Sports: Nigeria's 54 Hurdles to world cup glory

DigitalSENSE Sport:

Soaring hope of Nigerians concerning our chances in the World Cup has received a dent with Nigeria’s 47th position in the latest edition of the FIFA World Rankings remaining unchanged as a result of the goalless draw the Eagles played with Mexico at the Georgia Dome Stadium in Atlanta, USA.

We occupy the 7th position in Africa behind fellow World Cup representatives Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Ghana. With Nigeria’s confirmed 47th position in the world and 7th in Africa, we now literally have 54 hurdles (aptly put 54 positions) to scale through before we can hope for a spot in the World Cup Finals .

For a country that holds the record of the highest ranking achieved by an African football team (also the country’s highest ranking position since the creation of the world football’s ladder in 1993) with Nigeria’s fifth place in April 1994, so much is expected when FIFA’s list is released monthly.

Disappointingly, however, Nigeria’s other World Cup Group F opponents are ranked higher, Argentina being the third best ranked in the world while Bosnia-Herzegovina is in 21st spot and Iran is 42nd. Spain remains the topmost ranked team in the world; followed closely by Germany, while Portugal and Colombia retain the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

FACT
After impressing on their way to the second round in each of their first two FIFA World Cup appearances, 1994 and 1998, Nigeria have remained struggling; having ousted at the group stage three times while taking just two points from their last eight matches in the finals. A muddled South Africa 2010 campaign under Lars Lagerback did little to bolster Nigeria’s reputation, but Brazil 2014 offers another chance for the reigning African champions to soar.

As we approach the World Cup, there are two categories of national team coaches preparing for the trip to Brazil. First, there are those who already have an idea of their formations/tactics and know most of the 23-man squad to execute the game plan. The second category are those who are still working out systems to suit the players at their disposal or have difficulty in finding the right players to fill-in key positions and execute the coach’s preferred game plan.

It is the dream of every coach to find or create effective synergy throughout the team; from the centre-back paring to the midfield triangles and the prolific attackers. Since Nigeria doesn’t have the luxury of players like 4 times World Best Player Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Higuain or even an Edin Dzeko like other countries in our group, we have to shift through the crop of players and get the most refined ones to fly our flag in the Samba country.

Inherently, we can say that one of the major reasons we are always lagging behind and found wanting is the fact that we are always searching for players to make our team for every tournament instead of building a team and maintaining them to utilise for any tournament they have to participate in.

The great Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain and most recently, Belgium of this world, have utilised their strong youth system management to metamorphose into great team that can beat any opponent they encounter and it is high time Nigeria followed suit.

For Stephen Keshi (who fits into the second category mentioned above), he must find the perfect pieces to fit into the puzzle of his selection. The harmonic partnership of Godfrey Oboabona and Kenneth Omeruo in the heart of defence could not come at a better time.

The partnership of John Obi Mikel, Ogenyi Onazi and maybe, a Sunday Mba can work to his advantage as  they flourished together and even helped propel the team to glory at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

However, as a pundit rightly said, “Finding the ‘Third Man’ to complement John Obi Mikel and Ogenyi Onazi in midfield has so far proved abortive. With the World Cup less than 100 days away, Keshi is running out of time and games to continue his ultimate search”. So no assurances in that area too.

In the attacking sense, definitely an Emmmanuel Emenike, with a Victor Moses and maybe Ahmed Musa/Brown Ideye or as recent news implies, Osaze Odemwingie behind him would work perfectly to Keshi’s benefits.

“The jigsaw to the current Super Eagles team is incomplete. The identity of the defensive and creative midfielders remain vague and undefined; there is no time for the sentimental arguments that Keshi shouldn’t try to fix something that’s not broken, until, at least, that ‘something’ has been established!” I couldn’t but agree.

With three more friendly games to go against Scotland, Greece and the USA before this summer World Cup in Brazil- starting on June 12, Nigeria however, has a chance to fine- tune and shape the team into a perfect unit.

Banji Boye

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NIRA holds 6th AGM, April 30

DigitalSENSE Business News:

All is now set for the sixth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at the Function Room, The Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The agenda slated for the AGM as gathered by DigitalSENSE Business News includes, receiving of the annual report and financial statement for the year ended January 1 to December 31, 2013, together with the auditor's report to name a few.

Also, the AGM is to receive a business plan and budget for the period of the current financial year; January 1 to December 31, 2014.

According to the order of the board dated April 7, 2014 obtained by DigitalSENSE Business News, the meeting would in addition consider such other business that any other member properly brings before the meeting.

DigitalSENSE Business News recall that in the preceding financial year, a lot happened within the NIRA family and much of this will be shared with additional insight.

Further, this would be the first AGM to be witnessed by Deacon Chima Onyekwere’s leadership since he mounted the saddle as chairman of the Board of Trustee (BoT) sometime last year.

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Photo: Mrs. Mary Uduma, NIRA president.

History, meaning of dispute resolution (2)

DigitalSENSE Business News

2. Trial by Combat
As the family groups started to come together through clans and ethnic groups, the society gets more organized and secure. Disputes among members of the family were settled by family heads, while disputes among two or more families were settled by clan heads.  In the same vein, any decision affecting the entire community or settlement was taken by the clan heads.

The clan heads of the community decide whether to go to war with a rival community or not i.e TBC. This method of dispute resolution is still prevalent today with the Heads of States or Government of Nations declaring war to settle a disagreement with a rival leader.  Wars may also occur between warring parties who contest an incompatibility.  The nature of an incompatibility today can either be territorial or governmental but a warring party must be a “government of a state or any opposition organisation or alliance of organisations that uses armed force to promote its position in the incompatibility in an intrastate or an interstate armed conflict.”

A classical example of such TBC which is essentially “might is right” is how the North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un settled his dispute with his uncle Jang Song-Thaek:

The New York Times reports that the Jang’s death was the end result of a brutal gun battle between Jang supporters and those of the regime over who controlled key land.

As the Times tells it, Kim’s forces were ordered to take back control over important fishing grounds that Jang had previously seized, but Jang wouldn’t give it up without a fight.  The battle ended in the death of many of Kim’s soldiers.

Kim was furious and ordered that Jang’s top aides be executed. According to the Times, the two men were killed with antiaircraft machine guns rather than regular guns or rifles.

Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported that Kim was “very drunk” when he ordered the death of Jang’s men.

Earlier this month (December, 2013), Jang was executed for allegedly committing treason... Jang was accused of corruption and substance abuse, among other crimes that could not be verified by Western media.

Another instance of such TBC was the initial step taken by the then belligerent Countries in the Nigeria / Cameroon dispute over the Bakassi peninsula which resulted to skirmishes:

Among the many border disputes that Cameroun and Nigeria have had in the years since independence, the Bakassi peninsula stands out very clearly as the most serious dispute of all. ...The show of arms, especially in the past seventeen years, has left many dead and wounded. Fighting occurred on the lands surrounding the peninsula, (which are equally disputed), on the peninsula itself, and on the sea...

