tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16539604309606382942024-02-08T01:31:18.918+00:00Omer Rana's BlogTechnology-motivated ... bite sized thoughtsOmer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-39837839812902497732011-01-07T23:47:00.008+00:002011-01-08T00:26:15.122+00:00Internet ... couch potatoesBoth the Google and Twitter doctrine has come to dominate thinking in many social networks today. Such doctrine is centered on the notion that somehow uncensored, unrestricted flow of information can spread democracy in the world, by encouraging the masses to react to an event, issue or cause in disgust, and thereby change the world. Facebook provides an interesting example of this via its <a href="http://www.facebook.com/causes">Causes</a> application, claiming that "Causes empowers anyone with a good idea or passion for change to impact the world. Using our platform, individuals mobilize their network of friends to grow lasting social and political movements." One can chose between "Animals, Education, Environment, International Issues, Religion" amongst many other possible categories. Those "cyber-utopians" who believe in such a vision believe that by using the Internet, they are able to propagate their message to a much wider community -- quoting examples from young Iranians using Blogs, Twitter and YouTube to broadcast their message to change history. <br /><br />A wonderful new book by <a href="http://www.evgenymorozov.com/">Evgeny Morozov</a> entitled <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Net-Delusion-How-Liberate-World/sim/1846143535/2?o=27&po=18">The Net Delusion: How Not to Liberate the World</a> challenges this vision. Morozov, himself a cyber-utopian (who, according to <a href="http://www.crowdsurfing.net/2009/09/23/shattering-the-myth-of-a-cyber-utopia/">Crowd Surfing</a>, "spent the early part of his career advising political activists in the former Soviet block, is well placed to comment on the behaviour of the political elite in places such as Russia"), has challenged how effective the Internet has been in supporting such activism. His observation that by passively clicking on applications such as Facebook Causes, we have essentially become armchair activists, each click producing big numbers but very little commitment from the individual involved. Virtual resistance is not resistance at all. Morozov also challenges the notion often adopted by sociologists that "technology is neutral, it is how it is used that determines its value". Morozov indicates that it is the form of the technology that determines its use, and therefore the nature of the Internet is much a reflection of its limitation. According to <a href="http://www.crowdsurfing.net/2009/09/23/shattering-the-myth-of-a-cyber-utopia/">Crowd Surfing</a>, "Morozov also cautions against the assumption that a new generation of ‘digital natives’ – the teenagers and twenty-somethings brought up in a digital world – are more likely to become political activists. He argues that younger Web users, especially in developing markets such as China, are more interested in cyber hedonism than cyber activism. In this way, the web can be seen as another opium for the masses, rather than an engine of political change." <br /><br />He notes that the Internet is often used for entertainment, distraction and social networking -- and less a potent tool for activists. Perhaps, the easy availability of information and videos through YouTube makes one desensitized to such information -- often with attrocities that would have once triggered action now merely being another distraction, of interest for a short duration, and easily forgotten? Perhaps the information revolution has left us distracted, easily aroused couch potatoes rather than potential activists who could potentially become more active citizens in a democratic society? Worth a thought ...Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-74691007275943397862010-09-02T09:52:00.003+01:002010-09-02T10:17:29.725+01:00Watching NemoAccording to an article on <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2010/08/life-universe-graphene">20 new ideas in science</a>, it has been identified that: "covering 70 per cent of the planet, with an average depth of 4km, the ocean is the largest habitat on earth, and it is largely virgin territory. Whenever researchers go into the deep, they almost always discover new species. The oceans are also throwing up new geology, and surprising us about the conditions under which life can thrive, redefining what we think of as habitable zones". Monitoring the oceans has become an obsession for many in the Earthquake and environmental monitoring communities. Being able to detect changes in how the Earth vibrates, underwater, and linking this to the behaviour of fish and other marine animals provides important clues about potential sciesmic activity, and how our oceans change over time. In her thesis, <a href="http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/s0450937/">Gayathari Nadarajan</a> (Edinburgh University) and her supervisor <a href="http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~jessicac/">Dr Jessica-Chen Burger</a> automatically analyse video feeds from the <a href="http://ecogrid.nchc.org.tw/">Eco-Grid</a> project in Taiwan. Gayathri indicates that "such data is valuable for long term monitoring and research especially for marine biologists. Studies on fish behaviour, suitable underwater conditions for marine life presence and activity, and population of particular species at a given time provide valuable information to scientists". In the Eco-Grid project, data is acquired using geographically distributed sensors in various protected sites such as Fu-Shan forest, Yuan-Yang lake, Ken-Ting national park and Nan-Jen-Shan site. Gayathri uses automated workflow construction (using planning techniques) to analyse video feeds and determine frames of interest to a marine biologist, or to count fish, level of algae etc.<br /><br />Whereas the Eco-Grid uses underwater cameras with video feeds that can be externally recorded, NASA, US Navy and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography have demonstrated robotic underwater vehicle to be powered entirely by natural, renewable, ocean thermal energy -- as part of the <a href="http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=1057">SOLO-TREC</a> project. "Most of Earth is covered by ocean, yet we know less about the ocean than we do about the surface of some planets," said Yi Chao, a JPL principal scientist and SOLO-TREC principal investigator. "This technology to harvest energy from the ocean will have huge implications for how we can measure and monitor the ocean and its influence on climate." Additionally, the multi-million dollar <a href="http://ci.oceanobservatories.org/">Cyberinfrastructure Ocean Observatories</a> project at the Scripps Institute provides a collection of messaging middleware for supporting data capture, recording and storage of ocean data.<br /><br />Perhaps, it is useful to better understand how such ocean monitoring projects -- which themselves embed sensors (fixed or mobile) into the ocean perturb the ocean themselves (and the associated marine life). An interesting anecdote was that the heat generated around cameras that monitor the ocean lead to new marine ecosystems around the observation site -- thereby leading to new behaviour not known before.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-48920480726160583672010-05-08T00:03:00.003+01:002010-05-08T00:36:52.495+01:00Collaborative Science<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBohuCIxmjcoUqUFMTqdl_YlwIlBJZ-833rMSqScD5O9WTOWvLtgOYdbE1G_Z3J7aj1ZCfboitqLkYTRTr6Zru_D0_WbI8XwYsJAlg15U_QKg7ANeD_0OlCijWyt6Z3mMaTpO33sSlA/s1600/ScreenShot001.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBohuCIxmjcoUqUFMTqdl_YlwIlBJZ-833rMSqScD5O9WTOWvLtgOYdbE1G_Z3J7aj1ZCfboitqLkYTRTr6Zru_D0_WbI8XwYsJAlg15U_QKg7ANeD_0OlCijWyt6Z3mMaTpO33sSlA/s200/ScreenShot001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468676174163525138" /></a><br /><br />One of the leading scientific publishers -- the <a href="http://www.nature.com/">Nature Publishing Group</a> -- has realized the importance of social networks to promote science research and education. According to <a href="http://www.nature.com/scitable/view-profile/vikram-savkar-26051">Vikram Savkar</a> (SVP and Publishing Director) at Nature, "... science education needs to become interactive and social". According to him, "... kids and young adults learn from people, not from static words in a textbook". A new Web site called <a href="http://www.nature.com/scitable">Scitable</a> has been launched to enable teachers, researchers, and students to collaborate and share work. Instuctors can create a classroom using content management systems such as <a href="http://www.blackboard.com/">Blackboard</a> and <a href="http://www.desire2learn.com/">Desire2Learn</a>. It is interesting to see a major publisher realizing the importance of learning through people, rather than just learning from content. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Scitable is it's business model -- essentially where business provides "social value advertising", rather than specific product placement or paid content placement. Rather than provide large banners highlighting particular products, sponsors are able to directly add content (such as job openings) on certain pages. <br /><br />A new book entitled <a href="http://www.brsts.com">Bursts -- The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do</a> by <a href="http://www.physics.neu.edu/Department/Vtwo/faculty/barabasi.htm">Albert-Laszlo Barabasi</a> (of Northeastern University, in Boston) has used a "social" experiment in it's launch. The complete text of the book is available on-line, but each word is covered by a rectangle. Each user can 'adopt' a word, and at that moment all words adopted by others will become visible to that individual. Once 84,000 individuals have each adopted a word, roughly the number of words in the book, the whole book will become visible to the adopters. Additionally, to make the process more interesting (!), any user can unlock the whole book within days by guessing a sufficient number of covered words, as each successful guess offers additional points that helps the user reveal further content. <br /><br />Both of these social network-based approaches to collaborative learning indicate the importance of involving people in the learning process. Proving texts on-line is only the beginning to a learning journey that could utilize on-line resource in a much more effective way. As educators, perhaps, we all need to take note and adapt to the possibilities and enormous potential opportunities.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-20622052909349780412010-04-10T00:26:00.004+01:002010-04-10T00:51:20.630+01:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z_ucJD1FvrYZ65_-GKw6g7VIWwGhDgMLpKDhejAB4oG_ulnQf1hvr6c7iy061XQ9_BES7EiOMBzo86LHWmNosxaKcAOQK83P6WeBYo_fsb_ftc3fWJie_IciJSNg8wWPzSptq4wOqg/s1600/08042010202.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Z_ucJD1FvrYZ65_-GKw6g7VIWwGhDgMLpKDhejAB4oG_ulnQf1hvr6c7iy061XQ9_BES7EiOMBzo86LHWmNosxaKcAOQK83P6WeBYo_fsb_ftc3fWJie_IciJSNg8wWPzSptq4wOqg/s200/08042010202.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458288919477447330" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.sueblack.co.uk/">Dr Sue Black</a> from the University of Westminster delivered a very interesting lecture about her use of Twitter to spread the <a href="http://www.savebletchleypark.com/">Save Bletchley Park</a> campaign (part of the <a href="http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/BCSWomen/">BCS Women Lovelace Colloquium</a>, Cardiff, April 8, 2010). She indicated how Twitter brought together a diverse set of individuals who wanted to "contribute something back" to the history of computing by fund raising for this campaign -- and contributing their own skills. Her talk provided an interesting insight into how Twitter and social media provided the foundation for raising public and political awareness about a cause. After producing a publication about her experiences in using Twitter in the Bletchley Park campaigh, Dr Black was able to raise over 2000 UK pounds through the <a href="http://www.justgiving.com/SueBlack">JustGiving</a> Web site -- to present the paper at a conference in the US. <br /><br />On the other hand, in the current heat towards the next UK election, a Labour party candidate (standing for the East Scotland seat of Moray) was removed from the party after describing old people as `coffin dodgers' on Twitter. According to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-candidate-dropped-for-offensive-remarks-on-twitter-1940717.html">a story</a> in the Independent newspaper (April 10, 2010), he was also found to make "an ill-advised quip about bananas", writing: `God this fair-trade, organic banana is shit. Can I have a slave-`grown, chemically enhanced, genetically modified one please?' According to the same story, the Labour party now has it's very own "Twitter tsar", who mentioned that "most MPs were still too cautious in their tweets, rather than too forward". She mentioned that "... the greater problem is getting MPs to engage and communicate with the public on the site, rather than simply tweeting that they are out campaigning."<br /><br />Both of these stories indicate an interesting new trend in on-line now being the published word. Perhaps, what we generate on-line (even though it may not have a persistent publication identifier), can now generate equivalent, or more, impact than the printed word. Dr Black's effort in making very effective use of social media, and the Labour candidate's ineffective use of it, shows how important size-limited, context sensitive twitter feeds have become in changing public perception, debate and fund raising. <br /><br /><i>Picture taken by Omer Rana @ BCS Colloqium in Cardiff, April 8, 2010</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-46107863694278385142010-03-26T23:12:00.003+00:002010-03-26T23:26:04.224+00:00Survival TelecomCommunication is one of the major social needs of human beings -- and something that becomes even more important at a time of a natural disaster. Although significant emphasis is placed on supporting basic human needs -- such as shelter and food (and rightly so) -- by organizations such as <a href="http://www.dec.org.uk/">Disasters Emergency Committee</a> (an umbrella organization covering various charities) -- the need for individuals in diaster stricken countries to communicate with the outside world -- on a personal basis -- is equally important. An individual, able to communicate with his relatives, friends or close colleagues can convey a much greater need for help than charities that appeal on the behalf of a nation or a group of individuals. The work undertaken by <a href="http://www.tsfi.org/">Telecoms Sans Frontieres</a> (TSF) provides an example of a charity that helps establish telecom infrastructure after a natural disaster. TSF has undertaken remarkable work in Haiti, for instance, enabling "10,500 families (more than 60,000 people) to reach their relatives". TSF works to establish telecom infrastructure across the disaster stricken country/region, in addition to enabling communication with the outside world (sharing such infrastructure with media organizations and other charities). A wonderful example of using the internet and telecomms infrastructure to save lives.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-54642306613360091132009-12-15T22:37:00.007+00:002009-12-15T23:09:24.692+00:00Tweet Analysis<a href="http://www.change.org/photos/wordpress_copies/bird-tweeting-medium.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 247px;" src="http://www.change.org/photos/wordpress_copies/bird-tweeting-medium.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Micro-blogging via Twitter (and status updates on Facebook) seems to represent the new fad in communication. Being able to declare your thoughts to the world -- without engaging the brain to process your thinking -- appears to be gaining favour with <a href="http://twitter.com/davidcameron">politicians</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/nitinswahney">musicians</a>, and need I add, <a href="http://twitter.com/omerfrana">academics!</a> Communicating in bite sized <i>thought-summaries</i> is not new however. SMS and pager messages have already been around for some time, and the ability to communicate using short messages had already caught on before Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey launched Twitter in 2006. Perhaps, the most interesting aspect of this can be found at <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/">Wikileaks</a> -- a "multi-jurisdictional organization to protect internal dissidents, whistleblowers, journalists and bloggers who face legal or other threats related to publishing." On November 25 this year, Wikileaks released half a million US national text pager intercepts, covering the <a href="http://911.wikileaks.org/">24 hour period surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks</a> in New York and Washington. Here's an <a href="http://911.wikileaks.org/files/messages_2001_09_11-12_10_2001_09_11-12_14.txt">example</a>. The archives represent a catalogue of electronic and human "chatter" at a remarkable point in world history. Messages range from texts between machines, humans and machines and multiple humans -- from a variety of providers -- Metrocall, Skytel, Weblink_B etc. Perhaps, some historian in the future will trawl through this archive and try to better interpret it's contents. Could the analysis of Twitter and other micro-blogging sites, after a particular event in history (earthquakes, sporting events, elections etc), provide an insight that is often not available with "processed" news stories available through branded publications and media? Perhaps, an intelligent analysis of such feeds would provide real insights into what happened?