By Nassera H. Japanwalla
If we go by an Egyptian lore, then the gel from the leaves of aloe vera was the secret ingredient that Cleopatra used for her skin and not the much-touted milk. In fact, the Egyptians have used aloe vera for their embalming process since times immemorial.
It may look like a thorny cactus, but the aloe vera plant belongs to the onion/lily family.
Distinguished by its thick fleshy lance-shaped leaves, this green plant is suppose to have mystical properties, says an Indian legend, where is it known as Kumari.
The locals call it Ghekwar whereas its botanical name is Aloe barbadensis miller. People sometimes call it the fragrant desert lily.
If we go by an Egyptian lore, then the gel from the leaves of aloe vera was the secret ingredient that Cleopatra used for her skin and not the much-touted milk. In fact, the Egyptians have used aloe vera for their embalming process since times immemorial.
The clear juice of the plant is sold all over the world in health stores in the form of capsules and gels.
The gel has twenty amino acids which the body needs as supplement for its wear and tear and according to various sources, eight of these amino acids have to be ingested and are not produced by the body itself. The gel oozes from the leaf when it is cut and the mucilage rich cells emit the clear sap.
As a beauty aid, the gel has been incorporated in lotions and creams for its moisturising and soothing effect. When these aloe vera lotions are used on skin, the glowing freshness of the skin is a testimony of its beneficial value. As a topical treatment for burns and wounds, it is sold over-the-counter gel in most countries.
Another attribute to its healing properties is that it has effectively been used internationally for radiation burns.
But locally, the aloe vera industry is still in its infancy and not developed to the desired extent; it is mostly used in its raw form.
The natural state is, in fact, the most effective and provides faster relief since the polysaccarides are destroyed during processing when heat is applied and enzymes are added in order to stabilise it. In its natural form, a leaf of the plant is cut into palm size pieces and slit open ; the gel is then used to treat minor wounds, sunburns and fissures.
The gel also has amazing antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. It is said to aid the immune system, cure constipation and also has its positive effect on the texture of the skin.
The sapomins have antimicrobial effect on bacteria, virus and fungus.
The local vaids or practioners of Ayurvedic medicine use the yellow sap of the aloe as a cure for constipation, but since it is a powerful and strong laxative and should therefore only be taken on the advice of a qualified practitioner.
Not only that, the aloe vera gel can be used to ward off mosquitoes/insect bites by applying it on the skin. Likewise, it relieves sunburns and minor kitchen burns.
Use of the gel on the skin restores its elasticity to a great extent by its immense moisturising effect and rejuvenates the skin. When the flesh of the aloe is applied to the scalp, it deters hair loss and decreases dandruff.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
MEDICAL NOTES: Magnesium is a must
By Dr Fatema Jawad
Magnesium is the fourth most important mineral in the body and essential for maintaining good health, states a recent issue of the Health Journal.
Half of the magnesium content of the body is in the bones, one per cent in blood and the remaining is distributed in other tissues and cells.
Magnesium is important to keep muscles and bones strong and to maintain nerve functions, whereas it helps the immune system to function normally. The mineral also plays an essential role in keeping blood sugar and blood pressure in the normal range. Magnesium is also required to maintain metabolism of calcium in bones and thus prevent osteoporosis.
A deficiency of magnesium in our bodies can affect heart muscle function while the coronary arteries can become spasmodic which eventually disturbs the blood flow and leads to a heart attack. It can also lead to the rhythm disturbances of the heart.
Magnesium has been linked with Type 2 diabetes as well and diabetics are often diagnosed with low magnesium levels. According to a study conducted at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, a 100mg increase in the intake of magnesium reduces the risk of diabetes by 15 per cent.
Magnesium increases insulin sensitivity and its deficiency impairs insulin action and promotes insulin resistance.
Low levels of magnesium in the body disturb the lipids which results in an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. This promotes the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
There are many natural food sources for magnesium. These include wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, peanuts, sesame seeds, millet, wheat, wild rice, tofu, beet greens, brown rice, dried figs and green leafy vegetables. The daily requirement of magnesium for males is 400mg and for women is 310mg.
Including magnesium-rich foods in the daily diet will not only prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and stroke, but will promote good health and an excellent quality of life.
Magnesium is the fourth most important mineral in the body and essential for maintaining good health, states a recent issue of the Health Journal.
Half of the magnesium content of the body is in the bones, one per cent in blood and the remaining is distributed in other tissues and cells.
Magnesium is important to keep muscles and bones strong and to maintain nerve functions, whereas it helps the immune system to function normally. The mineral also plays an essential role in keeping blood sugar and blood pressure in the normal range. Magnesium is also required to maintain metabolism of calcium in bones and thus prevent osteoporosis.
A deficiency of magnesium in our bodies can affect heart muscle function while the coronary arteries can become spasmodic which eventually disturbs the blood flow and leads to a heart attack. It can also lead to the rhythm disturbances of the heart.
Magnesium has been linked with Type 2 diabetes as well and diabetics are often diagnosed with low magnesium levels. According to a study conducted at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, a 100mg increase in the intake of magnesium reduces the risk of diabetes by 15 per cent.
Magnesium increases insulin sensitivity and its deficiency impairs insulin action and promotes insulin resistance.
Low levels of magnesium in the body disturb the lipids which results in an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. This promotes the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
There are many natural food sources for magnesium. These include wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, peanuts, sesame seeds, millet, wheat, wild rice, tofu, beet greens, brown rice, dried figs and green leafy vegetables. The daily requirement of magnesium for males is 400mg and for women is 310mg.
Including magnesium-rich foods in the daily diet will not only prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and stroke, but will promote good health and an excellent quality of life.
MARS V VENUS: Painful comparisons
By Lucy Atkins
A Finnish study has broken new ground that women experience more severe symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis than men. After studying 6,000 people, researchers found that when the chronic joint disease was at exactly the same stage, women suffered worse pain, swelling and exhaustion.
We often make glib assumptions about the differences between how men and women respond to health complaints.
Designed to endure the agony of childbirth, women are often thought to have higher pain thresholds, while men are frequently teased about coping poorly with colds.
But how much solid evidence is there of a disparity in how the genders are affected by illness?
It is well-known that women in many countries tend to live longer than men (current figures for the UK have it at four years). Women visit their doctors more and smoke and drink less than men, and their hormones help protect them from heart disease until menopause. We also know that some diseases affect men more than women, and vice versa.
Relatively little, however, is known about how differently men and women's bodies deal with the same illnesses, once they have them.
A Finnish study has broken new ground by showing that women experience more severe symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis — the chronic joint disease — than men. When researchers studied 6,000 people, they found that women had worse pain, swelling and exhaustion than men, when the disease was at exactly the same stage.
"Hormones probably play a big part in this," says Professor Alan Silman, clinical director of the Arthritis Research Campaign. The female hormone, oestrogen, increases inflammation, exacerbating the painful swelling of joints.
Differences between the male and female body build might also be to blame. "Men have a greater muscle mass than women and strong muscles allow the body to function more efficiently, thereby minimising the strain on joints," says Silman. And women's weight distribution is usually lower than men's, which puts more pressure on the hips and knees.
The tables are turned, somewhat, when it comes to chickenpox. Caught in adulthood, it can be dangerous, with around 25 to 30 people in the UK dying from it each year. Research published in the British Medical Journal in 2002 found that adult men are twice as likely to die from chickenpox as women.
Little is known about why this is, but Nigel Higson, a GP who has a special interest in virology, says chickenpox, like the other childhood disease mumps, can certainly do things to men that it doesn't do to women.
"Chicken-pox and mumps can cause orchitis — a swelling of the testicles," he says. "This can lower sperm production and cause permanent scarring that will damage fertility for life."
Asthma, on the other hand, is more life-threatening to women than it is to men. In 2006, 850 women died from asthma in the UK, compared to 349 men. Women were also significantly more likely to be hospitalised because of the condition.
This could again relate to hormones. Until puberty, more boys than girls develop the condition, but once sex hormones kick in, girls take over.
“There is some evidence linking oestrogen and progesterone to sensitivity of the airways,” says Dr Elaine Vickers, research relations manager at Asthma UK, while testosterone seems to have the opposite effect. Other studies suggest that women on hormone-replacement therapy are 40 to 50 per cent more likely to become severe asthmatics.
When it comes to pain tolerance, perhaps surprisingly, “women seem to be more sensitive than men,” says Dr Jane Quinlan, consultant in anaesthesia and pain management at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. “In trials they respond more readily to pain stimuli and report more severe levels of pain than men.”
One explanation is that, when in pain, the body produces its own opioids (natural painkillers), endorphins and enkephalins, and oestrogen seems to lower the amount of them in the body.
However, pain perception is also bound up with our emotions, and it is possible that women simply interpret pain as more threatening or distressing than men.
How, then, do they cope with childbirth? “The magnitude of pain in labour is not in question," says Quinlan. "It's just that women cope better with this extraordinary pain because it is both expected, and finite.”
A Finnish study has broken new ground that women experience more severe symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis than men. After studying 6,000 people, researchers found that when the chronic joint disease was at exactly the same stage, women suffered worse pain, swelling and exhaustion.
We often make glib assumptions about the differences between how men and women respond to health complaints.
Designed to endure the agony of childbirth, women are often thought to have higher pain thresholds, while men are frequently teased about coping poorly with colds.
But how much solid evidence is there of a disparity in how the genders are affected by illness?
It is well-known that women in many countries tend to live longer than men (current figures for the UK have it at four years). Women visit their doctors more and smoke and drink less than men, and their hormones help protect them from heart disease until menopause. We also know that some diseases affect men more than women, and vice versa.
Relatively little, however, is known about how differently men and women's bodies deal with the same illnesses, once they have them.
A Finnish study has broken new ground by showing that women experience more severe symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis — the chronic joint disease — than men. When researchers studied 6,000 people, they found that women had worse pain, swelling and exhaustion than men, when the disease was at exactly the same stage.
"Hormones probably play a big part in this," says Professor Alan Silman, clinical director of the Arthritis Research Campaign. The female hormone, oestrogen, increases inflammation, exacerbating the painful swelling of joints.
Differences between the male and female body build might also be to blame. "Men have a greater muscle mass than women and strong muscles allow the body to function more efficiently, thereby minimising the strain on joints," says Silman. And women's weight distribution is usually lower than men's, which puts more pressure on the hips and knees.
The tables are turned, somewhat, when it comes to chickenpox. Caught in adulthood, it can be dangerous, with around 25 to 30 people in the UK dying from it each year. Research published in the British Medical Journal in 2002 found that adult men are twice as likely to die from chickenpox as women.
Little is known about why this is, but Nigel Higson, a GP who has a special interest in virology, says chickenpox, like the other childhood disease mumps, can certainly do things to men that it doesn't do to women.
"Chicken-pox and mumps can cause orchitis — a swelling of the testicles," he says. "This can lower sperm production and cause permanent scarring that will damage fertility for life."
Asthma, on the other hand, is more life-threatening to women than it is to men. In 2006, 850 women died from asthma in the UK, compared to 349 men. Women were also significantly more likely to be hospitalised because of the condition.
This could again relate to hormones. Until puberty, more boys than girls develop the condition, but once sex hormones kick in, girls take over.
“There is some evidence linking oestrogen and progesterone to sensitivity of the airways,” says Dr Elaine Vickers, research relations manager at Asthma UK, while testosterone seems to have the opposite effect. Other studies suggest that women on hormone-replacement therapy are 40 to 50 per cent more likely to become severe asthmatics.
When it comes to pain tolerance, perhaps surprisingly, “women seem to be more sensitive than men,” says Dr Jane Quinlan, consultant in anaesthesia and pain management at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. “In trials they respond more readily to pain stimuli and report more severe levels of pain than men.”
One explanation is that, when in pain, the body produces its own opioids (natural painkillers), endorphins and enkephalins, and oestrogen seems to lower the amount of them in the body.
However, pain perception is also bound up with our emotions, and it is possible that women simply interpret pain as more threatening or distressing than men.
How, then, do they cope with childbirth? “The magnitude of pain in labour is not in question," says Quinlan. "It's just that women cope better with this extraordinary pain because it is both expected, and finite.”
CHILD LABOUR: Perpetuating exploitation
Most children work. At the age of six or seven they start helping parents in the house by running errands and doing small chores.
In traditional societies involved in agriculture and handicraft production, they work under their parents’ supervision, learning family trade. In other developed societies, children work in their spare time to earn extra money, at the same time learning the value of work.
Child labour, however, implies something different as it entails children being exploited or overworked, or deprived of their right to health or education or just childhood. These children, apart from working at a very young age, work long hours, at little or no pay; and work in hazardous and slave-like conditions. These children are compelled to work on a regular basis to earn a living for themselves or for their families, and as a result are disadvantaged educationally and socially. Their places of work are exploitative and damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development. Separated from their families and often deprived of educational and training opportunities; these children are forced to lead prematurely adult lives, and condemned to a cruel present and a bleak future.
Many justify the existence of child labour on grounds of poverty, without realising that child labour itself may become a cause of poverty. A sizeable number of Pakistan’s population lives in abject poverty; and their children have to work for the survival of their families. This situation deprives them of choice and increases the employers’ hold over them; enabling the employer to pay meagre wages to these child workers.
The rise in employment of children at low wages creates a cycle in which already inadequate adult wages are further depressed to a point where a single adult salary is not sufficient to sustain a family. Hence child labour leads adult under-employment and unemployment.
As long as children are put to work, poverty will spread and living standards will continue to decline. It should, however, be appreciated that not all children work to support their families. Some enter the workforce due to lack of opportunities for free, quality and compulsory education.
The quality of available education remains irrelevant and unsuited to the needs of the child. Even if compulsory education were made available, it will not be considered by many parents as a worthwhile investment because the system does not impart relevant, marketable skills and knowledge. Competent, caring and qualified teachers are missing and the quality of curriculum is poor.
This, coupled with growing urbanisation, and its accompanying pattern of social transition, rapid population growth, resource constraints, commercialisation of agriculture and growth of landless peasantry, traditional hesitation in educating females, unemployment of adults and low income makes Pakistan one of the few countries in the world with child labour on the increase.
The magnitude of the problem is immense due to the numbers involved, although the government, regardless of who is in power, always denies the magnitude of the problem, insisting that it is blown out of proportion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child labour in Pakistan cannot be abolished by projects that cover only a few hundred child workers at a time. Something more concrete has to be done.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Millions of child workers continue to suffer, while society and bureaucracy dwells on a solution to the problem. Employers believe that they are doing a favour to poor families by employing their children, saving them from starvation and deprivation. The truth is that children provide cheap and easily controlled labour with other advantages like flexibility in situations of fluctuating or unstable market forces. They take less space, are obedient and easy to exploit through fear.
Widespread societal acceptance of child labour has obscured the fact that most of it is exploitative and that many of its forms place the child’s health and development in jeopardy.
Child labour in Pakistan is found in innumerable occupations and patterns, classified into children working for wages and without any.
The latter involves children working for parents, mostly in rural as well as urban areas. The agricultural sector continues to be the biggest employer of children.
In feudal regions bonded labour is found in agriculture and brick kilns, despite the enactment of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act in 1992. It is also known as pledging of children to landlords as workers for part repayment of loans taken by parents.
The other category is of children working for wages which may involve children working as a part of family labour group in agricultural fields, or brick kilns, or as individual wage earners generally found in small establishments not covered by laws protecting children. This sector is the largest employer of children in the urban and semi urban areas.
According to the ILO, it is the fastest growing area of child labour in developing countries, fed by rural to urban migration and the break down of production into decentralised units.
Domestic child workers are invisible and at high risk of exploitation and abuse. Being cheaper, they are more in demand and easier to control compared to adult servants.
The most visible ones are street workers who are usually self employed, while some work under adult supervision. Their activities involve shoe shining, selling miscellaneous articles like newspapers, sweets and flowers. Some of them are rag-pickers rummaging through garbage bins. Their working hours are long and tedious because the profit margin is low and work is poorly organised.
Since all these children are growing up without education, Pakistan will soon have an even larger adult illiterate population.
The government has plans and programmes for the prevention of polio, malnutrition and iodine deficiencies but the same approach must be applied to the problem of child labour.
Instead of regulation and rehabilitation, the emphasis should be on the abolition of child labour which is the cause of poverty as it perpetuates exploitation. Prevention is both cheaper and works better. Education should be made compulsory for all.
The problem is not of lack of resources but of poverty of will. All labour laws, and the Constitution, fixes the minimum age for admission to employment at 14 years, which conflicts with Convention on the Rights of the Child, with customary international law and other international instruments, and the age generally accepted internationally for permitting child labour.
Ideally, child labour should not be permitted below the age of 18. However, due to reasons beyond the control of the government, the age may be lowered. It should not be in any case less than 16 years by which age a child should at least have completed secondary education.
Child labour in Pakistan cannot be abolished by projects that cover only a few hundred child workers at a time. Something more concrete has to be done. Let us all remember that a child employed is a future destroyed.By Anees Jillani
In traditional societies involved in agriculture and handicraft production, they work under their parents’ supervision, learning family trade. In other developed societies, children work in their spare time to earn extra money, at the same time learning the value of work.
Child labour, however, implies something different as it entails children being exploited or overworked, or deprived of their right to health or education or just childhood. These children, apart from working at a very young age, work long hours, at little or no pay; and work in hazardous and slave-like conditions. These children are compelled to work on a regular basis to earn a living for themselves or for their families, and as a result are disadvantaged educationally and socially. Their places of work are exploitative and damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development. Separated from their families and often deprived of educational and training opportunities; these children are forced to lead prematurely adult lives, and condemned to a cruel present and a bleak future.
