#driving schools contact addresses in sector 20 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

caffademic · 5 years

Photo

Part 1/2 for my tips to surviving 1L for all of you 0Ls finding yourself in the same position I did last year.

Obligatory PSA: law school is extremely difficult, and not just academically. I didn’t prepare myself properly physically/mentally for the stress (although I’m not sure I could, to be honest) and I paid a very heavy price. Thus, I cannot stress enough *if you are not certain you want to practice law, do not go to law school. If you have never worked in a law office or had any experience, take a gap year and get some. School can and WILL wait.*

If you make it through my warning, I assume you’re either a masochist or naive and we will get this show on the road. On to my top 10 tips for taking care of yourself in law school!

Number 1: Evaluate your mental health I thought I understood myself before law school, but I was so very wrong. Let’s get to it: if you know you have any mental health challenges (anxiety, depression, OCD, BPD, etc.), seek out help or get evaluated BEFORE school starts. You’re going to want a network in place so you aren’t struggling to find a doctor or therapist once things get really bad. Your school likely has a student health center that can help you with a referral or even have an on-site psychiatrist/therapist. I am recommending this out of experience - I wish I had thought about these resources beforehand so I wasn’t struggling so badly by the end of my first semester/beginning of my second semester.

Number 2: Review your relationships Maybe you’re in a relationship and you don’t feel as connected to your partner/realized you don’t see the relationship moving forwards or maybe your best friend gives you stress because they don’t quite understand what you’re going through. Regardless, you do NOT want the emotional stress of a soured relationship halfway through the semester. Now is a good time to break up (if there’s such a thing) or at least give the important people in your life a heads up that the next three years are going to be miserable and you might be AWOL. That being said, I am still with my partner after my first year and I really lean on him for support. Relationships outside of law school can be a beautiful thing!

Number 3: Get yourself on a regular sleep cycle This tip isn’t necessarily helpful for everyone, but if you struggle with keeping your depression/anxiety at bay, a good night’s sleep can help manage it. Ultimately, you’ll need to balance what is important to you and your career. For me, I need at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night, usually more. If you aren’t resistant to melatonin, use supplements for a few nights to get on track. Soon enough, you’ll be in the habit of going to bed early and waking up early!

Number 4: Healthy Eating A major reason why my health declined rapidly this semester is because I wasn’t eating properly. Thankfully, my support system caught on and quickly got me back on track. A healthy day usually starts with a good breakfast. I find that my stomach is upset if I eat anything too heavy in the morning and I generally avoid breakfast. To correct that, my parents encouraged me to drink protein supplements, which has helped immensely. When I don’t drink the shakes, I eat a bowl of oatmeal, greek yogurt, or have some pieces of fruit. Basically, if you’re too busy to cook good, healthy meals, I’ve compiled a list of relatively cheap, semi-healthy, and quick foods. I’ll try and put a meal list together later, if you’re interested. For now, I love Barilla’s protein penne pasta, sautéed greens in season (mustard greens are good!), and the ever essential beans and rice. These are fantastic pick-me-ups and if you need a way to cook things cheaply, invest in a small pressure cooker - they can start at maybe $20 and can cook everything.

Number 5: Exercise Everyone gives this advice and I generally don’t follow it (because I’m a hypocrite). However, exercise is so important! If you’ve made exercising a habit in undergrad/high school, congratulations! Make sure you keep it up! If you’re not a big fan of hitting the gym, at least go outside and walk to class. The sunshine can boost your mood that is sure to be drained from sitting in the stress-inducing law library.

Number 6: Leave the Library Please do not spend every waking hour in the law library. Go home. Go outside. Go to the undergraduate library (it tends to be nicer because there’s more of them). Literally go anywhere else.

Number 7: You will feel guilty about everything and that is (mostly) okay You should definitely do things outside of law school. Maybe catch up with an old friend for an hour or watch television - these are great ways to wind down and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I sometimes took /too many/ breaks. However, you are going to feel guilty about it and that is a-ok. Everyone else feels guilty too! The truth is, you will always have more work than you realize and it will always feel a little overwhelming. Just remember, no matter how many miles you have left to drive, you still have to fill your car up with gas. Otherwise, you’ll burn out. Please take some breaks.

Number 8: Water and Caffeine This should be earlier in the list, but that doesn’t take away it’s importance. Drink a LOT of water and scale way back on the coffee. I stopped drinking coffee for the most part and now rely on tea when water doesn’t cut it. The last half of this semester, I was buying the Sparkling Cranberry Yerba Mate from my school’s cafe every Tuesday/Thursday before my Property class. Sometimes, ya gotta do what you gotta do.

Number 9: Alcohol Law school (or at least my law school) is practically subsidized by various beers, wines, and liquors. There will be alcohol at almost every school sponsored event and that means you need to know yourself and drink responsibly. If you have a drinking problem, address it before law school. If you suspect you could develop a drinking problem, stop before you get ahead. Alcohol only serves to bring your mood down and distract you from making the great grades we all want. All that being said, alcohol is very social and it can be isolating if you don’t drink - just use your best judgment.

Number 10: Maintain contact with the outside world You may feel guilty doing it, but you need your friends and family. They will keep you grounded, even if they don’t understand what you’re learning or doing. Also, read a book that isn’t law related! Join some extracurriculars! it’s easy to get caught up in the BS of school - just keep your head down and work hard. You’ll get through it :)

Review I thought it might be good to put an overview of my year at the end of this post. Not everything is helpful for every one, but I want to promote transparency so you can determine what is best for you. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I want to go into public sector environmental law. For me, this means government work when I graduate (if I can get hired). However, full disclosure, I am an average law student. I struggle with feeling inadequate when graded on a curve and often feel like I can’t get the hang of what I’m doing. However, over the year, I learned some things that helped me out the most: namely, going to sleep on time. I also invested in Quimbee, which really helped me review topics I didn’t understand.

Furthermore, I struggled with making friends at first in school. Now, I have two very dear friends who kept me from drowning in the stress and always made me feel okay. They are my go-to gals - I really recommend making good friends and not avoiding all events to read one more page or so.

Finally, I stick with my passions. I volunteer for things I want to do and I work hard to achieve my goals. It’s okay if you go into law not knowing your career trajectory or what you want to practice, but if you do, follow your path.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions or just want to vent about school - it’s a really tough process to adjust to and we need all the support we can get.

#1L #0L #lawblr #studyblr #study hacks #law studyblr #law student #law school

39 notes · View notes

realty360 · 2 years

Text

Nirala Aspire, 3 bhk flats in noida extension ready to move

The residential project at Nirala Aspire is freshly built and it's superbly crafted by the illustrious builders Nirala Group. The apartments in Nirala aspire offer sensational rooms that come with the correct flow of natural lights and ample ventilation.

The 3 bhk flats in noida extension ready to move project in nirala aspire provides the proper opportunities to people who are searching for their own elbow room within the town of Noida or for people who are searching for an associate investment choice in Noida. You will be able to think about investing in a Nirala Aspire for a bigger future.

Nirala Aspire is a well-planned 3 bhk flats in noida extension ready to move project that's ideally positioned in Noida Extension. Get best quality nevertheless low price choices in Nirala Aspire be within the worth vary from Rs. 50 lacs* onwards.

This property is spread over an enormous space of 10 Acres, the project could be a well-established one. The project includes a total of 1500 units, crafted with the best quality.

These flats measure the varied varieties of units obtainable, each of which has been constructed to supply total satisfaction. The units in this property offer a pleasing atmosphere with apartment size from a 2 BHK Flat (890.0 Sq. Ft. - 1180.0 Sq. Ft. ), 4 BHK flats (2480. 0 Sq. Ft. - 2480. 0 Sq. Ft. ). The project is split into 13 towers, conceptualised to supply simple living. The possession of this superbly designed project was provided in 2018.

Should you invest in property at Sector-16 Greater Noida?

Sector-16 Greater Noida is one of the attractive locations to own a home in Greater Noida. Nirala Aspire has a promising social and physical infrastructure and an emerging neighbourhood. Check out the few benefits of staying in this locality:

Arogya Hospital, 8 Minutes

Vrindavan Hospital, 10 Minutes

Sai Dham, 10 Minutes

Fortis Hospital, 15 Minutes

Metro Station, 15 Minutes

Golf Course, 15-20 Minutes

Noida Sector 51 Metro, 19 Minutes

Sector 18 & Atta Market, 20 Minutes

Amity, 20 Minutes

Electronic City, 24 Minutes

DND Flyover, 25 Minutes

Nirala Aspire brochure lets you learn a lot about this well-designed project by downloading their PDF Brochure. This PDF is often simply accessed from our webpage, wherever you'll see the link of 'Download Brochure'. Simply enter the main points like name, email address and contact details to download the brochure of Nirala Aspire to your device.

Advantages of 3 bhk flats in noida extension ready to move like Nirala Aspire:

Approx 20 min drive from DND Flyover.

Approx 10 Min drive from Fortis Hospital

Approx 10 mins drive from Noida City Centre.

Approx 10 Min drive from existing Metro Station.

Approx 15 Min drive from Sector-18 & Atta Market.

Residential flat in greater noida west which is located in the heart of.

Noida Extension nearby SKS world School & The Wisdom Tree School.

Nirala Aspire project in greater noida west as approx 2-3 Min drive from Gaur Chowk.

Almost all 2/3 BHK luxury flats are 3 side open (exclusively four side open units available).

Residential apartment in greater noida west which is approx 15 Min drive from DND Flyover.

3.5 Acres Green Park.

Healthy & Fresh Living.

Water Bodies in The Premise.

Bright & Green Surroundings.

80% Open Green Area.

