Features

The readers of this column will forgive me if they find the title of this week’s article somewhat obvious. Of course, we all know that computers are about numbers, but we often forget it. Does it really matter? Is there any point in keeping in mind this trait of the devices?

It is understood that we do not have to be mathematicians to use computers; thank God for that. However, like driving a car and just knowing that there is an engine under the bonnet without being yourself a mechanic, it is good from time to time to remember that everything we see, hear, read or write while using a computer is a matter of zeroes and ones in the end, deep inside the guts of the machine.

What happens between the “zeroes and ones” stage and the one that shows us photos, plays music, takes us to the Internet, or processes text is another story. It is actually what makes computers truly magical digital devices, though we tend to forget it.  

Remembering that it is all about numbers has advantages. To start with it allows you to better communicate with parties who do need to talk numbers. These can be your Internet service provider, the salesperson trying to recommend this or that model of laptop, or the IT technician who is trying to repair your computer. You really need to talk gigabytes and such numbers with them. For instance many consumers still make the confusion between megabyte and megabit when referring to an Internet connection speed. The first unit being eight times higher than the second.

People working at helpdesks often find it hard to communicate with users and solve their problems, precisely because of a general lack in technical knowledge at the users’ end.

All computer operating systems have a function that lets you check and monitor how much memory and processing power is actually taken by the various software applications you use. This is a precious “gauge” (to use automotive terminology) that allows each and every one of us to optimise our computers’ performance by seeing which of the programmes we are running consumes the most memory, processing power or disk space.

It is simple and does not take real mathematics to run, but it does requires reading and understanding numbers. Under MS-Windows operating system this gauge is found under Task Manager and can be directly called by pressing the Alt+Ctrl+Delete keys combination.

Another illustration of the importance of numbers is your device’s IP address. This is the number that the network you are connected to gives you and that uniquely identifies your computer, in the whole world! It is like your phone number when you include the country and area code. It is unique in the world. Until recently IP addresses have been using what is called the IPV4 protocol (or numbering method) that can handle up to 4.3 billion addresses, given its numbering structure.

Now 4.3 billion computer Internet addresses are just not enough anymore, given the extraordinary usage of the web by not only computers but also by a growing number of devices, including smartphones, connected TVs and countless other Internet-enabled equipment. The industry is now replacing IPV4 with IPV6, an updated numbering system for Internet-connected devices that can handle a numbers of addresses equivalent to “2 power 128”. This is the number 340 followed by 36 zeroes! IPV6 should serve the world for a while. It is numbers again.

And if you think you’ll never need to know your computer’s IP address think again. You’ll be asked for it in many instances. If you don’t know it — and you certainly do not need to memorise it — just open a web tab in your Internet browser and type “What is my IP”, you will immediately see the answer in the form of a number consisting of four sets of up to three digits each, separated by a dot, that is if you are still under the IPV4 Internet protocol, 149.200.113.11 for instance.

Understanding numbers is also very helpful when processing images and making decisions about the resolution or the pixel count, or compressing the image before emailing it. Let is not forget the fringe benefit that also comes from being able to talk numbers: it is a social one and it lets you better discuss computers and IT matters with your friends in the evening.

Whatever you do with your computers, ignoring numbers may be a limiting factor.

Facebook Inc. let some companies, including Netflix and Airbnb, access users’ lists of friends after it cut off that data for most other apps around 2015, according to documents released on Wednesday by a British lawmaker investigating fake news and social media.

The 223 pages of internal communication from 2012 to 2015 between high-level employees, including founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, provide new evidence of previously aired contentions that Facebook has picked favourites and engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.

The documents show that Facebook tracked growth of competitors and denied them access to user data available to others.

In 2014, the company identified about 100 apps as being either “Mark’s friends” or “Sheryl’s friends”, and also tracked how many apps were spending money on Facebook ads, according to the documents, referring to Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.

The insight into the thinking of Facebook executives over that period could invite new regulatory scrutiny into its business practices. 

Facebook said it stood by its deliberations and decisions, but noted that it would relax one “out-of-date” policy that restricted competitors’ use of its data.

One document said such competitor apps had previously needed Zuckerberg’s approval before using tools Facebook makes available to app developers.

Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Wednesday that the company could have prevented the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal had it cracked down on app developers a year earlier in 2014.

Misuse of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, along with another data breach this year and revelations about Facebook’s lobbying tactics have heightened government scrutiny globally on the company’s privacy and content moderation practices.