Many justify the existence of child labour on grounds of poverty, without realising that child labour itself may become a cause of poverty. A sizeable number of Pakistan’s population lives in abject poverty; and their children have to work for the survival of their families. This situation deprives them of choice and increases the employers’ hold over them; enabling the employer to pay meagre wages to these child workers.
The rise in employment of children at low wages creates a cycle in which already inadequate adult wages are further depressed to a point where a single adult salary is not sufficient to sustain a family. Hence child labour leads adult under-employment and unemployment.
As long as children are put to work, poverty will spread and living standards will continue to decline. It should, however, be appreciated that not all children work to support their families. Some enter the workforce due to lack of opportunities for free, quality and compulsory education.
The quality of available education remains irrelevant and unsuited to the needs of the child. Even if compulsory education were made available, it will not be considered by many parents as a worthwhile investment because the system does not impart relevant, marketable skills and knowledge. Competent, caring and qualified teachers are missing and the quality of curriculum is poor.
This, coupled with growing urbanisation, and its accompanying pattern of social transition, rapid population growth, resource constraints, commercialisation of agriculture and growth of landless peasantry, traditional hesitation in educating females, unemployment of adults and low income makes Pakistan one of the few countries in the world with child labour on the increase.
The magnitude of the problem is immense due to the numbers involved, although the government, regardless of who is in power, always denies the magnitude of the problem, insisting that it is blown out of proportion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child labour in Pakistan cannot be abolished by projects that cover only a few hundred child workers at a time. Something more concrete has to be done.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Millions of child workers continue to suffer, while society and bureaucracy dwells on a solution to the problem. Employers believe that they are doing a favour to poor families by employing their children, saving them from starvation and deprivation. The truth is that children provide cheap and easily controlled labour with other advantages like flexibility in situations of fluctuating or unstable market forces. They take less space, are obedient and easy to exploit through fear.
Widespread societal acceptance of child labour has obscured the fact that most of it is exploitative and that many of its forms place the child’s health and development in jeopardy.
Child labour in Pakistan is found in innumerable occupations and patterns, classified into children working for wages and without any.
The latter involves children working for parents, mostly in rural as well as urban areas. The agricultural sector continues to be the biggest employer of children.
In feudal regions bonded labour is found in agriculture and brick kilns, despite the enactment of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act in 1992. It is also known as pledging of children to landlords as workers for part repayment of loans taken by parents.
The other category is of children working for wages which may involve children working as a part of family labour group in agricultural fields, or brick kilns, or as individual wage earners generally found in small establishments not covered by laws protecting children. This sector is the largest employer of children in the urban and semi urban areas.
According to the ILO, it is the fastest growing area of child labour in developing countries, fed by rural to urban migration and the break down of production into decentralised units.
Domestic child workers are invisible and at high risk of exploitation and abuse. Being cheaper, they are more in demand and easier to control compared to adult servants.
The most visible ones are street workers who are usually self employed, while some work under adult supervision. Their activities involve shoe shining, selling miscellaneous articles like newspapers, sweets and flowers. Some of them are rag-pickers rummaging through garbage bins. Their working hours are long and tedious because the profit margin is low and work is poorly organised.
Since all these children are growing up without education, Pakistan will soon have an even larger adult illiterate population.
The government has plans and programmes for the prevention of polio, malnutrition and iodine deficiencies but the same approach must be applied to the problem of child labour.
Instead of regulation and rehabilitation, the emphasis should be on the abolition of child labour which is the cause of poverty as it perpetuates exploitation. Prevention is both cheaper and works better. Education should be made compulsory for all.
The problem is not of lack of resources but of poverty of will. All labour laws, and the Constitution, fixes the minimum age for admission to employment at 14 years, which conflicts with Convention on the Rights of the Child, with customary international law and other international instruments, and the age generally accepted internationally for permitting child labour.
Ideally, child labour should not be permitted below the age of 18. However, due to reasons beyond the control of the government, the age may be lowered. It should not be in any case less than 16 years by which age a child should at least have completed secondary education.
Child labour in Pakistan cannot be abolished by projects that cover only a few hundred child workers at a time. Something more concrete has to be done. Let us all remember that a child employed is a future destroyed.By Anees Jillani
When impartiality becomes an excuse
The recent decision by BBC Television, followed by Sky News, to refuse to broadcast an appeal for help for the Palestinians sparked impassioned debate. The channels maintained that their action – or rather, the lack of it – was based upon concerns regarding the compromising of their objectivity, and many people agreed. But a great number of people around the world saw in this decision another example of what is commonly but rather simplistically understood as the ‘Western conspiracy’ against Palestinians.
In fact, both sides have a valid point but neither is fully correct in the manner in which they frame the issue. Neither side has extended itself towards understanding the problem properly in terms of its historical context and the resultant ideological frameworks.
To begin with, it is certainly true that principled journalism demands that impartiality be an over-arching priority of any news distributor. If any media organisation takes a side – or is tainted by even the impression that it has taken a side – it can never again be fully trusted as an accurate reporter of events. Reporters, be they individuals or organisations, have a duty to observe and report without bias, from all perspectives.
That said, however, it is also vital to understand and acknowledge that total objectivity is a mirage. It is an ideal that every newsperson or organisation must strive for, of course, but it can never be achieved in its true essence. This is so not only because of the complexity of the human mind and the various strands that inform it, but also because of the complexity of events that are of sufficient significance to be considered news. All news stories are based on facts that are usually undeniable. But those facts are themselves linked to other realities and sets of circumstances that a reporter can choose – or not – to highlight. In the simple act of picking up a story, and in deciding how to report it, one is making a judgment call based on a certain set of biases and assumptions.
Consider, for example, a story on a fire that could not be controlled in time to save a factory. These are the bare facts. But the reporters can choose to frame them in terms of incompetence on the part of the fire department, or the lack of resources available to it, or the factory owner’s insurance policy and financial situation, or the lack of building codes stipulating fire safety, or architectural malpractices – all of which are contextual facts.
So, when the BBC or Sky News say that they are concerned about losing their impartiality, they are right. But they must also not present themselves as totally objective otherwise, for this is not true. As a viewer, a cursory count of the airtime minutes devoted to stories on Israeli and Palestinian suffering leaves me with the certain knowledge that the slant is towards the former. (A similar scan of Al Jazeera, meanwhile, presents the opposite picture.)
At the same time, however, those amongst us who love to postulate the conspiracy theory are also delusional. The manner in which any credible media organisation works, and its ethic of objectivity, prevents it from taking this course. All the media organisations in the West do not get together and decide to cut the Palestinians, or the Muslims, or Africans, or women or what have you, out of their fair share of screen time. Even in a single organisation, all the employees don’t get together to come to a similar decision. There is never any single or all-important decision maker in a news organisation, the final content of which depends in equal measure on everybody involved in the production: reporters, copy, assignment and graphic editors, section heads, owners and even the marketing and circulation division. Any one attempting to set a conspiracy in motion hasn’t really a hope since he’d have to argue it out with dozens of his colleagues, most of whom are nitpicking debaters in the way that only journalists can be. And then he’d face the prospect of viewers or readers turning away from an organisation whose integrity has been compromised.
That said, though, there is a reason why news organisations sometimes display enough of a shared bias to make the suspicious sniff out conspiracy theories: historical context and bias. In terms of the Israel-Palestine issue, it is of vital significance that the United Kingdom has been involved in the matter right from the start. Regardless of various peace deals or ceasefires brokered, the country has historically remained sympathetic towards the settlers. It has sought to bring about a compromise between the parties, perhaps, but has never doubted the ethicality or legality of the initial Israeli takeover of Palestinian land. So, if this has been various governments’ stance, it is only to be expected that the citizenry would absorb the same bias. And who are the people working in news organisations but members of that self-same citizenry, most of whom will have grown up in educational, political and cultural environments that stealthily encouraged a leaning towards one view at the cost of another.
Before the conspiracy theorist goes “Aha!”, I must point out that this sort of ideological indoctrination is a reality of modern times that cannot be blamed on any one person, organisation or society. Here in Pakistan (or in India, for that matter), we have our own blind spots, for example. One of them is called Kashmir. No matter how much objectivity each one of us strives for, our views will always latently be informed by the stance our country’s successive governments have taken towards the issue. This is why, during any debate of Kashmir, no matter how liberal or left-leaning or supposedly impartial the commentator, one finds under the surface the lurking assumption that the land ‘belongs’ to Pakistan, and that even going as far as arguing for self-determination or self-rule is a bit of a noble sacrifice on part of Pakistan.
Just one more point remains to be made: there is journalistic responsibility, but there is also the ethical responsibility that each one of us, newsperson or not, owes as a human being. There are times grave enough for the latter to take precedence, such as what recently took place in the Gaza Strip and the very disturbing precedent it constitutes. It may be wrong for a news organisation to compromise its reputation by taking sides, but it is far, far worse to pretend that the Israelis are the primary victims of the situation as it now stands – that is very far from the truth. The ideal of objectivity must under no circumstances be used as an excuse to sit on the fence while atrocities are committed against the defenceless and the innocent.
As Frere wrote, “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means siding with the powerful, not to be neutral.”
By Hajrah Mumtaz
In fact, both sides have a valid point but neither is fully correct in the manner in which they frame the issue. Neither side has extended itself towards understanding the problem properly in terms of its historical context and the resultant ideological frameworks.
To begin with, it is certainly true that principled journalism demands that impartiality be an over-arching priority of any news distributor. If any media organisation takes a side – or is tainted by even the impression that it has taken a side – it can never again be fully trusted as an accurate reporter of events. Reporters, be they individuals or organisations, have a duty to observe and report without bias, from all perspectives.
That said, however, it is also vital to understand and acknowledge that total objectivity is a mirage. It is an ideal that every newsperson or organisation must strive for, of course, but it can never be achieved in its true essence. This is so not only because of the complexity of the human mind and the various strands that inform it, but also because of the complexity of events that are of sufficient significance to be considered news. All news stories are based on facts that are usually undeniable. But those facts are themselves linked to other realities and sets of circumstances that a reporter can choose – or not – to highlight. In the simple act of picking up a story, and in deciding how to report it, one is making a judgment call based on a certain set of biases and assumptions.
Consider, for example, a story on a fire that could not be controlled in time to save a factory. These are the bare facts. But the reporters can choose to frame them in terms of incompetence on the part of the fire department, or the lack of resources available to it, or the factory owner’s insurance policy and financial situation, or the lack of building codes stipulating fire safety, or architectural malpractices – all of which are contextual facts.
So, when the BBC or Sky News say that they are concerned about losing their impartiality, they are right. But they must also not present themselves as totally objective otherwise, for this is not true. As a viewer, a cursory count of the airtime minutes devoted to stories on Israeli and Palestinian suffering leaves me with the certain knowledge that the slant is towards the former. (A similar scan of Al Jazeera, meanwhile, presents the opposite picture.)
At the same time, however, those amongst us who love to postulate the conspiracy theory are also delusional. The manner in which any credible media organisation works, and its ethic of objectivity, prevents it from taking this course. All the media organisations in the West do not get together and decide to cut the Palestinians, or the Muslims, or Africans, or women or what have you, out of their fair share of screen time. Even in a single organisation, all the employees don’t get together to come to a similar decision. There is never any single or all-important decision maker in a news organisation, the final content of which depends in equal measure on everybody involved in the production: reporters, copy, assignment and graphic editors, section heads, owners and even the marketing and circulation division. Any one attempting to set a conspiracy in motion hasn’t really a hope since he’d have to argue it out with dozens of his colleagues, most of whom are nitpicking debaters in the way that only journalists can be. And then he’d face the prospect of viewers or readers turning away from an organisation whose integrity has been compromised.
That said, though, there is a reason why news organisations sometimes display enough of a shared bias to make the suspicious sniff out conspiracy theories: historical context and bias. In terms of the Israel-Palestine issue, it is of vital significance that the United Kingdom has been involved in the matter right from the start. Regardless of various peace deals or ceasefires brokered, the country has historically remained sympathetic towards the settlers. It has sought to bring about a compromise between the parties, perhaps, but has never doubted the ethicality or legality of the initial Israeli takeover of Palestinian land. So, if this has been various governments’ stance, it is only to be expected that the citizenry would absorb the same bias. And who are the people working in news organisations but members of that self-same citizenry, most of whom will have grown up in educational, political and cultural environments that stealthily encouraged a leaning towards one view at the cost of another.
Before the conspiracy theorist goes “Aha!”, I must point out that this sort of ideological indoctrination is a reality of modern times that cannot be blamed on any one person, organisation or society. Here in Pakistan (or in India, for that matter), we have our own blind spots, for example. One of them is called Kashmir. No matter how much objectivity each one of us strives for, our views will always latently be informed by the stance our country’s successive governments have taken towards the issue. This is why, during any debate of Kashmir, no matter how liberal or left-leaning or supposedly impartial the commentator, one finds under the surface the lurking assumption that the land ‘belongs’ to Pakistan, and that even going as far as arguing for self-determination or self-rule is a bit of a noble sacrifice on part of Pakistan.
Just one more point remains to be made: there is journalistic responsibility, but there is also the ethical responsibility that each one of us, newsperson or not, owes as a human being. There are times grave enough for the latter to take precedence, such as what recently took place in the Gaza Strip and the very disturbing precedent it constitutes. It may be wrong for a news organisation to compromise its reputation by taking sides, but it is far, far worse to pretend that the Israelis are the primary victims of the situation as it now stands – that is very far from the truth. The ideal of objectivity must under no circumstances be used as an excuse to sit on the fence while atrocities are committed against the defenceless and the innocent.
As Frere wrote, “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means siding with the powerful, not to be neutral.”
By Hajrah Mumtaz
Foreign policy and energy needs
IT is something of an understatement that the foreign policy of nations is heavily influenced by global energy needs. The geographical factor alone emphasises this. Petroleum reserves are extremely localised in their existence. Less than 10 countries hold over 85 per cent of the total global oil and gas reserves.
Securing the desired level of supplies from petroleum-rich countries is therefore at the heart of tough realpolitik, for a number of countries (particularly major global economic and military powers) with rare exceptions are energy deficient. Alliances are formed not with those that are liked, but with those that are needed to meet ever-growing energy requirements.
The pivotal role of energy in the architecture of foreign policy is a phenomenon that surfaced for the first time with the advent of the 20th century. By that time, there was broad realisation of the economic benefits of oil and a desire to control oil resources had begun to feature in western politics.
Just before the First World War, Britain’s decision in 1912 to convert its battleships to run on oil in order to maintain naval hegemony gave birth to a new geopolitical age. The switch-over from coal to oil, the latter a fuel that did not exist inside Britain unlike coal, was a strategic move that demanded a secure supply of oil. Winston Churchill substantiated this in the following terms: “We must become the owners, or at any rate the controllers at the source, of at least a proportion of the oil which we require.”
The vigorous pursuit of oil thus became an important feature of the British campaign in several parts of the world. The same year Britain bought the controlling rights of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Having discovered oil in Iran in 1908, the company was formed in 1909 as a subsidiary by another British company, namely Burmah Oil Company.
The powerful role of oil in the make-up of international relations became more evident after the First World War that significantly changed the geopolitical landscape. Apart from Britain and France, a number of other emerging powers including Russia, the US and Japan paid special attention to establishing ties with oil-rich countries. The conclusion of the Second World War presented the US, arguably the most powerful nation, a status that it has maintained thus far.
On the eve of the Second World War the US was self-sufficient in its energy requirements producing over 60 per cent of the world’s oil. With demand on the rise globally, US policymakers were aware of the intense competition for oil in the years ahead. Immediately after the war, the US started manoeuvring to replace the influence in the Middle East of Britain and France, both greatly weakened by the war, by its own. Washington’s motives in this regard not only aimed to contain Russia and become the predominant power but also to be the principal beneficiary of oil wealth. A top US State Department official in 1945 substantiated US policy in this regard: “A review of the diplomatic history of the past 35 years will show that petroleum has historically played a larger part in the external relations of the United States than any other commodity.”
The second half of the last century also witnessed a number of oil-driven geopolitical moves in the world. Although helping strengthen ties among nations, oil also contributed to triggering numerous frictions and conflicts. The use of oil as a weapon during the Arab oil embargo of 1973 — second in history after the US embargo on Japan in 1941 — and Iraq’s invasion of Iran (1980) and Kuwait (1990) are some of the leading paradigms.
The nominated trade secretary in the US president-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet, Bill Richardson, who also served as the secretary of energy with Bill Clinton, in 1999 reflected upon oil’s importance during the last century in the following terms: “Oil has literally made foreign and security policy for decades. Just since the turn of this century, it has provoked the division of the Middle East after World War I; aroused Germany and Japan to extend their tentacles beyond their borders; the Arab oil embargo; Iran versus Iraq; the Gulf War. This is all clear.”
The unfolding geopolitical landscape of the 21st century appears to have an even more prominent role in petroleum resources than that of the last century. Along with oil, gas is also set to become a coveted commodity. Sino-US ties are already under stress over the growing competition for petroleum reserves. For almost a decade now, in order to satisfy its rapidly growing energy requirements, China has been proactively pursuing the goal of increased shares in petroleum resources. In China’s foreign policy towards many parts of the world, particularly Africa, the Middle East and the Caspian Sea region, oil holds a critical status. China’s vibrant policies in these regions are being watchfully monitored in Washington.
