The stark reality of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the cracks in health care systems to adequately provide support to the affected patients.
We realize the importance of ventilators as critical for the care of people with lung failure, one of the complications suffered by patients with severe COVID-19 attacks. The scarcity of ventilators is worsened by the fact that hospitals have to reserve ventilators to treat non-COVID-19 cases such as heart attacks, strokes and other emergency cases even at this time of the pandemic.
While we appreciate that the time at hand is not adequate to develop a fully compliant ventilator based on the government specifications, we believe that developing a low-cost portable automatic respirator with minimum features available to Wanjiku would save lives. Among other features, the machine should have invasive and non-invasive feature, and supports 400-700 mL tidal volume, with a continuous working capability for 2-3 days. Furthermore, any innovation must be attentive to the needs of the larger group of the population as opposed to the few.
To tackle this imminent shortage, at DewCIS we envision a simply home-made ventilator, a mechanical breathing device that is able to blow both air and oxygen into the lungs. Rather than reinventing the wheel, our innovation is to reuse locally available parts to assemble a ventilator. Our vision is to empower every homestead to own a ventilator at minimum cost, using a simple one-page instruction DIY manual.
The device is made of an automatic motor pulling a tough string pulley tied to the board, which then squeezes the bag-valve mask, often called ‘Ambu Bag,’ used for resuscitation in emergency situations, to push oxygen and air into the lungs.
Assembling “Wanjiku” Ventilator, I Prototype
The device can be assembled from locally readily reusable parts, and consumer off-the-shelf components
Motor & Motor ControllerA basic direct current (dc) motor with 7 kg torque is preferable. A car wiper motor would do. The motor controller gives the various modes of operating the motor.
Tough string1-meter long tough nylon string, easily available from a used clothe
Bag-valve maskoften called ‘Ambu Bag,’ used for resuscitation in emergency situations, available at local chemists
12V direct current (dc) supplya car battery would do, an old computer power supply module or an adaptor for the 240V alternating current (ac) supply
Arduino MicrocontrollerSupports programmable features of the apparatus.
Other parts including casing can be crafted at home or from local jua kali kiosks.
This Wanjiku ventilator is portable, and therefore adoptable in villages and other low cost residential areas without reliable power supply, and is inexpensive enough to scale up in bulk production. In dire situations, an ingenious 4-way valve splitter can be used to serve upto 4 different patients.
Future models & improvements
Craft a more durable base and casing to offer sturdy mechanism.
Introduce gears and pulleys for a smooth air flow and eliminate jerking.
Program the motor motions to allow supports of a range of tidal volumes.
Include user interface to allows selection of preset inspiratory:expiratory ratios.
We are creatures of habit in what we eat, where we work, what TV shows we watch, when we work out etc. Right now with Covid-19, all those habits have been shoved out of the window. The extensive social distancing policies put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 means most people will have to spend much, if not all, their time at home.
With new terms as “keeping social distance “, gyms have closed their doors, but does that mean we stop exercising and keeping fit? Remember one of the things you should do to fight this Covid-19 monster is to be physically fit. So, as we still keeping our social distance and quarantine ourselves, we can still exercise and maintain a healthy routine. Here are a few exercise routines you can embrace and practice.
Take a walk
There are a million and one benefits of walking, which have, long been documented, this benefits include reducing the risk of heart disease, strengthening bones and muscles, and improving your mood according to medical gurus. Walking just for 30 minutes a day can make a difference.
There is a question of how to take a walk while still maintaining social distance? Well that should not worry you if you follow simple instructions of keeping a six-foot distance between yourself and others and also wearing a mask as you take the walk.
Stairs climbing
Using the stairs is an extremely time-efficient way to maintain fitness, and of course it’s free. If you live in an apartment with lifts, how about avoiding that uncomfortable lift encounters with other self-isolating neighbors by using the staircase for any necessary outdoor journeys. While at it, take care to avoid much contact with handrails.
Online exercise Classes.
Take advantage of the wealth of online exercise classes. Many of these are free and can be found on YouTube. With the quarantine and social distance directives, we can create our own gym through YouTube, with over a thousands of exercise videos available online. Since so many of us have smart TVs these days, one great way to build a library is to save a number of workouts into playlists you can easily stream onto the sets around your house.
Make sure to gather workout clips that cover the whole body: upper body workouts, lower body, abs, butt, cardio, strength, yoga, balance, flexibility and stretching.
Dancing
Dancing is an excellent way to protect your heart lowering anxiety, reduce stress, and increase your flexibility amongst other many benefits.
