Thursday 28 April 2016


Pervasive Computing in action


Technology is rapidly changing states faster than speed. It is now inculcated into every aspect of our lives as a basic need of time. It is indeed spectacular how the pervasive environment permits communication between devices everywhere, so the systems become more pervasive in modern world. We are presently engaged in interaction with distinctive devices, gadgets and machines. Pervasive Computing is the technology which relies on the convergence of wireless technologies, advanced electronics and the Internet.

The concept  is based on  Moore’s Law of IC Technologies which states  that with advances in technology,  computing equipment will grow smaller and gain  more power; eventually this would allow small devices to be ubiquitously  and invisibly embedded in the everyday human surroundings and therefore provide an easy access  to a computing environment. The products so involved are connected to the Internet and the data they generate is easily available. The major technologies such as internet, advanced middle ware, operating systems, sensors, microprocessors, and mobile protocols are used to give support for this technology to function.

One of the most important question is how to ensure that a computing system is invisibly embedded in the environment and how to minimize the possible impact of its intrusiveness on a user’s perception.

There are two mutually complementing approaches to solving the problem of unobtrusiveness of a pervasive system: by miniaturization of devices and embedding of the system’s logic into wearable, handheld, and mobile devices, as well as into the environment, and by achieving a level of intelligence of the system that will be able to anticipate the actions of the user in the context of the factors in the environment. As a result, such a pervasive system will appear as a background process.

The Pervasive computing architecture has the following four important areas, they are
· Devices
· Networking
· Middle ware
· Applications

The pervasive environment consists of many different types  of the system devices such as keyboard, mouse, touchpad ,wireless mobile devices, sensors and smart phones, which  these systems use  as an input device The  sensors automatically collect the information about the environment and feed this input directly to the pervasive network.All the Pervasive devices are connected with other pervasive or any other communication devices through the distributed network for the global availability.

Another requirement is the "middle ware kernel” which acts as a communication link  between an end-user and a system the pervasive network should need a middle ware This  may be a web application (Web Page) or set of software-bundle.

The data which are collected through pervasive environment will be processed by the middle ware software and the output will generated based on the present environmental inputs.
Pervasive Computing systems have utilization sensing to watch and react to natural phenomena.  They have numerous potential applications in the workplace, home, health awareness, gaming and open transportation

Applications of Pervasive Computing:

There are many applications of this technology .They are listed as follows:

1. SMART CLOTHING
·         Conductive textiles and inks to print electrically active patterns directly onto fabrics.
·         Sensors based on fabric to monitor pulse, blood pressure, body temperature.

2. INTERACTIVE FLEX POSTERS
Flexes that communicate with the person automatically in a building and then provide him the information about his office and the venue of his meeting.

3. SMART MIRROR
·         A magic mirror that can be used for registration  of users in a conference and can record their details, in addition to its normal physical function
4. PILL CAM
·         Can be used as a diagnostic device with a miniature camera
·         It can be swallowed .Once swallowed it gives the data about the functioning of the vital organs in our body .
5. SMART WATCH
           ·         In the health sector we can focus on wrist watches which will monitor our sugar

6. DIGITRACKER
·         Digi-tickers or implanted heart monitors for heart patients to keep an eye open for abnormalities.

Pervasive Computing will be a challenging area of research for a long time to come. Today we have capable hardware. We have more than capable Software. The major problem today is making a computer act like a human though Interaction abilities are emerging with the sorts of computer systems functionalities which will oblige us to expand this topic on a few ideas. More importantly most of these systems are not everyday affordable. They cost a fortune to make!


Ms. Shweta Ohri
Assistant Professor
Deptt. of Information Technology

Popular Product failures

Over the past three decades considerable progress has been made in developing new product research techniques. Similar advances have been made in the understanding of consumer behavior. These developments would be expected to lower the failure rate for new products, yet the product failure rate has remained high and constant. Of the many factors that influence product success or failure, the most common one is competence, i.e., management's failure to understand consumer needs and wants. Product and brand failures occur on an ongoing basis to varying degrees within most product-based organizations.

A product is a failure when its presence in the market leads to:           
Ø  The withdrawal of the product from the market for any reason;
Ø  The inability of a product to realize the required market share to sustain its presence in the market;
Ø  The inability of a product to achieve the anticipated life cycle as defined by the organization due to any reason; or,
Ø  The ultimate failure of a product to achieve profitability.

