Daily Excelsior...Sunday Magazine

What does the New Yearv hold for You ?

Dinesh Manhotra

Astrology is a science to inform about the planets and their movements in the sky. And how these movements affect us as individual. Each planet symbolizes a certain force or energy and each of the twelve astrological signs represents a different mode or style in which energy is expressed.

Astrology reflects the principle that nothing in the universe is at once so simple or so complicated as man himself, from the simple human traits inherent in all humans at birth to the complexity of specific personality and behaviour patterns of a single individual. Desirable or undesirable characteristics repeat themselves in the individuals of countless generations, appearing only slightly altered by the history of changing circumstances. Specific traits indicated as belonging to one astrological sign does not deny the fact that people born in any of other eleven signs also possess these traits. What it means is that hundreds of years of recorded observations have shown that certain traits are more prominent in the personality and temperament of those born in one sign than in another.

Astrology also predicts future on the basis of the movements of Zodiac signs. There are twelve Zodiac signs namely Aries (Mesha), Taurus (Vrishabh), Gemini (Mithuna), Cancer (Karaka), Leo (Simha), Libra (Tullah), Scorpio (Vrischika), Saggittarious (Dhanu), Virgo (Kanya), Capricorn (Makar), Acquarious (Kumbha) and Pisces (Meena) Those predict future on these basis of these Zodiac signs are known as astrologists.

Four astrologists namely Pandit Hardutt, Dr Arvind Shastri, Parveen Shastri and Hari Nand Shastri have forcast future of different signs in 2007 sharing with Excelsior Correspondent Dinesh Manhotra Apart from some differences predictions all the four astrologists are almost same.

Aries (Mesha): The year 2007 is going to be good for businessmen and professionals. In this year relationship with children could be difficult and all Aries should avoid gambling or speculation. This year is also going to be a better one for partnerships as Jupiter transit in the 8th House which indicate that you would benefit from other resources. The coming year is good for getting loans as Rahu seems to be helpful. Financial gains and profits from business deals are expected which will increase income and fulfill your long cherished dream.

As far as professionals are concerned, there will an all round reorganization of their work and appreciation from all quarters. You are required to work hard to get encouraging results. You have to have a much more disciplined approach to creative activity than you have had in the past. As far as social life is concerned, you have to shoulder new responsibility in this year. If you are planning for any speculative activities then this is not the right time to do so. Your children’s health could be a matter of worry for you.

Taurus (Vrishabh): Although the year 2007 will fix new responsibilities on you and require hard work, it will be a successful year for businessmen, professionals and students. You would reorganise and advancement in professional as well as social life. You should have to remain aware as your enemies are going to get strengthend but not enough to harm you.

You will be benefited after getting consultancy from other experts and your enemies with negative approach will be defeated. Due to impact of Rahu there is chances of your changing the job. Bussinessmen will get some expected results and better deals all round the year. As far as politicians are concerned, they will be benefited after team work.

Your home itself may become a tremendous burden because of payments, repairs or other such responsibilities. During this time you may have to take on a parental responsibility for someone. Any negative factors at work here will oppose your successful achievements later. You will be able in maintenance of all kinds of partnerships including marriages. Excessive stress on your career could mean you may neglect your personal life and this could create problems in your marriage and personal life.

Gemini (Mithuna): The year 2007 is good for work and duties. Due to movement of a planet, you will get strength and energy to execute more work and over the difficulties in your life. The year is going to be the period of work and you will achieve the most satisfaction simply by doing the work as well as you can reach to the highest possible standards. If you are in business of printing or publishing, you may get expected gains and benefits through such activities.

Your attitude and habits are likely to be affected due to transit of a planet. As there will be ups and down in your life in this year, you will feel the need to make extensive changes in your way of thinking. You may be in trouble with your relatives and close neighbourers.

As far as students are concerned there is bright chances of getting opportunity to visit a foreign country for higher education and expansion of their education horizon. Your enemies will try to sabotage your planning but will be defeated and subdued in this period.

Cancer (Karaka): The coming year seems to be not very good for Cancer as there are some indications of hurdles and obstacles in career and some economic and financial losses during 2007. Some gains are indicated. As far as movement of planet in concerned, astrologists are of the view that Saturn will transit over 2nd hour while leading to understanding of spiritual values and loss of material values in life. This transit can create obstacles and difficulties in career and profession especially in finance.

In the year 2007, you need to be careful about your spending. You need to be more vigilant in the economical and financial matters and take care of your finances in a judicious manner. As your material possessions may slip from your hand, you have to work hard to save your wealth. Avoid to get feared and feeling of financial insecurity during this year. Furthermore, avoid any undue career or job changes during the year as it will not be a wise decision.

Although you may get some financial losses yet your relations with people around you will improve. You will feel proud of your creative potential. If you are engaged in any sort of research activities then this is good time for the same. Students may face some obstacles and problems regarding their education but there is no need to be worried as in the end they would come out successfully in the examinations or competitions. There are indications that an accident could occur in the first three months of the year.

