Monday 26 November 2012

Election Campaigning uses 3D Holographic Projection Technology


From web sites, SMS, twitters, blogs, and Facebook, the Indian election campaigning has become more hi-tech. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has utilised 3 D holographic projections to appear in front of audiences in different places in the state. 


After success of 3D interaction across 4 cities, Shri Modi to address people across 26 places in 15 districts using 3D projection technology, Interaction to take place across places in Saurashtra and South Gujarat.
The state-of-art technology used offers the audience/viewers a feel that the person is there real and even enables them to interact with the projected ‘virtual’ person as if interacting with actual person, eliminating the need of wearing 3D glasses.

What is 3D Holographic Projection Technology :


This is entirely a Latest and vary unique “Hi‐Definition Projection Technology” in which a person is Captured in 3‐dimentional Aspect with a Sp. Hi‐Definition Camera on a specially built Stage and Projected  “As Is “ at  various Distant Locations “At –A – Time”. Viewers at the other end will feel the presence of REAL Person in front of them and also interact with the projected ‘Virtual” person, without wearing any kind of 3D glasses, as they interact with ‘Actual Person’.

How 3D Holographic Projection Technology works:
Holography is a technique that enables a light field, which is generally the product of a light source scattered off objects, to be recorded and later reconstructed when the original light field is no longer present, due to the absence of the original objects.

Holography can be thought of as somewhat similar to sound recording, whereby a sound field created by vibrating matter like musical instruments or vocal cords, is encoded in such a way that it can be reproduced later, without the presence of the original vibrating matter.

A clever reimagining of the Pepper’s Ghost technique lets your magic happen. It starts with the patented foil, completely invisible to the naked eye. Rig it at 45° across the stage and then bounce content off a projector screen. This is then reflected upwards, reflects off the foil and gives the impression of a real 3D volumetric image on stage. With some clever lighting and stage dressing, and the result is the most stunning visual medium seen.
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Saturday 24 November 2012

Twitter, A New Tool for War Propaganda


NEW DELHI: War propaganda entered a whole new dimension on Wednesday night as the Israeli Defence Forces tweeted a strike in Gaza live. International news portals said this was the world's first broadcast of an ongoing military campaign through Twitter.

The IDF flooded online platforms in its efforts to put out its version of the attack. The strike, in which senior Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari was killed, was not only live-tweeted, but also live-blogged on Tumblr, a blogger's platform. There were also regular updates on video-sharing website YouTube, while pictures and posters were shared on image-sharing website Flickr.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/images/pixel.gif
Not to be left behind, Al Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas, also put out their version of the story from their Twitter account @AlqassamBrigade.
This is how the operation unfolded through social media websites. Around midnight on Wednesday, India time, the Israeli Defence Forces launched Operation Pillar of Defense with surgical strikes into Gaza. On Twitter, tweets about the Israeli strike on Gaza were accompanied by the hashtag #PillarOfDefense while those about Hamas' attacks on Israelis were tagged #LifeUnderFire and #Israel Under Fire. A hashtag is a clickable tag that is used to view tweets from different sources about a particular subject together.
"The IDF has embarked on an operation against Hamas, an Iranian proxy responsible for terror attacks on Israel. #Iran #Gaza," @IDFSpokesperson, the Twitter account of the Israeli defence forces tweeted. It was shortly followed by a YouTube link of an aerial video that showed the "pinpoint strike" on Ahmed Jabari's car. Speaking the language of the Internet, they also posted on their Tumblr and Flickr image streams, posters with text and infographics - the kind that are commonly found on Facebook.

