference Dinner/
CSP Business Meeting (Reports)
Induction of New CSP Members/
Induction of Newly Elected Board Members

Day 2. Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

Sessions to be held in Parallel

Parallel Session G: Room A
Parallel Session H: Room B
Parallel Session I: Room C

0830 - 0900

Room A: Invited Speaker 6: Dr. Pablo Manalastas
Room B: Invited Speaker 7: Dr. Pros Naval Jr.
Room C: Invited Speaker 8: Prof. Jaderick Pabico

0900 - 0920

Room A: AL1
Room B: MS1
Room C: RP3

0920 - 0940

Room A: AL2
Room B: MS2
Room C: RP4

0940 - 1000

Room A: AL3
Room B: MS3
Room C: RP5

1000 - 1020 Coffee Break


Parallel Session J (Room A) : Algorithms
Parallel Session K (Room B) : Modeling, Simulation and Networking
Paralllel Session L (Room C) : Research in Progress Session

1020 – 1040

Room A: AL4
Room B: MS4
Room C: RP6

1040 – 1100

Room A: AL5
Room B: RP7
Room C: RP8

1100 – 1120

Room A: AL6
Room B: RP9
Room C: RP10

1120 – 1140

Room A: RP11
Room B: RP12
Room C: RP13

1140 – 1210

Room A: Invited Speaker 9: Engr. Nelson Beniabon
Room B: Open Session
Room C: Open Session

1210 - 1330 Closing/Lunch

1300 onward (Optional Post-Conference City Tour)

CONTRIBUTED PAPERS:

ALGORITHMS (AL)

Code/Title/Authors

AL1
"An Implementation of a Backtracking Algorithm for the Turnpike Problem in Membranes"
Richelle Ann Juayong, Maria Cristina Albores and Henry Adorna, University of the Philippines-Diliman

AL2
"An Algorithm to Efficiently Generate an Approximation of a Theory Set"
Jamine Malinao and Henry Adorna, University of the Philippines-Diliman

AL3
"An Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm for the Network Inference and Parameter Estimation of S-Systems"
Philip Christian Zuniga, Maia Malonzo, Henry Adorna, and Prospero Naval, University of the Philippines-Diliman

AL4
Minimizing Edge-Crossings in a Graph by Minimizing the Total Edge Length
Tristan Basa, University of the Philippines-Diliman

AL5
An Algorithm for Solving the Open Gallery Problem
Marianne Robles, Joseph Pasia, and Henry Adorna, University of the Philippines-Diliman

AL6
"Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) Retrieval in Linear Space and Single-Pass Quadratic Time for Some Special Cases of the Input"
Arian Jacildo an Eliezer Albacea, University of the Philippines-Los Banos

MODELING AND SIMULATION (MS)

MS1
"iBot3D: A Python-Based Mobile Robot Simulator"
Karen del Rosario, Suzette Wong, and Percival Magpantay, University of the Philippines-Diliman

MS2
"A Quasi-Stabilized Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle"
Clement Ong, Francisco Guzman II, Marc Legaspi, Cathleen Faith Tan, and Jolly Ann Uy, De La Salle University-Manila

MS3
"Implementation of a Grid Robotic Mapping in iBot3D"
Johnson Diputado and Percival Magpantay, University of the Philippines-Diliman

MS4
"Mesh Guided Virtual Lego Modeling"


INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS)

IS1
"Analytic - Simulation Approaches of a Robust Procedure: An Alternative to the Classical Statistical Matching Method"
Roberto Padua and Ely Bacunata, Liceo de Cagayan University/Cagayan de Oro College-PHINMA Education Network


IS2
"A Logic-Based Knowledge Representation Scheme for Extended ER Databases
Image Processing"
Gerry Doroja, Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan


IP1
"A Novel and Robust Watermarking Algorithm of Digital Images Based on Wavelet Decomposition"
Ryan Balane, Cecille Castro, Angelica Duran, Mei-Ann Ubina and Philip Zuniga, University of the Philippines-Diliman

IP2
"L1 Total Variation Primal-Dual Active Set Method with Conjugate Gradients for Image Denoising"
Marrick Neri, University of the Philippines-Diliman


IP3
"License Plate Localization for Difficult Cases"
Juan Miguel Bawagan, Patrick Dominic Menorca and Vladimir Mariano, University of the Philippines-Los Banos


ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AR)

AR1
"A Filipino-English Dictionary Designed for word-sense Disambiguation"
Jennefe Brigole and Robert Roxas, University of the Philippines Visayas-Cebu College


AR2
"Landuse Classification of Multispectral Satellite Images using Particle Swarm Optimization"
Lizhier Coralde and Vladimir Mariano, University of the Philippines-Los Banos


AR3
"TRACE: Tracking and Pose Recognition of Adults in Health Environment"
Alethea Carampel, Joanna Heidi Castillo, Maria Franchesca Pituk, Riza Theresa Batista-Navarro and Prospero Naval, Jr., University of the Philippines-Diliman


AR4
"TALA: Theft Alert for Laptops"
Sheiah Catro, Karen Carmae Chua, Melany Rosales, Christine Clarin, and Prospero Naval, Jr., University of the Philippines-Diliman