Things became heated on May 16, 1981. A Cameroun national radio news report informed the world that a Nigerian military patrol army violated Cameroun’s territory by penetrating the Bakassi peninsula as far as the Rio del Rey and opening fire on the Cameroun Navy.

Cameroun troops in returning fire killed five Nigerian soldiers. Cameroun alleges that this incident has provided the Nigerian authorities the pretext for exploiting the incident politically and for trying to put the blame on Cameroun.

However as it would be explained in detail below, when Cameroun weighed its population size and other options, it veered off to explore other methods of dispute resolution.

The Boko Haram insurgency that is today a clog in the peaceful co-existence of the people of the North East  also are inclined to TBC as their mechanism of choice to resolve what could have been resolved through other peaceful means. Findings indicated that the group, which initially drew membership from the South-West, started off as “The Taliban.” It was first invited to Yobe State during the build-up to the 2003 elections, in the wake of Sharia implementation in some states in the North. However, because the election in the state did not assume the dimension their host thought it would take, the group was said to have been abandoned to its fate, before the state government ordered them to vacate its vicinity.

It is reported that the group surfaced in Bayan Quarters ward, near the Railway terminus of Maiduguri, Borno state under the aegis of Jamaatul ahlil sunna lida’awati wal jihad (People committed to the propagation of the Prophets teachings and holy war). Initially seen to be innocuous, but exhibited their propensity for resort to settle disputes through TBC since the disturbance of 2009. They were defeated in the uprising and order was restored. However, they still carry out a hit and ran style guerrilla warfare against soft targets from their hideouts in the forests.

It is observed that TBC is very popular among separatist agitators and proponents of intergroup conflict in Nigeria and indeed the whole of Africa. A cursory look at the activities of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND),  Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB),  Odua People’s Congress (OPC),

The Egbesu Boys, Akhwat Akwop Militia,  The Bakassi Boys,  Ethnic/Tribal Militias among which the Ombatse Cult Group  stood out to be counted among the most ruthless along with Boko Haram indicates their penchant to resort to violence to settle disputes or disagreement. It is worthy of research to find out why the resort to such dastardly method by such groups, because answering the “WHY” question would give us an insight into their thinking and thereby proffer reasonable solution to stop the carnage.

3. Trial by Judge(s) with or without a Jury
Trial by Judge(s) refers to a formal legal process or a formal examination of facts and law in a civil or criminal action before a court of law in order to determine an issue. It can also refer to the use of court process to determine an issue or somebody’s guilt or innocence.

Under the Adversarial adjudicating system which we follow in Nigeria, the Judge (without the jury, a
group of citizens from the community), decides which facts in dispute are true.  A judge presides at the trial, determines and applies the law. At the end of the trial, the judge will enter a judgment that constitutes the decision of the court. The parties must adhere to the judgment of the court.

In Nigeria cases are tried before judges. This is known as a court trial or a bench trial. A court trial is basically identical to a jury trial, except the judge decides both the facts and the law applicable to the action. In some jurisdictions like the United States however, actions created by statute may be tried only before the court without a jury. Although in some court trials, the court will have an Advisory Jury. The advisory jury observes the proceedings just as an ordinary jury would, but the judge need not accept the advisory jury’s verdict.

Today, it is the most widely used and acceptable means of dispute resolution. This informed the migration of most disputes more particularly from TBC to adjudication. For instance, when Cameroun weighed the options of going into full scale war (TBC) against Nigeria and realised that the odds could be turned against it, it instituted an action at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague.
Article 33 of the United Nations Charter lists the following methods for the pacific settlement of disputes between States: negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and resort to regional agencies or arrangements; good offices should also be added to the list. Among these methods, some involve appealing to third parties. For example, mediation places the parties to a dispute in a position in which they can themselves resolve their dispute with the intervention of a third party.

4. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) also known as external dispute resolution in some countries, such as Australia  includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disagreeing parties to come to an agreement short of litigation. It is also referred to as a collective term for the ways that parties can settle disputes, with (or without) the help of a third party.

Most discerning minds have come to appreciate the shortcomings of BF, TBC and TBJ means of settling disputes. More so, African culture and tradition is inclined to dialogue and negotiation to settle disputes. This informs the challenges of lack of understanding of the English judicial system by an average Nigerian due to its technicalities and complexities. This ignorance about how the system works might have informed the branding of Lawyers who took the pains to study and understand it as Liars.  In the circumstance, as Dr. Ahmadu Ali said, “we must try to settle our disputes through dialogue.” Hence the desire to adopt (ADR) which is simpler, convenient, cheaper and in tune with the peoples culture and local knowledge.

Despite historic resistance to ADR by many popular parties and their advocates, ADR has gained widespread acceptance among both the general public and the legal profession in recent years. In fact, some courts now require some parties to resort to ADR for some type of cases, usually mediation, before permitting the parties’ cases to be tried. While some Courts like the High Court of Justice, Borno State designate a specific Judge as an ADR Judge.

Indeed the European Mediation Directive (2008) expressly contemplates  “compulsory” mediation. This means that attendance is compulsory, not that settlement must be reached through mediation). The rising popularity of ADR can be explained by the increasing caseload of traditional courts, the perception that ADR imposes fewer costs than litigation, a preference for confidentiality, and the desire of some parties to have greater control over the selection of the individual or individuals who will decide their dispute.  Some of the senior judiciary in certain jurisdictions (of which England and Wales is one) are strongly in favour of the use of mediation to settle disputes.

Further detailed explanation would be found in the following chapter. Due to the existence of a thin line between dispute and conflict and the use of same by some practitioners interchangeably, a brief discussion on the two concepts is made hereunder.

Conflict
Since conflict is sometimes interchangeably used with dispute, it is important to briefly touch on what conflict is. Accordingly, for ease of understanding below is a brief explanation of conflict.

Conflict is defined as a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. Conflicts like disputes explained above are seen as normal occurrences in human societies. Ordinarily, it does not cause much impact on the society. However, organized conflicts are viewed differently.

War being the most organized form of conflict (TBC) would therefore be widely used in this discourse. In addition, it is also the type of conflict that has wider and most negative effect on human societies.
War is an organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, social disruption, and economic destruction.  War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence or intervention.  The set of techniques used by a group to carry out war is known as warfare. An absence of war is usually called peace.

Wars sometimes seen as a higher form of dispute which has degenerated into conflict) sometimes conclude with a peace agreement, defined as a “formal agreement between warring parties, which addresses the disputed incompatibility, either by settling all or part of it, or by clearly outlining a process for how the warring parties plan to regulate the incompatibility.” In a nutshell, after war with all its consequences, most times the parties would still sit down to sign an agreement.