The 3 bhk flats in noida extension ready to move property at Nirala Aspire location offers several benefits to residents. The Greater Noida West-Greater Noida Link Road runs around 1.07 kilometres away from the project.

The Sector Road runs 2.44 kilometres away from the project while the road leading to the National Highway 91 runs 0.44 kilometres away from it.

The project is well connected to the Sector 71 Chowk, Kisan Chowk, Sector 63 Chowk, Greater Noida West Entry and the Industrial Zone in Sectors 62 and 63. The project is also well connected to the Rajnigandha Chowk, NEPZ and NSPL.

What social amenities can be enjoyed nearby?

The project is well connected to leading hospitals like the Noida Medicare Centre and Prakash Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Life Care Hospital, Ashwini Hospital, ESIC Hospital. Shopping malls like the Spice World Mall, Shopprix Mall, Great India Place and Senior Mall are also well connected to the project along with the Noida Botanical Garden.

The project is also well connected to reputed educational institutions like the Sarva Shiksha School, Murti Devi Public School, Delhi Public School, Aster Public School and the Global Indian International School.

0 notes

olko71 · 3 years

Text

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2021/05/key-u-s-energy-pipeline-closes-after-cyberattack

Key U.S. Energy Pipeline Closes After Cyberattack

The main pipeline carrying gasoline and diesel fuel to the U.S. East Coast was shut down by its operator after being hit with a cyberattack.

Colonial Pipeline Co. operates the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline system taking fuel from the refineries of the Gulf Coast to the New York metro area. It said it learned Friday that it was the victim of the attack and “took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations.”

The 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline system carries roughly 45% of gasoline and diesel fuel consumed on the East Coast

Greensboro

Birmingham

Baton Rouge

Greensboro

Birmingham

Baton Rouge

Greensboro

Birmingham

Baton Rouge

Greensboro

Birmingham

Baton Rouge

The outage isn’t expected to have a significant impact on fuel markets unless the pipeline remains shut down for several days, analysts said.

In an update Saturday afternoon, the company said it has found that the cyberattack on Colonial involved ransomware, a type of code that attempts to seize computer systems and demand payment from the victim to have them unlocked.

Two people briefed on the probe said the attack appeared to be limited to information systems and hadn’t infiltrated operational control systems, but cautioned that the investigation was in its early stages.

The company said it had engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to help with the issue, which affected some of its IT systems, and had contacted federal agencies and law enforcement.

FireEye Inc., a U.S.-based cybersecurity firm, is investigating the attack, according to people familiar with the matter. A FireEye spokesman declined to comment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which works with critical infrastructure companies on cyber defense, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

It wasn’t clear whether the attack was perpetrated by a nation-state actor or criminal actor. Attributing cyberattacks is difficult and can often take months or longer.

Colonial Pipeline Co. says that ‘our primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of our service.’

Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News

The Colonial Pipeline is the largest refined-products pipeline in the U.S., transporting more than 100 million gallons a day, or roughly 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast, according to the company’s website. It delivers fuels including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil and serves U.S. military facilities.

“At this time, our primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation,” the company said in a statement. “This process is already under way, and we are working diligently to address this matter and to minimize disruption to our customers.”

Colonial spokeswoman Kelsey Tweed said the company didn’t have further details to provide at this time.

Privately held Colonial is owned by several entities, including units of investment firm IFM Investors, Koch Industries Inc., KKR & Co. KKR 1.80% Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A 1.89% PLC. KKR declined to comment. IFM, Shell and Koch didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Inventories of gasoline have been readied for the summer driving season and usually get replenished every five to six days. But if the pipeline remains offline for days, shortages at terminals that receive fuel in the southeastern U.S. and Atlantic Coast markets could begin to affect retail stations and consumers, said Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.

“It’s similar to a hurricane event where the pipeline gets shut down, so if it’s for a day or two then the impact will be mitigated,” Mr. Lipow said.

The fuel artery is critical to supplying the northeastern U.S. and other markets, and extended shutdowns of the pipeline have caused fuel prices to jump.

More on Cyberattacks Targeting the U.S.

Fuel prices rose in 2016 following a Colonial pipeline leak in Alabama that closed the conduit, as they did in 2008 when Hurricane Ike smashed into the Gulf Coast.

It is also among the many aging U.S. pipelines that were built before 1970, having started full operations in 1964.

An outage lasting more than five days could have sharp consequences for fuel supplies, particularly in the southeast U.S., as inventory levels there are fairly tight, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for Oil Price Information Services, or OPIS, an IHS Markit company.

“If you were looking at the top 20 public targets that you could really wreak havoc with by screwing with the software, the Colonial Pipeline is in that group,” Mr. Kloza said. “It’s a big deal.”

Still, areas along the northern Atlantic Coast have ample fuel supplies amid a rise in foreign imports, particularly from Europe, he said.

Cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure or key companies, some by suspected foreign actors, have become a growing area of concern for the U.S. national security officials.

Russian hackers, for example, have been blamed by Western intelligence agencies for temporarily downing parts of Ukraine’s power grid in the winter. Pipelines have long been viewed as an area of concern for these kinds of attacks, in part because halting their operations can have immediate impact.

President Biden in April announced punitive measures against Russia, blaming suspected Russian agents for a month-long hack of the U.S. government and some of America’s biggest corporations.

Newsletter Sign-up

WSJ Pro Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ’s global team of reporters and editors.

That attack involved , a network-management technology firm whose software was one of the primary entry-points for the hackers, but extended beyond its software. It has been described as one of the worst instances of cyber espionage in U.S. history.

U.S. officials in recent months have ramped up warnings about such hacks. The number of ransomware incidents has risen dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, cybersecurity experts say, targeting schools, hospitals and companies.

On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his agency is dedicating more resources to counter ransomware aimed at locking up government and private-sector computer networks. And the Justice Department last month announced a new task force dedicated to ransomware.

“The threat is real. The threat is upon us. The risk is to all of us,” Mr. Mayorkas said.

Mike Chapple, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Notre Dame and former National Security Agency official, said the Colonial Pipeline attack appeared to show the hackers were “extremely sophisticated” or that the systems weren’t properly secured.

“This pipeline shutdown sends the message that core elements of our national infrastructure continue to be vulnerable to cyberattack,” Mr. Chapple said.

If the attack originated from malware or ransomware that infected systems, potentially inadvertently, then network issues could be fixed in a matter of days or weeks, depending on how well prepared Colonial was to respond to an attack, said Grant Geyer, chief product officer of software firm Claroty, which specializes in industrial cybersecurity.

But if a nation-state directed the attack, it would require an extensive cybersecurity response to fix vulnerabilities that could serve as a “backdoor” for infections later.

“A lot of the systems that control industrial environments are managed by, in some cases, antiquated Windows systems that are rife with vulnerabilities,” Mr. Geyer said, adding the problem is particularly acute in the energy industry.

—Miguel Bustillo and David Uberti contributed to this article.

Write to Collin Eaton at [email protected] and Dustin Volz at [email protected]

#PAID

0 notes

waaaiz · 4 years

Text

Video Surveillance Systems Market Research Report

`The GMI Research expects the video surveillance systems market to expand at a significant rate. From a regional perspective, Asia-pacific is expected to lead the market due to the increasing investment in smart city projects. The growing number of security and safety threats, particularly in South Korea, India, and China, have fuelled the demand for the market.

Request for a FREE Sample Report on Video Surveillance Systems Market

Video Surveillance Systems Market Dynamics (including market size, share, trends, forecast, growth, forecast, and industry analysis)

Key Drivers

The increasing application of video surveillance systems in various industries like retail, banking & financial services, and the transportation sector, is the major factor driving the growth of the video surveillance systems market size. The leading countries, including the United States of America, China, the United States of America, and Brazil, are the largest adopter of these systems. Consumer video surveillance cameras are widely utilized in mobile cameras and home security systems. The rising adoption of smart camera systems and rising video analytics application is further propelling the growth of the video surveillance system market share in terms of revenue during the forecast period.

The high adoption of this kind of system, especially in the government sector, is projected to create lucrative opportunities for the market. There has been an upsurge in the number of frauds, terrorism, physical violence, and theft. Transportation, colleges, retail stores, schools, and hospitals, are the major deployment place for video surveillance systems. Additionally, the major organizations are focusing on introducing this system in their offices globally. In 2018, Europe-based InfiNet Wireless introduced video surveillance systems in Mexico. The project focuses on installing high-capacity base station sectors to feed data and video to a central control room. According to the video surveillance system industry report, the increasing requirement of new IP-based digital technologies that are able to detect and prevent undesirable behaviors, including terror attacks, theft, shoplifting, and others, is one of the emerging video surveillance market trends will have a positive influence on the growth of the market.

Video Surveillance Systems Market’s leading Manufacturers:

· Axis Communications

· Bosch Security Systems, LLC

· Honeywell International Inc.

· SAMSUNG

· Panasonic Corporation

· FLIR Systems, Inc.

· The Infinova Group

· Schneider Electric SE

· Dahua Technology Co., Ltd.

