I News India - Empowering Ideas!

Technically speaking, obesity is a condition in which excess body fat accumulates to such an extent that health may be negatively affected. It is commonly defined as a body mass index (BMI = weight divided by height squared) of 30 kg/m2 or higher. This distinguishes it from being overweight as defined by a BMI of between 25-29.9 kg/m2.

Not so long ago, it was commonly believed that overweight and obese people were compulsive eaters, anxious, depressed, under stress, or trying to compensate for deficiencies in their lives. But today, when almost everyone seems to be getting heavier and obesity has become an international issue.

Some research suggests that depressed people are more likely to develop obesity. People may console themselves with “comfort food”, which is usually high in fat, sugar, and calories because they are anxious, lonely, angry, or suffering from low self-esteem. There is a characteristic type of depression with symptoms that include lethargy and overeating. Like most mind-body interactions, obesity can lead to ill health, which is linked to depression and anxiety.

Besides this the dietary habits contribute a lot towards obesity. I was in USA for a long time and obesity is increasing at an alarming pace there, especially amongst the younger generation. Majority of the youngsters thrive on cheeses and pizzas there. The ton of white flour and cheese ends up accumulating around the waist, leading to obesity. The second closest contender of food for them is fried food (French fries, fried chicken, fish, beef etc). These food items surely work wonders for the taste buds but certainly not for the body.

Another reason of obesity nowadays is the kind of jobs people are in. With more and more of desk work (where people have to keep sitting for long spans of time) and very less physical activity, people are becoming victims of obesity. The extreme competition in the corporate world has intensified this problem. Consultants, allured into the sexy world of money and fame, hardly have time to think about their health. Their schedules are jam packed with travel, meetings and deadlines to deliver their projects. The sleep deprived executives are left with little time to manage a healthy routine.

Technology cannot be excused either. With more and more advancements being made to make life more comfortable, we have overlooked the slow disaster it is leading us to. Everything can be done at the click of a button nowadays. This leaves very little space for physical activity for mankind.

The best methods of reducing excess weight are controlling diet and a moderate exercise program. Small drops in weight can create lower health risks for a person. Other methods of weight loss include drug therapy and surgery. But both of these come with risk of complications and mortality risks as well.

Tags: Anxious, beef, BMI, Body Fat, Body Mass Index, Comfort Food, Deficiencies, Depression, Diet, Excess Body Fat, Fish, Food Items, French fries, fried chicken, Fried food, Health, Obesity, Stress, Technology

A blog (a contraction of the term “Web log”) is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video’s. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. Everyone from politicians to film personalities to the common man is writing blogs today as it’s an excellent source to express one’s opinions and connect to the world in a personalized way. But what are the essentials to write a good blog? I’m not an expert but can suggest some ideas which might be helpful.

1. Give it a personal touch: Whatever you write just remember that people like blogs that are written by an individual and not corporations. Cite your personal examples to convey the message. Let others get a glimpse of your life through your blog. A personal touch creates a special bond between you and the person reading your blog. Write with passion so that the blog reflects your personality through the text.
2. Use links: I have personally enjoyed more if a blog has links to other web pages which are contextual to the post. This helps in better understanding and makes reading more fun.
3. Try to write smaller posts: You want the other person to read your blog and not snooze away. Keep it short and crisp so that the spice of the article is not lost. Blast your knowledge into the reader at the speed of sound as no one has a lot of time in this busy world.
4. Litter the post with Keywords: Think about what keywords people would use to search for your post and include them in the body text and headers. Make sure the keyword placement is natural and does not seem out of place.
5. Always makes headlines snappy: It’s rightly said that first impression is the last impression. So grab the attention of the reader by giving him a jolt of excitement. If the headline catches the reader’s attention, he would surely go through the text which follows with more attention and interest.
6. Edit your post: Good writing is in the editing. Before you hit the submit button, re-read your post and cut out the stuff that you don’t need.

Tags: Blog, Blogging, Blogging Tips, Post, Technology, Tips, Web Log

Do you take your laptop when you go for a holiday with your family? If yes, avoid this habit in your future as it is warned by psychologists that these new age wireless tools are spoiling holidays and can be a reason to ruin family relationships.

“People simply should not take laptops on holiday with them. They are taking their office with them and they just shouldn’t do it,” said Cary Cooper, professor at Lancaster University management school’s department of psychology and health.

