http://www.toyboxcharity.org.uk/street_children.html
Factors that push a child onto the streets
1. Poverty – street children are likely to have come from areas of poor housing, with little access to running water or adequate sanitation. Likely to be a lack of social services and affordable education. Parents are usually unemployed and illiterate.
2. War and political and social unrest within the country.
3. Natural disasters cause homelessness and displacement
4. Urbanisation – when families move from rural to urban areas and lose the support of their extended family making them more vulnerable when under pressure. Children are often abandoned.
5. Orphans – as a result of civil war, drought, famine, AIDS epidemic, city violence
6. Dysfunctional family environment – children that leave home as a result of abuse, or they may be abandoned. Some children are born on the streets, eg if their parents are prostitutes. Note: though these are strong contributory factors, most children from poor and dysfunctional families do stay at home.
Factors that push a child onto the streets
Some children are attracted to the street life. These are often children who come from high-risk areas and who have been spending the majority of their days on the streets.
1. Gangs – children may have made friends on the streets and want to leave home to become an official member.
2. Lure of freedom and entertainment in a big city – disenchantment with their life, no longer want to work for their parents, live with 7 siblings in a small shack.
3. Drug Addiction
4. Prospect of making a better life in an attempt to escape hardship.
What the street children say
"If a dream could become real, it would be to live with my family and have a different life." Jose, 15 yrs old
"To live on the streets is so sad. If my dream could come true, it would be to have a life without drugs." Alfredo, 13 yrs old
"Life on the street is like a prison because you are mistreated" Miguel, 12 yrs old
FACTS
• Estimated 40 million children live on the streets of Latin America’s densly populated cities. (United Nations estimate about 100 million street children worldwide)
• Types: those living on the street with no home at all, those that spend most of their time on the streets without opportunities for education and care, child workers that spend most of their time working on the street
• Observers from our partner in Guatemala say that street children there have a life expectancy of around four years on the street.
• According to Unicef, some 75,000 severely malnourished children have been identified in Guatemala in 2005, a consequence of three simultaneous emergencies: chronic poverty, drought and the coffee crisis. Some 67 per cent of indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition.
• Unicef also reported in 2004 that in Guatemala in the first 10 months of 2002, gangs or security forces killed 408 children and youths, but most street children were killed by drive by shootings.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Research On a Specific Community
I have spent the last few days trying to pinpoint a specific community of interest. I decided to begin by simply researching current technology in developing nations. Some of the articles of interest:
BBC Article: Is wi-fi good for developing nations?
AiDA - Accessible Information on Development Activities
UN ICT Task Force Site
After much thought I decided I was most interested in Latin American Nations as their developing communities contain many social, economic and political issues that cause much poverty, unemployment, corruption and civic unrest.
Research in Latin America's Social Situation:
The Educational Portal of the Americas published the following article in its Digital Library:
The Social Situation of Latin America and Its Impact on the Family and Education
UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization: Technology Foresight Initiative for Latin America
Bridge the Digital Divide - Latin America
I also read several pdf publications found in Social Sciences Databases which I will include in a later post.
From this initial research I decided I wanted to find out more about the Street Children of Latin America. I will outline my research from today in a separate post.
BBC Article: Is wi-fi good for developing nations?
AiDA - Accessible Information on Development Activities
UN ICT Task Force Site
After much thought I decided I was most interested in Latin American Nations as their developing communities contain many social, economic and political issues that cause much poverty, unemployment, corruption and civic unrest.
Research in Latin America's Social Situation:
The Educational Portal of the Americas published the following article in its Digital Library:
The Social Situation of Latin America and Its Impact on the Family and Education
UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization: Technology Foresight Initiative for Latin America
Bridge the Digital Divide - Latin America
I also read several pdf publications found in Social Sciences Databases which I will include in a later post.
From this initial research I decided I wanted to find out more about the Street Children of Latin America. I will outline my research from today in a separate post.
Reading Notes
24/7/06
INDEX Awards
Designs to Improve Life
- What improves life? Varies according to geographical, cultural and economic background. INDEX seeks to encourage global debate on what improves life.
- Many improvements can often have drawbacks, others may be beneficial in one part of the world and negative in others.
- Solutions to improve life created by designers in collaboration with economists, private companies and other professionals. Eg new kinds of housing, new workplaces, means of transport, better communications.
- HOJE TORV – 3000m2 public plaza to be built on the roof of a department store – example of how major cities can provide public recreational spaces in disused spaces.
- HIPPO ROLLER – designed for developing countries where women have to walk long distances to fetch household water. Up to 90L water can effortlessly be transported over large distances. Social changes to the villages, fetching water become more appealing to younger men.
- PARASITE: temporary shelter for the homeless in the form of an inflatable plastic igloo that utilize surplus heat from the city to inflate the shelter and keep it warm.
- A-POC – fabric made by a computerised knitting and weaving machine – reduces wastage, allows consumers to become part of the design process.
- FORD GLO CAR – reacting with simulated signs of emotion to dangers in the traffic.
OLPC – One Laptop Per Child
- aims at designing a $100 laptop that can ultimately change the way the world’s children are educated.
