Interesting Reads – 2018-08-11
Contents
Articles
- Remote Management: Not 9 to 5, but 24/7
- IEEE India Info Apr-Jun 2018 issue
- Google Code of Conduct
- Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn and 31 Other Tech Giants Sign Agreement Promising They Won't Help With Cyber Wars
- Two New York Start-up Companies Envision a Waste-Free Future
- Smart Cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future
- How India can be a $10 trillion economy by 2030
- 7 uncomfortable facts about how IQ affects your life
- The gaokao is China's notoriously tough entrance exam, that can also get you into western universities - check out its punishing questions
- Here Is Everything You Need To Know About Jio Giga TV
Events / Announcements
- TCS - IIT Madras CSE Colloquium on 14th Aug 2018 on “Scalable Data Analytics”
- IEEE PES and APQI Workshop on Power Quality
- Imagine India 18: Automation Anywhere’s Premier Customer Experience Event
- UK scholarships/fellowships on offer for young/emerging leaders from India
- India Launches New Internet-based (OTT) Science Channel To Create Scientific Awareness
========================================================
Articles
Remote Management: Not 9 to 5,
but 24/7
A Day in the Life of a Remote Management Global
Operations Center
It’s 5:00 p.m. on a Friday. You’ve worked hard all
week, and you’re ready to relax and unwind. You have plans — anything from
having dinner with your family that has been planned for a week to heading to
your kid’s sporting event to working out at the gym or just leaving town on
vacation — whatever the plan, you’re ready to roll. But – at 5:01 p.m., your
phone rings. It’s your on-site operator. The news isn’t good. It’s the end of a
batch run and a control valve won’t close when it should, causing extra water
to enter a tank. Your team has tried to resolve the issue but the problem
persists. It’s affecting production and presents a safety issue, requiring
immediate attention. What are you going to do? Stop what you’re doing and head
back into work.
Welcome to the “5:01 Club” – aptly named for that
select group of people whose plans are disrupted after normal work hours. As
you know, stuff happens; it’s inevitable. Depending on how your manufacturing
facility operates, problems can and do arise. Those ultimately responsible for
operations must “FIX IT.” How long it takes you and your team to respond is
critical to the safety and overall well-being of your staff and manufacturing
facility.
Oftentimes, your in-house team can handle the
various day-to-day automation system and process situations that come up.
However, as described in the above scenario, problems often occur during the
evening, holiday, vacation or weekend hours. In some cases, you have little to
no staff support or your team simply does not have the bandwidth or level of
experience to effectively diagnose system failures or other process issues. In
these instances, you may need additional support for the short term. This is
where a third-party remote management global operations center can be an
effective alternative.
IEEE India Info Apr-Jun 2018
issue
This
issue of IEEE India Info, the quarterly newsletter of the IEEE India Council
has the following 13 interesting articles, two book excerpts and few regular
columns apart from the report on various activities held in the IEEE Sections
in India.
- Improving Computer Programming Competence: The Parikshak Approach by Dr. M. Sasikumar
- Managing Distress due to Dispersion and Diversity in Organizations by Dr. Sandhya Shekhar
- Energy Management Using Blockchain Technology by Mr. Venkat Kumar Tangirala
- Rainwater Harvesting – The Success Story of Chennai by Dr. Sekhar Raghavan
- The Art of Data Science by Mr. Krishna Balasubramanian
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – A Sky Boon by Dr. Ganesh Subramanian
- Deep Learning in Artificial Intelligence by S. Manikandan and Dr. M. Chinnadurai
- Agile, Cloud, Mobility, DevOps in Software Testing Career by Mr. Srinivasan Desikan
- Change Management: Two Questions to Ask When Responding to Change by Mr. G. Sankaranarayanan
- Emerging Education Patterns by Dr. C. Chellappan
- Next Generation DNA Led Analysis – Challenges and Threats by Dr. Amit Kumar
- Cognitive IoT Systems – the Future of IoT by Dr. Balamuralidhar P and Dr. Arpan Pal
- Atal Innovation Mission by Mr. R. Ramanan
- Book Excerpts: Leading Science and Technology: Vision for the Future from the book Leading Science and Technology: India Next?