Leo (Simha). Year 2007 is not good for starting new venture but it will fulfill your dreams in your existing establishment. According to astrologists, transit of Saturn over first house will put heavy responsibilities. You may feel withdrawn or tired but you have to work hard for success during this period. More you work more you achieve. This year is good for businessmen as they can get gains in business dealings.

The coming four months is a good time to invest in real estate as it will give you benefits and profits to unexpected extent. Your relations with your parents will be further strengthened and you will get a domestic bliss and all round cooperation and happiness. If your are unmarried then you will get a good match and get married. This year is good for education in all matters and students may get good results.

Libra (Tullah): The year 2007 is likely be significant as far as financial matters are concerned. Your income will increase substantially during this year and gains will be more in middle of the year. You can do any business during this period and get all benefits.

You will feel pressure from your superiors but will pass over this pressure very positively. A new relationship for family and children will rise and a new relationship for unmarried problems will become possible. Marriage in family is possible during this year. There could be possibilities of bring in new existing love but which could also cause anxiety and and stress. Possibility of some forbidden or socially unacceptable relationship could also surface. There may be some problems with spouse in the first four months. Unmarried people shall find some marriage opportunities in the third quarter of the year.

Scorpio (Vrischika): The year 2007 is not a good period of health and recovery from diseases but this year is a period of career and reaping the gains of your hardwork. In the year 2007, you can get result of the hard work of the past and results will be on expected lines. Negative energies that you have unleashed in the past can have negative consequences now. Another danger that you can encounter during this period is that you may become much more focused on external affairs. As you will be engaged in unproductive works, your job and status will be affected.

There are chances that you could acquire property and real estate during this year and there also chances of buying a new vehicle. There also indication of some tensions due to lack of mental peace and your over burden in job.

Your family life is going to be happy in this year. There are indications of gains from your family especially from mother. If you are planning to change your home this year is appropriate for this.

Sagittarius (Dhanu): You will witness mental tension and health problem but your work will be much appreciated. You will be advantaged through relatives, younger brothers and also through journeys. The job which you have started some time back will be completed and you will get desired results and honour in the society. You will achieve the desired results by your courageous deeds. Try to avoid confrontation and arguments with your superiors in this year. You will be forced to find new sources of your income so as to meet your growing expenditure.

You have to find a spiritual teacher who will teach you in overcoming some problems. People aiming for a career in a foreign country should expect good news as this could happen.

Health of your family members may not be good in this period so keep close watch on health during this year. People suffering from diabetes or blood pressure could face some problems in their health in this period.

Virgo (Kanya): According to astrologists, this year is not good for starting new projects. This year is not good for those is business but good for those in service. Your ways of handling people and situation no longer achieve the desired results. It is very important that you use this time to understand what you have accomplished and what you have failed to accomplish.

Your enemies will try to hit you but victory of enemies is assured in the last six months. If you are in service, there are chances of getting promotions and financial benefits. Your relations with your relatives will further improved. You will receive an opportunity for advanced training in a field of study that could be useful to you. You should take care of your health and try to overstrain yourself during this transit. There could be some health problems especially problems regarding intestine and nervous disorders.

Capricorn (Makar): This year is good for careers and finances. It would be good idea to get into a position where you do not have to depend on anyone elses resources. Transit of Jupiter in 11th house indicates that at this time your hopes, ideals and wishes for the future play an important role in your life. Your friends may be of considerable help to you now and you will become more involved in group activities.

This year you should not try to go alone. Your financial positions will improve as compared to earlier periods. You will get name and fame and your reputation will increase in social circles. There is possibility that some sort of fraud could be committed against you so you need to be careful.

Your love relationship should be filled up with warmth and closeness. Your relations with elders and loved ones are going to be better.

Aquarius (Kumbha): According to astrologists, Saturn transit over 7th house which will lead to progress in career and fame but through hardwork. Your martial relations could suffer and there are indication of bickering in love/marital relations in this period.

People in business and partnership could expect difficulties in partnership as your relations with your partner will get strained. You should avoid being overbearing, domineering and arrogant. Some people may have trouble with superiors. You can expect promotion at work, public recognition or the esteem of your contempories during this time. If you are planning for new venture then this year is not suitable for doing so.

Pisces (Meena): Astrologists are of the view that due to transit of Saturn over 6th house there will be critical time in your development. You will get heavy responsibilities. At times your responsibilities may seem overwhelming, and you may not feel equal to the challenge. If you are employed, you may find it difficult to live up with your employer’s demand which can lead to difficulties on the job.

Your enemies will make every possible effort to hit you so conserve your enemies in order to develop yourself more efficiently to whatever. There are indication of excessive expenditure taking place in this transit so be careful and economical in your financial dealings.

You will develop good relations with people around you and also your loved ones. Your social circle will enjoy your company. There are also indication of birth of a child in your family.