Such posters typically give out a piece of information or a message followed by an exhortation to share it. "Three Israeli civilians were killed this morning by a rocket fired from Gaza. The IDF will continue to act to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens and cripple Hamas' terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. Share this if you think Israel has the right to defend itself," said the text of one of the many such posters shared online by the Israeli Defence Forces.
While guns blazed on the ground, attacks and counter attacks took place on the Internet as well. "#Israel's military kills #Palestinian children in cold blood in #Gaza, shelling civilians & populated areas #Humanrights," read a tweet from @AlqassamBrigade. Attached was a picture of officials holding a dead baby, speaking to the television media. Shortly after the strike, the Al Qassam Brigade also tweeted directly at the IDF account saying, "@idfspokesperson our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves)". The IDF too had issued a threat before carrying out the operation in a tweet that read, "We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead."

Details of the May 2011 killing of Osama Bin Laden in Operation Geronimo were also made available through official social media accounts. However, nothing was put out live.

Sunil Abraham of Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) says that propaganda has been part and parcel of modern warcraft. "From Nazi Germany to US during the Gulf War and this latest example -governments have always co-opted latest technologies into their propaganda campaigns," he says.
(Source: Kim Arora, TNN Nov 16, 2012, 02.25AM IST
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Friday 23 November 2012

Call for Manuscripts for Media Watch


Following is from Media Watch Editor Dr. R. C. Pattnaik:



Call for Manuscripts
Media WatchMay 2013 Edition

Media Watch (ISSN 0976 0911, e-ISSN 2249 8818), an international peer-reviewed scholarly research journal in communication and media solicits original research papers for May 2013 Edition. The journal publishes three issues (January, May and September) in a year.

Last date of manuscript submission for May 2013 Edition : February 20, 2013.

Theme for May 2013 Special Edition:
Technology and Globalization in Information Age

Manuscripts may take a variety of empirical or theoretical perspectives; topics may include, but are not restricted to the following areas:
  • Social Media & Representation
  • New Media & Socialization
  • Communication & Empirical Research
  • Journalism & Democratization
  • News Media & Political Economy
  • Networking & Empowerment
  • Media & Communicative Realities
The special issue, May 2013 will include maximum 10 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Manuscripts should confirm to APA style. It is preferred that manuscripts be provided as both Microsoft Word (.doc, not docx) and PDF documents.

The manuscript/paper can be submitted via e-mail to mediawatchjournal@gmail.com. The email must bear the subject line "Media Watch: Paper Submission".

Authors who would like to discuss paper ideas are encouraged to contact the journal’s Associate Editor (Dr. Sony Jalarajan Raj) : sonyjraj@gmail.com
A maximum of 7000 words are allowed for any paper/manuscript. Manuscripts submitted to Media Watch journal will be deemed as they have not been published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Peer-Review
Media Watch, introduces peer-review from its July 2012 Edition onwards. The manuscript submitted by the researchers shall undergo procedural review by a review panel in which the reviewer’s name is withheld from the author and, the author’s name from the reviewer.
Please visit our website : www.mediawatchglobal.com
(Dr. R. C. Pattnaik) Editor