AR5
"REALISM: Realtime Hand Gesture Interface for Surgeons and Medical Experts"
David Louis Achacon Jr., Denise Carlos, Maryann Kaye Puyaoa, Christine Clarin, and Prospero Naval Jr., University of the Philippines-Diliman

AR6
"Text Genre Boundary Detection Using Co-occurrence Networks"
Marianne Roxas, Josephine Jill Catbat and Giovanni Tapang, University of the Philippines-Diliman

E-LEARNING (EL)

EL1
"The Ai Cap'n Game Platform: A Tool for Learning Agent Development"
Paul Inventado and Solomon See, De La Salle University-Manila


EL2
"Software Tycoon: A Software Development Simulation Game"
Joseph Abrigo, Inigo Ambas, Jess Chin and Rhia Trogo-Oblena, De La Salle University-Manila

EL3
"Monitoring Novice Programmer Affect and Behaviors to Identify Learning Bottlenecks"
Ma. Mercedes Rodrigo (Ateneo de Manila University), Emily Tabanao (Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology), Ryan Baker (Carnegie Mellon University) and Jessica Sugay (Ateneo de Manila University)

OTHERS (OT)

OT1
"Preferential Attachment in an Internet-mediated Human Network"
Chezka Camille Arevalo and Jaderick Pabico, University of the Philippines-Los Banos

OT2
"On Network Properties of Generalized Hypercubes"
Nestine Hope Hernandez and Henry Adorna, University of the Philippines-Diliman

OT3
"A User Location and Tracking System using Wireless Local Area Network"
Kent Nishimori, Caslon Chua and Gregory Cu, De La Salle University-Manila

OT4
"Reliable Progressive to Restricted PS STUN Algorithm"
Alexis Pantola, Mark Lim, Andre Tuason, Jay Go and Don Sta. Ana, De La Salle University-Manila

OT5
"The Structure of Package Dependency Network of Modern Multiprogramming OS"
Jaderick Pabico and Mae Cel Ayson, University of the Philippines-Los Banos


KEYNOTE AND INVITED SPEAKERS:

Keynote Speaker 1. Dr. Ben Malayang, President, Silliman University

Keynote Speaker 2: Prof. Masayuki Numao, Head, Numao Laboratory, Architecture for Intelligence, Division of Intelligent Systems Science, The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University http://www.ai.sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/

Abstract:

Constructive Adaptive User Interfaces and Empathic Computing
Prof. Masayuki Numao

We demonstrate a method to locate relations and constraints between a music score and its impressions, by which we show that machine learning techniques may provide a powerful tool for composing music and analyzing human feelings. We examine its generality by modifying some arrangements to provide the subjects with a specified impression. This demonstration introduces some user interfaces, which are capable of predicting feelings and creating new objects based on seed structures, such as spectrums and their transition for sounds that have been extracted and are perceived as favorable by the test subject. We call them constructive adaptive user interfaces (CAUI), introduce them a brain computer interface, and discuss their relation to Empathic Computing.



Keynote Speaker 3: Dr. Rachel Edita Roxas, Dean, College of Computer Studies, De La Salle University-Manila

Abstract:

Natural Language Processing Laboratory: the CCS-DLSU Experience
Rachel Edita Roxas
Nathalie Rose Lim
Charibeth Cheng
College of Computer Studies
De La Salle University
{rachel.roxas, nats.lim, chari.cheng}@delasalle.ph


As the premiere human language technology center in the country, we present the diverse research activities of the Natural Language Processing Laboratory of the College of Computer Studies, De La Salle University, focusing mainly on the projects that we have embarked on. These projects include the formal representation of human languages and the processes involving these languages. Language representation entails the development of language resources such as lexicons and corpora for various human languages including Philippine languages, across various forms such as text, speech and video files. Applications on languages that we have worked on include Machine Translation, Question-and-Answering Systems, Information Extraction, Natural Language Generation, Automated Text Summarization and Simplification, and Language Education. These applications provide the current human language interface for communication, searching, and learning, to name a few.

Keywords: Natural Language Processing, Human Language Technology

Invited Speaker 1: Dr. Vena Pearl Bongolan, Ellis University, Chicago, Illinois, USA/ Visiting Professor, University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Title: "Resonance in the Scalar Transport Equation Under Periodic Shear-Flow and Boundary Noise".

Invited Speaker 2: Dr. Kardi Teknomo, Associate Professor, Department of Information Systems and Computer Science, Ateneo de Manila University

Abstract:

Background Image Generation Using Boolean Operations
Kardi Teknomo
Ateneo de Manila University Quezon City, 1108 Philippines +632-4266001 ext 5660
teknomo@gmail.com
Proceso Fernandez
Ateneo de Manila University Quezon City, 1108 Philippines +632-4266001 ext 5660
pfernandez@ateneo.edu


Tracking moving objects from a video sequence requires segmentation of these objects from the background image. However, getting the actual background image automatically without object detection using only the video is difficult. In this paper, we describe a novel algorithm to generate background from real world images without foreground detection. The algorithm assumes that the background image is shown in the majority of the video. Given this simple assumption, the method described in this paper is able to accurately generate, with high probability, the background image from a video using only a small number of binary operations.


Keywords. Boolean mode, background modeling, video segmentation.