Video Surveillance Systems Market Segmentation:

Segmentation by Type:

· Hardware

o Camera

§ Analog

§ IP Cameras

§ Hybrid

o Storage

· Software

o Video Analytics

o Video Management Software

· Services (VSaaS)

Segmentation by Vertical:

· Commercial

· Infrastructure

· Institutional

· Industrial

· Defense

· Residential

Segmentation by Region:

· North America

o United States of America

o Canada

· Asia Pacific

o China

o Japan

o India

o Rest of APAC

· Europe

o United Kingdom

o Germany

o France

o Spain

o Rest of Europe

· RoW

o Brazil

o South Africa

o Saudi Arabia

o UAE

o Rest of the world (remaining countries of the LAMEA region)

About GMI Research

GMI Research is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, consulting services, and customized market research reports. Our reports are based on market intelligence studies to ensure relevant and fact-based research across numerous sectors, including healthcare, automotive, information technology & communication, FMCG, and other industries. GMI Research’s deep understanding related to the business environment helps us in generating objective strategic insights. Our research teams consisting of seasoned analysts and researchers have hands-on experience in various regions, including Asia-pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. The market research report offers in-depth analysis, which contains refined forecasts, a bird's eye view of the competitive landscape, factors impacting the market growth, and several other market insights to aid companies in making strategic decisions. Featured in the ‘Top 20 Most Promising Market Research Consultants’ list of Silicon India Magazine in 2018, we at GMI Research are always looking forward to help our clients to stay ahead of the curve.

Media Contact Company Name: GMI RESEARCH Contact Person: Sarah Nash Email: [email protected] Phone: Europe – +353 1 442 8820; US – +1 860 881 2270 Address: Dublin, Ireland Website: www.gmiresearch.com

#Video Surveillance Systems Market #gmiresearch

0 notes

rickysheikh92 · 4 years

Text

Rainscreen Cladding Market Opportunities and Forecast Assessment, 2020–2027

The GMI Research forecasts that the rainscreen cladding market is witnessing an upsurge in demand during the forecast period. This is mainly due to the increasing construction of residential and non-residential buildings, maintenance activities, and renovation.

Request for a FREE Sample Report on Rainscreen Cladding Market

Rainscreen Cladding Market’s leading Manufacturers:

SIKA AG

Everest Industries Limited

Kingspan Group Plc

Sotech Optima Company

Rockwool International A/S

SFS Group AG

Promat UK Ltd

Fundermax.

BTS Fabrications

Merson Group

Rainscreen Cladding Market Dynamics (including market size, share, trends, forecast, growth, forecast, and industry analysis)Key Drivers

The global rainscreen cladding market size is predicted to witness an upsurge in demand during the forecast period due to the increasing construction of residential and non-residential buildings, maintenance activities, and renovation. Several beneficial properties, such as weather resistance, high durability, enhanced thermal and acoustic insulation, and the capability to improve infrastructures' appearance, will further fuel the growth of the global rainscreen cladding market size. Rainscreen cladding aids in decreasing hot and cold air and thermal movement through the wall, which prevents overheating during summer and facilitates to maintain a warm and steady interior temperature during winter, is a remarkable feature of rainscreen cladding that is promoting the consumers to opt for these cladding solutions.

Rainscreen cladding is comparatively lightweight in comparison to conventional masonry builds and aids in keeping the building structure dry as a result it decreases the maintenance cost. It is widely used in the construction of commercial spaces like hospitals, shopping malls, schools, warehouses, and other buildings. On the other hand, the factors that are negatively impacting the growth of the rainscreen cladding market include lack of awareness associated with the advantages of rainscreen cladding in emerging countries and the high cost of raw material. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of general containment measures have adversely impacted the construction industry, which in turn, has negatively impacted the growing demand of the market.

Regional Drivers

Based on region, the Europe region is projected to dominate the market in the upcoming years due to increasing infrastructure industry such as commercial spaces and industries, the building of new housing units, non-residential renovations in economies such as Poland, Hungary, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. On the other hand, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to increase at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. The increasing population, the growing per capita disposable incomes, and the rising construction sector in emerging economies like India, China, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, are driving the regional market growth. Additionally, the growing adoption of advanced technology, followed by the growing demand for improved building envelope system in the infrastructure industry for the protection and durability of buildings, are certain factors that are expected to drive the growth of the market.

Rainscreen Cladding Market Segmentation:Segmentation by Material:

Composite Materials

Metal

Fibre Cement

High Pressure Laminate

Others

Segmentation by Construction:

New construction

Renovation

Segmentation by End-Use Sector:

Residential

Non-residential

Segmentation by Region:

North America

o United States of America

o Canada

Asia Pacific

o China

o Japan

o India

o Rest of APAC

Europe

o United Kingdom

o Germany

o France

o Spain

o Rest of Europe

RoW

o Brazil

o South Africa

o Saudi Arabia

o UAE

o Rest of the world (remaining countries of the LAMEA region)

About GMI Research

0 notes

pravasichhokro · 4 years

Text

Japan & Japanese through my eyes........

I wish to give you a brief background of my association with Japan & Japanese. It began in 1975 when I worked for Engineers India Ltd. in New Delhi. I was part of a project management team to look after a petrochemical project called “Acrylic Fiber” at IPCL, Baroda. The process technology came from Asahi Chemical and Front-End Engineering was carried out by Kobe Steel. They had deputed a full time Japanese at EIL office.

Next association was in 1980-81 when I took a field engineer job withToyo Engineering at Basra, Iraq. For about 15 months, my immediate bosses were Japanese, though there were many Indians on site.

My close and strong association was from 1984 to 87 when I was a project manager and managed a collaboration with Chiyoda Corporation of Japan to execute an EPC project at NFL, Guna.

I along with my family moved to Yokohama, as Chiyoda Corp. offered me a direct employment. My office and my daughter’s school were also in Yokohama.

I again had a chance to work with Japanese when Chiyoda set up a joint venture with L&T called L&T –Chiyoda at Baroda in the 90’s.

Lastly, I was asked to manage Chiyoda’s liaison office at Bangalore for two years in 2012-14.

I will segregate my observations in two parts- one from the people and another from the country. Most people know of the punctuality of Japanese and discipline at workplace Hence, I will not dwell on these.

Most Japanese are concerned and sensitive of the discomfort or needs of fellow person. You can see that a Japanese not only picks up used plates and tray with trash in a McDonald’s but also wipes the table. You observe that a mother carries two types of napkins – one wet and another dry- when she takes her kid(s) out to play in the public garden. She cleans the child’s dirty hands with wet and then with clean napkin so that it does not dirty the rails or seats of the garden. Even in 90’s I saw Japanese wearing mask when they suffered from cough and cold. It was a common sight to see the dog owner carrying a paper bag and some broom to pick up poop.

Japanese people do not commit petty crimes or cheat which makes life so stress free and safe. My wife used to leave the apartment door open to go shopping nearby for 30 to 45 minutes. She learnt of this practice from neighbours. Initially we used to keep the money in our palm and the shop keeper would take the appropriate amount. All the shops-small or big – always charged us the VAT, whether we wanted a receipt of not. First time in my life I was offered a printed receipt of fare charged by a metered taxi without asking.

Japanese introduced us to see the beauty in the nature. The first time in our life we went to the mountains to see the autumn colours. There were conducted tours for local people to come to the mountains and soak in the beauty of the shades of colours from green to golden. We were also witness to the fire which is light up to dry leaves/grass on the mountain sides. The fire is light and controlled to spread in artistic way and you watch it from across the valley. Another experience was of hot (sulfur) springs in the mountains near Tokyo (Hakone). Our company guesthouse had a huge pond kind of hot water spot where natural spring was brought in. We soaked in this pond in the Japanese way-no clothes and separate areas for women and men. In five-star resorts, one could soak in the hot spring and sip from a glass of beer.

Japanese were also very health conscious. Our office had an indoor all weather Olympic size swimming pool and full-fledged gym with an instructor. Some of my colleagues were using this during lunch time before eating lunch. I used the facility on weekends. I went to a gym first time in my life and swam when there was almost zero-degree centigrade ambient temperature outside.

Japanese also retained some of “Indian” habits which may have reached them through Buddhism. Outdoor footwear cannot be used indoor whether in the residence or Japanese restaurants. We must leave outdoor footwear at the door and use in house slippers to go in. Most Japanese prefer to sit cross legged and ladies in Vajrasan. They do not shake hands or hug when the meet but bow and greet. Most prefer to sleep on the ground on a mattress rather than a western bed.

Japanese also have found ways to de-stress after an incredibly stressful office or factory workday. Karaoke bars are popular and now world famous. The normal bars without karaoke are also popular. They had huge halls with “ball” machines when they play a special game with stakes to lose or win, like what we played as a child. They also enjoy comics and there are comics to entertain all age groups.

Japan as a country is different from India. India is heterogeneous whereas Japan was homogeneous. This one feature made a lot of difference. They had only ten public holidays every year. Japanese was the main language for locals and it was developed to ensure that students get the latest information also. Japanese language also brings a very peculiar character to the people. The language has three alphabets-Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. Kanji has no letters but only Chinese characters/pictures. There are over few thousand kanjis and a child takes more than 8 yrs to know them all though only a few hundred Kanji is extensively used. To write Kanji one must be precise and take care of the different strokes. This focus on details and accuracy is reflected in everything they do in my opinion.

The police in Japan were extremely helpful and friendly. On two occasions I got their help. Once I was lost in the central Tokyo area and I went to the police station. The policeman there came with me to show me the address. On another occasion, my family and me went to meet my friend but my Casio watch, which had his telephone no. ran out of battery and I was lost. I again went to police station near the rail station. He permitted to call my office to find out the contact no. of my friend (office colleague) but the office security refused. Then he opened the area map with names of the residents, and we located two Tanaka-san. I dialed the first one and fortunately he was my friend. In India, such help was unthinkable, going to the Police station for common man for help is a far cry!

I came across some interesting leave/holidays rule. Most Japanese joined a company for a lifetime and the company was expected to take care of the individual. After about 20 yrs. of service (mid-way I guess) the employee get paid leave (about 6 weeks) and a huge payment (app. one year salary). He is expected to enjoy with his family and many of colleagues went to Europe, USA or Latin America for two to three weeks with family.

I was happily surprised that most school students including my daughter walked to the school. My daughter walked about 20 minutes each way, there were volunteers on the route to guide the school kids. No school bus or parents driving to drop or pick-up kids.