Friday 9 November 2012

Q&A with Scott Butterworth, editorial copy chief at The Washington Post



Scott Butterworth is editorial copy chief at The Washington Post. He has also worked as a night editor and copy chief of the newspaper’s Style section. In this Q&A, conducted by email, Butterworth talks about his job managing the Editorial copy desk at the Post.
Q. Describe your job. What is your typical day like?
A. I lead a team of seven multiplatform editors (the Post’s term for what used to be called copy editors) who deal solely with copy from the Editorial department. Collectively, we edit, fact-check, headline and publish some 50 articles daily, material that includes op-eds, columns, editorials, blog postings and letters to the editor.
We staff from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the day begins and ends with blog postings. Editorial has six blogs that are updated several times through the day. Letters to the editor are typically ready for editing by 9 a.m., op-eds and columns beginning at noon, and editorials at 5 p.m. We start laying out the editorial and op-ed newspaper pages at mid-afternoon and distribute proofs by 6:30 p.m. We typeset the pages around 7:30 p.m.
All of this material is published online as soon as it is ready, with one exception: Syndicated columns, which make up the majority of our op-ed pages, are generally embargoed from the Web until 8 p.m.
(Separate from the multiplatform crew, Editorial has a day online editor who triages the incoming copy, monitors what online audiences are gravitating toward and suggests what should be prioritized to address this appetite, and an online producer/editor. Together, they craft a plan for presenting and promoting our pieces.)
My day runs from noon to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. I assign articles to the MPEs so that we wind up with neither backlogs nor editors twiddling their thumbs, I slot all stories headed into the paper (blog postings are not slotted), and I grab blog postings as I can.
I also handle longer-range duties: managing team members’ performance; looking ahead for opportunities our department should pursue and threats we should mind; and representing the desk in discussions throughout the department and the newsroom.
Q. How is editing opinion pieces different from editing news?
A. The gist of the job is the same: We are the reader’s surrogate. It is our job to untangle clunky or confusing sentences and to clarify what the writer intends to say. We also challenge the facts in each piece with the recurring question: How do you know that?
We follow the guidance of Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts.” Any good editorial or op-ed is, at its heart, an argument supported by facts. If the foundation proves less than sturdy, the opinion becomes rickety and unpersuasive. So it is in both our interest and the writer’s to ensure that the facts are as she describes them.
The twist in the job comes when the writer segues to her opinions. Our interest in plain speaking continues, but we must take care that, in clearing away brambles, we don’t cut away something more significant. So rather than rewrite first and ask later, as news desks may do on deadline, we raise questions with the writer (often proposing alternative language) and wait for a reply before taking out the shears.
We also aim to channel the writer when writing headlines. The goal is a headline that summarizes the article not only in a like spirit but also in such a way to entice even those who oppose this point of view to read it.
Q. How has the rise of digital media changed headline writing for opinion pieces?
A. It requires us to get to the point quickly — to be direct and descriptive — with our online heads. Often, nuance goes by the boards. Web audiences are hungry for smart, well-founded opinion and analysis, but they do gravitate toward starkly worded headlines, full of superlatives and usually beginning with one of the five W’s or the H.
That recipe can feel mighty limiting sometimes, especially when (for SEO purposes) you add a proper name to the front of the headline and you keep it all to less than 60 characters (at which point Google loses interest). So why do it this way? We don’t always, but we’ve found that resisting this formula creates a headwind in getting online attention.
We encourage our MPEs in writing Web heads to focus less on what happened and more on what it means. Where it makes sense, we also “steal” a writer’s lead or kicker — an approach that is bad manners in print but has proven particularly successful in attracting online aggregators such as the Drudge Report and RealClearPolitics.
Our content management system also allows us to write different headlines for different audiences. For example, we routinely write four heads for columns: one that aims primarily at Google search, one for Google News (whose spiders scrape differently than do main Google’s), one that goes out to social networks and our RSS feeds, and one for print. All four will be closely related, and one or two might be identical, but this way we have the ability to offer more directly what a given audience might want.
Q. In an increasingly digital world, what do you see as the role of opinion writing at large news organizations like the Post? What does the future hold for the syndicated columnist?
A. These are good questions, and they tie into those threats I mentioned earlier.
Opinion writing certainly faces the potential of being commoditized, as news reporting has been already. After all, “Opinions are like belly buttons: Everyone has one.”
Through blogs and social media, technology has lowered the bar to publish and draw attention to opinion pieces, in a manner similar to what we’ve already seen with YouTube. So now you can find an almost endless stream of commentary on any issue you might name. (Khoi Vinh makes an interesting argument for punditry’s vulnerability to disruption.)
The Post defends against this by relying on such differentiators as authority and reputation, which readers have shown they value when deciding where to click. (An analogy might be Tiffany’s vs. Internet jewelry sales.)
We also have a built-in advantage: our location. We’re fortunate to be in a city where the battle of ideas is waged daily; if you’re interested in serious analysis of these issues, or in influencing the debate, The Post’s op-ed page (whether print or online) is an essential read.
This gives us a platform from which to suggest to thinkers and statesmen that they might want to write for The Post. This, in turn, gives us a leg up online in competing for readers, at least for that subset of readers that pays attention to the byline before clicking.
Column writing is underappreciated as a differentiator. If you asked a random passer-by to name a writer at The Washington Post, odds are you would hear George Will, Charles Krauthammer or Gene Robinson named, rather than one of our news reporters.
This stems in no small part from their television appearances rather than their written work, to be sure, but the invitation for those appearances rests on the authority of being a Post columnist, of implicitly being someone in the know. The Post benefits, too: Its reputation grows as the place to get more of such smart analysis.
So I’m very optimistic about the future of opinion writing at The Post and at the handful of other organizations that also see it as a core part of their business. It enables us to develop and maintain loyalty among our primary readership and, when Drudge lights thesiren over a given piece, to expand our audience further.
I’m less certain about the future of syndication. The economic model still makes sense for client papers: It is cheaper for the Houston Chronicle to pay to run Kathleen Parker’s columns than to find and develop an in-house columnist for that space on the print op-ed page. And holding the rights for certain syndicated columns remains no less important in some markets than having certain comic strips.
As long as newspapers continue to provide op-ed pages, I see syndication playing a large role in filling that space. But I worry about how long that relationship will continue: Op-ed pages would seem to be an easy target for publishers looking to cut news hole further.
And the Internet has broken down the presumption of the syndication model for sponsoring papers: cultivating exclusivity through the sale of rights. Now you can read most syndicated columnists at a variety of web sites, so why should I go to The New York Times — where I have to pay money — to read Maureen Dowd?
I don’t know how this story ends, but there clearly is trouble on the horizon.
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Tuesday 6 November 2012