Invited Speaker 3: Dr. Jaime DL. Caro, Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of the Philippines-Diliman

Invited Speaker 4: Dr. Rafael P. Saldana, Coordinator, Ateneo Grid and High Performance Computing Group, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University


Title: "Biomedical Application of Grid Computing and the EUAsiaGrid Project: Focus on Predicting Breast Cancer Survivability in the Philippines Using the C4.5 Algorithm and the WEKA Enviroment"

Invited Speaker 5: Dr. Felix P. Muga II, Associate Professor, Mathematics Department, Ateneo de Manila University

Invited Speaker 6: Dr. Pablo Manalastas, Retired Professor, Department of Information Systems and Computer Science, Ateneo de Manila University

Abstract:

Tiling (MxN) Rectangles by (1x2) or Larger Tiles
Karen Katrina Manalastas
National Institute of Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyUniversity of the Philippines, Diliman+63-917-8992884
karen.manalastas@gmail.com
Pablo Manalastas
Department of Information Systems and Computer Science, Ateneo de Manila University, Q.C.+63-917-8682588
pmanalastas@ateneo.edu
Paul Abel Manalastas
Canon I-Tech, Inc. PhilippinesTechno Plaza OneEastwood, Q.C.+63-917-5411488
paul_manalastas@yahoo.com


Here we derive formulas for the number of ways of tiling a (mxn) rectangle using (1x2) tiles, for m = 1, 2, 3, and 4. The cases when m > 4 are reserved for future versions of this paper. Further we give a C++ program that solves the general problem of tiling the (mxn) rectangle using (hxk) tiles, where 1£h£m and 1£k£n and h,k,m,n are all integers. The program counts the number of ways the tiling can be done, and optionally lists the tilings themselves.

Keywords. Tiling, rectangular tiles, C++ recursion.


Invited Speaker 7: Dr. Pros Naval, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of the Philippines-Diliman

Invited Speaker 8: Prof. Jaderick P. Pabico, Institute of Computer Science, University of the Philippines-Los Banos

Title: "Dynamic Load Balancing Algorithms for Embarrassingly Parallel Tasks"

Abstract:

Abstract. Many scientific applications are considered embarrassingly parallel because they contain loops with large numbers of independent iterations that are computationally intensive. Given a loop with $n$~iterations and $p$~processors, the obvious scheduling is to assign $n/p$~iterates per processor. However, the respective execution times of each iterate could vary due to conditional statements or variable amount of computation required. Even in applications where there is minimal code variation in each iterate, the iteration execution times may vary due to differences in effective processor speeds, latency in network traffic, latency in data access from primary and secondary memories, daemons waking up, or hardware interrupts. The cumulative effect of variances in iterate execution times could ultimately result to processor load imbalance and therefore to severe performance degradation of parallel applications at runtime. For effectively load balancing scientific parallel applications, algorithms for scheduling iterates with variable execution times have been studied such as fixed-size chunking, guided self scheduling, factoring, weighted factoring, adaptive weighted factoring, and adaptive factoring. In this paper, these algorithms are presented and compared in terms of two metrics over an increasing~$p$ , the parallel cost and the coefficient of variation of processor finishing times. The performance measurements were implemented using two scientific applications as test beds: The many-body simulation and the profiling of automatic quadrature routines.

Keywords: embarrassingly parallel tasks, parallel loops, dynamic load balancing


Invited Speaker 9: Engr. Nelson Beniabon, Philippine Council on Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD)-DOST

Title: "PCASTRD'S Agenda on R&D and ICT"


LIST OF PAPERS INCLUDED IN RESEARCH IN PROGRESS SESSION (RPS)


RP1
A Comparison of Learners’ Affect and Behaviors While Using an Intelligent Tutor and an Educational Game
Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo,1 Ryan S. J. d. Baker,2 Nathaniel Abalos,1 Karina Bacuyag,1 Bronson Basuel,3, 4 Melissa Bautista,1 Michelle Cortez,1 Godfrey Dulla,1 Saichi Elomina,1 Mary Audrey Gineta,3 Ahrren Rara,3 Ramon Rodriguez,1 Jeff Sanggalang,3, 4 Jessica Sugay,1 Ann Katherine Tan,1 Mike Tan,3 Emily Trajano,3 Fara Uy,1 Noel Victorino,1 Kathrina Blanca Villaflor1
1 Department of Information Systems and Computer Science,
Ateneo de Manila University
2 Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh,
PA,
3 Education Department, Ateneo de Manila University
4 Ateneo de Manila University Grade School

RP2
Mobile Doctor: Mobile Telehealth Information and Resource System for Community Health Workers
Lorenz Angelo Bagohin, Maria Donna Enriquez, Joyce Kathryn Lim,
Ayedee Domingo, M.D., Jeffrey Jongko
SynapseHealth Solutions, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Philippines
Ateneo Java Wireless Competency Center, Ateneo de Manila University

RP3
Packet Classifier for Unified Security Switches
Alexis V. Pantola, Dennis Cagampan, Michael Daniel Narca, Julius Cuevas,
Isaac Herculano Sabas : De La Salle University-Manila

RP4
Visualization of Tropical Rain Data Using Data Communication Networks for Disaster Management
Silver June Gonzales, Alfred Timothy Lotho, Ma. Regina E. Estuar
Ateneo de Manila University

