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Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Great moments in Christmas tree history
The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.
The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared in Germany in 1531.
Besides evergreens, other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns were used as Christmas trees in the past.
Using small candles to light a Christmas tree dates back to the middle of the 17th century.
Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. Christmas tree lights were first mass-produced in 1890.
In 1900, large stores started to erect big illuminated Christmas trees.
The tradition of an official Chicago Christmas tree was initiated in 1913 when one was first lit by Mayor Carter H. Harrison in Grant Park.
The official Christmas tree tradition at Rockefeller Center began in 1933. Since 2004 the tree has been topped with a 550-pound Swarovski Crystal star. And since 2007, the tree has been lit with 30,000 energy-efficient LED’s which are powered by solar panels.
Every year since 1947, the people of Oslo, Norway have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster, England. The gift is an expression of good will and gratitude for Britain’s help to Norway during World War II.
Since 1971, the Province of Nova Scotia has presented the Boston Christmas tree to the people of Boston, in gratitude for the relief supplies received from the citizens of Boston after a ship exploded in 1917 following a collision in the Halifax, Nova Scotia Harbor. Part of the city was leveled, killing and injuring thousands.
Presidential Christmas Trees
In 1856 Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States, was the first President to place a Christmas tree in the White House.
President Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn in 1923.
Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.
From 1948 to 1951, President Truman spent Christmas at his home in Independence, Missouri, and lit the National Community Christmas Tree by remote control. Truman agreed to stay at the White House for Christmas 1952, and personally lit the tree.
In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lit until December 22nd, because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has given a Christmas tree to the President and first family for display in the Blue Room.
In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was not lit except for the top ornament. This was done to honor the American hostages in Iran.
In 1984, the National Christmas tree was lit on December 13thwith temperatures in the 70’s, making it one of the warmest tree lightings in history.
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, and Elsewhere
Nineteenth century Americans cut their trees in nearby forests. Today most real Christmas trees are grown on farms as sustainable crops like corn or pumpkins.
98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms, while only 2% are cut from the wild.
To ensure enough trees for harvest, growers plant one to three seedlings for every tree harvested.
In 2012, 46 million Christmas tree seedlings were planted by U.S. growers.
More than 2,000 trees are usually planted per acre. On average 1,000-1,500 of these trees will survive. In the northern part of the country, perhaps 750 trees will remain.
Almost all trees require shearing to attain the Christmas tree shape. At six to seven feet, trees are ready for harvest.
It takes six to ten years of fighting heavy rain, wind, hail and drought to get a mature tree.
Most Christmas trees are cut weeks before they get to a retail outlet. It is important to keep them watered thoroughly when they reach your home. In the first week, a Christmas tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water per day.
Is it, or Isn’t It?
Artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century and later became popular in the United States. These “trees” were made using goose feathers that were dyed green and attached to wire branches. The wire branches were then wrapped around a central dowel rod that acted as the trunk.
In 1930 the U.S.-based Addis Brush Company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles. The company used the same machinery that it used to manufacture toilet brushes, but they were dyed green.
Artificial Christmas trees made largely from aluminum were manufactured in the United States, first in Chicago in 1958.
Today, most artificial Christmas trees are made from PVC plastic. PVC trees are fire-retardant but not fire-resistant. Eighty percent of artificial trees worldwide are manufactured in China.
10.9 million Artificial trees were purchased in the United States in 2012.
To Market, to Market
Live Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850.
The first Christmas tree retail lot in the United States was started by Mark Carr in New York, in 1851.
From 1887-1933 a fishing schooner called the “Christmas Ship” would tie up at the Clark Street Bridge in Chicago and sell spruce trees from Michigan to Chicagoans.
In 2012, 35% of real Christmas trees sold were from chain stores or garden centers/nursery, 24% from cut and harvest farms, 15% from retail tree lots, and 15% from non-profit groups.
In 2012, 85% of the Christmas trees purchased were pre-cut, and 14% were cut-your-own.
An estimated 175,000 real Christmas trees are sold via e-commerce or catalogue and shipped mail order.
The most popular Christmas trees are: Scotch pine, Douglas fir, noble fir, Fraser fir, balsam fir, Virginia pine and white pine.
Christmas trees are baled to protect the branches from damage during shipping.
Helicopters help to lift harvested Christmas trees from farms.
The United States of Trees
In the United States, there are more than 15,000 Christmas tree farms.
There are approximately 350 million Christmas trees growing on U.S. farms.
Approximately 100,000 people are employed full or part-time in the Christmas tree industry.
24.5 million farm-grown Christmas trees were purchased in the United States in 2012, with a real market value of $1.01 billion.
The mean average purchase price of a live tree in 2012 was $41.30.
Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, and Virginia are the top Christmas tree producing states.
350,000 acres of land in the United States are in production for growing Christmas trees.
Christmas trees are grown and harvested in all 50 states.
Michigan ranks third among all states in the production of real Christmas trees, but grows a larger variety of Christmas trees than any other state.
Make your Christmas Really Green
93% of real Christmas tree consumers recycle their tree in community recycling programs, their garden or backyard.
In the United States, there are more than 4,000 Christmas tree recycling programs.
Recycled real Christmas trees have been used to make sand and soil erosion barriers and been placed in ponds for fish shelter.
Growing Christmas trees provides a habitat for wildlife.
Christmas trees can remove dust and pollen from the air.
Cook County, IL uses old Christmas trees to rebuild housing structures for natural wildlife that has been destroyed through development.
Artificial trees will last for six years in your home, but for centuries in a landfill.
An acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.
You should not burn your Christmas tree in the fireplace; it can contribute to creosote buildup.
Live Christmas trees are involved in less than one-tenth of one percent of residential fires, and mostly when ignited by some external ignition sources. The major factors involved in Christmas tree fires are electrical problems, decorative lights, candles, and a heat source too close to the tree.
In 1971 the government concluded that Christmas tree tinsel made of lead was a health risk and convinced manufactures to voluntarily stop producing lead tinsel. It is now made of plastic.
Sources: National Christmas Tree Association, USDA Census of Agriculture, PolitiFact.com, Christmas Tree Farm Network, Christmas Trees Magazine, Forestry.about.com, Facts about Treecycling, U.S. Commerce Dept., NFPA Fire Analysis and Research.
Special thanks to Rick Dungey of the NCTA for his assistance.
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Right to privacy: The rest of us and UN resolution
IN the city of New York, the renowned headquarters of the United Nations on Tuesday, 26 November 2013, witnessed another milestone as the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee of the UN General Assembly made history by passing a resolution on privacy in the digital age.
For stakeholders in the human rights, especially those playing within the digital environment this was a major breakthrough for human rights advocates around the world, since it is the first resolution of this kind to focus on right to privacy.
For those at the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), given the recent Edward Snowden revelations and the current trend among several states to increase mass surveillance of electronic communications, this resolution will allows human rights advocates to campaign for better policies and legislations at national, regional and international levels.
For example, APC officials emphasised that “that unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as unlawful or arbitrary collection of personal data, as highly intrusive acts, violate the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and may contradict the tenets of a democratic society.”
Another positive aspect, according to them is that the resolution acknowledges the 2012 report by Frank La Rue, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on the implications of states’ surveillance on the human rights to privacy and to freedom of expression and association.
Additionally, the resolution opens up a space for further discussion of human rights online by asking the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to present a report on privacy and surveillance of digital communications at the Human Rights Council, as well as to the General Assembly in 2014, where a special session to examine the report and recommendations would be held.
DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that this resolution was based on a draft proposed by Brazil and Germany earlier in November this year and after negotiations with other states as well as the alleged lobbying of the United States (US) delegation, the resolution presented weaker language where, among other things, the link between privacy and freedom of expression was de-emphasised.
Despite these drawbacks, APC experts posited that it has already been used by advocacy groups at the national level. Shortly after, it was passed, for example, activists in Ecuador used it to lobby for the elimination of content in the new criminal code that infringes upon the right to privacy and legalises mass communications surveillance at the national level.