You have opportunities for extensive traveling, for learning and also for teaching others in either formal or an informal setting. If you are a writer, it is appropriate time to start new project.

***************************************************************

Hits and Misses of 2006

Inder Jeet S. ‘Prince’

2006 was one of the most successful years Bollywood has seen in recent times. A number of big budget movies were released during the year. And they made money too ! The Ist month of 2006 saw the release of films like ‘‘Family’’ starring Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, ‘‘Zinda’’ featuring Sanjay Dutt and Aamir Khan starrer ‘‘Rang De Basanti’’. The general belief that January is low period for film business was also proved wrong as one big banner film after the other start hitting the silver screen across the country right from the beginning of 2006. And the trend continued till the very end of this year when Priyadarshan’s much hyped comedy ‘‘Bhagam Bhag’’ was released on 23rd Dec 2006.
Kajol returned to Bollywood after a long gap (after her marriage to Ajay Devgun) in Kunal Kohli’s ‘‘Fanaah’’ starring Aamir Khan opposite her. Film set against the backdrop of militancy in the Kashmir valley was inspired from Mani Ratnam’s classy Tamil hit ‘‘Kannathil Muthamittal’’ (A peck on the cheek) released in 2002.
Aamir Khan has two films released since 2001. After the successful run of ‘‘Fanaah’’ came ‘‘Rang De Basanti’’ which again turned super-duper hit at the box-office.
‘‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’’ released with much fanfare in the last quarter of 2006 generated much heat among critics and the audiences alike. Film was the story of two married couples (Shah Rukh Khan, Priety Zinta and Abishek Bachchan with Rani Mukherjee) who find real love outside of their ostensibly happy marriages. Shah Rukh and Rani discover love and passion despite being married to different people. Film collected Rs 72 crores worldwide in the Ist week itself. The collection dipped in the 2nd week. Film made money but the profits were less than expected. The sticky subject of infidelity failed to pull in crowds for a 2nd viewing. Vishal Bhardwaj adapted Willian Shakespeare’s classic play ‘‘Othello’’ for the screen play of ‘‘Omkara’’ for which he assembled an amazing star cast Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgun, Vivek Oberai, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma to name a few !
Mukesh Bhatt’s ‘‘Gangester’’ starring Emran Hashmi and new comer Kangana with Shiney Ahuja turned a hit at the box-office. It revived Shiney’s career. However, Shiney and Kangana starrer ‘‘Woh Lamhe’’ which was said to be based on the life of late Parveen Bobby flopped. ‘‘Golmaal’’ starring Ajay Devgun, Arshad Warsi and Tushaar Kapoor did average business at the box-office.
2006 could well be called as the year of remakes. Too many of the big Bollywood films that succeeded at the box-office this year were either sequels or remakes of the past hit films. Farhan Akhtar presented ‘‘Don’’-- a remake of the 70’s money spinner of the same name starring (Amitabh in the old version) and Shahrukh Khan in the new version of ‘‘Don’’ (re-mixed.)
A sleek film replete with guns, girls, gadgets and of course ‘‘Kaike Paan Banaras Wala.. ’’ ‘‘DON’’ did well at the box-office.
Three big Bollywood production houses-- Yashraaj film, Rakesh Roshan’s film craft and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film productions produced sequels to their hit films like ‘‘DHOOM’’ ‘‘ Koi Mil Gaya’’ and ‘‘Munna Bhai MBBS’’, respectfully. Titled as ‘‘DhooM-II’’, ‘‘KRRISH’’ and ‘‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai ’’ -- all these films of the year gone-by proved to be super hit films of the year gone-by Pridarshan’s ‘‘Phir Hera-Pheri, a sequel to his hit film ‘‘Hera Pheri also did well.
J P Dutta’s ‘‘Umrao Jaan’’ starring Aishwarya Rao opposite star of the season Abhishek Bachchan, this costume drama settled for an average run.
Yet another film in the ‘‘Wedding Video’’ genre was from the house of Raj Shri films. Written and directed by Sooraj Bharjatya, ‘‘VIVAAH’’ starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao in the lead roles, film draws family audiences back to theatres once again.
COMIC ENTERTAINERS
In the wake of super success of Munna Bhai MBBS, a number of comic entertainers were launched. However, in the mad rush to cash in the mood of the market, quality has inevitably been the biggest casualty. That explains why films like ‘‘Tom Dick & Harry’’ ‘‘Pyare Mohan,’’ ‘‘Malamaal Weekly’’, Shaadi Se Pehle’’ and ‘‘Apna Sapna Money Money’’ have failed to hit the bull’s eye at the box-office. Major Flops : ‘‘Naksha’’, ‘‘Pyare Mohan’’, ‘‘Jaan-e-Man’’, ‘‘Shaadi Kar Ke Phas Gaya Yaar’’, ‘‘Corporate’’, ‘‘ Darna Zaroori Hai,’’ ‘‘Yu Hota To Kaya Hota’’, ‘‘Chup Chup Ke’’ Woh Lamhe,’’ ‘‘Aap Ki Khatir’’, ‘‘Authony Koun Hai’’ were some of the major flops of 2006
BOLD FILMS : Films based on sex subjects showing girls in various forms of undress continued to be made in 2006. Some of these utterly forgettable movies were ‘‘Naughty Boy’’, ‘‘Galtiyan,’’ ‘‘Garma-Garam’’, ‘‘Mehbooba- Mehbooba,’’ ‘‘Madubala’’, ‘‘Souten,’’ ‘‘Ho Sakta Hai’’, CHCO BAR’’ and ‘‘Tauba-Tauba’’ Welcome 2007 : Ashutosh Gowrikar’s ‘‘Joda Akbar,’’ Rumi Jaffery’s ‘‘God Tusi Great Ho!’’ (Amitabh-Salmaan)’’, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘‘Saawariyan’’ (starring Rishi Kapoor’s son Ranveer with Anil Kapoor’s daughter) ‘‘Ram Gopal Verma Ke Sholay’’ are coming attractions of the new year.

