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The 'Dark Fibre' Files: The Grey Market Deficit
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-dark-fibre-files-the-grey-market-deficit
<b>In this, the third entry in his series discussing the making of 'Dark Fibre' by Jamie King and Peter Mann, Siddharth Chadha gives an overview of piracy in the pay TV industry. </b>
<p> </p>
<p>Television emerged as one of the biggest gainers in a post-liberalisation India during the '90s. From 41 television sets and one channel in 1962, the country has come a long way, with over 130 million homes with televison. Cable TV has spurred an unprecedented revolution for the entertainment and advertising industry. As a country where more than half the population lives on a daily income of less than USD 1 but swears by its Indian Premier League, India has also emerged as the Asian giant in pay TV piracy. The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia, in a pan-Asia survey, pegged the net loss of revenue to the television industry due to pay TV piracy at USD 1.1 Billion in 2008. In its annual report published last year, it estimates that over 21.64 million cable TV homes went unreported, either on account of theft or leakage by local cable operators. This is almost one-fouth of the 8.5 million existing cable TV connections across the country. The report also suggests that 65 percent of the total loss of USD 1.76 Billion due to cable TV piracy in Asia comes from India alone, followed by Thailand at USD 180 Million.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>According to Shashi Kumar, the General Manager of Hathway Cable TV Private Limited, a Multi Service Operator, 'All cable operators report only 10-15 percent of their total subscriber base. Obviously, the piracy figures in this industry will be very high.' A cable operator in Bangalore, on the condition of being anonymous, discloses, 'We are providing cable TV connections to over 800 homes. But we declare only 250, because that is the minimum number of connections that the MSO wants. There are not enough margins in the business to sustain accurate reporting.' The average cost of setting up a cable operation now runs into crores of rupees and the business is not lucrative if it is entirely clean. The average price for a digital cable connection charged by an MSO to the local cablewallah is between Rs. 180-200, the charge to the end consumer is Rs. 250 per connection per month. This does not seem to spell profit for the cable operators. 'An amplifier alone costs Rs. 3500 per unit and serves about 20 homes. The cost of the RJ6 cable is Rs. 4300 a bundle. How can we be expected to do business on a profit margin of Rs. 50 per month? If the margins were higher, perhaps operators would not leak connections,' adds the cable operator.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>While Multi Service Operators seem to be fed up of the situation, there is not much they can do about it. 'There are already 5-6 national level MSOs. And then there are new entrants into the market every month. Despite knowing that the cable operators are under-reporting connections, we continue to work on minimum level subscriptions because the market is extremely competitive. If we take action against a cable operator, we would lose out on whatever business we have to a new player,' adds Shashi, while describing the operations of their company.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The industry is now looking at growth in the number of Direct To Home subscribers as a deterrent to piracy. Estimates suggest that by 2015, over 40 percent of subscribers in the pay TV universe is likely to comprise DTH owners, up from the current five percent. Frightened of repeated instances of signal piracy on their networks, broadcasters are now investing in signal encryption technology, to ward of the pirates. However, till DTH television becomes the norm rather than the exception, one can expect more tussles between the broadcasters, Multi Service Operators, regulators and cablewallahs, in the world of pay TV piracy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><img class="image-inline image-inline" src="uploads/thefutureishere.jpg/image_preview" alt="the future is here" height="260" width="400" /></p>
<p align="center"><img class="image-inline image-inline" src="uploads/TVServantLogo.png/image_preview" alt="tv servant logo" height="400" width="250" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-dark-fibre-files-the-grey-market-deficit'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-dark-fibre-files-the-grey-market-deficit</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaPiracyIntellectual Property RightsCable TV2011-08-04T04:41:47ZBlog EntryDoes India need its own Bayh-Dole?
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/does-india-need-its-own-bayh-dole
<b>Article by Pranesh Prakash, Programme Manager at Centre for Internet and Society in the Indian Express, 24 April 2009 </b>
<p>Across the world battlelines are being drawn in the normally quiet
areas of academia and research. The opposing sides: those in favour of
open and collaborative research and development as a means to promote
innovation, and those in favour of perpetuating the profits of big
pharma companies and academic publishers. Currently before a Select
Parliamentary Committee is a controversial law that will deny basic
healthcare to millions by making medicines much more expensive, lock up
academic knowledge, and help privatise publicly-funded research. The
law titled the Protection and Utilisation of Public Funded Intellectual
Property Bill 2008 (“PUPFIP Bill”, http://bit.ly/pupfip-bill) was
tabled last December in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister for Science and
Technology. It was created in utmost secrecy by the Department of
Science and Technology, without so much as a draft version having been
shared with the public for comments.</p>
<p>The PUPFIP Bill is an Indian version of a 1980 US legislation, the
Bayh-Dole Act, and as per its statement of objects and reasons, it
seeks to promote creativity and innovation to enable India “to compete
globally and for the public good”. It aims to do so by ensuring the
protection of all intellectual property (meaning copyright, patent,
trade mark, design, plant variety, etc.) that is the outcome of
government-funded research. The IP rights will be held by the grant
recipient, or by the government if the recipient does not choose to
protect the IP. This might seem like a good way to enable technology
transfer from research institutes to the industry, but that would be a
very myopic view, disregarding all evidence related to the failure of
the Bayh-Dole Act. Last year Prof. Anthony So of Duke University
co-authored an extensive analysis of the Bayh-Dole Act, and warned of
the consequences of such legislation in developing countries.</p>
<p>First, such a law will shift the focus of research.
Researchers will be inclined to to concentrate their efforts on issues
of interest to industry, and which can have immediate benefit. This
would force vital fundamental research into neglect since it cannot be
commercialised with ease. Research by Saul Lach and Mark Schankerman
shows that scientists are influenced by royalty rates, and will thus
tend to work on industrial research rather than fundamental research.
This creates, or at least exacerbates, what is popularly known as the
“90/10 gap”: the fact that ninety per cent of medical research money
goes into problems affecting ten per cent of the world’s population,
since that ten per cent is richer.</p>
<p>Secondly, this law will have chilling effects on scholarly
communications and promote secrecy. The Bill has requirements of
non-disclosure by the grantee and the researcher to enable the
commercialisation of the research, and requires researchers and
institutions to inform the government before all publication of
research. Such bureaucratisation of research publications will stultify
intellectual pursuits. Such secrecy and permission-raj culture is
anathema to intellectual and academic pursuits, where knowledge is
sought to be freely disseminated, to be criticised and further revised
by others. In South Africa, academics affected by the recent passage of
a PUPFIP-type legislation there are questioning its constitutionality
as it restrains freedom of speech.</p>
<p> Thirdly, this will lead to our pillars of learning and
research becoming like businesses. US universities like Columbia and
Duke have found themselves at the receiving end of criticism for their
brazen commercialism, encouraged by the Bayh-Dole Act. Instead of
promoting greater access to health for the poor, and spending money on
research, the universities were spending money on patent litigation in
court. The outcome of one of these cases was the rejection of Duke
University’s research exemption defence (universities are generally not
bound to observe patents when they wished to conduct research). The
court held that the university had “business interests” which the
research unmistakably furthered. This points at a fundamental divide
between universities as places of learning and as places of
profiteering. The Open Source Drug Discovery (OSSD) project that the
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is currently
pursuing is a good attempt at promoting a culture of openness and
transparency and collaboration, and thus ensuring cheaper and more
efficient drug discovery. Even the US government is currently seeking
to clear the way for generic versions of biotech drugs. In such an
environment, it is counter-intuitive to bring in a regressive law, and
goes against innovative efforts such as the OSSD, and will harm the
generics industry.</p>
<p>Fourthly, the Bill assumes — erroneously, as an ever-growing
amount of research demonstrates (Boldrin & Levine, Bessen &
Meurer, etc.) — that intellectual property is the best and only way to
promote creativity and innovation. All forms of intellectual property
are state-granted monopolistic rights. At a basic level, competition
promotes innovations while monopoly retards it. Much of modern science
developed without the privilege of patents. Surely, Darwin and Newton
were not encouraged by patents. And even whole industries — like the
software industry — flourish without patent protection in most of the
world.</p>
<p> The commendable aim of ensuring knowledge transfer can be
accomplished much better if we refrain from giving away to private
corporations (whether pharmaceutical manufacturers or publishers)
exclusive rights to the product of publicly-funded research. Scientists
and researchers can be encouraged to be consultants to various
industrial projects, thereby ensuring that their expertise is tapped.
Importantly, open access publishing which helps to ensure wide
distribution and dissemination of knowledge is surely more desirable.