Alongside the US and China, there are a few other proactive players on the chessboard of the future energy world. Russia, for instance, holding the largest gas reserves and seventh-largest oil reserves in the world, has emerged as an energy superpower. Particularly in Europe, that imports almost half of its natural gas and 30 per cent of its oil requirements from Russia, there is a growing degree of apprehension that the Kremlin may try to ride on its rich petroleum reserves to regain the powerful status it held during the time of the former USSR.
European countries were reminded of the strong Russian position during the recent Georgia-Russia conflict. Despite a strong push from various member states, the European Union could not impose sanctions on Russia, thanks to Germany that snubbed the proposal for sanctions warning against the dire energy crisis the move would have triggered.
By Dr M. Asif
The writer is a lecturer in renewable energy at the Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.
Securing the desired level of supplies from petroleum-rich countries is therefore at the heart of tough realpolitik, for a number of countries (particularly major global economic and military powers) with rare exceptions are energy deficient. Alliances are formed not with those that are liked, but with those that are needed to meet ever-growing energy requirements.
The pivotal role of energy in the architecture of foreign policy is a phenomenon that surfaced for the first time with the advent of the 20th century. By that time, there was broad realisation of the economic benefits of oil and a desire to control oil resources had begun to feature in western politics.
Just before the First World War, Britain’s decision in 1912 to convert its battleships to run on oil in order to maintain naval hegemony gave birth to a new geopolitical age. The switch-over from coal to oil, the latter a fuel that did not exist inside Britain unlike coal, was a strategic move that demanded a secure supply of oil. Winston Churchill substantiated this in the following terms: “We must become the owners, or at any rate the controllers at the source, of at least a proportion of the oil which we require.”
The vigorous pursuit of oil thus became an important feature of the British campaign in several parts of the world. The same year Britain bought the controlling rights of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Having discovered oil in Iran in 1908, the company was formed in 1909 as a subsidiary by another British company, namely Burmah Oil Company.
The powerful role of oil in the make-up of international relations became more evident after the First World War that significantly changed the geopolitical landscape. Apart from Britain and France, a number of other emerging powers including Russia, the US and Japan paid special attention to establishing ties with oil-rich countries. The conclusion of the Second World War presented the US, arguably the most powerful nation, a status that it has maintained thus far.
On the eve of the Second World War the US was self-sufficient in its energy requirements producing over 60 per cent of the world’s oil. With demand on the rise globally, US policymakers were aware of the intense competition for oil in the years ahead. Immediately after the war, the US started manoeuvring to replace the influence in the Middle East of Britain and France, both greatly weakened by the war, by its own. Washington’s motives in this regard not only aimed to contain Russia and become the predominant power but also to be the principal beneficiary of oil wealth. A top US State Department official in 1945 substantiated US policy in this regard: “A review of the diplomatic history of the past 35 years will show that petroleum has historically played a larger part in the external relations of the United States than any other commodity.”
The second half of the last century also witnessed a number of oil-driven geopolitical moves in the world. Although helping strengthen ties among nations, oil also contributed to triggering numerous frictions and conflicts. The use of oil as a weapon during the Arab oil embargo of 1973 — second in history after the US embargo on Japan in 1941 — and Iraq’s invasion of Iran (1980) and Kuwait (1990) are some of the leading paradigms.
The nominated trade secretary in the US president-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet, Bill Richardson, who also served as the secretary of energy with Bill Clinton, in 1999 reflected upon oil’s importance during the last century in the following terms: “Oil has literally made foreign and security policy for decades. Just since the turn of this century, it has provoked the division of the Middle East after World War I; aroused Germany and Japan to extend their tentacles beyond their borders; the Arab oil embargo; Iran versus Iraq; the Gulf War. This is all clear.”
The unfolding geopolitical landscape of the 21st century appears to have an even more prominent role in petroleum resources than that of the last century. Along with oil, gas is also set to become a coveted commodity. Sino-US ties are already under stress over the growing competition for petroleum reserves. For almost a decade now, in order to satisfy its rapidly growing energy requirements, China has been proactively pursuing the goal of increased shares in petroleum resources. In China’s foreign policy towards many parts of the world, particularly Africa, the Middle East and the Caspian Sea region, oil holds a critical status. China’s vibrant policies in these regions are being watchfully monitored in Washington.
Alongside the US and China, there are a few other proactive players on the chessboard of the future energy world. Russia, for instance, holding the largest gas reserves and seventh-largest oil reserves in the world, has emerged as an energy superpower. Particularly in Europe, that imports almost half of its natural gas and 30 per cent of its oil requirements from Russia, there is a growing degree of apprehension that the Kremlin may try to ride on its rich petroleum reserves to regain the powerful status it held during the time of the former USSR.
European countries were reminded of the strong Russian position during the recent Georgia-Russia conflict. Despite a strong push from various member states, the European Union could not impose sanctions on Russia, thanks to Germany that snubbed the proposal for sanctions warning against the dire energy crisis the move would have triggered.
By Dr M. Asif
The writer is a lecturer in renewable energy at the Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.
Emerging World Economies
Singapore
The country’s economy may shrink in 2009 due to the international financial crisis. The country is affected by the crisis because it has an open economy and income from tourism and exports is falling. But the government is working to lessen the effects of the crisis, including giving credits to industries and helping them reduce costs. Asian policy makers and their counterparts around the world have lowered interest rates and announced stimulus plans to counter the impact of the global financial crisis. Singapore policy makers also need to implement measures to avoid a prolonged slowdown.
As the global economic slowdown continues, Singapore lowered it growth forecasts for the fourth time in a year, and warned of an impending contraction in 2009. The government of Singapore now forecasts an economic contraction of as much as one per cent through 2009, a sharp downward revision from its previous estimate of 4-6 per cent growth.
According to the Trade and Industry Ministry, Singapore’s economy is expected to face a broad-based slowdown in 2009. Singapore may be the first Asian country to enter in recession, after official figures showed that the island country’s economy shrank by a worse-than-expected 6.8 per cent in the three months to September.
The economy is now seen to grow at 2.5 per cent for 2008, down from the previous forecast of three per cent. The heavily export-dependent island economy has seen growth slide as demand from its key trade partners –US and Europe falls.
Shipments to other emerging markets have also dropped significantly. Overseas shipments are expected to fall by seven per cent this year, the Singapore government announced today. As demand for Singapore’s electronics and pharmaceutical products fall, exports could shrink by up to one per cent in 2009. The slowdown in international and regional trade will significantly impact wholesale trade and the transport and storage sectors.
The export-dependent economy has been battered by declining orders for electronic goods and pharmaceuticals from its biggest customers in the recession-hit markets of the US and Europe, as well as emerging nations. The government estimates that overseas shipments will fall as much as seven per cent this year.
The government plans to enhance measures to help local companies secure loans. The government won’t reduce spending even though the budget deficit this year may be three times its initial projection. As the global financial crisis chokes credit, the government has pledged 2.3 billion Singapore dollars ($1.5bn) to help cash-strapped small businesses. These measures seek to ensure that local enterprises have sufficient resources to continue to operate, invest trade and internationalize in an adverse economic climate.
The Singapore dollar is among Asia’s worst performing currencies this quarter after the Monetary Authority of Singapore shifted a ‘’zero-percent appreciation’’ stance last month. It has slid 6.2 per cent against the US currency since the beginning of October. The central bank, which sets monetary policy by managing the Singapore dollar against a secret basket of currencies, in October switched from allowing a gradual rise in the currency to a neutral stance of zero appreciation.
Some commentators expect the central bank to ease policy further by letting the currency weaken ahead of its next scheduled review in April. But the central bank said its policy stance remains appropriate and it has no plans to change it for now. It sees no reason for ‘’undue weakness’’ in the Singapore dollar and will act if necessary to limit excess volatility.
Singapore’s inflation hit a 26-year high of 7.5 per cent in April, May and June. It will continue to ease. However, it will continue to be sticky for the next few months as it will take time for the decline in prices to be reflected in the consumer price index.
The authorities are confident that annual inflation will revert back to 2-3 per cent next year. But Singapore’s central bank said it expects inflation to remain within the 6-7 percent target for 2008, and forecast inflation to ease to 2.5-3.5 per cent in 2009.
The policies to boost the economy would take effect immediately after being announced in an expansionary January budget. The government would partly rely on construction to help growth with project costs coming down.
The budget emphasis will be on jobs as the government expects unemployment to rise, particularly in manufacturing, which accounts for about a quarter of the economy. The government is also trying to diversify away from manufacturing into service industries such as tourism and finance. Moderation of employment growth is expected in the second half of 2008, and through to 2009.
Singapore’s banks have not suffered huge write downs on risky debts unlike peers in the United States and Europe, though top bank DBS Group said it would cut 900 jobs after suffering a 38 percent drop in quarterly profit.
Singapore may face political pressure from the European Union and the United States over its role as a financial centre for rich foreigners, following a landmark deal by offshore haven Liechtenstein with the United States to drop bank secrecy in cases of tax evasion. Singapore’s three local banks DBS, United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp are well capitalised and their asset quality remains strong despite the problems in the United States.
Malaysia
The ongoing global turbulence roiling the financial markets will likely trigger a global recession in 2009 and accordingly forecasts Malaysia’s GDP growth for next year at 3.5%. The world’s largest economy and Malaysia’s single largest trading partner, the United States is likely to experience its first recession since 2001 as the financial crisis continues unabated with adverse impact on bank lending, investment and private consumption. As a result, the US economic performance will cast a long shadow on the rest of the world. Other major economies, namely the Euro and Japan, are also not being spared from the current financial and economic malaise.
Being an open economy, Malaysia and other regional countries are not immune from any crisis, especially one that is unprecedented as the current turmoil. These economies are now bracing for a decline in global trade volume due to an expected drop in external demand. In addition to external trade performance, Malaysian economic growth in 2009 will also be impacted by a slowdown in private investment as risk aversion heightens among investors. As a consequent, business expansion plans are likely to be scaled down while portfolio investors may continue to stay on the sideline as evident by substantial net outflows in 2008.
Although Malaysia has, over the years, diversified its trade pattern with intra-trade with ASEAN countries becoming a significant feature of its economy, the expected moderations in the economies of G3 (US, Euro and Japan) could have knock-on effects on ASEAN economies as well.
However, the silver lining in the Malaysian economy is the steady domestic demand, primarily supported by private consumption, which, while expected to moderate to 4.4% in 2009 from an estimated 6.3% this year following the impact of higher consumer prices and waning consumer sentiment, is anticipated to be a bulwark against a weakening global economy. Domestic demand in 2009 is expected to be underpinned by an accommodative monetary stance and a relatively stable labour market.
In addition, Malaysia is in a more resilient position to cope with present economic challenges as reflected by huge surplus in the current account of balance of payment, a high level of external reserves and sound banking system that will help weather current economic challenges.
As of September, the amount of external reserves stood at RM379.3 billion, sufficient to finance 9 months of retained imports and is 4.1 times the total short-term external debt. This is in stark contrast with the situation during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 when external reserves dropped to as low as 2.9 months of retained imports in October that year.
The country’s financial institutions’ ability to provide ample liquidity is also a critical factor to insulate the Malaysian economy from a credit crunch. A loan-deposit ratio in the banking system that continues to remain below 80 per cent in the last 4 years also augurs well for its role to support lending activities. Additionally, there is no visible strain in the domestic financial market as is evident by the benign spread between inter-bank and Treasury Bills.
Further underscoring the strength of the country’s financial institutions is the declining trend of net non-performing loans (NPL).
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 4.7 per cent in the third quarter, driven by domestic demand. It was, however, its slowest pace of growth since mid-2005, as a sharply deteriorating global economy slowed down exports. Economic growth may slow to between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent in the final quarter.
However, full-year growth to be within its forecast of between five and 5.5 per cent. It was a decent third quarter growth. The full effects of the global financial crisis will only be felt by Malaysia in 2009. Inflation, which peaked at 8.4 per cent in August, is falling and expected to come in at below three per cent in the second half of 2009.
South Korea
South Korea’s economic expansion is expected to slow significantly in 2009 as the global financial crisis drags down gross domestic product growth to its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.
The Bank of Korea projects Korea’s economy to grow two per cent in 2009 -- from a growth of 3.7 per cent in 2008 as the twin pillars of domestic consumption and exports weaken. That rate hasn’t been seen since the economy contracted by 6.9 per cent in 1998 at the height of the Asian financial turmoil. Private consumption is seen to increase 0.8 in 2009 after a 1.5 per cent expansion in 2008. In 2010; demand is expected to recover to 2.5 per cent.
Exports, a key engine of growth for the trade-driven economy, are forecast to rise more moderately at 1.3 in 2009, compared with a 3.6 per cent increase in 2008. In line with the weaker economic performance, inflation is expected to be more moderate at three in 2009 and 2.6 per cent in 2010 after accelerating 4.7% in 2008. South Korea’s current account balance, meanwhile, is likely to recover to a surplus of $22 billion next year from a deficit of $4.5 billion in 2008, aided by a drop in oil prices and lower imports on the back of tepid domestic demand.
The flow of the domestic economy will be affected by the global financial crisis, the depth of the global economic slowdown and the timing of its recovery.
In the absence of any strong indications that the global problems will recede soon, along with sluggish domestic consumption, it will be difficult for South Korea’s economy to regain its momentum, the central bank added.
The Bank of Korea’s outlook for the economy next year is in line with the International Monetary Fund’s 2% forecast and slightly more pessimistic than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2.7 per cent in 2009. Still, the revised estimate remains far more optimistic than what some private economists are predicting. Swiss bank UBS, for example, sees South Korea’s economy declining three per cent in 2009.
South Korea’s economy has not contracted on an annual basis since 1997, when it was hit by the Asian financial crisis that forced the government to seek a $58 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The central bank estimated, however, that growth would recover in 2010 to four per cent. Deteriorating economic data have raised alarm bells that Asia’s fourth-largest economy could contract next year on an annual basis for the first time since 1997, when the country was in the throes of the Asian financial crisis. Exports fell 18.3 per cent in November from the same month last year.
South Korea’s central bank carried out its biggest ever interest rate cut, slashing borrowing costs by a full percentage point to a record low in a bid to stave off possible recession. The Bank of Korea lowered the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate to three per cent from four per cent at a regular policy meeting. There is now judged to be a strong likelihood that growth will fall sharply as a result of the worldwide economic slowdown along with the financial market unrest including the credit crunch. The rate cut marked the fourth time the central bank has lowered borrowing costs in the past two months and exceeded the 0.75 percentage point emergency cut on Oct. 27, previously the largest ever.
Most economists had expected further rate cuts after a quarter percentage point reduction in November, though not of such magnitude.
After the re-eruption of the US financial crisis in September, the South Korean administration promised to inject 133 trillion won (about $91 billion) into the financial system to ease liquidity. By the end of November, only 50 trillion won had been released. In October, 321 firms went bankrupt, up from 118 in September, as the lack of credit took effect. A $16 billion package to help small and medium exporters has failed to end the cash shortage, because banks are reluctant to apply for BOK funds out of fear that they will be seen as having a cash-flow problem.
The country’s economy may shrink in 2009 due to the international financial crisis. The country is affected by the crisis because it has an open economy and income from tourism and exports is falling. But the government is working to lessen the effects of the crisis, including giving credits to industries and helping them reduce costs. Asian policy makers and their counterparts around the world have lowered interest rates and announced stimulus plans to counter the impact of the global financial crisis. Singapore policy makers also need to implement measures to avoid a prolonged slowdown.
As the global economic slowdown continues, Singapore lowered it growth forecasts for the fourth time in a year, and warned of an impending contraction in 2009. The government of Singapore now forecasts an economic contraction of as much as one per cent through 2009, a sharp downward revision from its previous estimate of 4-6 per cent growth.
According to the Trade and Industry Ministry, Singapore’s economy is expected to face a broad-based slowdown in 2009. Singapore may be the first Asian country to enter in recession, after official figures showed that the island country’s economy shrank by a worse-than-expected 6.8 per cent in the three months to September.
The economy is now seen to grow at 2.5 per cent for 2008, down from the previous forecast of three per cent. The heavily export-dependent island economy has seen growth slide as demand from its key trade partners –US and Europe falls.
Shipments to other emerging markets have also dropped significantly. Overseas shipments are expected to fall by seven per cent this year, the Singapore government announced today. As demand for Singapore’s electronics and pharmaceutical products fall, exports could shrink by up to one per cent in 2009. The slowdown in international and regional trade will significantly impact wholesale trade and the transport and storage sectors.
The export-dependent economy has been battered by declining orders for electronic goods and pharmaceuticals from its biggest customers in the recession-hit markets of the US and Europe, as well as emerging nations. The government estimates that overseas shipments will fall as much as seven per cent this year.
The government plans to enhance measures to help local companies secure loans. The government won’t reduce spending even though the budget deficit this year may be three times its initial projection. As the global financial crisis chokes credit, the government has pledged 2.3 billion Singapore dollars ($1.5bn) to help cash-strapped small businesses. These measures seek to ensure that local enterprises have sufficient resources to continue to operate, invest trade and internationalize in an adverse economic climate.
The Singapore dollar is among Asia’s worst performing currencies this quarter after the Monetary Authority of Singapore shifted a ‘’zero-percent appreciation’’ stance last month. It has slid 6.2 per cent against the US currency since the beginning of October. The central bank, which sets monetary policy by managing the Singapore dollar against a secret basket of currencies, in October switched from allowing a gradual rise in the currency to a neutral stance of zero appreciation.
