Communication | SilverScorpio.Com

CPI-M seeks A. Raja”s resignation on 2G-spectrum scam

May 21, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 21 (ANI): Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury reiterated his party”s demand for the resignation of Communication Minister A Raja over the 2G telecom spectrum allocation controversies.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday, Yechury said: ”It is clear from the auction which has taken place that the government would be getting double the revenue much more than the expectations.”

“The 60,000-70,000 crore rupees talks that have taken place during this auction, if you compare it with the 2G auction; they sold it for a mere 2,000-2500 crore rupees. Since then we are alleging that a huge money scandal is involved in this case. And the 3G auction proves that a scam has taken place,” he added

“Till the scam is investigated, we want the Minister to resign from his post. This was the demand we kept initially and we reiterate the same demands now after the 3G experience,” said Yechury.

The auction for the 3G spectrum telephones was successfully completed on Wednesday after a prolonged exercise lasting 34 days.

Reportedly, this has assured the government of rupees 67,710 crore in revenue with the Pan-India licence price touching rupees 16,750.58 crore .

Communication Minister raja had been gaining criticism and the government is believed to have lost around rupees 60,000 crore for not taking the auction route stipulated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Companies had to pay rupees 1,651 crore for pan-India 2G licence that came clubbed with start-up spectrum. (ANI)

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Button favourite to win McLaren battle against Hamilton: Sir Jackie Stewart

April 30, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, Apr 30(ANI): Former Scottish Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart believes that reigning champion Jenson Button is the favourite to beat Lewis Hamilton at McLaren and potentially become the first Briton to claim back-to-back world titles.

Stewart had earlier said that Button had entered a “lion’s den” by choosing to join McLaren, a team that brought Hamilton through the ranks of world motorsport and made him Formula One’s youngest ever world champion in 2008.

However, after two wins in his first four races for the team, Stewart admits he was wrong about Button’s move.

“It is working much better than I think anyone could have expected,” The Telegraph quoted Stewart, as saying.

“I did say that Jenson would be walking into the lion’s den. What he has proved is that he can handle that den very well. That is not to say that he is better than Lewis or vice-versa, but Jenson is in that zone at the moment where he is making the right decisions at the right time.”

“I think if he keeps driving the way he is I would have to say he is the favourite of the two,” he added.

Stewart further said that there does not seem to be any fireworks between Button and Hamilton, as anticipated before the start of the season.

“The drivers themselves seem to get on very well together. There is a good communication there,” Stewart said. (ANI)

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China, U.S. agree to respect ‘core interests’ – diplomat

April 7, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

China has an understanding with the United States for each to respect the core interests of the other, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday, calling for positive ties ahead of a Washington trip by China’s president following a period of tension.

An April 2 telephone call between President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama “reached an important new consensus”, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told a news conference before Hu’s trip to attend a nuclear security conference on April 12-13 hosted by Obama.

The two agreed their countries should “respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, appropriately handling disputes and sensitive issues, strengthening communication and cooperation in various spheres,” Cui said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: communication, Cui Tiankai, diplomat, Hu Jintao, interests

Pak inks 220-million-dollar satellite deal with China

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep. 19 (ANI): Pakistan has signed an agreement with China to provide a 220-million-dollar financial grant to help the Islamic country launch a communication satellite.

The operational life of Pakistan’s existing satellite PAKSAT-1 will be over in November 2011.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui and Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Secretary Farrukh Qayyum signed the contract.

“China has agreed to fund the project through a soft loan with low mark up for a period of 20 years,” the Daily Times quoted Qayyum, as saying.

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Organisation (SUPARCO) and the China Great Wall Industry Corporation have agreed to develop the new satellite PAKSAT-1R, which would replace PAKSAT-1 in September 2011, he added.

The satellite will support all conventional and modern fixed satellite service (FSS) applications.

The satellite will have 30 transponders, 18 in the Ku-band and 12 in C-band (ANI)

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India Air Force activates Nyoma airfield close to China border

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 18 (ANI): The Indian Air Force in a significant move today activated its Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) to support the Army in carrying out operations in the inhospitable terrain.