Many new products with satisfactory potential have failed to make the grade. Many of the reasons for new product failure relate to execution and control problems. The following is a brief list of some important causes of new product failures after they have been carefully screened, developed and marketed.

  1. No competitive point of difference, unexpected reactions from competitors, or both.
  2. Poor positioning.
  3. Poor quality of product.
  4. Non-delivery of promised benefits of product.
  5. Too little marketing support.
  6. Poor perceived prices/quality (value) relationship.
  7. Faulty estimates of market potential and other marketing research mistakes.
  8. Faulty estimates of production and marketing costs.
  9. Improper channels of distribution selected.
  10. Rapid change in the market (economy) after the product was introduced.
Some of these problems are beyond the control of management; but it is clear that successful new product planning requires large amounts of reliable information in diverse areas. Each department assigned functional responsibility for product development automatically becomes an input to the information system needed by the new product decision maker. For example, when a firm is developing a new product, it is wise for both engineers and marketers to consider both the kind of market to be entered (e.g., consumer, organizational, international) and specific target segments. These decisions will be of paramount influence on the design and cost of the finished good, which will, of course, directly influence, price, sales, and profits.

Studying product failures allows those in the planning and implementation process to learn from the mistakes of other product and brand failures. Each product failure can be investigated from the perspective of what, if anything might have been done differently to produce and market a successful product rather than one that failed. The ability to identify key signs in the product development process can be critical. If the product should make it this far, assessing risk before the product is marketed can save an organization’s budget, and avoid the intangible costs of exposing their failure to the market.

In this era of tight competition from domestic and global firms the firm who don't come out with new products are putting themselves at great risk because their existing products are prone to changing customer needs, shorter product life cycles, new technologies and increased competition. Despite years of research and huge capital being pumped in to understanding the consumer, making a launch successful is still a difficult task.
In this article, I’ve listed some very big product failures, products so poorly-conceived, so hopeful in their launch and so disastrous in their fall.

1.New Coke

One of the most famous examples was New Coke, a launch by Coca-Cola in 1985. Obviously oblivious to the phrase “never mess with a winning formula”, they decided to change the recipe of Coke that had served them so well, and relaunch it with a fanfare of trumpets. The Chief Executive at the time, Roberto Gozueta, described the new taste as “smoother, uh, uh, rounder yet, uh, yet bolder…a more harmonious flavor” and, initially, consumers agreed and kept buying Coke as normal. Then there came the backlash – mainly from loyalists in the South, who saw it as some kind of continuation of the Civil War. Eventually, the vocal minority won out and the old formula was restored, although many said it was never quite the same again.

2. Multi-Colored Ketchup

Here’s more food meddling in this next entry, as, in 2000, Heinz ignored the lesson of Coke and messed with a winning formula, in this case tomato-colored ketchup, which had been selling quietly and consistently for the company for over 100 years.

Wanting to appeal to the kids, Heinz launched a new range of ketchups  in  wacky colors, like electric blue, and “funky purple”. The whole thing was slightly mystifying, given that any self-respecting 4-year-old slathers their food in ketchup anyway, and it certainly didn’t appeal to parents. Strangely enough, parents prefer their children’s food to resemble the base ingredient, where possible, rather than resembling something that fell out of an alien’s nose. Needless to say, it didn’t last long.

 


3. FITBIT FORCE
In February’14, Fitbit recalled its Force wristband after many users complained that it caused skin irritation such as rashes & blisters. The wearable activity tracker had only been on the market a few months and was doing well before the voluntary recall. Although Fitbit offered Force owners a full refund and free return shipping, a class action lawsuit was filed in California. The suit called for Fitbit to contact and issue a refund to every Force owner in the state, as well as fully disclose the cause of the skin irritation. Fitbit quickly redeemed itself, launching several new and improved products, like the Charge HR and the Surge, which were designed and tested to make sure the chances of skin irritation were significantly reduced.

Ms. Smriti Dua
Assistant Professor
Department of Management Studies


Thursday 7 April 2016


Career Prospects in Mass Communication

Media and Journalism, a field with vital role of spreading information about every pertinent happening in the world, is certainly one of the admired careers that one can get into. In today's era of Communication and Technology the roles played by radio, television. Newspapers, and more recently the internet are laudable and a career in this field is absolutely challenging and extremely rewarding as well. Besides keeping you updated about the activities in the industry, this community assists you in carving out a successful career in Journalism and Media by helping you obtain the required skill.

