State-mandated staffing ratios increase nurses

Karen M. Cheung | Fierce Healthcare | July 19, 2011

Despite fears about mandated staffing ratios, state-regulated staffing ratios in California actually added (not decreased) registered nurses to hospital staffing, according to a study published in Health Affairs. Read More »

Sharing data gains traction through Direct

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | July 19, 2011

The Direct Project is gaining traction as a crucial method for health information exchange, establishing the value for providers of sharing data and expanding communications for coordination among providers. Its pilot uses are producing physician advocates who are clamoring for it, according to one health IT expert involved in testing it. Read More »

Opening the field of neurobiological research

Lori Mehen | OpenSource.com | June 6, 2011

...[F]ormer U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy recently co-chaired a conference in Boston, MA to spur collaboration in hopes of accelerating the development of cures and treatments for brain diseases. Read More »

'Open' Cloud Computing & Health IT Systems

Over the next decade, many health IT systems are going to take advantage of 'Cloud Computing' technology. Just as many of health IT systems are now incorporating open source software into their architecture, 'open' cloud computing solutions will begin to be adopted. Read More »

Annual National Law Students Workshop on Rethinking Intellectual Property Rights

Event Details
Type: 
Open Source Event
Date: 
January 12, 2012 - 8:00am - January 14, 2012 - 8:00pm
Location: 
Cochin University of Science and Technology
2nd Floor, School of Legal Building, Inter University Centre for IPR Studies
Kochi, KL 682022
India

Indian Patent Law: The Social Overtones

Objectives of the Annual workshop

The pedagogical practice existing among the Law Schools of India predominantly approaches IP from a commercial angle. It often ignores to take into account the social implications of IP as the main role of IP law is to maintain a correct balance between protection of IP and information dissemination. The western approach of looking at IP as a catalyst for development is being followed by our law schools without being interrogated. Our experience with the western approach signifies that it stifles innovation and research. The question, therefore, is should India imitate the western practices, both statutory and judicial, or whether we should evolve our own jurisprudence of IP reflecting national developmental perspectives.

Invited Talks

There will be at least three invited talks on the various sub themes of the workshop. This is organized between 12.00 to 3.30 pm every day:

  • Protecting Innovation: The Social Realities
  • Access to Medicine: The Social Problems
  • Open Source Drug Discovery – The Challenges

Read More »

Red Letter Day: National Academies Press Goes to Open Publishing!

Tom Munnecke | Tom Munnecke's Eclectica | June 3, 2011

Now, if we could only get the rest of academia to openly publish, and the professional societies to start acting as trustworthy, open publishers and disseminators of knowledge, rather than suspect, self-serving tool-booth operators for their disciplines, we might just keep civilization from slipping back into another dark ages. Read More »

OpenOffice + Apache = Open Content Innovation

Todd Barr | OpenSource.com | June 8, 2011

What happens when you take a powerful, open source content platform that has already thought about the hard stuff around content creation, and unleash it on a developer community who can think of new and compelling ways to plug that functionality into all kinds of apps?  What happens when you adopt a new, more permissible license that encourages companies to innovate and embed OpenOffice without as many limitations? Innovation happens. Read More »

The Role of Digital Technologies in Africa

Amy O’Donnell | FrontlineSMS | May 26, 2011

At an event held at the Royal Geographic Society, a diverse panel came together to discuss 21st Century Challenges with respect to digital technology in Africa, approaching the question: can technology offer realistic educational, economic and sustainable opportunities? Read More »

Text Messages to Help Centuries-Old Choco Mining Tradition

Adriaan Alsema | Columbia Reports | May 30, 2011

Artisanal mining traditions and culture dating back to when the Spanish first brought African slaves to mine the region known today as Choco, are being reintroduced into the 21st century marketplace with the help of a text message. Read More »

TechChange Training Recap Part 2: Conflict Prevention and Disaster Management at George Mason University

Marice Fernando | TechChange.org | July 5, 2011

The course provided background on a variety of tech tools used in conflict or disaster settings; we also used some of these tools in class through simulations. The simulations gave me an introduction to using the tools, in a fun and innovative way, while reminding me to proceed with caution when using technology, especially in conflict or disaster settings. One tool we learned about and applied was Frontline SMS... Read More »