For common people, the basic unwritten rule was- provide goods and services which are high quality and reliable. All public phones (as the world was not exposed to internet or mobile phones at the time) were in working order with coins or prepaid cards for both domestic and international calls. Such phones were plenty and located at all convenient locations like rail stations, supermarkets and including lift lobbies in office buildings. ATM rooms of banks had ATM machines for withdrawal and transfer facility. There were two other machines-passbook printing and change dispensing. ATM rooms were open 24x7. Japan was most known for vending machines- variety and exceptionally reliable. Vending machines would dispense soft drinks, beer, hot and cold coffee, tea, small snacks packets etc. These machines would not be out of stock and returned change.

Japan acts in unison for trade/commerce without side world. Immediately after WWII, their economy was shattered but soon they got on their feet. The five trade houses –Sumitomo, Mitsui, Marubeni, C Itoh and Mitsubishi- were the marketing agents for both import and export. The manufacturers were concentrating on design, engineering, and quality products. This brought down costs. The trade houses would bring enquiries and orders. They will also take care of payments. Each manufacturer will join a trade house so that there is no competition among the trade houses.

As a country, I saw Japan converting research output in other countries to application/products for common use. The classic example was digital watch from Texas Instrument to Casio. Another could be Video players. Even some collaborations were made successful and eventually did better than the collaborators. The classic example is of Toyota Car Co which had started with GM collaboration 1950s.

In all the efforts of private sector in commerce the Govt played a particularly important and positive role. The banks were ready to help exporters/vendors with five-month credit as L/C or other kind of payments after shipment may take 3 months.

I hope you like what I have scribbled above as much as I loved it writing.

#japan #japanese #yokohama #casiooriginal

0 notes

netmetic · 4 years

Text

Amdocs Voices

Since the pandemic, the world has stepped on the ‘tech- celeration’ peddle. ‘The Great Indoors’ podcast explores technology’s role in this new way of life.

*/ /*-->*/ /*-->*/

At the beginning of 2020, we in the Americas marketing team at Amdocs decided to embark on a podcast series. Podcasts have experienced something of a renaissance in recent years and from a marketing perspective, they can lead to fantastic conversion rates: they are cost-effective and are a great tool to foster brand loyalty. But they can also be tremendous fun and reach interesting audiences. After all, podcast listeners tend to be affluent, well-educated millennials and are highly engaged (*93% will listen to all or most of each episode.) *2019 Edison report.

So, we settled on the initial idea of a series focused on cloud computing and 5G monetization, both huge focus areas in the United States and amongst our customers. We also had a community of customers, press, analysts and industry personalities waiting to join us to entertain our audience about how they would transform the telecommunications landscape.

Then something happened! On January 30, the WHO declared the coronavirus a “public health emergency of international concern.” First to lock down were Europe, Asia and the Middle East. By the middle of March, Canada followed suit and by the end of March, 32 out of the 50 US states did so too. Quite literally overnight, the world had changed beyond recognition. We were locked indoors and the pandemic was the only talking point on the planet.

As a direct result, society began to undergo rapid change in the ways we were educated, where we work and how we are entertained. A wholesale cultural transformation was taking place in real time, all underpinned and accelerated by technology. And it was clear that the adoption of new technological behaviors in response to the pandemic had – in an instant – accelerated to levels that were not expected for many more years. The world had stepped on the ‘tech- celeration’ peddle and ‘The Great Indoors’ podcast series was born.

The series kicked off with renowned US analyst Chetan Sharma focusing on the brand of ‘technology.’ He related how in recent years, technology had been vilified with claims from various quarters that humankind was suffering as people (particularly children) were deemed to be spending too much timestaring at their screens, hanging out on social media with virtual friends and playing video games. Crazy conspiracy theorists even tried blaming the pandemic on the 5G rollout itself. The episode concluded that technology was undergoing a positive brand rebirth, with connectivity now the glue holding society together.

Alex Shiffrin CEO of LP/AD and Matt Roberts of Amdocs

By the conclusion of episode two with Anthony Goonetilleke, Amdocs CTO and Head of Strategy, we realized that something else profound was taking place: the ‘tech-celeration’ was touching every demographic rather than just typical tech-focused cohorts. Anthony related with astonishment how his mother was now happily embracing digital online banking, not because she wanted to, but she had to. He called it “the democratization of digitalization”.

Globally, most people were now working from home, being educated from home, shopping from home and banking from home. A recent Mckinsey study indicated that during this time, we have vaulted forward in consumer and business digital adoption by five years in a matter of an eight-week timeframe. Online shopping in the USA showed ten year’s growth in three months. In banking, the Economist noted that the share of cashless transactions worldwide had jumped to levels that they had only expected to see in five years. In healthcare and medicine, The New York Times interviewed a British doctor who stated that the National Health Service had undergone a decade of change within a week, as doctors switched to remote consultations.

Combined with the results of a US survey we had just commissioned at that time, Anthony then discussed how these observations shone further light on the seismic wave of digital disruption, behavioral change and the way it was directly impacting all elements of society. Specifically, the survey found that US consumers cared more about the quality of their connectivity than ever before.

From here, we branched into several different directions. In our third episode, we were joined by Vicky Sleight, head of diversity and inclusion at TM Forum, who discussed how the lockdown and working from home were challenging gender stereotypes, and how diversity was now more important than ever if companies were going to make it through the pandemic. In episode four, we discussed the digitalization of marketing and the virtualization of industry events with Alex Shifrin, CEO of LP/AD, who spoke about the messages that consumers were responding to and how they had clearly changed. A key observation was that the placement and positioning of these messages were now almost exclusively digital.

Episode five was a fun experiment and the adage of “never work with animals and children” was challenged, as my three daughters joined the podcast to talk about how they were adapting to virtual education. They opened up to how they now used videoconferencing platforms such as Teams and Zoom, and how cloud-based applications like Google Drive and Google classroom were now a part of their everyday lives. And while their computer literacy had been propelled by the pandemic, we couldn’t get away from the clear fact they missed physically interacting with their friends and weekly school spectacles like Pizza Day.

Clint! Runge

Yet in stark contrast to the more fortunate of us, the episode clearly demonstrated that a digital chasm had opened. We turned to the lack of access to high-speed internet for many of the world’s children, as well as the inability of disadvantaged families to afford the basics to educate (and in some instances even feed) their children in the midst of a lockdown. We concluded that much work remains to be done for policymakers globally, and that this chasm seriously hinders the democratization that Anthony had mentioned earlier. We also discussed how this period had witnessed the unveiling of many unlikely heroes who were taking on governments and policymakers to try and address these issues. Marcus Rashford of Manchester United instantly springs to mind.

Episode six saw us considering even broader negative externalities, as we were joined by Dr Victoria Ngo, Associate Professor at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. Dr Ngo had just concluded a study in New York that showed the extent of what she termed the “second pandemic” – that of mental health. In a sobering conversation, she revealed how COVID-19 had seen a doubling of mental health illness. We discussed that the most prominent recommendation from the WHO to alleviate mental health illness was to harness connectivity to maintain regular contact with friends and family, with the conclusion that cell phones are essential to preventing or lessening mental health issues.

But my favorite episode – to date – has been episode 7 with Nick ‘Fitzy’ Stevens. For those not familiar with him, Nick is a sports broadcaster who hails from the Boston area, and is popularly known as a Patriots superfan. He has also appeared in Verizon 5G TV commercials with natural comic talents that complement his undisputed sports knowledge. In this episode, he discussed the return of sports to our TV screens, albeit with artificial sound and no live spectators. Yet still, technology was enabling a glimpse of normalcy in society. We also spoke about the future of the sporting experience, including the effects of 5G-enabled stadiums – peppered with anecdotes from Nick’s knowledge of antiquated English sporting terms. (listen to the Challenge Fitzy section of the podcast!)

For episode 8, we were joined by Clint! Runge, on the topic of Generation Z. Clint! a Gen-Z expert discussed the burden of pandemic on this demographic cohort. He related how Gen-Z, who as the first ‘digital natives’, are the first demographic to be born into the smartphone age, yet as such, are more negatively affected by the pandemic than any other group in society.

It took nine long years before the isolation of the measles virus in 1954 and the licensing of a vaccine. The world had to wait 20 years before early trials of a polio vaccine and its first American license in 1955. Now only twelve months since the identification of Covid-19, several vaccines are ready to be deployed around the globe. It seems that it is not only the tech sector that has undergone a rapid acceleration. It has given us a light at the end of this tunnel.

So, what’s next?

The Great Indoors will return as a global edition in early 2021, with some fantastic guests, and in the next series of episodes, we’ll examine what has disappeared forever, what will revert to pre-pandemic normals and where innovation is accelerating the digital transformation. For example, there are companies who are already busy building new tools that will improve the experience of online working, online education, enhance the virtual retail world and provide new experiences from virtual conferences to virtual socializing.

At Amdocs, our mission is to progress society and enrich lives. There is no going back to 2019 and the world will look very different in 2021. It is these differences – reflected in society and empowered by technology – that we look forward to discussing on the Great Indoors in 2021.

*/ /*-->*/ /*-->*/

next steps

podcast series

The Great Indoors

How technology is progressing society and enriching lives

csr

Amdocs Corporate Social Responsibility

Enriching lives and progressing society

published first on https://jiohow.tumblr.com/

0 notes

360digitmgba · 4 years

Text

Best Institutes For Digital Marketing in Hyderabad

We kept in thoughts that scholars ought to feel the classroom environment while training. AWS & Salesforce are our new inclusions into the list of programs that we offer at Digital Nest. These are pretty handy courses as these programs have lots of demand in the trade sector. Amazon Web Services is a cloud computing course that many huge manufacturers depend on as it enhances the performance of business actions at comparably very low prices and also delivers the results as quickly as potential. Salesforce is a CRM software which comes with lots of characteristics like automation, workflows, visible drive, lightning which makes your job easier in handling things.