Dancing also has established mental health benefits to help us cope with the coronavirus-imposed solitude. We can all agree staying at home weather working or not with this pandemic can easily stress and break anyone, even the strongest.
That said we can use this isolation time and experience the magic of music whether its reggae, Rock, local music which ever floats your boat, it will not be difficult to turn up the volume of your stereo a little higher and turn your lounge or kitchen into a little dance hall and lets dance the COVID-19 blues away at home like nobody’s watching.
Yoga
With the Covid -19 crisis almost every one has been left worried, stressed and lonely with no routine. There is no better time to start practicing yoga.
It can be practiced in the comfort of your own home, at any level, regardless of how silly you may feel.
Doing Yoga on a regular basis can be extremely beneficial for your flexibility, help you boost your strength and improve your overall fitness.
With a focus on self-care, deep breathing, meditation and exercise, yoga has proven benefits for both mind and body.
Setting aside time for yoga also provides routine in your day and gives your mind a break while working from home.
Total beginners or experts could follow YouTube Videos, or purchase a book of yoga poses to work from.
In presenting this article to your notice, kindly bare in mind certain truths, which might escape your memory on this subject of data collection. Be pleased to remember that data collection activities dates back to the 10th century and we are by no means challenging its discipline. However, we are questioning the relevance of a data that is collected and recorded by hand over a period of 6 months, transformed into digital format, verified and analyzed into useful information over another period of 8 months and published towards the end of the following year.
A thousand years and counting, you must be very familiar with walk-in visitors by the name of field interviewers from “so and so research” institution. Once admitted, the interviewer is always very swift to pull out the booklet only to be publicly embarrassed in your audience, with the sheaf of pages coming loose, the spine of the book cracked and ripped, with dog-eared corners at the pages duly equipped to start the interview. This experience of embarrassment inadvertently alerts you to the substandard data collection exercise, which threatens the beliefs you hold concerning the integrity of the research institution and the reliability of the survey outcome.
And yet, the explosive growth in the availability of mobile phones in Africa even in some of the poorest, most remote communities of Kenya does not seem to interest these institutions into adopting automation in data collection, management and delivery. You have heard it said before that if the eyes did not see, the hands wouldn’t take it; and so DewCIS Solutions Ltd has seized this opportunity to create innovative mobile data-centric applications that explore how these devices might be used effectively as part of large scale data collection efforts across various sectors including census, health, market trends and general information gathering.
DewCIS has developed a workflow-driven mobile data collection application, named dataNomads, to streamline the process of data collection and synchronization with the online central database. The application is developed on the open source android mobile platform, allowing it to run on a wide range of devices.
One remarkable feature that makes dataNomads app particularly interesting and extremely useful in the field is that it is has been written to work without network coverage. It might not surprise you that most of remote Kenya is still outside the range of most Internet service providers. So, rather than enumerators collecting information continuously to an online database, all the data is collected and stored locally on the device and uploaded to the online repository only when access to Internet connectivity is restored.
As soon as data from field crew is synchronized with the central database, managers are able to review it in an easy to use Google Earth interface. This interface also allows managers to track progress, identify errors or inconsistencies, and provide feedback to field crew in real time. By exploiting the geolocation capability, exact locations and timestamp of data submitted are displayed on the map as thematically rendered icons, and can be updated in real time to reflect the most current state of the data collection effort.
With minimal training, dataNomads application has the potential to reduce field data collection time by over 50% while its validation features significantly reduce errors providing more accurate and reliable information. More importantly, with pen and paper, you are never sure if the surveyor has really gone to the field to collect the data or if he generated fictitious data while seated under the comfort of a sycamore tree.
In today’s rapidly changing markets, business leaders must make critical decisions like whom should they target with their products or which direction should they expand? They often rely on just internal business data, such as last year’s sales analytics. While internal data gives a great picture about how your business performed in the past, it does not reveal how your business will perform in the future. Faced with this dilemma, within the limits of your own resources, the answer may well be hidden in data outside of your internal systems! With our innovative dataNomads mobile application, we promise business leaders immediate access to diverse datasets gathered from the field, to drive highly targeted business decisions.
Surely, the earth has music for those who listen. Save trees by avoiding unnecessary use of paper and care for the environment by keeping it clean. Our contribution therefore, is to collaborate with research organizations and data driven enterprises to adopt innovative mobile data collection technologies that would waste less energy and boost their credibility, save money and shape how their businesses evolves into the future.
You, too, could have hit a jackpot had you invested in Bitcoins! Have you been a victim of this kind of lecture? Well, rest easy, for the most of us, with the exception of a very lucky few, it is an endless wait.