Some commentators expect the central bank to ease policy further by letting the currency weaken ahead of its next scheduled review in April. But the central bank said its policy stance remains appropriate and it has no plans to change it for now. It sees no reason for ‘’undue weakness’’ in the Singapore dollar and will act if necessary to limit excess volatility.
Singapore’s inflation hit a 26-year high of 7.5 per cent in April, May and June. It will continue to ease. However, it will continue to be sticky for the next few months as it will take time for the decline in prices to be reflected in the consumer price index.
The authorities are confident that annual inflation will revert back to 2-3 per cent next year. But Singapore’s central bank said it expects inflation to remain within the 6-7 percent target for 2008, and forecast inflation to ease to 2.5-3.5 per cent in 2009.
The policies to boost the economy would take effect immediately after being announced in an expansionary January budget. The government would partly rely on construction to help growth with project costs coming down.
The budget emphasis will be on jobs as the government expects unemployment to rise, particularly in manufacturing, which accounts for about a quarter of the economy. The government is also trying to diversify away from manufacturing into service industries such as tourism and finance. Moderation of employment growth is expected in the second half of 2008, and through to 2009.
Singapore’s banks have not suffered huge write downs on risky debts unlike peers in the United States and Europe, though top bank DBS Group said it would cut 900 jobs after suffering a 38 percent drop in quarterly profit.
Singapore may face political pressure from the European Union and the United States over its role as a financial centre for rich foreigners, following a landmark deal by offshore haven Liechtenstein with the United States to drop bank secrecy in cases of tax evasion. Singapore’s three local banks DBS, United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp are well capitalised and their asset quality remains strong despite the problems in the United States.
Malaysia
The ongoing global turbulence roiling the financial markets will likely trigger a global recession in 2009 and accordingly forecasts Malaysia’s GDP growth for next year at 3.5%. The world’s largest economy and Malaysia’s single largest trading partner, the United States is likely to experience its first recession since 2001 as the financial crisis continues unabated with adverse impact on bank lending, investment and private consumption. As a result, the US economic performance will cast a long shadow on the rest of the world. Other major economies, namely the Euro and Japan, are also not being spared from the current financial and economic malaise.
Being an open economy, Malaysia and other regional countries are not immune from any crisis, especially one that is unprecedented as the current turmoil. These economies are now bracing for a decline in global trade volume due to an expected drop in external demand. In addition to external trade performance, Malaysian economic growth in 2009 will also be impacted by a slowdown in private investment as risk aversion heightens among investors. As a consequent, business expansion plans are likely to be scaled down while portfolio investors may continue to stay on the sideline as evident by substantial net outflows in 2008.
Although Malaysia has, over the years, diversified its trade pattern with intra-trade with ASEAN countries becoming a significant feature of its economy, the expected moderations in the economies of G3 (US, Euro and Japan) could have knock-on effects on ASEAN economies as well.
However, the silver lining in the Malaysian economy is the steady domestic demand, primarily supported by private consumption, which, while expected to moderate to 4.4% in 2009 from an estimated 6.3% this year following the impact of higher consumer prices and waning consumer sentiment, is anticipated to be a bulwark against a weakening global economy. Domestic demand in 2009 is expected to be underpinned by an accommodative monetary stance and a relatively stable labour market.
In addition, Malaysia is in a more resilient position to cope with present economic challenges as reflected by huge surplus in the current account of balance of payment, a high level of external reserves and sound banking system that will help weather current economic challenges.
As of September, the amount of external reserves stood at RM379.3 billion, sufficient to finance 9 months of retained imports and is 4.1 times the total short-term external debt. This is in stark contrast with the situation during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 when external reserves dropped to as low as 2.9 months of retained imports in October that year.
The country’s financial institutions’ ability to provide ample liquidity is also a critical factor to insulate the Malaysian economy from a credit crunch. A loan-deposit ratio in the banking system that continues to remain below 80 per cent in the last 4 years also augurs well for its role to support lending activities. Additionally, there is no visible strain in the domestic financial market as is evident by the benign spread between inter-bank and Treasury Bills.
Further underscoring the strength of the country’s financial institutions is the declining trend of net non-performing loans (NPL).
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 4.7 per cent in the third quarter, driven by domestic demand. It was, however, its slowest pace of growth since mid-2005, as a sharply deteriorating global economy slowed down exports. Economic growth may slow to between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent in the final quarter.
However, full-year growth to be within its forecast of between five and 5.5 per cent. It was a decent third quarter growth. The full effects of the global financial crisis will only be felt by Malaysia in 2009. Inflation, which peaked at 8.4 per cent in August, is falling and expected to come in at below three per cent in the second half of 2009.
South Korea
South Korea’s economic expansion is expected to slow significantly in 2009 as the global financial crisis drags down gross domestic product growth to its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.
The Bank of Korea projects Korea’s economy to grow two per cent in 2009 -- from a growth of 3.7 per cent in 2008 as the twin pillars of domestic consumption and exports weaken. That rate hasn’t been seen since the economy contracted by 6.9 per cent in 1998 at the height of the Asian financial turmoil. Private consumption is seen to increase 0.8 in 2009 after a 1.5 per cent expansion in 2008. In 2010; demand is expected to recover to 2.5 per cent.
Exports, a key engine of growth for the trade-driven economy, are forecast to rise more moderately at 1.3 in 2009, compared with a 3.6 per cent increase in 2008. In line with the weaker economic performance, inflation is expected to be more moderate at three in 2009 and 2.6 per cent in 2010 after accelerating 4.7% in 2008. South Korea’s current account balance, meanwhile, is likely to recover to a surplus of $22 billion next year from a deficit of $4.5 billion in 2008, aided by a drop in oil prices and lower imports on the back of tepid domestic demand.
The flow of the domestic economy will be affected by the global financial crisis, the depth of the global economic slowdown and the timing of its recovery.
In the absence of any strong indications that the global problems will recede soon, along with sluggish domestic consumption, it will be difficult for South Korea’s economy to regain its momentum, the central bank added.
The Bank of Korea’s outlook for the economy next year is in line with the International Monetary Fund’s 2% forecast and slightly more pessimistic than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2.7 per cent in 2009. Still, the revised estimate remains far more optimistic than what some private economists are predicting. Swiss bank UBS, for example, sees South Korea’s economy declining three per cent in 2009.
South Korea’s economy has not contracted on an annual basis since 1997, when it was hit by the Asian financial crisis that forced the government to seek a $58 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The central bank estimated, however, that growth would recover in 2010 to four per cent. Deteriorating economic data have raised alarm bells that Asia’s fourth-largest economy could contract next year on an annual basis for the first time since 1997, when the country was in the throes of the Asian financial crisis. Exports fell 18.3 per cent in November from the same month last year.
South Korea’s central bank carried out its biggest ever interest rate cut, slashing borrowing costs by a full percentage point to a record low in a bid to stave off possible recession. The Bank of Korea lowered the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate to three per cent from four per cent at a regular policy meeting. There is now judged to be a strong likelihood that growth will fall sharply as a result of the worldwide economic slowdown along with the financial market unrest including the credit crunch. The rate cut marked the fourth time the central bank has lowered borrowing costs in the past two months and exceeded the 0.75 percentage point emergency cut on Oct. 27, previously the largest ever.
Most economists had expected further rate cuts after a quarter percentage point reduction in November, though not of such magnitude.
After the re-eruption of the US financial crisis in September, the South Korean administration promised to inject 133 trillion won (about $91 billion) into the financial system to ease liquidity. By the end of November, only 50 trillion won had been released. In October, 321 firms went bankrupt, up from 118 in September, as the lack of credit took effect. A $16 billion package to help small and medium exporters has failed to end the cash shortage, because banks are reluctant to apply for BOK funds out of fear that they will be seen as having a cash-flow problem.
RECAP 2008: The Marvels And The Misfortunes
This is the beginning of 2009, and looking back, one can only marvel at the many achievements that this year has witnessed. From scientific discoveries to medical breakthroughs and space-related insights, science and technology in 2008 have been there and done almost everything.
Here is a brief flashback of the major events that took place in the course of last year, which will surely have a much bigger impact in the years to come.
NATURAL DISASTERS
ReliefWeb’s listing of the natural disasters of 2008 illustrates that many countries were on the receiving end of nature’s wrath this year. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions took place all over the world.
The earthquake which caused the most damage hit Central China in May 2008, killing over 80,000 people and rendering 10 million people homeless (according to Reuters). CNN reported the earthquake as being the worst-ever in a generation. Measuring 7.9, the epicentre of the quake was Sichuan Province. Poor weather combined with equally poor logistics delayed the rescue and rehabilitation efforts. Moreover, the constant aftershocks triggered landslides as well, adding to the misery of the victims.
Pakistan, too, was not spared this year when it came to earthquakes. The Baluchistan province was hit by a 6.4 earthquake, followed by another one, again measuring 6.4. Over two hundred people lost their lives, while 120,000 were rendered homeless. Countries like Iran and the island of Simeulue, in Indonesia, were also hit by very powerful earthquake. Volcanic eruptions happened in Chile and Columbia.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
Thanks to UC Berkeley, the Invisibility Cloak has an existence outside the world of Harry Potter. The university scientists used nanowire grown inside a porous aluminium tube to create a sheeting 10 times thinner than a piece of paper. Once an object was wrapped in this sheet, it would be invisible in light. Now this is something a lot of people would love to get their hands on!
When it comes to security systems, face recognition technologies are invaluable. Till now these technologies were not 100 per cent accurate because of variations in the images that were captured. This year, R. Jenkins and A. M. Burton from the University of Glasgow, discovered that if the camera captures multiple images of the same individual and produces an average image of sorts, the result would be more accurate than when only one image was captured.
As the price hike of petrol continues the world over, there is an increasing emphasis on discovering new ways in which fuels can be generated. The latest means on the block through which it can be done is sugar. A group of researchers discovered there is a process whereby sugar from plant biomass can be converted into liquid transportation fuel. Now this is surely a sweet way to travel!
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
It is disheartening to note that the call to “go green” still has not found commercial backing.
This year, researchers David B. Lobell, Marshall B. Burke, Claudia Tebaldi, Michael D. Mastrandrea, Walter P. Falcon and Rosamond L. Naylor combined statistical crop models with global climate projections for 2030 to analyse the risks of crops in 12 regions across the world. These 12 regions are already home to malnourished populations.
And the results of this research indicate that there is a possibility of a harmful impact on crops in the regions of South Asia and South America. On a more heartening note, a team of researchers discovered that high levels of carbon dioxide, which increase ocean acidification, do NOT decrease the process of calcification by marina organisms, as was previously thought. And a pressure of carbon dioxide actually increases this process, thus increasing the production of calcium carbonate.
Some disturbing findings, with regard to global warming also came to light. It was discovered that as the world climate becomes warmer, the solubility of oxygen in ocean water will significantly decrease. This will spell disaster for marine organisms and, eventually, for those on land.
Furthermore, a team of researchers studied 704 reef-building micro organisms and then rated them according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards of extinction risk. It was discovered that one-third of these species are at a threat for extinction, due to factors such as pollution, over-fishing and increased sea surface temperatures. And this in turn puts the coral reefs at a risk of extinction too.
OUT IN SPACE
In May, Nasa’s Phoenix Lander visited, for the first time ever, the polar region of Mars. However, it did not really find anything that could change the image of Mars as a “dead world.” In June, Swiss astronomer Michel Mayor got luckier than that — he discovered 45 exoplanets with extremely hot orbits.
MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Stem cell research is one of the most exciting and most controversial avenues of science. In July, researchers at Harvard and Columbia University generated the first motor neurons from stem cells in two elderly women with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS. The method they used did not require the use of embryos at all — instead, they simply built upon a technique developed in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka, a scientist in Kyoto University. This technique involved reprogramming a patient’s ordinary skin cells, causing it to behave like stem cells.
Later, these cells would be coaxed into the desired tissue-specific cells. This breakthrough means that scientists can now closely study the progress of ALS disease. This will enable them to suggest a more effective treatment for it.
Alzheimer’s disease is definitely a painful one, and there is no cure for it. However, 2008 witnessed the discovery of four new genes which emerged after a study of 1300 plus families. Although their exact role in Alzheimer’s is not known yet, researchers think they may contribute to the death of nerve cells. The newly identified genes may shed light on how to keep those nerves alive, something which may be an important target for future therapies.
All children and many adults hate receiving immunisation injections. There is good news for such children and their parents as a new vaccine Pentacel was discovered which will collectively immunise children from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and haemophilic influenza type B.
It has to be administered in four different doses and the toddlers who have received this injection so far have showed minor side effects like fever and swelling.
The above was by no means an exhaustive list. There were many milestones in the field of science and all of them have, in some way or another, contributed to make 2008 a remarkable year.
Here is a brief flashback of the major events that took place in the course of last year, which will surely have a much bigger impact in the years to come.
NATURAL DISASTERS
ReliefWeb’s listing of the natural disasters of 2008 illustrates that many countries were on the receiving end of nature’s wrath this year. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions took place all over the world.
The earthquake which caused the most damage hit Central China in May 2008, killing over 80,000 people and rendering 10 million people homeless (according to Reuters). CNN reported the earthquake as being the worst-ever in a generation. Measuring 7.9, the epicentre of the quake was Sichuan Province. Poor weather combined with equally poor logistics delayed the rescue and rehabilitation efforts. Moreover, the constant aftershocks triggered landslides as well, adding to the misery of the victims.
Pakistan, too, was not spared this year when it came to earthquakes. The Baluchistan province was hit by a 6.4 earthquake, followed by another one, again measuring 6.4. Over two hundred people lost their lives, while 120,000 were rendered homeless. Countries like Iran and the island of Simeulue, in Indonesia, were also hit by very powerful earthquake. Volcanic eruptions happened in Chile and Columbia.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
Thanks to UC Berkeley, the Invisibility Cloak has an existence outside the world of Harry Potter. The university scientists used nanowire grown inside a porous aluminium tube to create a sheeting 10 times thinner than a piece of paper. Once an object was wrapped in this sheet, it would be invisible in light. Now this is something a lot of people would love to get their hands on!
When it comes to security systems, face recognition technologies are invaluable. Till now these technologies were not 100 per cent accurate because of variations in the images that were captured. This year, R. Jenkins and A. M. Burton from the University of Glasgow, discovered that if the camera captures multiple images of the same individual and produces an average image of sorts, the result would be more accurate than when only one image was captured.
As the price hike of petrol continues the world over, there is an increasing emphasis on discovering new ways in which fuels can be generated. The latest means on the block through which it can be done is sugar. A group of researchers discovered there is a process whereby sugar from plant biomass can be converted into liquid transportation fuel. Now this is surely a sweet way to travel!
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
It is disheartening to note that the call to “go green” still has not found commercial backing.
This year, researchers David B. Lobell, Marshall B. Burke, Claudia Tebaldi, Michael D. Mastrandrea, Walter P. Falcon and Rosamond L. Naylor combined statistical crop models with global climate projections for 2030 to analyse the risks of crops in 12 regions across the world. These 12 regions are already home to malnourished populations.
And the results of this research indicate that there is a possibility of a harmful impact on crops in the regions of South Asia and South America. On a more heartening note, a team of researchers discovered that high levels of carbon dioxide, which increase ocean acidification, do NOT decrease the process of calcification by marina organisms, as was previously thought. And a pressure of carbon dioxide actually increases this process, thus increasing the production of calcium carbonate.
Some disturbing findings, with regard to global warming also came to light. It was discovered that as the world climate becomes warmer, the solubility of oxygen in ocean water will significantly decrease. This will spell disaster for marine organisms and, eventually, for those on land.
Furthermore, a team of researchers studied 704 reef-building micro organisms and then rated them according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards of extinction risk. It was discovered that one-third of these species are at a threat for extinction, due to factors such as pollution, over-fishing and increased sea surface temperatures. And this in turn puts the coral reefs at a risk of extinction too.
OUT IN SPACE
In May, Nasa’s Phoenix Lander visited, for the first time ever, the polar region of Mars. However, it did not really find anything that could change the image of Mars as a “dead world.” In June, Swiss astronomer Michel Mayor got luckier than that — he discovered 45 exoplanets with extremely hot orbits.
MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Stem cell research is one of the most exciting and most controversial avenues of science. In July, researchers at Harvard and Columbia University generated the first motor neurons from stem cells in two elderly women with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS. The method they used did not require the use of embryos at all — instead, they simply built upon a technique developed in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka, a scientist in Kyoto University. This technique involved reprogramming a patient’s ordinary skin cells, causing it to behave like stem cells.
Later, these cells would be coaxed into the desired tissue-specific cells. This breakthrough means that scientists can now closely study the progress of ALS disease. This will enable them to suggest a more effective treatment for it.
Alzheimer’s disease is definitely a painful one, and there is no cure for it. However, 2008 witnessed the discovery of four new genes which emerged after a study of 1300 plus families. Although their exact role in Alzheimer’s is not known yet, researchers think they may contribute to the death of nerve cells. The newly identified genes may shed light on how to keep those nerves alive, something which may be an important target for future therapies.
All children and many adults hate receiving immunisation injections. There is good news for such children and their parents as a new vaccine Pentacel was discovered which will collectively immunise children from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and haemophilic influenza type B.
It has to be administered in four different doses and the toddlers who have received this injection so far have showed minor side effects like fever and swelling.
The above was by no means an exhaustive list. There were many milestones in the field of science and all of them have, in some way or another, contributed to make 2008 a remarkable year.
The Digi Life
Science and technology have made so much headway that we can’t live without them anymore.
