Features

Health might be its own reward, but even cash incentives only work in the short term to motivate people to exercise more and activity trackers add little benefit, according to a study from Singapore.

“Readers should not assume that going out and buying a Fitbit is going to make them healthier,” lead author Eric Finkelstein, a professor at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, told Reuters Health by e-mail.

Simply increasing the number of steps a person takes may not translate to real improvements in health or weight loss, he added.

One in ten adults in the United States now owns an activity tracker, the study team writes in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

To determine how these devices affect health and whether adding other kinds of incentives can help increase activity levels, the research team collected data on 800 employees from 13 organisations in Singapore. 

The participants, aged 21 to 65, mostly worked desk jobs with little opportunity for exercise during the workday.

The study team divided people into four groups of about 200 each: those who received only a basic model Fitbit, those who got the same Fitbit and would also receive cash incentives tied to activity goals, those who got the Fitbit and earned charity donations, and people who got no tracker or incentives and served as a comparison group.

For participants earning incentives, some were tied to weekly steps, with a goal of 10,000 steps per day and 70,000 steps per week. There were also incentives for minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week, which was the study’s main focus.

The research team also monitored health outcomes including weight, blood pressure and quality of life.

Participants reported on their progress at six months, at which point the incentives ended, and researchers followed up with them again at the one-year mark to see if the habits formed during the period when they were receiving rewards had endured. 

At the start of the study, about two-thirds of participants were considered to be too inactive, while about a third were considered active. A majority of participants were overweight or obese and around 10 per cent had high blood pressure.

At six months, the group wearing no trackers was getting slightly less moderate to vigorous exercise per week than at the start of the study, while the tracker-plus-cash group was doing about 29 minutes more than them and the tracker-plus-donations group was logging 21 minutes more than the no-tracker group. 

The tracker-alone group was logging about 16 minutes more activity than those without trackers, a difference small enough that it could have been due to chance.

At the one year follow-up, it was the group whose cash rewards had ceased six months earlier that was exercising just 15 minutes more than the no-tracker group and was basically back to their activity levels at the start of the study. The Fitbit-only group was averaging 37 minutes more exercise than the no-tracker group and those who had been earning charitable donations were doing 32 minutes more. 

Since the no-tracker group was still exercising less than at the beginning of the study, the other groups’ additional minutes represented fairly small difference from baseline, the researchers note.

There were no changes in weight, blood pressure or other health measures at either the six-month or one-year marks. 

At the one year assessment, only 10 per cent of participants in all three groups that had Fitbits were still wearing them, researchers found. 

“Wearable devices alone are unlikely to motivate the average person to change their behaviours,” said Dr Mitesh Patel, who studies incentives for physical activity at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Social incentives can help by using people’s natural needs for competition, collaboration and support, he said by e-mail. 

Patel, who was not involved in the study, also recommends combining wearable devices with social programmes or strategies to keep up exercise, much like having a “gym buddy”.

Finkelstein also noted the importance of social influence to help people keep their commitments to be active.

“If the goal is to increase physical activity I would join a gym or walking group. Having an exercise buddy is something I strongly encourage,” he said.

PARIS — Tougher European car emissions tests being introduced in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal are about to bring surprising consequences: bigger engines.

Carmakers that have spent a decade shrinking engine capacities to meet emissions goals are now being forced into a costly U-turn, industry sources said, as more realistic on-the-road testing exposes deep flaws in their smallest motors.

Renault, General Motors and VW are preparing to enlarge or scrap some of their best-selling small car engines over the next three years, the people said. Other manufacturers are expected to follow, with both diesels and gasolines affected.

The reversal makes it even harder to meet carbon dioxide (CO2) targets and will challenge development budgets already stretched by a rush into electric cars and hybrids.

“The techniques we’ve used to reduce engine capacities will no longer allow us to meet emissions standards,” said Alain Raposo, the head of powertrain at the Renault-Nissan alliance.

“We’re reaching the limits of downsizing,” he said at the Paris Auto Show, which ended on Saturday. Renault, VW and GM’s Opel all declined to comment on specific engine plans.

For years, carmakers kept pace with European Union CO2 goals by shrinking engine capacities, while adding turbochargers to make up lost power. Three-cylinder motors below one litre have become common in cars up to VW Golf-sized compacts; some Fiat models run on twin-cylinders.

These mini-motors sailed through official lab tests conducted — until now — on rollers at unrealistically moderate temperatures and speeds. Carmakers, regulators and green groups knew that real-world CO2 and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions were much higher, but the discrepancy remained unresolved.

All that is about to change. Starting next year, new models will be subjected to realistic on-the-road testing for NOx, with all cars required to comply by 2019. Fuel consumption and CO2 will follow two years later under a new global test standard.