Stifel analysts on Wednesday lowered their rating on Facebook shares to “hold,” saying that “political and regulatory blowback seems like it may lead to restrictions on how Facebook operates, over time”.

Damian Collins, a Conservative British parliamentarian, who leads a committee on media and culture, made the internal documents public after demanding them last month under threat of sanction from Six4Three.

The defunct app developer obtained them as part of its on going lawsuit in California state court alleging that Facebook violated promises to app developers when it ended their access to likes, photos and other data of users’ friends in 2015.

Facebook, which has described the Six4Three case as baseless, said the released communications were “selectively leaked” and it defended its practices.

‘Whitelisted’ for access to friends data

Though filed under seal and redacted in the lawsuit, the internal communications needed to be made public because “they raise important questions about how Facebook treats users’ data, their policies for working with app developers, and how they exercise their dominant position in the social media market”, Collins said on Twitter.

Dating app Badoo and ride-hailing app Lyft were among other companies “whitelisted” for access to data about users’ friends, the documents showed.

Lyft wanted to show carpool riders their mutual friends as an “ice breaker”, even if those friends were not using Lyft, according to one e-mail. Facebook said in an e-mail that it approved the request because it would add to a feeling of “safety” for riders.

Facebook described such deals as short-term extensions, but it is unclear exactly when the various agreements ended.

Netflix, Airbnb, Lyft and Badoo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The documents show an exchange between Zuckerberg and senior executive, Justin Osofsky in 2013, in which they decided to stop giving friends’ list access to Vine on the day that social media rival Twitter Inc launched the video-sharing service. 

“We’ve prepared reactive PR,” Osofsky wrote, to which Zuckerberg replied, “Yup, go for it.”

Twitter declined to comment.

Friends’ data had stoked the growth of many apps because it enabled people to easily connect with Facebook buddies on a new service. 

Facebook weighed charging other apps for access to its developer tools, including the friends lists, if they did not buy a certain amount of advertising from Facebook, according to the e-mails. In one from 2012, Zuckerberg wrote that he was drawing inspiration for business models from books he had been reading about the banking industry.

Facebook said it ultimately maintained free access to the tools.

Girls who are exposed before birth to chemicals commonly found in toothpaste, makeup, soap and other personal care products may hit puberty earlier than their peers who aren’t exposed to these chemicals in the womb, a US study suggests. 

Many chemicals have been linked to early puberty in animal studies including phthalates, which are often found in scented products like perfumes, soaps and shampoos; parabens, which are used as preservatives in cosmetics; and phenols, which include triclosan, researchers note in Human Reproduction. While this is thought to interfere with sex hormones and puberty timing, few studies have explored this connection in human children. 

For the current study, researchers followed 338 children from birth through adolescence. They tested mothers’ urine during pregnancy and interviewed them about potential chemical exposures, then tested kids’ urine for chemical exposure at 9 years old and examined children for signs of puberty development every nine months between ages 9 and 13 years. 

Over 90 per cent of kids’ urine samples showed concentrations of all the potentially hormone-altering chemicals, except for triclosan, which was found in 73 per cent of pregnant mothers’ urine samples and 69 per cent of their kids’ urine samples. 

For every doubling in concentration of a phthalate indicator in mothers’ urine, their daughters developed pubic hair an average of 1.3 months earlier, the study found. And with every doubling of mothers’ urine concentrations of triclosan, girls started menstruating one month earlier. 

Boys’ puberty timing didn’t appear to be influenced by prenatal exposure to these chemicals. 

“There has been considerable concern about why girls are entering puberty earlier and hormone disrupting chemicals like the ones in personal care products that we studied have been suggested as one possible reason,” said lead study author Kim Harley, associate director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Half of the girls in the study started growing pubic hair when they were at least 9.2 years old and then began menstruating when they were 10.3 years old, the study found. 

Phthalates, parabens and triclosan are not banned for use in personal care products, and there isn’t solid evidence yet that they cause health effects in humans, Harley said by e-mail.

But the current results add to increasing evidence from lab studies that suggests these chemicals can disrupt or interfere with natural hormones in the body like estrogen, Harley added.

“The fact that we find associations with earlier puberty in girls is additionally concerning,” Harley said. “The good news is, that if women want to reduce their exposure to these chemicals, there are steps they can take.”

Triclosan is no longer allowed in antibacterial soap in the US, but it is still in toothpaste, Harley said. Consumers should make sure it’s not a listed ingredient on any toothpaste they buy, she advised.

