Cell Phone Coverage Research Articles

Testing the Feasibility of Selected, Commercially Available Wearable Devices in Detecting Agricultural-Related Incidents

HighlightsThe purpose of this research was to validate a test procedure for using commercially available smart technologies in detecting an agricultural-related incident.A convenient selection of commercially available wearable devices was used to measure the inertial qualities of simulated incidents.Simulated ejections, falls, and upsets were performed to recreate leading causes of agricultural injuries and fatalities using an anthropomorphic test device.Only 2 of 27 simulated incidents triggered detection on the selected wearable devices tested.The results of this study were inconclusive in determining the feasibility of commercially available wearable devices in detecting agricultural-related incidents. More research is needed to develop an improved testing procedure.Additional collaboration is needed with manufacturers of wearable incident detection devices to clearly identify potential applications and limitations of their devices.Abstract. A study was conducted to test a selection of commercially available wearable devices to determine their feasibility for triggering incident detection during a variety of simulated agricultural incidents with high risk of causing injury. The goal was to ultimately increase survivability outcomes for victims by enhancing notification and reducing response time from emergency services. A 50th percentile adult male anthropomorphic test device (ATD). was fitted with a convenient selection of commercially available wearable smart technologies to measure the responsiveness of the technology’s incident detection software. Devices used for this testing were: (1) Garmin Vivoactive 4 smartwatch; (2) Apple Watch Series 7 (Bluetooth only and cellular models); and (3) Movesense Active tracking device. A Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone and an Apple iPhone 12 smartphone were used to connect the wearable devices and measured impact through their internal inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors. Simulated ejections from equipment, vertical falls, and vehicle overturns were performed with the ATD. Side upsets were simulated with the ATD positioned in the operator station of a 52-drawbar horsepower (dbp), two-wheel drive, standard front axle, diesel tractor, weighing 6500 pounds. The tractor was equipped with an approved ROPS. Side upsets were also simulated using a 22-horsepower zero-turn mower, with the ATD positioned in the operator seat. Falls were simulated from heights of up to 4.57 meters. After each simulated incident, devices were examined to determine whether or not incident detection was successfully triggered. Data was then collected from an internal sensor logging application installed on the selected devices. It was found that the incident detection feature on the identified wearable devices only triggered in specific scenarios. Only 2 of the 27 simulated incidents successfully triggered incident detection on one device. Only the Garmin Vivoactive 4 smartwatch triggered incident detection. No device was triggered during the ATD impact in simulated tractor upset testing or in simulated zero-turn mower upset testing. It was concluded that these devices, in their current form, are not reliable for use in detecting serious agricultural-related injuries, especially considering the lack of adequate cell phone coverage in the areas in which these incidents are most likely to occur. Keywords: Agricultural incident simulation, ATD, G-force, Incident detection, Sensor fusion, Smart watch.

Is the phone mightier than the virus? Cellphone access and epidemic containment efforts

This paper examines the impact of cellphone access on the containment of an epidemic. We study this question in the context of the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Liberia. Combining novel data on cellphone towers and EVD cases, we estimate a high-resolution radio-wave propagation model that uses variations in terrain topography and the spatial distribution of cellphone towers to predict signal strength on the ground. We then employ a regression discontinuity design that compares villages at the margin of the signal strength threshold required for coverage. We find that having access to cellphone coverage leads to a 10.8 percentage point reduction in the likelihood that a village has an EVD case. Results from a novel survey collected following the epidemic suggest that this may be explained by cellphone access facilitating treatment provision. However, we cannot fully exclude that improving access to preventive care or information could have also contributed to containment.

Testing the Theory, Blessing or Resource Curse? The Effect of Natural Resources on Political Violence in Africa

Political conflicts in Africa have intensified due to the competition for natural resources by various conflicting parties and their conflict intensification. Previous studies have shown that cell phone coverage plays a significant role in the occurrence of these conflicts. This paper explores the impact of oil reserves and diamond abundance on cell phone coverage in Africa. The authors also investigate how rebels are motivated by these resources to engage in conflicts. The Scobit model (Nagler 1994) is used to analyse the cases of unbalanced conflict, which is found to be more accurate than the Logistic model. The results indicate that diamond abundance is a resource blessing, while oil reserves lead to a resource curse. However, the latter finding needs to be more consistent across robustness checks, suggesting that the effects of different natural resources on African political conflicts remain debatable.