Independent testing in the wake of VW’s exposure last year as a US diesel emissions cheat has shed more light on the scale of the problem facing automakers.

Carmakers’ smallest European engines, when driven at higher loads than current tests allow, far exceed legal emissions levels. Heat from the souped-up turbos generates diesel NOx up to 15 times over the limit; gasoline equivalents lose fuel-efficiency and spew fine particles and carbon monoxide.

“They might be doing OK in the current European test cycle, but in the real world they are not performing,” said Pavan Potluri, an analyst with influential forecaster IHS Automotive.

“So there’s actually a bit of ‘upsizing’ going on, particularly in diesel.”

In retreat

Carmakers have kept understandably quiet about the scale of the problem or how they plan to address it. But industry sources shared details of a retreat already under way.

GM will not replace its current 1.2-litre diesel when the engines are updated on a new architecture arriving in 2019, people with knowledge of the matter said. The smallest engine in the range will be 25-30 per cent bigger.

VW is replacing its 1.4 litre three-cylinder diesel with a four-cylinder 1.6 for cars like the Polo, they said, while Renault is planning a near-10 per cent enlargement to its 1.6 litre R9M diesel, which had replaced a 1.9-litre model in 2011.

In real-driving conditions, the French carmaker’s 0.9-litre gasoline H4Bt injects excess fuel to prevent overheating, resulting in high emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, fine particles and carbon monoxide.

Cleaning that up with exhaust technology would be too expensive, sources say, so the three-cylinder will be dropped for a larger successor developing more torque at lower regimes to stay cool.

The turnaround on size is a European phenomenon, coinciding with diesel’s sharp decline in smaller cars. Larger engines prevalent in North America, China and emerging markets still have room to improve real emissions by shrinking.

Inevitable reckoning

Fiat, Renault and Opel have the worst real NOx emissions among the newest “Euro 6” diesels, according to test data from several countries. They now “face the biggest burden” of compliance costs, brokerage Evercore ISI warned last month.

Such reckonings are the inevitable result of on-the-road testing, said Thomas Weber, head of research and development at Mercedes, which has nothing below four cylinders.

“It becomes apparent that a small engine is not an advantage,” Weber told Reuters. “That’s why we didn’t jump on the three-cylinder engine trend.”

The tougher tests may kill diesel engines smaller than 1.5 litres and gasolines below about 1.2, analysts predict. That in turn increases the challenge of meeting CO2 goals, adding urgency to the scramble for electric cars and hybrids.

VW has been far more vocal about ambitious plans announced in June to sell 2-3 million electric cars annually by 2025 — about a quarter of its current vehicle production.

“You can’t downsize beyond a certain point, so the focus is shifting to a combination of solutions,” said Sudeep Kaippalli, a Frost & Sullivan analyst who predicts a hybrids surge.

In future, he said, “downsizing will mean you take a smaller engine and add an electric motor to it”.

Some daycare centres may find “clean plate club” policies hard to resist, even though working too hard to control what kids eat can backfire and make them more likely to gain weight, a recent study suggests. 

Plenty of previous research suggests that when kids experience controlling feeding practices, they can lose their ability to follow their own hunger cues and to stop eating when they’re full. Over time, children forced to clean their plates at every meal may gravitate towards sugary foods and snacks and run the risk of becoming overweight or obese. 

In a recent survey, however, some daycare workers mistakenly believed a clean plate club approach would encourage kids to develop a healthy appetite, researchers report in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, September 17. 

“This study also found that childcare providers use controlling feeding practices because of fear of parents’ negative reaction if they find that their child did not eat,” said lead study author Dipti Dev, a child health behaviour specialist at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. 

“Childcare providers should avoid controlling feeding practices such as avoiding giving food as reward, encouraging but not pressuring children to eat their food and avoiding to praise children for cleaning their plates,” Dev added by e-mail. 

To understand how daycare providers think about feeding kids, Dev and colleagues conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews with 18 women at centres for children aged two to five years old. 

All of the participants had at least some education beyond high school, and eight of them had college degrees. They were 42 years old on average, and had typically been working as a daycare teacher for around 12 years. 

Some of these teachers said they used controlling feeding practices because they found them effective, particularly with picky eaters and stubborn children. 

Plus, food or sweets make good rewards for tasks throughout the day, like using the toilet. Some providers said they thought toilet training would be a lot harder without the candy reward. 

Even some providers who said they did not use controlling feeding practices actually described advocating the clean plate club or repeatedly encouraging kids to taste everything on their plate. 