For instance, after the famous first Arab/ Israeli war or conflict, the parties still reached a cease fire agreement as can be seen in the illustration below:
Moshe Dayan and Abdullah el Tell reached a cease fire agreement during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jerusalem. 30 November 1948.

Since then the Arab–Israeli conflict became an ongoing dispute that included many battles and wars since 1948, when the state of Israel was formed. During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel had captured Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and roughly half of Syria’s Golan Heights. According to Chaim Herzog:

On June 19, 1967, the National Unity Government of Israel voted unanimously to return the Sinai to Egypt and the Golan Heights to Syria in return for peace agreements.

The Golan would have to be demilitarized and special arrangement would be negotiated for the Straits of Tiran. The government also resolved to open negotiations with King Hussein of Jordan regarding the Eastern Border.

So Dispute and Conflict resolution practitioners have been concerned with the penchant of parties to resort to violence, even though are conscious of the fact that other better alternatives are still open to them. However detailed explanation on various methods of Dispute Resolution would be found in the following chapters.

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Understanding rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP

DigitalSENSE Business News:

On April 6, the Federal Government through the National Bureau of Statistics, Abuja announced the rebasing or re-benchmarking of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). DigitalSENSE Business News, hereby brought you some fundamental questions and answers on rebasing as explained by the Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, to the business community. Excerpts:

A. Introduction:
Statistics are a vital source of evidence as they provide us with clear objective numerical data on all aspects of our lives and the state of our economy. Without this, we cannot plan or make well informed decisions that will catalyse our social and economic development. The Rebasing / Re-benchmarking of Nigeria’s economy is overdue, necessary, credible and beneficial to the country.

Rebasing will give government tools to better tackle the challenges of growing the economy and fighting poverty. It is only when we are able to collate, understand and interpret data correctly as well as identify key areas in our economy that require change that our policy prescriptions and direction are more likely to respond to the real needs of the Nigerian economy.

B. Understanding GDP:

Q: What is GDP and GDP growth and why are these statistics important?
Answer: The Gross Domestic Product is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. It measures overall economic activity and signals the direction of economic growth and welfare. It is also a barometer to measure the health of the economy. It is an internationally recognized indicator for measuring the size of an economy in a given period of time. The GDP growth rate is a measure of the rate of change that a nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) experiences from one year to another.

Q. Is GDP growth synonymous with economic development?
Answer: No, it is not. Development encompasses broader measures of human progress beyond measuring output (GDP) growth which mostly measures economic progress. In addition to measures of economic progress, development includes social and environmental measures which are not well captured by GDP.

The terms “Rebasing” and “Re-benchmarking” though technically distinct from one another, are simply referred to as “Rebasing” in this document for the convenience of the reader.

Q. How is the GDP computed?

Answer: There are three ways of computing GDP:
i. The Expenditure Approach: This approach captures spending by key economic agents in an economy. It is the sum of consumption expenditures by households, investments expenditures by firms, government expenditures as well as the difference between exports and imports: GDP = C + I + G + (EX – IM)

ii. The Income Approach: This approach measures the income earned by various factors of production. It is a sum of: compensation to workers, rental income, taxes on production and imports (less subsidies), interest, miscellaneous payments and depreciation.

iii. The Production or Value Added Approach: It is the value of sales of goods minus the purchase of intermediate inputs used to produce the final products.

C. Rationale for rebasing cum re-benchmarking the GDP Estates

Q What is GDP rebasing cum re-benchmarking?
Answer: Rebasing cum re-benchmarking of the national account series (GDP) is the process of replacing an old base year used to compile volume measures of GDP with a new and more recent base year or price structure. Economies are dynamic in nature.

They grow, they shrink, they add new sectors, new products and new technologies, and consumer behaviour and tastes change over time. Rebasing / Re- benchmarking is used to account for these changes, so as to give a more current snapshot of the economy, as well as improve the coverage of economic activities included in the GDP compilation
Framework.
. The base year provides the reference point to which future values of the GDP are compared. It is a normal statistical procedure undertaken by the national statistical offices of countries to ensure that national accounts statistics present the most accurate reflection of the economy as possible.

Q. Key benefits of rebasing/re-benchmarking
Answer: The key benefit of the rebasing exercise is that its results enables policy makers and
analysts obtain a more accurate set of economic statistics that is a truer reflection of current realities for evidence-based decision-making. It also reveals a more accurate estimate of the size and structure of the economy by incorporating new economic activities which were not previously captured in the computational framework.
Rebasing will enable government to have a better understanding of the structure of the economy, an indication of sectoral growth drivers, sectors where policies and resources should be channeled in order to grow the economy, create jobs, improve infrastructure and reduce poverty.

Q: How often should a country rebase?
Answer: The UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) recommends that countries rebase every 5 years, although some countries do at intervals of less than 5 years.

Q: Why hasn’t Nigeria done it before now?
Answer: With the abandonment of planning, and consequently the use of data for evidence based decision-making in the 1980s, the development of the national statistical system received less attention. With the return to democracy, strategic planning and evidence based policy and decision-making however, there has been an increase in the demand for accurate and reliable data. The Nigerian Statistical System has also evolved gradually with improving staff capacity, funding, increasing application of technology, and supporting legislation which has made it more feasible to undertake such a demanding exercise at this time, than it would have been some years back.


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Technology to detect 'missing planes' underway - IATA

DigitalSENSE Business News

Preamble:
OVER the years since the dawn of 21st century, technologies have been seen as succour over several ailments of human beings, so it was heart-warming that several technologies have been deployed in search of the Malaysian missing plane, MH 370 penultimate Saturday.

However, DigitalSENSE Business News gathers that the world body of Airlines under the auspices of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association of airlines with over 240 members, comprising some 84per cent of the total air traffic; is working towards ensuring that high technologies are used in finding clues to the missing MH 370 plane.

WiFi to the rescue:
According to former Director-General and chief executive officer (CEO) of IATA, Giovanni Bisignani, said this is possible, especially with the avalanche of Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) all over the place, maintaining that he discussed this kind of technology some 10 years ago in 2002 at a high-level meeting of IATA, as reported by CNN.

Although he noted that at that time, it was assumed a very expense technology, but with what is happening now and availability of lots of wireless services, it has become imperative and moreso possible to deploy same technology to assist the aviation industry and humanity as a whole.

For the current DG and CEO of IATA Mr. Tony Tyler, the technology was being developed but did not give further information, stressing that they at IATA are putting all their efforts to ensure this kind of technology is off the ground in a very short time.

Ops conference:
Unfortunately, the missing plane saga is coming at a time when the leaders of IATA members met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the 2014 ‘Ops Conference’ which is IATA’s main vehicle to interact with its member airlines, regulatory agencies, and the aviation industry generally on all issues related to safety, operations and infrastructure.