Design and Development of a Low-Cost 2.4 GHz GFSK Modulation based Walkie-Talkie

A walkie-talkie device can be quite useful in the location where there is no cellphone coverage. Even in the cellphone coverage area it provides communication at very low cost. Currently the law enforcement and military personnel uses frequency modulation (FM) based walkie-talkie systems. The main goal of this research is to design and develop a lowcost walkie-talkie device that can be used by anyone other than the military and law enforcement personals. To construct the walkie-talkie system, the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band and GFSK modulation technology have been chosen. In addition, the device includes transceiver module, dc power source, microphone amplifier, audio amplifier, dc-dc booster, and speaker. The coverage range of the implemented walkie-talkie system has been determined and found up to 200 meters. The gadget incorporates a li-ion battery charging system. The voltage, current and power levels at various locations of the device have been measured. It has been found that the maximum operating power consumption is 4.81W and standby power is 1mW. Moreover, the waveforms of different signals at different points of the systems have been observed on the oscilloscope. All of the development process of the system and the performance data are presented in this paper. DUJASE Vol. 7 (2) 16-20, 2022 (July)

A Meta-Analysis of How Country-Level Factors Affect Web Survey Response Rates

A major challenge in web-based cross-cultural data collection is varying response rates, which can result in low data quality and non-response bias. Country-specific factors such as the political and demographic, economic, and technological factors as well as the socio-cultural environment may have an effect on the response rates to web surveys. This study evaluates web survey response rates using meta-analytical methods based on 110 experimental studies from seven countries. Three dependent variables, so-called effect sizes, are used: the web response rate, the response rate to the comparison survey mode, and the difference between the two response rates. The meta-analysis indicates that four country-specific factors (political and demographic, economic, technological, and socio-cultural) impact the magnitude of web survey response rates. Specifically, web surveys achieve high response rates in countries with high population growth, high internet coverage, and a high survey participation propensity. On the other hand, web surveys are at a disadvantage in countries with a high population age and high cell phone coverage. This study concludes that web surveys can be a reliable alternative to other survey modes due to their consistent response rates and are expected to be used more frequently in national and international settings.

Cell Phone Access and Election Fraud: Evidence from a Spatial Regression Discontinuity Design in Afghanistan

This paper examines the impact of cell phone access on election fraud. I combine cell phone coverage maps with the location of polling centers during the 2009 Afghan presidential election to pinpoint which centers were exposed to coverage. Results from a spatial regression discontinuity design along the two-dimensional coverage boundary suggest that coverage deters corrupt behavior. Polling centers just inside coverage report a drop in the share of fraudulent votes of 4 percentage points, while the likelihood of a fraudulent station decreases by 8 percentage points. Analyses of the effect of coverage on citizen participation in election monitoring, election-related insurgent violence, and the tribal composition of villages suggest that the observed declines in fraud are likely attributed to cell phone access strengthening social monitoring capacity. (JEL D72, K16, K42, O17, Z13)

Rural midwifery practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Strengths, vulnerabilities, opportunities and challenges

Background: The sustainability of rural maternity services is threatened by underfunding, insufficient resourcing and challenges with recruitment and retention of midwives. Aims: The broader aim of this study was to gain knowledge to inform the optimisation of equitable and sustainable maternity care for rural communities within New Zealand and Scotland, through eliciting the views of rural midwives about their working conditions and practice. This article focuses on the New Zealand midwives’ responses. Method: Invitations to participate in an online questionnaire were sent out to midwives working in rural areas. Subsequently, themes from the survey results were followed up for more in-depth discussion in confidential, online group forums. 145 New Zealand midwives responded to the survey and 12 took part in the forums. Findings: The New Zealand rural midwives who participated in this study outlined that they are attracted to, and sustained in, rural practice by their sense of connectedness to the countryside and rural communities, and that they need to be uniquely skilled for rural practice. Rural midwives, and the women they provide care to, frequently experience long travel times and distances which are economically costly. Adverse weather conditions, occasional lack of cell phone coverage and variable access to emergency transport are other factors that need to be taken into account in rural midwifery practice. Additionally, many participants noted challenges at the rural/urban interface in relation to referral or transfer of care of a woman and/or a baby. Strategies identified that support rural midwives in New Zealand include: locum and mentoring services, networking with other health professionals, support from social services and community service providers, developing supportive relationships with other rural midwives and providing rural placements for student midwives. Conclusion: Midwives face economic, topographic, meteorological and workforce challenges in providing a service for rural women. However, midwives draw strength through their respect of the women, and the support of their midwifery colleagues and other health professionals in their community.