Parabens are also on the ingredients list, often as methyl paraben, or propyl paraben, and consumers should avoid these products, too, Harley said.

Diethyl phthalate is harder to avoid, however, because it isn’t listed on labels and is often used in fragrances, Harley said. 

The study wasn’t designed to prove whether or how prenatal exposure to these chemicals might have caused early puberty. And one limitation of the study is that researchers lacked data to know if girls going through puberty might be more likely to use these personal care products, and be directly exposed that way, the study authors note. 

“The effects of these chemicals are very complex,” said Dr Luz Claudio of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. 

Foreigners travelling to my home country India often ask me for suggestions about which cities or towns they should visit during their vacation. I give them a fairly unbiased recommendation and usually direct them to places I would myself like to go to. I mean, I belong to a large nation and despite being an avid traveller; there are still many regions that I have not explored as yet. Sending other people to these venues makes me feel that I have made a contribution of some sort-towards making a trudge to those locations at some point in the future, perhaps.

After promoting my motherland as an unofficial goodwill ambassador for more than two decades, my confidence has recently taken a beating. And that is because many townships are no longer called what they used to be, and are undergoing a drastic name change. Just when I had got used to the first batch of the new nomenclature like Bombay Mumbai, Calcutta Kolkata, Cochin Kochi and Bangalore Bengaluru, which were mostly a phonetic switch, there came another rush of unfamiliar naming. And this time there was whiff of a political motive behind it, as history was raked up to rediscover long lost connections, simply to satisfy a section of the electorate just before elections. 

Allahabad, the judicial capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is now christened Prayagraj. The ancient name of the city is Prayag (Sanskrit for “place of sacrifice”), as it is believed to be the spot where Lord Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world. It is also known as Triveni Sangam because of the confluence of three rivers, the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati. The popular belief is that when Mughal emperor Akbar visited the region in 1574 to quell a rebellion, he changed the city’s name from the erstwhile Prayag to Illahabad (the abode of the Gods), which then got anglicised by the British to Allahabad.

The Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, says of the site (the exact spot where the three rivers meet): “People who bathe there go to heaven. People who die there are liberated from the cycle of birth. People who live there are guarded by the gods.” It also hosts the world’s largest pilgrimage, the Kumbh Mela, every 12 years, where many families get separated from their loved ones, if Indian Bollywood movies are to be believed.

There are countless films where the script has two brothers getting lost in the melee of the Kumbh Mela during their childhood, who end up being raised by surrogate families — one turning out to be a judicious cop while the other becomes a robber. They grow up not knowing their bloodline and become sworn enemies, only to discover a common tattoo, piece of a broken pendent or a faded baby picture, that brings about the reconciliation, generally towards the finale of the show.

Personally, I never got a chance to visit Prayagraj, even in its old avatar of Allahabad. But like I mentioned earlier, I sent a lot of visitors there on my behalf, every few years or so.

“I’m going to India in February,” a posh lady told me in Mauritius recently.

“Visit Allahabad, sorry, Prayagraj,” I recommended.

“The place where Kumbh Mela is held?” she questioned.

“I want my three sons to see authentic Indian culture,” she gushed.

“O dear!” I exclaimed.

“Any precautions I should take?” she asked.

“Get their names tattooed on their wrists,” I advocated.

HELSINKI — What do you give the world’s most literate country for its 100th birthday? For Finland’s politicians and public, the answer was simple: a vast, state-of-the-art library, a new “living room for the nation”.

Twenty years in the planning, Helsinki’s central library officially opens on December 5 at the end of a year of festivities marking the centenary of Finland’s independence after breaking with Russia in 1917 following six centuries under Swedish rule.

It is a huge, flowing structure of wood and glass sitting on a prime spot in the city centre, directly opposite the Finnish parliament. 

But whereas the parliament building is an austere and imposing hunk of granite, the new library was designed by Finnish firm ALA Architects as a welcoming, undulating structure, clad in 160 kilometres’ worth of Finnish spruce, drawing people inside with a “warm hug”.

Named Oodi — “ode” in Finnish — it is intended as a paean to knowledge, learning and equality in what was ranked the world’s most literate country by a 2016 report based on official statistics.

As the grand opening approaches, workers are frantically trying to finish the outside of the building. Installing the flowing wood panelling has proven harder than expected in Helsinki’s freezing climate. 

The interior, however, is largely ready.