IT has now become a household entity rather than a mysterious force, as it was considered in the medieval times. Science and technology has drastically changed our lives — for better or for worse — but we still have people who have trouble getting used to the new things technology has introduced in our lives.
Well, in our part of the world the youth is very comfortable with the latest gadgets and digital devices that older folks are unaware of even in this period of globalisation and mass production. When a baby is just a few months old, his parents try to calm him down by showing him the beeping light of their cell phone or by ringing the melodious ring tones. As the baby grows old, he knows exactly what a cellphone does. But his poor grandparents do not even know how to unlock the keypad. They usually curse science for making their lives miserable.
Our life has now become digital, while our elders find it hard to struggle as they were born and raised in a manually operated world. For them, a ringing cellphone has to be taken to someone who knows how to receive the call, and send/receive the messages. There are still people who type on a typewriter and cannot be made to enjoy the comforts of Microsoft Word. They defend their choice by saying that a typewriter works even if there is no electricity.
When VCRs became a household commodity in the early ’80’s, children taught their elders how to insert the cassette into the player and how to play, forward, rewind and stop the movie. Then, as technology evolved, VCRs were replaced by CD players and cassettes were substituted by CDs. Again the refresher courses were conducted by children for the adults.
Then science and technology brought personal computers that became the fourth most important necessity after food, clothing and shelter. Telegrams and airmails have been converted into emails, voice mails and SMSs, and life has become as easy as it can get.
Technology has certainly evolved, but it has become a continuous headache for its users, especially for those who read a user’s manual before everything. Technology has invaded our minds and it surely has gotten onto our nerves. You switch off your cellphone for half an hour and you start thinking of all the phone calls that are being missed and all the messages you are not able to read.
Talking about technology getting on our nerves leads me to discuss the irritating evolution of technology. Advancements, growth and change are always good, it is always for the better, but definitely not when you are working on Microsoft Word 2007. When a user of MS Word XP cannot cope up with using MS Word 2007, then how can this poor guy work on it who writes 10 words per minute?
I have been working on MS Word for the past six years and when I first saw MS Word 2007, it felt as if I was working on some alien software with far superior technology than the humans have.
The menu and formatting bar are intermingled, no options drag down and you have to painstakingly adjust your eyes to this new format before doing any work on it. Technology has evolved for sure, but this kind of evolution is a real pain in the neck.
I remember the time when we only used the internet to surf and email. But today, there are so many things that one does on the internet. The long lists of rituals that one does start off with checking of the email. First it is Hotmail, then Yahoo!, then Yahoo.co.uk, then Gmail and then it is Hotmail just in case a new mail dropped in. Then you go to Orkut, post a few scraps, reply to some and browse through profiles and communities.
After that, you go to Facebook, write on Walls, update your Facebook Status, post your latest pictures, edit your profile and roam around a bit. Then you again go to Gmail and Yahoo! just to make sure no new mails have arrived.
Lastly, if there is no other site you are interested in, you check on YouTube to see what’s new that will perk you up. And then so as not to miss out on anything that might have dropped into you mail accounts, you open your Hotmail again, and, while at it, you also check on the Gmail account one more time. We have all become digital maniacs and have a common disease called “obsessive digital compulsive scientific disorder” (ODCSD).
Frankly speaking, the youth and the digitally attuned are also confused by this rapid evolution. There are new terminologies and jargons that people use, which no one understands but has become a part of our life, culture, tradition and whatever.
IT has now become a household entity rather than a mysterious force, as it was considered in the medieval times. Science and technology has drastically changed our lives — for better or for worse — but we still have people who have trouble getting used to the new things technology has introduced in our lives.
Well, in our part of the world the youth is very comfortable with the latest gadgets and digital devices that older folks are unaware of even in this period of globalisation and mass production. When a baby is just a few months old, his parents try to calm him down by showing him the beeping light of their cell phone or by ringing the melodious ring tones. As the baby grows old, he knows exactly what a cellphone does. But his poor grandparents do not even know how to unlock the keypad. They usually curse science for making their lives miserable.
Our life has now become digital, while our elders find it hard to struggle as they were born and raised in a manually operated world. For them, a ringing cellphone has to be taken to someone who knows how to receive the call, and send/receive the messages. There are still people who type on a typewriter and cannot be made to enjoy the comforts of Microsoft Word. They defend their choice by saying that a typewriter works even if there is no electricity.
When VCRs became a household commodity in the early ’80’s, children taught their elders how to insert the cassette into the player and how to play, forward, rewind and stop the movie. Then, as technology evolved, VCRs were replaced by CD players and cassettes were substituted by CDs. Again the refresher courses were conducted by children for the adults.
Then science and technology brought personal computers that became the fourth most important necessity after food, clothing and shelter. Telegrams and airmails have been converted into emails, voice mails and SMSs, and life has become as easy as it can get.
Technology has certainly evolved, but it has become a continuous headache for its users, especially for those who read a user’s manual before everything. Technology has invaded our minds and it surely has gotten onto our nerves. You switch off your cellphone for half an hour and you start thinking of all the phone calls that are being missed and all the messages you are not able to read.
Talking about technology getting on our nerves leads me to discuss the irritating evolution of technology. Advancements, growth and change are always good, it is always for the better, but definitely not when you are working on Microsoft Word 2007. When a user of MS Word XP cannot cope up with using MS Word 2007, then how can this poor guy work on it who writes 10 words per minute?
I have been working on MS Word for the past six years and when I first saw MS Word 2007, it felt as if I was working on some alien software with far superior technology than the humans have.
The menu and formatting bar are intermingled, no options drag down and you have to painstakingly adjust your eyes to this new format before doing any work on it. Technology has evolved for sure, but this kind of evolution is a real pain in the neck.
I remember the time when we only used the internet to surf and email. But today, there are so many things that one does on the internet. The long lists of rituals that one does start off with checking of the email. First it is Hotmail, then Yahoo!, then Yahoo.co.uk, then Gmail and then it is Hotmail just in case a new mail dropped in. Then you go to Orkut, post a few scraps, reply to some and browse through profiles and communities.
After that, you go to Facebook, write on Walls, update your Facebook Status, post your latest pictures, edit your profile and roam around a bit. Then you again go to Gmail and Yahoo! just to make sure no new mails have arrived.
Lastly, if there is no other site you are interested in, you check on YouTube to see what’s new that will perk you up. And then so as not to miss out on anything that might have dropped into you mail accounts, you open your Hotmail again, and, while at it, you also check on the Gmail account one more time. We have all become digital maniacs and have a common disease called “obsessive digital compulsive scientific disorder” (ODCSD).
Frankly speaking, the youth and the digitally attuned are also confused by this rapid evolution. There are new terminologies and jargons that people use, which no one understands but has become a part of our life, culture, tradition and whatever.
Embarking On An Energy Age
Pakistan’s large coal reserves can play a pivotal role in overcoming our energy shortage, write M. Afzal Ghauri and Rizwan Haider
Energy policies tend to develop the basic infrastructure for energy development in terms of efficient and secured energy production, distribution and consumption in any country.
Pakistan has been facing intense energy shortage that has not only damaged our socio-economic structures, but has also been the source of mental anguish for everyone. According to some estimates, it is feared that by 2010 the gap between demand and supply could reach up to 8,000 megawatts (MW).
The ‘worst’ crisis in the energy sector seems to have become a permanent fixture. BP Review of World Energy for year 2007 reveals 58.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) as the primary energy consumption for the year of 2007. During the last 10 years, Pakistan has faced 25 per cent increase in primary energy consumption. The share of two fuel options, natural gas and coal, in our energy mix is very low due to a lack of focus, or will, to rely on alternate means. Natural gas is being transmuted into worthless carbon dioxide and smoke, instead of being used in fostering the chemical industry.
On the other hand, coal is also neglected which has a share of almost eight per cent in the energy mix despite the fact that Pakistan has 185 billion tonnes of coal reserves. Another bizarre fact about energy mix is the share of oil that is 30 per cent for which 80 per cent of the demand is met through imports.
The total capacity of installed electricity of Pakistan is 19,450 MW in which the shares of hydel, thermal and nuclear are 33.4 per cent, 64.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. In case of thermal power, we are 99 per cent dependent on oil and natural gas, while the share of coal is only one per cent. This is because short-term policies are simply made keeping just one factor in mind – an easy availability of energy source.
The phrase energy policy is not well-known to most people in Pakistan because this aspect has never been worked out and if it has, then not properly. Serious steps are needed for our survival by determining the national energy policy comprising real time elements which should focus on generating energy at lower costs.
Therefore, as an element of national energy policy, the enhanced share of coal in the energy mix is suggested. However, sadly, we cannot apply coal immediately in energy setups because of its high sulphur content. Fortunately, advanced desulphurisation technologies like bio-desulphurisation have succeeded in shattering the interconnection of coal use and sulphur oxide emissions and, expertise are available in Pakistan, too. In this regard, a national coal commission should be established, comprising scientists and engineers who should determine the applicable viability of various ways of the utilisation of indigenous reserves of coal in Pakistan.
Eventually, coal, rather just the efficient utilisation of indigenous coal, can provide us with energy security and we can thus get rid of the persistent energy shortage. Coal as a source of energy has been neglected for long and it is time coal is made to play a pivotal role in the economy of Pakistan.
Energy policies tend to develop the basic infrastructure for energy development in terms of efficient and secured energy production, distribution and consumption in any country.
Pakistan has been facing intense energy shortage that has not only damaged our socio-economic structures, but has also been the source of mental anguish for everyone. According to some estimates, it is feared that by 2010 the gap between demand and supply could reach up to 8,000 megawatts (MW).
The ‘worst’ crisis in the energy sector seems to have become a permanent fixture. BP Review of World Energy for year 2007 reveals 58.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) as the primary energy consumption for the year of 2007. During the last 10 years, Pakistan has faced 25 per cent increase in primary energy consumption. The share of two fuel options, natural gas and coal, in our energy mix is very low due to a lack of focus, or will, to rely on alternate means. Natural gas is being transmuted into worthless carbon dioxide and smoke, instead of being used in fostering the chemical industry.
On the other hand, coal is also neglected which has a share of almost eight per cent in the energy mix despite the fact that Pakistan has 185 billion tonnes of coal reserves. Another bizarre fact about energy mix is the share of oil that is 30 per cent for which 80 per cent of the demand is met through imports.
The total capacity of installed electricity of Pakistan is 19,450 MW in which the shares of hydel, thermal and nuclear are 33.4 per cent, 64.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. In case of thermal power, we are 99 per cent dependent on oil and natural gas, while the share of coal is only one per cent. This is because short-term policies are simply made keeping just one factor in mind – an easy availability of energy source.
The phrase energy policy is not well-known to most people in Pakistan because this aspect has never been worked out and if it has, then not properly. Serious steps are needed for our survival by determining the national energy policy comprising real time elements which should focus on generating energy at lower costs.
Therefore, as an element of national energy policy, the enhanced share of coal in the energy mix is suggested. However, sadly, we cannot apply coal immediately in energy setups because of its high sulphur content. Fortunately, advanced desulphurisation technologies like bio-desulphurisation have succeeded in shattering the interconnection of coal use and sulphur oxide emissions and, expertise are available in Pakistan, too. In this regard, a national coal commission should be established, comprising scientists and engineers who should determine the applicable viability of various ways of the utilisation of indigenous reserves of coal in Pakistan.
Eventually, coal, rather just the efficient utilisation of indigenous coal, can provide us with energy security and we can thus get rid of the persistent energy shortage. Coal as a source of energy has been neglected for long and it is time coal is made to play a pivotal role in the economy of Pakistan.
Flu Clues
The avian influenza vaccine has been quite helpful in preventing the disease in poultry flocks. But while vaccination is one of the key tools employed to control an AI outbreak, it is not the sole approach towards its control, write Dr Shahan Azeem and Dr Muhammad Akram Muneer
Winter conjures up images and memories of warm cosy rooms, soups, peanuts, woollen clothing and misty mornings. But, like many things in life, along with numerous delights, winter also comes with its peculiar inconveniences.
Closed doors and windows, for example, cause the indoor environment, more appropriately the microclimate of a home, to become precipitated with germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.,) that can infect humans. That is why if one member of the family catches any type of flu, others soon become infected too. Another reason for the flu virus to survive and thrive in winters is the low environmental temperature. These factors also play a part in the high prevalence of avian influenza (AI) in poultry.
AI is an infectious orthomyxoviral infection caused by multiple serotypes of the virus that have the potential to infect humans, pigs, cats, horses, mink, marine mammals and poultry.
THE VIRUS
Avian influenza virions are typically spherical to pleomorphic and filamentous in shape, usually ranging between 80-120 nm. The virus possesses two surface glyco-proteins — rod-shaped trimers of hemagglutinin (HA) and mushroom-shaped tetramers of neuraminidase (NA).
A virus can be divided into subtypes on the basis of the possession of one of the 16 (1-16) antigenically distinct HA antigens and one of the 9 (1-9) neuraminidase antigens. The infectivity of an influenza virus depends on the cleavage of HA by specific host proteases (enzymes responsible for viral protein cleavage), while its NA is involved in the release of progeny virions from the infected cell surface. Another role of the NA protein of AI virus is to prevent clumping of the newly-formed viruses.
Virulent AI strains which cause a systemic disease have an HA that is cleaved by proteases present in all body cells of the host, on the other hand low pathogenic AI (LPAI) strains have an HA that is cleaved by the proteases restricted to respiratory and intestinal tract.
The influenza virus genome consists of eight segments of single-stranded, negative sense RNA. Fortunately, the flu virus is relatively unstable in the environment and is destroyed in 30 minutes at 60°C or in three hours at 56°C, hence it is easily destroyed by boiling or during cooking. It is inactivated by commonly employed disinfectants such as formalin, sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and iodine compounds.
VIRUS MUTATION
The re-assortment of the gene segments referred to as antigenic shift is a regular feature of influenza A viruses, resulting in the emergence of novel virus subtypes, leading to pandemics. The annual epidemics, however, are due to evolution of the surface antigens of influenza A and B viruses as a result of point mutation(s) in gene(s), a phenomenon known as antigenic drift.
AVIAN INFLUENZA IN POULTRY IN PAKISTAN
In poultry, AI due to H7N3 virus was first diagnosed in Pakistan in 1994. The disease outbreaks were associated with high mortality, morbidity and growth and production losses mainly in the laying broilers breeder chickens. Subsequently, in March 2001, AI viruses were again identified in chickens at farms 200km southwest of Islamabad. The affected population was layers, broilers and broilers breeder chickens.
Approximately 75 per cent of the population at those farms indicated mortality between 20 and 85 per cent. The isolates obtained through flock sampling were H9N2 and H7N3 AI type viruses occurring alone or in combination with Newcastle disease viruses. Both HPAI and LPAI forms of H7N3 virus are known to infect poultry.
During March 2003, another epidemic of H7N3 avian influenza was recorded, which caused heavy mortality in the commercial layers of various farms in the Karachi area. This AI outbreak was quite severe in the commercial layer flocks which were at the peak of egg production. The infection of avian influenza H9N2, however, continued in Karachi and its adjoining areas. The professionals working at various research laboratories purified the isolate from morbid tissues and developed a vaccine which provided satisfactory protection against the field virus in the inoculates. Till now, the major serotypes of the AI virus isolated from outbreaks in breeder and commercial laying and broiler flocks in Pakistan were characterised as H7N3, H7N2 and H9N2. But from 2006 onwards the H5N1 virus infection has also been reported at poultry farms in NWFP, Punjab and Sindh.
Inactivated AI H7N3, H9N2 and H5N1 virus vaccination is currently being inoculated to immunise poultry. The use of vaccine has been quite helpful in preventing the clinical disease in poultry flocks. While vaccination is one of the key tools employed to control an AI outbreak, it is not the sole approach towards its control.
ZOONOTIC SIGNIFICANCE:
The first documented direct transmission of an AIV to humans was reported in Hong Kong in 1997. The H5N1 virus had caused a severe respiratory illness in 18 young adults, six of them died. In 1999, avian influenza H9N2 viruses were isolated for the first time from humans. Two children were hospitalised with uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection in Hong Kong. However, both completely recovered from illness.
In 2003, two influenza cases in Hong Kong residents who had travelled to China were confirmed, one of the patients died. An outbreak of H7N7 avian influenza was also recorded in poultry farms in the Netherlands, the same year. A veterinarian who had visited an affected poultry farm died with signs of pneumonia. In the Netherlands in 2003, three family members of a farm worker were tested as infected with H7N7 virus, indicating its potential for human-to-human infection.
In February 2004, another outbreak of H7N7 avian influenza virus was recorded on a poultry farm in British Columbia, Canada, and resulted in at least 05 human infections, mainly conjunctivitis. Currently the H5N1 AI virus outbreaks have been observed in poultry in many Asian countries. In December 2003, a number of human H5N1 infection cases were reported from Vietnam and Thailand, and the mortality due to this infection was up to 70 per cent.
It is pertinent to mention here that World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed a total of 387 human cases due to H5N1 virus, of which 245 have died. Furthermore, in Pakistan, WHO (2008) reported three human cases of which one person died. Care should be exercised while handling live poultry or poultry meat.
Information available on avian influenza virus (AIV), its mutagenic and zoonotic nature implies implementation of proper precautionary measures (clothing and procedures) by poultry farm workers, live poultry handlers, raw chicken meat handlers, culling staff, veterinarians etc., while handling live suspected poultry, its meat or eggs.
Keeping in view the zoonotic nature of influenza virus following guidelines are issued to avoid public health hazard.