- Book Excerpts: Chapter Takeaways at a Glance from the book Industry X.0: Realizing Digital Value in Industrial Sectors
- IT in Apr – Jun 2018 by Prof. S. Sadagopan
- Information Resources by Mr. H.R. Mohan
- Book Reviews: Leading Science and Technology: India Next?, Industry X.0: Realizing Digital Value in Industrial Sectors and Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI.
Read
them at http://sites.ieee.org/indiacouncil/newsletter/
Google Code of Conduct
The
Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put Google’s values into practice.
It’s built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our
work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible
standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical
as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps
us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Respect
for our users, for the opportunity, and for each other are foundational to our
success, and are something we need to support every day.
So
please do read the Code and Google’s values, and follow both in spirit and
letter, always bearing in mind that each of us has a personal responsibility to
incorporate, and to encourage other Googlers to incorporate, the principles of
the Code and values into our work. And if you have a question or ever think
that one of your fellow Googlers or the company as a whole may be falling short
of our commitment, don’t be silent. We want – and need – to hear from you.
Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn
and 31 Other Tech Giants Sign Agreement Promising They Won't Help With Cyber
Wars
Apple,
Google and Amazon didn't sign. And it's not clear what the actual effect will
be.
A
large number of technology companies have signed a new agreement promising
greater cyber protections for everyone. But it's worth noting who didn't sign
the pledge. And it's not clear what the agreement's actual effect will be.
Microsoft
CEO Satya Nadella, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner
probably don't agree about many things. But they seem to agree about this: The
world and its citizens need better protection from cyber-attacks, whether they
come from rogue hackers, organized groups of criminals--or national
governments, including our own.
They're
not the only ones. A total of 34 high-tech firms, some of them deeply involved
in the workings of the internet, have all signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.
The Accord is modeled after the Geneva Conventions in which 196 nations agreed
to protect the basic rights of civilians and prisoners of war during wartime.
The
Accord was first proposed by Brad Smith, Microsoft president, who has argued
over the past year that ordinary citizens and small businesses need and deserve
better protection against such attacks than they currently have. Signers of the
accord agree to four basic principles: protecting users and customers from
cyber-attacks and building more secure products; opposing attacks on
"innocent citizens and enterprises from anywhere" which includes
refusing help to any government planning such attacks; empowering users and
developers with the tools they need to strengthen cyber-security on their own;
and working with each other and with other organizations dedicated to improving
cyber-security in the developed and developing world.
The
pact seems like a great idea, but it also appears to leave some loopholes and
it's not clear what its actual effect will be. Here are some questions the
agreement doesn't answer:
Two New York Start-up Companies
Envision a Waste-Free Future
Small companies throughout New York State are bringing bold, transformative technologies from the lab into the world thanks to support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Together with the New York Academy of Sciences, NYSERDA is supporting visionary early-stage start-ups through proof-of-concept centers that foster the growth and development of clean tech businesses. The two centers, PowerBridgeNY and Nexus-NY, have provided critical financial support, mentorship, and guidance for dozens of start-ups that are shaping the future of clean energy. Two companies, Allied Microbiota and Dimensional Energy, are tackling waste remediation and reuse with novel techniques that are being tested and proven today.
Smart Cities: Digital
solutions for a more livable future
As
cities get smarter, they are becoming more livable and more responsive—and
today we are seeing only a preview of what technology could eventually do in
the urban environment.
Until recently, city leaders thought of smart technologies primarily as tools for becoming more efficient behind the scenes. Now technology is being injected more directly into the lives of residents. Smartphones have become the keys to the city, putting instant information about transit, traffic, health services, safety alerts, and community news into millions of hands.