It permits the cloud storage to run utterly without any setup overheads, so as to assist the employees to work from any location and from any device, be it Smartphone, laptop computer, desktop, pill or PC. As in India web and smartphone utilization is rising by 30% yearly. So corporations are in dire need of contemporary and young skills who can push the companies in attaining their ROI through the use of varied Digital Marketing Practises & Data Science techniques.

Learn to conceptualize, shoot, edit and addContent movies to YouTube channels. In this module, you'll understand tips on how to choose a niche theme in your weblog, uncover the right matters to write about. You may even understand the process of developing content material which is engaging, error-free and which is exclusive and non-plagiarised. Our coaching advisors will arrange a FREE demo for you.

You will be learning all aspects of digital marketing including search engine marketing , social media marketing, search engine advertising , email advertising, analytics, YouTube Marketing and more. Our aim oriented digital advertising coaching course will make you grasp the artwork of digital marketing. We will make you experience all the important elements of the digital advertising process and make you achieve the advertising targets. I even have joined to enhance my skills in digital advertising training which I actually have efficiently received in digital nest. His teaching consists of a lot of actual time examples. I even have discovered a lot about techniques in digital advertising.

most effective digital advertising coaching institute in and around Panjagutta hyderabad. We will discover many institutes or trainers for studying this course. Certificate Course in Digital Marketing is a digital advertising coaching course out there in Hyderabad and Delhi, which will remodel you into a complete digital marketing professional

Thank you Mr. Subhash and thank you Mr. Sandeep for offering the best college. I would undoubtedly recommend people to affix Digital Nest Panjagutta middle. Considering the industry wants within the business we created this digital marketing course, to assist graduate freshers and skilled professionals to be taught the process of digital advertising and grow their careers. Digital Ready's digital advertising training and certification course materials have been designed by award-winning industry specialists, who are having greater than 20 years of expertise in digital advertising practices. Digital Nest is one of the best Digital Marketing training institutes in Hyderabad. This is the best place to upgrade your expertise for a Digital Marketing career. We got to study each module of Digital advertising along with actual time examples here.

We have Classroom, Online and E-learning training with versatile timings that would assist anyone to join any batch with a blended possibility of elearning and classroom with 24/7 access to the tutorials. Digital Marketing includes tendencies and strategies which provide leverage to an enterprise not just for the current, but in addition for the long run, which might simply hold a brand ahead of rivals. YouTube is the second most visited website on the earth after Google. YouTube allows you to create your channel and share movies.

Explore more on Digital marketing

360DigiTMG - Data Analytics, Data Science Course Training Hyderabad

Address:-2-56/2/19, 3rd floor,, Vijaya towers, near Meridian school,, Ayyappa Society Rd, Madhapur,, Hyderabad, Telangana 500081

youtube

#Best Institutes For Digital Marketing in Hyderabad #Digital Marketing training in hyderabad

0 notes

delicatelysublimeforester · 4 years

Text

SAVE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY APRIL 17, 2020

Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper – Cypripedium parviflorum Courtesy James St. John cc2-0

Horned Grebe Podiceps Auritus

Horned Grebe Podiceps Auritus Nesting

Horned Grebe Podiceps Auritus

Save the Critical Habitat of the Horned Grebe. A facebook fundraiser https://www.facebook.com/donate/164658128131085/

Ontario takes the preservation of this endangered species very seriously and has compiled a management plan. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources considers species at risk, natural, valued and protected, and to this end have documented ways to help the Horned Grebe. What does the Province of Saskatchewan say? The Species at Risk Act SARA, similarly has a recovery strategy. Committee On The Status Of Endangered Wildlife In Canada COSEWIC has an assessment and status report written up for the Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus. The Government of Canada has developed a species profile and action plan in its Species at Risk Act Action Plan Series.

Did you know that “The federal, provincial, and territorial government signatories under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk (1996)Footnote2. agreed to establish complementary legislation and programs that provide for effective protection of species at risk throughout Canada?”

In 2018, Saskatchewan’s Wildlife protection act was 20 years old, and it was found then that the Sask. law falls short when it comes to protecting wildlife: prof

EcoJustice has written up a report; Failure to Protect: Grading Canada’s Species at Risk Laws. This is the Government of Canada Activity Set Back Distance Guidelines for Prairie Plant Species at Risk and the Wild Plant and Animals Protected news release from Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management Minister.

“Mother nature has given us a strong signal through this pandemic: we must change our habits and slow down if we are going to continue living on this planet. It is a perfect time to make people realize on a global level that flattening the curve of climate change and environmental destruction is just as important as flattening the curve for COVID-19. It’s a perfect time to formulate and refine your ideas and put the planning and strategy in place to make them happen.” Marianna Muntianu UN Environment Program

The Saskatchewan Government reports; “Despite many programs focused on maintaining and enhancing wildlife populations, some species have become threatened with extinction and require special attention to help ensure their survival. The mission of the Saskatchewan species at risk program is to protect species from extirpation or extinction and to prevent new species from becoming threatened with extinction. ”

The Government of Saskatchewan protects species at risk and their habitats from risks to their survival associated with human activity.

The Canadian-Saskatchewan Agreement on Species at Risk; “Species at risk protection and recovery in Saskatchewan will, to the extent possible, be designed and delivered in a manner tailored to address the ecological, social and economic circumstances of the province; Planning and actions to prevent species from becoming at risk, and to protect and recover species that have been identified as being at risk will be informed by the best available information on the biological status of a species, including scientific knowledge, community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge”

So, as one can see, there are numerous plans and strategies in regards to the Horned Grebe. What exists Nationally, Provincially and Municipally for the other endangered species which exist in the afforestation area locally? Both the horned grebe and barred tiger salamander are listed as a species of special concern by the Committee On The Status Of Endangered Wildlife In Canada – an Independent Advisory Panel to the Minister Of Environment and Climate Change. The Red-necked Phalarope, Baird’s Sparrow and Grasshopper Sparrow are special concern, and Bobolink, Bank Swallow is threatened nationally under the federal Species at Risk Act SARA Schedule 1. According to Chet Neufeld, Executive Director Native Plant Society referencing “the provincial rare species database, there have been occurrences of endangered Whooping Cranes observed near the area in 2017 and an occurrence of Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper (date unknown)” (email Dec 25, 2019) The Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper was indeed confirmed with another sighting by the Saskatoon Nature Society.

On Friday April 17, there are 5 days before the April 22 and the 50th birthday of Earth Day celebration! This year’s Earth Day 2020 theme is Climate Action, which will be explored during Earth Month.

At Nature Saskatchewan the Stewards of Saskatchewan program are calling for people to reach out to them with species at risk sightings as the spring season begins. If you have a sighting you would like to share please call 1-800-667-4668 (HOOT) or email a program staff member.

April 19, 2020 is the cutoff date for this crowd fundraiser should you care to do your part for the environment during Earth Month. Any funding raised would help to erect motorized vehicle barriers to protect the afforestation areas, and therefore protect the wetlands from illegal motorized vehicle trespass.

Shoreline edge of the permanent wetlands in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area with cattails and emergent vegetation in the summer showing illegal vehicle trespass, mudding, and ruts in the spring

with cattails and emergent vegetation in the summer showing illegal vehicle trespass, mudding, and ruts in the spring

Thanks for comments, likes and shares on facebook. And if you care to make a donation too 😉 Not only do vehicle mitigation barriers help the Horned Grebe, but they also help school children, class field trips from being run over from illegal motorized vehicle trespass, and the semi-wilderness habitat, and the other endangered species, as well as all the users to the afforestation areas! Raising funds to erect vehicle mitigation barriers, also places stops on illegal trash dumping, which is also way cool!

Canada Helps

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Canada Helps

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′ Addresses: Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A Part SW 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Instagram: St.BarbeBaker

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

You Tube Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

You Tube George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

Canada Helps

Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ***

Recycle today for a better tomorrow.

ANONYMOUS

Recycle. The possibilities are endless.

ANONYMOUS

A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy.

JOHN SAWHILL, attributed, The Greatest Guide to Green Living

Save an endangered species SAVE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY APRIL 17, 2020 Save the Critical Habitat of the Horned Grebe…

#critical habitat #crowd fundraiser #endangered species #fundraiser #Horned Grebe #legislation #management plan #programs #recovery strategy #species #species at risk

0 notes

clexa--warrior · 5 years

Link

SEOUL - In late January, South Korean health officials summoned representatives from more than 20 medical companies from their lunar New Year celebrations to a conference room tucked inside Seoul’s busy train station.

One of the country’s top infectious disease officials delivered an urgent message: South Korea needed an effective test immediately to detect the novel coronavirus, then running rampant in China. He promised the companies swift regulatory approval.

Though there were only four known cases in South Korea at that point, “we were very nervous. We believed that it could develop into a pandemic,” one attendee, Lee Sang-won, an infectious diseases expert at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Reuters.

“We acted like an army,” he said.

A week after the Jan. 27 meeting, South Korea’s CDC approved one company’s diagnostic test. Another company soon followed. By the end of February, South Korea was making headlines around the world for its drive-through screening centers and ability to test thousands of people daily.

South Korea’s swift action stands in stark contrast to what has transpired in the United States. Seven weeks after the train station meeting, the Koreans have tested well over 290,000 people and identified over 8,000 infections. New cases are falling off: Ninety-three were reported Wednesday, down from a daily peak of 909 two weeks earlier.