<br /><br /><i>image from www.change.org</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-73205373486152811012009-09-09T10:51:00.008+01:002009-09-09T11:59:43.514+01:00To charge or not to charge<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~iuaudit/images/news.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://www.indiana.edu/~iuaudit/images/news.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Newspapers have recently discovered that they can no longer rely on advertising as their sole source of revenue, and therefore need to start new business (charging) models for their on-line editions. Whereas previously such newspapers relied on the number of people looking at their site (and therefore also looking at the adverts on these pages), it seems that people are no longer clicking on these adverts. Whereas some newspapers (such as the New York Times) abandoned a subscription-based model to increase the number of people coming to their Web site (from 12 million to 20 million, according to New York Times' Vivian Schiller) -- just the number of people visiting a site does not seem to be enough any more. According to an article in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/may/07/rupert-murdoch-charging-websites">Guardian</a> newspaper (which, interestingly, is still free), News Corp (who own a number of British newspapers -- such as The Times) feel that accessing news content for free is no longer viable, and utilising subscription based models from other successful on-line publications, such as the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/">Wall Street Journal</a> in the US and the <a href="http://www.ft.com/">Financial Times</a> in the UK, should be the way ahead for internet based news media. In a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8186701.stm">BBC article</a>, Rupert Murdoch of News Corp was quoted as saying: "Quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalising its ability to produce good reporting."<br /><br />Would people pay for news content -- or should content need to be of a very specialist nature for it to be of interest to subscribers? If it is of a specialist nature, would that also not limit the number of subscribers? The Financial Times, for instance, makes some articles available for free, and then charges for others -- although it does seem to have a very well defined readership. However, newspapers such as The Times, which appeal to a more general market may not be able to appeal to such distinctiveness. Perhaps, when major newspapers do start charging, those that don't, may dictate the newsagenda in the future -- and perhaps as markets recover -- dominate revenue from advertising once again. Similarly, this also raises questions about the role of government funded news media -- such as the BBC in the UK -- who, for a small licence fee, are already providing free content.<br /><br />This also introduces the need for a new type of RSS-feed aggregator -- one that is able to take Blogs from different individuals and perhaps compile free news content. So, if you live in, say Cardiff, and write about events in your local area -- an aggregator engine (perhaps, similar to a search engine), could combine all news stories from Cardiff. Traffic to these news stories could then be used to identify their "value" to readers. Such reputation models -- based on number of readers -- could be one way that an aggregator could select which Blog entry to feature when compiling news content. In this way, news could be dynamically compiled, for free, without having to access subscription-based newspapers? Would this work -- or would the views of experienced reporters and journalists always be of greater value to readers -- and therefore result in people paying for such content?<br /><br />One interesting comment from Mr Murdoch -- in the Guardian article above -- relates to advertising revenue from social networking sites (and perhaps, also from Internet-search engines) -- "... News Corp revealed that its interactive media division, which includes the social networking site MySpace, had turned in a lower contribution." Mr Murdoch stated that: <br />"We're not going for the Facebook model of getting hundreds and hundreds of million of people who don't bring any advertising with them at all," he said. This does raise questions about the possible future survival of social networking and search engine sites which solely rely on advertising revenue.<br /><br /><em>Image from University of Indiana</em>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-69051686965781244452009-07-24T22:53:00.011+01:002009-07-25T02:01:42.727+01:00Peer-2-Peer Banking<a href="http://fc.sharon.k12.ma.us/~soreilly/0066EAFA-000F4C32.6/banking.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 440px; height: 368px;" src="http://fc.sharon.k12.ma.us/~soreilly/0066EAFA-000F4C32.6/banking.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />According to a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8160614.stm">BBC report</a> the UK national debt stands at £799bn (or 56.6% of GDP). This is the highest <i>since records began in 1974</i>. One of the major causes of this debt, according to the BBC report, is the banks bail-out package in the UK. Another interesting figure was quoted by <a href="http://www.journalisted.com/alyssa-mcdonald">Alyssa McDonald</a> (New Statesman Magazine, July 20, 2009), which indicated that the UK national debt had quadrupled since January 2007. Vincent Cable, the economics spokesperson for the UK Liberal Democrats political party, although expressing a political viewpoint, talks about the "institutionalised passivity of UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), the Treasury-backed bank shareholder body" to deal with the activity of large banks, and the conduct of bankers operating through such institutions. In his <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2009/06/banks-financial-government">article</a> (New Statesman, June 29, 09), he asks three important questions: "(1) How can a semi-nationalised banking system best serve the different but overlapping interests of UK bank borrowers, depositors and taxpayers, as well as private shareholders and bank executives? (2) How should the systemic risks of banking – and the City generally – be managed through regulation, in order to safeguard the wider UK economy? (3) Is it actually possible for the UK to play host to a major financial service sector?" Considering the role that the UK has played in financial services, finding answers to these questions could have a profound impact on the financial markets of the world. <br /><br />Perhaps, one thinking behind such questions lies in the ability to open up the banking sector to more innovative players -- albeit those that are regulated in some way. One approach would be to enable people (borrowers and lenders) to directly interact with others, and provide a more Peer-2-Peer approach to banking. As trust in the centralized banking sector erodes, perhaps trust built through knowledge of people and communities could be used to establish borrowing and lending institutions. <a href="http://uk.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/listings/">Zopa</a> happens to be one such company, operating in the UK, USA, Japan and Italy. The idea here is to allow <i>people</i> not large institutions to lend and borrow to each other, thereby sidestepping banks. Essentially, individuals decide who they want to invest their money in, and the rate of return they will see. A number of <a href="http://uk.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/public/about-zopa/how-it-works.html">credit checks</a> are used to identify the financial status of a lender/borrower. Zopa makes money by charging a fixed fee for each transaction conducted through it's site. In April 2009, Zopa transactions added up to a lending of £3 million, an increase of 3.5 folds from April 2008. Since it's launch in March 2005, over £40 million have been disbursed. <a href="http://www.carpetbagging.co.uk/person_to_person_lending_zopa.html">Carpet Bagging</a> provides a good summary of such Peer-2-Peer lending/banking approaches -- identifying other market players in this area, such as <a href="http://www.prosper.com/">Prosper</a> (US) and <a href="http://www.smava.de/">Smava"</a> (Germany). <br /><br />The role that the state should play in the regulation of such entities should help address some of the questions that Vincent Cable has asked in his article. Although such P2P lending sites could also fail -- as demonstrated in the collapse of <a href="http://www.wiseclerk.com/group-news/services/boober-dutch-p2p-lending-site-boober-fails/">Boober</a> in The Netherlands -- affecting almost 1,200 people. Could technology and recent surge in interest in social network lead to a new form of community banking -- akin to the ideas being proposed by Silvio Gesell in his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_Economic_Order">Natural Economic Order</a>?