RP5
Weather Monitoring System Using SMS
Chris Jordan Aliac : Research Dept. Cebu Institute of Technology, Cebu City

RP6
Detecting Cheats on a P2P MOFPS Game
Blancaflor, P., Jose, J. M., Magpantay, R., Opaco, C. M., Cheng, D. C. : De La Salle University-Manila

RP7
STAR: 2-D Special effects in Theater using Augmented Reality
Kevin Christian D. Palis, Aaron M. Medina, Vladimir Y. Mariano, Margarita C.S. Paterno : Institute of Computer Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños

RP8
Actor - driven Image Warping
Jennifer C. Maranan, Vladimir Y. Mariano : Institute of Computer Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños

RP9
Single-Image Summarization of Video Using Person Tracking and Event Detection
Caroline Natalie M. Peralta, Margarita Carmen S. Paterno, Vladimir Y. Mariano
University of the Philippines University of the Philippines Los Baños

RP10
Robust Network Parameter in Different Translations of Written Text
Jica Monsanto, Giovanni Tapang : National Institute of Physics,
University of the Philippines, Diliman

RP11
Classification of Pattern Breaks as New or Missing Objects
Maria Art Antonette D. Clariño, Vladimir Y. Mariano
Institute of Computer Science , University of the Philippines -Los Baños

RP12
Low-Cost Vision-Based Finger Spelling Using Boundary Signatures
Jennelyn Coming, Elyfred Baclaan, and Elmer A. Maravillas
College of Computer Studies, Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT),

RP13
Best Practices in e-Learning: Parallelism Between South Korea and Thailand
Maria Victoria G. Pineda : De La Salle University-Manila


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PCSC 2009: Opening Session

.Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/pcsc-2009-program-as-of-24-february.htmll

9th Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC 2009)
March 2 - 3, 2009
Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines

Organized by the Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP)
Hosted by Silliman University

OPENING SESSION

Monday, March 2, 2009

Luce Auditorium, Silliman University

08:00-09:00 Confirmation of Registration

Coffee / Early Snacks / Socialization

09:00-10:00 Opening Ceremonies

Processional SU Colours

Invocation Rev. Noel C. Villalba

University Pastor

National Anthem Multimedia

Welcome Remarks Dr. Betsy Joy. B. Tan

SU-Vice President for Academic Affairs

City Mayor’s Message Hon. Agustin R. Perdices

Mayor, Dumaguete City

Opening Remarks Dr. Jaime Caro

President, CSP

Presentation of Delegates Prof. Dave E. Marcial

Secretariat, PCSC 09

10:00-10:20 Technical Break / Intermission SU Cultural Affairs

Introduction of Speakers Dr. Rafael Saldaña, Past President, CSP

10:20 – 11:00 Keynote Speech 1 Dr. Ben S. Malayang III

President, Silliman University

11:00 – 11:40 Keynote Speech 2 Prof. Masayuki Numao

“Constructive Adaptive User Interfaces and Empathic Computing”

Head of the Department of Architecture for Intelligence, The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University

11:40 – 11:50 Expression of Appreciation Dr. Jaime Caro, CSP President

To be Assisted by: Dr. Rafael Saldaña, CSP Past President

11:50 – 12:00 Announcements Dr. Henry Adorna, CSP Secretary and Chair,
Scientific Program Committee-PCSC 09

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Program: ICT For Health 2009 (Makati City, Philippines)

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/program-ict-for-health-2009-makati-city.html


ICT for Health 2009: Workshop on Telemedicine, Medical Records, and eHealth
19 February 2009, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
JV 2-5 Function Rooms, AIM Conference Center Manila, Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

AM Sessions

Registration and Opening Ceremonies

8:00 – 8:30 REGISTRATION

8:30 – 8:40 Invocation and National Anthem
Fatima C. Avila
COMSTE Staff

8:40 – 9:00 Welcome Remarks and COMSTE Directions
Dr. Gregory L. Tangonan
Executive Director, COMSTE

9:00 – 9:30 Keynote Speech
Hon. Joseph Emilio A. Abaya
Representative 1st District of Cavite
Co-Chair, COMSTE

9:30 – 10:00 Health Situational Analysis
Dr. Rosette Vergeire
Co-Chair, Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau

10:00 – 10:20 COFFEE BREAK

Overview of ERDT and NThC Projects

10:20 – 10:50 Ateneo de Manila University
Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña
Faculty, Applied Math and Computational Science

10:50 – 11:10 De La Salle University
Dr. Nilo T. Bugtai
Chair, Dept of Manufacturing Engineering & Management

11:10 – 11:30 University of the Philippines Diliman
Dr. Jaime L. Caro
Chair, Department of Computer Science

11:30 – 11:50 National Telehealth Center
Dr. Alvin B. Marcelo
Director, National Telehealth Center

11:50 – 12:10 OPEN FORUM #1

12:10 – 13:30 LUNCH



PM Sessions
Service and Deployment Discussions

13:30 – 13:50 DOH Initiatives on Telemedicine
Dr. Agnette P. Peralta
Director, Bureau of Health Devices and Technology

13:50 – 14:10 Microfinancing Business Model
Mr. Mark Ruiz
Managing Director, Hapinoy / Microventures, Inc.

