Technological Development for Developing Nations

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1 Technological Development for Developing Nations Willie Ofosu 1 SESSION ETD 324 Abstract Technological development coupled with the idea of global village is driving a trend that is advancing development of under developed nations through transfer of technology. To date, the transfer has mostly been in the form of finished products such as equipment being sold to developing nations. The designs for the pieces of equipment were initially inspired by technological needs in temperate regions and these resulted in the development of the products by the manufacturing nations. For this reason, the environmental conditions that were considered as part of the design criteria, and are therefore well suited for the applications of the technology, are those of the temperate regions. While the pieces of equipment work reasonably well in equatorial regions when operated by well trained technicians, technologists and engineers, incorporating equatorial regional environmental conditions as part of the design criteria may extend the life time of any equipment intended for use in the equatorial regions. This paper discusses how industry and academic institutions may cooperate in training a workforce whose objective will be to ensure best practices in operating equipment designated for equatorial regions. There are many educational institutions and international groups such as Engineers Without Borders that are involved in educational activities in, and development of technology for third world countries in diverse fields. The approach used in this paper is by suggesting design parameters that may be incorporated in design criteria for technologies that may be employed in equatorial regions. Index Terms Technology, Developing Nations Introduction Research and subsequent development of any technology equipment begins with the inception of an idea. This goes through the prototype phase to fully accepted and applicable state where the product may become a standard, or in other cases, comply with a standard. The process is a costly venture and the capital outlay at the beginning can be very high. For this reason, there are not many companies that are able to undertake such process from the beginning. Many companies in developed and affluent nations will jump in when the technology is established as a viable application. This indicates that it will be even further out of reach for a developing nation to undertake such a process. Developing nations are therefore generally user nations that depend on technological developments 1 Willie Ofosu, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, P. O. Box PSU, Lehman, PA 18627; wko1@psu.edu 2007 CIEC Conference ETD February 3-10, 2007

2 from manufacturing nations, and at best, developing nations can be service nations when their technicians, technologists and engineers are trained to operate and maintain the technology. Advances in technological applications, and hence the design criteria have reached the state where researchers and developers need to apply critical and well-defined specifications to achieve the best applications requirements. While this applies generally to all technological developments, it may be more crucial in some cases. To cite an example, in cases where temperature effects may be of concern, particular attention has to be paid to environmental conditions. In this case, technology that has been designed with criteria developed for temperate zones may have specifications that will need to be adjusted to achieve equivalent operability when used in the equatorial region, or for that matter in a polar region where frigid temperatures are experienced. Another example is where the incidents of rainfall and hence humidity may be a factor, or in dry arid areas where pollutants such as dust become of concern. If the application is contained within an enclosed space such as in a building, the conditions within the enclosure can be controlled. However if the application is open to the environmental elements, atmospheric and environmental conditions can adversely affect the technology to the point that its performance, and hence life time for instance, will fall below expectations. Considerations for Application One area of interest is broadcast, where both radio and television are involved. In this case, the pieces of equipment being used are housed in broadcast stations and hence efficiency of air conditioning equipment can impact the performance of the equipment. Of more interest is the radio or television propagation that has to go through the atmosphere to reach the intended receivers. Also of concern for both wireless and wired applications is the effect of electromagnetic interference (EMI). EMI can have both man-made and cosmic sources. These can be picked up by cables as noise, and as well by antennas as noise. As previously stated, the equipment in use would all be manufactured in temperate regions, and it is very likely that these would not be preconditioned to be operated in the equatorial region. In this region, excessive heat and dust are problems during the summer months, and humidity is a problem in the rainy months when heavy torrential rainfalls are experienced. As such, the elements as well as EMI have to be considered where these can have adverse effects as a result of location on the planetary surface. Environmental Specifics Environmental considerations of the technology cited come in various forms, and one is the temperature effect. For a place such as the capital of Ghana [1], the average daily temperature is about 86 o F, and there are periods during the year when the temperature 2007 CIEC Conference ETD February 3-10, 2007