Profile of a Conspiracy Theorist: The Role of Government Trust and Technology on Misinformation during an Epidemic

What characterizes a conspiracy theorist? Combining data on beliefs about the origin of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia with conventional and machine learning methods, we uncover that, contrary to popular beliefs, socio-demographic and economic indicators play a minor role in predicting who is more likely to believe false information about the origin of the epidemic. Conspiracy theorists are not any poorer, older, less educated, more economically distressed, more rural, or ethnically different than individuals who are correctly informed. They are, however, significantly more likely to report high levels of distrust, especially towards governmental institutions. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that access to cell phone coverage can play a key role in belief-updating: individuals with coverage are 7 percentage points more likely to switch from misinformed to informed by the end of the epidemic. These results highlight the importance of government trust and information and communication technologies in reducing misinformation during epidemics.

Can mHealth and eHealth improve management of diabetes and hypertension in a hard-to-reach population? -lessons learned from a process evaluation of digital health to support a peer educator model in Cambodia using the RE-AIM framework.

The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where NCDs cause 4:5 deaths, disproportionately affect poorer populations, and carry a large economic burden. Digital interventions can improve NCD management for these hard-to-reach populations with inadequate health systems and high cell-phone coverage; however, there is limited research on whether digital health is reaching this potential. We conducted a process evaluation to understand challenges and successes from a digital health intervention trial to support Cambodians living with NCDs in a peer educator (PE) program. MoPoTsyo, a Cambodian non-governmental organization (NGO), trains people living with diabetes and/or hypertension as PEs to provide self-management education, support, and healthcare linkages for better care management among underserved populations. We partnered with MoPoTsyo and InSTEDD in 2016-2018 to test tailored and targeted mHealth mobile voice messages and eHealth tablets to facilitate NCD management and clinical-community linkages. This cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) engaged 3,948 people and 75 PEs across rural and urban areas. Our mixed methods process evaluation was guided by RE-AIM to understand impact and real-world implications of digital health. Data included patient (20) and PE interviews (6), meeting notes, and administrative datasets. We triangulated and analyzed data using thematic analysis, and descriptive and complier average causal effects statistics (CACE). Reach: intervention participants were more urban (66% vs. 44%), had more PE visits (39 vs. 29), and lower uncontrolled hypertension [12% and 7% vs. 23% and 16% uncontrolled systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)]. Adoption: patients were sent mean [standard deviation (SD)] 30 [14] and received 14 [8] messages; 40% received no messages due to frequent phone number changes. Effectiveness: CACE found clinically but not statistically significant improvements in blood pressure and sugar for mHealth participants who received at least one message vs. no messages. Implementation: main barriers were limited cellular access and that mHealth/eHealth could not solve structural barriers to NCD control faced by people in poverty. Maintenance: had the intervention been universally effective, it could be paid for from additional revolving drug fund revenue, new agreements with mobile networks, or the government. Evidence for digital health to improve NCD outcomes in LMICs are limited. This study suggests digital health alone is insufficient in countries with low resource health systems and that high cell phone coverage did not translate to access. Adding digital health to an NCD peer network may not significantly benefit an already effective program; mHealth may be better for hard-to-reach populations not connected to other supports. As long as mHealth remains an individual-level intervention, it will not address social determinants of health that drive outcomes. Future digital health research and practice to improve NCD management in LMICs requires engaging government, NGOs, and technology providers to work together to address barriers.

Cell Phone Access and Election Fraud: Evidence from a Spatial Regression Discontinuity Design in Afghanistan

This paper examines the impact of cell phone access on election fraud in the context of the 2009 Afghan presidential election. I combine cell phone coverage maps with unique data on the location of polling centers to accurately pinpoint which centers were exposed to coverage during the election. Results from a spatial regression discontinuity design along the two-dimensional coverage boundary provide considerable evidence that access to cell phones deters corrupt behavior. Polling centers just inside coverage areas report a drop in the share of fraudulent votes of about 4 percentage points while the likelihood of a fraudulent station goes down by about 8 percentage points. Analyses of the effect of coverage on citizen participation in election monitoring, election-related insurgent violence, and the tribal composition of villages suggest that the observed declines in fraud are likely attributed to cell phone access strengthening social monitoring capacity. From a policy perspective, these results illustrate how a widespread technology, namely cell phones, can exert a positive externality on institutional development via corruption deterrence.