The world has observed an extraordinary and unparalleled explosion in communication technology and media. All boundaries have been surpassed, and the entire worldwide community seems to have been brought together into one amalgamated whole. And it is at this juncture that mass-communication, as a stream of study, and as a career, becomes so significant and privileged.
Mass Communication is not restricted to journalism alone. To a great amount mass media is a present reality which covers all facets of human life. Moreover, a great change can be observed in the perception of people working in mass media. Careers in Mass Communication are not only high paying but also fetch a great deal of expression of creativity and job satisfaction. There is a dearth of qualified professionals in new entertainment, news channels, and mass media and with the new unveilings in the pipeline the demand will only shoot up.
Career opportunities in mass communication are expected to escalate with the opening up of media sector for foreign investment. Thanks to mass media, news and entertainment job opportunities are abundant for trained professionals in various roles - particularly in films and journalism. Technically qualified media professionals can work for production houses,TV channels, or can produce documentaries.
A professional course in mass communication unlocks doors for a career in journalism, films & TV, public relations, publishing, script writing, direction, editing, production, film making, etc. To be precise, Mass Communication broadens up the prospect of career options for a person. Depending upon individual’s inclination and interest a professional can select a job. Attractive and high paying jobs as actor, journalist, director, screenwriter, RJ, producer, editor, VJ are open to the trained and talented individuals.
A skilled professional in mass communication is required to have certain skills and interests which help him get a job. Those who are inclined towards news media should have keen sound knowledge and interest of news and current affairs. Global outlook on numerous subjects helps the candidate in procuring the position of reporter or journalist. Moreover, the mass media training institutes also offer internship programs with the various news or entertainment channels which help candidates to get a job after completion of the course.
As with other career options, mass communication too has positive as well as challenging side. This profession demands dedication and commitment. A journalist may have to put in 24hrs of work just to get breaking news. Similarly, media professionals who are in film making or entertainment, it’s requisite to work with passion which may come at the cost of their personal life.
To conclude beyond doubt careers in mass communication offers name, fame, job satisfaction, and of course a challenge to live with.

Dr. Ritu Sood
Associate Professor
Dept. of Communication Studies
Global Positioning System

Global Positioning System is a navigation system based on satellites. The system works on a network of 24 satellites. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) launched this system and is responsible for placing these satellites into orbit along their regular maintenance. Accurate positioning, reliable navigation, and timing services to worldwide users on a continuous basis are the main purpose of global positioning system.

Initially the U.S Department of Defense implemented this system for military use. But later the same was open for civilian use also. Now the system provides critical capabilities to military, commercial, and civil users all around the world.

In addition to GPS, other systems which are in use or under development are:

  •        GLONASS: The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System
  •          European Union Galileo positioning system
  •         Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, India
  •        China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System  
  •         Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System
A GPS receiver must receive signal of at least 3 satellites for calculating the 2-D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more locked satellites signal in view, the receiver can determine the user's 3-D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Upon determining the accurate position, the GPS unit can also calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more.

How GPS works

The current GPS consists of three major segments. These are: a space segment, a control segment and a user segment. The GPS works on the concept of time and the known position of specialized satellites. Each satellite carries very stable atomic clocks. These clocks are synchronized to each other and to clocks on Earth. The satellite time is compared with the ground clocks and if there is any drift, the same is corrected on daily basics. Likewise, the satellite locations are also known with great precision. GPS receivers have clocks as well and these clocks are not synchronized with true time, and therefore are less stable.

GPS satellites continuously share their current position and time. A GPS receiver monitors multiple satellites and solves mathematical equations to determine the exact position of the sender and its deviation from true time. For finding out the location and time, at a minimum, signal from four satellites must be in the view of the receiver. The receiver then computes the four unknown quantities (three position coordinates: latitude, longitude, and altitude and clock deviation from satellite time).

Applications of GPS
Throughout the world, GPS has become a mainstay of transportation systems, providing navigation for ground, aviation and maritime operations. Location and timing capabilities of GPS are used in Disaster relief and emergency services in their life saving missions. Everyday activities such as banking, mobile phone operations, and even the control of power grids are facilitated by the accurate timing that GPS provides. Farmers, surveyors, geologists and countless others perform their work more efficiently, safely and economically.