To this extent, APC salutes this resolution as a policy tool for rights groups to leverage their advocacy work. Joy Liddicoat from APC, said they welcome this opportunity to make a different , mostly on internet rights issues.
“We welcome the opportunity to bring internet rights issues before the Council and the General Assembly and will be advocating strongly for all rights and freedoms to be fully respected and protected online and offline,” she said, stressing that APC would continue to engage in joint civil society efforts to ensure that human rights on the internet are recognised, ensured and protected.
According to the resolution made available by DigitalSENSE Business News, at the United Nations Sixty-eighth session, the Third Committee agenda item 69 (b) on promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms met.
Some of the countries at the meeting include Argentina, Austria, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala,
Indonesia, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Timor-Leste and Uruguay: revised draft resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age.
Following the resolution, the General Assembly, reaffirmed the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirming also the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The assembly also reaffirmed the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, noting that the rapid pace of technological development enables individuals all over the world to use new information and communication technologies and at the same time enhances the capacity of Governments, companies and individuals to undertake surveillance, interception and data collection, which may violate or abuse human rights, in particular the right to privacy, as set out in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and is therefore an issue of increasing concern.
In addition, they reaffirmed the human right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the right to the protection of the law against such interferences, and recognizing that the exercise of the right to privacy is important for the realization of the right to freedom of expression and to hold opinions without interference, and one of the foundations of a democratic society.
They stressed the importance of the full respect for the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, including the fundamental importance of access to information and democratic participation, just as they welcomed the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-third session, on the implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression.
UN equally emphasized that unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as unlawful or arbitrary collection of personal data, as highly intrusive acts, violate the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and may contradict the tenets of a democratic society.
They noted that while concerns about public security may justify the gathering and protection of certain sensitive information, States must ensure full compliance with their obligations under international human rights law.
In furtherance, they deeply expressed concern at the negative impact that surveillance and/or interception of communications, including extraterritorial surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as the collection of personal data, in particular when carried out on a mass scale, may have on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights.
Above all, they reaffirmed that States must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism are in compliance with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.
Reiterating the right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the right to the protection of the law against such interference, as set out in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Assembly recognized the global and open nature of the Internet and the rapid advancement in information and communication technologies as a driving force in accelerating progress towards development in its various forms;
Affirming that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, including the right to privacy.
Furthermore, they called upon all member states to respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context of digital communication; to take measures to put an end to violations of those rights and to create the conditions to prevent such violations, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their obligations under international human rights law.
In addition, UN committee calls for review of procedures, practices and legislation regarding the surveillance of communications, their interception and collection of personal data, including mass surveillance, interception and collection, with a view to upholding the right to privacy by ensuring the full and effective implementation of all their obligations under international human rights law.
As well, member states were asked to establish or maintain existing independent, effective domestic oversight mechanisms capable of ensuring transparency, as appropriate, and accountability for State surveillance of communications, their interception and collection of personal data.
Just as a request was made for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report on the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance and/or interception of digital communications and collection of personal data, including on a mass scale, to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session and to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, with views and recommendations, to be considered by member states.
DigitalSENSE Business News recollects that the assembly decided to examine the question at its sixty-ninth session, under the sub-item entitled “Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms” of the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights.”
There is no doubt, therefore that this resolution is worthy of communication, although the core thing now is how the member states will perceive, interpret the resolution for the benefits of their citizens in a state like Nigeria, where the political office holders are not very comfortable with the avalanche of information sharing going on across social media platforms.
Like Mr. Frank La Rue recommended in his latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, the adoption of a resolution on the protection of the right to privacy in the digital age by the UN General Assembly, could be a first step, but “Much more can and must be done to ensure trust in the safety of communications around the world.”
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‘Why Nigeria matters in Indian diplomacy’
“Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa, with $16.67 billion in direct bilateral trade in the year 2012-13”A violent clash on October 30 in a Goa village resulted in the murder of Obodo Simeon Uzoma, and injury to six people, all of them Nigerians. The next day, around 200 Nigerians protested by blocking a national highway and clashing with Goa police and locals; 53 of them were arrested, most subsequently released. In the month since then, the Goa police have detained nine suspects.
Reactions in Nigeria have been predictably sharp: ranging from extensive media coverage to a unanimous adoption of a motion in the country’s House of Representatives condemning the incident as “racist”, asking its Committees of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora for an “investigation”, and directing the Nigerian government to seek compensation from India. Last Monday, Nigeria’s acting foreign minister received the deceased’s family and assured them of support.
Thus, the Goa incident has triggered an avalanche of reactions straddling multiple domains: law and order, diplomacy, people-to-people ties and media. Unless contained, this rare incident has the potential to disrupt a successful bilateral partnership which has benefited both countries and their peoples.
An objective look at current India-Nigerian ties brings out some surprises - and breaks some shibboleths. Today, Nigeria is our largest trading partner in Africa with $16.67 billion in direct bilateral trade in 2012-13. And India is in fact Nigeria’s largest trading partner. During past five years, bilateral trade has doubled, and Indian exports tripled. Nigeria has emerged as India’s second largest supplier of crude oil outside the Gulf. Nigeria has also become a large market for our cereals, vehicles, machinery and pharmaceuticals. Despite a surge in Indian exports, Nigeria enjoys an annual bilateral trade surplus of nearly $11 billion. Over 100 Indian companies have footprints in Nigeria, with cumulative investments of over $10 billion, creating capacity and jobs - priorities for Nigeria.
As the pyrotechnics after the Goa incident demonstrated, any narrative on Indo-Nigerian people-to-people contacts needs to be cautious. These two are among world’s most populous countries and hard data is difficult to come by. Though Indians have lived in Nigeria for over a century, their number is nowhere near a million - a figure recently put out by a Nigerian diplomat. According to the best Indian estimates, they number only around 35,000. In fact, the corresponding official Nigerian figure is roughly half of even this number. The inflated number is intended to suit the argument. The number of Nigerians living in India is also uncertain, due to many Nigerians overstaying illegally on expired or faked visas. However, here the figure of 50,000 cited by the Nigerian High Commission appears believable. Nearly 37,000 Indian visas were issued to Nigerians in 2012. Although nearly half of these were for medical tourism, business and education have also spurred visits to India.
This rapid growth in Indo-Nigerian ties is despite infrequent high-level political and business contacts and the global economic headwinds. It shows that this synergy is based on intrinsic bilateral synergies, as the two countries increasingly leverage their similarities and complementarities. There is also considerable potential for further growth in such areas as hydrocarbons, agriculture, health-care, vocational training, education, and IT.
All this evidence as to the robustness of Indo-Nigerian ties and their potential puts the Goa incident in correct perspective. However, we still need to prioritise people-to-people contacts as continuous strain on them can engender prejudices and negativism. To this end, both sides should avoid playing to their respective galleries. While transgressions of local laws should be dealt with firmly, this should be done without profiling or stereotyping. Any intemperate talk of reciprocity and retaliation must be abjured, as it goes against the traditional bilateral cordiality. It would be counterproductive to convert a win-win relationship into a zero sum game.
While most Nigerians in India are here legally, there are still conspicuous exceptions. It is futile to pretend to have, as some Nigerian diplomats have done recently, the sole ownership of truth and virtue. Instead of a posture of injured innocence and living in denial, they should accept that some of the Nigerians may have violated Indian laws.
They do have an image problem - and not only in India. A few months ago, the Nigerian Foreign Minister stated that over 9,500 Nigerians were in foreign prisons. The Sun, a Nigerian daily, commented: “Most of them were reportedly arrested and convicted for offences such as drug trafficking, credit card fraud and infractions of immigration laws.” The director-general of NDLEA, the Nigerian anti-narcotics agency, recently put the number of Nigerians convicted abroad of drug related crimes at “over 6,000.” Recent British data stated that Nigerians account for five per cent of all foreign prisoners. Closer home, last year the Indian capital witnessed a case of Nigerian killing Nigerian and their nationals being unruly in the Nigerian High Commission’s premises.
