Maniolas

• Fishackathon aimed for app that eases fishing licensing and monitoring processes • Winning Berkeley-based team to go to PH to meet with fisherfolk, researchers, local officials Winning Berkeley-based fishackathon team spent two-day design time at Monterey Bay Aquarium. PHOTO BY ISHA DANDAVATE NEW YORK, New York — How do you solve overfishing in the Philippines, one of the top 10 producers of fish worldwide? It looks like there’s an app for that now. It started at 10 p.m. on June 13. Forty hours of “fishackathon” later (in Boston, Baltimore, Miami, even Silicon Valley), a winner emerged: Hackers from the University of Berkeley-School of Information came up with a tool called Fish DB. The tool is a three-pronged approach to the problem — for the “ideal world,” a browser-based mobile app for fishermen to submit registration and license applications; for the “real world,” the use of SMS text messages, which does not require Internet access; lastly, a web app for government employees to process the submissions. The mobile app was designed to be as usable as possible for even fishers with marginal literacy — many of the menu options include pictures or diagrams to supplement the textual descriptions. Yes, fishers will need a mobile phone. To use the app, fishers register their boats, get fishing licenses and report any illegal fishing activity that they observe. It serves both fishers who need to submit registrations and the government staff who process them. The winning team from Berkeley received the grand prize Read More …

By Nestor CorralesINQUIRER.net 1:50 pm | Saturday, June 14th, 2014 Iraqi police deploy in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2014. Iraqi officials say al-Qaida-inspired militants who this week seized much of the country’s Sunni heartland have pushed into an ethnically mixed province northeast of Baghdad, capturing two towns there. The writing on the metal shutters at left advertises a shop for sale. (AP Photo/ Emad Matti) MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs  on Saturday urged Filipinos in Iraq to return home, citing the “deteriorating security situation” amid a fast-moving Islamic insurgency. “Filipinos in Iraq are enjoined to volunteer to return to the Philippines at government expense,” the DFA said as it raised the alert level in  most parts of the country to 3. However, it said that the Iraqi Kurdistan region which is still level 1 remains to be “calm and stable.” The DFA said it is sending a rapid response team to assist in the voluntary repatriation of Filipino workers there. It added that it is closely monitoring the political and security development in Iraq. Jihadists belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have recently took over parts of Iraq to push for the establishment of an Islamic state. RELATED STORIES DFA issues alert level 2 for Thailand over martial law declaration OFWs warned as DFA raises alert level Follow Us Other Stories: PAL hosts Beverly Hills reception for new fleet, 777 Manila-LA flight, PH aviation Read More …

Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Consul General Mario De Leon with Dr. Bernardo Villegas and members of the delegation and organizers of the Philadelphia leg of the 3rd Private Sector-Led Philippine Investment Mission: First row, left to right are Brad Baldia; Deputy Consul General Zaldy Patron; Rainerio Borja; Benjamin Philip Romualdez Jr.; Martin Pascual; Alfredo Austria; and Dr. Rommel Rivera. Second Row, left to right, First Secretary and Consul Lilibeth Almonte-Arbez; Dr. Aida Rivera;Elisa von Lange; and Michael von Lange. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO WASHINGTON, DC — The visit to Manila of a high-level business delegation from the United States led by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker underscores the growing international interest in the economic prospects of the Philippines, the Philippine Ambassador to the US said. “The visit of Secretary Pritzer goes to show that the Philippines is in the radar screen of American investors,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said. Secretary Pritzker who arrived in Manila on Monday, with and a delegation of senior American corporate executives will join the US-ASEAN Business Council in meetings with Philippine officials and business leaders as part of Washington’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with long-established trading partners like the Philippines. Pritzker’s visit comes a few days after the successful conclusion of the 3rd Philippines Private Sector-Led Investment Roadshow led by Cuisia and noted Filipino economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas as part of economic diplomacy efforts being undertaken by the Philippine Embassy and the Consulates General in the US. Cuisia said the roadshow, which was participated in by Alfredo Read More …

Stanford doctor Vyjeyanthi “V.J.” Periyakoil, lead author of a new study on end-of-life care. PHOTO BY RICHARD SPRINGER/INDIA WEST SAN FRANCISCO, California — A new study questions whether doctors providing end-of-life care are “prolonging life, or are we prolonging the dying process,” said lead researcher V.J. Periyakoil, MD, who directs Stanford Medical School’s Palliative Care Education and Training program. The study, titled “Do Unto Others,” reveals that even though an overwhelming majority of physicians Stanford surveyed (88.3 percent) would reject unnecessarily invasive treatment for themselves and opt instead for comfort care, patients in the United States continue to spend their last days receiving high-intensity care that is often ineffective and sometimes ordered contrary to patients’ wishes. The nearly 1,100 doctors who participated—over half of them women physicians and nearly half of them from immigrant and minority communities—were also highly supportive of patients filling out advance directives that state whether they’d prefer intensive treatment or palliative comfort care, if they become incapacitated at life’s end.   Doctors, patients want the same care The Stanford study, published last week in the respected journal PLOS One, cites research showing that most Americans want the same care doctors do for themselves: “More than 80 percent of patients say that they wish to avoid hospitalizations and high-intensity care at the end-of-life, but their wishes are often overridden.” Despite that knowledge, says the Stanford report, high-tech treatments have increased dramatically in recent years. Medical data show a 12 percent jump just from 2003 to 2007, in Read More …

WASHINGTON, DC—Ten young Filipino-American “change-makers” will be given the opportunity to connect with their Philippine roots this year as part of the 2014 Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro). The 10 Filipino-American fellows will immerse in local communities and converse with government and industry leaders. The fellows who were selected from nominations from across the United States are: Edward Aparis of Chula Vista, California; Ryyn Chua, Gardena, California; Rommel Clemente, Milpitas, California; Adette Contreras, Brooklyn, New York; Michael Dahilig, Lihue, Hawaii; Rafael Diokno, Washington, D.C.; Abbey Eusebio, Lincolnwood, Illinois; Jan Paul Ferrer , Tinley Park, Illinois; Ryan Letada, New York, New York; and Jason Tengco, Washington, DC. “I am excited with this group of promising individuals,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said.  “We truly had a difficult time narrowing down the choices, as many of the applicants were impressive and well qualified.” Cuisia said the delegates will take part in an immersive program in the Philippines from July 24 to 28 that will give them the opportunity to meet and dialogue with high-ranking officials and policymakers in the Philippines, leaders of industry, media, cultural experts, traditional business leaders, social entrepreneurs as well as innovators in different fields. A brainchild of Cuisia and his wife, Victoria, the program builds on the success of the programs held in 2012 and 2013 that were participated in by 20 other promising Filipino-American youth leaders. Minister and Consul Emilio Fernandez said previous FYLPro delegates have gone on to undertake, among other things, political advocacy initiatives, cultural Read More …