GPS can work in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. One must utilize the services offered by GPS as there are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

Ms. Snehlata
Assistant Professor
Deptt. of Information Technology

Role of IT in Education

The Role of Information Technology in Education is exploring the potential for teaching and learning. With rapid developments in the field of information technology (IT), most of the university students demand IT in their educationfor two reasons: (1) It helps the course material be presented in a more comprehensible way; (2) it gives them familiarity with the high-tech tools which they can use in their future careers. Some of the universities are making changes to their curriculum and also making arrangements to be more inviting to students by introducing new methods of education like field trips to big companies, and inviting company representatives to give seminars as part of the curricula so that the students are exposed to their practical career scenarios.

IT provides a lot of facilities in the Education Sector like the uses of computer provide a tool in the Education system is known as Computer Based Education (CBE).CBE involves Control, Delivery and Evaluation of learning.There are number of methods in which educational institutions can use computer to educate the students.Some of the interesting developments for the education sector are: Internet i.e.  used to access the desired information using search engine and Computerization of Administrative tasks i.e.Most of the academic institutes use computerized systems for student enrollment, fee management, examination administration etc. Classrooms are equipped with smart boards, projectors, sound systems, tele/video-conference systems, television and other high-tech equipment’s. The classes are also held in computer labs and the topic of the lecture can be immediately simulated, programmed, or demonstrated on computers. Information technology has taken the educational landscape by storm, increasing the learning potential of students and empowering teachers with engaging presentation tools and advanced class-management systems. From preschools to institutions of higher education, electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, and even smart-boards has opened access to large amounts of information. These tools also promote wider participation in the academic community and benefit educators and students alike. The application of educational technologies to instruction has progressed beyond the use of basic drill and practice software, and now includes the use of complex multimedia products and advanced networking technologies. 

Today, students use multimedia to learn interactively and work on class projects. They use the Internet to do research, engage in projects, and to communicate. The new technologies allow students to have more control over their own learning, to think analytically and critically, and to work collaboratively. Specific purpose smart devices using embedded application programs are crucial for standardization and maintenance of high-tech tools in education.The changing role of IT in higher education has been well documented. Information technology serves as the foundation for the business of the institution, supports new advances and approaches to teaching and learning and provides new capabilities in research.Information technology benefits the management of classrooms by its ability to create and organize in a virtual space. Many schools have adopted Learning Management Systems (LMS) that centralize aspects of courses in such a virtual space. Teachers can post Notes, eBooks, media, and quiz that are automatically graded. Assignments can also be posted and submitted online and grades can be viewed in a single virtual space. Students can access the documents in the LMS anytime and need not be worry about losing a paper or carrying a textbook. LMS also facilitates communication, interaction, and collaboration between students and teachers, providing opportunities to send messages, chat, create wikis, compose documents, blog, and share information much like social media sites.

Ms. Anisha Tandon
Assistant Professor
Department of Management Studies


Indian stock market: A Coincidental Indicator of Economy

Indian economy seems poised after union budget 2016-17 in the positives of domestic economy and negatives of global economy. Indian stock market has evolved as a main indicator of economy. Not very far in past, on swearing of Narendra Modi as 15th Prime Minister of India, there was a stoppable rally in stock market viz BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty.  The Sensex was hovering around 24,000 on May 2014. From then the stock market was fueled with external funds from FIIs and DIIs.

The key events reflected strongly by Indian stock market during 2014-15 were:

  •          Strong support for the promises of reform and growth (GST, Land bill)
  •        PM announcement of Jhan Dhan Yojana on Independence day of 2015
  •      Strong support seen for PM call for FDIs from foreigner and specially NRIs
  •      Make India campaign, with special reference interests from Chinese investors 
  •      India’s GDP growth rate surpassing the china’s. 
  •      Weakening manufacturing in china and Europe
  •      Lowering of Indian economy outlook by International and national rating agencies
  •      Disagreement between BJP and allied political parties
  •      Degrading of social and religious harmony
  •      Enfeebled Indian banking systems and weakening rupee

The Indian stock market discounted each and every happening of domestic as well as global economy with corresponding fall and rise in SENSEX and Nifty. The Indian robust GDP growth rate collision with uncertain international business environment was reflected by the sense of fatigue, cautiousness and fear among investors.

Whether the stock market rises or falls, it is the indicator of Indian as well as foreign outlook towards continuance of India’s growth path. The volatility of stock market does communicate about the risk in economy and business, but is also the main purpose of the stock market to be able to reflect the investors’ sentiments.  With more people in financial system, more education about economy, investment and finance, it is evident to experience more volatile Indian stock market in coming times. 

Dr. Ajay Kumar Patel
Assistant Professor
Deptt. of Management Studies