That is the trend being followed the world over currently. The US
president recently signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Bill
which makes permanent the National Institutes of Health’s open access
policy. By doing so, he symbolically rejected calls (such as the
much-criticised Conyers Bill) to privatise publicly funded research
outputs. Thus, there are many ways by which the government can
encourage innovation and creativity, and further public interest. The
PUPFIP Bill, which will have deleterious unintended consequences if it
is passed, is not one of them.</p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>To read the article at the Indian Express website, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/450560/">click here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/does-india-need-its-own-bayh-dole'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/does-india-need-its-own-bayh-dole</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaIntellectual Property Rights2011-04-02T15:58:46ZNews ItemAn Interview With Arjen Kamphuis
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/an-interview-with-arjen-kamphuis
<b>In an email interview with the Centre for Internet and Society, Dutch open source activist Arjen Kamphuis discussed his experience of successfully working with the government for a policy mandating open standards for all government IT in the Netherlands. </b>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>In<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a> 2002 Arjen Kamphuis co-authored a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>parliament motion to mandate open standards for all gov<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>e<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>rnment IT in the Netherlands. The motion was unanimously accepted and, in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>2007, became policy. The Netherland<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>s thus became the first <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>western country to make the use of open standards in public sector IT <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>mandatory. Arjen is now workin<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>g t<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>o e<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>xport this set of policies to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>other European countries with the help of local political parties and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>business partners.</p>
<p>Arjen discussed his experience of lobbying for this policy change and some other questions related to<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a> his<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a> work as a consultant on IT strategy and the implications of nanotechnology and biotechnology in an email interview with the Centre for Internet and Society.<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a><br /><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags">
</span><strong>The Centre for Internet and Society: What is the Dutch government's policy on FOSS and Open <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Standards specifically and intellectual property rights in general? Provide some history, name <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the main lobbying factions in the Netherlands and their policy <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>positions. What was your role in the formulation of these policies?</strong></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><strong>Arjen Kamphuis:</strong> The national action plan 'The Netherlands in Open Connection' is the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>government's answer to a unanimous vote in parliament in November <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>2002. The parliament stated that the market for desktop software was <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>not functioning as it should and that significant vendor lock-in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>effects were harming both individual citizens and society as a whole. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>It requested maximum efforts from the government to change this <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>situation. The suggested method for changing was mandating open <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>standards in all public sector IT and actively supporting the adoption <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of open source software wherever functionally and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>technically feasible. <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>I was one of the people who got this process started by contacting a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>member of parliament from the Green Party. This was triggered by <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>my inability to access the website of the national railway on 1 January <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>2002. The website had been redesigned and only allowed access to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>visiters with Internet Explorer. As a Linux user, I had previously had comparable <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>problems with local government websites and electronic tax forms <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>(usage of which was mandatory for small businesses like my consulting<span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>start-up).</p>
<p>After the unanimous vote in parliament, several people in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Dutch open source community, including me, kept the pressure on the government by <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>monitoring major procurements and writing questions for the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to ask <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the government. In 2004 this led to a breakthrough when the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Justice Ministry ra<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>n a project to procure 147 million euros' worth of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>desktop software without going through a proper multi-vendor selection <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>process. They only talked to one vendor, and that is against European Union<span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>regulations. Since some of the civil servants working on this project <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>were gagged, we can conclude that some people were aware they were <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>breaking the law, yet went ahead anyway. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>When the news broke we made sure the MEPs were armed with the proper <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>questions the next day, and the contract was dropped. In reply to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>questions asked to the government by the MEPs, the responsible <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>ministers admitted that the government was very dependent on <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Microsoft for basic functioning of its office environments; that <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>this was a problem; and that the government would take active <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>steps to remedy this situation by moving forward with <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the requests <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>made in 2002 by parliament.</p>
<p>Two-and-a-half years and an election later, a new under-Minister for <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Economic Affairs, Frank Heemskerk, took up the challenge <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and promised a comprehensive policy. I gave input for this plan in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>mid-2007 and it was formally published and adopted later that year as <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>a national policy for all government and public-sector (i.e. tax <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>funded) organisations. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>The policy has three objectives:</p>
<ul><li>improving interoperability between <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>public sector organisations;</li><li>lowering the vendor-dependence of the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>public sector;</li><li> improving the functioning of the software market <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and supporting the Dutch knowledge economy <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a></li></ul>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Some of the practical measures are the mandating of the use of open <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>standards in all public sector organisations. Whenever software is <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>procured, open source should be considered <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and preferred whenever functionally adequate. These two very basic <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>rules change the entire market for IT in the Dutch public sector (40% <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of the entire market) and is having a profound effect on the way <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>software vendors offer their products as well as the negotiating power <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of the client organisations. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>I continue to advise both the decision makers and the civil servants <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>overseeing the implementation of the policy. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><strong>CIS: What is the current status on the implementation of these<span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>policies?</strong></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><strong>AK: </strong>After a slow start the government organisation that is responsable for <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>overseeing the implementation is now up and running. The basic problem <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>is lack of awareness about both the practical value that open <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>standards and open source software can contribute and the underlying <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>political reasons for making it the preferred option for government <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>information processing. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>Thus a lot of the work for the next few years will <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>be communicating these ideas to civil servants (be the<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>y IT <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>professionals or managers who have other jobs). The policy helps a lot <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>because it puts some serious weight behind the whole process. The fact <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>that government organisations have to support Open Document Format for <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>instance significantly heightens their interest in the technical <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>subject matter!<span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>So the policy gives the drive needed to get things moving and now it <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>is up to us to communicate the how and the why in a way that is <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>understandable for people who are new to these concepts. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>I have no doubt it will be a long process, we have over 20 years of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>proprietary legacy built up in our public institutions. Replacing <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>those systems with open alternatives will take many years. All the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>greater a reason to proceed with some urgency. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>The complete policy document has been translated into English and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>released under Creative Commons Licence:<br /><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://appz.ez.nl/publicaties/pdfs/07ET15.pdf">http://appz.ez.nl/publicaties/pdfs/07ET15.pdf</a> <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><br /><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>In December 2007 I gave a talk in Berlin. Here a summary, slides and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>video are available:<br /><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2387.en.html">http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2387.en.html</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p> <strong>CIS: What can a country like India learn from the Dutch <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>government's e<span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>xperience in eGovernance and ICT in Education?</strong></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><strong>AK:</strong> I am not familiar with the Indian political process but these are some <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of my lessons learned: </p>
<p>- The government will not do anything unless constant <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and significant pressure is applied by citizens. Politicians and civil <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>servants only act if the pain of acting is less than the pain of not <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>acting. Change is achieved by citizens standing up and working on <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>these problems without guarantee of any reward or even achieving any <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>results (it took us five years to get from a unanimous vote <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>in parliament to an actual policy). <span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>- Big IT companies may be your friend or your enemy. But even if they <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>are your friends they generally will not be at the forefront of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>political action that could be seen as controversial. Once policies <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>are pushed beyond the co<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>ntroversial stage and have been adopted as <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>official policy some of them will support it. Others, with much to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>lose, will fight you and the policy every step of the way. The more <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>money or loss of market share is involved the more radical the methods <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>that are employed. Massive lobbying, applying political pressure <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>through foreign governments, bribery and all kinds of other activities <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>are well-funded, well organised and very common. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>- In moving forward with these policies it's the lack of knowledge and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>vision with the the management of institutions that is by far the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>biggest bottleneck. Without a clear policy from the top it is <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>impossible to get things moving in most organisations.<span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>- Another big problem in switching over local governments and other <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>smaller organisations is the fact that many of the advantages of such <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>a switch is national and/or macro-economic in nature while the initial <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>cost and risk is micro-economic in nature. Hence again the need for a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>national policy. </p>
<p>- The funding required to make significant improvements is often not <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>that large compared to the existing operational budgets. Investing in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the smart use of IT in education for instance is something that can <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>pay for itself very quickly. This is generally also true for adoption <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of open source and open standards in general. By just reducing the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>yearly spend on software licences by 1% the entire government program <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>can be funded. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>- Simply stopping the procurement of new licences (while continuing <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the use of those already paid for) can often free up enough money to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>finance a migration process. This has been the case in the city of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Amsterdam and the French Gendarmes. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>- The actual value of better government services or education is hard <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>to quantify in monetary terms. H<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>ow do we value improved <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>responsiveness, transparency, national sovereignty in information <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>processing and supporting local service companies instead of foreign <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>software companies? <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>- IT education should focus on understanding methods and principles, <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>not products. The product life-cycle is 18-36 months, the educational <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>process takes many years and the length of a career is decades. Any <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>education with a focus on products leads to knowledge that is <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>irrelevant by the time the degree is finished. Teach people to drive a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>car, not just a Volkswagen or Tata. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>- The cost of physical books per student per year in the Netherlands <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>is now greater that the cost of a laptop. This is insane since the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>content of those books is generally written by teachers who get paid <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>very little for it. Using the funds to pay those teachers instad of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the publishers and releasing the content under a free licence will <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>free up resources to develop better educational programs and provide <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>all students with computational tools to use them. All without <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>increasing the total cost compared to our current situation. The <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>financial numbers will be different for India but the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>basic principle is the same and works even better given the larger <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>scale of India. The cost of producing and distributing electronic <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>educational content will drop practically to zero when compared to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>physical on a per-student basis. Using funds to support teachers in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the use of e-learning with open content is the way forward. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span> <strong>CIS: How can a local support environment for open technologies be <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>created? Can local SMEs ever substitute for the transnational <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>proprietary giants?</strong><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><strong>AK: </strong>Whether SMEs can supplant multinationals depends on the product being <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>replaced. CPU manufacturing requires a very high upfront investment in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>R&D and manufacturing capability. This is usually far beyond any but a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>handful of companies. With software development and services things <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>are very different. Software development only requires a human with <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>programming skills, a good idea and a computer. The Free Software <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Movement has shown clearly that distributed methods of software <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>development can lead to high quality products with excellent local <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>support systems. Local organisations (or communities that are not even <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>organisations) can often understand local needs and respond to local <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>changes much better, faster and cheaper than large, lumbering <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>corporations. If local organisations work together globally to share <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>knowledge (and code) for those parts they all need they can beat any <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>centralised system. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>What many senior business and government leaders are struggling with <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>is the realisation that many of the 'truths' they have learned while <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>studying economics or business management or some such subject turn out to be <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>empirically incorrect. For example: it has become clear there is no <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>causal relationship between the cost of software and its quality or <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>utility. This must be a fact that is difficult to truly understand and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>accept if you have been brought up believing the gospel of the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Anglo-Saxon economic worldview. The current economic crisis is a great <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>help in questioning some of those beliefs and opens up room for new <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>ideas about economic vs. societal value of technology and its <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>relationship to<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a> businesses trying to earn a living. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span> <strong>CIS: Could you tell us about the Dutch government's rollback on <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>electronic voting machines? What is your opinion on the use<span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>electronic voting machines in the upcoming elections in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>India?<span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></strong></p>
<p><strong>AK: </strong>From the mid '80s onward, voting computers were introduced in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Netherlands. By 2006, the vast majority of all elections were being <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>performed by proprietary computer systems. Citizens would press a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>button and then go home to watch TV. Some software that no-one could <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>control, monitor or properly audit would spit out a result and that <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>would be it -- new government. Only a handful of engineers (all working <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>for the companies that made the voting computers) actually knew what <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the software did and could make the computer system say anything they <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>wanted. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>When the city of Amsterdam (the last holdout using paper ballots) <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>announced in 2006 that it was moving to voting computers, a group of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>activists organised a campaign to ban voting computers. We felt that <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the very nature of democracy was under attack by running the election <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>process in a way that makes it impossible for ordinary citizens to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>check the validity of the election. It also makes fraud a lot harder <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>to detect. Detectability of fraud is the one of the primary properties <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>any election process should have. We all know election fraud is also <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>possible with non-electronic means but keeping it a secret is much <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>harder in such cases (as we saw in the US and Zimbabwean election over <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>the last years). There was a actual case of suspected voter fraud in a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Dutch municipal election and the judge concluded that while the fraud <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>seemed likely it could not be proven. Regrettably for the suspected <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>council member the fraud could also not be disproven. This <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html"><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></a>shows very <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>clearly that such a method is wholly unsuitable for application in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>real democratic processes. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Through lots of media attention, a few spectacular hacks showing the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>technical insecurity of the systems, and legal pressure, we forced the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>government in 2007 to reverse the approval of the voting computers and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>go back to an all-paper balloting system. This reversal is part of a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>global backlash against electronic voting systems. Comparable changes <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>have been going on in many US states and all over Europe. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>I think India should have voting process that can be understood and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>monitored by its citizens. This understanding and monitoring should be <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>possible without requiring advanced degrees in computer science, <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>software engineering and electronics. The only way to have such a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>process is when there is a paper ballot involved. Such a ballot could <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>be printed by a computer to increase the ease of use but <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>all-electronic solutions are ruled out by the basic demands of what a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>democracy is. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>India should move to either all paper systems or voting computer <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>backed-up by a voter-verified paper trail. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>Are more extensive telling of the tale can be found here:<span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl/English">http://wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl/English</a> <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>This is a link to the Berlin CCC conference of Rop Gongrijp's 2007 <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>presentation (with video): <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html">http://event<span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>s.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2342.en.html</a> <span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.blackboxvoting.org/">http://www.blackboxvoting.org</a> has a wealth of information on this subject. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><strong>CIS: What are the services provided by Gendo? Could you describe <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>some <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of the projects that you have undertaken?</strong><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><strong>AK:</strong> My company (gendo.nl) also provides consulting services in the area of <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>IT strategy, development of open IT architectures and implementing <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>those in mixed open source/proprietary environments. We are currently <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>advising both national and local government organisations in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>implementation of policies and plans to move to open standards and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>open source software. We are also involved in projects where we do the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>actual development and implementation of new systems to enable <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>innovation and lessen the dependance of our client on proprietary <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>systems. Currently we are involved with a healthcare organisation <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>where we are assisting in re-architecting their entire IT environment <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>to allow service innovation, lower cost and increase information <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>security. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>We have also been involved in information security work and other <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>auditing in the financial services and government sector. Here our <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>activities focus on the grey area between technology and process. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Outside the field of IT we also do other consulting work such as <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>scenario planning and strategic future studies, mostly for large <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>corporate clients. Most of the big Anglo-Dutch multinationals such as <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Shell or Unilever are on our client list. We also have a large number <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>of clients in the financial services and insurance sector. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>For all of these clients we organise presentations and brainstorming <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>sessions, often preceded by research. This helps the leaders in those <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>organisations think about the nature of rapid, technology-driven <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>changes in their markets and the world in general. These insights are <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>then translated into new products, services and ways of delivering <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>them. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>Forgive me if this all sounds a bit vague but with many of these <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>clients there is some confidentiality agreement involved. <br /><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><strong>CIS: Could you tell us more about yourself? Maybe you would like <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>to <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>share some formative experiences.</strong><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><strong>AK:</strong> Writing my first paper on black holes at age 11 showed me that <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>grown-ups usually also don't know what is going on in the universe <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>either. Despite rumours to the contrary parents, teachers, senior <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>managers and politicians are not all-knowing and are stumbling about <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>just like most two-year-olds where complex issues are concerned. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>Over the last quarter century I've had this intuition reconfirmed <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>again and again. In a world that is changing faster and faster <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>experience becomes obsolete rather quickly and wisdom is no longer the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>sole purview of older, m<span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>ore senior, people. We need young smart-asses <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>who have not yet learned what is impossible, so they go out there and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>do it. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"><br /></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>-----</p>
<span class="visualHighlight">Arjen Kamphuis (born 1972) studied Science & Policy at Utrecht University and worked for IBM as Unix specialist, Tivoli consultant and software instructor. As IT-strategy consultant at Twynstra Gudde he was involved in starting up Kennisnet, the Dutch educational network. Since 2001 he is operating as an independent adviser of companies and governments. He co-authored, in 2002, a motion in parliament that ultimately turned, in 2007, into a full-fledged policy of the Dutch government mandating the use of open source software in all government and public sector IT operations. <br /><br />Arjen at present divides his attention between IT-policy and the convergence of IT, biotechnology and nanotechnology and its social and economic implications. His customers include: Shell, Unilever, Pfizer, Stork, and various hospitals, governmental institutions and insurance companies. Arjen guest lectures on technology policy at various universities and colleges. <br /><br />When not consulting Arjen is actively involved in (digital) civil liberties, the open source movement and criticizing the war on terror.</span>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/an-interview-with-arjen-kamphuis'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/an-interview-with-arjen-kamphuis</a>
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No publishersachiaInterviewOpen StandardsFLOSSIntellectual Property Rights2011-08-18T05:01:53ZBlog Entryarjen kamphuis
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/arjen.jpg
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/arjen.jpg'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/arjen.jpg</a>
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No publishersachia2009-04-28T12:15:03ZImageThe Project Vidya Story: 'Study Locally, Learn Globally'
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/study-locally-learn-globally-the-project-vidya-story
<b>This is first of a series of blog entries by Ajay Narendran, the architect of Vidya and former Content Manager and Webmaster, Amrita University, guest blogging on the CIS website. His blog series will attempt to capture the experience of building an intranet archive at Amrita University, Coimbatore. </b>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/study-locally-learn-globally-the-project-vidya-story'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/study-locally-learn-globally-the-project-vidya-story</a>
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No publishersachia2011-08-04T04:41:42ZBlog EntryThe 'Dark Fibre' Files: Interview with a Cable Operator
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-dark-fibre-files-interview-with-a-cable-operator
<b>This is the second in a series of posts documenting the making of the film 'Dark Fibre' by Jamie King and Peter Mann, in Bangalore. In this post, Siddharth Chadha shares an interview he had with Thyagraj, a cable operator in Austin Town, to throw some light on the world of the cable operator, the subject of the film. </b>
<p>Seated in his small cabin office in Austin Town, you would never be able to tell that Thyagraj, the owner of Sri Devi Cable in Austin Town, Bangalore, cannot walk on his own. He was a national level fencing player before an unfortunate accident 18 years ago that immobilised him. But that has not deterred his spirit in running his cable network or canvassing for the local Lok Sabha candidate of the area.</p>
<p><strong>Siddharth Chadha: When did you enter the Cable Television business? Was there trouble setting up shop? </strong></p>
<p><strong>Thyagaraj:</strong> I entered the Cable Television business way back in 1992. I purchased an existing network, here in Austin Town, which was showing six channels – Zee TV, Raj TV, Sun TV, a sports channel and Doordarshan. We had 168 connections back then and we used to charge Rs. 50 to Rs. 75 per connection. Most cable networks around that time were trying to poach each others connections but I was not greedy. I have never disturbed my neighboring operators and have only maintained as many connections as I can give good quality and service to.</p>
<p><strong>SC: How did the business evolve over the years? How did you cope with the changing times? </strong></p>
