Posts tagged 2010
CU’s Android App tweets disaster aid
Sep 28th
PEOPLE TWEET DURING DISASTERS
Just as codes once were developed for public safety communication via citizens band radios, a common language now is being formulated for disaster communication via Twitter — posing a challenge for people who haven’t yet learned or can’t recall it.
Daniel Schaefer, a University of Colorado Boulder doctoral student in communication, recently created a solution to this problem in the form of a software application, or app, for mobile devices. It turns everyday language into a Twitter syntax used during disasters through a special smart phone keyboard.
“Twitter has become popular during disasters because it offers a concise and efficient communication medium,” said Schaefer, who was inspired by the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire near Boulder. “However, a need to standardize the syntaxes used on Twitter has surfaced particularly for the emergency personnel, affected individuals, concerned loved ones, information officers and journalists who use it to provide and monitor information and collaborate on rescue efforts.”
The free app, called the Bucket Brigade Keyboard, is designed for Android devices. It transforms the standard smart phone keyboard display into a keypad of 12 message choices such as “help,” “location” and “request.” When these messages are selected, corresponding tweets — about one’s status, needs and offers to help — are queued for posting online.
“In a disaster, communication and working together can save lives,” said Schaefer. “Just as a bucket brigade fills and passes buckets of water to help put out a fire, this app allows people to fill and pass buckets of tweets to help during a disaster.”
The syntax used in Schaefer’s app — which turns an “I’m Ok” key into “#imok” — is based on a concept devised in 2009 by doctoral student Kate Starbird of CU’s Project EPIC (Empowering the Public with Information in Crisis) research group. The streamlining of disaster-related Twitter communication through Starbird’s idea, called “Tweak the Tweet,” makes the information computationally easier to extract and collate, which can help connect people with needs to responders.
Nearly 3,000 tweets using the Tweak the Tweet syntax were posted in the weeks following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. More than 500 tweets using the syntax were posted in the wake of the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo.
During those instances, users manually entered text that now can be deployed with the touch of a button through the Bucket Brigade Keyboard.
The app not only empowers people with a standard language, but also is designed for convenience using accessible technology, according to Schaefer.
“People are going to be holding smart phones during disasters,” he said. “They’re not going to be going to laptop computers or cafés with time to look up the syntax.”
Schaefer entered the Bucket Brigade Keyboard in the Federal Communications Commission’s Apps for Communities contest. The challenge calls for apps that help local government deliver quality-of-life-improving information to populations that are typically disenfranchised or disconnected from broadband communications.
The Bucket Brigade Keyboard has been downloaded in 20 countries.
Schaefer says a planned update to the Bucket Brigade Keyboard will add more Twitter shortcuts to the app, as well as auto-fill and auto-correction features.
For more information on the Bucket Brigade Keyboard visit https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bucketbrigade.softkeyboard&feature=search_result. For information on the Apps for Communities challenge visit http://appsforcommunities.challenge.gov/.
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CU Boulder Jobs up 23% for grads
Sep 27th
For the second year in a row, the University of Colorado Boulder saw an increase in companies seeking to hire CU-Boulder graduates with full-time job postings on campus jumping 23 percent for the 2010-11 school year, compared with 2009-10.
The number of interviews companies conducted on campus also saw an uptick, increasing 9.6 percent during the same period, a testament to the quality of a CU degree even in a weak job market, according to Lisa Severy, director of CU-Boulder’s Career Services office.
“Our recent graduates are having a lot of success in the job search, especially people who are prepared and engaged in their job search,” Severy said. “The best ways to be engaged while you are a student is to take advantage of campus career fairs and information sessions, use the campus job posting tools and network outside of school.”
In terms of sheer volume of job listings, technical skills are in high demand, Severy said. For example, graduates with degrees in computer science and electrical engineering are always in high demand. A relatively new trend in the job market is companies seeking social media specialists, she said.
“This is a niche many graduates can fill, because companies don’t have this expertise yet,” Severy said. “Graduates of any major who are knowledgeable about social media and enjoy working with it should have a lot of opportunities right now.”With so many applicants for every job, one would think it would make recruiters’ jobs easier, but that is not necessarily the case, according to Severy.
“We hear from recruiters that they are avoiding the mass marketing of jobs because they get way too many applicants,” Severy said. “Instead, they target small, quality pools of candidates that they can trust, which includes our system that is open only to CU-Boulder students and graduates.”
Since 2009, CU-Boulder has offered job search assistance to alumni, free of charge. Services such as the university’s online job-posting tool can be a real benefit because only alumni can access the system, she said.
The increase in recruiting activities also is impacting the upcoming fall career and internship fair on campus. While the event usually is held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom, this year more space was required, Severy said.
“We’re sticking employers everywhere we can find space to provide as many opportunities to our students and graduates as possible,” she said.
The fall career and internship fair for CU-Boulder students and alumni will be held Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the UMC. The fair is open only to CU-Boulder students and alumni.
For more information about Career Services and the fall career and internship fair visit http://careerservices.colorado.edu/public/
Boulder County sustainable ag group to get lit review
Sep 15th
Boulder County, Colo. – The findings of a Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review will be presented to Boulder County’s Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee and Food and Agriculture Policy Council at a public meeting on Sept. 22.
Who: Hunter Lovins and Nick Sterling of Natural Capitalism Solutions will present
What: The presentation will precede the regularly scheduled POSAC meeting
When: Thursday, Sept. 22, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Commissioners’ Hearing Room, Boulder County Courthouse, third floor, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder
The Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review is available at www.BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org/croplandpolicy.
Longmont-based Natural Capitalism Solutions’ report examines sustainable agriculture practices related to energy, water use, climate, soil health, pest management, biodiversity, labor, human health and the local economy. It also studies primarily peer-reviewed research, and identifies data gaps and areas where further research is needed.
The Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review will support and inform the work of the Cropland Policy Advisory Group and Parks and Open Space staff in their work to create a Cropland Policy for Boulder County open space lands.
Cropland Policy
The effort to develop a management policy for county-owned croplands began in 2010 with public outreach, including farm tours, an open house, a Sustainable Agriculture Forum and a Farm and Ranch Panel Discussion.
In 2011, the Board of County Commissioners convened the Cropland Policy Advisory Group to advise Boulder County staff in developing the policy. The members of the CPAG are developing recommendations for the Cropland Policy through discussion and proposed policy statements.
The CPAG policy recommendations will be finalized in early October, and will go through a public hearing process in October and November with another open house, hearings before the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee and Food and Agriculture Policy Council in November and December. The Board of County Commissioners will make the final policy decisions.