Now, IGNOU courses on mobiles, broadbandE
Now, IGNOU courses on mobiles, broadband
29 Sep 2008, Sapna Verma,TNN (TIMES OF INDIA)
NEW DELHI: For students enrolled with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), especially those staying abroad or in remote areas of India, IG
NOU has some good news. Getting information about IGNOU for its students will now be as simple as SMSing one’s friends. As IGNOU kicks off the first level of its mobile services in the next 15 days, sending SMSes in a prescribed format will be enough to get all information about its courses such as exam dates, updating personal details etc.
“This service will make information gathering and other exhausting procedure very simple and instant. It is a first of its kind experiment to be used by a university or educational institution in India. Most of the students enrolled with IGNOU are either students who are pursuing their regular courses or students who are already working. This service will save their time,” said P V Suresh, senior lecturer in School of Computer and Information Sciences.
Explaining the project, Suresh said, “The project has three levels. The first level will be started within 15 days wherein bulk messages will be send to millions of students enrolled with IGNOU containing information about various courses, subjects and also about this SMS service.”
Elaborating on the other two levels, Suresh said, “The second level will involve enabling the students to send SMSes to the university to get information on various courses, subjects, related projects, examination and its results. In the third level, the students will be able to update their personal details in their profiles, like address, phone number etc, directly through the software designed by us.”
While this service intends to make things simple for all IGNOU students, the main beneficiaries will be students staying abroad or in far off areas of the country. Said the IGNOU electronic media production centre director V K Arora, “As IGNOU does not hold regular classes, student can be updated about exams, fees instalments, study material, subjects and their related projects and other things, which earlier were very difficult to be communicated about. A student staying in some remote area might not have access to Internet, but can get information through a mobile phone. Similarly, it will be very difficult for a student in some other country to come every time as it is very time consuming, but sending an SMS is instant.”
P V Suresh, talking about the credibility of the service said, “The SMSes have to be sent in a particular format as prescribed by the university, which will ensure privacy and credibility of the service.”
Add-on courses for students of Pune university
Add-on courses for students of Pune university
2 Oct 2008,TNN (TIMES OF INDIA)
PUNE: The University of Pune, along with Global Talent Track, announced a programme offering college students add-on courses that will help them unde
rstand the requirements of industry and make them ‘industry-ready’ when they graduate.
The programme will be initially rolled out in 100 colleges affiliated to the university and the number of students expected to enrol is 30,000, vice-chancellor Narendra Jadhav said on Wednesday.
The programme will offer orientation and training in the information technology enabled services segment that needs human resources in huge numbers. These will include banking and financial services, insurance and retail, Jadhav said.
The programme contains three modules of 132 hours each, comprising awareness, skill training and employability development, Jadhav said, adding that the students are expected to complete these modules side by side their basic degree education. “The programme is optional, but we are confident that the students will find it relevant,” Jadhav said.
Uma Ganesh of Global Talent Track said the outsourcing opportunity for India is very big and we need to prepare the country’s youth to take up work that goes beyond call centres and other basic business process outsourcing categories. There will be opportunities in newer areas such as finance and accounting or publishing, she added.
Cisco, in the field of connectivity and networking technology, is the technology partner for the programme.
No exotic pets for young kids: Doctors
No exotic pets for young kids: Doctors
6 Oct 2008,AP
CHICAGO: Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets – or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter – because of risk
s for disease.
That’s according to the nation’s leading pediatricians’ group in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.
Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw – putting children younger than 5 particularly at risk, the report says.
Young children are vulnerable because of developing immune systems plus they often put their hands in their mouths.
That means families with children younger than 5 should avoid owning “nontraditional” pets. Also, kids that young should avoid contact with these animals in petting zoos or other public places, according to the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The report appears in the October edition of the group’s medical journal, Pediatrics.
“Many parents clearly don’t understand the risks from various infections” these animals often carry, said Dr. Larry Pickering, the report’s lead author and an infectious disease specialist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For example, about 11 per cent of salmonella illnesses in children are thought to stem from contact with lizards, turtles and other reptiles, Pickering said. Hamsters also can carry this germ, which can cause severe diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.
Salmonella also has been found in baby chicks, and young children can get it by kissing or touching the animals and then putting their hands in their mouths, he said.
Study co-author Dr. Joseph Bocchini said he recently treated an infant who got salmonella from the family’s pet iguana, which was allowed to roam freely in the home. The child was hospitalized for four weeks but has recovered, said Bocchini, head of the academy’s infectious diseases committee and pediatrics chairman at Louisiana State University in Shreveport.
Hedgehogs can be dangerous because their quills can penetrate skin and have been known to spread a bacteria germ that can cause fever, stomach pain and a rash, the report said.
With supervision and precautions like hand-washing, contact between children and animals “is a good thing,” Bocchini said. But families should wait until children are older before bringing home an exotic pet, he said.
Those who already have these pets should contact their veterinarians about specific risks and possible new homes for the animals, he said.
Data cited in the study indicate that about 4 million US households have pet reptiles. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, all kinds of exotic pets are on the rise, although generally fewer than 2 percent of households own them.
The veterinarian group’s Mike Dutton, a Weare, N.H., exotic animal specialist, said the recommendations send an important message to parents who sometimes buy exotic pets on an impulse, “then they ask questions, sometimes many months later.”
But a spokesman for the International Hedgehog Association said there’s no reason to single out hedgehogs or other exotic pets.