Thinkcycle – Open Collaborative Design
- Design Projects are listed as open source for people to make contributions
TIER
- Wireless Project (WILD) – aims to bring long distance wireless connections to rural regions
- MILLEE – mobile and immersive learning for literacy in emerging economies. Aims to address illiteracy among underserved communities in developing regions.
SPEECH
- low-cost low power speech recognition software for user interface purposes.
GRAMEENPHONE
25/7/06
SHORT-RANGE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES WITH MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEMS
- Blue-tooth enabled devices will provide a platform and opportunity to implement mobile payment systems and penetrate the commercial markets.
- In the near future, the mobile phone is likely to become a “PERSONAL TRUST DEVICE” and a powerful electronic wallet
- Wireless data transfer is highly preferred for personal and business purposes, offering users flexibility and convenience.
BLUETOOTH
- Bluetooth operates at the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) frequency band, which is unlicensed and available worldwide.
- Provides opportunity for ad hoc connections between a wide range of personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops and so on. Also implemented in home automation systems.
- Advantage- low power consumption which is a key benefit to mobile devices.
- Advantage – used the Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) method to avoid interference – helps payment systems to provide a reliable service.
- 2001 – Ericsson and Eurocard AB in Sweden tested Blue-tooth payment system. Security is a huge concern for wireless applications and is relatively difficult to configure.
INFRARED
- IrDA is one of the most mature and established players for cable replacements applications. It is a point to point method of communication between devices.
- Advantages – low power consumption, well known in the industry.
- Relatively easy to use and configure.
- South Korea – Harex InfoTech – mobile payments system called “ZOOP” – combines mobile devices and wireless IrDA to create a mobile wallet.
- Limitations – cannot penetrate objects such as walls, have to operate in the line of sight and at short range to set up the communications channel. Limits performance of applications.
RFID
- uses electromagnetic fields coupled with radio frequency. Three components: antenna, transceiver and an RF.
- Works at different frequency ranges. Also can read ranges from a few cm to 5 m, depending on the frequency of the devices.
- NOKIA and MASTERCARD have tested new retail payments.
- Advantages – requires no contact and no line-of-sight conditions, is automated and easy to use. Systems are simple, operated by consumers. Popularity is growing.
- ISSUES: PRIVACY, cost for Chips
NEAR FIELD COMMUNCATIONS (NFC)
- open global infrastructure for easy access to wireless services and data anywhere. Offers a convenient connection for all types of electronic devices. BUILT IN SECURITY MECHANISM
- Works in 13.56MHz Frequency band and working range of 3 to 30cm, compatible with RFID technology. Offers a less costly sultion for the implementation of wireless products and supports file and data transfer.
- Low power consumption, inbuilt security mechanism, easy to use and establish connection. Rapid and easy communications.
- Philips and VISA in 2004 – mobile payment system – transfer payment details to the terminal and authentification service based on standard 3D secure.
- Limitations – only works at very short distances.
INDEX Awards
Designs to Improve Life
- What improves life? Varies according to geographical, cultural and economic background. INDEX seeks to encourage global debate on what improves life.
- Many improvements can often have drawbacks, others may be beneficial in one part of the world and negative in others.
- Solutions to improve life created by designers in collaboration with economists, private companies and other professionals. Eg new kinds of housing, new workplaces, means of transport, better communications.
- HOJE TORV – 3000m2 public plaza to be built on the roof of a department store – example of how major cities can provide public recreational spaces in disused spaces.
- HIPPO ROLLER – designed for developing countries where women have to walk long distances to fetch household water. Up to 90L water can effortlessly be transported over large distances. Social changes to the villages, fetching water become more appealing to younger men.
- PARASITE: temporary shelter for the homeless in the form of an inflatable plastic igloo that utilize surplus heat from the city to inflate the shelter and keep it warm.
- A-POC – fabric made by a computerised knitting and weaving machine – reduces wastage, allows consumers to become part of the design process.
- FORD GLO CAR – reacting with simulated signs of emotion to dangers in the traffic.
OLPC – One Laptop Per Child
- aims at designing a $100 laptop that can ultimately change the way the world’s children are educated.
Thinkcycle – Open Collaborative Design
- Design Projects are listed as open source for people to make contributions
TIER
- Wireless Project (WILD) – aims to bring long distance wireless connections to rural regions
- MILLEE – mobile and immersive learning for literacy in emerging economies. Aims to address illiteracy among underserved communities in developing regions.
SPEECH
- low-cost low power speech recognition software for user interface purposes.
GRAMEENPHONE
25/7/06
SHORT-RANGE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES WITH MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEMS
- Blue-tooth enabled devices will provide a platform and opportunity to implement mobile payment systems and penetrate the commercial markets.
- In the near future, the mobile phone is likely to become a “PERSONAL TRUST DEVICE” and a powerful electronic wallet
- Wireless data transfer is highly preferred for personal and business purposes, offering users flexibility and convenience.
BLUETOOTH
- Bluetooth operates at the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) frequency band, which is unlicensed and available worldwide.