Happy reading and a very
happy new year!

Dieting Among the Young Girls

Dr. Vasanta Kohli

s“Beauty lies in the beholder’s eyes, this is no more acceptable to the young girls of today. They have their own yardstick regarding beauty. The recent epidemic among the young girls, is the obsession to attain “thinness”. To achieve this, they are ready to starve to the extent, that they become the victims of sickness, eating disorders and many nutritional deficiency diseases.
Anorexia nervosa is one of the most chronie disorders in adolescence. Most usually has its onset in the mid-teenage years, but it can start as early as age eight. Between 90 per cent and 96 percent of these effected are young women with weight related complications. The complications can be broadly divided into those that relate to starvation and those that are associated with weight control measures.
Diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa
Refusal to maintain body weight leading to body weight 15 percent below expected. Significant weight loss (BMI 17.5 per cent/m2 or failure of weight gain or growth.
Weight loss self-induced by avoiding fattening foods and one or more of the following:-
a- Induced Vomiting, (b) Purging
c- Excessive exercise (d) Appetite suppresants.
e- Diuretics
A dread of fatness as an intrusive overvalued idea and the patient imposes a low weight threshold on him or herself. There is always an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat and always having mental disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight, size or shape is experienced; eg. feeling fat-denied of seriousness of underweight or undue influence of body weight and shape on self evaluation.
If the condition prolongs and maintain without treatment it can lead to weight related complications. The complications can be broadly divided into those that relate to starvation and those that are associated with weight control measures.
Skin and Hair changes:- The skin become dry and pale and pigmentation on face- There is often loss of head hair and what is left appears thin and lifeless.
Musculoskeletal problems- Individuals with severe anorexia nervosa have poor muscle strength and a decrease in stamina. Osteoporosis and pathological fractures commonest cause of pain and disability. This symptom indicates the need for urgent nutritional rehabilitation and inpatient treatment.
Effect on the brain :- Brain substance decrease functional cognitive impairment is seen with deficits in memory tasks, flexibility and inhabiting tasks persisting despite weight ..
Cardiovascular problems:- The heart becomes smaller and less powerful because muscles is lost. Blood pressure and Heart rate is lowered. This can lead to faints. There is poor circulation in the periphery and this leads to cold blue hands, feet and nose. Sudden death has been known to occur in anorexia nervosa and may result from arrhythmias of low potassium, which results from many methods of weight loss, can enhance this problem.
Fertility and reproductive function:- Fertility is reduced in women with anorexia nervosa (A.N) and may also have difficulties in feeding their children, who may become malnourished and stunted in growth. It has been found that these women have significantly more miscarriages and cesarian delivaries. The offspring of women with (A.N) are significantly more likely to be borne prematurely and of lower birth weight than the offspring of normal weight women.
Nutrients of importance in Anorexia Nervosa
Osteoporosis is a severe complication of Anorexia nervosa. A diet with adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D is recommended. The majority of people with this disease consume low-fat diets are likely to be deficient is calcium and vitamin D.
Potassium and phosphate Depletion Starvation may lead to depletion of potassium and phosphate, care unit must be taken when nutritional therapy is instituted to avoid refeeding syndrome. Vitamin deficiency usually comes as a result of low fat diets usually including large amounts of water soluble vitamins in the form of fruits and vegetables. A general vitamin and mineral supplement is recommended to supplement nutritional rehabilitation.
I strongly feel and suggest all the young girls, that they should change the version of beauty; beauty is not thinness. Every person has an individualized body structure; appearance, body fat etc. like the color of the skin varies. one should look beautiful in their own way; For example a girl may be extremely beautiful at a weight of even 60 kg; because her structure is little plump. One should understand that beauty is health. That means, a proportional weight and height, healthy and glowing skin, good hair, sparkling eyes, clean nails, good posture, effective mental, concentration and coordination, positive thinking and alertness and ability to keep good time management.
To achieve all these, one should have the physical strength and ability - only a healthy body has a healthy and positive mind. To keep healthy, one should eat right foods in optimum amounts, balanced with all the nutrients.
A balanced diet should include the basic components of carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals and vitamin in proportionate amounts. Carbohydrate in the form of cereals, protein in form milk and dairy products, eggs, meat, cheese, dhals-vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables, milk and fish.
There should be adequate storage of Nutrients, especially calcium and iron in young girls, so that there will not be iron deficiency anemia and calcium deficiency ostoporosis in later life and all the more only a healthy girl can become a healthy mother who is the back bone of every family and nation.