The conference which took place between March 31 and April 2 this year, had a strong operational safety and regional capacity emphasis under the theme: Safety and Flight Operations – Today’s Issues and Tomorrow’s Challenges.

Some of the speakers led by IATA’s Director General and CEO, Tony Tyler featured Andrew Herdman, Director General of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), Jeff Poole, Director General of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), Angela Gittens, Director General of Airports Council International (ACI) and Nancy Graham, Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Navigation Bureau.

Addressing participants, Tyler said that he was concerned about the safety of the aviation industry and making things safer. He, therefore, called on governments and industry to focus on partnerships, data analysis and runway safety in the ongoing quest to make flying even safer.

Tyler’s call came amid the ongoing search for MH370 and committed IATA to facilitate a unified industry position on global tracking of aircraft and called on governments to make more effective use of passenger data.

2.4m life lost in air accidents in 5 years:
“In 2013, there were over 29 million flights operated on Western-built jet aircraft, with 12 hull losses. That is one accident for every 2.4 million flights and a 14.6 per cent improvement on the five-year industry average. Accidents are rare, but the current search for MH370 is a reminder that we can never be complacent on safety. It may well take a long time before we know exactly what happened on that flight. But it is already clear that we must never let another aircraft go missing in this way. And it is equally clear that governments must make better use of the passenger data that they mandate airlines to provide,” said Tyler.

Partnerships, he said, are driving progress in safety, noting that about 100,000 flights are operated safely each day; pointing out that every flight that takes off involves thousands of coordinated actions across multiple businesses and organizations, insisting that to keep flying safe, “we need not only to understand and work with each other every day. We must also compare notes, collaborate and work together to build the future with a common vision,” said Tyler.

Leave competition out of safety
Equally, he said, no matter how hard the competition has become within an industry sector or how differently individual entities see the world when it comes to thorny commercial issues, “we are an industry that is absolutely unified in its dedication to global standards and safety.”
 “That has allowed us to evolve a tradition of transparently sharing information, experiences and best practices to make flying ever safer,” he said.
Effective data analysis, he said, is a driver of safety improvements, adding that historically, the major thrusts for safety improvements have come through the well-established system of air accident investigations, maintaining that accident investigation will continue to play a key role in safety, but with fewer accidents, it becomes increasingly difficult to produce trend data which is so important to managing safety.
“By unlocking data from the millions of flights that land safely each year, we can get insights to drive safety improvements even further. This is just one example of the potential for data to underpin safety programs. The way forward is to collect data from as many information sources as possible, complemented with the well-developed analytical tools to unlock critical information,” said Tyler.

GADM makes a debut
IATA, he notes, has established the Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) project which includes data from over 600 sources, making it the most comprehensive collection of industry information, including the STEADES database, audit data from the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations and the IATA Operational Safety Audit. There are also contributions from many others, including the European Aviation Safety Authority, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
“Together, industry and regulators are on the cusp of a great step forward in how we manage safety. We have talked about GADM for years. Now, it is becoming a reality. We need as many stakeholders as possible to contribute their data. An increase in the number of users of the data will transform GADM from insight to real safety improvements,” said Tyler.

Runway Safety
Information analysis is driving change in the area of runway safety. Previously, the focus was narrowed on runway excursions. By broadening the discussion to runway safety, we now are looking at the whole runway environment—a perspective that includes air traffic management as well as the airport and airline.
“About a quarter of all accidents over the last five years were runway excursions. But when we take a broader look at the issue, about half of all accidents in the same five-year period are actually in the runway environment.  Therefore, it makes sense to understand not only what happened when the aircraft landed, together with data from the air navigation service provider for the conditions of the landing, but also the airport data for the conditions around that runway” said Tyler.
The latest version of the runway risk reduction toolkit was launched in late 2013 featuring this broader perspective.

MH370
According to Tyler, speculations would not make flying any safer, warning that industry experts should not jump to any conclusions on probable cause before the investigation into MH370 closes. Therefore, he revealed that at least two areas of process needed to be considered in achieving this, namely the aircraft tracking and passenger data; where there are clearly challenges that needed to be overcome.

Aircraft Tracking
MH370, IATA boss said, has highlighted the need to improve tracking of aircraft in flight, especially in a world where every move seems to be tracked, there is disbelief both that an aircraft could simply disappear and that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are so difficult to recover. Air France 447 brought similar issues to light a few years ago and some progress was made. But that must be accelerated. “We cannot let another aircraft simply vanish,” he declared.
Tyler emphasised that in eagerness to move this along, industry players must also ensure that prudent decisions are made in line with global standards, stressing that this is not the time for hastily prepared sales pitches or regional solutions.
“The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) process is the way to move this forward. I have no doubt that governments are eager to come to a conclusion and take action as soon as possible,” said Tyler, insisting “Industry must--and will--play a role in supporting ICAO in this effort with a united position. IATA will convene an expert task force that will include ICAO participation to ensure that the work is well coordinated. This group will examine all of the options available for tracking commercial aircraft against the parameters of implementation, investment, time and complexity to achieve the desired coverage. This group will report its conclusions by December 2014, reflecting the need for urgent action and careful analysis.”

Passenger Data
Tyler further emphasised that it’s important to remember that airlines are not borderguards or policemen. The checking of passports is the well-established responsibility of governments. The industry goes to great effort and expense to ensure that governments have reliable information about passengers before an aircraft takes off, mostly via the Advance Passenger Information (API).  “Governments need to review their processes for vetting and using this data, such as Interpol’s stolen and lost passport database. This information is critical and it must be used effectively,” Tyler asserted.

Deploying high-tech solution for MH 370
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 said good night, then drifted off over the darkened seas, somehow bypassing that vast spiderweb of modern technology that catches every move of worldwide aviation. Yet now, high technology seems the only way of tracking down where on Earth the plane ended up.
Let’s presume the plane did go down in the Indian Ocean, thousands of feet deep with churning currents and treacherous weather. Here are some devices that might help searchers find signs of the plane.

TPL: Towed pinger locator
One of the most helpful devices planes carry is what’s known as the pinger, a “sound” transmitted from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder that can be heard from 2 nautical miles away.

 MH370 flight pinger locator explained
“Think of your cell phone ringer. If you lose your cell phone you can call it and you hear your phone ringing, so you narrow down your search,” said Phoenix International manager Paul Nelson. Phoenix International, an American company, owns the TPL-25 system, which dives 20,000 feet below the surface of the ocean for hours and miles at a time.
The U.S. Navy has sent a towed pinger locator, or TPL, to drag behind a ship. The TPL moves at 1 to 5 knots and can recognize the flight recorder’s ping up to 20,000 feet below the surface. But it has limitations. The batteries powering the ping will only last 30 to 45 days, and can be drowned out by weather or noise or silt.
In 2009, the Phoenix TPL-25, in conjunction with technology from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, searched for a ping from Air France Flight 447, which crashed hundreds of miles off the coast of Brazil in 2009. That search didn’t find the plane, but two years later, searchers found the flight data recorder and the bulk of the wreckage using an autonomous underwater vehicle, or AUV.