GUIDELINES FOR POULTRY/EGG CONSUMERS
1. Only healthy poultry meat be purchased, in case you prefer meat from freshly slaughtered birds.
2. If you chose to slaughter a chicken at home, dispose of the feathers, intestines and non-required organs properly. Preferably disinfect and bury such organs deep in the soil or burn them. Always wash the slaughtering knife, your overalls, hands and floor used for slaughtering with soap and clean water, followed by a disinfectant.
3. Clean the meat thoroughly and pack it properly in case you want to freeze it for future use.
4. Keep a separate knife to cut poultry meat. Clean the knife after use with a disinfectant or household detergent. Wash your hands thoroughly with a detergent/soap using clean water for at least 30-60 seconds.
5. Since the AIVs are killed well below boiling point, the fully cooked poultry meat is safe for consumption.
6. Similarly, the fully fried/boiled eggs can also be consumed without hesitation.
7. In case you see a dead bird (wild, domestic or fancy), report it to a government veterinarian.
AI CONTROL STRATEGIES
At poultry farms following measures, if properly employed, will help in the prevention of AI:
1. Awareness of poultry farmers, workers and market personnel about the infectious nature of the virus, influenza signs, reporting of cases, labs carrying out confirmatory tests, etc.
2. Implementation of proper bio-security measures at poultry farms.
3. Proper disposal of carcasses, disinfection of farm premises and water supplies, vermin control and protection of poultry sheds from wild birds and wild animals, etc.
4. Vaccination of poultry flocks against prevailing AI virus types can be helpful as a part of an overall control strategy.
5. Strict adherence to personnel hygiene practices.
Winter conjures up images and memories of warm cosy rooms, soups, peanuts, woollen clothing and misty mornings. But, like many things in life, along with numerous delights, winter also comes with its peculiar inconveniences.
Closed doors and windows, for example, cause the indoor environment, more appropriately the microclimate of a home, to become precipitated with germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.,) that can infect humans. That is why if one member of the family catches any type of flu, others soon become infected too. Another reason for the flu virus to survive and thrive in winters is the low environmental temperature. These factors also play a part in the high prevalence of avian influenza (AI) in poultry.
AI is an infectious orthomyxoviral infection caused by multiple serotypes of the virus that have the potential to infect humans, pigs, cats, horses, mink, marine mammals and poultry.
THE VIRUS
Avian influenza virions are typically spherical to pleomorphic and filamentous in shape, usually ranging between 80-120 nm. The virus possesses two surface glyco-proteins — rod-shaped trimers of hemagglutinin (HA) and mushroom-shaped tetramers of neuraminidase (NA).
A virus can be divided into subtypes on the basis of the possession of one of the 16 (1-16) antigenically distinct HA antigens and one of the 9 (1-9) neuraminidase antigens. The infectivity of an influenza virus depends on the cleavage of HA by specific host proteases (enzymes responsible for viral protein cleavage), while its NA is involved in the release of progeny virions from the infected cell surface. Another role of the NA protein of AI virus is to prevent clumping of the newly-formed viruses.
Virulent AI strains which cause a systemic disease have an HA that is cleaved by proteases present in all body cells of the host, on the other hand low pathogenic AI (LPAI) strains have an HA that is cleaved by the proteases restricted to respiratory and intestinal tract.
The influenza virus genome consists of eight segments of single-stranded, negative sense RNA. Fortunately, the flu virus is relatively unstable in the environment and is destroyed in 30 minutes at 60°C or in three hours at 56°C, hence it is easily destroyed by boiling or during cooking. It is inactivated by commonly employed disinfectants such as formalin, sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and iodine compounds.
VIRUS MUTATION
The re-assortment of the gene segments referred to as antigenic shift is a regular feature of influenza A viruses, resulting in the emergence of novel virus subtypes, leading to pandemics. The annual epidemics, however, are due to evolution of the surface antigens of influenza A and B viruses as a result of point mutation(s) in gene(s), a phenomenon known as antigenic drift.
AVIAN INFLUENZA IN POULTRY IN PAKISTAN
In poultry, AI due to H7N3 virus was first diagnosed in Pakistan in 1994. The disease outbreaks were associated with high mortality, morbidity and growth and production losses mainly in the laying broilers breeder chickens. Subsequently, in March 2001, AI viruses were again identified in chickens at farms 200km southwest of Islamabad. The affected population was layers, broilers and broilers breeder chickens.
Approximately 75 per cent of the population at those farms indicated mortality between 20 and 85 per cent. The isolates obtained through flock sampling were H9N2 and H7N3 AI type viruses occurring alone or in combination with Newcastle disease viruses. Both HPAI and LPAI forms of H7N3 virus are known to infect poultry.
During March 2003, another epidemic of H7N3 avian influenza was recorded, which caused heavy mortality in the commercial layers of various farms in the Karachi area. This AI outbreak was quite severe in the commercial layer flocks which were at the peak of egg production. The infection of avian influenza H9N2, however, continued in Karachi and its adjoining areas. The professionals working at various research laboratories purified the isolate from morbid tissues and developed a vaccine which provided satisfactory protection against the field virus in the inoculates. Till now, the major serotypes of the AI virus isolated from outbreaks in breeder and commercial laying and broiler flocks in Pakistan were characterised as H7N3, H7N2 and H9N2. But from 2006 onwards the H5N1 virus infection has also been reported at poultry farms in NWFP, Punjab and Sindh.
Inactivated AI H7N3, H9N2 and H5N1 virus vaccination is currently being inoculated to immunise poultry. The use of vaccine has been quite helpful in preventing the clinical disease in poultry flocks. While vaccination is one of the key tools employed to control an AI outbreak, it is not the sole approach towards its control.
ZOONOTIC SIGNIFICANCE:
The first documented direct transmission of an AIV to humans was reported in Hong Kong in 1997. The H5N1 virus had caused a severe respiratory illness in 18 young adults, six of them died. In 1999, avian influenza H9N2 viruses were isolated for the first time from humans. Two children were hospitalised with uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection in Hong Kong. However, both completely recovered from illness.
In 2003, two influenza cases in Hong Kong residents who had travelled to China were confirmed, one of the patients died. An outbreak of H7N7 avian influenza was also recorded in poultry farms in the Netherlands, the same year. A veterinarian who had visited an affected poultry farm died with signs of pneumonia. In the Netherlands in 2003, three family members of a farm worker were tested as infected with H7N7 virus, indicating its potential for human-to-human infection.
In February 2004, another outbreak of H7N7 avian influenza virus was recorded on a poultry farm in British Columbia, Canada, and resulted in at least 05 human infections, mainly conjunctivitis. Currently the H5N1 AI virus outbreaks have been observed in poultry in many Asian countries. In December 2003, a number of human H5N1 infection cases were reported from Vietnam and Thailand, and the mortality due to this infection was up to 70 per cent.
It is pertinent to mention here that World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed a total of 387 human cases due to H5N1 virus, of which 245 have died. Furthermore, in Pakistan, WHO (2008) reported three human cases of which one person died. Care should be exercised while handling live poultry or poultry meat.
Information available on avian influenza virus (AIV), its mutagenic and zoonotic nature implies implementation of proper precautionary measures (clothing and procedures) by poultry farm workers, live poultry handlers, raw chicken meat handlers, culling staff, veterinarians etc., while handling live suspected poultry, its meat or eggs.
Keeping in view the zoonotic nature of influenza virus following guidelines are issued to avoid public health hazard.
GUIDELINES FOR POULTRY/EGG CONSUMERS
1. Only healthy poultry meat be purchased, in case you prefer meat from freshly slaughtered birds.
2. If you chose to slaughter a chicken at home, dispose of the feathers, intestines and non-required organs properly. Preferably disinfect and bury such organs deep in the soil or burn them. Always wash the slaughtering knife, your overalls, hands and floor used for slaughtering with soap and clean water, followed by a disinfectant.
3. Clean the meat thoroughly and pack it properly in case you want to freeze it for future use.
4. Keep a separate knife to cut poultry meat. Clean the knife after use with a disinfectant or household detergent. Wash your hands thoroughly with a detergent/soap using clean water for at least 30-60 seconds.
5. Since the AIVs are killed well below boiling point, the fully cooked poultry meat is safe for consumption.
6. Similarly, the fully fried/boiled eggs can also be consumed without hesitation.
7. In case you see a dead bird (wild, domestic or fancy), report it to a government veterinarian.
AI CONTROL STRATEGIES
At poultry farms following measures, if properly employed, will help in the prevention of AI:
1. Awareness of poultry farmers, workers and market personnel about the infectious nature of the virus, influenza signs, reporting of cases, labs carrying out confirmatory tests, etc.
2. Implementation of proper bio-security measures at poultry farms.
3. Proper disposal of carcasses, disinfection of farm premises and water supplies, vermin control and protection of poultry sheds from wild birds and wild animals, etc.
4. Vaccination of poultry flocks against prevailing AI virus types can be helpful as a part of an overall control strategy.
5. Strict adherence to personnel hygiene practices.
Unleash The Power Of Digital Signage
These are signs of changing times and they are everywhere. Banks, retail stores, exhibitions, malls, airports, restaurants — digital signage is being mounted at all these places. Enter the world where flat screens offer high-quality, value-added marketing content.
Digital signage is a broad term used to describe the integration of a variety of technologies, including software, that culminate in a single end result — a unique and powerful communications medium that provides unparalleled opportunities for marketers to capture audience's attention, educate and inform, build brands, improve customer experiences and drive sales through the use of digitally powered signs (such as plasma display panels, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), kiosk stations (such as ATMs, computer monitors and normal televisions) to replace and enhance traditional media such as posters, outdoor billboards, etc. The concept has been around for some time, but now digital signage is fully coming into its own since the days of the dot matrix display boards, the first usage of this technology.
AN ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATE
Digital signage is now a viable and affordable alternative to traditional printed signage because the prices of display hardware have tumbled. Thus this new medium of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) (also known as out-of-home advertising, in-store TV, captive audience TV, digital signage or dynamic digital display) looks set to offer advertisers one of the most targeted and powerful ways of reaching consumers. The type of content on this type of signage can vary. Pakistani marketers looking to improving the effectiveness of their marketing communication are fast replacing the static point-of-sale signage, especially in today’s multimedia world, where it doesn’t have the POP! it used to.
Aside from content such as TV ads, messaging on DOOH can also provide a website address, mobile number or even an IVR, which, when dialled, provides a pre-recorded message specific to the ad display location for exhibit, product or other information. DOOH can also be made interactive with sensors, touch-screens and other interactive devices which can be installed alongside these displays, allowing content to respond when consumers pass by. This enables the customer to fully engage in the communications experience, and this also provides valuable marketing data.
DYNAMIC DIMENSIONS
There are several dimensions of this technology, including comprehensive control over how, when and where your messages are delivered, based on the location or time of the day. This is called narrowcasting. Narrowcasting involves streaming specific data to specific audiences as opposed to traditional broadcasting, which targets a great swath of general viewers.
Digital advertising makes it possible to present messages on multiple DOOH displays through eye-catching dynamic content targeted by demographic, psychographic and geographic specifications, besides other customer-defined business rules such as the time of day, store zone, etc. Since the content can be changed or updated at any time from a remote computer containing the solution's administration software, the displays are designed to show product information to consumers with the hope of encouraging sales that would not normally occur according to consumer's traditional shopping patterns e.g., on a given day, different ads for a clothing store might be presented to reach the young people between 18-25 year olds through displays at bus shelters, coffee shops, on campus, in food courts, petrol stations, bank machines and in malls, depending on the time of the day they are likely to be there in large numbers.
This kind of specific targeting allows a marketer to communicate their message to the audience at critical junctures and cuts down the total spending on ads. The greatest strength, however, of digital signage lies in its immediacy. Digital signage enables “speed to messaging”, “faster time to market” and communications flexibility when content creation, composition, management, transport and presentation are all done digitally.
Digital signage allows you to run purpose-built, meaningful content that can be managed to meet the consumer experience
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This allows the cost-effective re-purposing of ads across media platforms, since digital signage networks are largely automated and remotely controlled. This enables the launching of new communications campaigns with zero courier costs, no on-site personnel requirements and total security. Thus digital signs can literally be reprogrammed with the latest advertising campaign, price change or public message at the click of a mouse button. One mouse click and thousands of screens update automatically.
This also has the benefit of eliminating out-of-date messages to increase relevancy of messages for the consumer - no more posters or messages from last month’s campaign fluttering around. In the future, these signs will also be able to influence inventory and supply chain by promoting products that are in an over-supply and cutting off promotions of products that are out of stock at that location. Targeted, informative content that changes behaviour, such is the power that every marketer dreams of.
Also, since DOOH presents digital messages at the point-of-purchase, it brings “the power of place” (how our surroundings shape our thoughts, emotions, and actions) to life. There is currently no other medium which makes it possible to deliver compelling content at the right location at the right time for maximum impact, for example it is a known fact that over 75 per cent of buying decisions are made at the point of purchase (Source: POPAI). Setting up a digital signage at a shopping mall or retail outlet can influence purchasing right where it’s about to happen. This is what sets digital signage apart from traditional media. It allows you to run purpose-built, meaningful content that can be managed to meet the consumer experience.
DOOH also has been reported to increase customer dwell time. Dwell time is the period during which a dynamic process remains halted in order that another process may occur, e.g. a person stops to glance over at a range of biscuits in a super market. Retail studies have shown that the longer the dwell time, the higher the number of sales.
The use of DOOH has also been reported to enhance the customer experience through value-added ‘edutainment’. In waiting rooms, e.g., such as the doctor’s office, pharmacies, railway stations or banks, these displays reduce perceived wait time. People really enjoy watching the educational programming on these displays and believe that the time spent was less than it really was improving customer satisfaction.
SETTING IT UP
Setting up a basic signage is as simple as plugging a DVD player and a DVD with your ad into a display console and putting it up in a shop. However, for a proper DOOH, the components needed for a digital signage system include: an authoring console equipped with content management software, allowing the playback of content in a variety of playback formats, a server to which finished content is uploaded and from where it is distributed to the different displays of the network, a distribution infrastructure consisting of a data network or fibre optic or CAT5 cable which broadcasts media from the server to the displays and digital signage displays which can be plasma displays, LCD monitors, CRT monitors or kiosk stations.
The distribution infrastructure is perhaps the most important part of digital signage, and choosing the correct distribution technology is a crucial element of any digital signage project. To date, the most common distribution infrastructure in Pakistan has been the data network platform, most commonly seen in the top retail stores of the country.
A data network platform uses a computer network infrastructure in order to transmit content in the form of compressed multimedia files (such as MPEG files) from the management station to the central server and from there to the computer connected to the display device. The central server handles distribution to multiple displays and the display-end computer decompresses the file for display on the display device. This solution requires a dedicated CPU in every single display device deployed.
While offering better approaches and new paradigms of message targeting, DOOH is typically sold on a rental basis. Thus the technology’s inherent capabilities for message targeting combined with attractive rates make DOOH attractive, providing high return on marketing investment. And the best part of it all is that marketers can maximize display value with measurable effectiveness, tallying sales data to the message that was being run on these screens.
GETTING NOTICED
The greatest interest in digital signage today is from the banking, telecom and retail sectors, although it does have other uses in healthcare, education and other displays of information, e.g. an average retail store has a footfall of over 500 people per day who can watch these ads and the preliminary results of studies by local major players show that a dynamic content’s impact is higher than that of static media on these locations. So it’s no surprise that the potential for this technology is huge.
Telecom franchises number well over 1600 alone, there are over 5000 high-end retail shops where this technology can be deployed and high-end banking branches number well over 4500.
As one of the suppliers and pioneers in this field, 3M Pakistan is currently assessing the potential of bringing this technology into Pakistan. They’ve already launched one of the components of DOOH amongst their range of products, Vikuiti, which is a range of projection display components. Vikuiti has been tested at over 50 locations in Pakistan so far and have been proven to be an excellent choice, surpassing the metrics of reach, frequency and recall over static media. Within one year of its introduction Vikuiti has already hit the targeted numbers for this market and is growing fast, slowly converting the POS market in Pakistan.
According to Dr Hugh Philips, a cognitive psychologist, human beings “select” or “de-select” what they notice based on the relevance of what is presented. That being the case, motion video and animation coming and going on a dynamic display has a high probability of being seen, and relevant or interesting messages can then fulfil the objectives. The numbers are already promising. Viewers are five to 10 times more likely to notice and recall dynamic media than static media (Source: POPAI).
It's a high-definition world, and today's time-starved consumers demand more from their experiences, thus using digital signage can make for happier and more energised customers. With its superior ability to target specific messages towards defined audiences and get noticed, digital signage offers unparalleled opportunities to anyone wanting to capture the ever fragmented audiences’ attention, educate and inform people, build brands and drive sales and profitability.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL SIGNAGE
• Reaches defined audiences
• Targeted messaging
> Target your messages by screen, location, time or day
> Enables tactical marketing by audience segment
• Captures audience attention
> Increases message impact through eye-catching dynamic content
> Enhances the customer’s experience through value-added ‘edutainment’
> Increases customer dwell time and reduces perceived wait time
• Speed and immediacy of message change
> Reduces time and cost to produce and deploy new messages
> Eliminates out-of-date messages to increase relevancy of messages
• Ensures local compliance with auditable playback
> Automated playback with no human interaction
> Compare proof-of-play reports to sales data
• Maximises display value with measurable effectiveness
> Creates content schedules containing multiple messages per signage asset
> Easily tests different message executions and assesses the impact of each
By Umair Mohsin
Digital signage is a broad term used to describe the integration of a variety of technologies, including software, that culminate in a single end result — a unique and powerful communications medium that provides unparalleled opportunities for marketers to capture audience's attention, educate and inform, build brands, improve customer experiences and drive sales through the use of digitally powered signs (such as plasma display panels, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), kiosk stations (such as ATMs, computer monitors and normal televisions) to replace and enhance traditional media such as posters, outdoor billboards, etc. The concept has been around for some time, but now digital signage is fully coming into its own since the days of the dot matrix display boards, the first usage of this technology.