<p><strong>T:</strong> The major change in the services occurred when the concept of Multi Service Operators came in about in 1997. Until then, I was providing 42 channels, including Pay Channels, to whom I would give money out of my own pocket. But after the entry of MSO's, we were forced to get connected to them as our costs of operation were rising. I first associated with BI TV, which was subsequently bought over by Hathway. Citi Cable and Hinduja were the other two MSO companies that came into the fray at the same time. This was also the time when the monthly subscriptions shot up to Rs. 150.</p>
<p><img class="image-inline image-inline" src="uploads/CoaxialCable.jpg/image_preview" alt="co-axial cable" height="261" width="385" /> <img class="image-inline image-inline" src="uploads/TVTunerDevice.jpg/image_preview" alt="tv tuner device" height="316" width="400" /></p>
<p><strong>SC: Does DTH threaten to take over your business? </strong></p>
<p><strong>T:</strong> Now that the Direct to Home services have come in, we are faced with a new challenge. But I personally have not lost any customers to these new DTH operators. They are very expensive and our quality standards are at par with any other service. We charge Rs. 200 per month for our services as compared to Tata Sky and BIG TV which cost at least Rs. 300. Also, I feel that if you give customers quality, they will stick by you.</p>
<p><img class="image-inline image-inline" src="uploads/TataSkyDTH.JPG/image_preview" alt="tata sky" height="299" width="400" /> <img class="image-inline image-inline" src="uploads/copy_of_BigLOGO.png/image_preview" alt="BIG logo" height="400" width="250" /></p>
<p><strong>SC: What are the main challenges to your business now? </strong></p>
<p><strong>T:</strong> The costs of running the business have risen considerably. When we started in the '90s, most operations were set up with a budget of under Rs. 5 Lakhs. Now, the cost of setting up a network runs into crores of rupees. The operations require setting up a dish, LNBs to receive signals, modulators and recievers, amplifiers to send output to residences using branch cables. The costs of maintenance, along with the salaries, are pretty high. This is what causes many operators to under-report customers. Otherwise, we would not be able to survive in the market.</p>
<p><strong>SC: Do you participate in the local Karnataka State Cable Operators Association and its negotiations with TRAI? </strong></p>
<p><strong>T:</strong> I appreciate the regulations that TRAI has come up with. This prevents the MSO's from overcharging the customers and also keeps in mind our interests. However, I myself do not participate in the meetings called by Karnataka Cable Operators Association. I think that their organization is all about politics and greed. We should not be looking at increasing prices for the customers, just for our own benefit. There have been major interuptions in the past, such as in 2005 when the Tamil Channels were blocked out after the Cauvery dispute or when the TRAI and the Association could not come up with a mutually feasible tariff plan. Such blackouts hurt us as we don't earn any money during those days. There is no point trying to defy these associations as our office will then be ransacked. They follow the policy of not doing anything themselves, and not letting others do their work either. The need of the times is for people to do creative things--do new things differently.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-dark-fibre-files-interview-with-a-cable-operator'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-dark-fibre-files-interview-with-a-cable-operator</a>
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No publishersachia2011-08-04T04:41:36ZBlog EntryMadhan Muthu
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/copy_of_madhan.jpg
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/copy_of_madhan.jpg'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/copy_of_madhan.jpg</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2009-04-27T07:33:18ZImageInternational Repository Infrastructure Workshop, Amsterdam, 16-17 March 2009: A Report
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/international-repository-infrastructure-workshop-amsterdam-16-17-march-2009-a-report
<b>Open Access activist Madhan Muthu recently attended the International Repository Infrastructure Workshop, held in Amsterdam, 16-17 March 2009, in company with CIS Distinguished Fellow Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam. In this entry, as a guest blogger for CIS, he files a report on the proceedings at the workshop. </b>
<p align="left"></p>
<div align="left"> </div>
<p align="left">I was in Amsterdam
for the International Repository Infrastructure Workshop, with Prof. Subbiah
Arunachalam of <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/../">CIS</a> and other participants
from UK, USA, Japan,
and Australia. The workshop was funded by <a href="http://www.jisc.ac.uk/">JISC</a>, <a href="http://www.surffoundation.nl/en">SURF</a> and <a href="http://www.driver-repository.eu/">DRIVER</a> Project. The aim of the workshop was to draft plans for
the future course of international repositories’ action.</p>
<p align="left">The workshop started with a keynote speech by Norbert Lossau of the DRIVER project. Much of his talk focused on
DRIVER experience. Beyond individual repositories and related services, he
explained the need for an internationally coordinated repositories
infrastructure. Soon after the keynote,
participants were divided into four breakout groups to enage in parallel discussion and to
draft action plans on the following topics:</p>
<div align="left">
<ul type="disc"><li>International Organization</li><li>Identifier Infrastructure</li><li>Citation Services </li><li>Repositories Handshake <br /></li></ul>
</div>
<p align="left">I participated in the Repositories ‘handshake’
group. The handshake group, which consisted of
mostly repository practitioners and service providers, was moderated by Peter
Burnhill of <a href="http://edina.ac.uk/">EDINA</a>, University of Edinburgh. Initially, there was a bit of effort in reaching
the definition of ‘repositories handshake’ and what it was actually
intended for. After deliberations on service requirements, ingest support
services, machine interoperability and workflow enhancement, the group settled
on 'deposit opportunities' as its focus. Two-side handshakes were considered:
one with authors, where the handshake action naturally twisted to a ‘begging’ action (in the present global repository scenario) and on the other side, handshakes
with service developers by ensuring (minimally sufficient) quality metadata and
interoperability.</p>
<p align="left">On the
second day, our group continued its discussions on creating conducive 'deposit
opportunities' on the principles of <em>more</em>
(content), <em>better</em> (quality metadata),
<em>easy</em> (uploading) and <em>rewarding</em> (for depositor). The group agreed upon eight purposeful handshake
use cases and multiphase action plan. There was a consensus on a first phase work
plan which would achieve, in six months' time, at least a few key use
cases like:</p>
<div align="left">
<ul type="disc"><li>Easy deposit method for multi-authored papers, with different
affiliations from different countries, in multiple repositories</li><li>Communication between institutional, subject and funding
repositories</li><li>Publisher deposits in repositories (IR/SR)</li><li>Institute induced deposits</li></ul>
</div>
<p align="left">We had two breakout group presentations
during the course of the workshop, in which moderators discussed the progress made
by each group. This helped members of the groups to understand what the other groups were doing.</p>
<p align="left">Finally, all participants assembled at
the plenary session of the workshop, at which moderators of each breakout group presented the product
of the one and a half day deliberations. In my view, there was considerable progress made by the Citation
Services group. Leslie Carr, who was the
moderator of the group, talked about the plan of setting up a repository based
citation test bed and developing a competitive text mining algorithm to cull
references from a document in repositories.</p>
<p align="left">The next impressive development came from the
Repository Identifiers group. The
moderator of the group talked about strategies of using existing resources to
build identifiers for people, repositories, organisations and objects (see presentation <a class="external-link" href="http://prezi.com/17905/view/#56">here)</a>. Dale Peters acknowledged the contribution of Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam at
the ‘International Organisation’ group’s final presentation.</p>
<p align="left">Clifford Lynch of <a href="http://www.cni.org/">CNI</a> summed up of the outcomes of
the break out groups in his closing remarks.
He envisioned repositories as a component of a larger
knowledge sharing infrastructure rather than as mere archives of institutional outputs. He also prioritised 'Identifier
Infrastructure' as the need of the moment and asked for a quick action on
it. </p>
<p align="left">There was a funders' meeting after
the workshop, the outcomes of which are yet to surface. With pre-workshop wiki discussions on
repository use cases and tweets (Twitter messages) during the program, the very form of the workshop was different from anything I had previously experienced.</p>
<p align="left">During the workshop, I met a few key
people involved in the <a href="http://www.driver-repository.eu/">DRIVER</a> project,
particularly Dr Paolo Manghi from <a href="http://www.isti.cnr.it/">ISTI-CNR</a>,
Italy, an organisation that takes care of repository validation. I learned a little about <a href="http://www.driver-repository.eu/">DRIVER</a>, which has come up with a set
of crisp metadata and interoperability guidelines to ensure smooth exchange
of data between European repositories and service providers. The guidelines
have been translated into three other languages, showing their international
acceptance. To streamline repository
developments in India, the time is right (since the number of repositories are small) to start a <a href="http://www.driver-repository.eu/">DRIVER</a>-like initiative to ensure metadata
uniformity in Indian repositories for easy exchange.</p>
<p align="left">-----<img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/madhan.jpg/image_preview" alt="Madhan Muthu" class="image-right" title="Madhan Muthu" /></p>
<p align="left">Guest blogger Madhan Muthu has a Masters in Library and Information Science, and has worked at the National Institute of Technology as an Assistant Librarian since March 2004. He is heavily involved as a volunteer in India's open access movement. Presently, he is
coordinating the Oriya Books Digitisation project in partnership with other
libraries. Prior to NIT, he was at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation
(MSSRF), Chennai, for about six years.</p>
<div align="left"> </div>
<p align="left"> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/international-repository-infrastructure-workshop-amsterdam-16-17-march-2009-a-report'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/international-repository-infrastructure-workshop-amsterdam-16-17-march-2009-a-report</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpen Access2011-08-18T05:01:34ZBlog EntryInternet, Transparency and Politics
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics
<b>Talk by Barun Mitra</b>
<p>The 2009 general elections in India have been
preceded by various initiatives that seek to provide information to the
voters about candidates contesting the elections. The aim of providing
this information is to help voters to make 'informed choices' when
casting their votes. This talk is being organized in the context of the
research that CIS-RAW fellow Zainab Bawa is carrying out on "Internet,
Transparency and Politics". Why has the Internet become an important
space for publishing information that is streamlined for facilitating
interaction between citizens and the state? What is the impact of
making such information available to citizens? How does it transform
their relationship with political actors and government agencies?
Simultaneously, how are elected representatives and political parties
responding to these 'transparency' initiatives?</p>
<h3><strong>Speaker</strong></h3>
<p>Barun Mitra is the Director of
Liberty Institute, a think-tank based in Delhi. He has conceptualized
EmpoweringIndia.org to enable voters to cast their votes thoughtfully
during the elections and to use the information on the site to hold
their elected representatives accountable after they have been voted
in. Barun Mitra also writes on issues of environment, health, trade and
democracy in publications such as The Mint, Economic Times and Business
Standard.</p>
<h3>Time and Date</h3>
<p>Wednesday, 15 April 2009; 5.00-6.30 pm</p>
<h3>Venue<br /></h3>
<p>Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers,
14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052</p>
<h3>Map <br /></h3>
<p>For a map, please click <a class="external-link" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=centre+for+internet+and+society+bangalore&jsv=128e&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=61.070016,113.203125&ie=UTF8&cd=1&latlng=12988395,77594450,9857706471034889432&ei=5QXRSKLrNYvAugPX4YSAAg">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaInternet Governance2011-04-05T04:36:59ZEventInternational School at the Digital Media program of the University of Texas at Austin - Portugal Collaboratory (CoLab)
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/international-school-at-the-digital-media-program-of-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-portugal-collaboratory-colab-1
<b>Applications are now open for the first International School on Digital Transformation, to be held July 19-24, 2009, at the University of Porto in Porto, Portugal. The School is accepting applications from advanced students and recent graduates from around the world with an interest in how digital technologies are changing societies and the world as a whole. </b>
<p><a href="http://colab.ic2.utexas.edu/dm/international-school/isdt-student-registration-page/">Applications are now open for the first International School on Digital Transformation</a>,
to be held July 19-24, 2009, at the University of Porto in Porto,
Portugal. The School is accepting applications from advanced students
and recent graduates from around the world with an interest in how
digital technologies are changing societies and the world as a whole.</p>
<p><a href="http://colab.ic2.utexas.edu/dm/international-school/isdt-student-registration-page/"><img title="Application" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-248" src="http://colab.ic2.utexas.edu/dm/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/app_button.jpg" alt="Application" height="35" width="150" /></a></p>
<p>The International School on Digital Transformation will be an
intensive six-day residential program, conducted in English and
bringing together emerging and established scholars and professionals
from around the world. During the week-long session, innovators in
digital communications will serve as teachers and mentors, presenting
their current projects and research and participating in discussions
with advanced students and professionals beginning careers in the
field. Presenters and students will be regarded as peers during the
School.</p>
<p>The School will focus on these themes:</p>
<p>• Democratic transformations of society through digital media<br />
• Innovations in transparency and political participation using new online tools<br />
• Grassroots civic activities using digital technologies<br />
• Building effective communities with the Internet<br />
• Reaching out to new users with mobile and online technologies<br />
• Prospects for digital communication in developing regions<br />
• Digital arts and culture in a globalized, online world</p>
<p>The goals of the International School include:</p>
<ul><li>Combining lectures on current research and innovation with practical experience, using accessible, low-cost digital technologies</li><li>Providing an informal venue for sharing expertise, perspectives, and best practices and for mentoring advanced students</li><li>Fostering a sustainable network of scholars and activists in the field of digital technology, communication and social change</li></ul>
<p><strong>Program</strong></p>
<p>The basic daily schedule will consist of one 90-minute session of
lecture and discussion in the morning: free time for teachers and
students to interact, converse and explore the city in the afternoon;
and two more 90-minute lecture and discussion sessions in the evening,
folowed by a communal meal.</p>
<p>The confirmed speakers for the International School on Digital Transformation include:</p>
<ul><li>Sunil Abraham<br />
Director of Policy at the Center for Internet and Society, Bangalore, India; and current board member of Mahiti Infotech</li><li>Patricia Aufderheide<br />
Professor, School of Communication, American University; director,<br />
Center for Social Media at American University</li><li>Warigia Bowman<br />
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy Leadership,<br />
University of Mississippi</li><li>Fiorella De Cindio<br />
Associate Professor, Computer and Information Science Department,<br />
University of Milan</li><li>Martha Fuentes-Bautista<br />
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of<br />
Massachusetts at Amherst</li><li>Stephanie Hankey/Marek Tuszynski (tentative)<br />
Co-founders and directors, Tactical Technology Collective</li><li>Lisa Nakamura (associate faculty)<br />
Professor, Institute of Communication Research; Director, Asian<br />
American Studies Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</li><li>Tapan Parikh<br />
Assistant Professor, School of Information, University of California<br />
at Berkeley</li><li>Tiago Peixoto<br />
Researcher, European University Institute, Florence, Italy</li><li>Alison Powell<br />
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University</li><li>Andrew Rasiej<br />
Founder of Personal Democracy Forum and techPresident</li><li>Nicholas Reville<br />
Executive director, Participatory Culture Foundation</li><li>Scott Robinson<br />
Professor, Department of Anthropology, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana</li><li>Jorge Martins Rosa<br />
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences; Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, New University of Lisbon</li><li>Christian Sandvig<br />
Associate Professor, Department of Communication; faculty member,<br />
Project on Public Policy and Advanced Communication Technology,<br />
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</li><li>Doug Schuler<br />
Program Director, Public Sphere Project, an initiative of Computer<br />
Professionals for Social Responsibility</li><li>Leslie Regan Shade<br />
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University</li><li>Maripaz Silva (associate faculty)</li><li>Laura Stein<br />
Assistant Professor, Radio-Television-Film Department, University of<br />
Texas at Austin</li><li>Siva Vaidhyanathan<br />
Associate Professor, University of Virginia, Media Studies and Law;<br />
Fellow, Institute for the Future of the Book</li><li>Katrin Verclas<br />
Co-founder and editor of Mobileactive.org</li></ul>
<p>The International School on Digital Transformation is a program of
the University of Texas Austin-Portugal Colaboratory, or CoLab. The
co-directors of the School are Drs. Sharon Strover and Karen Gustafson,
and Gary Chapman, of the University of Texas at Austin.</p>
<p>The School will be held at the Rectory, a building of the University
of Porto in the center of the city. Student housing will consist of
nearby hotels, and the cost of the School will include a shared hotel
room, two meals per day (breakfast and dinner) and the program itself.