14:10 – 14:30 Digitized Medical Records
Dr. Jose M. Acuin
Director, Medical Quality Improvement, The Medical City

14:30 – 14:50 OPEN FORUM # 2

14:50 – 15:10 COFFEE BREAK

Conclusions and Closing Ceremonies

15:10 – 15:40 Formulating a Telehealth Road Map
COMSTE Electronics, Health, and IT Panel Chairs
Dr. Gregory L. Tangonan, Dr. Ramon L. Arcadio, and
Mr. Joaquin E. Quintos IV

15:40 – 16:00 Closing Remarks
Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña
Workshop Coordinator for ERDT
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ICT-Asia 2009 (Bangkok, Thailand) : PROGRAM

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/ict-asia-2009-bangkok-thailand-program.html


ICT-ASIA 2009
5th Regional ICT-Asia Seminar
(ICT Cooperation and Networking Between France and Asia)
11 - 12 February 2009
Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand


Programme of the 6th regional ICT-Asia seminar

10 February 2009

- Arrival of the participants at the Asian Institute of Technology

18h00 Departure of the bus from AIT to the French Embassy in Thailand

19h00 – 21h00 Cocktail at the French Embassy

11 February 2009

08h30 – 09h00 Welcome/registration (Milton Bender Auditorium)

09h00 – 09h30 Opening session

09h00 Welcome address, Prof. Peter Haddawy, Vice-President, AIT

09h10 Opening speech, M Maurice Siveton, Conseiller regional

09h20 Presentation of ICT-Asia, M Jean-Philippe Thouard, AIT

09h30 – 10h00 Group Picture and Coffee-break

10h00 – 12h00 Presentation of ongoing projects (4th call for proposals) (Milton Bender Auditorium)

10h00 ICT-ASIA Project IDEA : “Images of natural Disasters from robot Exploration in urban Area”, Dr. Bart Lamiroy

10h30 Wireless Overlay Architectures and Applications (WOAA!) project, Prof. Noël Crespi

11h00 Proactive GCM, Prof. Farooq Ahmad and Mr. Khan Muhammad

11h30 The France-Asia ACGRID School: the GRID as a tool for scientific cooperations, Prof. Denis Perret-Gallix

12h00 – 13h00 Lunch (AITCC)

13h00 – 14h00 Working meeting of the French parties (by invitation)

14h00 – 15h00 Evaluation of the ICT-Asia Programme (Milton Bender Auditorium)

15h00 – 16h00 Thematic session “Distributed systems/Communication Networks/Wireless Networks” (Milton Bender Auditorium)

15h00 Keynote address by Prof. Jun Murai (VTC)

15h30 The strategy of Scientific Development ICT Progrom in Indonesia and the Perspective for the Future, Mr. Kemal Prihatman (Indonesia)

16h00 – 16h30 Coffee-break

16h30 – 18h00 Thematic session (continued)

16h30 Simple and Low Cost Broadband Wireless, Internet and Telephony Solutions in ICT4D: An Indonesian Experience, Dr. Onno Purbo (Indonesia)

17h00 Fiber to the Home with Coded Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing Scheme of Passive Optical Network Techniques, Prof. Jen-Fa HUANG (Taiwan)

17h30 A Live Video Streaming Testbed over Mobile WiMax/HSDPA Network, Prof. Sunyoung Han (Korea)

18h00 Departure of the bus towards Suanthip restaurant

19h00 Thai traditional dinner at Suanthip restaurant


12 February 2009

Parallel session 1

08h30 – 10h00 Thematic session “Nanotechnologies and ICT/Quantum computing” (room B202, AIT Conference Center)

08h30 Laboratory of Nanotechnologies – the first lab for microdevices fabrication in Vietnam, Dr. Eric Fribourg-Blanc

09h00 How Powerful is Quantum Interaction?,Dr. Iordanis Kerenidis

09h30 Quantum Communication Complexity, Dr. Rahul Jain (Singapore)

Parallel session 2 (Milton Bender Auditorium)

08h30 – 09h00 Report on ongoing project: Tiny6, Dr. Ratnajit Bhattacharjee

09h00 – 10h00 Thematic session “Multimedia applications/speech processing/image processing and medical imaging” (Milton Bender Auditorium)

09h00 Institute for Infocomm Research Singapore and Our Medical Imaging Research, Dr. Jimmy Liu (Singapore)

09h30 Video Analysis in HealthCare Application, Dr. Pau-Choo Chung

10h00 – 10h30 Coffee-break

10h30 – 12h00 Thematic session “Multimedia applications/speech processing/image processing and medical imaging” (Milton Bender Auditorium)

10h30 Research Collaboration on Telemedicine, Distributed Medical Images, and Disaster Mitigation, Dr. Rafael Saldana (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines)

11h00 Utilisation des systèmes dynamiques pour les grands environnements interactifs, Dr. Eric Castelli and Dr. Nguyen Viet tung (Vietnam)

11h30 Satellite imageries and forensic analysis of the 2006 Guinsaugon landslide and Mayon lahar disasters, Dr. Alfredo Mahar A. Lagmay (Philippines)

12h00 – 13h00 Lunch (AITCC)

13h00 – 14h30 Thematic session “Robotics” (Milton Bender Auditorium)

13h00 Research and practice on human-robot interaction for therapy and education for children, Dr. Hideki Kozima (Japan)