The prevalence of primary headache disorders in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional population-based study

BackgroundThe large geographical gaps in our knowledge of the prevalence and burden of headache disorders include most of Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Following a nationwide population-based study in Pakistan, we present here a similar study from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Both were conducted as projects within the Global Campaign against Headache The two purposes of this study were to inform national health policy and contribute to global knowledge of headache disorders.MethodsWe surveyed Arabic-speaking adults aged 18–65 years in all 13 regions of KSA. While previous Global Campaign studies have engaged participants by calling at randomly selected households, the culture of KSA made this unacceptable. Participants were, instead, contacted by cell-phone (since cell-phone coverage exceeded 100% in KSA), using random-digit dialling. Trained interviewers used a culturally adapted version of the Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) questionnaire, with diagnostic enquiry based on ICHD-II. We estimated 1-year prevalences of the headache disorders of public-health importance (migraine, tension-type headache [TTH] and probable medication-overuse headache [pMOH]) and examined their associations with demographic variables.ResultsA total of 2316 participants (mean age of 32.2 ± 10.7 years; 62.3% male; 37.7% female) were included (participation proportion 86.5%). Gender and age distributions imperfectly matched those of the national population, requiring adjustments for these to prevalence estimates. Observed 1-year prevalence of all headache was 77.2%, reducing to 65.8% when adjusted. For headache types, adjusted 1-year prevalences were migraine 25.0%, TTH 34.1%, pMOH 2.0% and other headache on ≥15 days/month 2.3%. Adjusted 1-day prevalence of any headache was 11.5%. Migraine and pMOH were associated with female gender (ORs: 1.7 and 4.7; p < 0.0001). Migraine was negatively associated with age > 45 years (OR: 0.4; p = 0.0143) while pMOH was most prevalent in those aged 46–55 years (OR: 2.7; p = 0.0415). TTH reportedly became more common with increasing level of education.ConclusionPrevalences of migraine and TTH in KSA are considerably higher than global averages (which may be underestimated), and not very different from those in Pakistan. There is more pMOH in KSA than in Pakistan, reflecting, probably, its higher-income status and greater urbanisation (facilitating access to medication).

Dynamic Origin-Destination Demand Estimation From Link Counts, Cellular Data And Travel Time Data

Accurate real-time Origin-Destination (O-D) demand estimation is critical for development of Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATIS) as well as Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). Traditional O-D estimation techniques typically pose it as optimization problems involving offline calibration of O-D priors from historical data and updating these prior based on real-time data sources such as link counts, link travel times and Global Positioning System (GPS) probe data. However, two major drawbacks have emerged from this approach. Firstly, the generation of effective priors requires extensive population data with high temporal sampling frequency. Such data is generally hard to obtain and process with low memory and compute power. Secondly, the optimization problems proposed for are often non-convex in nature. Therefore, convergence to an optimal solution is not guaranteed. Moreover, the algorithms suggested don’t scale well with increase in the size of the transportation network. In order to tackle these challenges, we first generate priors through a convex optimization framework by Wu et al. (2015) for O-D estimation in quasi-static settings from cell phone Call Detail Records (CDRs). We extend this approach to a completely dynamic setting by utilizing real-time link counts and link travel times through an Entropy Maximization framework proposed by Janson et al. (1992). Approximate solution to the traffic assignment sub-problem is also achieved from Wu et al. (2015). We test this procedure for estimating commute demand for a simplified freeway network representing nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. We estimate demands for 2,916 O-D pairs for three hours at five-minute intervals, making it a 104,976 dimensional problem. We analyze the spatio-temporal distribution of errors, the effects of wider cell-phone coverage and updating estimates over time. Results indicate that an increase in cell-phone coverage from 0% to 100% leads to a reduction in average Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) from 15.7 to 7.2 while updating estimates also leads to reductions in RMSE when O-D demand is high.