When daycare providers avoided this type of feeding, it was often because they believed it would be ineffective or because they wanted children to learn to regulate their own food intake. 

Some teachers also said they were aware of research linking controlling feeding practices to an increased risk of childhood obesity and avoided it for that reason. 

In certain instances, they might instead try to encourage kids to eat more or sample more items by letting them touch, smell and play with food —  all techniques that can turn eating into an exploration that kids enjoy. 

The study is small, and does not prove that daycare feeding policies cause obesity or lead kids to have bad eating habits.

But the results still suggest parents should ask how child care providers approach mealtimes, said Nancy Zucker, an eating disorders researcher at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Identify and Sort: How Digital Power Changed World Politics
Josef Ansorge
London: Hurst and Company, 2016
Pp. 271

It is a given that any political authority wants to know the subjects under its jurisdiction, whether to provide services or to control them. In the words of Josef Ansorge: “The sovereign hungers for data,” and this requires “a reliable process to identify and sort our visceral, constantly reproducing, dying, and migrating mass of humanity into stable, legally constructed categories and socially meaningful graduations.” (p. 2) 

In “Identify and Sort”, Ansorge looks back in history to find three different modalities for identifying and sorting: rituals, archives and digital tools, and how each evolved into its successor. “Each represents a cluster of technical practices and a type of political power.” (p. 3)

Even more importantly, he reviews specific events and philosophical writings to pinpoint the social and political implications of each system. While his examples of the ritual and archival modes are fascinating, his depiction of the digital age is quite scary. Analysing widely disparate phenomena, from Obama’s 2008 election campaign to the US army’s use of gaming as a recruitment and training tool, Ansorge raises many pertinent questions about the relation between digital technology and democracy.

For ancient peoples and even some more modern slave societies, certain rituals defined communities and physical interventions, such as ear cutting or tattooing, identified peoples’ status and sorted out transgressors and slaves. As empires and states developed, more precise means of identifying the population were needed for the purposes of taxation, representation and conscription. Increasingly, technical solutions and standardisation were enacted to deal with political problems, as they appeared to be neutral, fit into any belief system, and did not require consensus, with the result of distancing the general population from decision making. 

While some of the processes and models used to identify and sort are quite complicated, others are amazingly simple. It is funny to think that it was the advent of the index card and resulting library catalogues that paved the way for the archival mode, enabling the extensive identifying and sorting that forms the basis of all kinds of population registries used by police, border control, hospitals, educational institutes, etc. 

Some of Ansorge’s most interesting examples come from the annuals of colonialism. His reading of the Aztec empire’s fall to Cortes does not focus solely on the Spanish invaders’ superior weapons. It also highlights “a fundamental incompatibility between two different systems that regulated politics, two systems that failed to effectively communicate with each other” — the Aztecs living in the ritual mode and the Spanish, the archival one. (p. 63)

The Aztecs’ information system broke down in the face of the invaders’ (to them) unpredictable behaviour, and Cortes’ requests to see Montezuma were seen as the ultimate in belligerence since it was taboo for anyone to look at the emperor. 

Coming to more recent colonialism, Ansorge emphasises “global interconnection by showing that there are many cases where more radical and sophisticated practices and technologies were first field-tested in the colonies — census, fingerprint, Hiide, drones, human terrain teams are all applied to the non-Western other — before then being shipped home”. (p. 151)

Ansorge gives a number of recent examples of development policies that challenge the idea that technology transfer from North to South has a democratising effect, and reminds that hi-tech companies are no more neutral than other corporations. 

The development of digital technology has led to the amassing of unprecedentedly huge data bases with more information than the operators can process and whose contents, and the criteria by which people are identified and sorted, are largely unknown to the public. The danger here is that biased criteria can be used to sort out people of particular races, cultures or religions, but it is difficult to challenge such discrimination, as the criteria are unknown. Equally disturbing is the impact of the digital mode on war and defining the enemy, to which Ansorge devotes a whole chapter, often referring to Edward Said’s work on Orientalism. “In the global War on Terror one can see a combination of the empirical with the imperial in a complex technological assemblage that is used to keep track, identify and categorise the ‘Muslim out of place’.” (p. 131) 

While people often accept government surveillance assuming it aims to protect them, in Ansorge’s view, the present situation presents a constitutional crisis, as was highlighted by Edward Snowden’s revelations. “This mass archiving of information is a unilateral modification of the social contract between individuals and political authority. We live in a totalitarian digital present in which state organs capture virtually all of our machine-mediated communications. How did this Stasi-fantasy manifest in a system that imagines itself as anti-totalitarian?” (p. 5)

BALTIMORE — Calcium supplements that many women take to boost bone health increase their risk for heart disease, a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and other institutions has found.