The week will also include a cultural activity offered to all School
participants.</p>
<p>The estimated cost of the International School on Digital
Transformation will be between €300 and €400. Travel to Porto,
Portugal, is not supported; students must find and pay for their own
travel to Porto.</p>
<p>The student application, and more specific information for students, are available at this link.</p>
<p><strong>Porto, Portugal</strong></p>
<p>Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, Porto is known
for its spectacular architecture and medieval alleyways, and it is also
compact, allowing visitors to easily explore the central city on foot.
Porto is on the Douro River and also near the Atlantic Ocean. It is
famous for its port wine from the inland Portuguese wine region along
the Douro River valley.</p>
<p>During the free afternoons, students and teachers may explore the
sidewalk café culture on Santa Catarina Street, a nearby pedestrian
shopping area, or walk across the Dom Luís I Bridge spanning the Douro
River to the promenade, restaurants, and port houses in Vila Nova de
Gaia, directly opposite central Porto. Short river cruises may be taken
in barcos rabelos, flat-bottomed boats traditionally used to ferry
shipments of port wine.</p>
<p>While Porto is famous for its ancient Roman ramparts and Gothic
churches, it is also home to the Casa da Música concert hall, a superb
example of modern architecture, finished in 2005, that has become an
icon of the city. The Serralves Museum is a major cultural institution
which hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary art and which features
a world-class garden.</p>
<p>In the late evenings, Porto hosts a thriving clubbing culture, and the city’s nightspots attract DJs from around the world.</p>
<p>Porto has an international airport and is also served by trains from
Lisbon and from Spain. By train, Porto is approximately three and a
half hours north of Lisbon.</p>
<p>Please direct questions regarding the program to Karen Gustafson, at <a href="mailto:kegustafson@mail.utexas.edu.">kegustafson@mail.utexas.edu</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/international-school-at-the-digital-media-program-of-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-portugal-collaboratory-colab-1'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/international-school-at-the-digital-media-program-of-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-portugal-collaboratory-colab-1</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpenness2011-04-02T16:08:59ZNews ItemCluster in collaboration with the Architects Association of Turin (FOAT) participates at the Democracy Biennial
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial-1
<b>Sunil Abraham to speak at the conference 'Housing the Democratic City' in Turin, Italy</b>
<div id="parent-fieldname-text" class="kssattr-atfieldname-text kssattr-templateId-widgets/rich kssattr-macro-rich-field-view inlineEditable">
<p>The first edition of the <a href="http://www.biennaledemocrazia.it/" target="_blank">Biennale Democrazia</a>,
will take place in Turin the 22 – 26 April 2009, it is an international
cultural event entirely dedicated to the ethical and political project
of democracy a political system which, by definition, is in constant
evolution and development, continually facing new challenges to be
overcome. The Democracy Biennial is organized by the City of Turin, the
Italia Committee and the Piedmont Regional government. It forms part of
a series of programmes and public events called <a href="http://www.italia150.it/" target="_blank">Esperienza Italia</a>
organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Unification of
Italy in 1861. The Democracy Biennial takes its inspiration from the
profound studies on democracy carried out by Norberto Bobbio and it is
intended to function as a tool for spreading a culture of Democracy
that can also be put into practice in everyday life. It aims to create
a permanent, ongoing workshop, open to the public, that explores and
debates, from both a local and international point of view, the
fundamental values of democracy, the forms it has adopted and the
challenges it faces today. The event will consist of different
preparatory activities (workshops, debates, readings, international
forums, in-depth seminars and events actively involving citizens (as
well as films, theatre and music events).</p>
<p>In partnership with the Biennale Democrazia the Architects Association of Turin (<a href="http://www.to.archiworld.it/" target="_blank">FOAT</a>),
has curated a section, within the event program, entitled “Housing the
Democratic City”. The section offers a series of sessions: a workshop,
conferences and a call for paper that aim to stimulate reflections on
issues related to housing the city, for a future of urban democracy.</p>
<p>In occasion of this important event Cluster, in collaboration with
the Architects Association (FOAT), has invited a collaborator from
Bangalore, India, <a href="http://www.cluster.eu/v2/profiles/sunil-abraham/" target="_blank">Sunil Abraham</a>
to speak at the conference “Housing the Democratic City” at Teatro
Gobetti on Sunday 26th April. Other participating speakers are <a href="http://www.zedfactory.com/" target="_blank">Bill Dunster</a> (UK), <a href="http://www.zucchiarchitetti.com/" target="_blank">Cino Zucchi</a> (Italy).</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham is an industrial and production engineer from Bangalore in India. In 1998 he founded <a href="http://www.mahiti.org/" target="_blank">Mahiti</a>,
an association dedicated to reducing the cost and complexity of
information and communication technology for the voluntary sector. In
August 2008 he co-founded <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/../" target="_blank">The Centre for Internet and Society</a>,
that brings together a team of practitioners, theoreticians,
researchers and artists to work on the emerging field of Internet and
Society to critically engage with concerns of digital pluralism, public
accountability and pedagogic practices, with particular emphasis on
South-South dialogues and exchange. Sunil contributed to the last issue
of Cluster, Transmitting Architecture in a dual interview and
discussion entitled “Design in Urban democracy:a question of survival?”
PDF downloadable <a href="http://www.cluster.eu/v2/editions/thackara/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham will also be speaking in two other sections of the
Biennial on April 25 ‘Democracy and India’ with Prof. Federico
Squarcini, professor of History of Indian Religions, University of
Florence and ‘Democracy and Technology’ with the Politecnico of Turin.