These hard facts should put the Goa incident in the proper context. Instead of engaging in either a blame game or bland diplomatic statements, the two authorities should collaborate to curb such stray incidents. The investigation into the Goa crime should be taken to its logical conclusion soon. Also, the two governments should speed up the signing of enabling bilateral agreements on extradition, the transfer of convicted persons and on mutual legal assistance. The Nigerian initiative this week to send a negotiating team to India for this purpose is, therefore, welcome. Meanwhile, the Goa incident should also prompt India to put in place a regime for regular vetting of all foreigners in a non-discriminatory, dignified and transparent manner. Media and opinion-makers, too, must resist the temptation to publish incendiary material; allegations need to be verified before publication. The spread of the English language and of the internet in both countries can enable scurrilous coverage to instantly ricochet to the other end, feeding a vicious cycle.
Above everything, all stakeholders should appreciate that even as people-to-people ties are an important component of overall Indo-Nigerian relations, the latter are far more important and must not become a hostage to the former. There is an imperative need for concerted joint action to insulate the win-win paradigm of Indo-Nigerian ties from stray consular cases, which are bound to occur as our two friendly countries and their peoples engage more extensively.
*Contributed by Mahesh Sachdev recently retired as Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria
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DSN Lens2: ADA 2013 and NAFRCOWA Little Angels End of Year Party'13
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Monday, December 16, 2013
Akpabio, Fayemi, Fashola for NCC’s Telecom Summit’13
THE trio of Governors of Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Lagos States have been confirmed to grace the forthcoming maiden edition of the Telecom Stakeholders Summit being organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reports DigitalSENSE Business News.Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Summit and Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Mr. Tony Ojobo, confirmed to DigitalSENSE Business News that the Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Obong Godswill Akpabio would preside over the event, while the Governor Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi would present a keynote. While Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, is the Host Governor, just as Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson would also present a keynote at the event.
NCC, he said, has concluded arrangements for the hosting of the maiden edition of an annual Telecom Stakeholders Summit in Nigeria.
The summit, slated for Lagos at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 with the theme “Transforming a Nation with Broadband: Telecom as Instrument for Sustainable Development.”
According to him, the summit has been designed to bring together, different stakeholders of the telecom industry to interact and discuss issues that affect them from their various perspectives and interests.
“It will comprise a forum, product and services showcase, and gala nite,” he declared.
In addition, Ojobo affirmed that members of the National Assembly and top industry chieftains and experts, including service providers and consumers are expected at the maiden edition of the flagship telecom summit in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, was quoted as saying the summit will provide veritable platform for interaction and sharing of ideas across different stakeholders, as well as providing an opportunity for appraisal of the performance of the industry, while projecting for the future.
Juwah noted that the summit evolved out of the need to achieve a more inclusive consultation among the different stakeholders in line with the consultative approach to the Commission’s regulatory mandate.
Further, Mr. Ojobo, said the summit boasts of full representation of the key stakeholders in the industry including the consumers, the government at different levels, the investors, the service providers, the media, the financial industry and international telecom community.
The summit, as said by him, promises to offer intense discourse about the industry, it potentials and its direction while also providing an atmosphere for relaxation and interaction between the diverse stakeholder segments of the industry, while sending a signal to the world about our unity of purpose, and huge potentials that abound in our country.
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Moving courtrooms into our handsets (2)
THESE disputes resolution techniques range from methods where parties have full control of the procedure to methods where a third party is in control of both the process and the outcome. The first process is conducted mainly online i.e. to carry out most of the dispute resolution procedure online sometimes with a machine interfacing, including the initial filing, the appointment of a Neutral, evidentiary processes, oral hearings if needed, online discussions, and even the rendering of binding settlements. Thus, according to some pundits, ODR is a different medium to resolve disputes, from beginning to end, respecting due process principles.
As a corollary to the foregoing, various literatures have indicated that the introduction of ICT in dispute resolution in most developed Countries is currently growing to the extent that the difference between off-line dispute resolution and ODR is blurry. It has been observed that it is only possible to distinguish between proceedings that rely heavily on online technology and proceedings that do not.
On the other hand, a segment of commentators have defined ODR exclusively as the use of ADR assisted principally with ICT tools thereby giving rise to the name e-ADR. Although part of the doctrine incorporates a broader approach including online litigation and other sui generis forms of dispute resolution when they are assisted largely by ICT tools designed ad hoc, yet ICT revolution analysts are of the view that ODR has come to replace the entire justice system with its cheap, easy, innovative, relaxed, speedy and civilized dispute resolution model with its specialized technique to resolve such disputes.
The latter definition seems to be more appropriate, since it incorporates the necessary techniques and all methods used to resolve disputes that are conducted mainly through the use of ICT, though still at its infancy stage. Moreover, this concept is more consistent with the fact that ODR was born from the distinction with off-line dispute resolution processes.
In ODR, the information management is not only carried out by physical persons but also by computers and electronic devices. The assistance of ICT to disputes resolution has been named by Katsh and Rifkin as the ‘fourth party’ because ODR is seen as an independent input to the management of the dispute. In addition to the two (or more) disputants and the third neutral party, the labeling of technology as the fourth party is a clear metaphor which stresses how technology can be as powerful as to change the traditional three sided model of dispute resolution that hitherto hold sway. The ICT embodies a range of capabilities in the same manner that the third party does. While the fourth party may at times take the place of the third party, i.e. automated negotiation, it will frequently be used by the third party as a tool for assisting the process.
The fourth party (ICT) may do many things such as organize information, send automatic responses, shape writing communications in a more polite and constructive manner e.g. blocking abusive, derogatory or foul language. In addition, it can monitor performance, schedule meetings, clarify interests and priorities and may even settle the dispute automatically in the blind bidding method and so on. The assistance and relevance of the ICT is envisaged to continue to increase and diversify with the advancement in technology, thus reducing the role of the third neutral party. Katsh and Wing argue that ICT advance is occurring exponentially since ICT advancement speeds up over the time. As a result, ODR processes are increasing in efficiency, providing their disputants with greater advantages in terms of time saving and cost reductions.
Notwithstanding the perceived confusion, ODR is observed to have emerged as one of the most used term in recent years; possessing distinctive and innovative techniques to resolve disputes. Some Conflict and Dispute Resolution Practitioners are still uncertain about whether these processes form a new discipline of ADR or a tool to aid existing methods of dispute resolution. Just like in every other human endeavour, this uncertainty might continue except for the fact that as the uncertainty gradually clears, more and more people would appreciate the inevitable change that is taking place in the justice sector until such a time when one does so at ones peril. However, it has been submitted and a great number of people agreed that the most appropriate view would be to look at same as an interdisciplinary field of dispute resolution.
Methods of ODR
The methods used in ODR can be broadly divided into Consensual and Adjectival methods.
Consensual Methods
This method entails that the parties voluntarily carryout the resolution on their own accord with or without any assistance or input from a third party. In the same vein, the consensual method can further be subdivided into Automated and Assisted ODR i.e with the involvement of a third party.
Automated negotiation or blind-bidding service
Automated Negotiation relates to those methods of dispute resolution in which the technology takes over (all or some aspects of) a negotiation. Most of the ODR services in this area are also called ‘blind-bidding’ services. This is a negotiation process designed to determine economic settlements for claims in which liability is not challenged. The blind bidding service may be described as a type of ‘auction’ mechanism where some or all information about the players’ bids are hidden. There are two forms of automated negotiation: Double Blind Bidding, which is a method for single monetary issues between two parties, and Visual Blind Bidding, which can be applied to negotiations with any number of parties and issues.