While books will feature heavily — 100,000 of them — the cutting-edge facility also boasts studios for music and video production, a cinema, and workshops containing 3D printers and laser cutters, all free of charge for the public.

It will also house an EU-funded visitor centre, offering information on the 28-member bloc’s work and its impact on people’s daily lives.

“Oodi gives a new modern idea of what it means to be a library,” Tommi Laitio, Helsinki’s executive director of culture and leisure, told AFP.

“It is a house of literature but it’s also a house of technology, it’s a house of music, it’s a house of cinema, it’s a house of the European Union. 

“And I think all of these come together to this idea of hope and progress,” Laitio said.

Robot librarians

One sign of such progress is the building’s fleet of book-carrying robots — small grey waggons which navigate themselves in and out of lifts, avoiding people and furniture, in order to bring returned books up from the basement and drop them off at the correct bookcase.

There, a human member of staff will place the books on the shelf.

Oodi’s planners believe the robot librarians are the first instance in the world of self-driving technology being used in this way inside a public library.

The robots will become a familiar sight to the library’s expected 10,000 visitors a day.

Silence is not golden

Oodi will have areas walled off for quiet studying, but for everywhere else, there will not be a “silence” rule in force, as is common in libraries.

In fact, making a mess and noise are positively encouraged inside the “nerd loft” — a place to inspire people of all ages to come together and create.

Users can build things in workshops equipped with cutting-edge tools, borrow musical instruments or play games consoles.

“We are prepared to constantly have discussions with the users and the staff about what behaviour is welcome in the library, but it’s definitely a place of noise and all sorts of improvised activities,” Helsinki’s head of library services, Katri Vanttinen, said.

She is particularly proud of the library’s decision not to separate the children’s section from the adult books. 

All are housed on the library’s panoramic top floor: a sweeping 50-metre long space, with glass walls on all sides supporting a billowing, cloudlike roof.

“We think that the noise the children bring into this floor is positive noise, we hear the future, and we enjoy that we have children’s and adult literature on the same floor with no walls in between,” Vanttinen said.

“Acoustics have been planned really well, so even if people are shouting at one end you can hardly hear them at the other end,” she added.

As vital as drinking water

Although many countries have been cutting back on library services, Laitio said there were no problems winning political and public backing for the 98-million-euro ($110-million) project, thanks to the value that many Finns place on libraries. 

Some 68 million books a year are borrowed by the country’s 5.5 million people, named the happiest in the world by the UN earlier this year.

“Libraries in Helsinki are the second highest-rated public service after drinking water,” Laitio said.

“So libraries are really loved in Finland. And if I look at this project, a 100-million-euro investment, I hear zero to minimal protest. Actually people are really joyful and proud.”

Pregnant women who opt for surgical caesarean deliveries may be more likely than those who have vaginal deliveries to have a child that is overweight by its first birthday, a small study suggests. 

For the analysis, researchers examined data on 727 infants born at two major hospitals in Singapore. Overall, 222 deliveries were surgical, and 74 of these procedures were elective — not done because of medical issues with the mother or baby. The rest were emergency surgeries. 

By the time babies were 12 months old, about 12 per cent of them were on the cusp of being overweight and about 2 per cent were already overweight, the study found. 

Women who had elective caesarean deliveries, also known as C-sections, were twice as likely to have overweight infants or babies on the cusp of becoming overweight compared to mothers who had vaginal deliveries. 

“Only elective caesarean section is significantly associated with increased risk of early childhood obesity, while infants born via emergency caesarean section have a similar risk to that of infants born via vaginal delivery,” said senior study author Seng Bin Ang of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore. 

“Many other studies have found that early childhood obesity has a tendency to persist into late childhood, adolescence and even adulthood,” Ang said by e-mail. 

While C-sections have long been linked to an increased risk of childhood obesity, the current study offers fresh evidence that the timing of the procedure and the reason behind it may influence the risk, Ang said. 

In the study, researchers defined elective surgeries as procedures scheduled well in advance of delivery at women’s request or because of a previous C-section. They also counted surgeries scheduled more than 24 hours before delivery due to medical conditions that might make labour and delivery more complicated such as mothers with obesity or diabetes, or babies with serious health problems. 

Emergency C-sections, by contrast, were scheduled within 24 hours of delivery to protect the health of the mother or infant because of situations like prolonged labour, foetal distress or a breech baby. 

The connection between elective surgical deliveries and overweight babies persisted even after researchers accounted for a variety of other factors that might lead infants to become overweight, including mothers’ age, ethnicity, education, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure or smoking. 

Women also had a greater risk of overweight babies when the decision to deliver by C-section was made before the start of labour compared to when it was made after women went into labour. 

One limitation of the study is that researchers lacked data on fathers, whose weight and health habits can independently influence weight in children, the study authors note. 

It also was not a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how surgical deliveries or the timing of C-section decisions might directly impact the risk of overweight babies. 

Even so, the results add to a large and growing body of evidence that children born by caesarean delivery are more likely to be heavy growing up than kids born by vaginal delivery, said the coauthor of an accompanying editorial, Dr Jorge Chavarro of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School in Boston. 

“It is difficult to tell to what extent being overweight at 12 months means in terms of long-term weight trajectories and overall health,” Chavarro said by e-mail. “However, previous studies have shown that the relation between caesarean delivery and childhood weight status seems to extend to older age groups including adolescents and young adults.” 

Arriving late last year and two years after its saloon car sister model, the Jaguar XF Sportbrake is the British manufacturer’s sporty premium executive segment estate riposte to estate stalwarts like the Audi A6 Avant and Volvo V90. 

More popular in Europe, if not quite as popular in the Middle East and US, the estate offers the comfort, sporty handling and efficiency of a saloon car and the spacious, practical and versatile cargo carrying capacity of an SUV. 

In the case of the highly accomplished Jaguar XF, the estate body Sportbrake version is even arguably better looking than its saloon equivalent.

The range-topping XF S Sportbrake version is, in the absence of a high performance SVR successor to the previous generation XFR-S or rival to the Audi RS6 Avant, the driven Supercharged 3.0 V6 AWD version is nevertheless a thoroughly brisk and sporting family car that captures Jaguar’s historic mantra of “space, pace and grace” like no other current model. Offered with standard all-wheel-drive like Audi and Volvo rivals with similar output, the XF S Sportbrake’s rear-wheel-drive derived platform and bias is more similar to wagon body versions of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and, with its emphasis on sporty luxury, is perhaps conceptually closest to the BMW 5-Series Touring estate.

No longer a design afterthought as some estate cars were in the distant past, the XF Sportbrake “looks just as sporty as the saloon, if not more so”, even by Jaguar director of design, Ian Callum’s consideration, as quoted in press material. As svelte, eager and flowing from front view as its saloon sister, the XF Sportbrake’s high rise rear luggage compartment allows for a better flowing and more naturally extended roofline that hides its rearward heft. In turn, the taller rear and absence of a low rear deck seems to further emphasise the XF’s elegantly long bonnet and rearward cabin, and lends it a more urgent dynamic demeanour and more assertive road stance.

Snarling and smooth

Slung behind its big hungry mesh grille and under its bulging bonnet, the current top of the line XF S Sportbrake is powered by Jaguar’s sweet and familiar supercharged 3-litre V6 engine, driving all four wheels through a slick, quick and smooth shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox with a wide, yet, closely spaced ratio spread to maximise acceleration, mid-range pull, refinement and efficiency. Developing 375BHP at 6,500rpm in a swiftly progressive trajectory and underwritten by a 332lb/ft wallop of torque on tap throughout a broad and flexibly accessible mid-range peaking at 4,500rpm, the XF S Sportbrake is quick through 0-100km/h in 5.5-seconds and tops out at 250km/h.

Responding with immediacy off the line owing to its mechanically-driven supercharger in lieu of an exhaust-driven turbocharger like most modern cars, the XF S Sportbrake’ delivery is a consistent and insistent, with power building swiftly as revs rise and its smooth purr takes a more snarling and urgent tenor. Eager at top end and versatile throughout its rev range, the XF S Sportbrake’s wide and ever-willing mid-range torque band’s presence ensures indefatigable progress at speed and from low revs, but is mapped with a peaky delivery for a more sportingly involving character. As quick as it is on the move, the Sportbrake’s brakes meanwhile restrain its 1,835kg mass with reassuring efficacy.

Comfort and control

Driving with up to 100 per cent power going rewards and able to allocate up to 80 per cent frontwards when necessary, the XF S Sportbrake’s lightweight all-wheel-drive system employs a chain-driven transfer for efficiency. Operating with the balanced instincts and much the of at the limit adjustability of the well-sorted rear-wheel-drive saloon, it can, however,  more effectively put power to tarmac for improved traction and grip, without corrupting the driving experience.

Better suited to the 375BHP XF S Sportbrake than the considerably more powerful F-Type SVR coupe and more subtle in how it works in dry and dusty conditions rather the wet, the XF’s light-touched all-wheel-drive allows for a reassuring, yet, delicately involving and intuitive drive through switchbacks.

Eager and fluent through winding roads, the XF S Sportbrake drives with sportily graceful handling qualities. Smooth and supple over most roads yet well containing body roll with its sophisticated double wishbone front and integral link rear self-levelling air suspension, the XF S Sport brake feels poised, balanced and involving for its segment. Eger on turn-in, agile and committed throughout, it nevertheless can playfully flick the rear out slightly to tighten a cornering line on request. Well-weighted and with eager self-centring, the XF’s steering delivers more nuanced, layered, textured feel and feedback, as it is light-handedly caressed through corners than is typical for premium executive cars.

Agile and accommodating

Fluent, fast and forgiving through snaking roads, the XF S Sportbrake combines comfort and control, and is built on light yet stiff aluminium-intensive frame yielding comfort, handling and safety benefits. Meanwhile on the motorway and at speed it proves resolutely stable, smooth and refined for long distances. Riding on large alloys and low profile 255/35R20 tyres, the XF S Sportbrake can be firm over sharp bracks and bumps, but its suspension otherwise well irons out imperfections and delivers buttoned down vertical and rebound control. For slippery surfaces, its All-Surface Progress Control leverages the traction control system, while torque vectoring selectively brakes individual wheels for added agility through corners.

Stylish and sweeping in silhouette, the Sportbrakes estate body allows for excellent versatility, and can accommodate a generous minimum 565-litre cargo capacity through its wide tailgate, which extends to a vast 1,700-litre maximum, with rear seats folded. Offering better rear headroom as an estate, the Sportbrake is comfortable, well-spaced and supportive for passengers, and includes an alert and adjustable driving position. Highly well equipped with standard and optional comfort, convenience, safety and driver assistance features, the Sportbrake’s cabin uses quality leathers, suede headliner, woods and soft textures. The driven car featured colder more business-like black and grey interior, but warmer, richer and more welcoming interior schemes are available. 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3-litre, supercharged, in-line V6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 84.5 x 89mm

Compression ratio: 10.5:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, continuously variable valve timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 4.714; 2nd 3.143; 3rd 2.106; 4th 1.667; 5th 1.285; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.839; 8th 0.667

Reverse/final drive: 3.317/3.23

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 375 (380) [280] @ 6,500rpm

Specific power: 112BHP/litre

Power -to-weight ratio: 204BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 332 (450) @4,500rpm

Specific torque: 150.25Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight ratio: 245Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 5.5-seconds

Top speed: 250km/h

Fuel capacity: 74-litres

Length: 4,955mm

Width: 1,987mm

Height: 1,496mm

Wheelbase: 2,960mm

Track, F/R: 1,597/1,599mm

Boot capacity, min/max: 565-/1,700-litres

Kerb weight: 1,835kg

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones/integral link, air springs

Steering: Variable electric-assisted rack & pinion

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres: 255/35R20 (optional)

Falastin Al Hadara ‘abr Al Tarikh — Palestinian Civilisation throughout History

Translated from the Arabic by Joud Halawani Al Tamimi

Amman: The Khalid Shoman Foundation/Darat al Funun, 2017

Pp. 264

The year 2017 marked 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, 70 years since the UN Partition resolution and 50 years since the 1967 war. Instead of only lamenting these major injustices inflicted on the Palestinian people, Darat al Funun put together a comprehensive year-long programme showcasing the diversity and depth of Palestine’s pre-1948 culture via lectures, films, exhibitions and performances.

Published in Arabic and English editions, “Falastin Al Hadara ‘abr Al Tarikh” is a beautiful book containing the text of the lectures and many stunning photos of the exhibitions and other events. From the 12th century map of Syria, Palestine and Sinai on the cover to Ammar Khammash’s combining of music and geology into geo-acoustics in his exhibit “Desert Soundscapes”, everything in this book is valuable and previously underexposed. Since it would be impossible to cover all the contents, this review will concentrate on the lectures, all of which were delivered by experts in their fields who exhibited a high degree of original research and out-of-the-box thinking. 

Viewing Jordan and Palestine as one civilisational unit, Moawiyah Ibrahim provides a truly long view of history by noting ancient human settlement in the area dating back before 10,000 BC, at sites such as Tel Al Sultan and Ain Ghazal. Several personal, cultural narratives bring the book up into the 20th century: Tamam Al Akhal tells the story of her exile from Yafa, and how she dedicated her art to the cause of Palestine. Widad Kawar discusses the interplay of continuity and innovation as seen in traditional Palestinian dress, based on her 60 years of collecting heritage items. Hisham Khatib revisits history from ancient times up to the 19th century, based on his extensive collection of maps, paintings, photos, travel books and valuable plates of the Holy Land.

Profiles of pioneering individuals give a nuanced picture of life in their times, such as Issam Nassar’s talk on Karimeh Abbud, the first Arab women photographer in Palestine. Nazmi Al Ju’beh’s lecture on outstanding members of the Khalidi family and how their efforts culminated in the establishment and preservation of the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem, despite the odds, documents the wealth of books and learning that existed in pre-1948 Palestine. Aida Najjar presents a comprehensive picture of the birth of the Palestinian press and how it served as the voice of the national movement in protesting British colonialism and Zionism. Based on original sources, i.e., the archives of early newspapers like “Al Karmil” and “Falastin”, her research goes beyond generalities to include many fascinating details. 

Similarly, Faiha Abdulhadi’s lecture was based on original research, in this case, oral history interviews, that unearthed many fascinating facts about Palestinian women’s political participation from 1930 until 1948, including how they arrived at their political positions, how their politics surpassed mainstream nationalism and how it impacted on their personal lives.

Like many of the expert lecturers, Suhail Khoury’s talk on Palestinian music placed his topic in the context of Palestine’s Arab identity: “Historically speaking, there is no such thing as Palestinian music… there is Arab music and oriental music”. (p. 138)

Following developments up to the present, Khoury shows how this changed somewhat in the early 20th century as missionary schools spread the influence of European music, and the subsequent occupation of Palestine interjected new political themes. 

The most provocative lecture was delivered by Khaldun Bshara on Palestinian heritage, in which he analysed both the colonial destruction inflicted by Israel and the dilemma faced by Palestinians who are forced into reductionist battles such as who invented falafel. He contended that “as far as Palestinians do not regard heritage as modes of life and as modes of knowledge production at the local level, Palestinian heritage will undergo further ‘falafelisation’, and also risks the loss of the transnational global dreams”. (p. 160)

Mohanad Yacoubi gives an interesting view on modernity in Palestine at the beginning of the 20th century, especially as related to filmmaking, while Qais Al Zubaydi presents a history of Palestinian cinema. Salim Tamari approaches modernity from a literary angle, exploring fictionalised autobiographies produced in the time of transition from Ottoman to British rule, particularly the writings of Najib Nassar, founder of “Al Karmil” newspaper.  

Of course, the events of 1948 intrude into virtually all of the year-long programme, but it was the special focus of two screenings. One was Rawan Damen’s film series which doesn’t confine itself to one year but is titled: “The Nakba 1799 — 2008”. The other was a lecture by the respected scholar, Walid Khalidi, who also stressed the Nakba as an extended, on going process. Also screened was a little-known film directed by Edward Said, “The Shadow of the West” (1986). 

“Falastin Al Hadara” is a book to savour for its beauty and to read for the knowledge it imparts. With its publication, Darat al Funun sets an important example of how commemorations can and should be used to broaden one’s horizons, enhance one’s aesthetic and humanist instincts, and bolster resistance to injustice.

Relationships and Couples Therapist

In my couple therapy practice in Jordan, I see many couples grapple with anger management issues. Is anger poisoning your relationship?

Anger is a legitimate primary emotion that is part of our body’s emotional information system. It informs us of when we have been wronged so we can take action to protect ourselves. Feeling angry is okay, but the way we express our anger can damage our relationships. Sometimes anger is a secondary emotion and masks more tender and vulnerable emotions like sadness, fear and shame. 

If anger has become a problem in your relationship, ideally your partner becomes aware of their anger issue and hopefully takes a proactive stance towards managing it by reading self-help books or seeing a therapist for anger management. But as we well know, this is often not the case as people remain in denial. Even when they do acknowledge they have a problem, they tend to blame their partner or other external circumstances as the cause of their reaction.

What can we do?

We cannot force our partner to change but we can change the way we react to their anger. Below are steps you can take to help you deal with an angry partner:

Assessing your relationship

• Identify and acknowledge that your partner has an anger management problem

• Identify and acknowledge your own patterns of behaviour and how you react towards your partner’s anger. Do you give in to their anger and do as they want or do you stand your ground? Do you try to stay away and avoid their anger or confront them? 