More details on the programme coming soon.</p>
<p>For info. please visit: <a href="http://biennaledemocrazia.it/" target="_blank">Biennale Democrazia</a> Order of the Architects of Turin (<a href="http://www.to.archiworld.it/" target="_blank">FOAT</a>)</p>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial-1'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial-1</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpenness2011-04-02T16:09:12ZNews ItemJournals, Open Access, Copyright, Repositories
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/journals-open-access-copyright-repositories
<b>Prof N. Mukunda, Editor of Publications, The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, discusses open access in his keynote address at the 26 March 2009 one-day conference on 'Scholarly Communications in the Age of the Commons'. </b>
<p>On 26 March 2009, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautical Laboratories, in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society, organised a day-long conference on 'Scholarly Communications in the Age of the Commons', as a way to highlight the need for Open Access in Indian academia and research. The speakers and panellists included Prof N. Mukunda of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Prof John Willinsky of Stanford University, Dr D.K. Sahu, MD and CEO of Medknow Publications, Prof Leslie Chan of the University of Toronto, Prof Subbiah Arunachalam, Distinguished Fellow with CIS, Dr A.R. Upadhya, Director of NAL, Mr N.V. Sathyanarayana, CMD. of Informatics, and Mr Sunil Abraham, Director of Policy at CIS.</p>
<p>Prof N. Mukunda gave the keynote address, which is reproduced below.</p>
<p> </p>
<div align="center"><strong>“Journals, Open Access, Copyright, Repositories – Some Viewpoints from an Academy”</strong></div>
<p><br /><em>Invited key note address at the Conference on ‘Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons (Open Access)’ on 26 March 2009, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore</em></p>
<p><em><strong>N. Mukunda, Editor of Publications, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore</strong></em></p>
<p>1) Dr. Upadhya, Dr. Goudar, Prof. Arunachalam, Dr. Poornima Narayana, Prof. Chan, Prof. Willinsky, Prakash, Chandramohan from the Academy, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen, may I on behalf of the Indian Academy of Sciences express a warm welcome to all of you to this one day Conference on ‘Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons’. This is the Academy’s Platinum Jubilee Year, and for NAL it is the Golden Jubilee; and it is a pleasure for the Academy to join NAL and the ‘Centre for Internet & Society’ in hosting this meeting. Thanks also to Dr. Goudar and Prof. Arunachalam for their initiatives in organizing this event. I am here substituting for Prof. D. Balasubramanian, President of the Academy, as he has to be at a meeting at Chennai today. If only the fanciful Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics were correct, the world could have split into two copies, and Prof. Balasubramanian also into two copies, one in Chennai and one here; and he could have spoken in both places simultaneously! In the tea break, I can tell you more about this interpretation of quantum mechanics, if any of you are interested.</p>
<p>I am used to giving seminars and colloquiua, on subjects of my research, but never have I given a key note address or an Executive Summary. These are new to me. Also, as you all know, President Obama always needs a teleprompter while giving his fine speeches. Similarly, I cannot speak without a written text in front of me, so please permit me this luxury. Let me also add that I believe in the well-known saying — levity is the soul of wit.</p>
<p>2) The Academy’s efforts in the Open Access direction go back to 1998. It was then that the journal Pramana was made available on the Academy website completely free for all to read. Thereafter all the other Academy journals have also been made freely available online, so now all ten Academy journals are available. Quite recently the speed of access has been considerably improved. In 2006 the Academy entered into an agreement with Springer to co-publish the international online and print editions of the ten journals, but with the proviso that world-wide open access on the Academy website would continue. So now there is the version on the Academy site, which is accessible world-wide and free, and also the value-added SpringerLink version available to paid subscribers. This arrangement is working quite well. The download figures from both sites are quite encouraging, and in any case the visibility of the journals world-wide is much better than it used to be. INSA by the way has signed the Berlin Open Access Declaration and its journals are also freely accessible.</p>
<p>3) Two important things happened in April 2008, just about a year ago. INSA arranged a meeting on Open Access and Copyright issues on 26th April, 2008, again thanks to Prof. Arunachalam’s initiative; and Prof. Balaram wrote an editorial in Current Science on 10th April 2008 on the subject ‘Science Journals: Issues of Access’. I must confess I am completely ignorant and totally naive in all these matters, so whenever necessary I turn to one of Prof. Balaram’s numerous beautiful editorials – and get educated about the finer points of English literature at the same time – I also read some of the steady stream of emails from Prof. Arunachalam which arrive each day. He is constantly exhorting us to do various things – like Mr. This or Mr. That we should give him the honorary title “Mr. Open Access”, it is a onepoint agenda with him. So I learn a lot from both these sources which are at least openly accessible to me. Incidentally a collection of Prof. Balaram’s editorials is likely to be published soon, and several of us have been asked to write editorials to introduce his editorials on various subjects. Science journals are proliferating in number and spiraling in costs. So these raise difficult problems of affordability for libraries and institutions. There are also issues of judging quality, and looking at the economics of the entire process, the whole information chain – overall costs of dissemination of research results, journal publishing and production, refereeing, circulation… who pays for what, who profits, is it reasonable or exorbitant? There is the impact of technologies on all this – these are times of extremely rapid changes, with new undreamt of opportunities appearing all the time. These are true of other arenas of life as well – in education, governance, entertainment, in news communication and so on. As a physicist I cannot help remembering that all this began in 1948 with Claude Shannon’s Classical Theory of Information – a major conceptual revolution which showed that information could be measured, and so could its transmission and fidelity and so on. Such a beautiful set of ideas – a fascinating mathematical structure embedded within the classical theory of probability. And this was accompanied and later followed by technical advances, transistors (1947), semiconductors and so on. Balaram’s view is that Institutional Repositories are more easily achievable than Open Access. This may greatly change the structure and traditional roles of libraries as we know them, at least as far as the sciences are concerned. He mentioned the recent much-heralded Harvard University faculty decision which ‘authorizes Harvard to place a faculty member’s work in a repository that will be available to all at no cost’. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has taken a similar even wider step very recently, on the 18th of this month.</p>
<p>There is also discussion of who pays – or should pay – for the costs of publishing research results – a shift from the traditional ‘researcher pays’ era through ever increasing subscription costs to a new ‘author pays’ arrangement. The idea is that agencies that fund research – whether private or public – should include costs of publication in their support. Balaram mentions that for some high impact journals, the cost to the author for one paper can be as much as Rs. 2.5 lakhs! When I saw this, I could not help wondering – what would someone like Albert Einstein do in such a situation? He was working in a Patent Office in Berne as an assistant third class about a hundred years ago, and of course he had no research funding of any kind; but in his spare time he wrote papers that revolutionized physics! His papers were all published, he even received free reprints – but how would he fare today? One gets the impression that subscription costs for well-known journals in those days were quite reasonable; and in historical accounts one reads that people like Julius Springer were in frequent contact with figures like Arnold Sommerfeld and others in a mutually beneficial and enlightened atmosphere.<br />It seems we have to accept and acknowledge that the methods of doing science, the costs, the sociology of the scientific enterprise, have all changed enormously. It has become intensely competitive, one can even say that cut-throat methods are common, it seems the scientific enterprise is no longer the domain of scholars alone. Claims for priority are severe. In a piece that appeared on 9th February 2009 in the New York Times, celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin, the writer said:</p>
<p><em>“One of Darwin’s advantages was that he did not have to write grant proposals or publish 15 articles a year. He thought deeply about every detail of his theory for more than 20 years before publishing ‘The Origin of Species’ in 1859; and for 12 years more before its sequel, ‘The Descent of Man’, which explored how his theory applied to people.”</em></p>
<p>The old times are gone forever, the times of Darwin and Einstein. The game has become a game, with new rules of play. The new patterns and methods however seem more natural for the younger generation to adjust to, but some of us of an older generation cannot forget the past so easily.</p>
<p>4) The INSA meeting discussed many aspects including the need to educate working scientists about their rights with respect to copyright. There is a recent email from Arunachalam on this from Amsterdam. Again I think younger scientists are aware of their rights more than old fogeys like me, we are the ones needing education. There is a need for change in Copyright patterns, especially for books out of print, to decide when something should move into the Public Domain, and so on. Some of the major INSA recommendations are to granting agencies to mandate Open Access for results of publicly funded research, and to scientists to publish in Open Access journals by choice.</p>
<p>Some tasks are set for the Academies too, such as setting up Institutional Repositories, and to work toward Open Access in all possible ways. In this context, it is possible that the three national Science Academies of India – IASc, INSA and NASI – may try to cooperate in these matters, as they have been doing in the case of science education recently.</p>
<p>5) From its inception, publication of journals has been a major effort of the Indian Academy of Sciences. There has always been a striving to maintain standards. Today we can say about our ten journals, they are reasonably good, about the best from India. The main concerns – in these times of very rapid change and impact of new technologies – are: how do we maintain refereeing and review standards, how to tackle increasing cases of plagiarism, and while coping with all these how do we move in the Open Access direction? Quality of journals is most precious for the Academy, this is hard to achieve and to maintain, the whole enterprise seems to be under pressure.</p>
<p>6) Let me end by returning to Balaram and INSA and mention a recent initiative of the Academy. With generous help from the Indian Institute of Science, we are trying and hoping to set up an Institutional Repository covering all publications of all Fellows past and present. Starting since 1934 – the total number of Fellows is about 1500, 900 present and 600 past. And the total number of research publications may be around 60,000 or 75,000. The hope is that in this Platinum Jubilee year this effort should get started and make some progress. We should try to get a substantial number of entries into the Repository within this year, catch up as soon as possible, then make it an ongoing automatic process. Otherwise many of us here today will also become past Fellows before the job is done. Getting titles and abstracts seems easy, with full text there may be problems, but here Arunachalam tells us authors have more rights than they realize. Let us see what we can do. It seems about 50 institutions in India already have set up such repositories, but we have miles to go before we sleep!</p>
<p>I am happy to have given the first key note address of my life today – I am sure the day’s discussions will be full of ideas and fruitful. It has been a pleasure to have been here, my thanks to Dr. Goudar and Prof. Arunachalam for inviting me, and most of all to Prof. Balasubramanian for asking me to be here in his place.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/journals-open-access-copyright-repositories'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/journals-open-access-copyright-repositories</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpen Access2011-08-18T05:01:28ZBlog EntryExperimental Economy Camp
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/experimental-economy-camp
<b>Open Discussion</b>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>n.e.w.s. is a platform for participatory development of artistic and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>curatorial projects in contemporary art and new media framed by <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>curatorial contributions from around the globe, bringing together <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>voices and images from North, East, West and South. n.e.w.s. reflects <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>geographic diversity and facilitates a framework for collaboration, <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>content and visions of change outside the normal parameters of the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>established art world networks. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Recently, n.e.w.s. won the ‘Competition of Ideas’ for authoring a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>book proposal entitled “Arbitrating Attention”, which would explore <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>new economic and social contexts for art. This 100-page text will be <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>published at the beginning of next year. One of things they hope to do <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>in the book is tap the undercurrent of new economic experiments in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>way artistic activities can be de-framed yet incorporate survival <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>tactics for sustainability.</p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>At the Experimental Economy Camp at CIS, n.e.w.s. contributors <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Renée Ridgway, Stephen Wright and Prayas Abhinav will present certain <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>ideas, seeking counter-points, information and queries, which lend <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>different perspectives to the questions at hand, in order to outline <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>possible strategies and targets. The discussions thereafter will <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>attempt to draw learnings from the dynamic media, academic and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>scientific community with which CIS interacts, imagining 'new social <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and economic contexts for art.' At this camp, n.e.w.s hopes to meet <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and interact with people and researchers with an interest in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>creative industries, entrepreneurial and economic experiments.</p>
<p>Further <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>interested individuals and institutions can take part in a symposium <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and brainstorming event that n.e.w.s will organize in July 2009 in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Bangalore. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>n.e.w.s. will also run an online forum during the symposium in July (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://northeastwestsouth.net/">http://northeastwestsouth.net</a><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>)<span class="moz-txt-citetags">. <br /></span></p>
<h3><span class="moz-txt-citetags">Speakers</span></h3>
<p> </p>
<div class="content clear-block">
<p><strong>Renée Ridgway </strong>is an artist,
free-lance curator and writer, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Since completing her studies in fine art at the Rhode Island School of
Design, (BFA) and Piet Zwart Institute (MA), she has exhibited widely
in the Netherlands and abroad (P.S.1 MoMA Hotel New York, Centraal
Museum Utrecht, Gouda Museum) She has made numerous public
presentations at various conferences and forums and taught at several
universities in the Netherlands and abroad. From 2005-6 she served on
the board of the former Gate Foundation, whose artists archive and
library were given as a gift to the Van Abbemuseum, and where in 2007
she organised a panel as part of the Be(com)ing Dutch caucus, entitled
'Gate Foundation- Past, Present and Future'. For 2009 Ridgway is
organising ‘Negotiating Equity’, a collaborative project at <a href="http://www.dutchartinstitute.nl/"> DAI, (Dutch Art Institute)</a> involving the n.e.w.s. platform and her contributors that examines the artist and 'the curatorial'.</p>
<p>As an artist Ridgway is presently preparing the latest installment
of her 10-year 'Manhattan Project': 'Beaver, Wampum, Hoes'- a series of
installations and public interventions at various locations in and
around NYC and the Netherlands in 2009. This focuses on the value of
the contemporary ‘cultural currency’ of Dutchness, in relation to the
Dutch colonial past (US, Indonesia, South Africa, Suriname); the
next presentation will be at De Lakenhal in Leiden, May 16th-August
31st 2009.</p>
<p>Ridgway is a co-initiator of n.e.w.s. Her website is <a class="external-link" href="http://reneeridgway.net/">http://reneeridgway.net/</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Stephen Wright</strong> is a Paris-based art theorist, writer, and Editorial Director of the Biennale de Paris. In 2004, he curated <em>The Future of the Reciprocal Readymade</em> (Apexart, New York), in 2005 <em>In Absentia</em> (Passerelle, Brest), in 2006 <em>Rumour as Media</em> (Aksanat, Istanbul) and <em>Dataesthetics</em> (WHW, Zagreb), and is currently preparing, amongst other projects, <em>Withdrawal: The Performative Document</em>
(New York) as part of a series of exhibitions examining art practices
with low coefficients of artistic visibility, which raise the prospect
of art without artworks, authorship or spectatorship. He has also
written extensively on the theoretical dimensions of such practices,
and, following a writing residency at Artexte (Montréal, 2006) a
book-length essay on the subject, dealing with the challenges of
performatively archiving and documenting disappearance, is forthcoming.