Double Blind Bidding is a negotiation method between two parties where the offer and demand are kept hidden during the negotiation process.eg the e-settle window. It commences when one party invites the other to negotiate the amount of money in dispute. If the other party agrees, they start a blind bidding process whereby both parties make secret offers or bids, which will only be disclosed if both offers match certain standards. They can usually submit up to three offers and if the bids of both parties come within a predetermined range (usually range from 30% to 5%) or a given amount of money (e.g. N3, 000), then the software automatically settles the dispute in the mid-point of the two offers. Although, it is a simple method, it effectively encourages the parties to reveal their ‘bottom line’ offers and demands, splitting the difference when the amounts are close. Visual Blind Bidding The primary distinction of Visual or Single Blind Bidding from Double Blind Bidding is in what is kept hidden from the other party (ies). In Double Blind Bidding, the offers and demands are kept hidden, whereas with Visual Blind Bidding what is kept hidden is what each party is willing to accept. This method can be effectively applied to the simplest single-value negotiations or the most complex negotiations between any number of parties and issues. Visual Blind Bidding commences when all parties agree to negotiate with one another. They start the process by exchanging 3visible optimistic proposals, which define bargaining ranges. The system then generates suggestions that fall within the bargaining ranges. Parties may continue to exchange visible proposals or contribute their own suggestions to the mix. Suggestions contributed by the parties remain anonymous, thus avoiding the face saving problem of accepting a suggestion made by another party.
A resolution is declared by the system at the end of a negotiating session, if all parties have accepted one or more packages (out of two or more proposed decision values) at the end of that session. Which of those packages becomes the agreement may be determined by an algorithm that rewards the party that moves soonest into the Zone of Agreement. This algorithm is programmed to encourage concessions and quickly indicate that they are willing to accept a fair outcome.
This is in contrast to the chilling effect that occurs with the more common split-the-difference algorithm. Automated negotiation has proven to be particularly successful with insurance compensations and commercial activities. It is also a valuable pre-litigation tool for lawyers, because they too can use it without revealing what they’re willing to accept (unless an agreement is reached) and more importantly, without waiving their right to access the court, in situations where negotiation is unsuccessful.
Thus, the automated ODR is useful for resolving other disputes that arise in businesses, with insurance companies and municipalities in the USA and Europe, who are coming to terms with the reality that ODR saves them money and time when dealing with B2C disputes.
Assisted negotiation
In Assisted Negotiation, the technology assists the negotiation process between the parties. The technology has a similar role as the mediator in a mediation forum. The role of the technology may be to provide a certain process and/or to provide the parties with specific (evaluative) advice.
Generally, Mediators use information management skills aimed at encouraging parties to reach an amicable agreement by enabling them to communicate more effectively through the rephrasing of their arguments.
On the other hand, Conciliation though similar to mediation, is still different because the conciliator can propose solutions for the parties to consider before an agreement is reached. Also, assisted negotiation procedures are designed to improve parties’ communications through the assistance of a third party or software. In fact, it has been argued that assisted negotiation, conciliation, and even facilitation, are just different words for mediation. The major advantages of these processes, when used online, are their informality, simplicity and user friendliness.
Adjectival method or online arbitration
Arbitration as a process where a neutral third party (arbitrator) delivers a decision which is final, and binding on both parties, can be defined as a quasi-judicial procedure where an award is made at the end of the session and is enforceable in a Court of law just like a judicial decision. However, in an arbitration procedure, parties usually can choose their own arbitrator, on the basis of which the arbitrator makes the decision.
Furthermore, it is less formal than litigation, though more formal than any other consensual process. It is often used to resolve businesses’ disputes; because this procedure is noted for being more private and faster than litigation. Once the procedure is initiated, parties cannot abandon it. Another feature of arbitration is that the award is enforceable almost everywhere due to the wide adoption of the ecommerce directive and the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards domesticated in Nigeria as Part iii (Additional Provisions relating to International Commercial Arbitration and Conciliation). Section 54 of the said Act provides as follows: Without prejudice to sections 51 and 52 of this Act, where the recognition and enforcement of any award arising out Of an International Commercial arbitration are sought, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards (hereinafter referred to as the Convention’’) Set out in the second schedule to this Act shall apply to Any award made in Nigeria or any contracting state:
a) Provided that, such contracting states has Reciprocal legislation recognizing the enforcement of arbitral awards made in Nigeria in accordance with the Convention;
b) That the Convention shall apply only to differences arising out of a legal relationship which is contractual.
Since the popular view is that arbitral awards has proven to be frequently cited as being easier to enforce than court decisions from overseas, the coast seems to be clear for ODR Practitioners in Nigeria to join the band wagon in order to enjoy its immense benefit. As the country’s ODR and Cyber-Courts develop, other lacuna and impediments to its application would come to the fore; with time and some assiduous hard work, best practices would eventually be entrenched.
Although, majority of legal scholars on online arbitration agree that, neither law nor arbitral principles prevent arbitration from taking place online, there may be several aspects of ODR that need to be regulated. Just like the provision under Nigerian Law, there is a strong assumption that online arbitration is admissible under the New York Convention. Conversely, the e-Commerce Directive cited by some commentators to be equally usable seems according to other Scholars to be more of opinion than a legal statement.
Notwithstanding the above contentions, some discerning ODR Practitioners observe that arbitration is based on a contractual agreement between the parties. Therefore, they further opine, an online process without a regulatory framework may generate a significant number of challenges from consumers and other weaker parties if due process cannot be assured. To allay this fear using Nigeria as an instance, most arbitrators are either retired Judges or Licensed legal Practitioners with a few other Specialists with a code of ethics or rules of professional conduct guiding their operations.
Despite this fact, the need to update such code is not out of place. However, the existing rules could be used for now. It is only by constant usage that some of the inherent defects in the rules could come to the fore. Currently, most arbitration providers allow parties to carry out online aspect only as part of the arbitration process, e.g. parties may download claim forms, the submission of documents through standard email or secure web interface, the use of telephone hearings, etc. Seen as a silver lining, the Nigerian Judiciary is currently training its Judges to imbibe online process to ensure quick dispensation of justice. In this regard, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Dahiru Mustapha also disclosed that the code of conduct for judicial officers was being reviewed in line with emerging developments in the society including the challenges of ICT. He therefore urged the judiciary to adapt and benefit from information and communication technology.
On his part, the National Judicial Institute (NJI) Administrator, Justice Umaru Eri (Rtd), noted that the theme of the workshop, ‘Improving the administration of justice through the application of information technology,’ was informed by the current drive of the former CJN to reform the country’s judicial system with a view to achieving justice without delay. He emphasised the need for judges to have robust knowledge and skills in ICT. Eri further expressed hopes that, through effective application of ICT, litigants and lawyers would be able to file court cases and processes online, while judges can sit in their chambers and adjudicate cases to conclusion without the physical appearance of parties in a formal courtroom. This is gladdening news for the Nigerian Justice sector.
However, the applicability or otherwise of ODR within existing Legal provisions in other jurisdictions would depend on what the legal instruments of the countries provides; in addition to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. To illustrate this point, we would talk briefly on the application of ODR in other jurisdictions below.
Going back to our discussion on Nigeria, in addition to the efforts of the CJN and the Administrator of the NJI to cover all aspect of dispute resolution with online facilities in the future, some amendments to the relevant laws would be desirable. For instance, Section 57 of the Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act could come in handy. It defined Arbitration to mean: “...a commercial arbitration whether or not administered by a permanent arbitral institution’’. Although the Act repeated the term “arbitration” to define arbitration as underlined in the definition above, that is a different issue altogether; except that by so doing it made the definition a bit ambiguous. The point sought to be made is that under the present Nigerian law, as long as the disputes arise out of a contractual or commercial transaction, ODR could be applied otherwise it would not apply without an amendment thereto. In the same vein, the same section 57 also defined “Commercial” which is part of the subject matter of this thesis to mean:
... all relationships of a commercial nature, including any Trade transaction for the supply or exchange of goods or services, distribution agreement, commercial representation or agency factoring, leasing, construction works, consulting, engineering, licensing, investment, financing, banking, insurance, exploitation agreement or concession, joint Venture and other forms of industrial or business co-operation, carriage of goods or passengers by air, sea, rail or road.