People, places, and stigma: A qualitative study exploring the overdose risk environment in rural Kentucky

BackgroundThough overdose rates have been increasing in US rural areas for two decades, little is known about the rural risk environment for overdoses. This qualitative study explored the risk environment for overdoses among young adults in Eastern Kentucky, a rural epicenter of the US opioid epidemic. MethodsParticipants were recruited via community-based outreach. Eligibility criteria included living in one of five rural Eastern Kentucky counties; being aged 18–35; and using opioids to get high in the past 30 days. Semi-structured interviews explored the rural risk environment, and strategies to prevent overdose and dying from an overdose. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constructivist grounded-theory methods. ResultsIn this sample (N = 19), participants reported using in a range of locations, including homes and outdoor settings; concerns about community stigma and law enforcement shaped the settings where participants used opioids and the strategies they deployed in these settings to prevent an overdose, and to survive an overdose. Almost half of participants reported using opioids in a “trap house” or other dealing locations, often to evade police after buying drugs, and reported that others present pressed them to use more than usual. If an overdose occurred in this setting, however, these same people might refuse to call EMS to protect themselves from arrest. Outdoor settings presented particular vulnerabilities to overdose and dying from an overdose. Most participants reported using opioids outdoors, where they skipped overdose prevention steps to reduce their risk of arrest; they worried that no one would find them if they overdosed, and that cell phone coverage would be too weak to summon EMS. ConclusionFindings suggest that initiatives to reduce overdoses in Eastern Kentucky would be strengthened by de-escalating the War on Drugs and engaging law enforcement in initiatives to protect the health of people who use opioids.

Evaluation of a call center to assess post-discharge maternal and early neonatal outcomes of facility-based childbirth in Uttar Pradesh, India.

BackgroundMaternal and neonatal outcomes in the immediate post-delivery period are critical indicators of quality of care. Data on childbirth outcomes in low-income settings usually require home visits, which can be constrained by cost and access. We report on the use of a call center to measure post-discharge outcomes within a multi-site improvement study of facility-based childbirth in Uttar Pradesh, India.MethodsOf women delivering at study sites eligible for inclusion, 97.9% (n = 157,689) consented to follow-up. All consenting women delivering at study facilities were eligible to receive a phone call between days eight and 42 post-partum to obtain outcomes for the seven-day period after birth. Women unable to be contacted via phone were visited at home. Outcomes, including maternal and early neonatal mortality and maternal morbidity, were ascertained using a standardized script developed from validated survey questions. Data Quality Assurance (DQA) included accuracy (double coding of calls) and validity (consistency between two calls to the same household). Regression models were used to identify factors associated with inconsistency.FindingsOver 23 months, outcomes were obtained by the call center for 98.0% (154,494/157,689) consenting women and their neonates. 87.9% of call center-obtained outcomes were captured by phone call alone and 12.1% required the assistance of a field worker. An additional 1.7% were obtained only by a field worker, 0.3% were lost-to-follow-up, and only 0.1% retracted consent. The call center captured outcomes with a median of 1 call (IQR 1–2). DQA found 98.0% accuracy; data validation demonstrated 93.7% consistency between the first and second call. In a regression model, significant predictors of inconsistency included cases with adverse outcomes (p<0.001), and different respondents on the first and validation call (p<0.001).ConclusionsIn areas with widespread mobile cell phone access and coverage, a call center is a viable and efficient approach for measurement of post-discharge childbirth outcomes.

Atlantic forest mammals cannot find cellphone coverage

We present a novel and simpler way to measure human influence: the cellphone coverage. Besides, we also evaluated its influence in the probability of occurrence of medium and large wild mammals in Brazilian Atlantic Forest, as a study case. As a first step, we have demonstrated the correlation between cellphone coverage and human footprint globally, using a database of >23 million antennas. Then, we have carefully studied the correspondence between the presence of a species and the cellphone coverage for 45 species of medium and large mammals of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We recorded 18,211 points of presence of mammals, and their probability of being under cellphone coverage was on average very low (18%). Most of the species showed a clear negative relationship with cellphone coverage, and threatened species presented an even lower probability, of at least 4% when compared with non-threatened ones. The strong positive relationship between cellphone coverage and the Human Footprint gradient at a global scale corroborated our a priori hypothesis that cellphone coverage can act as a surrogate for human presence, even in forested areas were no other footprint evidence is easily detectable.