<br /><br /><i>image from: http://fc.sharon.k12.ma.us/~soreilly/economics</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-62001754206989570922009-07-16T23:47:00.006+01:002009-07-17T00:14:05.383+01:00Where can Autonomic Computing be of benefit ...?<a href="http://www.almaden.ibm.com/institute/images/alm_torso2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 115px; height: 166px;" src="http://www.almaden.ibm.com/institute/images/alm_torso2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />There is now an active research community focusing their energy on <a href="http://www.autonomiccomputing.org/">Autonomic Computing</a> (and the associated <a href="http://www.caip.rutgers.edu/icac/index.php">conference series</a>) -- utilizing it, primarily, for supporting (computer) systems management. The motivation for this seems to be the observations that as computer/information systems get more complex, it is possible that no one person will fully understand how such (complex) systems operate. It is therefore necessary to enable each component of such a system to be more intelligent, enabling it to self-adapt and modify its behaviour based on detected changes in it's environment. The mechanisms behind this come from autonomic self-adaptation in humans -- although there are also significant overlaps in ideas from Ashby's Viability Zone in his <a href="http://www.secse.net/publications/docs/sussex/moio08a.pdf">Homestatic system</a> -- a good introduction <a href="http://users.cs.cf.ac.uk/O.F.Rana/barcelona-ac-course/autonomic-computing-intro.ppt">here</a> (if I may say so myself!). Critics of autonomic computing however say that this is unlikely to ever be realized. It is often mentioned by such individuals that the vision statements in autonomic computing are often too high-level, and unless distilled down to very specific outcomes, make this field vague and uninterresting from a practical perspective. And herein lies the problem. The very nature of autonomics implies that such approaches (often utilizing mechanisms from machine learning (such as reinforcement learning, neural networks), rule-based adaptation and control theory) can only be applied (and, more importantly, validated) in well-defined problems. However, many large scale systems often appear to be "open" and such well defined ideal state -- which drives the autonomic mechanism -- is often hard to specify. Perhaps, what is needed is more work on design (software) and methodologies for applying some of these autonomic mechanisms in more open environments. Perhaps, this is a research area that needs further attention? <br /><br /><i>Image from IBM Almaden</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-58087029722333153972009-04-02T20:20:00.006+01:002009-04-02T20:41:26.964+01:00Busting Cancer with Gold<a href="http://www.dddmag.com/uploadedImages/Articles/2007_10/dd7odisnews3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://www.dddmag.com/uploadedImages/Articles/2007_10/dd7odisnews3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Gold nanosphere's that contain antibodies that latch on to cancer cells provides a really interesting new way to deal with this disease. <a href="http://www.chemistry.ucsc.edu/faculty/zhang.html">Jin Zhang</a> at UC, Santa Cruz indicated that ... "you could send a person home, have them shine a laser on the specific part of the body with cancer for a couple weeks, and they could be cured of cancer". Interestingly, the size of the nanosphere indicates how it responds to different wavelengths of light. Hence, the size of the sphere indicates how big an area is being affected. According to Brown University's <a href="http://research.brown.edu/research/profile.php?id=1106970162">Shouheng Sun</a>, "once the nanoparticles have done their job and destroyed the tumour, the kidneys filter them out of a patient's body within a few hours". Most interestingly, the nanosphere can be viewed through an MRI scan, and may also be used to locate tumors -- as they latch on to tumour cells. According to a <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090322154415.htm">Science Daily</a> article, such spheres therefore provide a useful sensor for locating cancers, and subsequently treating them using the approach being advocated by Jin Zhang. "What makes this structure special is the combination of the spherical shape, the small size, and the strong absorption in visible and near infrared light," Zhang said. "The absorption is not only strong, it is also narrow and tunable. All of these properties are important for cancer treatment." <br /><br /><i>Image from: Drug Discovery and Development magazine (http://www.dddmag.com/)</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-1221446808707973402008-10-23T19:00:00.010+01:002008-10-23T19:34:00.753+01:00Microcredit in the USA<a href="http://37days.typepad.com/37days/images/grameen.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 250px;" src="http://37days.typepad.com/37days/images/grameen.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.grameen-info.org/">Grameen Bank</a> supports the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit">microcredit</a> scheme invented by Nobel prize winning Bangladeshi economist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus">Professor Muhammad Yunus</a>. Grameen bank began almost 34 years ago, when Professor Yunus started lending to enterprising women (initially only US $27), enabling them to develop their own businesses. Today, the model has been replicated in over 100 countries, with the simple (and very effective) principle that the "poor need credit, not aid". Staff at Grameen bank work closely with their clients, working alongside support groups to offer advice and money to such clients (many of whom often do not have any bank account at all). According to <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/north-america/2008/10/grameen-bank-usa-vote">an article</a> by Sigrid Rausing, "... the sums lent are carefully considered: the right amount is empowering; too little, or, interestingly, too much, is thought to be damaging". The bank uses four aspects as part of its client relationship strategy: (i) the loan; (ii) the savings account -- though banks such as Citibank; (iii) five days of financial literacy training; (iv) partnership with credit scoring organisations such as <a href="http://www.experian.com/">Experian</a>. <br /><br />Interestingly, Grameen Bank has now opened a branch in Queens, New York. Although initially intended for developing countries, it has now found that, "... 36.5 million Americans live below the poverty line, and 28 million have no bank accounts. Many of these are immigrants. They rely on payday loans or cheque cashiers, and short term loans (some legal, some not) -- with annual average interest rates of 300 to 400 percent", according to Sigrid Rausing's article. The New York office is led by Mr Chattree (formerly of Insead and JP Morgan), who sees Grameen opening six more branches in the US over the coming years -- reaching up to 20,000 people. Perhaps, this kind of community oriented banking is what is really needed in the Western world, with the current collapse of major banking institutions. Perhaps, the over US $700B that has been used to bail out major Wall Street concerns, should also be used to fund institutions such as Grameen bank, which provides a much more sustainable and democratic model of supporting people to help themselves, and communities to become more self reliant. Interestingly, such grass roots banking seems not only ethical but also safe -- as payback rate on loans for Grameen is almost 99 percent (now compare that with high street banks in the UK and equivalent US concerns).<br /><br /><i>image from http://37days.typepad.com</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-87915309640307045192008-10-12T00:26:00.006+01:002008-10-12T00:46:15.302+01:00Google's Geo<a href="http://maps.google.com/">Google Maps</a> and <a href="http://earth.google.com">Google Earth</a> have now become almost as essential as the Google search engine itself. Whenever I am going to a conference -- Google Maps provide valuable information about the locality where the conference will be taking place, and where I will be staying. Now, Google has gone one stage further and sponsored a satellite -- through the company <a href="http://launch.geoeye.com/LaunchSite/about/">GeoEye</a>. According to Dylan Tweney's <a href="http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/08/google-launches.html">blog</a>, "the satellite will be able to take photos at a resolution of up to 41 centimeters -- enough to get a pretty decent photo of your Mustang convertible, but not enough identify the redhead in the passenger's seat.