- Provides opportunity for ad hoc connections between a wide range of personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops and so on. Also implemented in home automation systems.
- Advantage- low power consumption which is a key benefit to mobile devices.
- Advantage – used the Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) method to avoid interference – helps payment systems to provide a reliable service.
- 2001 – Ericsson and Eurocard AB in Sweden tested Blue-tooth payment system. Security is a huge concern for wireless applications and is relatively difficult to configure.
INFRARED
- IrDA is one of the most mature and established players for cable replacements applications. It is a point to point method of communication between devices.
- Advantages – low power consumption, well known in the industry.
- Relatively easy to use and configure.
- South Korea – Harex InfoTech – mobile payments system called “ZOOP” – combines mobile devices and wireless IrDA to create a mobile wallet.
- Limitations – cannot penetrate objects such as walls, have to operate in the line of sight and at short range to set up the communications channel. Limits performance of applications.
RFID
- uses electromagnetic fields coupled with radio frequency. Three components: antenna, transceiver and an RF.
- Works at different frequency ranges. Also can read ranges from a few cm to 5 m, depending on the frequency of the devices.
- NOKIA and MASTERCARD have tested new retail payments.
- Advantages – requires no contact and no line-of-sight conditions, is automated and easy to use. Systems are simple, operated by consumers. Popularity is growing.
- ISSUES: PRIVACY, cost for Chips
NEAR FIELD COMMUNCATIONS (NFC)
- open global infrastructure for easy access to wireless services and data anywhere. Offers a convenient connection for all types of electronic devices. BUILT IN SECURITY MECHANISM
- Works in 13.56MHz Frequency band and working range of 3 to 30cm, compatible with RFID technology. Offers a less costly sultion for the implementation of wireless products and supports file and data transfer.
- Low power consumption, inbuilt security mechanism, easy to use and establish connection. Rapid and easy communications.
- Philips and VISA in 2004 – mobile payment system – transfer payment details to the terminal and authentification service based on standard 3D secure.
- Limitations – only works at very short distances.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Day One Brainstorm
Studio this semester involves "designing for the developing world". The device: a mobile phone.
We begin by delving into how we perceive the world currently, and what changes we foresee occuring socially, economically, environmentally, technology-wise and politically. We as designers have the ability to make these changes occur more rapidly, by designing for them.
The international perspective is:
Social : Demographic change - areas of an ageing population, vs the younger generation.
Economic: Wealth distribution - a bigger gap forming between the rich and the poor
Environmental: Resource Depletion, Climate Change
Technology: Convergence - minaturization - placing all applications on the one device
Political: Lack of vision in our governments and leaders
Other Ideas:
Social: Bigger network connections are made possible via technology, trend towards anonymity and individualism, privacy, trend towards segregation, tribalism, groups forming based on interests but perhaps removal of cross-cultural barriers.
Mobile Phones as a device presently offer:
Communication Medium via Carrier (eg Vodafone, Optus etc)
- Telephone
- Video Phone
- Text Messaging
- Multimedia Messaging
- Voice Messages (Voicemail)
Data Storage:
- Phone Book/Address Book (Contact Details for People)
- Call Register (Missed Calls, Dialled Numbers, Call Durations etc)
- Organisational Applications (Calendars, To Do Lists)
Other:
- Use as a Watch/Clock
- Alarm Clock
- Calculator
- Timer/Stopwatch
Gaming Device:
- Gaming Applications
Ability to run "add-on" applications:
Examples:
World Clock
Allows Personalisation via:
- Ringtones
- Wallpapers
- Profile settings (for Meetings, Outdoor etc)
- Other settings
- Customisable exterior features
We begin by delving into how we perceive the world currently, and what changes we foresee occuring socially, economically, environmentally, technology-wise and politically. We as designers have the ability to make these changes occur more rapidly, by designing for them.
The international perspective is:
Social : Demographic change - areas of an ageing population, vs the younger generation.
Economic: Wealth distribution - a bigger gap forming between the rich and the poor
Environmental: Resource Depletion, Climate Change
Technology: Convergence - minaturization - placing all applications on the one device
Political: Lack of vision in our governments and leaders
Other Ideas:
Social: Bigger network connections are made possible via technology, trend towards anonymity and individualism, privacy, trend towards segregation, tribalism, groups forming based on interests but perhaps removal of cross-cultural barriers.
Mobile Phones as a device presently offer:
Communication Medium via Carrier (eg Vodafone, Optus etc)
- Telephone
- Video Phone
- Text Messaging
- Multimedia Messaging
- Voice Messages (Voicemail)
Data Storage:
- Phone Book/Address Book (Contact Details for People)
- Call Register (Missed Calls, Dialled Numbers, Call Durations etc)
- Organisational Applications (Calendars, To Do Lists)
Other:
- Use as a Watch/Clock
- Alarm Clock
- Calculator
- Timer/Stopwatch
Gaming Device:
- Gaming Applications
Ability to run "add-on" applications:
Examples:
World Clock
Allows Personalisation via:
- Ringtones
- Wallpapers
- Profile settings (for Meetings, Outdoor etc)
- Other settings
- Customisable exterior features
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