AN ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATE
Digital signage is now a viable and affordable alternative to traditional printed signage because the prices of display hardware have tumbled. Thus this new medium of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) (also known as out-of-home advertising, in-store TV, captive audience TV, digital signage or dynamic digital display) looks set to offer advertisers one of the most targeted and powerful ways of reaching consumers. The type of content on this type of signage can vary. Pakistani marketers looking to improving the effectiveness of their marketing communication are fast replacing the static point-of-sale signage, especially in today’s multimedia world, where it doesn’t have the POP! it used to.
Aside from content such as TV ads, messaging on DOOH can also provide a website address, mobile number or even an IVR, which, when dialled, provides a pre-recorded message specific to the ad display location for exhibit, product or other information. DOOH can also be made interactive with sensors, touch-screens and other interactive devices which can be installed alongside these displays, allowing content to respond when consumers pass by. This enables the customer to fully engage in the communications experience, and this also provides valuable marketing data.
DYNAMIC DIMENSIONS
There are several dimensions of this technology, including comprehensive control over how, when and where your messages are delivered, based on the location or time of the day. This is called narrowcasting. Narrowcasting involves streaming specific data to specific audiences as opposed to traditional broadcasting, which targets a great swath of general viewers.
Digital advertising makes it possible to present messages on multiple DOOH displays through eye-catching dynamic content targeted by demographic, psychographic and geographic specifications, besides other customer-defined business rules such as the time of day, store zone, etc. Since the content can be changed or updated at any time from a remote computer containing the solution's administration software, the displays are designed to show product information to consumers with the hope of encouraging sales that would not normally occur according to consumer's traditional shopping patterns e.g., on a given day, different ads for a clothing store might be presented to reach the young people between 18-25 year olds through displays at bus shelters, coffee shops, on campus, in food courts, petrol stations, bank machines and in malls, depending on the time of the day they are likely to be there in large numbers.
This kind of specific targeting allows a marketer to communicate their message to the audience at critical junctures and cuts down the total spending on ads. The greatest strength, however, of digital signage lies in its immediacy. Digital signage enables “speed to messaging”, “faster time to market” and communications flexibility when content creation, composition, management, transport and presentation are all done digitally.
Digital signage allows you to run purpose-built, meaningful content that can be managed to meet the consumer experience
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This allows the cost-effective re-purposing of ads across media platforms, since digital signage networks are largely automated and remotely controlled. This enables the launching of new communications campaigns with zero courier costs, no on-site personnel requirements and total security. Thus digital signs can literally be reprogrammed with the latest advertising campaign, price change or public message at the click of a mouse button. One mouse click and thousands of screens update automatically.
This also has the benefit of eliminating out-of-date messages to increase relevancy of messages for the consumer - no more posters or messages from last month’s campaign fluttering around. In the future, these signs will also be able to influence inventory and supply chain by promoting products that are in an over-supply and cutting off promotions of products that are out of stock at that location. Targeted, informative content that changes behaviour, such is the power that every marketer dreams of.
Also, since DOOH presents digital messages at the point-of-purchase, it brings “the power of place” (how our surroundings shape our thoughts, emotions, and actions) to life. There is currently no other medium which makes it possible to deliver compelling content at the right location at the right time for maximum impact, for example it is a known fact that over 75 per cent of buying decisions are made at the point of purchase (Source: POPAI). Setting up a digital signage at a shopping mall or retail outlet can influence purchasing right where it’s about to happen. This is what sets digital signage apart from traditional media. It allows you to run purpose-built, meaningful content that can be managed to meet the consumer experience.
DOOH also has been reported to increase customer dwell time. Dwell time is the period during which a dynamic process remains halted in order that another process may occur, e.g. a person stops to glance over at a range of biscuits in a super market. Retail studies have shown that the longer the dwell time, the higher the number of sales.
The use of DOOH has also been reported to enhance the customer experience through value-added ‘edutainment’. In waiting rooms, e.g., such as the doctor’s office, pharmacies, railway stations or banks, these displays reduce perceived wait time. People really enjoy watching the educational programming on these displays and believe that the time spent was less than it really was improving customer satisfaction.
SETTING IT UP
Setting up a basic signage is as simple as plugging a DVD player and a DVD with your ad into a display console and putting it up in a shop. However, for a proper DOOH, the components needed for a digital signage system include: an authoring console equipped with content management software, allowing the playback of content in a variety of playback formats, a server to which finished content is uploaded and from where it is distributed to the different displays of the network, a distribution infrastructure consisting of a data network or fibre optic or CAT5 cable which broadcasts media from the server to the displays and digital signage displays which can be plasma displays, LCD monitors, CRT monitors or kiosk stations.
The distribution infrastructure is perhaps the most important part of digital signage, and choosing the correct distribution technology is a crucial element of any digital signage project. To date, the most common distribution infrastructure in Pakistan has been the data network platform, most commonly seen in the top retail stores of the country.
A data network platform uses a computer network infrastructure in order to transmit content in the form of compressed multimedia files (such as MPEG files) from the management station to the central server and from there to the computer connected to the display device. The central server handles distribution to multiple displays and the display-end computer decompresses the file for display on the display device. This solution requires a dedicated CPU in every single display device deployed.
While offering better approaches and new paradigms of message targeting, DOOH is typically sold on a rental basis. Thus the technology’s inherent capabilities for message targeting combined with attractive rates make DOOH attractive, providing high return on marketing investment. And the best part of it all is that marketers can maximize display value with measurable effectiveness, tallying sales data to the message that was being run on these screens.
GETTING NOTICED
The greatest interest in digital signage today is from the banking, telecom and retail sectors, although it does have other uses in healthcare, education and other displays of information, e.g. an average retail store has a footfall of over 500 people per day who can watch these ads and the preliminary results of studies by local major players show that a dynamic content’s impact is higher than that of static media on these locations. So it’s no surprise that the potential for this technology is huge.
Telecom franchises number well over 1600 alone, there are over 5000 high-end retail shops where this technology can be deployed and high-end banking branches number well over 4500.
As one of the suppliers and pioneers in this field, 3M Pakistan is currently assessing the potential of bringing this technology into Pakistan. They’ve already launched one of the components of DOOH amongst their range of products, Vikuiti, which is a range of projection display components. Vikuiti has been tested at over 50 locations in Pakistan so far and have been proven to be an excellent choice, surpassing the metrics of reach, frequency and recall over static media. Within one year of its introduction Vikuiti has already hit the targeted numbers for this market and is growing fast, slowly converting the POS market in Pakistan.
According to Dr Hugh Philips, a cognitive psychologist, human beings “select” or “de-select” what they notice based on the relevance of what is presented. That being the case, motion video and animation coming and going on a dynamic display has a high probability of being seen, and relevant or interesting messages can then fulfil the objectives. The numbers are already promising. Viewers are five to 10 times more likely to notice and recall dynamic media than static media (Source: POPAI).
It's a high-definition world, and today's time-starved consumers demand more from their experiences, thus using digital signage can make for happier and more energised customers. With its superior ability to target specific messages towards defined audiences and get noticed, digital signage offers unparalleled opportunities to anyone wanting to capture the ever fragmented audiences’ attention, educate and inform people, build brands and drive sales and profitability.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL SIGNAGE
• Reaches defined audiences
• Targeted messaging
> Target your messages by screen, location, time or day
> Enables tactical marketing by audience segment
• Captures audience attention
> Increases message impact through eye-catching dynamic content
> Enhances the customer’s experience through value-added ‘edutainment’
> Increases customer dwell time and reduces perceived wait time
• Speed and immediacy of message change
> Reduces time and cost to produce and deploy new messages
> Eliminates out-of-date messages to increase relevancy of messages
• Ensures local compliance with auditable playback
> Automated playback with no human interaction
> Compare proof-of-play reports to sales data
• Maximises display value with measurable effectiveness
> Creates content schedules containing multiple messages per signage asset
> Easily tests different message executions and assesses the impact of each
By Umair Mohsin
Online fraudsters steal billions
All the criminals are happy to work together to steal money from credit cards and bank accounts. This is because card numbers stolen in one country can only be 'cashed out' in their home nation - necessitating contact across borders
Hi-tech thieves who specialise in card fraud have a credit line in excess of $5bn, research suggests.
Security firm Symantec calculated the figure to quantify the scale of fraud it found during a year-long look at the net's underground economy.
Credit card numbers are the most popular item on sale and made up 31 percent of all the goods on offer.
Coming in second are bank details which made up 20 percent of the items being offered on criminal chat channels.
The $5.3bn figure was reached by multiplying the average amount of fraud perpetrated on a stolen card, $350 by the many millions Symantec observed being offered for sale.
Similarly, the report said, "if hi-tech thieves plundered all the bank accounts offered for sale they could net up to $1.7bn."
Symantec said, "these figures are indicative of the value of the underground economy and the potential worth of the market."
"Credit card numbers have proved so popular among hi-tech thieves because they are easy to obtain and use for fraudulent purposes," it added.
Many of the methods favoured by cyber criminals, such as database attacks and magnetic strip skimmers, are designed to steal credit card information.
The existence of a ready market for any stolen data and the growing use of credit cards also helped maintain their popularity, it said.
"High frequency use and the range of available methods for capturing credit card data would generate more opportunities for theft and compromise and, thus, lead to an increased supply on underground economy servers," said the report.
The price card thieves can expect for the numbers they offer for sale also varied by the country of origin. US card numbers are the cheapest because they are so ubiquitous – 74 percent of all cards offered for sale were from the US.
By contrast numbers from cards issued in Europe and the Middle East commanded a premium because they were relatively rare.
The year-long look at the underground economy confirmed to Symantec how serious and organised cyber thieves have become.
Via the covert chat channels and invitation-only discussion forums hi-tech thieves form loose alliances, contact those who specialise in one technique or find individuals who can extract cash from particular credit cards .
Russian and Eastern European gangs seem to be among the most well-organised, said the report. But, it said, all the criminals are happy to work together to steal money from credit cards and bank accounts. This is because card numbers stolen in one country can only be 'cashed out' in their home nation - necessitating contact across borders.
"Symantec research indicates that there is a certain amount of collaboration and organisation occurring on these forums, especially at the administrative level," it said.
"Moreover, considerable evidence exists that organised crime is involved in many cases."
Hi-tech thieves who specialise in card fraud have a credit line in excess of $5bn, research suggests.
Security firm Symantec calculated the figure to quantify the scale of fraud it found during a year-long look at the net's underground economy.
Credit card numbers are the most popular item on sale and made up 31 percent of all the goods on offer.
Coming in second are bank details which made up 20 percent of the items being offered on criminal chat channels.
The $5.3bn figure was reached by multiplying the average amount of fraud perpetrated on a stolen card, $350 by the many millions Symantec observed being offered for sale.
Similarly, the report said, "if hi-tech thieves plundered all the bank accounts offered for sale they could net up to $1.7bn."
Symantec said, "these figures are indicative of the value of the underground economy and the potential worth of the market."
"Credit card numbers have proved so popular among hi-tech thieves because they are easy to obtain and use for fraudulent purposes," it added.
Many of the methods favoured by cyber criminals, such as database attacks and magnetic strip skimmers, are designed to steal credit card information.
The existence of a ready market for any stolen data and the growing use of credit cards also helped maintain their popularity, it said.
"High frequency use and the range of available methods for capturing credit card data would generate more opportunities for theft and compromise and, thus, lead to an increased supply on underground economy servers," said the report.
The price card thieves can expect for the numbers they offer for sale also varied by the country of origin. US card numbers are the cheapest because they are so ubiquitous – 74 percent of all cards offered for sale were from the US.
By contrast numbers from cards issued in Europe and the Middle East commanded a premium because they were relatively rare.
The year-long look at the underground economy confirmed to Symantec how serious and organised cyber thieves have become.
Via the covert chat channels and invitation-only discussion forums hi-tech thieves form loose alliances, contact those who specialise in one technique or find individuals who can extract cash from particular credit cards .
Russian and Eastern European gangs seem to be among the most well-organised, said the report. But, it said, all the criminals are happy to work together to steal money from credit cards and bank accounts. This is because card numbers stolen in one country can only be 'cashed out' in their home nation - necessitating contact across borders.
"Symantec research indicates that there is a certain amount of collaboration and organisation occurring on these forums, especially at the administrative level," it said.
"Moreover, considerable evidence exists that organised crime is involved in many cases."
Top five spending priorities for hard times
IT shops to weigh their options carefully, because investments made during a recession often have lasting impact. In these economic scenarios, one got to make a judgment on which technologies will bring you advantage when things turn around and get better
By Tom Sullivan
No company is immune from the economy's ebb and flow. So it's no surprise that, in the face of a fearsome downturn, IT shops are scrambling to figure out where they should cut.
The big three analyst firms; Forrester, Gartner, and IDC are busily slashing their IT spending projections. Just last week IDC predicted that in the United States, IT spending will decline to 0.9 percent, down sharply from a pre-crisis forecast of 4.2 percent growth.
With numbers like those, IT might feel inclined to panic. But now is the time to stand tough, advises Andrew Reichman, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research.
At brokerage and investment banking firm Morgan Keegan, for example, CIO John Threadgill acknowledges that he has to come up with better reasons for the technologies to which he allocates IT resources. But after he eliminates or delays costs where feasible, Threadgill and his CIO colleagues must continue investing in certain areas, no matter how crazily the economy bounces up or down. "We'll continue to spend where we need to," says Threadgill.
So which technologies get funded rain or shine? The five technologies IT shops must continue to invest in despite the recession. "The common theme," says Frank Gens, IDC chief analyst and senior vice president, "any technologies that can save companies money or reduce expenses will continue to thrive."
1. Storage: Disks and management software
"There are some things that just won't go back in the bottle," says Mark Raskino, Gartner fellow and Vice President, emerging trends and technologies. "Storage is one of those."
2. Business intelligence: Niche analytics
As data continues to accrue, the need to glean insights from it grows, agree analysts from Forrester, Gartner, and IDC.
CIOs will keep spending on general business intelligence, but more resources will go toward much focused analytics, explains Andrew Bartels, Principal Analyst, Forrester. The "analytics that help companies identify and retain their most profitable customers will be key," he added.
Fenn adds that companies always need behaviour analytics. In the supply chain, for instance, analytics that trigger alerts when suppliers are running into problems, such as delaying supply or payment, can deliver real value to companies.
The broader range of data sources will lead to greater need for analytics," he further added. "There are many different masters, as companies tap analytics to cut costs, avoid errors, predict behaviour of customers before they lose them and grow market opportunities."
3. Virtualisation: Optimising resources
Virtualisation is the data-centre version of getting the most out of what you already have. Up-front investment in virtualisation tends to be fairly low, but can deliver quick and substantial returns. "Virtualisation will continue to be popular because it allows companies to defer other costs - in this case, that's mostly hardware," IDC's Gens says.
Spec-savers began tapping virtualisation before the downturn. "Virtualisation is a key tactic we've been doing for some time to minimise hardware acquisition costs," Khan says, "and that will continue."
Virtualisation has advantages beyond hardware cost reduction. "Everybody's moving to virtualisation," Forrester's Reichman says. "You're likely to be more efficient with server and storage resources in the long run, and if you have expertise, that return is likely to come fast. A down economy might be the right time to throw down and do it, especially if you can time it with hardware refreshes."
"Converting from a physical to a virtual infrastructure is particularly beneficial during tough economic conditions," Biddlecombe says. "Virtualisation has allowed us to save on power and cooling costs as well as the amount of time our IT staff spends on server admin. It provides us with more efficient use of capital as well as increased flexibility during challenging times."
4. Security: Data and end points
No surprises here. IDC's Gens, in fact, says that security is "always the number one concern of IT. As you see more resources out there on the Internet, there's concern that they're secure."
Companies will have a particular focus on securing network end points, devices, and those applications that serve them, according to IDC's Minton. "Whether you're in a recession or not, no company wants to be on the front page of bad lists because their data was breached," he adds.
Threadgill lists security as the second of Morgan Keegan's top two spending priorities, behind only storage. And Spec-savers' Khan adds that his budget will include security technologies, namely firewalls, tools for securing end points, and data encryption for mobile devices and remote PCs. "There's no reduction in security expenses," Khan says. "If anything we're increasing our security spending."
Gartner and Forrester agree that companies will continue to ratchet up security. Raskino adds that layoffs and, in turn, new hires will be yet another driver. "An economic downturn and recovery create massive churn," he says. "The processes and tools for managing and disabling access are going to be critical."
5. Cloud computing: Business solutions
Analysts from Forrester, Gartner, and IDC say that certain pieces of cloud computing will continue to expand and perhaps even accelerate due to the downturn.
Gens sees many companies moving to the cloud for the applications and services most often sought by business types, who are actually circumventing the IT department to get what they need. These include such business solutions as sales-force automation, productivity, and marketing campaign software. "The more pure IT stuff-infrastructure, infrastructure software and application development; those are tech buyers, so there are fewer potential customers," Gens says.