<br />Because of a deal GeoEye has already signed with the U.S. government, Google will only get data with a resolution of 50 centimeters, News.com reports.<br />A second satellite, GeoEye-2, slated to launch in 2011 or 2012, will have a resolution of 25cm, company representatives promised." The satellite also supports a colourful <a href="http://blog.wired.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/09/geoeye3_2.jpg">Google sticker</a> -- although it is on the part of the satellite launcher that will return to Earth. This interesting development introduces an interesting new era for commercial mapping of the Globe -- where technology often reserved for national government agencies is now being used for the benefit of the masses.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-73789911817617702832008-09-30T00:38:00.004+01:002008-09-30T01:17:18.200+01:00Mobile Money Transfer<a href="http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/archives/images/set2/24basic.1.600.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/archives/images/set2/24basic.1.600.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />According to a recent <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2008/09/mobile-networks-families">report</a>, over 200 million migrant workers transfer money to their home towns -- using the global <a href="http://www.westernunion.com/info/selectCountry.asp">Western Union</a> (with over 170,000 agents worldwide) -- and a variety of informal networks (also known as Chinese <a href="http://www.alternatives.com/crime/flyingmo.html">fei ch'ien</a> ("flying monkey"), <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/leg/sem/2004/cdmfl/eng/maimbo.pdf">phei kwan</a> in Thailand, hundi (Pakistan/Bangladesh), hawalah (India/Middle East), padala (Philippines) and hui kuan (Hong Kong)). Such informal networks work in a number of interesting ways, essentially, an individual pays an agent in the UK who then informs an agent (a shop keeper in Kenya, for instance) to pay an equivalent amount to another individual. According to the report, "globally, the total amount sent home by migrant workers through remittance transfers is roughly $300bn (£170bn); money sent via informal networks and money laundering is believed to add a further $150bn. Remittances far outstrip foreign aid to the developing world and can contribute up to a third of a country's GDP." With the significant recent take up of mobile phone technology in many developing countries (for instance, according to <a href="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/newslog/Global+Mobile+Phone+Users+Top+33+Billion+By+End2007.aspx">Cellular Networks</a>, mobile subscription growth stood at 39% annually in Africa between 2005-2007, and 28% in Asia over the same period. India and China added 154 million and 143 million new subscribers respectively), <a href="http://www.g-cash.com.ph/">G-Cash</a> and <a href="http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=228">M-Pesa</a> are now becoming alternatives to the traditional systems facilitated through mobile telephone networks. Essentially, "Users pay cash into an `mWallet'; and whenever they want to transfer money using their phone, the recipient gets a text message, which provides them with a code to show to a local agent." With the government control that is now being exerted over informal networks (often tied to money laundering and other crimes), G-Cash and M-Pesa are more regulated, and offer an excellent alternative to traditional banking transfers (often with a 1% commission, compared to the 10%-23% or so requested by banks -- depending on the transfer time involved). Additionally, "the mobile transfer networks could also change the way humanitarian agencies administer aid, as a pilot scheme launched during the Kenyan post-election violence this year demonstrated. With the country in chaos, cattle rustlers took advantage of the security vacuum in the remote Kerio Valley to attack communities and livestock, making the transportation of food, money and materials to affected communities unfeasible. The aid agency Concern Worldwide entered into an agreement with M-Pesa, sending money to over 560 households within a month." Perhaps, mobile phone technology, used in this way, could provide an important application for sustaining communities and families relying on overseas remittances, and avoid the need for the involvement of major banking institutions (many of which seem to be collapsing right now!).<br /><br /><i>image from: http://www.textually.org/</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-3663834578421633622008-09-21T05:01:00.003+01:002008-09-21T05:04:51.920+01:00Periodic VideosThe periodic table always provided a reference point when I was doing my Chemistry practicals at A'levels. I was fascinated by how a list of key constituents of my environment could be catalogued in this way. Now a <a href="http://periodicvideos.com/">collection of videos</a> from the University of Notthingham provides information about each element in the table. With over 2 million views, this site provides an excellent site for teaching.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-18705215339646016522008-08-26T15:08:00.008+01:002008-08-26T15:38:53.070+01:00SLAs and Complexity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/image/s_handshake3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/image/s_handshake3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />In the Grid and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) community, there seems to be significant discussion about developing charging models for the provisioning of electronic resources (compute and data servers) and services -- examples include European projects such as <a href="http://www.sorma-project.org/">SORMA</a> and <a href="http://www.gridecon.eu/">GridEcon</a> -- and various Cloud computing vendors, for instance. Many of these projects utilize the concept of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) as a means to specify electronic contract between single/multiple providers and users. A question that continues to arise at <a href="http://it.i-u.de/schools/altmann/gecon/2008/">workshops</a> and conferences in this area appears to be identifying the types of SLAs that are really necessary, as many users currently are just happy to accept `Best Effort' services. For instance, although significant research exists about SLAs, those being used by commercial providers, such as <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/s3/">Amazon.com</a> for their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_S3">Simple Storage Service</a> (S3) seem to be very simple (in the case of Amazon.com, the SLA primarily uses <a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2007/10/sla_s3_amazon_s3_sla.html">Monthly Uptime Percentage</a> based on an Error Rate, as the SLA metric). Similarly, in the SLA research community, there is significant discussion about aspects of negotiation (some of which are quite complex) -- however, when SLAs are being used by data center providers and compute centers (traditional Supercomputing centers), these appear to be mainly paper-based documents that only take account of "customer classes" (in the case of data center providers). One question one needs to ask is the level of complexity that could be (usefully) tolerated by an end user/provider in an SLA. Perhaps, the formula that seems to be recurring in other Internet-based systems also needs to be applied here -- i.e. to keep the technology simple (so that many people can use it), but keep the complexity under the hood (so that there are a suitably rich set of features, and a diverse range of applications can benefit from it). Perhaps, too much complexity is being exposed to the end user -- when, in fact, simple SLAs are what people really want (and need)?<br /><br /><i>image from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-26276668216388942952008-08-15T10:33:00.009+01:002008-08-15T16:34:18.847+01:00The Tech Pill<a href="http://www.biotech-weblog.com/50226711/images/camera_pill.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.biotech-weblog.com/50226711/images/camera_pill.