Although the poor legal draftsmanship, hasty and half-hearted legislative process is oozing from the two definitions, there was an attempt in the latter to make it as comprehensive as possible. However, this does not mean further amendments to make it incorporate ODR, other fallout of the on-going globalization process, capture the goal of the CJN to make them part of our laws and accordingly regulate the relationships developed thereof is apt. In light of the above, it is observed that the present system could accommodate most ODR processes in application for now.
The main challenge for online arbitration according to those who want the process to commence and finish online, including enforcement is that if judicial enforcement which is off line is required, then it partly defeats the purpose of having an online process. While others aver that, if ODR could handle all aspects except the enforcements online, thereby cutting down cost, time, creating ease and flexibility in its train; then ODR has really revolutionized the justice sector. They further aver that since ODR is a fast changing and fast developing model, it would overcome the enforcement challenge. Already it is posited that some processes have developed self-enforcement mechanisms such as technical enforcements, black lists and trust marks.
Conclusion
The adversarial system of settlement of disputes, just like its predecessor of settling disputes through battles and wars must with time give way to consensual means of settling disputes. Commenting on the desire of litigants for fast, cheap and convenient system of dispute resolution, Justice Burger, Former Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court stated as follows:
The notion that ordinary people want black robed judges, well-dressed lawyers in fine courtrooms as settings to resolve their disputes is incorrect. People with problems, like people with pains, want relief, and they want it as quickly and inexpensively as possible. I cannot emphasize too strongly to those in business and industry — and to lawyers — that every private contract of real consequence to the parties ought to be treated as a candidate for binding arbitration.
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2013 Web Index ranks Nigeria 67th
Taking the format of an 81 country ranking, the Web Index is the world’s first measure of the World Wide Web’s contribution to development and human rights globally. Scores are given in the areas of access; freedom and openness; relevant content; and empowerment. First released in 2012, the 2013 Index has been expanded and refined to include 20 new countries and features an enhanced data set, particularly in the areas of gender, Open Data, privacy rights and security.
As it were, Nigeria scored 20.2 with universal access score at 29.0, relevant content 13.6 and freedom and openness was 37.1, just as the impact and empowerment was scored 13.1.
In Africa, leading the pack in this index is South Africa with a score of 35, following by Mauritus 40 among others.
Meanwhile the Scandinavian countries top the global annual Web Index rankings, just as the United States and United Kingdom were criticised for inadequate privacy protections.
“We’re launching the second edition of the Web Index - the world’s first multi-dimensional measure of the World Wide Web’s contribution to development and human rights globally,” official statement read.
ITRealms reports that Sweden tops the table for the second year running, with Norway in second. The UK and US come third and fourth respectively, but both come in for criticism for surveillance practices. New Zealand rounds out the top five.
The 2013 Index also reports that targeted censorship of Web content by governments is widespread across the globe. Moderate to extensive blocking or filtering of politically sensitive content was reported in over 30 percent of Web Index countries during the past year.
Legal limits on government snooping online urgently need review. 94% of countries in the Web Index do not meet best practice standards for checks and balances on government interception of electronic communications.
The Web and social media are leading to real-world change. In 80 percent of the countries studied, the Web and social media had played a role in public mobilisation in the past year, and in half of these cases, had been a major catalyst.
Rich countries do not necessarily rank highly in the Web Index. The Philippines, with a per capita income of $4,410 per year, is more than 10 places ahead of Qatar, the world’s richest country, with an average income over 20 times greater than the Philippines. Saudi Arabia is outperformed by 10 of the sub-Saharan African countries in the Index. Switzerland, the world’s third wealthiest nation, is only one place ahead of Estonia. The study shows that once countries surpass a GDP threshold of US$12,000 per capita, the link between wealth and Web Index rank weakens significantly.
The rights and priorities of women are poorly served by the Web in the majority of countries researched. Locally relevant information on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, domestic violence, and inheritance remain largely absent from the Web in most countries. Only 56 percent of Web Index countries were assessed as allocating ‘significant’ resources to ICT training programmes targeting women and men equally.
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Tribute: Farmers mourn passage of Madiba
Reacting to Nelson’s death, the World Farmers Organisation (WFO) told NaijaAgroNet that Mandela was a source of hope for them for a free society.
“Be free Madiba, the last of the last, but the first to defend his people. A just man, a visionary, a good man, simple, one of us” these are words of exaltation from the World Farmers Organisation (WFO) reports NaijaAgroNet.
According to WFO, this is the way to say goodbye to Nelson Mandela, who they said was a symbol of the struggle against apartheid and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, expressed by the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO-OMA).
Marco Marzano, Executive Director of WFO told NaijaAgroNet that Mandela was always ready to fight for equal rights, “so world’s farmers recognize in him an example of humility, justice and hope for everyone.”
Also, Marzano noted that Mandela was a symbol not only for African farmers, but for those of every country, who are committed to produce the food that feeds the world’s population, mostly to ensure a future for the planet and for future generations through a conscientious use of natural resources.
As said by WFO, despite many challenges such as the marginalization in the agricultural sector, lack of access to credit, the limited recognition of the role in the mitigation of climate change, exclusion from decision-making, farmers continue to struggle daily to assert their rights.
WFO pointed out to NaijaAgroNet that the legacy left by Madiba, an icon of determination and peace, is an example to be followed by farmers around the world.
For the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Nelson Mandela is a champion of right to food, according to the Director-General, FAO, Mr. José Graziano da Silva on learning of the death of Nelson Mandela, former South Africa president declared that “We have lost one of the world’s passionate defenders of the right to food.
“As a true champion of human rights, Nelson Mandela understood that the hunger of millions of people was unjust and unsustainable,” he said, stressing that at FAO, they have been inspired over the years by Mandela’s repeated calls to address hunger and the many social and economic ills that either led to hunger or resulted from a lack of access to food in a world of relative plenty.
Mandela, FAO said, understood that a hungry man, woman or child could not be truly free. Just as he understood that eliminating hunger was not so much a question of producing more food as it was a matter of making the political commitment to ensure that people had access to the resources and services they needed to buy or produce enough safe and nutritious food.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that since 2009, the United Nations has recognized July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day. Even as Graziano da Silva told NaijaAgroNet that it was fitting that the South African government had chosen to highlight food security and nutrition issues in celebrating Mandela’s 95th birthday this year, even though the former president and anti-apartheid activist had been too ill to participate.
“Mandela has been an inspiration to me in 30 years of work to improve food security in the world, and he will continue to inspire our work at FAO,” Graziano da Silva said.
FAO, he said, owe him a debt of thanks for speaking out on hunger. More importantly, “we owe it to the 842 million people in the world who suffer from chronic hunger to redouble our efforts to eliminate hunger in our lifetimes.”
NaijaAgroNet recalls that Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa. He became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, leading to his joining the African National Congress (ANC) in 1942. And for 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, non-violent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies.
In 1993, Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle the country’s apartheid system. And a year later, Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.
In 2009, Mandela’s birthday on July 18 was declared Mandela’s Day to promote global peace and celebrate the South African leader’s legacy. Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg on December 5, 2013, at age 95.
Born as Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918, in the tiny village of Mvezo, on the banks of the Mbashe River in Transkei, South Africa; ‘Rolihlahla’ in the Xhosa language literally means “pulling the branch of a tree,” but more commonly translates as ‘troublemaker,’ Nelson Mandela’s father, was destined to be a chief, and served as a counselor to tribal chiefs for several years, but lost both his title and fortune over a dispute with the local colonial magistrate.
Mandela was only an infant at the time, and his father’s loss of status forced his mother to move the family to Qunu, an even smaller village north of Mvezo.