The United States, whose first case was detected the same day as South Korea’s, is not even close to meeting demand for testing. About 60,000 tests have been run by public and private labs in a country of 330 million, federal officials said Tuesday.

As a result, U.S. officials don’t fully grasp how many Americans have been infected and where they are concentrated - crucial to containment efforts. While more than 7,000 U.S. cases had been identified as of Wednesday, as many as 96 million people could be infected in coming months, and 480,000 could die, according to a projection prepared for the American Hospital Association by Dr. James Lawler, an infectious disease expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“You cannot fight what you cannot see,” said Roger Klein, a former laboratory medical director at the Cleveland Clinic and previously an adviser to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on clinical laboratory issues.

How the United States fell so far behind South Korea, according to infectious disease experts, clinicians and state and local officials, is a tale of many contrasts in the two nations’ public health systems: a streamlined bureaucracy versus a congested one, bold versus cautious leadership, and a sense of urgency versus a reliance on protocol.

The delayed and chaotic testing in the United States will cost lives, potentially including those of doctors and nurses, many medical experts predict. Already more than 100 people have died overall, and fears of rampant spread have led to extraordinary restrictions on social interaction, upending the U.S. economy, schools, hospitals and everyday life.

“It makes me feel like I’m living in a farce,” said Dr. Ritu Thamman, a cardiologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Even hospital staff who may have been exposed can’t get a test, she said. “We are a rich country but we don’t have these kinds of things?”

The administration of President Donald Trump was tripped up by government rules and conventions, former officials and public health experts say. Instead of drafting the private sector early on to develop tests, as South Korea did, U.S. health officials relied, as is customary, on test kits prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of which proved faulty. Then, sticking to its time-consuming vetting procedures, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn’t approve tests other than the CDC’s until Feb. 29, more than five weeks after discussions with outside labs had begun.

Meanwhile, in the absence of enough kits, the CDC insisted for weeks on narrow criteria for testing, recommending it only when a person had recently been to China or other hot spots or had contact with someone known to be infected. As a result, the federal government failed to screen an untold number of Americans and missed opportunities to contain the spread, clinicians and public health experts say.

South Korea took a risk, releasing briskly vetted tests, then circling back later to spot check their effectiveness. By contrast, the United States’ FDA said it wanted to ensure, upfront, that the tests were accurate before they went out to millions of Americans.

“There are always opportunities to learn from situations like this one,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, who has been on the job only three months, told Reuters. “But one thing I will stand firm on: We cannot compromise on the quality of the tests because what would be worse than no tests at all is wildly inaccurate test results.”

In a statement, CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes said, “This process has not gone as smoothly as we would have liked.” But he said “more and more state labs have come online, increasing our public health system’s ability to detect and respond to cases.”

Bombarded by criticism amid a re-election campaign, Trump vowed on Friday to ramp up production of test kits in partnership with private companies and to make the diagnostic tests more widely available at hospitals and in-store parking lots. This week, the FDA said more than 35 universities, hospitals and lab companies had begun running their own tests, under the agency’s revised policy.

But it may be weeks before enough tests are on hand to fill the need.

“The idea of anybody getting (tested) easily the way people in other countries are doing it, we’re not set up for that,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told a House committee last week. “That is a failing. Let’s admit it.”

It’s a problem many Americans, accustomed to hearing they have the most advanced medical care in the world, find hard to fathom.

“I don’t know how we messed this up so badly,” said Ruth Blodgett, 65, whose husband of the same age couldn’t get a coronavirus test on Saturday in an urgent care clinic outside Rochester, New York, even though he was coughing and the doctor ordered one for him. “We got caught flat-footed. For America, that’s unacceptable.”

‘HURRY UP AND DEVELOP THE KITS’

At the pivotal Jan. 27 meeting at the Seoul train station, South Korean government leaders told companies they were cleared for takeoff.

“They were told that the ‘emergency use authorization’ would be coming, so hurry up and develop the kits,” said Lee Hyukmin, head of the coronavirus task force at the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine, who was at the meeting.

One of the companies was Kogene Biotech Co Ltd, whose test kit was the only one to work initially. The government announced its approval on Feb. 4.

“The government acted quickly,” said Myoah Baek, an executive director at Kogene. The Korean CDC “disclosed information on test methods so test kit makers were able to speed up development.”

Lee Hyukmin of the Korean laboratory society said the government was swift - but not reckless.

“Of course, a kit that’s approved in one week isn’t as good as one that goes through a year of clinical trials,” he said. So in the early days, Lee said, the government cross-checked cases to ensure the tests were working properly.

Cross-checking involved verifying that labs got the same result the government did on an initial pool of patient samples. As of last week, nearly 100 labs were available to perform tests nationwide, according to government figures.

South Korea’s rapid response to the new coronavirus resulted from scars of the past.

In the aftermath of the 2015 outbreak of MERS, short for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, critics slammed then-President Park Geun-hye and her administration for a slow response and a lack of transparency. Public confidence waned in Park, who was impeached in 2017 following an unrelated corruption scandal.

FILE PHOTO: Medical staff in protective gear work at a 'drive-thru' testing center for the novel coronavirus disease of COVID-19 in Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu, South Korea, March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

The country had 186 MERS cases, more than anywhere outside the Middle East, including 38 deaths.

“We can’t ever forget the incident. It is engraved in our mind,” the Korean CDC’s Lee Sang-won said. “We were hurt so much, and we felt remorseful.”

‘A REAL FOUL UP’

On Jan. 31, only days after the Seoul train station meeting, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared the novel coronavirus a public health emergency, citing a similar pronouncement from the World Health Organization.

HHS oversees the separate operations of the FDA and CDC, key agencies involved in responding to the pandemic. The CDC was responsible for developing the initial test kits for the virus. Then, under longstanding protocols, the FDA needed to approve the test before it could be sent to state and local labs around the country. Private labs and large hospitals could develop their own tests or work off the CDC version.

On Feb. 3, amid the preparations to address the emergency, the FDA hosted an all-day conference at its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, which had been scheduled well before the outbreak. Regulators, researchers and industry representatives gathered to discuss the general process for putting diagnostic tests cleared under emergencies on the path to permanent approval by the FDA.

Though coronavirus was now the hottest topic in global medicine, a broadcast of the meeting conveyed little sense of urgency about the epidemic sweeping the globe. It was mentioned in passing but regulators mostly stuck to their Powerpoint presentations.

In his remarks, Dr. Timothy Stenzel, who oversees the FDA’s review of diagnostic tests, spoke broadly about the agency’s mission to protect public health: “It’s our goal to be first in the world wherever possible to authorize new tests.”

Carolyn Hiller, a program director at the Medical Device Innovation Consortium, which hosted the event alongside FDA, said there were discussions with the agency about postponing the meeting because of the coronavirus outbreak, but both sides opted to go ahead.

“The whole coronavirus thing blew up in real time while this was happening,” she said.

Stenzel did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, the FDA acknowledged that the coronavirus was not a “specific topic on the agenda.” But it said the agency already was talking to test developers and “the conference was timely and addressed issues important” to firms and institutions looking to produce a test.

The following day, Feb. 4, the FDA greenlighted a CDC test kit for the virus.

Weeks of chaos would follow.

By Feb. 8, some states and other public labs were complaining that the CDC’s test wasn’t working because of a flawed component that gave inconclusive results. Three days later, the CDC told the labs that it was manufacturing a new component.

As of mid-February, the federal government remained stuck in first gear. The CDC was the primary supplier of tests across much of the country, and other labs couldn’t immediately deploy their own without the FDA’s blessing.

HHS said it has assigned a team of outside scientists to examine what went wrong with the CDC’s initial batch of tests, such as whether there was a manufacturing defect, flawed design or contamination in the agency’s lab. The precise problem has not been identified.

The CDC didn’t send out new test kits until late February. Meanwhile, public health experts say, a crucial window was closing on containing the virus, which by then was known to have infected more than 60 people.

The U.S. emergency declaration issued in late January created additional hurdles that hindered a wider expansion in testing, according to former federal officials and lab professionals.

The declaration eased the way for drugmakers to pursue vaccines and antiviral treatments for COVID-19. But public health experts said that the same declaration made it harder to expand diagnostic testing outside the CDC.

That’s because the declaration required diagnostic tests developed by individual labs, such as those at hospitals or universities, to undergo greater scrutiny than in non-emergencies - presumably because the stakes are higher.

“Paradoxically, it increased regulations on diagnostics while it created an easier pathway for vaccines and antivirals,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. “There was a real foul-up with diagnostic tests that has exposed a flaw in the United States’ pandemic response plan.”

Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said the CDC and FDA stuck to their conventional playbook for too long.

“Traditional public health thinking is,’Don’t create widespread panic and don’t go over the top. Keep the testing narrow in a precision rifle approach rather than a mass, shotgun approach,’” Schaffner said. “That failed in this instance. This virus acted differently and it overwhelmed the U.S. system. South Korea had a much better sense of what was happening.”

In a statement Tuesday, the CDC said: “After finding out that some labs could not fully verify the test, CDC began working on a solution and identifying the source of the problem …. CDC, in conjunction with FDA, determined how to move forward and shared this information immediately with public health labs.”

The CDC statement also suggested that the agency was not exclusively responsible for testing delays.

The CDC was “not an impediment” to getting large-scale commercial testing started, according to the statement. That was the role of the FDA, and as the initial U.S. cases were being detected in late January and early February, CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield highlighted the need for that agency to act, according to the CDC statement.

Alberto Gutierrez, who led the FDA’s office overseeing diagnostic testing from 2009 to 2017, said the agency proceeded with caution because it saw itself as the last line of defense against opportunistic companies looking to cash in on threats to public health. “There is money to be made in an emergency, and a lot of people try to take advantage of that,” Gutierrez said. “The problem the FDA faces is, do you let it become the Wild West?”