AUV: Autonomous underwater vehicles
AUVs are normally used in the oil and gas industry to conduct deepwater oilfield surveys. But when the pinger of the data recorder is dead, the AUV can narrow the search area of a crash site by mapping the ocean floor.
“The smaller ones are only going to go down to about 5,000 feet. The next class is much more expensive, much larger device. It’s 15 by 25 feet because it adds a lot of battery capability and a lot of hydraulic capability,” said David Soucie, an analyst who said modern technology has greatly improved the search for answers in a flight crash investigation.
One of the most sophisticated AUVs owned by Phoenix International was activated and flown to Perth, Australia, to help with the search for Flight 370. The device is yellow, 17.2 feet long and has an in-air weight of 1,600 pounds. It can be lowered 20,000 feet below the water surface and travels 2 to 4.5 knots for about 20 hours at a time, using side-scan sonar to create a map of the seafloor. The rapidly moving probe is also equipped with a still camera.
“They have their own control system, so they talk to it with an acoustic modem. It’s hard to get sound through the water,” said Jami Cheramie of C&C Technology, whose AUV has been called in to search for plane debris in the past. “We will see waterfalls. A picture will scroll and you will see the seafloor be painted in front of you.”
AUVs are unmanned, so they can be programmed like robots to “mow the lawn,” Cheramie said. They use a grid style pattern to create an image of the deep sea. Sensors around the body of the device help it avoid obstacles that would endanger a diver.
AUVs played an instrumental role in finding the downed Air France flight, the plane wreckage of Italian fashion designer Vittorio Missoni off the coast of Venezuela, and the HMS Ark Royal, a ship sunk by a German U-81 submarine in World War II. The AUV provided black and white images of the wreckage site.

ROV: Remotely operating vehicle
The multimillion-dollar remotely operated vehicle provides the “gotcha” moment that all searches are working toward. But investigators need more than just eyes on the wreckage site, they need to get their hands on the data recorders. An ROV helped retrieve pieces of the most famous shipwreck in history, the British passenger liner Titanic.
ROVs are tethered to a ship, lowered by remote control thousands of feet to the ocean floor by a cable and maneuvered by pilots sitting in a control room. The daily rate for an ROV is in the $150,000 range.
Helix Canyon Offshore gave CNN an exclusive look at its Triton XLS ROV aboard the Olympic Triton off the coast of Scotland. The Triton XLS is equipped with cameras that provide a live feed to the control room. It has arms and jaws that can be controlled by a joystick.
“Not a problem at all for an ROV to pick it up, put it in a basket and recover it back to the vessel,” said ROV superintendent Martin Stitt.

•Ayo Omidele and Nenye Dom with additional report courtesy of CNN

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Just Net Coalition rejects unilateral preconditions on IANA transition

DigitalSENSE Business News:

As the Netmundial kicks off in Brazil, a coalition of stakeholders known as Just Net has responded  to the NetMundial outcome document, rejecting unilateral preconditions on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition discussions, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

A public statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News by the duo of Prabir Purkayastha  and Parminder Jeet Singh affirmed that with this commence, resonates the recent speech of President Dilma's at  the UN General Assembly last September, expressed the outrage of the people on the “grave violation of human rights and of civil liberties.

Dilma’s position underscores the threat of “cyberspace being used as a weapon of war” and violation sovereign rights of countries including Brazil. Noting the global discontent in the way the Internet is being currently governed calls for protection of data as it travels on the web and multilateral mechanisms (or UN mechanisms) for the Internet to ensure democratic governance, cultural diversity, inclusive and non discriminatory societies, and responsible regulation.

The coalition it was gathered says the document fails to mention the word ‘democracy’ at all - and instead talks only about the multistakeholder model and governance on the basis of consensus.

This, the group noted though such systems have failed in protecting the global citizens from drag-net surveillance, the threat of cyber war and the emergence of global monopolies. Such a model also completely ignores the concept of public interest in Internet governance.

The Just Net Coalition informed DigitalSENSE Business News it has submitted a detailed clause-by-clause amendment to the draft of the NetMundial document believed should be significantly revised to include its position.
Some of the coalition points include the insertion of the term 'democratic' before multistakeholder wherever the needed Internet governance mechanism or models are mentioned; restoring the reference to the necessary and proportionate principle and therefore countering the continuation of mass surveillance and restoring reference to the need for a global compact on prohibition of cyberwar and cyber weapons.

The group further sought addition of a clear reference to net neutrality principles (the current reference is too vague and ambiguous, permitting practices such as tiered access and differential pricing); restoring and strengthening clear references to the different roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, recognising that corporations and governments cannot not be placed on an equal footing in governing the Internet, especially with regard to public policy making; that would turn the concept of representative democracy on its head; Addressing emerging increased power of monopolies in the Internet space with respect to cultural and language diversity, and profiteering, and the need for regulating such monopolies

As well as addressing the issue of appropriation and monetisation of data of the people by corporations; recognizing the concept of global commons or public good in internet governance and rejecting unilateral preconditions on the IANA transition discussions, which they expect will form part of the final outcome document will explicitly foster a decentralized, free and open, non-hierarchical network of networks, and not implicitly favour the current trends of Internet governance which are leading us more and more towards monolithic, centralized walled gardens. NetMundial must dedicate itself to a roadmap to for an open, robust and resilient Internet -- acceptable to everyone including the 70 per cent unconnected majority.

Chuks Egbuna/GEE
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Autos: 2015 Suburban SUV: A technology bridge with entertainment

DigitalSENSE Business News

OFTEN it is unexpected to have a first-hand preview of Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) for an upcoming year ahead. So, its our delight to serve you the 2015 Suburban SUV, which could be best put as a technology bridge with entertainment. Enjoy it.

Made for everything and everyone:

It’s everything you’ve come to expect from a large SUV and so much more. The all-new 2015 Suburban is still as reliable and reputable as ever, but has been redesigned inside and out, with your passengers’ every need considered. This is your first look at the next generation of the ever-iconic Chevrolet Suburban, coming early Spring 2014.

FIRST-CLASS COMFORT
Built to fit your life

How you use your Suburban changes from day to day and even trip to trip. The 2015 Suburban makes it easy to make room for passengers or for cargo with the all-new available power-release second-row and power-fold third-row seats. Press a button and reveal enough space to load almost anything, or just as easily, bring up seating for up to eight.
Unmatched Capability

Chevrolet took an engine that’s been trusted for 57 years and applied all the latest power train technologies to give you a large SUV that you could rely on for every trip you take. Innovations like the spark ignition direct injection, active fuel management and variable valve timing work to make this large SUV not only powerful but surprisingly efficient.