The village was nestled in a narrow grassy valley; there were no roads, only foot paths that linked the pastures where livestock grazed. The family lived in huts and ate a local harvest of maize, sorghum, pumpkin and beans, which was all they could afford. Water came from springs and streams and cooking was done outdoors. Mandela played the games of young boys, acting out male rights-of-passage scenarios with toys he made from the natural materials available, including tree branches and clay.
At the suggestion of one of his father’s friends, Mandela was baptized in the Methodist Church. He went on to become the first in his family to attend school. As was custom at the time, and probably due to the bias of the British educational system in South Africa, Mandela’s teacher told him that his new first name would be Nelson.
When Mandela was 9 years old, his father died of lung disease, causing his life to change dramatically. He was adopted by Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu people; a gesture done as a favor to Mandela’s father, who, years earlier, had recommended Jongintaba be made chief. Mandela subsequently left the carefree life he knew in Qunu, fearing that he would never see his village again. He traveled by motorcar to Mqhekezweni, the provincial capital of Thembuland, to the chief’s royal residence. Though he had not forgotten his beloved village of Qunu, he quickly adapted to the new, more sophisticated surroundings of Mqhekezweni.
*Additional reports by: biography.com
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Transcorp in 2013: Ughelli power plant tops achievements list
THE Transnational Corporation of Nigeria plc (Transcorp) has demonstrated its transformational ability over ailing businesses as it presented laudable achievements of 2013 to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Monday afternoon, reports NaijaAgroNet with investment on Ughelli Power Plant topping list, while food processing subsidiary, Teragro, enjoying new investments.Management officials visited the NSE for a ‘facts behind the figures’ presentation to the Exchange, stockbrokers and analysts, highlighting key fundamentals of the company’s business dynamics that have driven its recent impressive performance on the stock market.
NaijaAgroNet notes that key accomplishments for Transcorp in 2013 include the acquisition of the 1000MW Ughelli Power Plant in November, after paying a bid price of $300m. Earlier this year, Heirs Holdings committed $2.5b to power investments throughout Africa under the Power Africa initiative; the Ughelli purchase is the first major transaction under the programme.
Transcorp’s strategy of seeking synergistic investments across the value chain in Nigeria, with the power purchase complementing existing investments in oil and gas, has been welcomed by investors, who are beginning to appreciate the strong strategic direction Heirs Holdings brings to the conglomerate.
Chairman of Transcorp, Tony O. Elumelu, who doubles as chairman, Heirs Holdings, was quoted in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet as saying, “Transcorp represents the new Nigeria—dynamic, globally competitive, transparent and founded on good governance. We promised our investors that they would reap the rewards of their patience, and now we have built a company that is not only sharing the tangible fruits of our labour, it is also a vehicle for all Nigerians to gain access to the opportunities that our country offers.”
NaijaAgroNet notes that Transcorp’s presentation showed the company’s investments benefiting key sectors across the Nigerian economy.
In the agribusiness space, the company is making new investments in food processing subsidiary Teragro, following its recent attainment of global certifications in international safety standards for its juice concentrate products. In the hospitality sector, Transcorp has commenced the refurbishment and expansion of the award-winning Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. In oil and gas, the company expects to see production start on oil block OPL 281 next year.
“Transcorp is one of the few ways through which institutional investors can obtain diversified access to Nigeria’s key economic sectors, from power and hospitality to oil and gas and agriculture. Our long term, sustainable investment philosophy reflects Heirs Holdings’ ability to create value, just as we did with the United Bank for Africa, which started as a national bank and is now one a pan-African institutionm” he said.
Transcorp’s CEO, Obinna Ufudo also said, they were delighted to be able to come to the Exchange having delivered on promises.
“We believe the Transcorp transformation is only the beginning and we look forward to recording further success for our shareholders, stakeholders and staff. We also pay tribute to the critical role leading shareholder Heirs Holdings has played in catalyzing change,” Ufudo said.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that Transcorp’s performance has been transformed from a loss of N8.88 billion loss in 2007, to a profit after tax (PAT) of N1.257 billion in 2011. This was further improved in 2012 with a PAT of N2.527 billion, and by the end of September 2013, Transcorp recorded a profit before tax of N5.1 billion for the first three quarters of the year.
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Between Big Data, Big Hype and Big Value
“As big data continues to grow, the most successful, competitive organizations will be the ones with the ability to turn that data into game-changing paths to new revenue opportunities and operational effectiveness.” INCREASINGLY technology scholars and analyst the world over seem to be in agreement around what is (are) the most important technology trends shaping our world Very easily the four mega-trends that everyone seems to agree is at play are Cloud, Social, Mobility and Big Data.
I would say there has been a lot of discuss around three of these trends in our locale - Cloud, Social and Mobility, what has not yet start to be main-stream in conversation and dialogue is Big-data. Some may argue it’s not near or that it’s still far from us but some recent occurrences in our country seem to challenge this notion and point to the fact that the time of Big Data is upon on us than we think. But maybe the first challenge is the understanding of what Big Data means?
The term big data was coined by the sciences like astronomy and genomics which first experienced data explosion. According to Mayer-Schonberger & Cukier, in the real sense of the word, there is no rigorous definition of big data; one simplistic way to think of it is: big data refers to things one can do at a large scale that cannot be done at a smaller one, to extract new insights or create new forms of value, in ways that change markets, organizations, the relationship between citizens and governments and more. In 2012, Gartner defined it as follows: “Big data is high volume, high velocity, and/or high variety information assets that require new forms of processing to enable enhanced decision making, insight discovery and process optimization. To address the challenge of data haven grown so large that it no longer fit into the memory that computer use for processing, engineers came up with new processing technologies that lets you manage large quantities of data than before and more importantly the data need not be structured (in tidy rows or classic database tables).
Back to the recent local occurrences, the recent spate of air-craft mishap in our country for example got me thinking could big data have helped? In my thinking probably yes, what if our aviation industry and its regulators had capabilities that is able to use predictive tools (basically using mathematical models and historic data) to determine before a flight takes up to a near perfect prediction that a flight may most likely go wrong mid-air? A model that marsh data that includes weather conditions (like wind and storm, etc.),data created by jet engines in real time, sensors collecting data on the surrounding environment (temperature, humidity, air pressure, etc.), air-craft maintenance data, number of hours clocked, etc. regulators are therefore able to ensure compliance and safety in real-time by setting up all the compliance rules & safety criteria and validating them against a streaming data set comprised of data from flight sensors, flight management system, vertical navigation system, etc. The system is built to trigger alerts, in real-time, if there is a potential compliance breach or a safety concern.
And another occurrence that comes to mind is the banking crisis that we have only truly/somewhat started to come out of, again maybe if the regulators had capabilities to simulate in a near to real time the sensitivity of each bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio to moving data feeds like (both external & internal); Sectorial Risk tied loan-book exposure, Cash Reserve Ratio, Foreign Exchange Rate movement, Consumer Price Index, Loan Account Velocity, Asset/Collateral Cover & Quality, Quality & Sophistication of Loan Management Process & Organization, Frequency of Approach to Re-discount Window, etc. Maybe, just maybe they could have saved the day by knowing the best time to stop the systemic hemorrhage possibly with the right ‘policy-dosage’.