An IAF AN-32 aircraft landed at Nyoma ALG, which is located at an altitude of 13,300 feet in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, at 6:25 a.m. today. It is located 23 kms from the Line of Actual Control. (LAC).

The successful landing of a fixed wing aircraft at Nyoma marks the culmination of joint effort by the IAF and Indian Army to enable the IAF to operate in the inhospitable terrain of Leh-Ladakh region in support of the Army.

The landing comes just fifteen months after an AN-32 landed at Daulat-Beg-Oldie (DBO), the highest airfield in the world situated at an altitude of 16,200 feet.

Group Captain SC Chafekar touched down on the Nyoma airstrip. Air Marshal NAK Browne, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command and Lieutenant General PC Bharadwaj, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command on board.

Though helicopters have been landing at this ALG, this is for the first time that a fixed wing aircraft has landed at the compact airstrip of Nyoma.

After deliberating on all aspects and carrying out aerial and ground inspection, it was concluded that Nyoma could be developed for fixed wing operations as well.

The Engineer Regiments of 14 Corps undertook the herculean task of developing the ALG to the standards required for fixed wing operations.

Joint development of Nyoma braving the extremely difficult working conditions and hostile weather is yet another step towards enhanced joint partnership between the two services.

Nyoma has been developed with an aim to connect the remote areas of Ladakh region to the mainland. This would also ensure movements in the area when the road traffic gets affected, during the harsh winters besides enabling improved communication network in the region. (ANI)

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SunTec, Seachange partnership offers integrated IPTV billing solution

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amsterdam (Netherlands)/ Trivandrum (Kerala), Sep 14 (ANI/Business Wire India): SunTec, the leading provider of convergent transaction pricing and billing solutions for the Communication, Media and Entertainment industry, has partnered with video-on-demand, IPTV and advertising software and systems leader SeaChange International to offer television service providers globally automated provisioning of IPTV consumers and accounts in ‘near real time’, while supporting complex revenue sharing business rules.

The SunTec and SeaChange partnership has already resulted in the integration of SunTec’s convergent billing solution, TBMS-T, with SeaChange’s TV Navigator IPTV middleware for the Smart Digivision’s MyWay (http://www.myway.in) IPTV service. Available in 54 cities across India on Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (http://www.bsnl.co.in) (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (http://www.mtnl.net.in) (MTNL) broadband networks, MyWay is expected to reach three million subscribers in the first five years.

“Integrating SunTec’s convergent billing system with SeaChange’s middleware opens a compelling opportunity to the IPTV Service Provider to roll out innovative services and programs for its consumers. SunTec is happy to have a strategic association with SeaChange and I see this partnership complement both the companies’ growth in the emerging IPTV markets,” said Rajesh BL Narashimha, Vice-President and Sales Head APAC and MEA, SunTec.

SunTec’s convergent billing solution, TBMS-T interfaces in near real time with SeaChange’s, TV Navigator middleware, electronic program guide, video-on-demand systems and set top box applications. The flexibility of TBMS-T, coupled with SeaChange’s open middleware, allows the service provider to design innovative services and pack programs/content to attract more usage and consumers. In addition to this, SunTec’s TBMS-T supports the service provider with complex revenue sharing business rules and settlement with IPTV service carriers and content providers/aggregators.

“IPTV operators require open solutions that allow flexibility to choose best of breed vendors and components,” said, Lincoln Owens, Director Broadband Sales, APAC, SeaChange International. Our TV Navigator middleware is rooted in this open approach, which has given way to beneficial alliances across markets. Our tie-up with SunTec has helped create one of the most promising IPTV efforts in Asia and we anticipate further success.” (ANI)

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West Bengal gets its first coastal police station

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Sep. 11 (ANI): With the inauguration of Moipith police station in South 24 Pargana district on Friday, West Bengal got its first coastal police station to patrol in the Sunderban delta area.

“There are a large number of tributaries and water channels leading into the Bay of Bengal, which are unpoliced and there is no supervision on the movements of various water crafts in those channels. With a view to meet a possible security threat from the sea these coastal police stations are being set up,” said Bhupinder Singh, DGP.