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The <a href="http://www.ibmt.fhg.de/fhg/ibmt_en/profile/locations/_index.jsp">Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering</a> (St. Ingbert, Germany) has developed a control system for a <a href="">camera pill</a>. About the size of a vitamin pill, the "Camera Pill" is a non-invasive diagnostic alternative to traditional endoscopy, the most common procedure used to examine the esophagus -- first produced by <a href="http://www.givenimaging.com/en-us/Pages/GivenWelcomePage.aspx">Given Imaging Limited</a> -- called "PillCam", and approved by the <a href="http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01094.html">US Federal Drug Administration</a> in 2001. The pill can be taken with water, and in about 3 minutes reaches the esophagus, where it can take digital images <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/04/050428171500.htm">(approx: 14 per second -- in total about 2,600 images)</a>, transmitted to a device around the patient's waist worn in a belt. The image count is however restricted due to the size of the device -- causing it to move through the stomach (for instance) at a fast speed (due to it's weight). The control system from <a href="http://www.fraunhofer.de/EN/press/pi/2008/06/ResearchNews062008Topic1.jsp">Fraunhofer and partners</a> allows a doctor to steer the disposable camera inside the body using a magnet. An interesting new approach to utilize sensors inside a human body for diagnostic purposes. Reminds me of the 1960s movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060397/">Fantastic Voyage</a>, where a submarine is reduced to microscopic size, injected into the bloodstream and able to travel through the body to provide medical treatment. Although the PillCam is not small enough to travel through a blood vessel, it seems that emerging interest in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanorobotics">nanobots</a> could eventually lead to the creation of such machines -- and according to the Jersulaem Post, they are <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1182409639914&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull">already here</a>. <br /><br /><i>image from http://www.biotech-weblog.com/</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-39986584860343775302008-08-06T11:07:00.006+01:002008-08-06T11:31:05.213+01:00Distributed Programming Abstractions @ e-Science 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eu8quxlZinTvVqdiyXmIt5IltYZSAi8UveX_G0lMbniY7ZRq4aZWVJ02tP3No_WS_1E-Lq62lCeDPblZkREok1lfpajkKTU6RroM3qEJVwuUC7udFvY8_8wOtaMgJnALsDnVV9VY7Q/s1600-h/escience_badge_teal.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eu8quxlZinTvVqdiyXmIt5IltYZSAi8UveX_G0lMbniY7ZRq4aZWVJ02tP3No_WS_1E-Lq62lCeDPblZkREok1lfpajkKTU6RroM3qEJVwuUC7udFvY8_8wOtaMgJnALsDnVV9VY7Q/s400/escience_badge_teal.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231349392004589858" /></a><br />The <a href="http://escience2008.iu.edu/">4th IEEE International Conference on e-Science</a> takes place in December 2008 at University Place Conference Center (University of Indiana) in the US. The conference has a special theme on "Cloud Computing" this year, and is a unique event that brings together computational scientists with computational infrastructure developers. The conference features an excellent list of <a href="http://escience2008.iu.edu/workshops/index.shtml">workshops</a> and <a href="http://escience2008.iu.edu/tutorials/index.shtml">tutorials</a> -- covering areas such as workflow, Problem Solving Environments and a focus on "community engagement" to get better uptake of computational infrastructure within the day to day practices of researchers. Along with colleagues, I am also involved in organizing a workshop at this event on <a href="http://escience2008.iu.edu/workshops/abstractions.shtml">Abstractions for Distributed Applications and Systems</a>. The overarching aim of this workshop is to highlight and understand the gap between: (i) the increasing complexity and availability of distributed computational infrastructure; (ii) the lack of takeup and effective use of such infrastructure within computational science applications. It may be argued that applications have not been able to make effective use of distributed infrastructure and tools because of the gap of suitable abstractions/patterns to utilize infrastructure efficiently -- the effort required has been too high for many scientists. Interestingly, the design and implementation of the most ambitious distributed infrastructure are not consistent with a clear theoretical understanding of distributed applications -- the different classes of application, specific application level requirements and common usage modes. Additionally, this workshop aims to determine where programming abstractions are important and where non-programmatic abstractions are likely to make greater impact in enabling applications to effectively utilize distributed infrastructure. In addition to covering traditional applications and systems, this workshop will also address emerging infrastructure and application areas, such as programming and system abstractions for Clouds and data-intensive applications. Paper submission deadline is <strong>September 1, 2008</strong>.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-76973633377812537972008-08-05T00:26:00.003+01:002008-08-05T01:06:40.625+01:00Creative China<a href="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0cRZ0SZ6Ld2Ca/340x.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0cRZ0SZ6Ld2Ca/340x.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />As China prepares for the next olympics -- it is remarkable to see how this country has changed over the last few years. BBC's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cultureshow/">Culture Show</a> had a special report on China, and the growth of creative industries in this country. The design industry seems to be booming in China -- with a range of emerging design houses -- such as <a href="http://www.grifted.com.cn/">Grifted</a>, <a href="http://www.thedesignrepublic.com/concept.asp">Design Republic</a>, and <a href="http://www.shirtflag.com/index.aspx">Shirtflag</a> -- all representatives of contemporary China reinterpreting identity and individuality. According to the <a href="http://www.foozoodesign.com/blog/">FooZoo Design Blog</a>, "...<br />now more than ever, China is redefining its place in the world. Vast, technologically-advanced cities are popping up next to some of the most rural places in the world; design, art, music, and culture are evolving quicker than ever before. For the first time in centuries, China is on center stage with a new image, a new feel, and a wealth of innovation." Some of these musicians -- such as "B6" -- represent the emergence of the new electronic music scene in China. According to a <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91839214">report</a> on US National Public Radio, "...B6 is that rare creature in China, an independent musician who is making a living from his work. Until recently, the Chinese government limited the number of CDs that could be sold — and music piracy is rampant. But the Internet and the burgeoning capitalist economy have opened up other options for independent musicians like B6." For me, London in the UK represents one of the most culturally (and design) rich cities in the world. A recent talk at the Department of Trade and Industry's <a href="http://www.innovateuk.org/">Technology Strategy Board</a> by <a href="http://www.conran.com/aboutus/people.html">Sir Terrence Conran</a> highlighted the importance of design in facilitaing innovation, and sustaining a creative environment (leading to new ideas and technology innovation). Subsequently, the UK TSB launched a special programme in <a href="http://www.innovateuk.org/ourstrategy/applicationareas/creativeindustries.ashx">Creative Industries</a> -- recognizing the importance of this area within UK economy. Similarly, in China perhaps this growth in creative industries, which in the past were suppressed by Chinese government, spells a new era for Chinese innovation and creativity? Perhaps, the recent emphasis on the negative sides of China (human rights etc etc.) need to be balanced with the rapid growth of this nation, not just as a country with 1.3B people and vast swathes of concrete, but also as a nation that is emerging as the culture capital of the future. Where artists combine thousands of years of Chinese culture with a range of different Western and Asian influences. <br><br /><i>image from http://www.daylife.com/ -- originally from Getty Images </i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-14514028001654055922008-08-02T19:20:00.006+01:002008-08-05T00:26:33.731+01:00Music for nothing and your kicks for fee<a href="http://www.tv13.net/images/internet_radio/internet_radio_250x251.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.tv13.net/images/internet_radio/internet_radio_250x251.