Beyond this situational scenarios, increasingly enterprises are finding new use for big data that was hitherto not possible. Before now when people think of big data, they think of social media and Internet sites but this is changing very quickly due to advances in technologies which is bringing to mainstream and within affordable reach the discuss and relevance of big data in enterprise and government. Advances in technologies like in-memory technologies that allow for processing of millions of rows of data in seconds, increased sophistication of analytics software and tools allowing for deeper/greater data visualization and Self-service BITechnology. These coupled with the always connected trend powered by two of the 4 technology mega trend (Cloud & Mobility) mobility fueled by proliferation of mobile devices
Would it be interesting to a CEO of a bank when the banking relationship starts to wane with a particular customer segment; say after a set number of complaint and complaint type, in a particular branch category/location running a particular product based on their social profile (tribe, creed, current status in life, network, etc.)?Assuming he gets to have an early-warning signal just as that threshold was about to be reached. This is powerful and business value in that it ensure that truly organization get to know something is happening and needs immediate attention before it truly happens and we are left with situational analysis as to causes.Would it also be interesting to be able to generate Liquidity Risk of millions of customers on the fly from their millions of cash flows whilst doing real-time sensitivity analysis using data like exchange rate movement, interest rate, etc.?A practical example and common scenario that bankers would easily relate to in this locale is the concept of “Follow the Money”, consider a situation where all inflow across channels and across locations can be consolidated for the source of the fund to bubble up a new customer to capture just purely be able to leverage big data technology and analytics tools. A similar scenario is where a large and unusual deposit into a customer’s account triggers real time alert to the relationship team and contact centre of the moment of truth opportunity to make a new product offer real time. Increasing the opportunity to trap and lock the funds in the bank and deepen the bank’s share of the customers’ business.And you can extrapolate the value of this to other relevant banking scenarios like real time and granular transactional risk-based pricing, real time interaction of data across multiple channels to detect fraud threat as it happens real time in order to provide live responses/action, enhancement of data quality/data cleansing, etc. And lastly, with the increasing IT Consumerization trend, customers are being preconditioned and stereotyped to expect high level of personalization in the channel interaction with their bank. Reality, most of our banks are non-starters when it comes to leveraging big data for personalization of customer experience
Another scenario that would largely benefit from Big Data is the increasing need for Business automation and integration as a result of the increasing complex status most of our businesses have started to attain, most especially our Financial Services and Telco sector. Whilst there is nothing new about business automation and integration, but leveraging cloud computing has greatly enhanced the extensibility of what is possible. For the techno at mind, it simply means we can now expose or call Application Programing Interface (API) securely (whilst selectively gating access to more sensitive data) at scale combining hundreds millions of search terms/data to produce answer in near real time system automation. In lay terms it means our traditional system automated processes now have the ability to be more intuitive and more granular in deciding and hinging closer to age long desire of business to unlock value from its already sunk huge investment in technology. Imagine for a moment a real life scenario when you have been on a trip for a while and wanted to place a call to loved ones and suddenly discovered we have been cut-off by our mobile operator? Would it not have been nice if the system before it went ahead to cut off your line that you are above your contract level, was able to pull several data and churn same to arrive at a decision, data like the average monthly spend of the customer, credit record of the customer, frequency of roaming, previous customer contact with the service/call centre, customer profile (status, preferences, sentiments, etc.). Other relevant telco opportunity leveraging big data and Internet of things include;
Saving the best for last. As I was finalizing this piece, I asked that a colleague help me peer-review my write-up and his profound comment was that the place where big data can unlock the biggest value is in public sector; and that whilst government are typically a little further back in technology maturity they have also been known to leap-frog the fastest and to scale. Beyond trends, some practical examples that government can use to leverage big data to better execute on their mission.
A good use is in criminal investigation – Microsoft published recently a case study on Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI), and its use of big data to dramatically accelerate and improve the accuracy of its investigations into criminal cases. Leveraging better BI and data-mining tools the DSI was able to reduce complex and manual processes and establish a system that could automatically notify personnel of suspicious persons or activities related to criminal cases. For example, when many foreign criminals pour into the country and all travel to the same location, or when there is a noticeably large sum of money being transferred into the country. The most impressive about DSI’s new big data implementation is the dramatic impact that it’s had on investigations overall. Before, conducting a traditional investigation could take as many as two years to search for tips, gather, and analyze data. Today, with the Microsoft big data solution, the DSI is able to conduct investigations in as few as 15 days, thanks to the automated processes, reduced complexity and more accurate insights afforded by the new system. If you’d like to learn more about this impressive case study
The key to achieving greater judicial efficiency is unlocking data so that it can be easily shared, analyzed, and acted upon. Today’s case management solutions break down jurisdictional and organizational barriers to ensure that every stakeholder has an up-to-date view of case information from any location, and can update and distribute that data as needed. It’s about getting attorneys, judges, and law enforcement personnel on the same page, through one integrated solution that not only facilitates more efficient collaboration, but enables high-level business intelligence analysis through powerful analytics. Decision-makers need access to historical justice data in order to identify hidden trends and make better, more informed decisions.We’ve seen the power of case management at work within organizations like the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP). CCAP was facing resource-constraints while operating several disparate case management solutions across its various courts, jails, and corrections offices, which severely limited information sharing and required redundant data entry at each location. To address these challenges and become more efficient, CCAP partnered with Microsoft to build a Unified Case Management system on Microsoft Dynamics CRM that brought stakeholder data together within one system, empowering users to easily search, share, and act upon all of the information at the organization’s disposal. CCAP leaders are now able to extract better insights due to more accurate dashboards and reporting tools, and with manual data entry kept to a minimum, personnel are free to focus more of their time on pursuing justice and keeping citizens safe.
Other big challenges that can be tackled by big data include; using sensors to better understand phenomena such as weather, pollution, or traffic patterns to analyzing massive sets of “nanodata” to model the societal effects of policy, to the fast and low-cost mapping of the human genome to deliver better health outcomes.
Some persons may say all these is but another hype from the tech world, agreed some of it may end of being particularly when approached from just a technology purchase/nice to do IT Project standpoint (hmmm, nice to do IT Project is actually something I like to write about soon). But there are already references to real tangible value:
In 2003 Oren Etizioni needed to fly from Seattle to Los Angeles for his younger brother’s wedding. He bought online his plane ticket months before online on the premise that it would be cheaper. When he got on the flight he was curious to validate that he got a good bargain, so he asked couple of people around him the cost of their ticket to his surprise he paid more than everyone around him. Back from his trip Etzioni was determined to figure out a way for people to know if a ticket price they see online is a good deal or not. An airplane set is a commodity: each one is basically indistinguishable from others on the same flight. Yet the prices vary wildly, based on a myriad of factors that are mostly known only by the airlines themselves. Using a sample of 12,000 price observations that was obtained by “scraping” information from a travel website over a 41-day period, Etzioni created a predicted model that handed its simulated passengers a tidy savings. The model had no understanding of why, only what. That is, it didn’t know any of the variables that go into airline pricing decisions, such as number of seats that remained unsold, seasonality, or whether some sort of magical Saturday-night-stay might reduce the fare. It based its prediction on what it did know: probabilities gleaned from the data about other flights. “To buy or not to buy, that is the question,” Etzioni mused. Fittingly, he named the research project Hamlet. The little project evolved into a venture capital – backed startup called Farecast. Microsoft snapped up Farecast for around $110million, and integrated it into the Bing search engine. By 2012 the system was making the correct call 75% of the time and saving travelers, on average, $50 per ticket.
In conclusion, the world of data is changing in a big way, and customer expectations are changing right along with it. Big Data gives you the tools to make sense of all your collected data. It challenges you to view your business in new ways. And it gives you a basis to power innovation. What this writeup tries to do is to illicit thoughts as to the various scenarios of use of Big Data both in the enterprise and individual lives. At Microsoft our approach to big data is to; “Enable insights into ‘Big Data’ to all users wherever they are”, taking Big Data to a billion people because everyone can make smarter decisions based on data. We believe big data should be in the hands of the people closest to your business who are moments away from that next big idea. Our approach is simple - we enable organizations of any size to access data of all types, whether structured or unstructured, big or small. We empower end users to easily analyze their data with familiar tools like Excel. And we offer a complete data platform for IT to scale insights across their organization with Enterprise-class security and data governance. Microsoft Big Data gives you the power to take action. You can gain a flexible platform and accessible tools to discover, connect, and deliver new insight.
Big Data is here today, within your reach. Isn’t it time to get started?
*Olayinka Oni is seasoned IT professional with experience spanning consulting and the banking industry, he is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Nigeria.
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Sunday, December 15, 2013
Exposed! Stealing by remote control device, threatens 70m emails
They were accused of involvement in the alleged attempted heist at addresses in London, a statement said.