The region has fallen to arms smugglers operating through riverine bodies. Now, the local residents are hoping that opening of new police station would keep the criminals at bay.

“Earlier, the nearest police station was 25 to 27 kilometers away. It was difficult to go to the police station because of the distance and bad roads. Any communication or registering of a complaint with police was difficult. With the police station opening here, things would be easier now,” said Madan Mohan Maity, a resident.

Illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals and sneaking of goods can also be monitored now.

“Lot of goods come in here illegally from Bangladesh, including firearms. Lot of firearms smuggled in from Bangladesh can be found at Moipith. These firearms are used by pirates on the rivers. The police station will be of great use to us,” said Subol Mondol, a resident.

More such stations will come up in sensitive zones to detect and avert any terrorist sneaking into the country from Bangladesh through coastal borders.

After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Cenre has decided to gear up the coastal security.

According to Bhupinder Singh, joint exercises with police, navy and coast guards are now being conducted routinely for manning the sea and riverine borders with Bangladesh. (ANI)

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Scientists use bacteria to make radioactive metals inert

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 9 (ANI): A team of scientists is researching the use of sulfate-reducing bacteria to convert toxic radioactive metal to inert substances, a much more economical solution.

The research is being done by Judy Wall, a biochemistry professor at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

The bacteria Wall is studying are bio-corrosives and can change the solubility of heavy metals.

They can take uranium and convert it to uraninite, a nearly insoluble substance that will sink to the bottom of a lake or stream.

Wall is looking into the bacteria’s water cleansing ability and how long the changed material would remain inert.

Wall’s research could also be beneficial to heavy metal pollution from storage tanks and industrial waste.

The bacteria are already present in more than 7,000 heavy metal contaminated sites, but they live in a specific range of oxygen and temperature, making them difficult to control.

“Our research must be done in the absence of air,” Wall said. “Obviously, none but the most committed – and stubborn – will work with them,” she added.

Even if an oxygen-tolerant strain were developed, there are still multiple factors that would make applying the bacteria challenging, and these microbes can contribute to massive iron corrosion.

“Knowledge of the way bacteria live in the environment, in microbial communities, is still in its infancy,” Wall said. “We just don’t know a lot about the communication systems among microbes,” she added.

Wall and researchers from the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory in California are investigating the bacterium’s basic genetics and hope to determine its growth limits and activity in natural settings, including how to make its interactions with metals sustainable.

They have already identified a few genes that are critical to converting uranium. (ANI)

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Song birds have to deal with cover artists too

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 9 (ANI): Just like great singers among humans, birds too have to deal with cover artists who copy songs.

A new research has revealed that some bird species have evolved to sing the same tune as their rivals, in order to compete effectively.

Led by Dr. Joseph Tobias and Dr Nathalie Seddon from the Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, the research team analysed the calls and songs of two antbird species that were living side-by-side in the Amazon rainforest- the Peruvian warbling-antbird and the yellow-breasted warbling-antbird.

The study was aimed at investigating their similar songs, and, in particular, at testing the theory that the birds’ songs could become increasingly similar to enable effective communication between competing species.

The above notion has attracted controversy as many scientists have argued that convergence in territorial or mating signals results in needless confrontation or crossbreeding and the creation of hybrids.

“Biologists have long been fascinated by convergence in ecological traits as it offers tangible evidence of evolution and the forces of selection by which it operates, but until now there is no clear evidence that social competition between animal species can produce convergent signals. We examined this idea by analysing the structure and function of songs in two birds which we knew to be strong social competitors,” said Tobias.

The researchers studied the species in Peru and Bolivia at one site where they lived together, and two sites where they lived in isolation.

Firstly, they recorded three sets of signals-songs, calls, and plumage colour of both species (including a total of 504 songs from 150 individuals).

Later, they played them back to individuals of each species to test the significance of songs of both types.

The results showed that territorial songs of both species were extremely similar particularly where they lived together, such that territorial birds treated songs of both species as equally threatening.

In the meantime, they discovered that non-territorial signals like calls and plumage were highly divergent.