*********************************

Lights Out

Chandra Mohan

People in India, long used to long and frequent power cuts, are probably surprised and amused when an outage hits the headlines in Europe as it did on November 4 when many West European countries like Italy, Spain, Belgium, France and Germany, were plunged into darkness--for nearly two hours. The central heating system stopped functioning and high-speed rail traffic came to a halt. In Delhi, the capital of the rising India, a two-hour power cut will probably not find even a mention in the next day's newspapers, no matter how extensively it affects life, and, as for any suspension of rail traffic, well, that makes news when it lasts 12 hours or more.
Most Indians may find it difficult to believe that there can be a 'light pollution' when the country faces such a great shortage of electricity throughout the year. Scientists say that badly designed lights have an adverse affect on both environment and health while also restricting visibility to the beauty of the night sky.
But 'light pollution' does exist in India, along with a plethora of other types of pollutions which are tolerated in everyday life by the stoic Indians. It may also surprise many in this country who know that pollution laws are observed only in breach that there are countries like the Czech Republic, Italy and Chile which have laws against light pollution. Italy dims the streetlights after midnight and these cut down the municipality's electricity bill by almost 40 per cent.
The only reason why Indians are not too despondent about erratic electricity supply may be that unless it has been an exceptionally extended hour of darkness, most streetlights as well as homes, offices and shopping centres, do manage to dazzle---just enough to drown the twinkling of stars. it is 'light pollution' when one cannot see the 'landscape' above as much of the artificial light produced on Earth moves towards the empty space above. It is wastage when the artificial light reaches a space where it is not needed or wanted.
Scientists and environmentalists see this-artificial light travelling to unintended direction--as wastage. Half the light bulbs in the world are still of the conventional incandescent type which have filament inside. This kind of conventional lighting equipment throws a lot of light beyond the area or the building it is intended for-into the sky.
Only about 5 per cent of the energy these bulbs use is converted into light; the rest is wasted. It is estimated that lighting appliances consume 19 per cent of all electricity produced. The International Energy Agency sees a growth of around 80 per cent in energy needs for lighting before 2030. This can be checked only with serious efficiency efforts.
New scientific advances make it possible to achieve more efficiency to get the same service from lesser energy. One of the better-known advances in lighting technology is the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which are small and can be put into optical systems to direct the light. The LEDs can be placed in efficient optical systems to significantly reduce wastage of light. Some estimates suggest that 50 per cent of the light that is wasted at present can be thus saved.
The LED devices may be costly at the moment but scientists say they will become economically attractive within two years by when conventional light bulbs may become obsolete, at least in the advanced countries. In the US, the price of LED devices that seek to replace the conventional bulb has been rapidly falling. Consumers will surely be drawn to these energy saving devices which can last 100000 hours or more.
One of the problems of light pollution is that a lot of electricity in the world continues to come from coal-fired power stations, which considerably add to pollution of air. It is believed that global carbon emissions from these power stations can be cut by 28 million tonnes a year-equal to 50 million barrels of oil.
One of the new technologies is the 'occupancy sensor' that turns off the lights when people have left a particular place. A well-known lighting company in the West is promoting an automated lighting control system which turns on and off the lights depending on whether people are around or have left. Such a device can lead to a saving of up to 50 per cent.
It may be that light pollution is contained in the near future. Indians would still be debating the more fundamental issue: are we going to generate enough electricity to meet the needs of all consumers before we think of ways to check light pollution.
(Syndicate Features)