Technology and entertainment

Hands-free, total control

It’s easy to stay organized and in control with available Chevrolet MyLink Connect all of your devices, from phones to tablets, and keep all of your contacts, music and destinations organized on the 8-inch diagonal Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) touch-screen. Store your devices in the hidden – and lockable – storage compartment behind the touch-screen so you keep your focus on the road and still manage it all with enhanced natural voice control.

Everyone’s entertained

With up to six USB ports and up to twelve charging stations for your portable devices, you’ll be sure to keep the whole family happy. You can pair up to 10 devices through Bluetooth, so whoever is in your large SUV can access their music, contacts and texts simply and easily. And the available Blu-ray Disc entertainment system keeps backseat passengers engaged for the longest or shortest rides. Your family will stay connected and entertained in the all-new 2015 Suburban.

  For wherever you go
Whether you’re on your daily routes or heading out for a trip, available Chevrolet MyLink with Navigation will make getting to wherever you’re going seamless. Use the 8-inch diagonal LCD color touch-screen or enhanced voice control to get your directions, then stay informed with real-time traffic, weather and gas price updates – anywhere, anytime. SiriusXM NavTraffic and Travel Link are standard for three trial months.

compiled by Ayo Omidele
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Art & Fashion: Adesuwa Onyenokwe is face of VLISCO

DigitalSENSE Art & Fashion:

Popular Television anchor turn publisher, Adesuwa Onyenokwe has emerged the face of VLISCO for the 2014.

This is coming as VLISCO held its second annual Women’s Month in March 2014.

The organizers say the aim of Women’s Month is to honour women who have ‘the faith and courage to realise their dreams.’

The theme this year was Dare to Dream with Stephanie Okereke-Linus, an accomplished actress and director, as the face of this year’s campaign.

VLISCO had a series of events to celebrate Women’s Month and ended off the month with the Women’s Month Award.

The nominees for the Woman of the Year Award were Dr Olamide Orekunrin, Esther Agbarakwe and publisher and editor-in-chief of Today Woman, Adesuwa Onyenokwe.

The awards took place on the 30th of March, 2014 with Adesuwa Onyenokwe winning the top award in the Nigeria catergory.

The VLISCO Women’s Month Award, honours the outstanding achievements of West and Central African women by identifying and rewarding those who inspire others to realise their dreams.

Uju Nweke

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Art & Fashion: D’Banj takes a lead role in Captain Phillips

DigitalSENSE Art & Fashion:

Nigerian leading music character has delved into acting very seriously as he took on the role of a leading actor in the soon to debut Captain Phillips.

The film produced by the director of ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ is reportedly lacking in female supporting role as it came under criticism at the weekend.

For another known actor, Ramsey Nouah, who left a comment on the preview, saying it is dull and lack a typical D’banj role.

“I see D’banj more as a Ron Burgundy type character in anchor man” he said.

Also for Tonto Dikeh, she preferred to describe D’banj, saying “He’s cute.” but went on to lament the absence of female supporting role in the film.

“Too bad there is no supporting female role in the film. I no mind act with D’banj,” Tonto said.

Uju Nweke
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

ICT adaptation by girls critical, says Johnson

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Federal Minister in charge of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has declared that adaptation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by the girls is critical to national development and equality, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

She made this declaration at the launch of Digital ICT Girls Clubs for the empowerment of Nigerian girls held at the Federal Government Girls College, Bwari.

DigitalSENSE Business News also gathered Mrs Johnson noted that getting more girls into ICTs is a task her ministry is committed to, stressing that CommTech ministry want to ensure that Nigerian girls are encouraged and empowered to embrace ICTs.

“It is critical to get girls to adopt ICTs so that they are not left behind in the digital revolution changing communities and nations across the globe,” she asserted.

Mrs Johnson equally said that Digital ICT Girls Clubs would empower Nigerian girls and spur development of an army of ICT compliant girls that will contribute to the economic growth and empowerment of Nigeria in the future.

Emphasising that the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in a bid to empower women and girls in Nigeria created a gender empowerment scheme titled Girls and Women in Nigeria (G-WIN) with the sole aim of positively impacting and improving the lot of women and girls in Nigeria.

According to her, to enable this empowerment process, five Ministries- Ministry of Communication Technology, Agriculture, Works, Health and Water Resources signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Finance to empower women and girls through specific interventions and services geared at improving the lives of women and girls in Nigeria.

“The Ministry of Communication Technology, a key partner in the G-WIN project is empowering women and girls through specific technology initiatives it has identified and developed to empower and enable Nigerian women and girls actualize their potentials,” she said.

DigitalSENSE Business News reports that the Digital Girls ICT Clubs would be launched in I2 federal government girls schools across the six geopolitical zones, in the country to empower Nigerian girls and encourage them to embrace careers in ICTs.

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
Pix: Omobola Johnson, CommTech Minister

Lots of internet community ignorant of IANA functions –Crocker

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Executive board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) led by Dr. STEVE CROCKER, fielded questions from participants of the ICANN 49th public meeting in Singapore’s International Convention Centre recently. Our Group Executive Editor, DigitalSENSE Business News, Remmy Nweke was there. Most of the interaction was on NTIA plans to transfer IANA functions to ICANN.

Excerpts:

STEVE CROCKER: Welcome, everybody.  This is the part of the programme that I know many of you have been waiting for all week when you get to talk to us, talk to each other, talk to the community at large.

This session is intended to give you a direct line of communication, as I said, to both the rest of the community and to the board of directors without formality, without filters.

In addition to all of the formal processes that we have - and we have a lot of formal processes; the public forum is all about understanding communication, free exchange of ideas, and in just a few minutes, we’ll welcome your questions and comments. 

What is ICANN’s public forum?

I’ll start off by explaining what the session is, and just as important, what it’s not.

The public forum is the community’s opportunity to make comments and ask questions, a chance to talk to us directly, as I’ve said.  It’s intended to encourage dialogue.  it is not a replacement or an add-on to  public  comments that  ICANN seeks  on issues and policies.

Please do continue using those channels to provide formal feedback on specific issues that are open for public comments.  They’re the only way that they will receive proper consideration from the appropriate committee, supporting organization, and staff members.

So with that, let me toss this back to you, Brad White, for an overview of how the questions will be fielded. Brad, as everyone knows, is our director of global media affairs.

BRAD WHITE: Thanks, Steve. What we’re trying to do here today is balance a couple of concerns.

We want to facilitate, that’s the board wants to facilitate as many questions and comments from you as possible, but we also recognize that you want to hear the board. So, we’re trying to balance those two concerns. 

You’ll notice on the agenda later in the afternoon there’s a couple of sessions, dedicated time sessions, for subjects that have not yet been determined.  That’s because the board very much wants the community to help them select what those subjects will be.