“In effect, the territorial songs of these birds are more or less interchangeable in design and function. Given that they last shared a common ancestor more than 3 million years ago, it is almost equivalent to humans and chimpanzees – which diverged around 5 million years ago – using the same language to settle disputes over resources” said Tobias.

“Our results provide the first compelling evidence that social interaction can cause convergent evolution in species competing for space and resources.

They also suggest that while competition drives convergence in territorial songs, this is offset by divergence in non-competitive signals such as plumage colour to promote species recognition and reduce the chance of interbreeding,” he added.

The study has been published in Evolution.(ANI)

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High quality video, telephone conferencing may be round the corner

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 6 (ANI): German researchers are sure that compression technologies can put an end to the poor images and sound quality that are often encountered by people during video and telephone conferencing sessions.

At this year’s IFA international consumer electronics exhibition in Berlin, researchers from four Fraunhofer Institutes will demonstrate the power and flexibility of these new technologies by holding games sessions in which players compete against each other via the Internet.

To ensure high and consistent quality of sound, the researchers have developed the Audio Communication Engine, which consists of reciprocally-tuned components that vastly improve the sound quality and clarity of video and telephone conferences compared with present systems.

The key component in providing excellent sound is the MPEG Enhanced Low Delay AAC audio codec, which ensures low-delay hi-fi quality even at low bit-rates.

An echo control eliminates troublesome echo so that users do not have to wear a headset, and can move around the room freely.

Sophisticated signal processing, which extends from enhancement of the microphone signals through to multi-channel loudspeaker reproduction, removes the barrier of distance between friends without incurring great installation expense.

The researchers say that they have already started working on actual implementation by designing the technology for integration in TV sets, set-top boxes and hi-fi systems.

They claim that visitors to the IFA international consumer electronics exhibition will be able to experience the system’s superb picture and sound quality, and even play games such as Memory, Battleships and Sorry. (ANI)

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50 things that are being killed by the Internet

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 4 (ANI): The Internet has been touted as one of the most useful tool for the last two decades, and has had a huge impact on our lives, but along with its benefits, the World Wide Web has also had some negative impacts on people.

While tasks that once took days can be completed in seconds, traditions and skills that emerged over centuries have become redundant.

The Telegraph has compiled a list of 50 things that are in the process of being killed off by the web and other tools of modern communication, from products and business models to life experiences and habits.

These things are:

1. The art of polite disagreement

2. Fear that you are the only person unmoved by a celebrity’s death

3. Listening to an album all the way through

4. Sarah Palin

5. Punctuality

6. Ceefax/Teletext

7. Adolescent nerves at first porn purchase

8. Telephone directories

9. The myth of cat intelligence

10. Watches

11. Music stores

12. Letter writing/pen pals

13. Memory

14. Dead time

15. Photo albums and slide shows

16. Hoaxes and conspiracy theories

17. Watching television together

18. Authoritative reference works

19. The Innovations catalogue

20. Order forms in the back pages of books

21. Delayed knowledge of sporting results

22. Enforceable copyright

23. Reading telegrams at weddings

24. Dogging

25. Aren’t they dead? Aren’t they gay?

26. Holiday news ignorance

27. Knowing telephone numbers off by heart

28. Respect for doctors and other professionals

29. The mystery of foreign languages

30. Geographical knowledge

31. Privacy

32. Chuck Norris’s reputation

33. Pencil cricket

34. Mainstream media

35. Concentration

36. Mr Alifi

37. Personal reinvention

38. Viktor Yanukovych

39. The insurance ring-round

40. Undiscovered artists

41. The usefulness of reference pages at the front of diaries

42. The nervous thrill of the reunion

43. Solitaire

44. Trust in Nigerian businessmen and princes

45. Prostitute calling cards/ kerb crawling

46. Staggered product/film releases

47. Footnotes

48. Grand National trips to the bookmaker

49. Fanzines

50. Your lunchbreak (ANI)

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Intensified search operations for missing Andhra CM resume

September 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad/New Delhi, Sep.3 (ANI): Search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy resumed at first light on Thursday morning.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a 20-square kilometer radius in the Nallamalla Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday at around 9.30 a.m.eddy’s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor.