“The FDA had good intentions,” he said.

RAMPING UP

As U.S. efforts faltered, South Korean officials cleared a test from a second company, Seegene Inc, on Feb. 12.

With many more tests in hand, health officials were well armed to attack a fast-moving virus and aggressively track down people who may have been exposed. This testing-backed offensive helped South Korea reduce the number of new cases over a matter of weeks, serving as a model for other countries grappling with the pandemic.

In mid-February, cases spiked at a secretive church in the southeastern city of Daegu. On Feb. 26, Daegu city officials said they would test every single member of the church, including those without symptoms.

As of March 10, Daegu said that it had tested almost all of the 10,000 members of the church in that area, and about 40% came back positive. The city, which now accounts for about three-quarters of total infections in South Korea, has seen new cases sharply drop. On Wednesday, officials announced 46 new cases compared to a peak of 741 cases on Feb. 29.

The country went from two approved test makers on Feb. 18 to five as of last week, according to the Korean CDC.

Slideshow (3 Images)

“To my surprise, test kit makers were able to boost production quickly,” Korean CDC’s Lee Sang-won said.

PLEADING WITH WASHINGTON

By Feb. 24, state and local labs in the United States were pleading with the FDA to relax its rules so the nation no longer had to rely so heavily on the CDC for testing. They asked Hahn, the FDA commissioner, for “enforcement discretion” so they could use their own lab-developed tests.

“We are now many weeks into the response with still no diagnostic or surveillance test available outside of CDC for the vast majority of our member laboratories,” Scott Becker, chief executive of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and Grace Kubin, lab services director at the Texas Department of State Health Services, wrote to Hahn on Feb. 24 in a letter reviewed by Reuters.

In an interview, Becker, whose group represents more than 100 state and local health laboratories, called the letter a “Hail Mary” pass, an act of desperation.

“The entire lab community was really coming unglued. We knew we could develop tests and were very capable of doing that, but we felt hamstrung” Becker told Reuters.

He said labs wanted FDA to make more tests available so they could run more patient samples at a faster pace.

Two days after receiving Becker’s letter, the FDA commissioner said his agency was ready to approve new outside tests quickly - if its requirements for accuracy were satisfied.

“False diagnostic test results can lead to significant adverse public health consequences,” Hahn wrote to the Association of Public Health Laboratories in a Feb. 26 letter, “not only serious implications for individual patient care but also serious implications for the analyses of disease progression and for public health decision-making.”

Under increasing pressure, the FDA relented and removed many of the bureaucratic obstacles. On Feb. 29, the agency said public and private labs, including academic medical centers, could start using their own tests before the FDA had completed its full review. Laboratories had 15 business days to submit a completed application, which could be approved retroactively.

That same day, the Trump administration confirmed the first death in the United States from the coronavirus, a man in his 50s in Washington state.

On March 2, Stenzel at the FDA’s diagnostic testing office hosted a webinar for lab test developers, highlighting additional challenges, including a shortage of viral samples needed for validation of test results. Some labs also have reported shortages of other key supplies and ingredients, as well as the need for more trained personnel.

As U.S. regulators rewrote their policies, South Korean municipalities were opening roadside testing facilities across the country, collecting samples in minutes while people sat in their cars.

At a closed-door meeting last week in Congress, U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz, a Democrat from California and an emergency-room physician who treated patients during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, pressed the FDA commissioner and other members of the Trump administration on why South Korea was lapping the United States in its response.

“Why don’t we have drive-through testing like South Korea?” Ruiz asked leaders of the president’s coronavirus task force.

Ruiz told Reuters the officials said they were working on it. On their own, some hospitals and communities have begun offering drive-through testing in Colorado, New York, Texas and elsewhere.

In recent days, as the public criticism grew louder, Trump appointed a testing czar to improve coordination across agencies. The FDA launched a 24-hour hotline for laboratories needing help to accelerate testing, approved two company applications for higher-volume testing and granted states the flexibility to authorize new tests so labs can bypass the FDA.

Despite the new moves, Ruiz said he fears America is still weeks away from approaching what South Korea has accomplished. “I think months have been lost here,” Ruiz said. “Maybe we should look into purchasing South Korea’s tests.”

That may happen. Both Kogene and SolGent Co, two of the COVID-19 test-makers approved in South Korea, said their companies have an eye on the U.S. market.

“The FDA asked us to proceed with applications quickly,” Kogene executive Myoah Baek said.

Chad Terhune reported from Los Angeles; Dan Levine and Jane Lee reported from San Francisco and Hyunjoo Jin from South Korea. Contributing were Julie Steenhuysen, Josh Smith, Sangmi Cha and Aram Roston; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Julie Marquis

Our Standards:

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

#us #health #coronavirus #testing #specialreport

0 notes

omggodrejpropertyuniverse · 5 years

Text

Godrej Seven Joka: Buy A Luxurious Apartment In The Heart Of Kolkata

Run-through Godrej Seven Joka Kolkata For all those luxury seekers who have a small family and want to buy the best 2 or 3 BHK apartment then have a look at Godrej Project Joka that is newly added in the list of Godrej builder’s residential property. This new venture is meant to provide an extremely comfortable and royal life to the dwellers. Each and every corner of this project is crafted by assiduous architect and experienced engineer that make sure the safety of the structure.

Godrej Joka Seven Kolkata offers an excellent infrastructure at the safest place in the city where you can have the best time with your family. The residency is having 7 residential magnificent towers that also offer you basement parking. The high-speed elevators are also there to reach quickly on any floor of the building. Each apartment of Godrej Joka is having a modular kitchen, stylish washroom and a cozy bedroom where one can spend quality time with the family. It is one of the attractive residential development in Kolkata by Godrej builder that includes all modern amenities to make your life amazing. The surroundings of the residency are peaceful and you can hear the chirping of birds sometimes from the beautiful garden of the venture. Godrej Properties Kolkata is a perfect amalgamation of comfort and luxury. You must buy an apartment at this residence to experience a unique lifestyle. Builder of Godrej Seven Project Godrej Properties is a leading name in the real estate sector who is renowned for offering remarkable residential and commercial projects. Godrej Joka Kolkata is one of the flagship projects in Kolkata city which is quite high in demand. The builder always offers reasonable price properties that can be trusted blindly for their quality. Location highlights of Godrej Joka • Railway station is within a reach of 30 minutes’ drive • Airport is located within a reach of 30.5 kms from Joka • Many IT companies and recreational points lie in the vicinity • Shopping mall, school, hospitals are located within a distance of 5 kms • Roads are smooth and well-maintained • Various banks and ATM’s are located nearby • Located amidst natural surroundings What’s more? Godrej Joka Location would be the best address for you and your family where anyone can reach easily through public or private transport. The surroundings are so green, clean and pure that it offers a healthy life to all the homeowners. Facilities Offered at this New Venture Godrej Seven Kolkata is having an enchanting garden where you can take a morning stroll, play with children or have gossips with your friends. The gymnasium and swimming pool inside the community offer you great joy where you can make a good physique. The modular kitchen of these apartments are very spacious and all the rooms are provided with high-quality fixtures. The top-notch specifications of these homes are completely matchless where you can experience a true essence of a lavish lifestyle. The seamless-connectivity and splendid features of these apartments are surely what you are looking for.

Call :- ( IND ) 9810047296, 9810009987 ( UK ) + 44 20 3514 5468, (USA) +1 646 626 4218

For More Information Visit Us- Godrej Seven Joka Kolkata

#Godrej Seven Joka #Godrej Joka Seven #Godrej Seven Joka Kolkata #Godrej Joka #godrej joka kolkata

0 notes

aliceslau-blog · 5 years

Text

Phase 2: FINAL Project Essay

In the modern age of technology, it’s extremely rare to find someone that leaves the house without their phone on them at all times. That is the basis of why we as a group, consisting of Michael, Munsu, Camil, and I, decided to come together to create a learning application on the phone. We were taking into account the fact that people may not have a computer at their disposal and only have a phone. In this way, we can be all inclusive of those that only have the ability to learn on the go rather than sit down in a traditional classroom, e.g. students working 3 jobs to pay the bills. We focused on building on business on the premise of teaching business aspects. Additionally, we also planned to make two distinctive features on the app so that it is accessible to all. However, the group and I decided to go our separate ways as they wished to pursue a different route of app learning. I decided to proceed with the project because I believed it’s important that everyone has equal access to business features. I have implemented both audio and sign language features so that both the hearing and vision impaired community are able to use our application without hindrances into the prototype. While there are other applications such as Khan Academy, Udemy, Lynda, Duolingo, etc., they are not inclusive in their methods of teaching. They all have read only formats with some having audio options. QuickEd, the application I created, attempts to address and remedy all these shortcomings. Since the midterm, I’ve reached out to someone in my targeted social salient identity audience and also an expert I consider to be knowledge on the field of working with physically disabled students.