13h30 Research on humanoid robotics at the CNRS-AIST JRL, Dr. Abderrahmane Kheddar (Japan)

14h00 Development of a Robotic System for Car Wiring, Dr. Xin Jiang (Japan)

14h30 – 15h15 Thematic session “Other ventures” (Milton Bender Auditorium)

14h30 CanalAvist, Prof. Kanchana Kanchanasut

15h00 The first Asia-Europe Physics Summit: “Physics Toward Science Innonations”, Prof. Denis Perret-Gallix (France)

15h15 – 15h45 Coffee-break

15h45 – 15h30 Thematic session “Context/Modelling/Decision support systems” (Milton Bender Auditorium)

15h45 I-CROSS: Impromptu, Context-aware and trustworthy service provision in heterogeneous and unfamiliar spaces, Daqing Zhang

16h15 Interestingness measures for Knowledge Discovery, Philippe Lenca

16h45 – 17h45 Preparation of the next call for proposals (Milton Bender Auditorium)

17h45 End of the seminar

Related Links:

1. ICT-Asia Websites: http://www.ict-asia-france.org/

2. Photos:

a. Arrival/Cocktail/Welcome Reception at the French Embassy in Bangkok:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100835&id=682835049&l=959fc

b. Day 1, Part 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100958&id=682835049&l=e7856

c. Day 1, Part 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101085&id=682835049&l=35c11

d. Day 1, Part 3: Dinner in Ayutthaya
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101007&id=682835049&l=42cb2

e. Day 2, Part 1.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101149&id=682835049&l=bde38

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ICT Asia 2009 (Bangkok, Thailand)

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Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/ict-asia-2009-bangkok-thailand.html

Caption: Rhia Trogo (left) is from De La Salle University, Raffy Saldana (center) is from Ateneo de Manila University, and Mahar Lagmay (right) is from University of the Philippines-Diliman. They are representing the Philippines in the 6th Regional ICT-Asia Seminar on February 11 - 12, 2009 at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand.

Caption: Dr. Daniel Racoceanu (left) is the Director of IPAL (Image Perception Access and Language), a France-Singapore Joint Laboratory. Daniel is Principal Investigator of the ONCO-MEDIA Project (http://www.onco-media.com) an international research collaboration funded by the French Government.Isabelle Epaillard (2nd) works at the Office of the Scientific Attache of the Embassy of France to the Philippines; Rhia Trogo (3rd) is a faculty member of the College of Computer Studies of De La Salle University-Manila; and Dr. Rafael "Raffy" Saldana (4th) is a faculty member of the School of Science and Engineering of Ateneo de Manila University. Raffy is Co-Principal Investigator of the ONCO-MEDIA Project (http://www.onco-media.com).

ICT-Asia

is a programme of the French Cooperation (Alliance Francais) to foster cooperation and networking in research and training in ICT in Asia.

ICT-Asia Seminar: Bangkok 2009

The 6th ICT-Asia regional seminar will take place on 11 and 12 February 2009 in Bangkok.

The themes of the seminar are:

• Distributed systems - Communication Networks/Wireless Networks
  
• Nanotechnologies and ICT - Quantum computing


• Multimedia applications - Speech processing - Image processing and medical imaging


• Context - Modelling - Decision support systems


• Robotics


• Computer security
  

Click here for further details.

Website: http://www.ict-asia-france.org/

PROGRAMME

10 February 2009

- Arrival of participants at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

18h00 Departure of the bus from AIT to the French Embassy (in Bangkok)

19h00 - 21h00 Cocktail at the French Embassy

(to be continued)

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The Heart Equation and the Mathematics of Love

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Link:
http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/heart-equation-and-mathematics-of-love.html

Today (2/08/09) I joined the group "I Heart Mathematics" on Facebook. The group features a nice graph of the heart equation (see graphics above).

Then I started an interesting discussion (on Facebook) on the connection between Love and Mathematics. My purpose is to make my students appreciate the beauty of Mathematics and to show that Mathematics can be fun.

Here are some examples:

"The equation is another way of saying that love can sometimes be complicated..."

"It also implies that Love can be quantified..."

"Another implication of the Love equation is that Love has symmetry..."

"Love is not a FUNCTION, it is a RELATION..."

"Love is REAL; it is not IMAGINARY..."

"Love has an ABSOLUTE VALUE..."

"Love is a UNION and an INTERSECTION not a SEPARATION OF VARIABLES..."

"LOVE = [PERSON1 (union) PERSON2] && PERSON1 (intersection) PERSON2]..."

"I wish you were sine squared theta and I was cosine squared theta so together we could be one..."

I would like to hear more contributions from readers...

Cheers,

Raffy

http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/

Gospel Reflection (Mark 1, 29-39), Sunday, 2/8/09

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Link to Raffy's World: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com

* Sunday, 8 February 2009

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today the Church celebrates : St. Jerome Emiliani

Link: http://www.dailygospel.org/www/main.php?language=AM&ordo=&localTime=02/08/2009

"
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 1, 29-39.

On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.

The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come."

So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
"

Reflection:

1. In today's Gospel we see several aspects of our Lord Jesus Christ: (a) Jesus is a healer, (b) Jesus is a preacher, (c) Jesus can drive away demons, and (d) Jesus prays.

