Headline Jan 15, 2018/ ''' DIGITALS IN *TIMES* '''

''' DIGITALS IN *TIMES* '''

3D Printing Umbilical Cord Clamps in Haiti

IT HAS TAKEN THE *good and best part of the year*, laboring every single day, to draw up a list of 744 World Class candidates against 37 seats-

For nomination to the  International Committee* of the World Students Society. *77 variables were considered*, and then there was parity, balance, representation and many, many forms.

To give you all the smallest of snippets and taste the following names got debated before making it to the list. I state the names with great respect and best wishes:

First Lady Melania Trump, First Lady Michelle Obama, President Halima Yacob/Singapore,  Prime Minister Nirandra Modi, Dr. Henry A Kissinger, Mr. Sunil Gavasker, President Bill Clinton, President Xi Jinping-

President Vladamir Putin, Lt. Gen {R} Ahmed Shuja Pasha, Mr. Bill Gates, Mr. Eric Schmidt, Mr. Warren Buffet. Ms. Khadija Javed Khan, and Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and Ms. Shazia Gul.

Captain Imran Khan, Mr. Sultan Abbasi, Ms. Wajid Shah, Fareed Zakriya/CNN. Prince Al-Waleed, Prime Minister Najeeb Rezzak, Dr. Mathir Mohammed- 

Dr. M. Jawad Khan/California, Prime Minister David Cameroon, Lawyer Zainab Khan/Kings College. Technologist Amin Malik/US, Engineer and Technologist Amar Bari Khan/Apple.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Mr. Shabaz Sharif, Mr. Imran Khan/ Singapore, Lawyer Aitzaz Ahsen, Mr. Reza Rabbani, Mr. Murad Ali Shah-

Dr. Masood Reza, Mr. Wadud Mughal, Mr. M Fahim Khan, Mr. Ali Nawaz/KSA, Mr. Alamgir Khan, Engineer Imran Basit, Engineer Shahid Shakoor, and Scientist Munawwer 

The World Students Society will do its very best to publish all the names in the days ahead. And it hardly needs repeating that the nominations and the acceptance, and the selection all vest, all rest on the students votes.

The total and final power of choice and selection lies with the eligible students of the world. All voted through.  

So, as the Tech faithful gather to worship at mecca of innovation, tech is being touted as a solution to many ills, there is also a darker side, noted analyst Bob O''Donnell of Technalysis Research.

''Most people in tech are optimistic, but they may be naively optimistic.'' Robin Ruskin, who heads the CES segment called Living in Digital Times, pointed to advances in health and medicine in recent years, particularly new technologies to assess cancer and treatment possibilities.

Startups and major firms are also using new apps and technologies to tackle diabetes and depression.

The fact is that New Technologies require protection, and flexibility. The high pressure environment and need for quick decision making already make it difficult to achieve that flexibility, and-

Technology regulation could complicate it further if not done in a way cognizant of this competing imperative.

Similarly, the level of customisability allowed by additive manufacturing which is one of its major advantages in disaster settings, makes regulating quality assurance complicated.

Without clarity, private sector companies are reportedly reluctant to use the technology in their own work, a hesitation that could equally encumber disaster responders.

Any regulation must bear in mind the need to maintain flexibility.

Past experience demonstrates that this is critical for realizing the potential of new technologies.

Volunteers and technical communities designed and produced far more innovations in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti than aid agencies were able to handle. 

One key lesson learned was the need for a design cycle capable of fostering the operational flexibility required to incorporate new ideas into programming during a disaster response.

The high pressure environment and need for quick decision-making already make it difficult to achieve that flexibility, and-

Technology regulation could complicate it further if not done in a way cognizant of this competing imperative.

The pragmatic importance, and the moral difficulties, of this flexibility are exemplified by the additive manufacture of umbilical chord clamps during that same disaster in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

Aid workers were acutely aware that the conditions in which they were manufacturing the clamps did not match the level of sterility usually required in the production of these instruments.

However, in the absence of their clips, medical workers are reported to have been string, and even shoelaces, to tie the freshly cut umbilical cords of newborns, as there was nothing else available.

The 3D-printed clips were an unquestionable improvement on this and were thus considered ''good enough'' in the circumstances despite their failure to meet recognised hygiene standards.

This notion of ''good enough'' can be critical in the circumstances of emergency and urgency and material scarcity that characterise a humanitarian disaster, and regulation must be flexible enough allow space for it.

However ''good enough'' will always be a subjective judgment and regulation must be robust enough to mitigate this potential risk.

Consider the collection through UAVs, or mobile phone records, or medical information, and the implications on privacy :

*When are privacy protections good enough?*

These balances are evidently extremely difficult to strike, in particular when they are being made by  humanitarian workers-

Who themselves will not bear the consequences of ''unhygienic'' medical instruments or inadequate privacy protocols.

The importance of these questions for the successful and ethical realisation of new technologies' potential in humanitarian settings is plain.

Governments, following adequate consultation with humanitarian and other relevant stakeholders, likely including-

Military, aviation, medical and civil society representatives, need to be able to provide clarity to humanitarian responders working within their respective jurisdictions.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Disaster managers, Students, professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW!  -the Ecosystem 2011: 

''' Marks & Mystery '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless