Sunday 26 July 2015

Red light for innovation challenges?


Traffic light showing red and raised hand for stop

Walking and waving a red flag in front of a moving car? Preposterous! Yet, the US and the UK had just such a law as a safety precaution in the 19th century.

Driverless cars, drones, unmanned aircraft, space rockets, satellites and probes to Pluto... What on earth would our ancestors think? Technology is moving at a faster pace than the majority of us can take in. Should we rein in our modern day innovators, pioneers and explorers with red and amber flags while we catch up?

Driverless cars
Google reported that its driverless cars keep having accidents. The June 2015 report stated: "Not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident". Inattentive humans are the problem.

Is the obvious fix to ban all human drivers from the road in future? It's not that simple.

Car hacking
A current Wired article is entitled Hackers remotely kill a jeep on the highway - with me in it. In a test, hackers toyed remotely with the air-conditioning, radio, windscreen wipers and then the accelerator at 70 mph...  Off the road and into a ditch... The manufacturer has issued a recall to prevent the vehicles from being controlled remotely. Recalls don't come cheap.

Accidents on land can be contained. What of the skies?

Drones
There is alarm about drone safety - particularly the unregulated use of hobby drones. In late January, Le Monde reported that drones had flown over 17 French nuclear power stations since October 2014

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the world is understandably uneasy. A major earthquake followed by a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors. An unpredictable sequence of events?

Unmanned aircraft
Unmanned craft already fly the skies on spying missions. NASA's unmanned Global Hawk can remain aloft for up to 30 hours at high altitudes. It is being used for atmospheric analysis, but was originally developed for military use. 



Challenger
NASA employs some of the world's most brilliant scientists. They've known both glorious successes and heart-breaking disasters. The Challenger Space Shuttle accident cost 7 lives.  Just 0.678 seconds after lift-off, there was a strong puff of grey smoke. The two cameras that should have reported the precise location were inoperative. A rapid series of events from 72.20 seconds followed. Challenger exploded after 73.137 seconds.

The Presidential Commission's report on the Space Shuttle disaster is full of technical detail. The accident was due to faulty design. A faulty pressure seal caused a major setback in space exploration. In the NASA control room, they knew the astronauts. They knew their voices.

Rockets explode. Satellites and probes malfunction. Space is filling up with junk.

3D printing
Technology is developing at such a pace that it is hard to predict all the challenges in advance.  Some are overstated. When 3D printing came to the fore, people worried that it would be used to make guns.

Today, most geeks content themselves with posting pictures of epic failures or cereal-box-style Star Wars characters online. 3D technology is saving lives in the medical field today.

Hacking inevitable?
Experts treat hacking as inevitable. They seek to minimise risk. Total prevention is not viewed as realistic. The "good guys" play catch up with the "bad guys". Hacking pays well.

Red and amber flags?
Modern technology is exciting. The pace is so fast. There is little time to question if technology is always being used in the best interests of Man. History should teach us caution. Do we need to slow down a bit and take stock? Issue some red and amber flags?

Shared planet
If only the best minds could work on climate change for all Earth's residents. We never get on well with all our neighbours. We just have to find a way to coexist.

Relocation isn't an option. NASA hasn't found another habitable planet for us.

Karen Andrews, content writer
Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.
 

Thursday 23 July 2015

Guardian Masterclass on Investigative Journalism



Pic of Guardian and Observer window at entrance in Kings Place, London N1

Wikileaks, CIA secret flights, Qatar World Cup, Prince Charles's "black spider" memos, social housing scandals, chicken and horsemeat scandals, Serco, HSBC... The list reads like a summary of some of the best investigative journalism of recent years. Attendees at July's Guardian Masterclass were treated to inspiring guidance from the reporters behind these prominent news stories.

The four experts sharing their experiences of investigative reporting were none other than:

David Leigh, Investigations Executive Editor, The Guardian & City University
Felicity Lawrence, Special Correspondent & Investigative Reporter, The Guardian
RobertBooth, Senior Reporter, The Guardian

The audience was a mixture of aspiring and working journalists - as well the curious from a variety of backgrounds.

Basic reporting skills
Robert Booth began the day with a presentation on the basics. He described how various sources built the Prince Charles stories. An initial investigation can turn into a much bigger story - e.g. a migrant worker abuse story moved ever closer to the Qatar World Cup organising committee. Relatively little of weeks or months of work finds its way into the eventual story.

" Investigative journalism can be arduous,
but it creates some of the best reports"


Dogged determination
Felicity Lawrence's investigations have largely focused on food production. She described the dogged determination required to pursue a story against the politics of food, big brands, powerful lawyers and transnational companies. The latter can be more powerful than a State in the modern world.

Felicity described how to work with confidential sources and whistle-blowers. She stressed the importance of going to the companies concerned and asking questions in an appropriate manner. She prefers to make an initial contact by phone and then follow up with her questions in an email.  Felicity described her approach as working within her personality, i.e. not aggressive.

Legal threats
If the company decides to employ a top legal firm to warn you off the story, you know you are "on to something". Twelve-page legal letter? Time for high-fives.

Personal safety
Both Felicity and Robert emphasised the importance of having colleagues to share difficulties with. In Felicity's case, working with a team provided some protection when the story revealed organised crime.

"Great merit in being a middle-aged woman with grey hair.
When you walk in, no-one sees you"

Felicity stressed the strength of video in modern journalism and the role of undercover filming in the chicken news stories. The downside is that there is no room for nuance, subtleties or the denials required legally. Some people clam up on video. Others even find being confronted by a notebook intimidating. A combination of reporting methods is the ideal mix.

After Felicity's tales of dirty chicken, it was a relief to discover that the Guardian canteen had a fish and vegetarian menu. The canteen has a great view of the somewhat aptly named Battlebridge Basin.

pic of the canal and houseboats looking towards rear of Guardian's building
Guardian Canteen overlooks the canal and Battlebridge Basin

Freedom of Information
After lunch, Helen Darbishire gave a presentation entitled Your Right to Know: Legal Leaks. She is based in Spain, the country with the most recent Freedom of Information Act of 10 December 2014. From her historical presentation, it rather seemed that the UK is endeavouring to buck the trend for greater access.

Helen provided a wealth of information that could form its own entirely separate blog. She stressed how Freedom of Expression includes the Right of Access to Information. Her ten tips on how to request information and success stories should encourage all attendees to launch their own FOI requests in future. As she said in her final tip:

It’s your right: 
use it or lose it!

"The Enemies"
David Leigh's presentation Enemies of Investigative Journalism was the highlight at the end of a fascinating day. He described how 50% of the energy in any news story has to go into getting the story out and published.

Who are these alleged enemies? 

1. The journalists' own bosses who may not want to "tweak the cat's tail at this difficult time".

2. A subset of the intelligence services - especially if the story touches on their own activities as in the case of Snowden.

3. The Law - there are all sorts of legal hurdles. Top lawyers are paid to intimidate investigative journalists on behalf of high profile individuals. (There is no such protection for ordinary people). 

David carefully and dramatically uncovered these alleged enemies using the wording of the legal firms' own websites.

Libel
Libel law has journalists treading on eggshells. A libel case can cripple an NGO. A case is expensive whether you win or lose. An apology can be exacted for a trivial mistake, even if there is substantial evidence that a company has been "up to no good".

UK legal fees
A University of Oxford academic study compared legal fees for defamation proceedings across Europe. Fees in the UK under a conditional fee agreement are 140 times more costly than the average cost of the other countries (Source: International Bar Association). David explained The Reynolds Defence. The new UK Defamation Act of 2014 has reduced libel tourism.

The traditional newspaper business model is difficult to fund in the internet age. People want to save investigative journalism for the Nation. A story rarely ends well for a whistle-blower. Massive data leaks cannot be prevented. They will happen over and over again in the future.

Cross-border collaboration brings success today in investigative journalism.

"Rich and victorious time for investigative journalism"

I came away from the Guardian Masterclass inspired and full of admiration for the reporters who pursue news stories so doggedly. Investigative journalism and freedom of information make a difference in our world. The small organisation and "the little guy" stand a much better chance of being heard thanks to professional investigative reporters.


Karen Andrews, content writer
Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Deaf ears at the EU?

Icon for hard of hearing
Media Translation and Accessibility in the EU were discussed at UCL on 25th June. The presentations, documentary, videos and discussions highlighted weaknesses in the EU's current fulfilment of its accessibility obligations towards EU citizens.

The discussion arose from the research of three UCL PhD students: Silvia Kadiu, Aysun Kiran and Renata Mliczak. Their findings and report will be published later in 2015. This blog will focus on the round table at the end of the seminar.

Non-discrimination and capacity
The Demand Management Unit manages the European Commission's communication needs against Directorate General capacity. Translated web content forms an important part of the European Union's drive to bring itself closer to EU citizens. Non-discrimination is regarded as a primary factor in deciding on coverage.

EU and UN Convention
The European Union has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was stated that some 8% of Europe's population has some sort of accessibility requirement - e.g. sight impairment, hearing impairment or old-age-related. Increasing life expectancy and an ageing population are likely to increase these figures and future demand.

Article 7 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) states that:

Member States shall encourage media service providers under their jurisdiction to ensure that their services are gradually made accessible to people with a visual or hearing disability.

Text should be available in alternative formats - e.g. braille, automated subtitles, etc. Today's communication requirements are not just confined to the translation of legal reports, legislation and press articles. Today the EU has to consider video, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Translators
During the session, one-off videos were played of in-house translators who kindly assisted the PhD students in their research at the Directorate-General for Translation. These were not official interviews on behalf of the EU, rather they reflected personal opinions. The interviews gave a revealing insight into the translators' personal experiences and opinions on the current status and approach to audiovisual translation within the EU.

The viewpoints expressed often seemed at odds with the official stance. The translators seemed to have limited audiovisual project experience during their time with DGT. They seemed to feel that DGT did not have a subtitling strategy. Such projects seemed to relate more to personal preference and audiovisual requirements were only considered at the end of the translation process. One translator rightly pointed out that European citizens do not read legal web content. They need more digestible and accessible content.

EU "Not leading by example"
After the videos, the invited panel drew out the issues. The chief concern was that the EU is "not leading by example".

Expert panel
The panel of experts included:
Dr Robert Adam, Research Associate, UCL (deaf native signer)
Dr Jorge Díaz-Cintas, Director of Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS), UCL
Angeliki Petrits, Language Officer, European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom
Mrs Lidia Smolarek-Best, European Federation of Hard of Hearing People
Prof. Bencie Woll, Chair in Sign Language and Deaf Studies and Director of DCAL, UCL

Software issues
Dr Jorge Díaz-Cintas underlined that the European Commission's in-house Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) does not always understand all the issues. Jorge expressed particular sympathy for the translator who mentioned the difficulties of using subtitling software available within DGT. Lines are limited to 60 characters and the end-result looks ugly. There is far better freeware available for download online. However, for security reasons DGT translators are not permitted to download or install such software on their own.

Lack of drive
It was felt that there was an effort to reach out on accessibility issues, but there is a lack of drive to support such efforts from the top. Availability very much depends on the language concerned. For example, it was stated that many Greeks were unable to access information. As a result they often have to make do with US rather European audiovisual material.

Theory v. Practice
The panel stressed that there are clear descriptions on what is necessary for people with disabilities. The EU has signed up to the policy. However, there is a severe failure to understand the obligations related to this commitment. A voice-over is seen as an aesthetic choice rather than as a matter of access. The panel considered that there is a passing of responsibility. As the matter is not addressed properly at the top, those lower down the line do not have the necessary information or instructions to implement the audiovisual policy. It is seen as difficult for countries like Greece and Poland to argue for greater accessibility, if EU communications do not lead by example. By contrast, the BBC has set some standards to follow.

Web content progress
Angeliki Petrits defended the EU. She contrasted the subject of accessibility with web content from her perspective as an EU employee with 25 years' experience (no direct accessibility involvement). Angeliki stressed that ten years ago the EU did not have any web content. She considered that the EU was "100 years ahead of that now" having made a huge amount of progress.

Budget and political will
In order to address the accessibility issue, there has to be a top-down decision. There is immense pressure on resources with a 5% cut in budgets at the same time as an increase in translation volume into 24 official languages. The panel felt that the budget would be forthcoming if there was sufficient political will at the top.

Deaf MEPs and accessibility
Dr Robert Adam revealed that there are two deaf MEPs - one from Hungary and the other from Belgium. They have equality of access. The UN Convention makes reference to a sign language requirement and the two deaf MEPs have access to sign interpreters in the European Parliament Chamber.

The current situation was likened to the well-known British sitcom "Yes, Minister" with everyone working from a different hymn sheet. There needs to be equality in the treatment of spoken and sign languages.

Notable "absentees"
The panel also noted that not all Member States have agreed to the 2011 requirements. Many countries are behind Britain in its approach to accessibility. For example, I was surprised to hear that a country like the Netherlands, normally considered to be so forward-thinking, has not signed up (even more surprising given the high visibility of Dutch speakers in the European Commission's leadership today). Norway and the United States were also notable "absentees".

It was felt that the EU is not being proactive enough about accessibility. Greater efforts need to be made to automate the process. Dr Jorge Díaz-Cintas commented that in the United States they are making advances in machine translation for audiovisual translation. Only English and Spanish versions are produced there. The EU is struggling to meet requirements for a far greater number of official languages with an outdated and inadequate software.  There is a big disconnect between requirements and staff knowledge, experience and expertise with film and technology.

In conclusion, the panel stressed three points:

1. Draw attention to the legal basis for accessibility in the UN Convention
2. Strategy - Is there one? How can it be targeted to increase accessible services?
3. Positive note - 10 years ago there was no web content, today DGT is trying to make greater use of video.

The EU needs to offer a "best example" approach to accessibility and spread the word to Member States and globally.



Karen Andrews, content writer
Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.




Friday 3 July 2015

Towards a Silent Aircraft

The annual Athena Lecture at Imperial College London celebrates the achievements of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (STEM). Women's scientific contributions and achievements have been neglected by history. Imperial College is active in encouraging more women to study science. Each year, a world-renowned woman scientist is invited to give a lecture and act as an inspirational role model to the next generation.

Professor Dame Ann Dowling CBE
On 17th June I returned to Imperial College to hear Professor Dame Ann Dowling CBE give the 2015 Athena Lecture. She is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Her CV boasts an impressive list of achievements, recognitions and awards. Yet, perhaps somewhat typically for a high-achieving woman, there was barely a hint of boastfulness as she spoke.

The lecture was entitled Towards a Silent Aircraft. I have a direct interest in the subject. Planes landing at RAF Northolt fly low directly over my roof. Heathrow's expansion is also a hotly debated subject in the UK and very topical where I live in the London Borough of Hillingdon.

Professor Dowling described her career chronologically interweaving technical details with her personal journey. She described a research career that began with aircraft noise, expanded into other fields and then returned to the subject of her original fascination.

Concorde
The journey began by studying Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. As a student, Ann Dowling's main interest was in Applied Mathematics - particularly in Fluid and Solid Mechanics. I was fascinated to hear that a summer holiday job with Concorde started her fascination with aircraft noise (just as my own early interest in French has a Concorde connection). At that time, Concorde's noise was a major issue. The supersonic jet faced the threat of a ban in the United States. The higher speed changed the character as well as the level of noise. Three years of funding lead to work on jet noise and its modelling.

Pic of the front of Concorde's nose against cloudy sky


Submarines
Once Concorde had gained its approval to fly into the US, research into aircraft noise was no longer considered a commercial priority. With a PhD under her belt, Ann Dowling was approached by the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD).  The ministry asked her to apply her techniques to solve their issue with noisy submarines. Submarines need to listen passively for other vessels in their vicinity. Just as turbulence is generated in a high speed jet, so unsteady flow creates noise in submarines. The ultimate solution applied flexible and compliant coatings for low noise and low drag.