“Our recommendation is that no animal should be a pet for kids 5 and under,” said Z.G. Standing Bear. He runs a rescue operation near Pikes Peak, Colo., for abandoned hedgehogs, which became fad pets about 10 years ago.
Chicken manure to power homes
Chicken manure to power homes
7 Oct 2008, ANI
The world’s largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands, which will deliver renewable electricity
to 90,000 households.
According to a report in ENN, the power plant has a capacity of 36.5 megawatts, and will generate more than 270 million KWH of electricity per year.
The biomass power plant is more than merely “carbon neutral”. The biomass power plant will utilize 440,000 tons of chicken manure, roughly one third of the total amount produced each year in the Netherlands.
‘Prostate cancer test in 10 minutes’
‘Prostate cancer test in 10 minutes’
7 Oct 2008, PTI
LONDON: Imagine walking into a lab in the lunch hour to undergo a clinical test for prostate cancer and coming out in just ten minutes with the resul
t.
Cut to reality. Scientists in Britain have developed a blood test which they claim can assess the level of a cancer marker, called Prostate Specific Antigen, in ten minutes, the Daily Mail reported.
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a protein which leaks out of the prostate gland when it is damaged. A raised
PSA level does not necessarily mean the patient has prostate cancer, but could suggest the need for further investigation.
Previously, men had to wait several days for results. Now, the test, called PSAWatch, will make it easier to screen men for prostate cancer — it needs a drop of blood from a finger-prick which is analysed using a portable machine.
“We have come to rely heavily on the PSA test for prostate cancer screening in UK, and it forms an important part of the criteria used by GPs”, said Dr Tim Larner, a urologist at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals.
UAE’s best camels on show in capital
UAE’s best camels on show in capital
Staff Report GULF NEWS
Abu Dhabi: The four-day Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, 2008 (Adihex) starting on Wednesday will feature the world’s biggest camel auction and an auction for hybrid falcons.
The show will be held at the Abu Dhabi International Exhibition Centre.
The show that aims to highlight the culture and heritage of the UAE is organised by the Emirates Falconers’ Club, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach), Sorouh Real Estate and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Mohammad Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Organising Committee, said 526 companies from 37 countries have confirmed their participation in the evnt, an increase of 22 per cent from the last edition.
Apart from the camel and falcon auctions, this year’s Adihex will also feature a horse show for yearlings up to three years of age.
The saluki beauty contest, art competitions and other traditional hunting activities are also part of the event.
Highlight
About 80 of the UAE’s best camels donated by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go towards camel research.
The falcon auction, aimed at protecting endangered wild falcons from extinction, will this year feature hybrid birds instead of wild ones.
With starting prices fixed between Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 for falcons based on their type (Barbari, Gyr Shaheen, Biyour), size (16 to 18 inches) and weight (1,100 to 1,400 grams) the falcon auction is expected to be a big draw.
Adihex visitors will also get to enjoy folklore and other cultural shows while a painting and photograph exhibition highlighting the UAE’s culture and heritage will also be held on the sidelines.
A permanent security committee has been set up to oversee licensing of hunting weapons, ease paper work and to raise awareness on the acquisition of such weapons, the organisers said.
Poor driving to hit offenders’ wallets
Poor driving to hit offenders’ wallets
By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS
Abu Dhabi: Causing minor accidents is soon to become a costly affair, with the authorities introducing a new charge of Dh 500 by the end of this year, Gulf News has learnt.
The charge will be levied on errant motorists who cause small accidents, a senior police official said. However, drivers will not have to pay any other fees to insurance companies.
The money will go to Saaed, a private company which has been outsourced by the Abu Dhabi Police to handle minor accidents. Saaed has already been handling small traffic accidents occurring outside the city since September 15.
Speaking to Gulf News about the introduction of the charge, Major Hussain Ahmad Al Harthi, Director of the Traffic Engineering and Road Safety department at the Traffic and Patrolling Directorate of the police, said: “The charges are being introduced in a bid to curb accidents and improve the emergency services offered by the police”. The emirate alone witnesses a massive 95,000 minor accidents annually, as per official statistics.
“If the emergency services and patrols are free from the headache of attending to the large number of petty accidents then they can focus better on bigger accidents and other areas that require their attention such as crimes”, Al Harthi, who is also Chairman of Saaed, said.
Police announced in a statement on Monday that from October 12 those causing minor accidents in Al Ain and the outskirts of Abu Dhabi city will be charged Dh500 for using the services of Saaed.
“Motorists will not pay any additional fees to insurance companies or other charges”, read the statement.
“Within the city, we plan to introduce the charge by the end of this year.”
Keeping up
According to Al Harthi, the decision comes as a forerunner to combat the potential issues the city may face due to fast-paced developments, increasing population and ballooning traffic on the roads.
The move comes in line with a decision by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, to improve police services.
“We noticed that the time for the police to reach the accident spots has been increasing. If it takes around 20 to 30 minutes now to reach a spot after braving congestion and roadblocks, then what will be the situation few years later?”
“With the current rate of development, if no improvements are made to the existing system, it might take officers 2 hours (to reach the scene). So these new measures are for the better in the long run”, Al Harthi explained.
“It is in the best interest of the people as congestion is impeding the movement of ambulances and emergency mechanisms.
“Saaed now reaches the spot within an average of 11 minutes and completes their work in another 11 minutes approximately.
“They work in close coordination with the police and will be monitored for their performance,” he said.
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