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />In the UK, listening to the radio (the "wireless") will always have a special place in people's heart. The Internet is bringing it's own radio revolution. With the thousands of streamed audio stations that one can find through <a href="http://www.shoutcast.com/">Shoutcast Radio</a> and <a href="http://www.live365.com/index.live">Live365</a>, it is often difficult not to find something of interest. However, one on-line radio site seems to stand out amongst these offerings -- this is <a href="http://www.last.fm/">LastFM</a> -- a streamed radio that combines listening to music with social networking. It boasts <a href="http://www.cbs.com/sales/lastfm/">20 million users globally</a> with over 1 million tracks to chose from. It allows users to custom-build their own radio station based on common tracks being listened to by other users. So, if you like song X and I like song X, then LastFM will recommend other music that you have in your playlist to me. This enables sharing of common music recommedations between individuals, thereby allowing one to extend their playlist. A concept that was started by <a href="http://current.com/watch/71517102">Martin Stiksel in London</a> (in 2002). LastFM was bought by CBS radio last year for US $280 million, "... the largest ever UK Web 2.0 acquisition", according to a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6701863.stm">BBC report</a>. It is also possible to listen to LastFM through a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> application. An interesting issue that LastFM also raises is one of streaming audio vs. providing the ability for individuals to download music files. According to <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/scitech/2008/07/file-business-industry-rights">Becky Hodge</a>, the music industry "... says that online piracy costs it profits ... Where other sectors that have been challenged by the internet - the news media, for example - have adapted their business models to suit the digital age, the record industry has, instead, gone cap in hand to the government, asking for the clock to be turned back, and for the nasty digital world to somehow be magicked away." According to her, ISP's in the UK have been asked by the government to send "nasty letters" to the alleged six million illicit file-sharers this summer. Becky Hodge points out the need for new business models that take into account the existence of illicit downloads. Interestingly, a topic extensively addressed in Professor Yochai Benkler's <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/sisu/the_wealth_of_networks.yochai_benkler/toc.html">The Wealth of Networks</a> -- "... as computers became more music-capable and digital networks became a ubiquitously available distribution medium, we saw the emergence of the present conflict over the regulation of cultural production--the law of copyright--between the twentieth-century, industrial model recording industry and the emerging amateur distribution systems coupled, at least according to its supporters, to a reemergence of decentralized, relation-based markets for professional performance artists." Benkler discusses the different business models that would enable sharing of digitally accessible content using "Creative Commons" licensing models. For instance, a music artist could give their music away for free, but make money through concerts. A wonderful discussion about new business models that could be propagated through a Web 2.0, social network oriented radio stations like LastFM. <br><br /><i>image from http://www.tv13.net/</i>Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-22808719831214633982008-07-31T02:11:00.008+01:002008-07-31T09:29:35.146+01:00Hyperpolitics and MemeticsMark Pesce at the <a href="http://pdf2008.confabb.com/conferences/60420-personal-democracy-forum-2008">Personal Democracy Forum</a> (June 2008), emphasises how "hyperconnectivity" through the Internet and other digital communication mechanisms today enables the distribution of ideas across a large group of individuals in a short span of time. He emphasises how the use of digital media (Facebook, Flickr, etc) allows the spread of ideas; according to him, "... whenever any one of us displays a new behavior in a hyperconnected context, that behavior is inherently transparent, visible and observed. If that behavior is successful, it is immediately copied by those who witnessed the behavior, then copied by those who witness that behavior, and those who witnessed that behavior, and so on. Very quickly, that behavior becomes part of the global behavioral kit. As its first-order emergent quality, hyperconnectivity produces ... unprecedented acceleration of the natural processes of observational learning, where each behavioral innovation is distributed globally and instantaneously" -- thereby leading to <a href="http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/pesce08/pesce08_index.html">Hypermemisis</a>. A very interesting article that discusses how children of <em>Generation Next</em> are becoming experts in mimesis -- the learning by immitation. He suggests that, "we are built to observe and reproduce the behaviors of our parents, our mentors and our peers. Our peers now number three and a half billion." An interesting and related idea has been propagating across the Internet for a while -- that of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics">Memetics</a>. According to the Wikipedia entry, "Memetics is a neo-Darwinian approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme. Starting from a metaphor used in the writings of Richard Dawkins, it has since turned into a new area of study, one that looks at the self-replicating units of culture. It has been proposed that just as memes are analogous to genes, memetics is analogous to genetics." Memetics therefore represents those ideas that have managed to survive and be passed on through the "minds" of individuals. A meme being either a unit of cultural information that can be copied, or an observable cultural artifact and behaviour -- describes those theories that dominate our thinking today. Perhaps, a more controversial question one can ask today is whether the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2004/lectures.shtml">Climate of Fear</a> imposed through rising oil prices, climate change etc, is essentially a meme propagated by news media. A "cultural artifact" that has been picked up and replicated upteen times until it has become acceptable "reality". Surely, the Internet provides the best medium for propagating memes to the masses -- like dominant genes that exist within our population.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-92085119670987969862008-07-27T00:15:00.003+01:002008-07-27T00:49:39.870+01:00Liquid PublicationsElaine Morgan, in the <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/">New Statesman</a> magazine demonstrates, using a very interesting example, how the Internet is changing scientific debate. According to her article <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2008/07/internet-crackpot-elaine">Here Comes Everybody</a>, "in the 1960s, Sir Alister Hardy (an Oxford Professor) suggested that several features distinguishing human beings from apes could be most readily explained if our earliest ancestors had inhabited a semi-aquatic environment, rather than having lived on the open plains, as was generally believed. At the time, Hardy's peers wrote him off as a crackpot. Now, 48 years later, there is strong support for the aquatic idea on the internet. Yet, on most university campuses, the Aquatic Ape hypothesis is still treated as belonging to the lunatic fringe and unworthy of debate. It is on the web that the debate - both for and against - rages, at sites such as <a href="http://www.riverapes.com">Riverapes</a> and <a href="http://www.primitivism.com/">Primitivism</a>. The internet as a source of information is messy, chaotic and often misleading. But it is a godsend when academic practices have stiffened into inflexibility and university luminaries are regarded, in all intellectual disputes, as the final court of appeal." Interestingly, a similar idea is being propagated in a wonderful project called <a href="http://liquidpub.org/">Liquid Publications</a> -- where the authors (Fabio Casati, Fausto Giunchiglia and Maurizio Marchese from the University of Trento), indicate the need for "evolutionary, collaborative, and composable scientific" contributions. The authors stress the need for involving the wider community in judging the merit of research findings, through a "social network", rather than a small set of members from the academic community (often a limited programme committee), who <em>may</em> have pre-set views on what contributions they wish to accept. The authors of the Liquid Publication document indicate that there is a need for "... a radically different evaluation method for publications and for authors, based on the interest they generate in the community and on their innovative contributions ... (peer reviews can be used as a complement). The method also encourages early dissemination of innovative results." An interesting view is provided about the need to balance quality of a contribution vs. quick dissemination of new ideas. An accompanying article -- <a href="http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v8i03_fabio.html">Publish and Perish</a> -- explains some of the background to this thinking. There is certainly a need to make better use of Web technologies in disseminating ideas, and avoid the necessity to use standard academic peer-review as a basis for selection of ideas. However, more needs to be thought about how content on the Web can be scruitized for quality (whatever that may mean). Perhaps, publishers of journals and text books, and those who compile "impact factors" of research publications, also need to think more about how such "Liquid Publications" can be made more acceptable as channels of dissemination and are considered as "reputable" as other (more traditional) sources.