Talking Computers

Dr.S.S.Verma

Man and Machines Man made machines to help him in performing some of his dull and difficult works. When the machines worked wonders and provided solutions for many of his complicated tasks, he shifted his energy to build more powerful ones that will bring in more prosperity easily, without the necessity of putting in labor and thus the science of Artificial Intelligence emerged. Man has taught the machine to do a lot of things and his fascination with talking machines is not new. The first scientific attempts to construct talking machines were recorded in the eighteenth century. Currently, a lot of research is going on in this area known as Speech Recognition and Synthesis. Current attempts to generate machine speech focus on electronic methods and, more recently, electronic simulation by digital computer. We need computer skills because computer has turned to be the miracle machine of 21st century. With the growing use of computers, the users want to have talking computers so that they need not to use the input and output devices which are time consuming and expensive.
Methodology
Speech recognition is understanding basically what someone speaks to a computer, asking a computer to translate speech into its corresponding textual message. Whereas in speech synthesis, a computer reads out a stored text message. Most of these back-end systems consist of three parts: a speech-to-text engine for turning oral commands into something a computer can understand; a prompt engine, or pre-recorded set of responses to guide the caller; and a text-to-speech engine, which allows a computer to orally send back a response or ask a question that isn't covered by the pre-recorded prompts. Efforts on Text-to-Speech (TTS) synthesis concern several main aspects. The conversion rules have to be improved, particularly for difficult cases, such as acronyms, proper names and abbreviations. A fast and robust syntactic parser suited to the needs of TTS has to be developed.
Developments
The dream of conversational computers has been around since the beginning of the digital age. Computers that listen and talk like humans are becoming a reality. Automated response systems such as those used for many applications before are very expansive.The technical kinks, high costs and application misfires that have held back the acceptance of speech recognition and activation are being ironed out. As a result, companies are coming out with a variety of products that will let consumers access databases using voice commands, for example, or transform e-mails into one- or two-way verbal exchanges. Speech Server will attempt to reduce the cost of creating automated phone response systems and coincides with other phone-computer efforts.
By 2010, through its "Super Human Speech Recognition Project," IBM hopes to develop commercially viable systems that can transcribe speech into written text more accurately than humans. Now, machines have an error rate that is five to 10 times higher, according to various estimates. Automated translation will also be greatly improved. Besides, non-rigid rules, use of different grammer and speed of human speaking are making machine transcription even more difficult. Background noise and filtering have been persistent challenges as well.
Difficulties
Issues involved in Speech Recognition are more complex than Speech Synthesis. Speech understanding is much more difficult than natural language understanding. Words are often spoken in a run-on manner that makes it difficult to recognize where one word ends and another begins. Great variations in pronunciations exists among people: regional accents can make extreme differences in pronunciation; women generally have higher pitched voices than men; stress and intonation pattern vary; some people stammer and some drop endings of words; and even the same person's speech may vary from day to day as a result of stress, mood or something else. Of course, some of these systems are already available but because speech is language dependent, each tongue has its own rhythm and stressing pattern. Speech synthesizers, available in the west, may not appeal to Indians. So, it is important that we develop our own synthesizer, so that we may be able to comprehend when the computer talks.
Advantages
Speech has an important advantage as an input medium. Speech is our fastest mode of communication (about twice as fast as the average typist). Casual users with relatively little training could access a computer that is capable of receiving speech input. Speech input allows users free use of their hands for pointing, manipulating a display, flying an airplane, or making a repair. Initially, speech synthesizers were considered for the exclusive use of the handicapped. But rapid advances in computer and communication technology, coupled with a growing need for information, have increased the importance of speech technology for all. Some immediate application could be - access to railway reservation status, flight schedules and latest share prices over the telephone and mobile, reading of e-mail over the phone, in robotics, security and announcing systems etc. In conclusion, speech recognition and synthesis have wide applications. Industry is interacting with speech laboratories in a positive way and very soon, the benefits from this technology will be made available to the general public.