2. Jesus cures various diseases: In our country and in our world there are millions of people who are sick not only physically but also spiritually. Let us pray that sick people will be cured of their illnesses.

3. Jesus preaches the Good News: Let us pray that the Good News tranforms us into doing what is good and avoiding what is bad.

4. Jesus drives away demons: Let us pray that demons (of all forms) would be driven out not only in Galilee but also in our country and the world today.

5. Jesus prays: Like Jesus let us make it a habit to pray.

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For Math 19 Students (Applied Calculus): Sample Exam #4

To All Concerned: The image above is a Sample Long Exam No. 4 in Math 19 (Applied Calculus) . Click on the image to see a larger view.

Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/for-math-19-students-applied-calculus.html

ICT4Health 2009: Workshop on Telemedicine, Medical Records and eHealth (Manila, Philippines)

(Link: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/ict4health-2009-workshop-on.html )

Tentative Program

ICT for Health 2009: Workshop on Telemedicine, Medical Records, and eHealth

19 February 2009, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

JV 2-5, AIM Conference Center Manila, Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

Registration and Opening Ceremonies

8:00 – 8:30 REGISTRATION

8:30 – 8:40 Invocation and National Anthem by COMSTE Staff

8:40 – 8:50 Welcome Remarks by Dr. Gregory Tangonan

8:50 – 9:30 Keynote Speech by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara

9:30 – 9:50 COFFEE BREAK

Overview of ERDT Projects on Telemedicine and Digitization of Health Records

9:50 – 10:10 Ateneo de Manila University by Dr. Rafael Saldaña

10:10 – 10:30 De La Salle University

10:30 – 10:50 UP Diliman

10:50 – 11:10 OPEN FORUM # 1

11:10 – 11:30 UP Manila – National Telehealth Center Dr. Alvin Marcelo

11:30 – 12:00 OPEN FORUM #2

12:00 – 13:00 LUNCH

Policy and Technology Issues

13:00 – 13:20 DOH – Bureau of Health Devices and Technologies

13:20 – 13:40 PhilHealth

13:40 – 14:00 OPEN FORUM # 3

14:00 – 14:20 SMART Communications by Mr. Darwin Flores

14:20 – 15:05 Technology Demos (15 minutes each)

UP EEE (for Devices)

Medical City Representative (for Digitized Records)

Industry Partner (for Software)

15:05 – 15:25 OPEN FORUM # 4

15:25 – 15:45 COFFEE BREAK

Break-out Session

15:45 – 16:00 Break-out Session

1. Policy Issues Group (DOH, PhilHealth, COMSTE)

2. Technology Issues Group (ERDT, Academe, COMSTE)

16:00 – 16:30 Presentations (15 minutes per group)

16:30 – 17:00 Response by Congress by Cong. Joseph Emilio A. Abaya

17:00 – 17:15 Closing Remarks by Dr. Jaime Caro

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for more information, contact:

Dr. Rafael P. Saldana
Coordinator, ICT for Health
ERDT ICT Committee
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com
Mobile Phone: 63 928 5043121

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Google Teams with IBM to Promote Online Health Records

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Link to Raffy's World: http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/google-teams-with-ibm-to-promote-online.html

Note: I got the information below from Dr. Gregory Tangonan, Director of Ateneo Innovation Center and Professor in Ateneo de Manila University.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123379708243750291.html

Google, IBM Promote Online Health Records

By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO and WILLIAM M. BULKELEY

Google Inc., moving to improve its online health-record service, is teaming with International Business Machines Corp. to allow patients to add data generated from home-health monitoring products, such as blood-pressure cuffs and glucose meters.

The companies said software developed by IBM, with consumers' permission, can shift the data into a personal health record in Google Health, the search giant's service for helping consumers manage and store their health information online. Other software lets the patient transfer the information from there to an electronic medical record kept by providers like health-care companies and primary-care physicians.

[Google, IBM Promote Online Health Records] Getty Images

At a time when the Obama administration has made electronic health records a priority and included funds in the stimulus plan to encourage providers to adopt records, the collaboration between the two companies has the potential to "kick-start" use of online monitoring of chronic diseases, said Dan Pelino, general manager of health care and life sciences for IBM.

Both IBM Chief Executive Samuel Palmisano and Google CEO Eric Schmidt have been prominent in business leaders' meetings with President Obama on high-tech stimulus measures.

Still, the electronic health-records industry -- and Google's attempt to help spur and organize it -- are in a very early phase. While major insurers have migrated medical records for tens of millions of patients online, only a few hundred thousand patients have claimed and actively updated their information through their providers or other services like Google Health and Microsoft Corp.'s HealthVault, estimates Harry Wang, a research analyst for Parks Associates.

Sameer Samat, director of Google Health, declined to say how many patients have uploaded their own personal health information into Google's system or imported records from partners, which include Cleveland Clinic, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and a number of pharmacies.

Google is "pretty happy with the progress so far," he said, while acknowledging that feedback from consumers has been mixed. "We have had a lot of people who are really happy with us and who rave, and probably more people who say it is a great start and here is what we want to see" for features, he said.

The new IBM partnership, he said, will help consumers round out their medical records with daily health information, like their blood pressure, that is often difficult to organize. Diabetes patients at home could check their blood sugar at the same time each day and upload the information. If the system detected a sharp change, it could alert a relative or a visiting nurse to check on the patient.