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-23640544633167736962008-07-22T00:45:00.006+01:002008-07-22T01:26:52.929+01:00Super 30In one of the world's most populated country, where education of children is given more emphasis than any other endeavour by parents, entering a prestigious University is the dream of many youngsters. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Technology">Indian Institute of Technology</a> happens to be one such institution -- with over 300,000 students from across India competing for around 5,500 places each year (across all campuses). Selection is based on the highly competitive, science based, entrance exam. <a href="http://www.super30.org/">Super 30</a> is a specialist program led, rather interestingly, by a mathematics teacher (Anand Kumar) and a police inspector (Abhayanand) in the city of Patna, aiming to "... hunt for 30 meritorious talents from among the economically backward sections of the society and shape them for India's most prestigious institution -- IIT". Super30 searches for talent amongst the "brick kiln worker, rickshaw puller, landless farmer, roadside vendor and the likes", to bring opportunity to kids from these communities. Since its inception in 2003, Super30 has seen 94 successes out of 120 students who have come through its doors (a remarkable success by any standard). See the video by <a href="http://www.taniarodrigues.co.uk/super30.html">Tania Rodriguez</a> on Super30, and a special <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2008/07/200871151736625198.html">two part</a> programme (part of the "WITNESS" series) from Al-Jazeera TV. Chris Mitchell who produced the film for Al-Jazeera writes, "It really is a story of how people from the lowest caste in India can actually become millionaires and work in the global economy. I hope that people will see how a real effort, commitment, and hard work in extremely difficult circumstances, brings out amazing results." According to <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Super_30_do_it_again/articleshow/2088116.cms">Dipak Mishra</a> from the Time of India, "... The 'Super 30' heroes this year include Pranav Prince whose mother works as a tailor to support the family. There are also a nurse's son and an FCI godown watchman's son. Hard work + 'josh' = success, formulated Abhishek Kumar, another Super 30 star who is ranked 327th in the IIT-JEE this year." A remarkable tale of determination, ambition, and helping people help themselves.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-25564079270270361592008-07-19T16:18:00.002+01:002008-07-19T16:32:43.216+01:00Gartner's Emerging Trends SymposiumGartner's <a href="http://www.gartner.com/it/sym/2008/spg10/spg10.jsp">Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo</a> took place in April 2008, where, according the <a href="http://mags.acm.org/communications/200807/">Communications of the ACM</a> magazine, seven IT Grand Challenges were identified:<br /><br /><UL><br /><LI> Eliminate need to manually re-charge wireless devices<br /><LI> Parallel programming applications that fully exploit multicore processors<br /><LI> Non-tactile, natural computing interfaces<br /><LI> Automated computer-to-human speech translation <br /><LI> Reliable, long term digital storage<br /><LI> Increase in programmer productivity (by 100%)<br /><LI> Identify financial consequences of IT investments<br /></UL> <br /><br />It is really interesting to see this list, consisting of a collection of technology and business related outcomes. From the various <a href="http://blog.gartner.com/blog/symEtrend.php">Trip Reports</a> from the expo, the one on Business Intelligence particularly caught my attention. According to the people surveyed in this area, 46% are now starting to make use of Google infrastructure or applications (such as Google Docs and Google Application Server). Also, "... major vendors are exploring the use of Cloud computing." Another interesting debate on "GreenIT" was led by Gartner analysts French Caldwell and Charles Smulders, who mentioned that " ... Green IT is a myth, and any efforts the IT industry takes to address climate change will have little impact." Hmmm ...Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-32894136186836200262008-07-15T13:08:00.006+01:002008-07-15T14:26:09.109+01:00Making Trade FairI remember a few years ago when the <a href="http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/">Make Poverty History</a> (MPH) campaign took hold of the UK. My work colleagues and friends were wearing wrist bands branded with the MPH logo, aiming to show their solidarity with this movement. However, I disagreed (and still do) with the general idea of MPH. With a growing world population, and limited resources, it is very unlikely that we can <b>ever</b> make poverty ``history". An alternative campaign that I would support would be to <a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/trade">Make Trade Fair</a> (MTF) -- rather than Make Poverty History. The MTF campaign has much more interesting and sustainable ideas -- which encourages people in developing countries to undertake trade with the developed work on more equitable basis. A case in point is the <a href="http://www.phytotradeafrica.com/">PhytoTrade Africa</a> -- an organization promoting fair and environmentally sustainable trade. Recently, PhytoTrade has been promoting the import of fruit of the <a href="http://www.phytotradeafrica.com/products/baobab.htm">baobab tree</a> from Africa into Europe. According to a recent <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7506997.stm">BBC Report</a>, "...the fruit, contained in a hard nut, has six times more vitamin C than oranges and twice as much calcium as milk. African people have eaten the fruit for thousands of years, but Europeans will consume its pulp as an ingredient in smoothies and cereal bars." PhytoTrade had been fighting an EU legislation to bring this fruit into Europe -- with an estimated market worth of over £500 million per year. An excellent example of how fair trade and a gap in the market can be used to support developing nations, and eventually help them eradicate poverty.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653960430960638294.post-59542242561076870952008-07-13T00:54:00.003+01:002008-07-13T01:14:05.697+01:00"Machinimation"As computer games become more complex, developers of many of these games, such as Halo, Half-Life, Doom, Quake, The Sims, and Second Life, are providing tools to enable users to record the game they are playing. This has subsequently led to the new development of <a href="http://www.machinima.com">Machinima</a> -- machine + animation -- which involves the recording and subsequent editing of game playing to make movies. The emergence of Machinima (which now has it's own <a href="http://blog.machinima.org">Blog</a>) is attributed to the fact that many gaming engines provide quite complex environments for movie making, reducing the need for specialist graphics software to generate movie sequences. Enthusiasts are now able to create short movies simply by recording and editing the games that they play on their video consoles -- using either tools directly built into the game (that enable a user to view their recorded game from multiple camera angles -- after the recording process), or third party tools that can work alongside specialist game engines. Rooster Teeth's <a href="http://rvb.roosterteeth.com">Red vs. Blue</a> provides one of the first series built on such animated productions. There is even now an <a href="http://www.machinima.org">Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences</a> -- which now brings together enthusiasts in this genre in an annual festival. As an example, check out the 100 minute long <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppUl_CBuyz8">War of the Servers</a> (or the shorter 3 minute <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhSrvuMPLlE">trailer</a>) from <a href="http://litfusefilms.com/movies/waroftheservers/">Lit Fuse Films</a>. Impressive stuff.Omer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07553238966859225135noreply@blogger.com