In an effort to make our readers understand this wilderness cryptocurrency, I will borrow the analogy of reconstructing a shattered pot to explain what Bitcoin business is all about? The intrinsic value of earthenware is easy to find when watching a skillful potter put his talent at play creating functional pieces, which are also decorative and often meant to be appreciated purely as works of art.
In the African setup, before the invention of the malleable iron and the versatile plastic, our adorable mothers used to carry water in these lovely shaped and delicately baked earthenware. You will agree with me that fetching water from the well and trekking several miles to the homestead while carefully balancing a pot full of water on the head, sometimes on high winds is a recipe for disaster. One occasion, the pot would come down and crash into scattered tiny bits of pieces called potsherds dispersing all its contents along with it. My dear reader, consider this unfortunate event of the crashing of the pot to mark the invention of the Bitcoin with individual potsherd pieces numbered a total of 21 million bitcoins.
Now, we set out to reconstruct the pot based on blockchain technology by mending the individual potsherd pieces together using fillers, glue and cold glaze to its original shape and form, and build the business of Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency over the Internet. The continuous process of searching, finding, identifying the correct potsherd piece to fit the puzzle and painstakingly building the original pot is christened Bitcoin mining; and this requires enormous resources and time as you can imagine.
As far as cryptocurrency is concern, this calls for expensive investment in serious computing power to negotiate and append a new unique block of code into an already existing, fragile and growing record of transactions. Because the pieces are so scattered, the source of the next find is somewhat distributed into a sort of organized chaos by design; for nobody in particular knows where the next solution will come from. This lack of an overseeing body like the Central Bank to release new currency whenever the market demands or requires it is a core feature of the definition of a cryptocurrency.
In the case of Bitcoin, new coins are released on a steady and predictable rate using a coded mathematical formula. This rate started with 50 new bitcoins every hour and is halved until around the year 2140 when there will be no more bitcoins to release. Dear reader, at this point to understand Bitcoin mining, think of it as the process of verifying these transactions in its simplest form. In the beginning, bitcoins could be mined on home computers and were awarded at about $2 each. Now mining is a much more complicated and energy-intensive process involving giant mining farms of thousands of computers across the globe.
Now that we have a better grasp of what Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining is, let us take a deep dive into the business of cryptocurrency and explore rumours, truths and lies. As at January 2018, there are over 1,384 cryptocurrencies available over the Internet similar to Bitcoin but based on different algorithms including Ethereum, Litecoin, Primecoin; and many more are being created every day.
A cryptocurrency only has value in its exchange, which means that in itself, it has no inherent value much the same as a ‘conventional’ currency. A Shilling is only worth what someone is willing to give another for that Shilling. If everyone stops accepting the Shilling, won’t it become worthless? So it goes without saying that a cryptocurrency is only worth what someone will exchange for it.
The burning question therefore is whether Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the future of digital money? Judging from what the inventors of the first popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto and others envisioned it for, it is becoming increasingly difficult to consider Bitcoing as a currency. Recent developments show that Bitcoin is becoming less of a payment network and is instead evolving into digital gold, much like when our precious 2,000-year old pot is fully reconstructed and auctioned to a collector for an antique. The initial price of a bitcoin, set in 2010, was less than 1 Kenya Shilling and as at December 2017 the value had surged to over KES 1,600,000 but has since dipped to KES 1,100,000 in January 2018.
This rally from the investment world is dampening any hope that bitcoin will mature into a means of exchange. Currencies need to remain broadly stable in their valuation to ensure that commerce can take place. Certainly, there is bound to be some shift in the value of the coins in your pocket and that is why foreign exchange trading is a business, but put simply, a shilling should buy you the same thing on Monday as it does the following Friday.
Understandably, Gold is valuable because it has many industrial and decorative uses. Its price can fluctuate due to speculation on financial markets, but it can never fall to zero. There will always be someone willing to accept gold because it’s a useful commodity. Conversely, one has to ask if Bitcoin is really valuable? It has no industrial or decorative use, and it doesn’t entitle the holder to receive interest. It was intended to be valuable as a currency that is accepted the world over, but that doesn’t seem to be happening either. Perhaps, the only major value that Bitcoin has now is its exchange value. Many people are willing to pay a lot of money today to get hold of some Bitcoin. But what they are getting for their money is simply the ‘hope’ that another buyer down the line will pay even more money for the same coins. One is therefore forgiven to hold that once the hype stops, there will be no fundamental value to prevent the bitcoins’ price from falling close to zero. To many of us, this reason definitely falls on deaf ears. We take comfort in a euphoric attitude that always leads to a bubble with some investors of initial coin offerings (ICOs) reaping big while the rest of the park is kept busy with occasional speculative and destructive busts which often leave many investors counting losses.