********************************************************************************************Nalini

Nalini by Day and Nancy by Night

While Shoma A Chatterji reports on a documentary by an NRI academician on the dual identity of Indian call centre employees, Nilanjan Gupta goes behind the scene to meet the people manning these centres to probe what makes them tick Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is a mantra India's young population gladly chants by these days; they get paid well, the country earns millions and all's well with the world. But what's the scene behind this happy picture? Which is what Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night, a documentary, tries to look at. Told from the perspective of an Indian living in the US, the film journeys into India's call centres where telemarketers acquire American names and accents to service the telephone-support industry in the US. It is directed by Sonali Gulati, an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University where she teaches film production and experimental filmmaking. Her films have won awards at many international festivals. Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night has won the Director's Choice Award at the Black Maria Film and Video Festival, the first prize for the Best International Short Film at the 24th International Cinemateca Film Festival, Uruguay, the Ledo Matteoli Award for the Best Immigrant Story at the 39th Annuasl Humboldt International Film Festival, among others.
What made Gulati make this film? "I was intrigued by the evolving relationship between the girls and boys who work at call centres and myself. I am an Indian living in the US. I bear an Indian name and speak in an Indian accent. The call centre employees working here are also Indians but with American names and American accents. All of us are living our lives within the same time zone. Is this not a strange dichotomy of modern life? Does this not raise questions of identity as well?" she counters. She has also developed a keen interest in the politics of 'representation' in the mass media. "I am interested in making films that create a strong presence for diverse, under-represented and silenced voices. Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night falls within this concern," explains Gulati.
The lure of call centre job has bitten not only the fresh-out-of-college but even people in their mature age. Rajesh Gupta, 34, married with a daughter, has been working in BPO for nearly three years and has no immediate plans of leaving. "When I came into the industry, people were apprehensive about its prospects, but after the initial months of hard work, I never had to look back. If one remains faithful and sticks to a particular organization, growth will definitely come." He became the team leader of his process within one and a half years
"It's definitely the money. If one can earn about 15,000 per month just after graduation, then why shouldn't he go for it?" reasons one of the agents of Sutherland Global Services. This seems to be the common logic behind joining the centres for most young people. While the rate of growth varies owing to the multiplicity of the processes and the nature of work, the growth rate as a whole is high.
However, not all have the same opinion about the nature of the job. Neeraj Patel (name changed), 21, complains, "I work in an American process company related to computers and it can sometimes get too technical. Customers often tend to be impatient. If they can't understand something, they lose temper and can even insult you. " This is one of the prime reasons behind high level of attrition in the sector despite lucrative pay.
Yet another factor is the odd timings. Clients are mostly American companies. The general shift for these companies start from 6 pm and goes on until 3 am in the morning. The succeeding shift, popularly known as the "graveyard shift" starts from 3 am and ends at 12 noon. This kind of odd timing become especially inconvenient for the women employees and recently there have been some unfortunate cases of rape and molestation to intimidate women employees.
While some have become paranoid about taking up a job with such odd timings, mainly due to security reasons, others maintain that the breach of security is a one-off thing. "The place where I work gives us regular drop and pick up facilities and have a very good security matrix system. Although it sometimes become a bit awkward to travel with an unknown person in the middle of the night, the company makes sure that nothing out of ordinary happens," asserts Pathika Dhara, an employee at HSBC. With the state governments becoming increasingly concerned about security measures to safeguard the women working in the call centers, things have become much better than they used to be.
However, the majority take up a call centre jobs as a stop-gap arrangement before moving on. Youngsters mostly take up the job with the sole purpose of earning some extra pocket money while for some others, the purpose is less hedonistic. "I want to do my post-graduation from overseas. I need to save up as I don't want to put any more pressure on my parents. If I can work here for another two years or so, I should have enough saving to go." says Sujata Pandit.
Rahul Agarwal, senior manager of a consultancy firm, informs, "Most of the people whom we place at the call centres are studying and are taking this as a part time job.
True, the experience of working at call centres is unlikely to come into any future use, but it does give a youngster an idea of work ethic and how a corporate body works. In the process, when they do take up the profession of their choice, they have some idea as to what to expect."
The experienced from this newly emerging industry think that in today's globalised world, BPO is here to stay. However, not all are happy about it. They think that it is a waste of human resources as many of the young people are doing nothing but selling products for foreign companies.
The developed countries are just taking advantage of the cheap labour and that it is a part of the new age economic imperialism of the West. Unfortunately for them, the increase in the number of people joining in only goes to show that the present generation would not mind doing so as long as the money keeps flowing in. (TWF)
******************************************************************************************

Is religion personal ?