Wireless tools are the demand of today’s tech world but the same thing should be used intelligently. These tools are becoming inseparable part of life and a large mass of people take their laptops and wireless internet connections on holidays with them. The psychologist considers the laptops as a hindrance in the holiday. People find it difficult to switch off their laptops and spend most of their hard-found leisure time in working on laptops; news daily quoted a psychologist as saying.

“The rise in mobile phone and Internet technology has already affected our weekends and now it is invading annual holidays. Sensible bosses and workers should insist that holidays are computer free,” he suggested.

Cooper warned the problem as “mushroomed with the spread of wireless hot spots”.

People used to monitor their e-mails during vacations and instead of spending time with family they feel insecure about their jobs and keep stick to their systems for a long time during free hours. All this is possible because of existence of wireless tools. Hence the later can be considered as a hindrance in a relaxing vacation of a family.

“People worry about a backlog and that things will be missed while they are away. They feel a need to be constantly online and checking their emails. This insecurity is endemic to the service-based industries,” said Cooper.

Survey reports also agree with us. According to a survey by IT security company Credant Technologies, almost two-thirds of brokers in London said they were contacting their offices through phone or emails while on vacation. A whopping 83 % admitted to taking their office mobile phone or Blackberry with them while they are away. The survey said that more than a quarter said they check emails daily and 14 % admitted to doing so more than once a day.

“I can understand why people take mobile phones, but they should only be used sparingly, as a ’security blanket’. They should be kept switched off most of the time,” he stated.

According to him, taking work on holidays could deprive people of “much needed rest and recuperation” from demanding jobs and it could also lead to family break-ups.

He also said those who show that they can work for their organization even on holidays are actually cheating themselves. It may lead to exploitation as they are showing that they are available for the organization 24*7.

People should understand the needs of their family and should remember that a vacation is not just a resting time but to attach more closely with the family and your kids. Work should be done honestly but do not make it over to avoid your family.

Tags: backlog, E-mail, Family, Future, Health, Holiday, Internet, Internet Technology, IT, IT Security, Laptop, Mobile Phone, Office, People, Systems, Technology, Wireless Technology

This is the world of faster communication and high profile gadgets has bring the world in your bedroom. One communication technology which has brought the revolutionary change in the communication is Unified Communication popularly known as UC.

UC is an evolving communication technology architecture, through the help of which we can communicate from one end to another in the form of data, sound or video. The protocol which work behind UC is session initiation protocol.

The definition of UC given in Wikipedia can be read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_communications

With the help of Unified Communication we can easily communicate and if we have the GPS system installed in our communication system then even we can see the location too. Courier system can utilize this UC. UC can help us to pick only one device and get connected to the world through all of your devices.

We need not to have carry all the devices like Laptop, Mobile phone, Desktop, or fixed land line phone etc. So UC can bring the World in your hand.

Tags: Communications, Courier, Courier System, Technology, UC, Unified Communications

Web 2.0 becomes the need of today as there is emerging a new generation of potential employees and customers that are accustomed to a variety of technologies being available. These employees expect to see and use the technologies in the corporate world.

These technologies are not only interesting for personal use but they also help the corporate world to search better employees for them. Whether and how we deploy these technologies likely will have an impact on our ability to attract new talent to our companies and to find and retain customers. All these technologies fall into the loosely defined category of “Enterprise 2.0.”

Rather than dismissing these technologies right out of the gate, these techniques can be best use in the right way. If neglected, it can lead you to a competitive disadvantage.

Here’s a sampling of these technologies:

1) RSS (Really Simple Syndication): It automatically feeds you information you want. RSS can be used to push order-status information directly to a customer’s company intranet.

2) Social networks: Facebook and MySpace like networks help the employees to introduce themselves to the company. These can also be a resource to help employees find a potential car-pool mate, someone with a background in product design or specific experience on a product you are thinking about launching. It extends your network to a wider zone and can be helpful to reach your target place.

3) Quick Messaging technology, Twitter: A quick messaging technology, such as Twitter, provides a wider reach of the message (a “tweet”) as compared to e-mails. It lets people know what you are doing at an instant. For example, if someone putting out a Twitter message that says, “I’m updating the marketing plan; does anyone have any info on X?” The tweet may have a wider reach and generate a better response rather than sending out an e-mail that gets lost in everyone’s inbox. Twitter and FriendFeed are communication and collaboration tools. And when your research project is done, share it via FriendFeed.

4) Social networking: Social networking technologies such as FriendFeed can be used to share a variety of information. The technology lets users share Web pages, photos, videos and music with friends and family. This is an easy way to exchange the data.