Wright’s writing has also focused on the use-value of art, particularly
in contexts of collaborative practices outside the performative
framework of the artworld. A former programme director at the Collège
international de philosophie (2000-2007), and corresponding editor of <em>Parachute</em> magazine (1999-2005), he is currently on the editorial advisory committee of the journal <em>Third Text</em>.</p>
<p>Born in 1963 in Vancouver, Canada, he lives and works in Paris.</p>
<div class="content clear-block">
<p><strong>Prayas Abhinav</strong> is a writer and artist
working and living in Bangalore, India. He has an interest in
re-vitalizing and re-imagining urban spaces. Through his work he
explores how public and semi-public spaces can be utilized for cultural
and civic uses. He explores the potential of low-fi technologies to
connect communities and resources.</p>
<p>He has been part of efforts to seed open content movements in India
and in 2007 helped with launching the Creative Commons India licenses in
India. In 2007, he also initiated a long-term engagement with urban
food systems by using public-spaces to grow vegetables and make them
openly accessible through recipe-based maps. In 2008, he spent a month
at Khoj Workshops to work on modular toolkits for anarchic protests in
cities. In 2006 he made a short film with the Public Service
Broadcasting Trust in which he narratively mapped the spaces which the
homeless in Mumbai use to sleep at night. In 2005, as a fellow at
Sarai-CSDS, he responded to the way urban spaces were used for
advertising through poetry and photographs. He edited the <em>Crimson Feet</em> magazine from 2003-2005 (after which it died).</p>
<p>Prayas' projects are documented at <a title="http://prayas.in" href="http://prayas.in/">http://prayas.in</a> and <a title="http://cityspinning.org" href="http://cityspinning.org/">http://cityspinning.org.</a></p>
</div>
<p> </p>
</div>
<h3>Time and Date</h3>
<p>Friday, 17 April 2009; 5.30-7.30 pm</p>
<h3>Venue<br /></h3>
<p>Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers,
14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052</p>
<h3>Map <br /></h3>
<p>For a map, please click <a class="external-link" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=centre+for+internet+and+society+bangalore&jsv=128e&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=61.070016,113.203125&ie=UTF8&cd=1&latlng=12988395,77594450,9857706471034889432&ei=5QXRSKLrNYvAugPX4YSAAg">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/experimental-economy-camp'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/experimental-economy-camp</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaResearch2011-04-05T04:36:50ZEventಚರ್ಚೆ: ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ (Discussion: Writing Science and Technology in Kannada)
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/writing-science-and-technology-in-kannada
<b>ಭಾನುವಾರ, ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೯ ರಂದು ಸಂಪದ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞರ ತಂಡ ಹಾಗು ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಎಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿ "ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಬರಹ" ಕುರಿತ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಈ ಬರಹ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ವರದಿ. ಕನ್ನಡ, ಭಾರತದ ಹಲವು ಭಾಷೆಗಳಂತೆ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ, ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಶೇಖರಿಸಿಡಲು ತುಂಬ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಬಳಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸಿಡಲು,
ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಳಸುವಾಗ ಏನೇನು ತೊಂದರೆ ಅಡಚಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ ಎಂಬುದರ ಸುತ್ತ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದಿತ್ತು. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಸವಿವರ ವರದಿ ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ. </b>
<p>ನಮ್ಮದೇ ಸಮುದಾಯದವರನ್ನು ತಲುಪುವುದು ತುಂಬ ಕಷ್ಟ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನಿಜವಾದ ಸಂಗತಿ. ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಬೆಳೆದು ಬಂದ ಜಗತ್ತು ಈಗ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಹತ್ತಿರ ತಂದಿರುವ ಅದೇ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಪೋಣಿಸಿದ್ದು. ಹೀಗಾಗಿಯೇ ನಾವುಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇವೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಕೆಲಸಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಸುವ ಭಾಷೆ ಬೇರೆಯದ್ದಾದರೇನು, ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷೆಯ ನಂಟು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ! ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ರೇಖೆಯಂತಿರುವ ಈ "ಭಾಷೆ" ಎಂಬ ಬಂಧ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ, ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳ ಬುತ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ತರುವ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಅದು ಹೇಗೆ ಹಿಡಿದಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. <br />ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ದಿನದಂದು ಕಂಡುಬಂದ ಮುಖಗಳು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯ ಲೆಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಕೊಂಚ ಬೇಸರ ಮೂಡಿಸಿದರೂ, ಆ ದಿನ "ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ"ಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಒಂದು ಉತ್ತಮ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು. ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಇದ್ದದ್ದು ಹೀಗೆ ಬರೆಯಲು ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಬಳಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ? ಮತ್ತು ತದನಂತರ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರಗೆ, ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆಡೆಗೆ ಅದನ್ನು ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದರ ಸುತ್ತ. ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ಭಾನುವಾರ ೨೯, ೨೦೦೯, ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಎಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ, ಕನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಹಾಮ್ ರೋಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ. <br /><br />ಅಂದು ನಾವು ಕನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಹಾಮ್ ರೋಡಿಗೆ ಹೊರಟು ನಿಂತಾಗ ನಮಗದು 'ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಭಾನುವಾರ'. ಆದರೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಬರುತ್ತಾರೋ, ಯಾರು ಯಾರು ಬರುವರು ಎಂಬ ಕುತೂಹಲ ನಮಗೆ! ನಾವುಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಆಮಂತ್ರಣ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ್ದೇ ಕೊಂಚ ತಡವಾಗಿ! ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸಲು ಒಂದು ವಾರ ಕೂಡ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಮೂರು ದಿನ ರಜೆ ಬೇರೆ - ಯುಗಾದಿ, ಶನಿವಾರ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾನುವಾರ!<br /><br />ಆದರೆ ಆ ಭಾನುವಾರ ವಿಶೇಷ ದಿನವೆನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಹೌದು. ನಮ್ಮ ನೆಚ್ಚಿನ ವಿಷಯಗಳು - ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಇವುಗಳೊಡನೆ - ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ ಕೂಡ ಬೆರೆತದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ಅವುಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಉತ್ತಮ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಉಳಿಯುವ ನಿಮಿಷಗಳು. <br /><br />ಮೊದಲ ಅವಧಿ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳು ಹಾಗು ಅದರ ಸುತ್ತ ಇರುವ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆಯುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ಎಂಬುದಾಗಿತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮ ಉದ್ದೇಶ. ನಾನು ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಒಂದು ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪೀಠಿಕೆಯ ನಂತರ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತ ಗೆಳೆಯರಾದ ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿದರು, ಚರ್ಚೆ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಹೇಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವುದು ಎಂಬುದರ ಸುತ್ತ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಹಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳು ಚರ್ಚೆಗೆ ಬಂದವು. ತೀರ ಗ್ರಾಂಥಿಕವಾದ ಅನುವಾದ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್ ಕೂಡಲೆ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪಿಸಿದರು. ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ಪದಗಳು ಅವು ಇದ್ದಂತೆಯೇ ಬಳಸಬಹುದು ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟರು. ಅತಿಯಾದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಬಳಸಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಪದಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುವಾದ ಮಾಡುವ, ಹೊಸ ಹೊಸ ಪದಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸುವ ಮನೋಭಾವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದರು. ಅದೇ ಸಮಯ ಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ ಬಳಸಿಯೂ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ ಮಾಡಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು extreme ಕುರಿತು ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯುವ ಎಂದಿದ್ದೆ - ಅಷ್ಟರೊಳಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ದನಿ, ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳು ಬೆರೆತು ಮಾತುಕತೆ ಮುನ್ನಡೆದು ಹೋಗಿತ್ತು. ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ, ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಪದಗಳಿಲ್ಲದ ಸಮಯ, ಗೊಂದಲ ಮೂಡಿಸುವಂತಹ ಪದಗಳಿರುವ ಸಮಯ, ಆಗಲೇ ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷ್ ಪದಗಳನ್ನೇ ಬಳಸುವುದು ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಂಬಲ ಸಿಕ್ತು. ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸಮಯ ಕಳೆದ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ "Feel Good Factor" ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುವಾದಗೊಳ್ಳುವಾಗ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಏನೆಲ್ಲ ಅನಾಹುತಕ್ಕೀಡುಮಾಡಿತ್ತು, ಏನೆಲ್ಲ ಗೊಂದಲ ಹುಟ್ಟುಹಾಕಿತ್ತು ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪವಾಯಿತು. ಓದುಗರಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗದೇ ಇದ್ದದ್ದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಆಗ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರು ಬರೆದ ವಿಷಯ ಓದುಗರಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ತಲುಪದೇ ಹೋಗಿತ್ತು ಕೂಡ. ಈ ವಿಷಯ ಈಗ ನಗಣ್ಯವೆನಿಸಬಹುದು, ಆದರೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ತಲುಪಿಸುವಾಗ ಈ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಯೂ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಬಹುದು. <br /><br />ನಂತರ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆಯುವಾಗ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಎದುರಾಗುವ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು, ಬರೆಯುವ ಉತ್ಸಾಹವನ್ನೇ ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವಂತಹ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು - ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ಮುಂದುವರೆಯಿತು. <br /><br />ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್ ಹಾಕಿದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ: "ಪ್ರೊಜೆಕ್ಟರನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಂತ ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೀರಿ?" ಬರವಣಿಗೆಯ ಮೂಲ ಉದ್ದೇಶದ ಕುರಿತು ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ, ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು 'ಶುದ್ಧ'ವಾಗಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದದ್ದು ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿತ್ತು.</p>