Ahmad Shanas

What is Religion ? A simple question which has nothing to do with any particular religious belief of ideology. A mind probing of the people. What do they generally think and understand about religion ? It would be an interesting case of study for any research scholar or IT student or a media man to ask this question to the people around and see what type of information is going to be collected for their Lap Tap. But even without going for this exercise one can imagine that answer to this question is going to be as diverse in nature as the people themselves are in a society.
It is just possible that result of this type of study may turn out to be a reminder of famous story of blind persons who came across an elephant and tried to recognize it by touch of their hands. Naturally it was not possible to handle something huge like elephant in one go. So each one of them could lay his hands on one or other part of elephant’s body. One who touched the ear said that it is something like a broad stretch of cloth. Other who touched the trunk of the elephant said that it is something like a long pole. So on and so forth. You can counter this point with the argument that it is foolish to expect one common answer to this question because we are living in a society which is multi-religious, so the answer to this question has to be multi faceted. That is infact the real point why different people have different opinion of religion. When we talk of religion we talk with a pre-condition or pre-conceived notion because at the back of our mind there is a particular idea or system of belief to which we personally belong. So our thoughts revolve around the same idea which in turn produce the same words which we are familiar with. That is how our perception and understanding of religion come into formation which we continue to hold as something very personal.
Why can’t we see ‘Religion’, in much more broader perspective because our concept of religion has come to be reduced to the level of mere rituals or beliefs and belief is something about which we cannot talk with open mind and open heart ? Although every religion is based on a particular ideology of belief which forms an integral part of it. But the point here is that we have developed a strong tendency to close our mind after a particular thought or belief enters into it. This is in fact a very funny situation where it appears as if we have put our religious ideology under the captivity of our closed mind. This is like a holy person who is confined within the four walls of a house or premises where he is treated with great reverence, love and affection but is not allowed to venture out lest his holiness may get vanish in the open atmosphere.
Since the essence of all religious teachings was the belief in one God as the creator of everything in the world sensate or insensate which necessarily meant to discord the idea of man subjugating another man on the basis of superior race or class and to liberate human beings from the shackles of ignorance. Such an ideology was bound to clash with the interests of ruling class of the society. It was at this point of time that human deceit and mischief came in to corrupt and distort the religious teachings. It is said that most tragic times in human history are ones when politicians and priests join hands. Man has seen this tragedy taking place in the history when ruling class politicians created a separate class of clergyman to monopolize religion. This was infact, greatest ever tragic happening of human history when religion was taken away from the hands of common man. As a natural consequence of this religion ceased to be a subject of serious study, contemplation research and guidance. In this backdrop we can understand why evolution of religion has not been possible even in most advanced societies of the world.
It is not possible for man to consolidate his self, to become conscious of his dignity, to remain alive to the sinister de-signs of negative forces in the society without true knowledge of religion. If no body can mislead him about his knowledge of science, literature, law, economics, history etc. How come that he is so vulnerable that any body can take him for a ride in the matter of religion by exploiting his sentiments. It is because Religion is neither commitment nor a subject of serious study or thing of wisdom to him. Religion is nothing more than a thing of decoration to be used for impressive public appearance or projection of better social image of his personality. It is like a policeman in uniform who outwardly appears to be an embodiment of law and protector of rules and regulations but inwardly absolutely free from any such commitment. It is because of our shallow and superficial relationship with religion that society has become a nursery of disorderly and intolerant people. A situation where man has come to develop unrealistic and irrational attitude towards religion which prompted Charles Cales Colton to say :
Men will wrangle for religion, write for it,
fight for it, die for it, anything but live for it.
Man cannot learn to live for religion unless he opens his head and heart to it and makes it a subject of serious study and understanding.
If we go to the genesis of religion the essence of all religious teachings has been to develop human consciousness around the concept of one God as creator of everything in this world. Once we develops this consciousness then a particular world view takes place which liberates us from all bondages. The religious ideology that blossoms out of this consciousness has got an inbuilt quality of universal acceptability. If God is one then human beings whosever they are, are like a single body. All their prejudices should end. All Gods are to merge into one God. In fact the concept of one God is ingrained in the nature of universe itself. A scholar has rightly put it that:
‘‘Without one God as the controlling centre there can be no harmony in the universe and similarly in man ’’.
But all said and done we leave it to the choice of man to use his wisdom and potential of research to ascertain whether he can find a religion for himself that stands on the values of dignity of man, unity of mankind and unity of God. Since modern scientific mind has already given an idea of ‘‘cosmic kinship’’ which may be a positive indication that we are heading towards that direction.

*****************************************************************************************

Opportunities in Environmental Sciences

Sunil Kumar Kakroo

Greater attention is increasingly being placed on global environmental change, biodiversity conservation, environmental toxicology, integrated solid waste management, ecological restoration and sustainable development with particular emphasis on human well-being. A core module course of environmental science has been made compulsory throughout the country by the University Grants Commission New Delhi for the undergraduate students of all streams (Science, Arts, Commerce, Agriculture, Engineering) of higher Education in India. University Grants Commission has established several departments of Environmental Sciences in India for imparting postgraduate teaching and research in environment under its emerging area/innovative programme after the year 1991 verdict of the Supreme Court of India. Sofar our State J&K is concerned Environmental Science (5th Subject) has been made compulsory for 11th and 12th classes.
Job opportunities in Environmental Sciences:- There are number of opportunities in the Environmental sciences to work as Environmental Biologist, Environmental officer, Environmental Manager, Environmental scientists, Environmental Law Officer, both in private and Government sectors. At present, there is a great need of skilled environmentalists in the country
• Every State Govt. has pollution Control and Environmental protection Board. Any post-graduate in Environmental sciences can apply for the post of Asst. Environmental officer, Senior Environmental officer.
• In the private sector, job opportunities are available in every industry. The potential employers to postgraduate students of Environmental Sciences are sugar mills, fertilizer factories, rice mills, flour mills, auto manufacturing units cement factories and mining (Lime-stone, plaster of Paris).
• In the academic institutions, candidates having postgraduate degrees in Environmental Sciences along with NET can apply for the post of Lecturer, Asst. Professor in Environmental Sciences in degree colleges, post graduate colleges and universities.
• An entrepreneur, after obtaining the professional degree in Environmental Sciences, can start work under a non Government organization (NGO).
• Lot of career opportunities are available to the students of Environmental sciences in the profession dedicated to the protection of Environment. Most of these relate to the assessment of environmental quality, the evaluation of environmental impacts.
The enforcement of government regulations and technologies to prevent pollution and to cleanup polluted resources.
• Careers in natural resources management are also available, individuals who choose careers in natural resources management area tend to be made dedicated to stewardship of land, water, forest, wildlife, fisheries etc. The positions under the natural resources management are park and recreation manager, wildlife biologist, fishery biologist, resource geologist , urban and regional planner, remote sensing specialist, conservation officer, water resources specialist, soil scientist etc....
*******************************************************************************************