5) Instant messaging: Instant messages are exchanged for quick replies.  E-mail is so “last decade.” Instant messengers are available to give a better solution. This technique not only provides a better way of communication but reduces the wastage of space in Inbox on the e-mail server.

6) Wikis, blogs and mash-ups to share, collect and edit information: Wikis and blogs can be used for training and collaboration on large projects while Mashups provide a good overview of the operations. It can bring together production and operations data from a variety of sources, allowing a production manager to get a good overview of the operations.

7) YouTube-style videos: These videos can be used for training or distributing important messages such as the CEO announcing a new product launch or Joe, the IT help desk guy, receiving an award. This technique is providing visual trainings which is much better than textual one.

Tags: Blog, Collect, Company, Edit, IM, Instant messaging, Internet, Messaging, RSS, Share, Social networking, Social networks, Technology, Twitter, Video, Web, Web 2.0, Wiki, Youtube

According to a prediction by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), it is reported that more than 85 per cent of the available addresses on the internet have been allocated and the remaining will run out by 2011. Thus internet world may face this doomsday inn exactly 1,273 day.

The web addresses I am talking about refer to the numerical Internet protocol (IP) addresses that denote individual devices connected to the Internet. They are unique to every system and are basic for all online communications, from e-mail and web pages to voice chat and streaming video.

Whenever you type the web address of any website, the browser actually search the IP address for that site from a big telephone book, commonly called a “Domain Name Server” (DNS). Say if you type www.google.com your browser will ask DNS the IP address for it and in return 216.239.39.99 will be sent by DNS to your browser. Your browser then heads off to Google’s website using the IP address as a map.

This doomsday can lead to a slower internet speeds and new connections and services (such as Internet phone calling) will either be expensive or simply impossible to obtain. The solution to the shortage is to upgrade to a new address protocol.

The Internet protocols are prepared by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers working for the smooth operation of the Internet. The current IP address scheme, called Internet Protocol Version 4 (Ipv4), was introduced in 1981. At that time there were hardly 500 computers connected to the Internet. The address makers at that time allowed for four billion addresses, thinking they would last forever. But they have been nearly gobbled up in just under 30 years!

But no worries…..as the IETF are already prepared for the doomsday. A replacement system, called IPv6, had been devised as a solution more than a decade ago, providing enough addresses for billions upon billions of devices as well as improving Internet phone and video calls, and possibly even helping to end e-mail spam.

But still the problem doesn’t end with it. It was reported that the new system is not really compatible with the Internet of today. Taking the same example of Google, if it wants to support the new system IPv6, a whole new IPv6 web service will be needed to build, complete with new domain names, servers and bandwidth. The costs run into billions.

The OECD was quoted “immediate costs are associated with deployment of IPv6, whereas many benefits are long-term and depend on a critical mass adopting it”.

You can have a look at the countdown clock for the doomsday at penrose.uk6x.com.

Tags: Email, Internet, Internet Protocol, IP, OECD, Technology, Web Pages, Web Sites

In the forthcoming G8 summit of eight wealthiest nations, India, being one of the participants, is going to raise the major global issues of climate change, energy security and food security.

India on Sunday said it will convey to the international community at the G8 summit its belief that climate change, energy security and food security are interlinked, and require an integrated approach.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is going to attend the summit said on the eve of his departure for Japan, “At the forthcoming summit, I would present India’s perspectives on a wide range of global issues. They included the state of the world economy, development, and trade, transfer of technology, energy security and food security.”

He further told that he will, in particular, highlight the impact of the sharp rise in fuel prices on the global economy and the need for joint action by both producing and consuming nations.

He said he will have bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Japan, and some of the other leaders present, including those of Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, USA and the Secretary General of the United Nations.

He was also looking forward to participating in an informal meeting of the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) leaders on the sidelines of the G8 summit beginning tomorrow.

Singh said prior to the meeting with the G8 leaders; he will attend a meeting of the O5 group of outreach countries being hosted by the President of Mexico on July 8.

“Today, India’s views are heard with respect, and there is recognition of the fact that solutions to global issues require India’s involvement,” the Prime Minister said.

He said that he will also participate in the meeting of the leaders of major economies at which the issue of climate change will be discussed. He further stressed that there can be no solution to the issue of climate change without taking into account the developmental imperatives and aspirations of developing economies.

“For us, the foremost priority is the removal of poverty, for which we need sustained rapid economic growth.”