He is accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley. There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

Indian Space Research Organisation chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hands on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals. arayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don’t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

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Indian-origin scientists find novel therapeutic target for autoimmune diseases

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 2 (ANI): A research team led by Indian-origin scientists from University of Michigan have discovered a new mechanism that would help in future therapies for conditions ranging from autoimmune diseases to organ transplants to cancer.

U-M biochemistry professor Ruma Banerjee and her colleagues have identified a mechanism that keeps a check on aggressive immune cells that can attack the body’s own cells.

They found that immune system’s regulatory T cells influence aggressive immune cells by regulating the chemical environment between cells.

“Now we know that the redox environment outside the cell is a very important dynamic. It regulates cell function,” Nature quoted Banerjee as saying.

The processes known as redox chemistry are fundamental to the way cells derive and consume energy.

She said that regulatory T cells appear to alter the chemical environment around their aggressive cousins, known as autoreactive T cells, which either curb them or cause them to proliferate.

This mechanism is likely to be involved in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and ulcerative colitis.

The study conducted over live mouse immune cells showed that important redox communication occurs between dendritic cells, which are the first immune cells to detect a foreign agent, and autoreactive T cells.

Dr Sanjay Garg, a research investigator in the U-M Department of Biological Chemistry, said that the dendritic cells alter the chemical environment outside cells in a way that promotes activation of the T cells.

But then T regulatory cells “intervene in the redox chatter” and suppress that effect.

Banerjee insists that she needs to conduct more study to fully understand the process before they can use their insights to block or encourage T regulatory cell activity in animal studies of IBD or another autoimmune disease.

The study appears in Nature Chemical Biology. (ANI)

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Monkeys ‘groove to Metallica’s heavy metal music’

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 2 (ANI): Monkeys prefer silence to Mozart, but they are big fans of heavy metal music, in particular Metallica, a new study has found.

Music is a sure-shot way to influence human emotions. However, nonhuman primates scarcely respond to human music, and instead prefer silence.

Now, a new report by Charles Snowdon, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and musician David Teie of the University of Maryland has shown that a monkey called the cotton-top tamarin indeed responds to music.

And the catch here is: the South American monkeys are essentially immune to human music, but they respond appropriately to “monkey music,” 30-second clips composed by Teie on the basis of actual monkey calls.

In the study, the music was inspired by sounds the tamarins make to convey two opposite emotions: threats and/or fear, and affiliation, a friendly, safe and happy condition.

The group of cottontop tamarins were played a variety of music, including Bach, Led Zeppelin and Miles Davis, but they only reacted when heavy metal rock songs by Metallica were played.

The study, published this week (Sept. 1) in the journal Biology Letters, reported that the monkeys could tell the difference: For five minutes after hearing fear music, the monkeys displayed more symptoms of anxiety and increased their movement. In contrast, monkeys that heard “affiliative” music reduced their movements and increased their feeding behavior, both signs of a calming effect.

Monkeys interpret rising and falling tones differently than humans. Oddly, their only response to several samples of human music was a calming response to the heavy-metal band Metallica.

Non-human primates don’t seem to appreciate human music, Snowdon said, although research has suggested they prefer Mozart to rock music and silence to Mozart.

The study opens a new window into animal communication, Snowdon said.

“People have looked at animal communication in terms of conveying information – ‘I am hungry,’ or ‘I am afraid.’ But it’s much more than that. These musical elements are inducing a relatively long-term change in behavior of listeners. The affiliative music is making them calmer; they move less, eat and drink at a higher rate, and show less anxiety behavior,” the expert said. (ANI)

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Mullen says public relations won’t bring back lost credibility in war against extremism

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug. 29 (ANI): US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has warned that no amount of public relations will establish credibility if America fails to communicate its actions globally.

“We need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate. Each time we fail to live up to our values or don’t follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are,” Mullen wrote in essay published by official military journal Joint Force Quarterly.

Admiral Mullen expressed concern over a trend to create entirely new government and military organisations to manage a broad public relations effort to counter anti-Americanism, which he said had allowed strategic communication to become a series of bureaucracies rather than a way to combat extremist ideology.