In Buenos Aires, we tried something for the first time that worked.  The comments we got after the Buenos Aires public forum indicated that folks liked it, so we’re going to do it again.

Basically, in a few minutes, these two microphones in the front, Steve will seek your input into what you want to talk about during those two time blocks.  What might be a good session, a dedicated time session, to a given subject.

We’re looking at headlines here. We’re looking at one sentence.  He just wants some ideas.  That’s going to take about 10 or 15 minutes and then we’ll shut it down after that. Remote participants can also join and ask questions by emailing us at forum@icann.org. We’ll read your questions.

When speaking, speak clearly and slowly. This is primarily for our scribes. If you’re going too fast, they’re simply not able to keep up, so it’s sort of a courtesy to everyone else.  Give us your name and who, if anyone, you’re representing. Also, we have standards of behavior. 

Be respectful.  I mean, we can get impassioned over some of these issues. Be respectful of other opinions, be short, concise, and always be conscious that there are other people who want to speak.

Addressing  what  I  began  with  was  the  balance  between  asking questions and facilitating as many people as possible in this room.  We’ve adopted what we call the rule of twos.

What that basically means is that you’ve got two bites at the apple. So when you come to the microphone after a session - after a subject has begun, you can ask a question or make a comment.  

You’ve got two minutes to do so.  After you do that, the board has also got a timer on its response. 

They’ll respond within two minutes as well. Now,  the  facilitator  of  a  given  session  can  answer  your  question, perhaps  call  on  one  of  his  or  her  colleagues who might  have  better expertise in a given subject to respond to that question, or they might call on one of the staff leaders over here with greater expertise in a given subject to respond to the question.

Following that, you’ve got a chance for a follow-up.  Again, two minutes. And again, the board will respond in two minutes. Again, it’s all part of the balancing act, trying to give you as much access as possible to the board. That’s the basic overview.  Steve, I’ll turn it back to you. 

STEVE CROCKER: Thank you, Brad. We have organized a first section of a first portion of the time that will be used to talk about Internet Governance and Internet Assigned and Number Authority (IANA) functions, so after this  exercise  which  we’re  going  to  do  right  now,  we  do  a community subject selection, we will then move to that, and then in the background we’ll be collating the topics that you’re about to give us and organize how we’ll use the time for the rest of the afternoon.

So to repeat the instructions that Brad has shared with you, we need quick, short one sentence, please. Line up at the microphones and we’ll roll through this.

And don’t feel obliged to repeat your topic if somebody else has already suggested it.  We get it the first time.  There’s not a lot of value in saying it over again.  There’s not really much value in saying it over again. Laughs.

STEVE CROCKER: Okay.  Let’s begin.  

How come nobody’s at the microphones? Or maybe the lights are in my eyes and I don’t see them. A dependable person.

AMADEU ABRIL: Okay. Sorry. I never know whether you’re pointing at me or to the other microphone.  The topic I propose is ICANN policy making process.  Who does what, who should be doing what?

ELISA COOPER with the business constituency. New Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) implementation issues.

WERNER STAUB from CORE: Generic top-level domains and competition.  I mean competition not in the DNS, but elsewhere.

MARTIN SUTTON from the Brand Registry Group.  I’d like an update at some stage on Specification 13, progress with the negotiations.

MICHELE NEYLON from the registrar stakeholders group.  ICANN contracts and local law.

 PAUL FOODY speaking on my own behalf. How many new gTLDs will we allow before it becomes a very bad thing?

NIGEL ROBERTS: IANA transition.

ZHANG ZUAN with CONAC and I will suggest talk about name collision issues.  Thanks very much.  

LILLIAN FOSTERIS from FairWinds Partners. Also Specification 13.

MARILYN CADE with the business constituency and I propose we talk about accountability mechanisms, in particular, in relation to ATRT2.

ANTHONY NIIGANII, a mentee in a mentor programme:   One of the things that I was thinking of is how to engage indigenous people around the world who are underrepresented within ICANN.

STEVE CROCKER: Thank you.  

Well, thank you very much.  I think we can probably keep track of those and put them in some order and allocate them to the facilitators. So, with that, let me move us immediately into the first block of time devoted to a particular subject, and the subject is actually a compound one:  Internet governance on the one hand and stewardship of the IANA functions on the other hand.

Before we get into the question and answer (Q&A) and so forth, it will be helpful to do two things.

One is to have a brief description of what the IANA function actually is.  One of the things that we’ve become keenly aware of is the lack of detailed knowledge of - that most of the community actually has about how the IANA function works.

The other thing that we will do which fits here is to have some brief two-minute-style reports from several of the advisory committee and supporting organization leaders.

I believe that we have Patrik Faltstrom from SSAC, Jonathan Robinson from GNSO, Byron Holland from ccNSO, Olivier Crepin-Leblond from ALAC, and Adiel Akplogan from NRO, so that’s what’s coming.  And then we’ll start the queue.  Excuse me. 

Kuo-Wei Wu, to my right, will handle the IANA functions stewardship questions and I’ll handle the Internet governance questions, and so, Kuo, let me ask you to start up with a description, in conjunction with Elise, on what IANA is actually all about.

KUO-WEI WU:  Okay.  I think this is a good time for all non-Chinese speakers or non-Chinese;  you know, it’s time to learn Chinese now.  I will start to speak in Chinese. (speaking in Chinese)

In this ICANN 49 Singapore conference, when we are talking about the IANA, before that I would like to say that IANA over the past two years have been doing a lot of work.

So,  I  would  like  to  say  over  the  past  two  years,  IANA committee has automated all the functions.  That means in the whole process we don’t need a lot of review work.  So this is very important ... at the end of last year, IANA committee has no longer operated at the very beginning of this year.  We have to look at this with two angles. So you don’t see the IANA committee from this year on.  

In my interpretation, you know, my personal interpretation; one thing is IANA committee is very boring.  You know, nobody wants to join me, you know. [Laughter]

KUO-WEI WU: Because it’s a regular process.  It’s a very really regular process. The second thing, I think, it’s as much real, is IANA is the people all are concerned.  So, we have to move the IANA function and report to the whole board. Okay?

So I would like to say IANA functions over the past two years; we have seen that IANA functions have been working smoothly. This is the status of the IANA committee.  I would like to ask IANA workers  to  tell  you  about  the  daily  work  of  IANA  as  well  as  the communication with other groups and stakeholders, so that we have the basic understanding and we need that so that we can dispel misconceptions.

I think this might be useful and helpful while we are talking about the whole IANA function issue.

So, Elise, you have only five minutes.  Okay?  I ask you to explain what is the office doing on daily basis and can you explain your communication with the different groups, including the NTIA - National Telecommunications and Information Administration?

So that is the basis, so that people can understand what you’re always doing, so when we’re talking about IANA, you know, the transition, it’s much based on the fact, not based on the imagination.

ELISE GERICH:  So, I’ll give you a couple of responses in two minutes, of what the IANA function does.