After
a decade of trial and error, municipal leaders are realizing that smart-city
strategies start with people, not technology. “Smartness” is not just about
installing digital interfaces in traditional infrastructure or streamlining
city operations. It is also about using technology and data purposefully to
make better decisions and deliver a better quality of life.
Quality
of life has many dimensions, from the air residents breathe to how safe they
feel walking the streets. The latest (152 pages) report from the McKinsey
Global Institute (MGI), Smart
cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future (PDF–6MB), analyzes how
dozens of digital applications address these kinds of practical and very human
concerns. It finds that cities can use smart technologies to improve some key
quality-of-life indicators by 10 to 30 percent—numbers that translate into
lives saved, fewer crime incidents, shorter commutes, a reduced health burden,
and carbon emissions averted.
This
post answers the following questions
- What makes a city smart?
- Smart-city technologies have substantial unrealized potential to improve the urban quality of life
- A look at current deployment in 50 cities around the world shows that even the most advanced still have a long way to go
- Smart cities change the economics of infrastructure and create room for partnerships and private-sector participation
How India can be a $10
trillion economy by 2030
“Tech
entrepreneurship will drive India’s growth. Today, India is ready to be one of
the top five economies in the world. We already are in the top three in PPP
(Purchasing Power Parity), but in terms of the current value of GDP we will be
top five at 2030,” said Mohandas Pai, Founder, Aarin Capital, at NSE Tech
Conclave, which was organised by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), in
association with YourStory,
Pai
said India today is poised to become a $10 trillion economy by 2030. Backing
his statement, Pai pointed out different ways in which India is positioned in
the growth trajectory. The factors that will make India a $10 trillion economy,
he says, are:
Related presentation : India @ 2030 – How Tech Entrepreneurship Will Create A $10 Trillion Economy
7 uncomfortable facts about
how IQ affects your life
Americans like standardized tests. We evaluate kids at multiple parts of their academic careers, and high-stakes tests, like the SAT and ACT, are a rite of passage for entrance into college. Still, many people believe IQ scores aren't the determining factor for success in life.
While
researchers haven't definitively pinned down how much a person's IQ affects
their success later in life, they have uncovered that many factors throughout
our lives may affect our IQ scores - and conversely, our IQ scores can greatly
affect the outcome of our lives.
Read
on to see seven uncomfortable facts about how IQ may affect your life.
The gaokao is China's
notoriously tough entrance exam, that can also get you into western
universities - check out its punishing questions
The
US, Europe, Australia, and Canada may see an influx of Chinese students in the
coming years as more and more universities admit them based on China's
notoriously tough national standardized test.
Earlier
this month the University of New Hampshire became the first US state university
to accept students based on their scores their scores in the gaokao, China's
amped up version of the US SAT or British A-level exams.
Australia's
University of Sydney, Canada's University of Toronto, Italy's Accademia delle
Belle Arti di Firenze and some private US institutions also accept it.
The
gaokao - which means "high exam" in Chinese - takes place over two
days in June across the country every year. More than 9.7 million people across
the country took it this year, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The
subjects on the test vary by region but typically include the Chinese language,
mathematics, and a foreign language (typically English), Xinhua said.
The
hardest questions are the essays - which can range from the student's views on
philosophy, history, the environment, and President Xi Jinping's policies.
Try
and tackle 15 questions from past gaokao exams here:
Here
Is Everything You Need To Know About Jio Giga TV
Reliance
Jio has made a big announcement at the 41st Annual General meeting. The
announcement is about the Jio Giga TV and the Jio Giga Fibre. The fibre service
will have a set top box for televisions. Additional features that it will have
are voice command feature and voice calls via TV.
Some
great benefits that Jio TV users can enjoy!