Internal aircraft noise
Ann Dowling moved back to aircraft acoustics, but this time her research focused on noise inside aircraft. An aircraft's structure is ribbed, leading to a noise scattering effect throughout an airplane. A passenger's level of noise-related discomfort varies according to seating position. As with submarines, the solution was to apply a coating to the aircraft.

Road noise
Responding to commercial needs at Dunlop, Rover and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), her next research project centred on road noise. She focused on the interaction between tyre tread blocks and road surfaces. At that time, tyre treads were a matter of aesthetics rather than effective mechanical design. Tyre designers knew how to deal wet road conditions, but not how to reduce noise.

Combustion and acoustics
Ann Dowling enjoyed 3 months in Rolls Royce's Combustion Department. She sampled results from their jet engine and analysed the interaction between combustion and acoustics. She likened combustion instabilities to the initial roar of a gas boiler starting up in the morning. The research tested adding fuel at an unsteady rate and out of phase with the engine. The aim was to stabilise the noise. Different operating conditions were also taken into account. She used models and adaptive control.

Silent aircraft initiative
She maintained her interest in aircraft, enjoying her hobby as a private pilot with a shared aircraft. A sabbatical at MIT saw further advancement in the engineering world. The Silent Aircraft Initiative brought her career full circle with a return to aircraft noise. Further improvements were getting difficult. In the past, noise was created by the jet and its speed. Reducing noise on a conventional aircraft requires analysis and incremental improvements throughout the aircraft. The project's aim is to be inaudible outside the airport perimeter. There were many partners in the project with the University of Cambridge and MIT.

The collaboration resulted in the conceptual design of a blended wing body. Ann Dowling discussed how the design achieved the best lift distribution. She smiled as she spoke about the somewhat ugly design if viewed from the side. The Americans were amazed by the results and reviewed the figures until they had confirmed the lift properties. Boeing has since asked NASA to develop the design's geometry.

The airframe is an important factor in reducing noise. Conventional engines are placed underneath the aircraft. This reflects the noise downwards. The new design places the engines on top of the aircraft, changing the direction of the noise. There was a brief mention that the new position was "riskier", but no elaboration as to how or to what extent.

The proposal is to approach the airport more slowly and use a displaced threshold for landing. The YouTube video below shows an example of such a landing.

 


The approach reduces noise on landing for surrounding residents. I would suppose that commercial airlines would also have to balance this with considerations for their passengers too.

Q&A
Professor Dowling answered a few questions from the assembled audience at the end of her talk. In response to one question, she expressed her concern as a pilot about unregulated drones and their potential to cause accidents. She confirmed that she had no involvement in active noise cancellation or anti-sound research.

Women in STEM
Returning to the main theme of women in STEM, Professor Dowling was asked how she felt during her career as the only woman among so many men. The consideration seemed to be alien to her - something that preoccupied others rather than her. Her main motivations seemed to be a love of engineering and finding researched solutions to recognised problems with a team of collaborators.

Both before and after the talk, I discussed the subject of women in STEM with a member of Imperial's Physics Department. Imperial College receives 1,700 applications for Physics. They select just 200 A* students. Despite open days, there remains concern that the subject does not attract enough women students. Three main areas of concern were mentioned:
  1. Failure to create enough early enthusiasm for the subject, as primary school teachers there have very little knowledge and understanding of Physics
  2. Level of Mathematics on arrival at university
  3. Convincing the mothers of potential women students that Physics can offer a rewarding career for their daughters
Celebrating role models like Professor Dowling should help convince potential women students and their mothers(!) that STEM subjects can indeed offer a rewarding career.


Karen Andrews, content writer
Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact: karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.





Further viewing on aircraft noise and other considerations:
Interesting YouTube videos on Hong Kong airport's approach :
Aircraft noise mitigation
Building a green airport