In an extraordinary plot, Metropolitan Police foiled attempts to steal millions of pounds from a London branch of Santander Bank, using a remote control device planted on one of its computers by a bogus maintenance man.
Police sources further said that they have been monitoring the gang for some time, swooping when it became clear that a theft might be about to happen from the Surrey Quays branch of Santander Bank in London.
A bank source confirmed to press that a KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) was fitted by someone posing as a maintenance worker, something that would have allowed the gang to control that machine remotely from inside the bank’s network.
Wireless extender aiding crimes:
Police also pointed out that this fraud was carried out using what appears from a police photograph to be a wireless extender allowing the setup to be controlled from a distance.
“This was a sophisticated plot that could have led to the loss of a very large amount of money from the bank, and is the most significant case of this kind that we have come across,” said Detective Inspector Mark Raymond of the PCeU.
“I would like to thank our partners from the industry who have provided valuable assistance throughout this investigation,” he said.
Unusual technique cyber attacks on banks:
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed that this was the first time such an unusual technique had been used in the UK by an organised criminal network.
“The attempt to fit the device to the computer in the Surrey Quays Branch was undertaken by a bogus maintenance engineer pretending to be from a third party. It failed and no money was ever at risk. No member of Santander staff was involved in this attempted fraud,” read a statement by a Santander Bank spokesperson.
“We are pleased that we have been able, through the robustness of our systems, to prevent the fraud and help the police gather the evidence they needed to make the arrests. Santander operates multiple levels of controls to protect customers’ funds and this attack would not have been successful.”
Security firms will point out the scale of cyber-attacks on banks but this conspiracy sounds more like an old-fashioned bank job using technology as a sort of digital door.
An interesting parallel for the latest case might be a $5.2 million raid on a South African bank in 2012 that is believed to have used similar remote control technique to initiate transfers to accounts which were then emptied via ATMs.
A suspected 12-man gang was recently arrested for attempting to steal millions from bank using remote controlled devices, otherwise known as Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM), just as Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven crimes threaten 70m email addresses according to reports.
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
How to Manage your Inbox Overload
It is not the interruption itself, which might be intermittent and very brief that is the issue. Nor is it the method of delivery. The problem is the recovery time. It can take an extraordinary amount of time to get back the train of thought we had before the interruption occurred. Sometimes, a crucial aspect of the thought process might even be forgotten and lost forever.
Typically it will take 10-20 times the length of the interruption before we can refocus (and that is if we are not interrupted again! If we are, the process of refocus is repeated in the length of time in tow). For example, a 30 second interruption will take 5-10 minutes to recover from. This accumulates quite alarmingly over the period of a day. The information we receive during these interruptions are often very relevant but it is the timing of its arrival (if we do not control it) that causes the damage. If we are already working on a higher priority task when it arrives, it has a strong negative impact.
A common result is pseudo ADD, a term coined by two Harvard psychology professors to explain addiction to the bombardment of information. They noticed that many people are experiencing shortened attention span because of the forms of communications used today. This has a sustained negative neurological effect as well. “It is not an illness; it is purely a response to the hyper-kinetic environment in which we live.” The above statement is credited to Stuart Snooks, a renowned productivity expert from Australia.
The distraction we experience today does not just stem from emails alone but also from SMS, Social Media, IM Chats and a host of others. However, today’s piece will focus on email alone but I’d like to point out that it is important that you regulate how you engage new technology in general. We live in a day and age where the average person, no matter what field of life they are in, spend a better part of their day on the Internet. A number of our regular routine tasks such as business transactions, social networking, communication, banking, shopping, etc, have gone digital which of course is a good thing but it has also resulted in some serious confusion inside our inbox. I once saw an email inbox that had 35,000+ unread emails and I was a bit sad for the owner because if that is his primary email then he can easily become susceptible to low productivity and information overload. Paul Chin, said in his online journal ‘Dealing with information overload’: “Rampant multi-tasking and the deluge of available information has produced a counter-productive culture and created a paradox. The more we try to do, the less we get done. And the more inundated we are with information, the less time we spend absorbing it.”
Cleaning up a cluttered inbox is a mind boggling and time wasting task that nobody should look forward to. Avoiding this situation is just the way to go. This brings to mind the quote “prevention is better than cure.” Go carry out your research, it is much better to have a clutter free inbox than an email address with thousands of unread emails. This in my opinion does not help you psychologically as well. If your email inbox is clutter free, you will like not miss any important email within the confusion, you will be able to get back with replies faster and have the simple pleasure of seeing an organised inbox at the end of the day.
Let me share a bit of my email workload with you so you can understand where I am coming from; before now I used to receive an average of 1,000+ emails per day, out of which 80% falls within the unimportant emails category and just about 15-20% are worth consideration. Even at that it remained a herculean task to reply to all 20% not to mention the 80% unimportant ones. So the question is how have I been able to maintain a clutter free email inbox? I wish I could show you a screenshot of my main email account to prove this point.
The 1st strategy I used to take back control of my inbox is the separation of my email accounts; I created more than one account using each of them for different purposes. One is dedicated for important emails; another is for social media and newsletters and so on. This has been a very helpful strategy that has worked well for me in the last 4 years. I also turned off some notifications from social media sites because most of the time, you get distracted by information that adds no value. Why do you have to know about every single update on each of these websites? Again it is certainly not a productive use of your time. The newly re-designed gmail inbox features makes it easier to manage these notifications but I still choose to have most of them turned off.
Have you ever heard of the term “bacn” pronounced bacon? It’s a technical term used to refer to emails that aren’t really spam because you actually subscribed to them, but such emails do not get read often because they are considered not so important. How often does this happen to you, that you get daily emails from a site that you don’t even remember visiting? It happens to me always and this is because we sometimes subscribe in excitement of the information we are consuming at that particular point in time and this explains the reason why our inboxes get clogged. The solution to this; if you know you still want to keep receiving those emails, then you may need subscribe to a service like unroll.me. This will channel all of those kinds of emails to the cloud and then you can read them at your convenience but most importantly, it helps you maintain a healthy email inbox.
Creating a specific time to respond to my emails instead of replying to every single email that comes in has also been an effective strategy. The time you set actually depends on your work or schedule; you could try checking your inbox every one hour or whatever you believe would work for you. Quite a number of people believe that checking and responding to emails as they arrive is the best way to get to an empty inbox but that may not be entirely correct because the statement by Steuart Snooks states that “a 30 second interruption will take 5-10 minutes to recover from. This accumulates quite alarmingly over the period of a day.” So there is a possibility that each time you switch back and forth; you are allowing technology dictate your day and the reverse should be the case. I strongly recommend that you should designate a time that is dedicated solely for the purpose of reading and replying to emails and also turn off the beep that informs you of every new email and keeps you constantly distracted. This process will help you not to lag behind and yet will not even interfere with your work. Another important reason why you should do away with the habit of responding immediately to mails is that it may set an unrealistic expectation in the minds of the recipients that you always reply to your emails immediately and anytime you fail to do that it might bring about issues.
The use of folders also makes a lot of sense. Learn to use email folders and labels to organise your inbox. In my case, I have a folder for different subjects such as Banking, Business, Friends, Extended network etc. the list goes on and on - you can create a label for just about any group. One of the strategies I employ is that I could create a label that gets forwarded to another email, for example, if I want my assistant to respond to emails coming from a particular customer, I would create a label that automatically forwards all emails from that customer to my assistant and I have the option to choose to either keep the message as read, unread, archived or even deleted.
Finally, let me state that in addition to the strategies mentioned above, I also manage my email accounts with a tool know as sanebox - I will talk more about it in the tool of the week section. For those who have been following this column, you know I am big on tools and the simple reason is that the Internet is getting busier by the day and you need these tools to make the most of it. What is most true is that most of these tools are results of one or more entrepreneurs getting together to solve a problem, so each one is a solution to a particular problem. Sanebox is honestly a good solution to email overload.
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
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