The
Jio subscribers will be able to access a number Jio apps for free. They will be
able to enjoy these apps on the big screen that is on television. They also get
the advantage of seamless broadband service on their television. Jio has
claimed that the speed will be up to 1 Gbps. One more amazing feature that the
users will get is to connect the VR headsets to the Jio Giga Fibre Network. The
users will then be able to view 360 content in 4k resolution. The aim of Jio is
to make these services available in 1100 cities and the speed would be 1Gbps.
Related
story : Jio GigaFiber: Jio To Launch
Gigafiber Broadband Plans Soon
Events / Announcements
TCS - IIT Madras CSE
Colloquium on 14th Aug 2018 on “Scalable Data Analytics”
The
Fifth TCS - IIT Madras Computer Science and Engineering Colloquium on “Scalable
Data Analytics: The Role of Stratified Data Sharding” by Prof. Srinivasan
Parthasarathy, Ohio State University will be held on Tuesday, 14th August at 5
p.m. in the Aryabhatta Hall (CS 25), CSE Department, IIT Madras, Chennai 600036.
This is a free program and all are invited.
IEEE PES and APQI Workshop on
Power Quality
Power
supply reliability and quality is key to the digital transformation of any society
in providing quality of life through information and communication
technologies. In addition, power quality is key to Healthcare Technology, Data
Centers, e-Commerce and Industrial Automation. The proliferation of electronic
and computer devices has increased the significance of power quality as never
before.
A
Two-day workshop on Power Quality at VIT, Vellore during 24-25 August, 2018 provides
an opportunity to industry and utilities to understand the importance of power
quality issues to the Indian industry and researchers with an ability to model,
monitor, and analyse the problems from both industry and researcher
perspective.
For
details Pl. contact: Dr. Mahendra V. Chilukuri at mahendra.chilukuri@vit.ac.in
Imagine
India 18: Automation Anywhere’s Premier Customer Experience Event
Imagine India 18, the Automation Anywhere’s premier customer experience on 19th and 20th September 2018 at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Centre, Bengaluru, India. This event will be a two-day experience for customers and partners where, knowledge and vision will frame a platform upon which attendees will be able to profoundly impact their businesses.
For
further details pl. contact: Arvind Kasturirangan, Vice President, India and
Middle East,
Automation
Anywhere at a.kasturi@automationanywhere.com
UK scholarships/fellowships on
offer for young/emerging leaders from India
The following
UK scholarships/fellowships are on offer for young/emerging leaders from India:
Fully-funded 1-year Masters Scholarships (ANY subject, ANY university) for those with at least 2 years work experience, who have secured an unconditional offer from at least one of their three course choices. Deadline 6 Nov 2018
Fully-funded 1-year Masters Scholarships (ANY subject, ANY university) for those with at least 2 years work experience, who have secured an unconditional offer from at least one of their three course choices. Deadline 6 Nov 2018
Fully-funded
8-12 week short-term Fellowships for those with at least 7 years work
experience (aimed young/emerging leaders from government, public sector,
private sector, entrepreneurs, cyber-security professionals, financial
services/fin tech professionals, risk management/actuarial sciences, investment
management, financial regulation professionals, journalists, visual/performing
arts, science/research/innovation sector). Deadline 10 Oct 2018.
For details
on both pl. visit http://chevening.org/india
India
Launches New Internet-based (OTT) Science Channel To Create Scientific
Awareness
Vigyan Prasar, under the active guidance of the Department of Science
and Technology (DST), has launched an over-the-top (OTT) channel — i.e TV
content via the internet — dedicated only to science & technology content
to create scientific awareness among fellow citizen by showcasing the recent developments
in science and technology particularly from our scientific research
institutions and laboratories.
India
Science, a national science channel is now live and accessible to anyone who
has smartphone/laptop/ desktop/ smart TV, with internet connectivity. The
channel has schedule programming as well as video-on-demand (VOD) facility.
Pl.
visit www.indiascience.in
Archives of Interesting Reads
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http://infoforuse.blogspot.in/2018/05/interesting-reads-archives.html
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