Four short links: 25 Mar 2009

IT, AI, IQ, and UK today:

1. Definition IT -- a blog about the ways in which IT is becoming a problem and not a solution. In the absence of any independent global standards or best practice models that guide the delivery of technology into businesses we have relinquished control to the suppliers of our technology. The suppliers are in a mammoth arms race to sell more products and this has become the de-facto controller for the delivery of technology into businesses. No one statement in the blog is outrageous, but they add up and indicate an industry that isn't delivering the value it claims to.
2. What is a Good Recommendation Algorithm? -- Greg Linden starts an interesting conversation at the CACM blogs.
3. Why Money Messes With Your Mind (New Scientist) -- interesting psychological research. the volunteers who had been primed with the money-related words worked on the task for longer before asking for help. In a related experiment, people in the money-word group were also significantly less likely to help a fellow student who asked for assistance than were people in the group primed with non-money words.
4. Obama's Diplomatic Gift to UK Leader Fubared by DRM (BoingBoing) -- we can laugh, but Obama's team is stacked with ex-RIAA lawyers.

DisasterTech: "Decisions for Heroes"

One of the most interesting DisasterTech projects I've been following is "Decisions for Heroes" led by developer and Irish Coast Guard volunteer Robin Blandford.

Decisions is like Basecamp for volunteer Search & Rescue teams. The focus is on providing "just enough" process to compliment the real-world workflow of a rescue team, without unnecessary complexity. One of Robin's design goals is that:

User requirements are nil. Nobody likes reading manuals - if we have to write one, we've gotten too complicated.

This is the winning approach for building systems that "serve those that serve others", and is echoed by InSTEDD's design philosophy and the Sahana disaster management system.

Teams begin by entering their responses to incidents and training exercises. They then tag them with things like the weather conditions, the tools and skills required, and who from the team was deployed.

As a team's incident database grows this information can be used to show heatmaps, and provide powerful insight on the locations, weather conditions, and times of year that various incidents occur. Over time this kind of data could be analyzed in aggregate across multiple teams and regions and create an incredibly powerful resource for Emergency Managers. This is very similar to what Wesabe does for consumers with financial transaction data today (disclosure: OATV investment).

Rescue team members enter training dates and levels. The system tracks certification expiration dates and prompts team members & leaders to plan classes and remain current. This is a huge issue for volunteers who have to manage professional-level training requirements with the demands of a regular career.

As more incidents are entered into the system, it compares the skills required for each of the rescues with the team training exercises. This allows teams to identify areas to focus, train, and develop new skills.