To tap as much information as possible, IBM designed the software to use computer standards agreed to by the Continua Health Alliance, a large consortium of technology companies and medical device makers spearheaded by Intel Corp.

Any device built with electronic-communication capabilities that adhere to the Continua standards will be able to send information to a Google Health account via the IBM software, said Mr. Pelino. So far, Continua says one device has been officially certified and several more are going through the process.

To take advantage of the data through Google, patients will have to create a Google account and grant permission for their data to be imported into their health profile.

Both Google and IBM hope that the partnership will encourage the adoption of portable monitoring devices. While many medical devices already have communicating capabilities, they generally rely on custom-built interfaces rather than a single standard for communications.

Write to Jessica E. Vascellaro at jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com and William M. Bulkeley at bill.bulkeley@wsj.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B4

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Zurich (Switzerland) is World's Best City (to Live) in 2008

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Link:

http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2008/06/zurich-switzerland-is-worlds-best-city.html

[Note: This blog entry was originally posted in "Raffy's World" on June 13, 2008. I am "recycling" it so it will appear in my Facebook Notes :D.]

Photo Caption: A portion of Zurich, Switzerland. Source:http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/06/0611_mercer/source/2.htm


I read in Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com/) that Zurich, Switzerland came out on top in the list of best cities in the world.

Below is an excerpt from the article (Source: Businessweek):


"Mercer Consulting's annual roundup of the global cities with the best quality of life is here, and Zurich once again comes out on top. The best place in the U.S.? Honolulu at No. 28.
New York, London, and Paris are internationally renowned cities but consultants at Mercer Consulting have picked Zurich, Switzerland, as the best place to live in the company's annual survey.

Consultants rated each city on a variety of factors including the level of traffic congestion, air quality, and personal safety reported by expatriates living in more than 600 cities worldwide. In the top 25, U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago were all edged out by Geneva, Switzerland, Vancouver, B.C., and Auckland, New Zealand. The highest-scoring U.S. city is Honolulu, which came in at No. 28."


Top 20 Cities :

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Vienna, Austria
2. Geneva, Switzerland
4. Vancouver, Canada
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Dusseldorf, Germany
7. Munich, Germany
7. Frankfurt, Germany
9. Bern, Switzerland
10. Sydney, Australia
11. Copenhagen, Denmark
12. Wellington, New Zealand
13. Amsterdam, Netherlands
14. Brussels, Belgium
15. Toronto, Canada
16. Berlin, Germany
17. Melbourne, Australia
17. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
19. Ottawa, Canada
20. Stockholm, Sweden

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105235/The-World

Notes: It is interesting to note that 3 of the 10 top cities are in Switzerland and another 3 are in Germany. Also, the highest ranking city from the United States did not make it to the top 20 -- Honolulu, Hawaii, USA ranks no. 28.

Of the top 20 cities in the list, I am fortunate to have visited the following: Zurich, Vienna, Geneva, Vancouver, Auckland, Bern, Sydney, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Melbourne (in fact, I lived in Melbourne, Australia for five years :) ).

I wonder, what are the ranks of Manila (capital ciy of the Philippines) and Quezon City (where I live) in the survey ???

Cheers,

Raffy
6/13/08
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On Heroism and the Youth (Remembering Delo Manaog)

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Link:

http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2009/02/on-heroism-and-youth-remembering-delo.html

Photo Caption: Bantayog ng Mga Bayani in Quezon City



"On Heroism and the Youth" (Remembering Delo Manaog)

Note: Here are my thoughts for today, 2 February 2009:
Raffy Saldana (http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com)


We were young once. I'd like to believe that we still are -- young.

We had our share of idealism. I'd like to believe that we still are -- idealistic.

Last November 29, 2008 the University of the Philippines paid tribute to its martyrs and heroes: “Paggunita at Parangal Para sa mga Iskolar ng Bayan sa Bantayog ng mga Bayani: A Centennial Tribute to UP Martyrs and Heroes.”

One of those remembered and recognized by UP was my former classmate in Philippine Science High School (PSHS) in Diliman, Quezon City. His name is Rodelo “Delo” Manaog and he hailed from Mauban, Quezon.

I have written a blog entry on Delo [1]. Another PSHS batchmate, Miriam “Iye” Coronel (a UP Professor) wrote a beautiful piece about Delo in one of her newpaper columns [2].

We were teen-agers in the 70s and young adults in the 80s during the turbulent years of Martial Law in the Philippines. Delo Manaog was among those who fought the dictatorship. Together with thousands of idealistic young men and women, Delo stood for what he believed was right – to fight and die for freedom and democracy.

Many of us heeded the call of the times as what Delo had done; but Delo died young – a martyr and a hero.

Many of us survived, and now living in various modes of existence.

I’d like to believe that we are living meaningful lives – contributing in whatever way we can for the good of our country and for humanity.

Otherwise, it would have been better if we just followed the footsteps of Delo -- a young man who died as a martyr and a hero.

------------

[1] "My Batchmate is a Hero" http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com/2007/08/rodelo-manaog-my-batchmate-is-hero.html

[2] Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, "Two Young Men From Mauban", http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=89687 .

Link to photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98703&l=c3bbc&id=682835049
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