Saturday, September 27, 2008
Fewer Men Are Choosing To Teach
LONDON, Sept. 26: Teaching is becoming an increasingly female dominated profession with men making up fewer than one in four new recruits, official figures revealed yesterday. Despite a multi-million pound campaign to attract more men into teaching, the latest statistics reveal a widening gap between the sexes among those gaining teaching qualifications from universities and teacher training colleges. In 2006-07, fewer than a quarter (23.8 per cent) of teaching qualifications were obtained by men, according to figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in the lowest figure in five years. This was a fall of 1.5 per cent from the previous year. Meanwhile, between 2005-6 and 2006-7, the number of women qualifying as teachers from higher education rose by two per cent, from 23,865 to 24,335, while the number of men fell 5.7 per cent, from 8,065 to 7,610. The figures will be a blow to the government, which has repeatedly tried to persuade men to train as teachers. The former education secretary Mr Alan Johnson announced a drive to get more men into the profession in March 2007 after concern that just 16 per cent of teachers in primary schools, and 46 per cent in secondary schools, were male. Mr Johnson said there was a need for more men in primary school teaching so they could provide role models, arguing: “Our schools should contain more male role models, such as ‘old boys’ or local boys made good.” ...... The Independent
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The CERN experiments: Tracing small particle in Large Hadron Collider
End of the world, or God’s own particle?
A bewildered Cole Moreton goes in search of the science behind the spin of the Large Hadron Collider.
YES, but what is it? That has been many people’s reaction to the furore over the Large Hadron Collider, due to be switched on even as you’re reading this. The biggest, most expensive experiment in history is attracting both scientific hyperbole and hysteria. Some say it will reveal the universe’s secrets and lead to the elusive Theory of Everything. A few fear that unleashing unimaginable power beneath the Swiss countryside will result in the end of the world. But how? And what do all these words mean?Large: Is an understatement. A giant circular tunnel, with several loops, stretches for 27 km under the land between France and Switzerland. One of its experimental chambers is bigger than the nave of Westminster Abbey. Hadron: The name for one of the types of particle that make up an atom. These tiny bits of energy will be propelled by giant magnets around the tunnel circuit at almost the speed of light.Collide: Is what they will do when they meet other hadrons being beamed in the opposite direction, at the same great speed. The resulting explosion will create 100,000 times more heat than the sun, apparently. Thankfully, it will only happen for a moment, in an area a billion times smaller than a speck of dust.Cern: Pronounced “sern”. The French acronym for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, which built the £5 billion collider. The money came from 20 countries, including Britain, which has played a leading role.The Big Bang: Is what they are trying to recreate. Or rather what happened a trillionth of a second after the universe was created by an explosion 13.7 billion years ago. For that tiny moment, it is believed everything was molten plasma. This cooled to create everything we see around us. The hope is that by remaking the moment, in miniature, the scientists will be able to see things that are invisible now.The God Particle: Big name, very small thing; and the first great discovery they hope to make. It is believed we have only detected a quarter of the particles in everything. We don’t, for example, know why things have mass. (To get a feeling for what that is, hit yourself over the head with an inflatable hammer, then a real one. The one that hurts has more mass.) In 1964 Professor Peter Higgs of Edinburgh University predicted an unseen particle that provided mass (its official name is a Higgs boson). The hope is it will be detected for the first time. Other possible revelations include so-called dark matter, which in theory “stretches through space like an invisible skeleton”. The Theory of Everything: The Holy Grail of science. A unifying theory providing one explanation for the forces at work in the natural world, from the nucleus of an atom to the movements of the planets. Sounds like alchemy to non-scientists, but some very respectable minds believe it is possible, and that the collider may show the way. The End of the World: Some scientists, on the other hand, went to the European Court for Human Rights to try to stop the collider being turned on. They fear it may create a black hole — which would certainly violate our rights by sucking the planet into... well, we don’t really know.Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith of Cern says, “The chance we produce a black hole is minuscule.” Which is not all that reassuring. But he adds, “Even if we do, it can’t swallow up the earth.” It would be too small, and disappear in moments. In any case, they will only send the hadrons in one direction this week. The collisions start in October. Until then, at least, we’re not all doomed.— The Independent, London.
A bewildered Cole Moreton goes in search of the science behind the spin of the Large Hadron Collider.