Tags: Energy Security, Food Security, G8, G8 Summit, Group 8, India, Manmohan Singh, MM Singh, PM, Technology

In today’s fast paced world, where technology is racing ahead of times, don’t we feel we are so bound by the electrical and electronic facilities that we have to a large extent long forgotten the needs of a healthy and fit body which comes naturally when one is active throughout the day and doing his daily tasks without getting dependent on science and its products.

Although, thanks to the media, there is , somewhat a realization of the need of fitness and a regular exercise in our lives, but still, majority of us have been accustomed to such a leisurely and comfortable life, that it is very difficult to come out of this part of our living and start working towards a healthier body. One must realize that health is the mightiest wealth anyone can earn.

Although, I am quiet impressed of the newer and funkier ways to keep fit, I am doubtful of their effects, be them positive or negative. The other day, one of my friends joined a belly dance course to shed those extra kilos explaining that the vigorous one class helps one keep some amount of activity in the day.

Another very in thing is power yoga, which is quiet thankfully popularized by Kareena Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty. Becoming a fad with the youngsters, the new name for a more vigorous yoga, power yoga is luring a lot of people.

With these ways, our old ways of aerobics and dance sessions also hold good with the middle class people who cannot afford the hefty amounts of the more sophisticated belly dance, tap dance, jazz etc. but the more hi- tech gyms being opened up throughout the country are nowhere behind in pinching your pockets.

For me, I still owe my health and fitness to the morning family jogs and the series of exercises that are decided by my mum. It sure is a good way to keep yourself fit, healthy and for a fresher day and a younger heart, skin and body. What do you people say? What is your opinion in this? Do you have anything more interesting and funkier that links your health and fun…..do comment to help me find some better ways…

Tags: Body, Family, Fit, Fitness, Health, Health and Fitness, Heart Skin, Jogging, Technology

IT industry one of the most booming industry in India and all over the world is luring students with big dreams in their eyes but the reality is far behind these dreams. Software companies are actually exploiting their dreams. This is the industry which attracts the students but the service men are really fatigued of heavy work loads facing death rows of project deadlines. Dreams are sweet but reality is bitter!

Particularly the fresh engineers are the prey for their project managers. These poor guys coming from the colleges with dreams in their eyes are presented a different world. Most of them are hired on foxing packages within the range of two to four lakh per annum. On the other hand their project managers are getting 10 times more the amount earned by the engineers. Such a big difference demands a need of change. This is high time the government should step in to check the exploitation practiced by these software companies. There is a need to put up a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against this unethical practices performed by the IT companies.

Since the work is intangible, it never seems that the person has done enough for the day. The IT managers are trained properly how to exploit the workforce. They always give the task of months to be completed in a week or two. And in spite of knowing the fact, they are always ready to exploit the hard work of their employees. This pushes the employees towards over time and disturbs the normal routine. It’s like hell working from nine to nine and even on weekends that too without being paid for this extra work!

There becomes work and work all around the employees and their personal life get buried under the projects and behind the screens of their computers. In software companies, there is no one to check this kind of practice. There should be a proper management of work in IT industry. Isn’t it?

Tags: Engineers, IT Industry, IT Managers, Technology

A recent study by researchers at the Human Interaction with Nature and Technological Systems Lab at the University of Washington found that the scenes of nature can alleviate minor stress levels. So if you are stressed, then look out of your window and relax your mind and soul.

Various people’s heart recovery rate from minor stress is measured during the research when they were exposed to a natural scene through a window and when exposed to the same scene shown on a high-definition plasma screen, or a blank wall.

“The heart rate of people who looked at the scene through the window dropped more quickly than the others. In fact, the high-definition plasma screen had no more effect than the blank wall,” the researchers said.

There is no alternate to nature and natural things. One has to come in the lap of nature from the exhausted life to get its benefit. Children nowadays remain stick to television sets and computers and other such media which doesn’t help to come out of stress.

It was found that when people spent more time looking at the natural scene their heart rates tended to decrease more. That was not the case with the plasma screen.

Study says that nature, either the real thing or depicted technologically, can impact on minor stress levels.

“Technology is good and it can help our lives, but let’s not be fooled into thinking we can live without nature,” Peter Kahn, who led the research team, said.

He said “people were losing direct experiences with nature and instead experiencing nature represented technologically through television and other media with children growing up watching Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.”

The study, involving 90 students, is published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Tags: Mind, Nature, Soul, Stress, Stress Management, Technology, Window