Accessibility technology is not an advanced part of the app market. Apps generally market toward the general mass and do not offer accessibility options. Throughout the world, 5% of the population has some form of deaf/partial deafness (about 466 million people). In the United States alone, 1 in 20 Americans have some form of hearing disability. In regard to vision impairment, 285 million of the world’s population are affected. These are relatively small numbers in comparison to the global population of 7 billion+, however this does not mean that it’s to be regarded. If anything, it is because they are a minority that there should be more accommodation given – and this is where QuickEd steps in. With only every 4 out of 10 adult disabled Americans employed, it only shows a lack of ability by the able-bodied Americans to accommodate and provide working environments that are accessible to all. I hoped that in creating this app, an immersive experience was created in which both able bodied individuals and those with disabilities can be on the same level playing field – equity, rather than equality, for all. This is what we thought since the inception of the product, and I hoped that I have achieved that. One of the most important aspects of life, obtaining a job, is decided based on education. Disabled people are often not allowed the liberties that able-bodied people are. They either have to find a place that accepts and overlooks their differences or rely on government aid to get them get by – sometimes even needing to do both to sustain a working lifestyle as government funds alone do not provide much. QuickEd hopes that in the long term, it allows disabled bodies to be on the same playing field as able-bodied people by providing access to the same educational tools. I understand that I am not the first to think of this idea, however I have researched and seen the alternatives and have come to a resounding solution that the alternatives do not make the app user friendly, have too many errors and glitches, and are generally has less functionality than its regular counterpart. QuickEd App aims to be both user friendly and educational so that the difference between learning in a traditional classroom and learning via app is a seamless transition.

The persona my partner, Shiv, created was an app based businessman. I found this to be actually quite intriguing because they way he viewed my project was like a businessman on Wall St with an app icon for the head – what I perceive as the intersectionality between entrepreneurship and technology. In a way, the figure Shiv created really is what QuickEd aims for in the long term. We want to help the disabled community, those with hearing and vision impairment, become employed. Whether that’s through a business standpoint or using business skills to apply elsewhere, the app based businessman really is a culmination and visualization of what QuickEd personified could be.

Every disabled person’s journey to survive in an ableist world is different. While I cannot speak about their experiences and hardships to overcome the obstacles inherently placed in their path, I can discuss what I observed. Throughout my education, there were always special classes set aside for those with abilities and needing special accommodation. Though they were allowed to roam amongst the other students during recess/break times, their learning environment was always separated from the “regular” students. No matter how much integration was placed to make them feel a part of the student population, because fundamentally their classrooms and lectures were designed differently from regular coursework – they were never truly a part of the mass. As a child growing up, belonging and fitting in is universally known to be the biggest social problem, no matter the circumstances; nobody wants to stick out or be different. Drawing on our own different experiences collectively, the four of us conceived the idea to create QuickEd. Our ultimate goal of this project is to provide the disabled community the same privileges that able bodied have had for the past centuries through education.

When reading sections of Technology Choices: Why Occupations Differ in Their Embrace of New Technology, specifically the chapter “the role of occupational factors in shaping technology choices” (p170-194), reminded me of our project. The premise of the whole book is based around their claim that “occupational factors strongly shape technology choices in the workplace” (169). With the technological revolution fully well on its way, providing an opportunity and a competitive quality to disabled youth/adults and in turn perhaps lead to an occupation in the future is long-term side effect that QuickEd wishes to have. I then asked myself, how can QuickEd be applied to make it useful for people in most if not all fields? After I was able to decipher the large number of unnecessarily big words throughout the chapters, I realized that the ideas they presented were extremely relatable. To put all of the ideas condensed into a single example, the Levy and Murnane findings show no better result. Essentially, they exposed the processes and procedures of what cardiologists do to machines/computers but found that the computers could only complement the processes, not take over. Similarly, we have to understand that while QuickEd may be creating a revolutionizing slice in the eyes of the disabled community, it is not a means to take over the educational sector. In the book Diversity and Design: Understanding Hidden Consequences Anthony discusses the height of a podium in relation to her confidence in the section gender and sexuality. She says that, “for many speakers, a highly noticeable, uncomfortable mismatch occurs where the relationship between the speaker and podium mis out of proportion” (195), which I related to in terms of how QuickEd is really trying to bridge that gap of disproportionality between education and occupation in the disabled community. QuickEd only serves to supplement and complement the existing technologies in place to make it an equally immersive learning tool/environment for the disabled community.

With a goal in mind, our group set out to create a product and I focused on perfecting it. I had taken the prototype and elevated it to the best of the ability. Since the midterm, the project has been tweaked to add basic business information and also financial functions except now I programmed it into a working prototype that can be test driven for feedback. Having minimal experience in computer programming languages, I enlisted the help of my CS peers to help me code a working app that I could prototype to my targeted SSI contact and expert contact. I primarily used Appy Pie as it’s a free software (with ads) that allows the user to create apps on a cloud software.

I had made initial contact with Adule Dajani, a student that’s currently studying in University of San Francisco who is hearing impaired. As one of my best friends from high school, it was important for me to create this project and for her to approve of it as useful and educational – as a result I turned to her for my contact. I scheduled a FaceTime call with her on April 16th. After the initial catching up and talking, we discussed my project. I had sent her a working prototype of my app that she could test drive and give me constructive feedback. I asked about her experience learning in high school and in college and how they are in comparison to each other. She made sure that what she said in this interview was not speaking for those in the community or the community as a whole as her experiences differs from others. She proceeded to say that because she is only partially deaf, she had a relatively easier time adjusting to classes. She often how classes were ableist and would affect her studies “but only slightly.” She had to learn how to adjust herself to the classroom and either sit closer to the front of classroom or specifically ask the teacher to speak louder. While these seem like easy fixes, they show how the disabled individual has to adjust themselves and adapt to the environment already in place – a space that was created with no thought to how inclusive the space is. She told me how she never really thought about how she had to conform herself to the environment because she was so used to it – she’d been doing it since she began incrementally losing her hearing. When test driving my app, she said that she could see where I was trying to take this app and what I was trying to do with it, but there were a lot of technical errors that kept happening (which I also ran into while product testing). Technical issues aside, she found that it was actually quite useful is teaching basic business to the masses. While I had explained to her my reasoning for not including closed captioning (mistranslations and misheard words could lead to big misunderstandings versus sign language is universal and cannot be misinterpreted), she told me it would be beneficial to include the option to have that as well. She did tell me that the sign language was a good idea as it’s easy to understand and she hasn’t seen that before in an educational app. Taking into account her feedback, if I were to continue with this project I would try to fix the technical issues, implement closed captioning, maybe expand my business model and/or add lessons.

The expert opinion I contacted was my high school health teacher who also teaches a special education class and leads a Peer Helping after school club that focuses on the student body and providing more inclusive spaces (mentally and emotionally) as well as focusing on student health. Ms. Kelly Alberta (or as we called her Ms. Lighty) was always one of those teachers on campus that you know you could go to for whatever reason and she would help in any way that she could. Teachers that show genuine care and also have the ability to make students feel safe and open are rare and hard to come by – a main reason why she resonated with so many members of the student body. I initially contacted Ms. Lighty because I knew that even after 4 years of being out of high school, I could still turn to her with any problems I had and she would help. She responded the following week with my answered questionnaire document. With my expert opinion, rather than focus primarily on receiving feedback for my app, I wanted to know what it’s like to teach these students and what kind of barriers she and they face especially amongst an able-bodied community. She did ask that while she was happy to answer my questions, she ask that her answers be not made public and I instead summarize what she said for each question if need be. Out of respect for her wishes, I won’t be showing the document but will be showing my initial contact e-mail to her. One of the main takeaways I got from her document is that her physically disabled students, whether it be inability to walk, inability to see, or inability to hear, they all just want one thing and that is to have friends. But from her perspective, she often finds herself wondering if the students that have graduated are doing well and are living mostly independent and happy lives. She worries that the outside society does not cater to them – which it does not – and how they will find jobs after graduation. In a capitalistic society, this is an extremely valid concern. In my questionnaire, I explain that my reasoning for choosing to educate people on basic business aspects and financial literacy. Ms. Lighty wrote that she sees the idea behind why I would choose business and suggested that rather only offer financial literacy (which is what I had programmed for the work-like prototype) I should also offer basic business education. I took this in stride and reorganized and reformatted the app so that it also offers basic business training and aspects.

The biggest question I ask myself and I had others ask me is why we chose business and why I chose to continue with business education and how that intersects with ableism and helping the disabled community. Business, I personally believe, can be applied anywhere. The tactics and skills learned through how to start, run, and manage a business remains relevant throughout all fields of life. More importantly the social skills that are understood and leadership qualities developed shine through in any field of work. Having studied business for four years, the different tactics used in how to approach people, conflict resolution, how to be convincing – these are all skills that are important to business yet are transferable to any other skill set. Allowing the disabled community, specifically targeting those with hearing and vision impairment, to hone in these skills gives them a competitive advantage and an edge just to have a fighting chance like everybody else.

Looking towards the future, I believe QuickEd really is on the right path to becoming, if not already, a revolutionary product that equals the playing field. What I would do next is do widespread rollout of the app. I have already incorporated what I believe at this point the very best culmination of material needed for success. What’s now needed is mass user feedback. I could add a “contact us” section or a page that allows for feedback from users. At this point, we could even do an exchange of survey results for compensation i.e. complete this survey for $5 Amazon gift card! Another idea I had was to take the app to be able to work offline. In major hubs like New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco public transportation and underground trains allow for a lot of downtime with or without internet. Allowing commuters to access the app without internet would provide a new aspect of convenience that may appeal to an untapped target market.

Works Cited

Alberta, Kelly. Personal communication. 3 May. 2019

Bailey, Diane E., and Paul M. Leonardi. Technology Choices Why Occupations Differ in Their Embrace of New Technology. The MIT Press, 2015.

Dajani, Adule. Personal interview. 16 Apr. 2019

Tauke, Beth, et al. Diversity and Design: Understanding Hidden Consequences. Routledge, 2015.

“Deafness and Hearing Loss.” Who.intl, World Health Organization, 28 Nov. 2018, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss.

“GLOBAL DATA ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS 2010.” who.intl, World Health Organization, 2012, www.who.int/blindness/GLOBALDATAFINALforweb.pdf.

#diversity in tech

0 notes