We have three primary areas which you’ve heard a lot of this week; Names, Numbers, and Protocol parameters.

And basically, for names, we work with all the TLDs (Top Level Domain) to manage the root zone, and there’s a root zone management team which includes ICANN, NTIA, and VeriSign.

So, the TLDs will submit changes to their root zone, to us, ICANN.  We verify that it meets the criteria.   Then we send that verification on to NTIA.  NTIA verifies that we followed the process.  And then they give the okay to VeriSign to create the root zone that will get distributed twice daily to the root servers.

So, that’s what we do that has to do with names.

Secondly, we do numbers.  So the RIRs, the regional Internet registries, they come up with policies, global policies. Those global policies are derived from the local regional policies in the five regional Internet registries.

The IANA function adopts or works to those global policies that the regional Internet registries have created, and that’s what we use when we distribute -- or used to distribute IPv4 – Internet Protocol version 4) addresses- our pocketbook is empty; the IPv6 addresses and the autonomous system numbers. And then the bulk of our requests and transaction handling is for the protocol parameters.

So, the  protocol  parameters  are really  the  kind  of secret  code  that machines talk to each other with on the Internet.

Therefore, if you were a developer or a software writer or someone like that, you would go into these registries and you would find out what you need to know so that the thing you’re going to build, the device, the entity that you want to put on the network, the Internet, will be able to talk to other devices that are on the network.

We maintain those lists, those registries that the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) defines in their RFCs (Request For Comments). So, those are our three basic functions, and that’s what we do on behalf of the global community.

And  as  I  mentioned  before,  NTIA  has  a  role  in  the  root  zone management piece and they’ve had that role for a very long time, and then  also,  ICANN  has  a  contract  with  NTIA  which  sets  out  some guidelines on how we’re supposed to behave with the community.  And we have, on the IANA Web page, performance standards, reports on what changes were made to the root zone, and all the changes that have been made to the Internet Protocol parameters registries.

So  if  you  ever  want  to  look  at  what  we’re  doing  and  what  our performance  standards  are  and  how  we’ve  met  them,  go  to www.iana.org/performance and you’ll be able to click on the various reports that are out there.

And  I  think,  Kuo-Wei  Wu,  that’s  all  I  have  to  say,  unless  there’s  something else you’d like me to add. 

KUO-WEI WU:   I would like to ask a question like. When you communicate with the NTIA or communicate with the IETF or IAB (Internet Architecture Board), are those documents in public?

ELISE GERICH: The reports are published, yes.  They are published on the www.iana.org web

site for anyone and everyone.  In fact, that’s an important point, especially the lists that we maintain, they are all open and public and basically free of charge. So, you can see any of those registries.  You can find out which allocations of I.P. addresses went to which regional internet registry.   You can see what the protocol parameters are for, say, DNS or BGP or any other Internet protocol. Just go online and they’re there for your perusal.  Thank you.

KUO-WEI WU:  Thank you, Elise. I think it is important for people to understand what the regular operation in the IANA office is and what is the communication between the IANA office to all the other different groups. And just like Elise is saying, all kinds of report is transparent and public and published in the public.  So if you would like to see what is the meeting minutes or what  is the report  we  communicate  with the  different  groups,  it  is always published on the Web at iana.org.  You are always welcome to see.  Everything is transparent and also is clear.

Now, Steve, we can open for the mic.

STEVE CROCKER:   Thank you. I hope the description of the IANA function has been helpful.  Continuing on the theme that is probably is not as well understood as it should be, we’re looking for feedback on what you just heard and staff will be trying to develop materials that make the function a lot more visible and a lot clearer. It is one of those things that’s working well in the background and so there hasn’t been a sense of the need to highlight it quite this way. But, clearly, with the announcement from NTIA two weeks ago and all of the focus on it, this maybe now a good time to do a little study of what it actually does and probably more importantly what doesn’t happen in the IANA functions.

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Easter roaming for Xtians @MTN

DigitalSENSE Business News:

MTN Nigeria may have explained its Easter roaming offer for Christians, saying it’s expected to boost relationship among families, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Giving this insight recently to DigitalSENSE Business News, the General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, said that MTN is offering a variety of mouth-watering packages to its Christian customers this Easter.

He gave the rational for the brands support stressing that this is a way of showing commitment to esteemed customers of the Christian faith, by connecting to them at this period of spiritual reflection and appreciation for the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus made by laying down his life for mankind to live.

He also said that there is a roaming offer with special MTN rates to Jerusalem and Rome, to ensure pilgrims stay in contact with families and friends.

The offer, he explained to DigitalSENSE Business News, is one of the many ways MTN is touching the passion points of its teeming Christian customers, especially during this season, as a way of encouraging the spread of unity, love and peace everywhere its customers go.

“The offers will enable Christian faithful on the MTN network enjoy value added services like spirit filled daily devotionals, Bible quotes, sermons, songs and hymns; and other faith enriching content to keep Christian customers connected to their Maker on a daily basis,” he said.

Customers, he further said, could access Christian content via an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform where a customer dials a short code 797 and listens to an array of uplifting contents such as songs, prayers, sermons and more. The IVR based service requires a weekly subscription of N50 weekly.

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Why GTBank, Avios Loyalty reward made a debut

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) plc has explained the debut of its loyalty scheme exclusively for GTBank credit card holders, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The bank’s Managing director of GTBank; Mr. Segun Agbaje, also told DigitalSENSE Business News that the loyalty scheme is in partnership with Avios, the leading global travel rewards company.

He also said that this initiative is part of GTBank’s overall strategy to bring the best in card products to its customers.

“It will reward international GTBank credit card holders, who are also members of the British Airways Executive Club Programme, for using their cards to pay for purchases using Point of Sale terminals,” he said.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that Avios is the global currency of the British Airways Executive Club, which members collect when they book a flight or shop with its partners and now when they spend with their GTBank credit card. 

“With the new GTBank credit card loyalty scheme, every card holder will collect one Avios for every $2 USD on qualified spend on the card. The card holder can use Avios towards flights worldwide with British Airways and one world airline partners,” Agbaje explained.

Stressing that at GTBank, they believe that it is important to anticipate our customers’ desires, and tailor the most rewarding experiences for them.

“The collaboration with Avios to introduce rewards on credit card spending cements our position as the best Bank in Nigeria, in line with our strategy to serve our valued clients locally and globally. We are thrilled to pioneer this initiative which will run till the 26th March, 2015,” he said.

Nick Pilbeam, Director of New Markets and Business Development at Avios, also said they are always looking for new ways to provide British Airways Executive Club members with accessible ways to collect Avios. 

“The partnership with Guaranty Trust Bank is a real step forward for members in Nigeria, providing them with an easy way to build their Avios balance and enjoy the multitude of flight and travel rewards open to them,” he said.

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!