YES, but what is it? That has been many people’s reaction to the furore over the Large Hadron Collider, due to be switched on even as you’re reading this. The biggest, most expensive experiment in history is attracting both scientific hyperbole and hysteria. Some say it will reveal the universe’s secrets and lead to the elusive Theory of Everything. A few fear that unleashing unimaginable power beneath the Swiss countryside will result in the end of the world. But how? And what do all these words mean?Large: Is an understatement. A giant circular tunnel, with several loops, stretches for 27 km under the land between France and Switzerland. One of its experimental chambers is bigger than the nave of Westminster Abbey. Hadron: The name for one of the types of particle that make up an atom. These tiny bits of energy will be propelled by giant magnets around the tunnel circuit at almost the speed of light.Collide: Is what they will do when they meet other hadrons being beamed in the opposite direction, at the same great speed. The resulting explosion will create 100,000 times more heat than the sun, apparently. Thankfully, it will only happen for a moment, in an area a billion times smaller than a speck of dust.Cern: Pronounced “sern”. The French acronym for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, which built the £5 billion collider. The money came from 20 countries, including Britain, which has played a leading role.The Big Bang: Is what they are trying to recreate. Or rather what happened a trillionth of a second after the universe was created by an explosion 13.7 billion years ago. For that tiny moment, it is believed everything was molten plasma. This cooled to create everything we see around us. The hope is that by remaking the moment, in miniature, the scientists will be able to see things that are invisible now.The God Particle: Big name, very small thing; and the first great discovery they hope to make. It is believed we have only detected a quarter of the particles in everything. We don’t, for example, know why things have mass. (To get a feeling for what that is, hit yourself over the head with an inflatable hammer, then a real one. The one that hurts has more mass.) In 1964 Professor Peter Higgs of Edinburgh University predicted an unseen particle that provided mass (its official name is a Higgs boson). The hope is it will be detected for the first time. Other possible revelations include so-called dark matter, which in theory “stretches through space like an invisible skeleton”. The Theory of Everything: The Holy Grail of science. A unifying theory providing one explanation for the forces at work in the natural world, from the nucleus of an atom to the movements of the planets. Sounds like alchemy to non-scientists, but some very respectable minds believe it is possible, and that the collider may show the way. The End of the World: Some scientists, on the other hand, went to the European Court for Human Rights to try to stop the collider being turned on. They fear it may create a black hole — which would certainly violate our rights by sucking the planet into... well, we don’t really know.Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith of Cern says, “The chance we produce a black hole is minuscule.” Which is not all that reassuring. But he adds, “Even if we do, it can’t swallow up the earth.” It would be too small, and disappear in moments. In any case, they will only send the hadrons in one direction this week. The collisions start in October. Until then, at least, we’re not all doomed.— The Independent, London.
UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon in a futuristic solar-powered taxi to his office
Statesman Report Title (14.09.08): Ban Travels To UN HQ In ‘Solar-Taxi’
NEW YORK, Sept. 13: UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon has led the way in raising awareness about climate change by commuting to his office in a futuristic solar-powered taxi. Mr Ban’s green commute, which he described as a “fantastic experience”, is part of his efforts to promote environment friendly technologies. “I hope that this ‘solar-taxi’, one of the alternative sources of energy, can give some good messages to the people around the world that we need to be creative, we need to be practical,” he told reporters upon arriving at work. “I hope I can enjoy another ride,” he added. The vehicle, sponsored by Switzerland, is currently in New York as part of a worldwide journey that included a stop in Bali, Indonesia, last December for the landmark climate change negotiations. Mr Louis Palmer, the solar-taxi’s driver and developer, said he was on a mission to illustrate that solutions exist to deal with some of the problems caused by climate change. “As climate change doesn’t stop at borders, it’s a global problem and the UN is playing a central role in the fight to stop global warming,” he said. The voyage, slated to conclude in Poznan in early December, will coincide with the next phase of international talks on measures to respond, mitigate and adapt to global warming, to be held in the Polish city. “This Poznan conference should serve as a very successful bridge to the Copenhagen meeting next year so that we will be able to agree on a globally accepted, very efficient, balanced, effective and ratifiable treaty replacing the Kyoto Protocol by 2012,” the Secretary-General stated. Last month, Mr Ban began the “Cool UN” initiative at UN Headquarters to limit the use of air conditioning and heating, slash greenhouse gas emissions and save money. PTI
NEW YORK, Sept. 13: UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon has led the way in raising awareness about climate change by commuting to his office in a futuristic solar-powered taxi. Mr Ban’s green commute, which he described as a “fantastic experience”, is part of his efforts to promote environment friendly technologies. “I hope that this ‘solar-taxi’, one of the alternative sources of energy, can give some good messages to the people around the world that we need to be creative, we need to be practical,” he told reporters upon arriving at work. “I hope I can enjoy another ride,” he added. The vehicle, sponsored by Switzerland, is currently in New York as part of a worldwide journey that included a stop in Bali, Indonesia, last December for the landmark climate change negotiations. Mr Louis Palmer, the solar-taxi’s driver and developer, said he was on a mission to illustrate that solutions exist to deal with some of the problems caused by climate change. “As climate change doesn’t stop at borders, it’s a global problem and the UN is playing a central role in the fight to stop global warming,” he said. The voyage, slated to conclude in Poznan in early December, will coincide with the next phase of international talks on measures to respond, mitigate and adapt to global warming, to be held in the Polish city. “This Poznan conference should serve as a very successful bridge to the Copenhagen meeting next year so that we will be able to agree on a globally accepted, very efficient, balanced, effective and ratifiable treaty replacing the Kyoto Protocol by 2012,” the Secretary-General stated. Last month, Mr Ban began the “Cool UN” initiative at UN Headquarters to limit the use of air conditioning and heating, slash greenhouse gas emissions and save money. PTI
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Google Chrome (BETA) for Windows: Download Link
GOOGLE CHROME: AS GOOGLE CLAIMS
One box for everythingType in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.