“The problem isn’t that we are bad at communicating or being outdone by men in caves. Most of them aren’t even in caves. The Taliban and Al Qaeda live largely among the people. They intimidate and control and communicate from within, not from the sidelines,” the Daily Times quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

“We shouldn’t care if people don’t like us. That isn’t the goal. The goal is credibility. And we earn that over time. Only through a shared appreciation of the people’s culture, needs and hopes for the future can we hope ourselves to supplant the extremist narrative,” he added. (ANI)

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Robots may soon be serving the elderly at home just like humans do

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 29 (ANI): Elderly people with limited mobility may soon come to be served by robots in a manner as if they are being served by other persons, thanks to a collaborative study by three University of Illinois at Chicago engineers and a Rush University nursing specialist.

“We want to help elderly people communicate with robots, to tell them what they need, and to perform physical activities,” said Milos Zefran, UIC associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The three-year study, supported by a grant of 989,000 dollars from the National Science Foundation, is aimed at developing software to allow the elderly to communicate with robots that can respond to a wide range of verbal language, non-verbal gestures, and touch.

“If we can help the elderly remain independent and continue living in their own homes, that will improve their health outlook while relieving the burden on family members and health care providers,” said Zefran, the lead researcher.

The researchers say that their communication interface software will have at its core a novel adaptive and reliable recognition methodology called Recognition by Indexing and Sequencing (RISq), which will allow the robot to comprehend speech altered by impairments and to learn and adapt to such speech.

To enable a robot to understand and correctly respond to various forms of human touch, the researchers will combine techniques from natural language processing and haptics, a scientific term to describe the computerized sense of touch.

They say that the robot will also know how to respond to the user safely when performing everyday chores, such as cooking or making a bed.

“We’ll start by observing interaction between human helpers and the elderly. We’ll identify what kind of language, physical interactions and non-verbal interactions are used. Then we’ll develop a mathematical framework to model this interaction so it can be treated by the robot as a single way of communicating,” Zefran said.

The researchers say that they will program and test a robot, in order to devise refinements, as the project progresses.

“The human-robot interface is really a long-standing, open problem that won’t be solved in three years. But we’ll have a working prototype by then, and we’ll know what additional research needs to be done,” Zefran said.

He believes that this research project may also find widespread use in delivery of institutionally based health care, where routine tasks now done by nurses could be handled by robots.

“If robots can alleviate some of the burden nurses face, they then could spend more time where they’re really needed — providing the human contact that a robot can’t replace,” he said.

Zefran has revealed that his work will include developing seminars or a new graduate or upper-level undergraduate course that considers the various factors that allow robots to perform more sophisticated tasks. (ANI)

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UNICEF celebrates 200 episodes of Kyunki… Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai.

August 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug.28 (ANI): UNICEF recently celebrated the telecast of the 200th episode of its entertainment education serial Kyunki… Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai on Doordarshan National.

A serial with all the emotional and dramatic twists and turns that make soaps so popular, Kyunki… has emerged as an innovative and effective agent for behavior change communication amongst Indian television viewers.

Watched by over 125 million viewers across India, the gripping social drama promotes life-enhancing, life-saving messages, critical to the welfare and survival of children and mothers everywhere.

From safe motherhood to HIV prevention, infant feeding to girls’ education, Kyunki promotes prosocial attitudes, behaviours, and practices that contribute directly to the reduction of infant and maternal mortality rates

Naysan Sahba, Programme Communication Specialist at UNICEF India Country Office, who conceptualized the serial says “When we began to work on the show’s concept about four years ago, at the height of the popularity of the saas-bahu sagas, everybody said impossible, there’s no audience for this. Well, we went ahead, carefully if courageously, and you can imagine our delight in that not only is our show doing well but a new wave of socially conscious TV serials, serials tackling hard-hitting issues effecting women and children, have followed suit and are taking the country by storm” .

Kyunki… has a rather unique viewership including unexpected regulars in the form of youngsters and men. A favorite of many across India, the serial is one of the top rankers in its primetime spot of 8:30 PM to 9 PM and is the leading daily soap on DD National.