3 can be as high as 100 o F. Problems arising from dust can be severe during this period. Rainfall is listed as 43 inches in the north and 83 inches in the southeast annually, humidity is listed as 79%, and dew point as 75 o F. Water particles in the atmosphere are therefore at their highest during the rainy season. The effects of the data above can be presented in various forms. One of these concerns the periods when there is high moisture content in the atmosphere. This can affect equipment both indoors and outdoors, and the impact can be severe particularly when the equipment is outdoors. If not properly dealt with, this can form a thin film of moisture on components within the equipment. Over time, and with the high temperatures, the lacquer which may be used to hermitically seal circuit boards may break down and the moisture may cause unexpected problems. The high temperatures will also result in high ambient temperatures which will adversely impact the performance of the equipment. The dimensions of the water particles in the atmosphere can make the particles behave as scatterers, when comparable to the wavelengths of the radio or TV propagations in the radio space. This will therefore affect radio and TV receptions. During the periods when the atmosphere is dry, dust particles in the atmosphere, when comparable to the wavelengths, will behave as crystalline structures that will reflect, deflect and scatter the radio waves. The constant high temperatures will affect the performance of the equipment at the component and circuit board level as previously indicated. Educational Implications All the factors discussed above have serious implications in the design and manufacture of equipment intended for use in electromagnetic propagation applications. This suggests that these factors should be given consideration in the design specifications employed. It is therefore essential that the engineers, technologists and technicians involved in any aspect of the manufacture and testing of the equipment be aware of these factors. This can be achieved through dissemination of information, and a time honored approach to dissemination of information is education. Education, in this sense can occur on two fronts, these being on the manufacturing end and on the user s end. On the manufacturing end, the design engineers and the technicians will be aware of the differences in specifications needed for effective operation of the equipment in the equatorial region. The ideal scenario would therefore be one in which the manufacturers of the equipment will include all the pertinent factors in their design parameters. On the user s end, it is important for the user to understand the need for adhering to the specifications in operating the equipment. It is therefore a necessity that the engineers, technologists and technicians who will operate and maintain the equipment receive instructions that incorporate the physics and technological aspects of the factors mentioned above. These will include [2] but not be restricted to Temperature effects on equipment External and internal noise Stray capacitances and inductances High frequency effects on stray capacitances and inductances 2007 CIEC Conference ETD February 3-10, 2007

4 Testing procedures for specific equipment Error detection and correction Appreciation of manufacturers specification sheets Another aspect that deserves study is the resultant effect of cloud cover in the atmosphere over the earth s surface on electromagnetic propagation. The extreme weather conditions will affect the heights of the ionospheric layers from the surface of the earth during different periods of the year. Also the temperatures during the day time compared to the night time in the summer months the temperature drops noticeably. Again, during the latter part of the year when the direction of the winds is from the Sahara Desert, the moisture content reduces and together with that come a drop in temperature compared to the summer months. All these will affect the heights of the ionospheric layers. The change of the ionopheric layers in location will result in changes in the ionospheric density. These changes may be considered to have a cyclic pattern throughout the year. This part of the instruction [3] will cover aspects such as ducting, reflections through the ionosphere and distant points at which radiations can be received. Some of the parameters that need investigation, and hence consideration for operation are Atmospheric impact on electromagnetic propagation Wave attenuation and absorption Optical properties of radio waves Terrestrial propagation of electromagnetic waves When put together, the points raised above lead to a critical aspect of radio propagation, and that is operation of the station in compliance with the set Standards. In a developed nation such as the US, all operators adhere to the Standards administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Standards govern the use of radio space by operators to ensure that all operators are in compliance with the regulations that guide their functions. The FCC oversees functions such as allocation of frequency of operation and power levels for propagation. The need for this is to ensure that all operators are accommodated, and also that each respects the others business. They also ensure that specialized operations such as emergency are not disrupted. In third world nations, such operational oversight is generally in their infancy. As these nations gain recognition in the global community, it becomes important that they conform to both national and international rules of operation. Conclusion The need for adequate training of engineers, technologists and technicians in developing nations to operate and maintain technical equipment that have been manufactured in temperate regions have been discussed. The necessary training of the design engineers and technicians who will incorporate the needed parameters in the design and manufacture of the equipment has also been discussed. This demonstrates how effective cooperation between industry and academic institutions can enhance productivity CIEC Conference ETD February 3-10, 2007

5 Electromagnetic propagation through the radio space has been used as the basis for this paper. As has been discussed, most developing nations are in the equatorial regions and hence the atmospheric conditions will be different from the temperate regions where the pieces of equipment are manufactured. The training procedure suggested for academic institutions in developed countries will therefore facilitate the manufacture of efficiently designed equipment for the developing nations, and the training intended for developing nations will prepare the graduates to effectively and professionally operate and maintain the equipment with the hope that the equipment will function properly through its life time. [1] - Climate References [2] Franco, Sergio, Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated Circuits, McGraw Hill, 3 rd Edition, pages [3] Tomasi, Wayne Electronic Communications Systems, Fundamental Through Advanced, Prentice Hall, 5 th Edition, pages CIEC Conference ETD February 3-10, 2007

AC : INCORPORATING EQUATORIAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS INTO AN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

AC : INCORPORATING EQUATORIAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS INTO AN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY AC 2007-626: INCORPORATING EQUATORIAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS INTO AN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY Willie Ofosu, Pennsylvania State University-Wilkes-Barre Willie K. Ofosu Dr. Willie K. Ofosu is an Associate