"Cloud-based data backup and file storage services are a really good idea that can be much more cost-effective than going it the old-fashioned, in-house way," Reichman says.
Gartner's Raskino adds to the list of cloud resources CIOs will find valuable during a recession such services as e-mail, storage, and lightweight productivity apps. "This is a good time to have a cost-centric argument, so IT might even take a risk to get a payoff with cloud technologies, if they're mature enough," he says.
Looking toward recovery
IT spending will make a full recovery and enjoy growth rates nearing six percent by 2012, according to IDC.
Whether such projections hold or not, Reichman argues that IT shops must trim their sails and stay the course. "You cannot stop growing," he explains. "Most companies are already fire-fighting, but you've got keep the lights on, keep things going forward, because the data-centre is always in a recession anyway. So keep moving."
By Tom Sullivan
No company is immune from the economy's ebb and flow. So it's no surprise that, in the face of a fearsome downturn, IT shops are scrambling to figure out where they should cut.
The big three analyst firms; Forrester, Gartner, and IDC are busily slashing their IT spending projections. Just last week IDC predicted that in the United States, IT spending will decline to 0.9 percent, down sharply from a pre-crisis forecast of 4.2 percent growth.
With numbers like those, IT might feel inclined to panic. But now is the time to stand tough, advises Andrew Reichman, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research.
At brokerage and investment banking firm Morgan Keegan, for example, CIO John Threadgill acknowledges that he has to come up with better reasons for the technologies to which he allocates IT resources. But after he eliminates or delays costs where feasible, Threadgill and his CIO colleagues must continue investing in certain areas, no matter how crazily the economy bounces up or down. "We'll continue to spend where we need to," says Threadgill.
So which technologies get funded rain or shine? The five technologies IT shops must continue to invest in despite the recession. "The common theme," says Frank Gens, IDC chief analyst and senior vice president, "any technologies that can save companies money or reduce expenses will continue to thrive."
1. Storage: Disks and management software
"There are some things that just won't go back in the bottle," says Mark Raskino, Gartner fellow and Vice President, emerging trends and technologies. "Storage is one of those."
2. Business intelligence: Niche analytics
As data continues to accrue, the need to glean insights from it grows, agree analysts from Forrester, Gartner, and IDC.
CIOs will keep spending on general business intelligence, but more resources will go toward much focused analytics, explains Andrew Bartels, Principal Analyst, Forrester. The "analytics that help companies identify and retain their most profitable customers will be key," he added.
Fenn adds that companies always need behaviour analytics. In the supply chain, for instance, analytics that trigger alerts when suppliers are running into problems, such as delaying supply or payment, can deliver real value to companies.
The broader range of data sources will lead to greater need for analytics," he further added. "There are many different masters, as companies tap analytics to cut costs, avoid errors, predict behaviour of customers before they lose them and grow market opportunities."
3. Virtualisation: Optimising resources
Virtualisation is the data-centre version of getting the most out of what you already have. Up-front investment in virtualisation tends to be fairly low, but can deliver quick and substantial returns. "Virtualisation will continue to be popular because it allows companies to defer other costs - in this case, that's mostly hardware," IDC's Gens says.
Spec-savers began tapping virtualisation before the downturn. "Virtualisation is a key tactic we've been doing for some time to minimise hardware acquisition costs," Khan says, "and that will continue."
Virtualisation has advantages beyond hardware cost reduction. "Everybody's moving to virtualisation," Forrester's Reichman says. "You're likely to be more efficient with server and storage resources in the long run, and if you have expertise, that return is likely to come fast. A down economy might be the right time to throw down and do it, especially if you can time it with hardware refreshes."
"Converting from a physical to a virtual infrastructure is particularly beneficial during tough economic conditions," Biddlecombe says. "Virtualisation has allowed us to save on power and cooling costs as well as the amount of time our IT staff spends on server admin. It provides us with more efficient use of capital as well as increased flexibility during challenging times."
4. Security: Data and end points
No surprises here. IDC's Gens, in fact, says that security is "always the number one concern of IT. As you see more resources out there on the Internet, there's concern that they're secure."
Companies will have a particular focus on securing network end points, devices, and those applications that serve them, according to IDC's Minton. "Whether you're in a recession or not, no company wants to be on the front page of bad lists because their data was breached," he adds.
Threadgill lists security as the second of Morgan Keegan's top two spending priorities, behind only storage. And Spec-savers' Khan adds that his budget will include security technologies, namely firewalls, tools for securing end points, and data encryption for mobile devices and remote PCs. "There's no reduction in security expenses," Khan says. "If anything we're increasing our security spending."
Gartner and Forrester agree that companies will continue to ratchet up security. Raskino adds that layoffs and, in turn, new hires will be yet another driver. "An economic downturn and recovery create massive churn," he says. "The processes and tools for managing and disabling access are going to be critical."
5. Cloud computing: Business solutions
Analysts from Forrester, Gartner, and IDC say that certain pieces of cloud computing will continue to expand and perhaps even accelerate due to the downturn.
Gens sees many companies moving to the cloud for the applications and services most often sought by business types, who are actually circumventing the IT department to get what they need. These include such business solutions as sales-force automation, productivity, and marketing campaign software. "The more pure IT stuff-infrastructure, infrastructure software and application development; those are tech buyers, so there are fewer potential customers," Gens says.
"Cloud-based data backup and file storage services are a really good idea that can be much more cost-effective than going it the old-fashioned, in-house way," Reichman says.
Gartner's Raskino adds to the list of cloud resources CIOs will find valuable during a recession such services as e-mail, storage, and lightweight productivity apps. "This is a good time to have a cost-centric argument, so IT might even take a risk to get a payoff with cloud technologies, if they're mature enough," he says.
Looking toward recovery
IT spending will make a full recovery and enjoy growth rates nearing six percent by 2012, according to IDC.
Whether such projections hold or not, Reichman argues that IT shops must trim their sails and stay the course. "You cannot stop growing," he explains. "Most companies are already fire-fighting, but you've got keep the lights on, keep things going forward, because the data-centre is always in a recession anyway. So keep moving."
How to… spot serious medical symptoms?
Some medical symptoms are warnings that you need immediate care. Health, Body and Mind shows you how to recognise them
By Jeanie Lerche Davis
Like red-light warnings on the dashboard, the human body sends out a flare when something's awry. Chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness - those are some familiar medical symptoms. But other problems can creep up on you, too - aches and pains, lumps and bumps. It's necessary to know when they are important and when they are not.
Neil Shulman, MD and a professor of internal medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, calls it a serious and likens to "terrorists inside our bodies." The symptoms are "killing way too many people. There's tremendous suffering and horrible death which could be avoided, but people don't know that something's wrong."
In fact, it happens all the time, a symptom is missed and it leads to a tragic ending. Or it's caught just in time, and a life is saved. Quite literally, it's that dramatic, Shulman tells.
Here are "five flags" - five medical symptoms - you should keep in mind:
1. If you have unexplained weight loss and/or loss of appetite , you may have a serious underlying medical illness.
"If you're on a diet, you're expecting this to happen. But if you're eating the same way - and now have to adjust your belt a few notches tighter - you could have a serious problem, so you should see a doctor." Shulman says.
2. Slurred speech, paralysis, weakness, tingling, burning pains, numbness, and confusion are signs of a stroke, and you should get to an appropriate emergency centre immediately. Early treatment may prevent permanent damage to the brain or even save your life.
3. Black, tarry stools may indicate a haemorrhage from an ulcer of the stomach or the small intestine. It is important to stop the bleeding and to rule out cancer as a cause.What you eat changes the colour of stools. But black, tarry stools mean there may be bleeding higher in the digestive tract, says Shulman. It could be a sign of a bleeding ulcer or cancer.
4. A headache accompanied by a stiff neck and fever is an indicator of a serious infection called meningitis. In fact, if you can't put your chin on your chest, that's a sign you may have bacterial meningitis, says Shulman. With bacterial meningitis, you need antibiotics immediately to kill the bacteria before it infects and scars the brain.
5. A sudden, agonizing headache, more severe than any you have felt before, could mean you are bleeding in the brain. Go to an emergency room immediately. A brain aneurysm is rare, but it can happen - even in people under 40. If you have a severe, crushing headache, you may have an aneurysm, which is a blood-filled pouch bulging out from a weak spot in the wall of a brain artery. If treated before it bursts, it could save your life.
By Jeanie Lerche Davis
Like red-light warnings on the dashboard, the human body sends out a flare when something's awry. Chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness - those are some familiar medical symptoms. But other problems can creep up on you, too - aches and pains, lumps and bumps. It's necessary to know when they are important and when they are not.
Neil Shulman, MD and a professor of internal medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, calls it a serious and likens to "terrorists inside our bodies." The symptoms are "killing way too many people. There's tremendous suffering and horrible death which could be avoided, but people don't know that something's wrong."
In fact, it happens all the time, a symptom is missed and it leads to a tragic ending. Or it's caught just in time, and a life is saved. Quite literally, it's that dramatic, Shulman tells.
Here are "five flags" - five medical symptoms - you should keep in mind:
1. If you have unexplained weight loss and/or loss of appetite , you may have a serious underlying medical illness.
"If you're on a diet, you're expecting this to happen. But if you're eating the same way - and now have to adjust your belt a few notches tighter - you could have a serious problem, so you should see a doctor." Shulman says.
2. Slurred speech, paralysis, weakness, tingling, burning pains, numbness, and confusion are signs of a stroke, and you should get to an appropriate emergency centre immediately. Early treatment may prevent permanent damage to the brain or even save your life.
3. Black, tarry stools may indicate a haemorrhage from an ulcer of the stomach or the small intestine. It is important to stop the bleeding and to rule out cancer as a cause.What you eat changes the colour of stools. But black, tarry stools mean there may be bleeding higher in the digestive tract, says Shulman. It could be a sign of a bleeding ulcer or cancer.
4. A headache accompanied by a stiff neck and fever is an indicator of a serious infection called meningitis. In fact, if you can't put your chin on your chest, that's a sign you may have bacterial meningitis, says Shulman. With bacterial meningitis, you need antibiotics immediately to kill the bacteria before it infects and scars the brain.
5. A sudden, agonizing headache, more severe than any you have felt before, could mean you are bleeding in the brain. Go to an emergency room immediately. A brain aneurysm is rare, but it can happen - even in people under 40. If you have a severe, crushing headache, you may have an aneurysm, which is a blood-filled pouch bulging out from a weak spot in the wall of a brain artery. If treated before it bursts, it could save your life.
Researchers probe brain's communication infrastructure
Brain signal never switches off and also supports many cognitive functions. Researcher's look at one of the human brain's most fundamental "foundations" is an important step forward in understanding the functional architecture of the brain …
By Kate Melville
Washington University School of Medicine researchers are taking the first direct look at one of the human brain's most fundamental "foundations": a brain signal that never switches off and may support many cognitive functions. Their findings, appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are an important step forward in understanding the functional architecture of the brain.
Functional architecture refers to the metaphorical structures formed by brain processes and interactions among different brain regions. The "foundation" highlighted in the new study is a low-frequency signal created by neuronal activity throughout the brain. This signal doesn't switch off even in dreamless sleep, possibly to help maintain basic structure and facilitate offline housekeeping activities.
"A different, more labile and higher-frequency signal known as the gamma frequency activity has been the focus of much brain research in recent years," says study author Biyu He. "But we found that signal loses its large-scale structure in deep sleep, while the low-frequency signal does not, suggesting that the low-frequency signal may be more fundamental."
"What we've been finding is reorienting the way we think about how the brain works," adds co-researcher Marcus Raichle. "We're starting to see the brain as being in the prediction business, with ongoing, organised carrier frequencies within the systems of the brain that keep them prepared for the work they need to do to perform mental tasks."
Neurologists have spent many years exploring the upper levels of the brain's functional architecture. In these studies, researchers typically ask volunteers to perform specific mental tasks as their brains are scanned using fMRI. Such "goal-oriented" tasks might include looking for or studying a visual stimulus, moving an arm or leg, reading a word or listening for a sound. As the subjects perform these tasks, the scans reveal increases in blood flow to different parts of the brain, which researchers take as indications that the brain areas are contributing to the mental task.
In the past decade, however, scientists have realised that deeper structures underlie goal-oriented mental processes. These underlying brain processes continue to occur even when subjects aren't consciously using their brain to do anything, and the energies that the brain puts into them seem to be much greater than those used for goal-oriented tasks.
"The brain consumes a tremendous amount of the body's energy resources -- it's only two percent of body weight, but it uses about 20 percent of the energy we take in," says Raichle. "When we started to ask where all those resources were being spent, we found that the goal-oriented tasks we had studied previously only accounted for a tiny portion of that energy budget. The rest appears to go into activities and processes that maintain a state of readiness in the brain."
To explore this deeper level of the brain's functional architecture, Raichle and others have been using fMRI to conduct detailed analyses of brain activity in subjects asked to do nothing. However, a nagging question has dogged those and other fMRI studies: Scientists assumed that increased blood flow to a part of the brain indicates that part has contributed to a mental task, but they wanted more direct evidence linking increased blood flow to stepped-up activity in brain cells.
In the new study, the researchers took fMRI scans of five patients with intractable epilepsy. The scans, during which the subjects did nothing, were taken prior to the temporary installation of grids of electrodes on the surfaces of the patients' brains. The level of detail provided by the grids is essential clinically for pinpointing the source of the seizures for possible surgical removal, a last resort employed only when other treatments failed.
The results confirmed that the fMRI data she had gathered earlier reflected changes in brain cell activity exhibited in the gamma frequency signal. But she also noticed the persistent low-frequency signal, which also corresponded to the fMRI data. "When we looked back in the literature, we found that a similar signal had been the subject of a great deal of animal research using implanted electrodes in the 1960s through the 1980s," she says. "There were suggestions, for example, that when this low-frequency signal, which fluctuates persistently, is in a low trough, the brain may handle mental tasks more effectively."
"What we've shown provides a bridge between the fMRI work many scientists are doing now and the earlier work involving electrical recordings from the brain that emphasised slow activity," says he. "Bringing those two fields together may give us some very interesting insights into the brain's organisation and function."
By Kate Melville
Washington University School of Medicine researchers are taking the first direct look at one of the human brain's most fundamental "foundations": a brain signal that never switches off and may support many cognitive functions. Their findings, appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are an important step forward in understanding the functional architecture of the brain.
Functional architecture refers to the metaphorical structures formed by brain processes and interactions among different brain regions. The "foundation" highlighted in the new study is a low-frequency signal created by neuronal activity throughout the brain. This signal doesn't switch off even in dreamless sleep, possibly to help maintain basic structure and facilitate offline housekeeping activities.
"A different, more labile and higher-frequency signal known as the gamma frequency activity has been the focus of much brain research in recent years," says study author Biyu He. "But we found that signal loses its large-scale structure in deep sleep, while the low-frequency signal does not, suggesting that the low-frequency signal may be more fundamental."
"What we've been finding is reorienting the way we think about how the brain works," adds co-researcher Marcus Raichle. "We're starting to see the brain as being in the prediction business, with ongoing, organised carrier frequencies within the systems of the brain that keep them prepared for the work they need to do to perform mental tasks."
Neurologists have spent many years exploring the upper levels of the brain's functional architecture. In these studies, researchers typically ask volunteers to perform specific mental tasks as their brains are scanned using fMRI. Such "goal-oriented" tasks might include looking for or studying a visual stimulus, moving an arm or leg, reading a word or listening for a sound. As the subjects perform these tasks, the scans reveal increases in blood flow to different parts of the brain, which researchers take as indications that the brain areas are contributing to the mental task.
In the past decade, however, scientists have realised that deeper structures underlie goal-oriented mental processes. These underlying brain processes continue to occur even when subjects aren't consciously using their brain to do anything, and the energies that the brain puts into them seem to be much greater than those used for goal-oriented tasks.
"The brain consumes a tremendous amount of the body's energy resources -- it's only two percent of body weight, but it uses about 20 percent of the energy we take in," says Raichle. "When we started to ask where all those resources were being spent, we found that the goal-oriented tasks we had studied previously only accounted for a tiny portion of that energy budget. The rest appears to go into activities and processes that maintain a state of readiness in the brain."
To explore this deeper level of the brain's functional architecture, Raichle and others have been using fMRI to conduct detailed analyses of brain activity in subjects asked to do nothing. However, a nagging question has dogged those and other fMRI studies: Scientists assumed that increased blood flow to a part of the brain indicates that part has contributed to a mental task, but they wanted more direct evidence linking increased blood flow to stepped-up activity in brain cells.
In the new study, the researchers took fMRI scans of five patients with intractable epilepsy. The scans, during which the subjects did nothing, were taken prior to the temporary installation of grids of electrodes on the surfaces of the patients' brains. The level of detail provided by the grids is essential clinically for pinpointing the source of the seizures for possible surgical removal, a last resort employed only when other treatments failed.
The results confirmed that the fMRI data she had gathered earlier reflected changes in brain cell activity exhibited in the gamma frequency signal. But she also noticed the persistent low-frequency signal, which also corresponded to the fMRI data. "When we looked back in the literature, we found that a similar signal had been the subject of a great deal of animal research using implanted electrodes in the 1960s through the 1980s," she says. "There were suggestions, for example, that when this low-frequency signal, which fluctuates persistently, is in a low trough, the brain may handle mental tasks more effectively."
"What we've shown provides a bridge between the fMRI work many scientists are doing now and the earlier work involving electrical recordings from the brain that emphasised slow activity," says he. "Bringing those two fields together may give us some very interesting insights into the brain's organisation and function."
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