MICA needs Research Assistants/Research Associates


 MICA needs Research Assistant/Research Associate 


Qualification and Experience

Media Area

First class postgraduate in Media, Communications or Humanities, having basic understanding of research methodology/methods.Should preferably have one or two year’s experience, either in academics or industry in media. Excellent IT skills are a must.


Job profile

Research Assistant/Research Associate will participate in a mix of academic, research and self-development tasks.

1.    Provide assistance and support to faculty members in teaching and evaluation, development of courses and teaching material, research projects, MDPs etc. and undertake the material development and research work jointly with faculty members.

2.    Assist the faculty in developing methodologies, implementation of research projects, importing data into analysis software, basic data analysis and generation of reports.

3.    Develop process for completing projects and be responsible for producing and maintaining up-to-date documentation of such process.

4.    Assist in grant preparation.

5.    Implement research design such as FGDs, experiments, gathering data, analysing data, keeping accurate records of experimental data and procedures, writing papers, preparing talks and PPTs for meetings and reviewing literature.

6.    Attend seminars or meetings and document proceedings; present the results of research in seminars, posters, manuscripts, or other appropriate formats.

7.    Research assistant/associate will be encouraged to write conference papers and pursue PhD during his/her tenure at the institute.

Remuneration

Research Assistants will be paid a stipend of Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 25, 000 and Research Associates will be paid Rs. 25000 to Rs. 30,000 per month depending on qualification, experience, merit and performance in the interview. Candidates with exceptional experience and with good academic record will be given higher start.

Duration

Appointments will be made purely on contract basis for a period of one year initially and renewable annually based on performance.


How to Apply

Please email your applications to careers@micamail.inwithsubject line as “Application forResearch Assistant”. Applications should have (a) covering letter (b) latest updated CV and (c)Copies of papers published/conference presentations.

Applications can also be sent by post to: The Assistant Manager (HR), MICA, Shela, Ahmedabad – 380058.

Last date of receipt of application is November 17, 2012.

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Friday 2 November 2012

NET Exam Programme Announced

The University Grants Commission has announced the programme for
National Eligibility Test as under:

Important Dates:- December 2012




Application Submission End Date
:
Friday; November 16, 2012
Last date for receiving the documents* at the Coordinating University
:
Thursday; November 22, 2012
Examination Date
:
Sunday; Dec. 30, 2012