For the bold and wild investors, it may do you good to keep watch of the upcoming G20 meeting in March 2018, where policymakers will discuss tighter regulations or possible crippling of cryptocurrencies all together. For us in the technology industry, we must thank Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies not for their elusive ‘currency’ and emerging pyramid schemes but for the supporting technologies borne of these inventions. When I think about cryptography and blockchaining technologies, several opportunities stir my fancy including; cheap almost free money transfers methods, universal ID for every person alive, smart contracts, voting, Internet of Things (IoT) and many others.
Dewcis Solutions Limited is proud to announce the launch of our new website https://www.dewcis.com which is a throwback to our expanding role as a global leader in IT solutions and services.
Our new website provides a clear message of who we are, what we stand for and where our values lie as a business when implementing, delivering and maintaining IT solutions and services. The website provides our visitor a transparent way to learn about Dewcis products and services and also to allow the visitors to browse information based on choice. It is also fully responsive with mobile devices, making it easy to navigate on a wide range of web browsers and portable devices.
Amongst the new features the site boasts of an integrated social media buttons for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to foster improved communication with our clients. We will be constantly updating our content with helpful information, articles, blogs, newsletters and client successes in the success stories section.
We hope you find the new website refreshing and informative.
For any questions, suggestions, feedback or comments, please contact us.
Technology has a great impact on everything from how we hear about political events to even how we vote. Embracing technology and harnessing the power of new communication mediums through channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or podcasting websites may help one sway public opinion.
Through the clever use of technology, politicians have found generations of new potential voters. Candidates without online presence are at a disadvantage over those exploiting technologies to help them gain attention, money, support and votes. Therefore, Information technology is a major asset for a politician to use as a campaign tool.
The basic Information Technology a politician can use to campaign with are:
A Simple Website
A Website should serve as the campaign’s public front and the primary goal is to help build a supporter database by recruiting. No visitor to the site should leave without an opportunity to join and support the candidate. A Website’s look does matter a lot, since a well-designed layout should make a good first impression. Voters, bloggers and journalists ultimately come to a candidate’s site for information therefore it has to be accurate and up-to-date.
This enables the clients to follow the candidates campaign easily. The politicians case is presented in the strongest possible way, telling the candidate’s story through words, photos and video.
SMS Broadcast/Bulk Messages
SMS text messages are the quickest way to reach your audience which are easy to personalize to each contact. Bulk messaging is the sending of large numbers of SMS messages for delivery to mobile phone terminals. Politicians can use this service to send alerts, reminders and to market themselves to potential supporters.
Countries that may not have a vast internet coverage use text messaging (USSD) to reach out to potential supporters. There are software’s that have advanced features to assist in sending these messages and even scheduling specific times to send them.
Social Media
With half the world’s population on various social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, it wouldn’t be wise for a campaign team to ignore the social internet. These platforms allow for the potential supporters to directly chit chat with their respective candidates. Interacting with these politicians allows for potential supporters to ask questions regarding policies and other topics of concern so as help one decide who to vote for.
The same platforms also directly link campaigns with donors and volunteers therefore providing easy paths to distribute news, talking points, event invitations and appeals for time and money.
Data Analysis
The politicians campaign team gather information from the field regarding various political issues and the data is analyzed so as to pin-point voter patterns in past elections. The patterns help understand issues most relevant to the voters and the politicians can then create a message which appeals to the voters. Data analytics can help to better advertising campaign’s and also create better strategies to increase voters.
Depending on the voter’s responses, the collected data is fed to a database engine. This allows for better targeting of voters. The campaign team, media and relevant parties adopt data analytics in an attempt to predict the winners.
Accounting System
Transparency is important to a Candidates reputation as well as election officials and the public who have a right to know how much money was raised from whom and how it was spent. Information Technology has brought about software specifically made for Accounting purposes.
There is a need to not only keep track of all the money that’s coming and going, but you also need to prepare every transaction for the government reports.
Examples of such software are BackOffice and ISPolitical which are designed to track things like monetary contributions, miscellaneous income, expenses, loans and non-monetary donations. It has features of regular accounting software like printing checks, running bank reconciliations and keeping tabs on your bank balance. It also includes a full suite of reports, like Profit and Loss statements and cash flow reports.