Thumbnails of your top sitesAccess your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.
Shortcuts for your appsGet desktop shortcuts to launch your favorite web applications.
One box for everythingType in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.
Thumbnails of your top sitesAccess your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.
Shortcuts for your appsGet desktop shortcuts to launch your favorite web applications.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Buddha, Mamata reach historic accord
Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Sept. 7: Raj Bhavan today witnessed a new history unfolding itself when the Governor, Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi, guided chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Trinamul Congress chief Miss Mamata Banerjee to clinch a new deal that guaranteed that the Tata Motors small car project at Singur is finally here to stay and roll out within the stipulated time frame, while 80 acres of land from within the project site and 150 acres from outside will be returned to the unwilling farmers so that industry and agriculture can co-exist. Though official figures of land to be given to the unwilling farmers were withheld for the moment, highly-placed sources said both sides had agreed that from within the project site 40 acres held by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and another 40 acres earmarked for 28 prospective vendors, who are yet to be allotted land, would be given to the unwilling farmers possessing documents to prove their ownership before their land was acquired. The ancillary units that can’t be set up within the project area would be relocated on suitable land later and no construction is to be undertaken on the land kept for the vendors. A committee will be set up to examine the maximum land that can be given to the unwilling farmers from within the project area and how the interests of share-croppers and agricultural labourers, who used to depend for their livelihood on the acquired land, can be protected. The committee will submit its report in a week. Following the accord, Miss Banerjee agreed to suspend the ongoing agitation at Singur. As the Governor announced the outcome of the protracted negotiations around 10-30 p.m. the dharna manch at Singur erupted in unrestrained ecstasy hailing the results as “100 per cent victory.” The historic moment came when the Governor, flanked by Miss Banerjee and Mr Bhattacharjee announced the outcome of the accord in a brief
Ford's fleet of 30 fuel-cell vehicles has exceeded expectations
From The Province, Canada, 8 Sept., 2008
Ford's fleet of 30 fuel-cell vehicles has exceeded expectations of the company's hydrogen-research engineers by accumulating more than a million real-world kilometres without significant maintenance problems since the fleet's launch three years ago.
The Ford focus Fuel Cell test vehicles also have earned accolades from the company's global fleet partners for outstanding durability, reliability and capability. Encouraged by the program's success, Ford recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to extend its three-year-old hydrogen fuel-cell electric-vehicle program for up to 24 months, until the next generation system is ready for deployment in the 2010 time frame.
Ford was one of the first automakers to launch a fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles in 2005, after unveiling a prototype in late 2003. Its Focus Fuel Cell fleet partners include a variety of government agencies in California, Florida, Michigan, Canada, Germany and Iceland, where cold-climate testing is expected to result in significant performance improvements in the next generation.
The Ford focus Fuel Cell test vehicles also have earned accolades from the company's global fleet partners for outstanding durability, reliability and capability. Encouraged by the program's success, Ford recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to extend its three-year-old hydrogen fuel-cell electric-vehicle program for up to 24 months, until the next generation system is ready for deployment in the 2010 time frame.
Ford was one of the first automakers to launch a fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles in 2005, after unveiling a prototype in late 2003. Its Focus Fuel Cell fleet partners include a variety of government agencies in California, Florida, Michigan, Canada, Germany and Iceland, where cold-climate testing is expected to result in significant performance improvements in the next generation.
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