• Now that you have identified how you react to their anger, you can start thinking of what you can do differently

Resetting your boundaries

• Identify, know and understand your physical and emotional limits

• Consider what you can tolerate and accept and what makes you feel troubled and stressed

• Identify what you are feeling; discomfort and resentment are often the two main feelings that we feel when our boundaries have been crossed. When those feelings arise, you know that your boundaries have been crossed

Identifying and changing your thoughts

• Identify and keep track of your thoughts; how you think determines how you feel

• Replace negative self-talk (“my partner’s anger is my fault”) with positive self-talk (“I will not be the victim; I deserve to be treated with respect”)

Avoiding rewarding anger

• Try not to react to your partner’s expression of anger by caving in

• Voice your opinion and try to be as calm and as clear as possible. This will communicate that your needs are important and you will not be intimidated by his or her angry outbursts

Learning how to be assertive

• Instead of minimising your thoughts and withholding your opinion, express your feelings, thoughts and needs in a loving way

• If you have never learned how to be assertive, I recommend enlisting the help of a therapist or coach to do so

If you feel that you are in an abusive relationship and your partner can harm you, then you need to get out of the relationship, seek professional help and confide in someone you can trust. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Acupuncture and yoga could offer relief from the hot flashes of menopause, a new analysis suggests. 

During hot flashes, women suddenly feel uncomfortably warm, become flushed and begin sweating. Hot flashes can be treated with hormone therapies, but these have been linked to increased risks of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, breast cancer and other problems, prompting many women to seek non-drug alternatives. 

“I have been doing research in menopause for 30 years. I had heard from many women that they are bothered by hot flashes and do not wish to take hormone therapy,” Nancy Avis, from the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, told Reuters Health in an e-mail. 

Avis and colleagues looked closely at three studies of non-drug treatment options for hot flashes and pooled the results, reporting their findings in the journal Menopause. All of the women had been experiencing at least four hot flashes a day. 

The researchers found that hot flashes became less frequent over about eight weeks in women who tried acupuncture, attended yoga sessions or took health and wellness education classes. 

Overall, they found, any intervention that drew the women’s attention was more effective than doing nothing at all. 

The first study, for example, divided participants into three groups. One group received regular acupuncture, a second received fake acupuncture treatments, and a third did not receive any treatment at all. Women in this study showed a 40 per cent reduction in the number of hot flashes they experienced, whether they were given actual or sham acupuncture treatment — but not if they received no intervention. 

In the second study, women either practiced yoga regularly, attended health and wellness classes, or did not take part in either activity. Women in the yoga group showed a 66 per cent reduction in hot flashes while those in the wellness group showed a 63 per cent reduction. 

In the third study, half of the women received acupuncture treatments. At eight weeks, the acupuncture group showed a 33.9 per cent reduction in the frequency of symptoms like hot flashes, while the group that did not get acupuncture treatments showed a mere 3.3 per cent reduction. 

Understanding the physiological effects of stress management and yoga and how they impact the cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems is useful, Dr Patricia Davidson, of the International Council on Women’s Health Issues, said in an e-mail. 

“Establishing positive health seeking behaviours is critical at this time of life when the risks for chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke, increase,” added Dr Davidson, who was not involved in the studies. 

“The results are not surprising to me,” Dr Monica Christmas, Director of the Menopause Programme at the University of Chicago, told Reuters Health in an e-mail. 

Dr Christmas, who was not involved in any of the studies, added, “I’m in my late 40’s and have been an avid yogi for over 20 years. If there was ever a fountain of youth, I believe it is yoga. The studies show the benefit of doing something active that relieves stress and overall feels good.” 

One problem, Dr Christmas pointed out, is that acupuncture and yoga can be expensive and might not be affordable or accessible to a large number of women. 

The problem of hot flashes is widespread, she noted. “[About] 80 per cent of women experience vasomotor symptoms of varying degrees, which I see in my menopause clinics,” she said. “I base treatment on patient preferences, medical history and severity of symptoms. I often discuss lifestyle modifications and non-prescription treatment modalities as first-line care. [For] women with severe symptoms resulting in significant quality of life issues, I discuss prescription options.” 

Dr Davidson agrees.

“Interventions need to be tailored... balancing risks and benefits,” she said.