<p> <img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads/discussionc.preview.JPG/image_preview" alt="sampada1" class="image-inline image-inline" title="sampada1" /><br /><br />ನಡುವೆ ಕೆಲವು ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳ ಕುರಿತು, ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವ, ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. <br /><br />ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರು ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಅವಧಿಗೆ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿದರು, ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡರು. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಬರಹಗಳನ್ನು ಚರ್ಚಿಸುವಾಗ ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರ ಹೆಸರಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನಡೆಯದು. ಸ್ವತಃ ಅವರೇ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿದ್ದು ಒಂದು ಅಪೂರ್ವ ಕ್ಷಣ. <br /><br />ಕನ್ನಡ ಪ್ರಭದ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಾಹಕ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಾದ ರವಿ ಹೆಗಡೆ ಕೂಡ ಎರಡನೇ ಅವಧಿಯ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡರು. ಎರಡನೆಯ ಅವಧಿ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಿಸರದ ಸುತ್ತ ಬರೆಯುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತುಕತೆಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾದದ್ದು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಡೇಟ ಸೆಂಟರುಗಳು ಗ್ಲೋಬಲ್ ವಾರ್ಮಿಂಗಿಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಕಾಣಿಕೆ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುವಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಗೂಗಲ್ ವರೆಗೂ ಮುಟ್ಟಿತು. ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ ಬಳಸುವವರ ಪ್ರೈವೆಸಿಗಿರುವ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಆ ನಂತರ ಆರ್ ಟಿ ಐ (ರೈಟ್ ಟು ಇನ್ಫರ್ಮೇಶನ್ ಆಕ್ಟ್) ಕುರಿತ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರ್ ಟಿ ಐ ಕುರಿತ ಮಾಹಿತಿ, ಸಹಾಯ ಪುಟಗಳ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿರುವ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ತದನಂತರ ಸ್ವತ್ರಂತ್ರ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳಾಗಿ ಲಭ್ಯವಿರುವ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಆಯ್ಕೆಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಗ್ನು/ಲಿನಕ್ಸ್ ಹಾಗು ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಸುತ್ತ ಲಭ್ಯವಿರುವ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳು, ಪದ್ಮ (ಕನ್ವರ್ಶನ್ ಮಾಡಲು ಬಳಸಬಹುದಾದ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ) ಹಾಗು ಉದಯೋನ್ಮುಖ ಬರಹಗಾರರಿಗೆ, ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರಿಗೆ ಉಪಯೋಗವಾಗಬಹುದಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಪ್ಲಗಿನ್ನುಗಳು - ಇವುಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಕಂಪ್ಯೂಟರನ್ನು ಪ್ಲಾನೆಟೋರಿಯಂನಂತೆಯೇ ಮಾಡಿಬಿಡುವ ಸ್ಟೆಲೇರಿಯಂ ಎಂಬ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು - ಒಂದು ದೃಶ್ಯಾವಳಿ ಕೂಡ ಇತ್ತು (ಸ್ಟೆಲೇರಿಯಂ ಒಂದು 'ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ' ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ). </p>
<p><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads/discussionb.preview.JPG/image_preview" alt="sampada2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="sampada2" /><br /><br />ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರು ಹಲವು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟರು. ಬರವಣಿಗೆ ಹೊಸ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತಿರಬೇಕು, ಹೊಸ ನೆಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡುಕೊಂಡು ಮುಂದುವರೆಯುತ್ತಿರಬೇಕು, ಹಳತನ್ನು ಅಥವ ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ ಶೈಲಿಯನ್ನು ನಕಲು ಮಾಡುವಂತಿರಬಾರದು ಎಂಬುದರ ಕುರಿತು ಅವರು ಹೇಳಿದ ಮಾತುಗಳು ನನ್ನ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಚ್ಚುಳಿದದ್ದು. ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವುದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಅದರ ಬಳಕೆ (ಹೇಗೆ, ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ), ಅದರಿಂದಾಗುವ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗಳು, ತೊಡರುಗಳು - ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆಯುವುದು ಕೂಡ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಎಂದರು. ರವಿ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರು ಬ್ಲಾಗುಗಳು ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ ಮುಟ್ಟುವ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಓದುಗರನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದರ ಕುರಿತು ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆಯುವವರು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಟಿವಿ, ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆದು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಎಂದರು. ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಬಳಸಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಹೊಸ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳನ್ನಿಟ್ಟು ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ತರಬಹುದು, ಇಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಹೊರನಡೆದು ಹೇಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಭಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಬಹುದು ಎಂಬುದರ ಕುರಿತು ಸಹ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಈ ರೀತಿಯ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದೂರ ಅನಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ ನಮಗೆ - ಅಂದು ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿದ್ದ ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವರಿಗೆ ಇತರರ ಪರಿಚಯವಾದದ್ದು ಕೂಡ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ಮೂಲಕವೇ... 'ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷೆ' ಎಂಬ ಒಂದು ಆಸಕ್ತಿಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಹೆಣೆದು. <br />ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಹಲವು ಸಮುದಾಯ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳು ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಗೊಂಡು ಹೊರಗಿನ ಜನರಿಗೂ ತಲುಪುತ್ತಿರುವುದು. <br /><br />ಚರ್ಚೆ ಅನೌಪಚಾರಿಕವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾದದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಮುಗಿದದ್ದು ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ, ಖುಷಿ ತಂದಿತು. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು, ಮಾತುಕತೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಎಂದಿನಂತೆ ಕೆಲವರ ಮಾತು - ಇನ್ನುಳಿದವರು ಕುಳಿತು ಕೇಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಎಂಬಂತೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ದಿನದ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ವಿಭಿನ್ನವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಮಂಡಿಸುವ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ ನೀಡಿತು. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಮುಂದೆ ಹಾದೂ ಹೋಗಿರದಂತಹ ಕೆಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಮಾತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಳಿಬಂದಾಗ ಉಪಯೋಗವಾಗುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿದ್ದವು. ಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿಸಿದ ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಎಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿಯವರಿಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಥ್ಯಾಂಕ್ಸ್ ಹೇಳಿದರೂ ಸಾಲದು. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ನಡೆಸಲು ಜಾಗ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಊಟ, ಬೆಳಗಿನ ಕಾಫಿ ಮುಂತಾದವುಗಳನ್ನೂ ಅವರೇ ವಹಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು! ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹ ನೀಡುವುದಲ್ಲದೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಮುಕ್ತ, ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ಹಾಗು ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕವಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ನಡೆಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಇವರ ಸಹಕಾರ ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದ್ದು. ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾದದ್ದು ಇವರಿಂದಲೇ. <br /><br />ಅಂದು ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ವಂದನೆಗಳು, ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು. ಮುಂದೊಮ್ಮೆ, ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಅದರ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆದು ನಿಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಕಾರಣಾಂತರಗಳಿಂದ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಲಾಗದವರು ಆಗ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು. ನವ ಚಿಗುರಾಗಿ ಹಳೆ (ಬೀರ್ ಅಲ್ಲ) ಬೇರಿನ ನಂಟು ಬಿಡದೆ ಹೊಸತನ್ನು ಕಾಣುತ್ತ ಹೊಸ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಇಡೋಣ, ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ!</p>
<p>-- Hari Prasad Nadig</p>
<p><em></em><br />
<img src="http://hpnadig.net/sites/hpnadig.net/files/images/hpn.jpg" alt="Hari Prasad Nadig" align="right" /><br />
Hari Prasad Nadig is an independent software developer and consultant specialising in GNU/Linux and web based development. He is a sysop and bureaucrat at <a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/">Kannada Wikipedia</a>, and was also an active editor starting from its initial version in September 2004. In 2005, he started <a href="http://sampada.net/">Sampada</a>, a
community of Kannada speaking people; he is also the founding member of <a href="http://sampadafoundation.org/">Sampada Foundation</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/writing-science-and-technology-in-kannada'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/writing-science-and-technology-in-kannada</a>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads</a>
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