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The Beneblog is a weblog by Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman, on issues and ideas that affect the application of technology to unmet social needs.
Posted 02/08/2010: Subscribe to Beneblog:
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Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group Studies Role of Former Chadian President in Prison DeathsJanuary 29, 2010, Palo Alto, CA, N'Djamena, Chad — The Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) has released a study showing that former Chadian president Hissène Habré was well informed of the hundreds of deaths that occurred in prisons operated by his state security force. The release of the HRDAG report has been covered by the international press including AFP, Radio Netherlands and AllAfrica.com. The report, State Coordinated Violence in Chad under Hissène Habré, A Statistical Analysis of Reported Prison Mortality in Chad's DDS Prisons and Command Responsibility of Hissène Habré, 1982-1990, is based on thousands of documents generated by the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS), the security force that pursued political opponents and operated notorious prisons during the Habré regime. The DDS files were discovered by chance by Human Rights Watch in 2001 at the abandoned DDS headquarters in N'Djamena. Read a photo essay about the case against Hissène Habré in English or French. This information could be critical in the long delayed prosecution of Habré who has been accused of killing and systematically torturing thousands of political opponents during his 1982-1990 rule in Chad. The public release of the HRDAG report in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena coincides with the 10th anniversary of the first indictment of Habré for crimes against humanity. Read more here
Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group Questions Human Security ReportJanuary 25, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — The Christian Science Monitor has quoted Patrick Ball, director of the Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group, in a story which examines the recently released Human Security Report. The story, entitled New Study Argues War Deaths Are Often Overestimated notes that Ball agrees with the authors of the report who assert that estimates made by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) of deaths due to conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo are flawed. But HRDAG researchers have also posted a blog item entitled The Mismeasure of War which questions the claim by the authors of the report that "nationwide mortality rates actually fall during most wars" and that "today's wars rarely kill enough people to reverse the decline in peacetime mortality that has been underway in the developing world for more than 30 years." Anita Gohdes, Megan Price, and Patrick Ball write in their blog that they are deeply skeptical of the methods and data used by the authors of the Human Security Report to conclude that conflict-related deaths are decreasing. "We believe that the authors should examine their own data on mortality related deaths with the same rigor with which they critique the recent IRC surveys," write the HRDAG researchers. "If they did this, they would find that they have inadequate information to conclude anything about the trend in war-related lethality in recent decades." HRDAG's concerns about the estimates of war deaths by the HSR authors are discussed by noted statistician Andrew Gelman on his blog.
Flat World Knowledge Partners with Bookshare to Make Free College Textbooks Accessible to People with Print DisabilitiesDecember 14, 2009, Palo Alto, CA and Nyack, NY — Flat World Knowledge, the leading publisher of expert-authored, open content textbooks, today became the first college textbook publisher to supply its digital textbooks to Benetech's Bookshare library. "If all publishers supplied their books directly to Bookshare, it would save colleges and universities millions of dollars each year and immediately equalize educational opportunities," said Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetech. "Without the cooperation of a publisher such as Flat World, students often wait for weeks to get textbooks in accessible formats and, in some cases, are forced to drop courses due to lack of accessible books. Flat World is the first post secondary textbook publisher to recognize and alleviate this problem." Read more about this agreement here.
Bookshare Receives Funding To Make Open Content Textbooks AccessibleNovember 20, 2009, Palo Alto, CA — The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has awarded Benetech's Bookshare library $100K in supplemental funding to create the first accessible versions of open content digital textbooks. The initial planned conversion of open content textbooks, which are distributed freely under a license selected by the author, are math and science textbooks approved for California students. "Once again California's innovation has inspired action, as those with reading challenges will soon be able to read the standards-aligned digital textbooks adopted under California's first-in-the-nation digital textbook initiative," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Thanks to Bookshare and the U.S. Department of Education, these textbooks will be converted into accessible formats so students who struggle with reading traditional textbooks have a new opportunity to enhance their education." Read more about about Bookshare's accessible content textbooks here.
See more updates in Media Resources.
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