Not shying away from taking up socially sensitive issues such as the ill effects of child marriage and early pregnancy, gender equality, proper use of contraceptives and prevention of HIV/AIDS, Kyunki… has been a catalyst in encouraging dialogues amongst young girls and families in rural India about things that they earlier had next to no say about.

Concurrent audience research shows that there has been a consistent increase in the number of viewers who say they intend to take action as a direct result of watching Kyunki…, including informing others about the importance of education, motivating children to join school, immunizing one’s own children and regularly washing hands with soap .

The serial has also become a helpful tool and an excellent reference point for frontline workers who promote positive changes in social and health behaviors through interpersonal communication. In depth interviews with health workers, teachers and other influencers has shown that Kyunki… in fact reinforces many of the same ideas they work with and introduces contemporary issues in an interesting, entertaining and practical manner. (ANI)

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Tribals lament lack of adequate medical facilities in Orissa

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dasmantpur (Orissa), Aug 27(ANI): Tribals living in Orissa’s Dasmantpur village are deprived of basic amenities and health facilities leading to several health hazards.

Locals say that the Central Government had made development plans for education, health and communication, but they are yet to see development in this regard.

The plight of the residents of the village has become manifold with the onset of monsoon, as tribals are facing the wrath of epidemics like cholera and diarrhoea.

“We are not getting the facilities provided by the government, as they get diverted en route. People here consume mango kernel during rainy season, so chances of suffering from Cholera increases,” said Subas Patika, another local.

“They cannot reach the medical centres, as there is no proper road connectivity. The river en route also swells up during rainy season. Education facilities are also very poor here,” he added.asmantpur village was in news for the last few years for the number of deaths due to cholera and diarrhoea like epidemics after floods.

“We are facing water problems. There is a tube well, but worms fall from it, in the morning. So people don’t use it for drinking. Our village doesn’t even have proper road connectivity.

The Anganwadi (government sponsored centre to help poor) does provide us some medicines,” said Keshab Chandru, a local. (ANI)

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MiG 29 intercepts Air France plane over Amritsar

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amritsar, Aug 27(ANI): An Air France plane was intercepted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG 29 aircraft over Amritsar on Thursday morning as it crossed into Indian airspace.

IAF radars picked up the aircraft, flying at a flight level of 37,000 feet, as it entered Indian airspace on an established border entry point on the ATS route.

The aircraft was not in communication and also the secondary radar response code or the Squawk code of the aircraft, was not correct. The aircraft was then identified as ‘Unknown’.

Immediately, an IAF MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept and investigate the identity of the ‘unknown’ aircraft.

It was only later that the aircraft started transmitting correct secondary radar response code and was picked up and identified by AD radar as civil airliner (A-343) of Air France (AFR-164), which was on its from Paris to Bangkok.

The MiG-29 fighter aircraft was given instructions to break off and return to base. A formal report of the incident has been forwarded to Airports Authority Of India (AAI). (ANI)

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100,000 Pakistani labourers expected to work in Malaysia by end 2010

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Aug.27 (ANI): With an estimated three-fold increase in workers, Pakistan is set to join Indonesia, Bangladesh and Myanmar as the largest primary source of foreign labour for Malaysia.

Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia, Liutenant General (retired) Tahir Mahmud Qazi said the expected surge in number of labourers would help Malaysia cope up with the increasing demand due to the boom in the construction industry.

“By December next year, I expect the number of Pakistani workers in the country to increase to 100,000. This will be the culmination of joint efforts to bring them here to assist in the development of Malaysia,” Qazi said.

He said the massive influx was made possible due to the memorandum of understanding inked between the two countries in 2005.

Qazi said Pakistanis over the years, have proved that they are hard working and sincere.

“We want more of them to come here to work. They have a proven track record of being hardworking and dependable,” The Newstraits Times quoted Qazi, as saying.

He said senior Pakistani officials would be visiting Malaysia next month to search for investment opportunities in the country and introduce investment opportunities to the Malaysian business community.

“There are huge opportunities awaiting Malaysian businessmen in Pakistan. We need a variety of goods and services, including hypermarkets, communication, information technology facilities and low-cost housing,” Qazi added. (ANI)

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