Feasibility of implementing a cellphone-based reminder/recall strategy to improve childhood routine immunization in a low-resource setting: a descriptive report

BackgroundReminder/recall systems are effective ways to improve immunization rates, but their feasibility in primary health care (PHC) settings in Nigeria has not been adequately evaluated. In this study we describe the acceptability and adaptability of immunization reminder/recall system in an urban setting in southwest Nigeria.MethodsThis is a descriptive report of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Four local government areas (LGAs) were randomly assigned into a cellphone reminder/recall intervention group or a usual care control group. Within each LGA, PHC centers were purposively selected to participate in the study. In each PHC center, mothers and their infants aged 0–3 months were enrolled into the two groups during the infants’ first immunization visit. Mothers (or other contact persons) in the intervention group received cellphone calls reminding them to take their child for scheduled immunizations. Follow-up of all the children lasted till the final scheduled immunization visit for each child. The intervention lasted for 13 months.ResultsA total of 595 mothers/infants pairs (295 in the intervention group and 300 in the control group) participated in the study. Almost all mothers (n = 590, 99.2%) had access to their own cellphone or had access to a cellphone belonging to a significant other. Ninety-eight percent (n = 584) of all mothers were willing to receive immunization reminder/recall phone calls.Eighty-seven percent (n = 2023) of all calls (n = 2324) for the reminder/recall intervention went through to the recipients and of these calls, 1948 (96.3%) were received. The mean cost of each call in US Dollars was about 5 cents. Immunization compliance rate (the receipt of required number of doses of routine vaccines at the appropriate age at recommended interval) was 79.2% among the children in intervention group and 46.4% in the control group (p < 0.001).ConclusionResults demonstrate that cellphone reminder/recall interventions to improve routine childhood immunization are feasible in PHC settings in limited-resource settings with wide cellphone coverage, such as urban areas in Nigeria. Further research to test the potential for scale up in a variety of settings is recommended.Trial registrationPACTR201702002043415; Date of registration: 17 February 2017. (Retrospectively registered).

A re-assessment of reporting bias in event-based violence data with respect to cell phone coverage

This paper discusses the issue of possible reporting bias in media-based violent-event data and its relation to the role of communication technology in fostering collective action. We expand the work of Weidmann (2016), presenting several sensitivity analyses to determine the degree to which reporting bias may confound the relationship between communication technology and violence in a recent study that relies on event data for Africa. We find no strong evidence that suggests results on the positive relationship between communication technology and collective action in the study by Pierskalla and Hollenbach (2013) are wholly an artifact of reporting bias.

Landscape-Scale Wireless Technology for Vertebrate Pest Control

Author(s): Croft, Simon; Leckie, Campbell; Warburton, Bruce | Abstract: A unique wireless communications and sensor network has been developed by Encounter Solutions Ltd, New Zealand, with a specific aim of fundamentally changing the way pest control operations can be carried out. This wireless technology has the potential to open up new, safer, and more efficient and cost-effective ways of monitoring and servicing control devices. The network is designed for deployment over large areas and can operate where there is no cell phone coverage by making efficient use of satellite technology. It requires very little power to run, and complex high-power radio equipment is not needed. This makes it readily portable, with each sensor node able to operate on small inexpensive batteries for several years. With the help of Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Auckland Council, the system is presently undergoing trials at a number of New Zealand sites with promising results. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd has been engaged to evaluate the performance, the effect on contractor behaviour, and to undertake economic analyses of the potential benefits of large-scale roll out of such wireless technology. The first large-scale installation of wireless technology is planned for the 26,000-hectare multi-agency Cape-to-City project. This multi-species predator control project is considered a world-leading programme that will focus on ultra-low-cost, large-scale predator control across productive landscapes. The project aims to restore native biodiversity, whilst at the same time delivering economic benefits to farmers through reduced risk to livestock diseases. If successful, it is anticipated that the Cape-to-City model will be expanded across hundreds of thousands of hectares of the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand, with the wireless network being integral to this expansion.

Your Phone as a Personal Emergency Beacon: A Portable GSM Base Station to Locate Lost Persons

Access to emergency numbers such as 911 or 112 is generally universally available to cell phone users. Nevertheless, emergencies may occur in areas without cell phone coverage, for example, in remote areas frequented by climbers or hikers. In this article, we describe the design, development, and evaluation of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) base station that can be placed in a vehicle (car, plane, helicopter, etc.) to locate a lost person with an active GSM phone. The system includes the resources to provide a good estimation of the location of the phone, allowing the rescue team to significantly narrow its search and to establish communication with the person where possible, as the system also provides GSM coverage.

Abstract IA10: Challenges in addressing cancer health disparities in Native American communities

Abstract IA10: Challenges in addressing cancer health disparities in Native American communities