The results show calcium supplements make people more prone to plaque buildup in arteries, which contributes to the risk of a heart attack.

The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, is the latest salvo in a nearly decade-long debate about whether the supplements do more harm than good.

The researchers said their findings give patients reason to use caution when taking the supplements. It is better for people to get calcium from food such as dairy products, leafy green vegetables, and fortified cereal and juices, they said.

When calcium plaque builds up in the arteries, it inhibits blood flow, increasing heart attack risk.

About 43 per cent of men and women take a supplement that includes calcium, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“We think the body metabolises supplements and dietary calcium differently,” said Dr Erin Michos, the associate director of preventive cardiology and associate professor of medicine at the Ciccarone Centre for the Prevention of Heart Disease at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “If you are worried about your bones, then get your calcium through food.”

Michos said the study adds to growing evidence that calcium supplements are bad for the heart. But the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which represents manufacturers of dietary supplements, said just as many studies show the opposite.

The group pointed to evidence in the study that people who get a high dose of calcium from a mix of foods and dietary supplements had the lowest risk of calcification in the coronary artery.

“This confirms the safety of calcium supplementation for heart health, which has been the conclusion of several large studies in recent years,” said Duffy MacKay, the council’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. “Consumers should have confidence in the safety of calcium supplements, and women in particular should be aiming to get the targeted daily amount of calcium through a combination of diet and supplementation.”

The study was prompted in large part because the scientists wanted to build on previous research by others that found calcium supplements never actually make it to a patient’s bones and instead accumulate in soft tissue and muscles, such as the heart.

The researchers, who worked with scientists from several other universities, looked at data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, collected medical information from more than 6,000 patients over time to look at the risk factors and characteristics of cardiovascular disease.

Michos and the team of researchers focused on 2,742 participants who completed dietary questionnaires and had CT scans taken at the beginning of the study and 10 years later.

They found that people who used supplements showed a 22 per cent increased likelihood of developing heart disease over the decade. This was after taking into account demographic factors such as exercise habits, smoking, weight, blood sugar and family medical history.

The research did find that those who consumed the highest levels of calcium — from foods and supplements — were 27 per cent less likely to develop heart disease. It reached that conclusion by comparing the 20 per cent of participants with the highest calcium intake, from diet and supplements, to the 20 per cent with the lowest calcium intake.

Michos called the study limited because it was observational and looked at patient data. A larger, more extensive clinical trial needs to be done, she said.

Dr Michael Miller, professor of cardiovascular medicine, epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said that the study provides further evidence that most supplements in general are not the best way to fight disease. Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration like other drugs.

“We have known this for years from vitamin A, vitamin C and other supplements,” said Miller, who writes about supplements in his book “Heal Your Heart”. “They just don’t work. But if you eat the foods that contain these vitamins, the body will absorb them better.”

Michos said she realises past studies have been mixed, but said there were weaknesses in some of the research that showed no link between calcium supplements and heart disease. She believes that many patients are taking calcium supplements without consulting their doctor and that there are better medications on the market even for women with weak bones, she said.

“I think that a lot of women are taking calcium supplements because they think it is good for their body,” Michos said. “People think that because you get things over the counter they are automatically safe. I think we need to get the message out to our patients that they need to take caution with the supplements they take into their bodies.”

TOKYO — Sony is set to launch its new virtual reality headset, joining Facebook, Samsung and Google in a market that analysts say could boost the global gaming sector.

The electronics giant — which has been leaning on its video games business to claw back to profitability — will start selling its PlayStation virtual reality (PSVR) headset on Thursday in home market Japan and North America.

Priced at $399, the headset is significantly cheaper than rival offerings and Sony is hoping the gadget will fly off the shelves during the crucial holiday season.

PlayStation VR headsets work with PS4 consoles, more than 40 million of which have been sold globally.

Dozens of software titles for the device are in the pipeline, allowing players to fly like an eagle, drive sports cars in high-speed races, and explore castles.

Gamers can also indulge in fantasy by flirting with virtual females thanks to increasingly realistic VR technology.

But with bulky headsets required to immerse players in the action, virtual reality games with segments lasting just a few minutes are currently the norm.

Developers are trying to determine how far they can extend play without causing fatigue or nausea.

Sony has promised that more than 50 games will be available for the PlayStation VR within months of its launch, including zombie-shooter “Resident Evil”, and games based on the “Star Wars” franchise.

Some of the first titles already in store are “Batman: Arkham VR” and “Until Dawn: Rush of Blood”, which early reviewers have said use the virtual reality headset successfully to increase the element of surprise and fear for gamers.

Sony is getting a head start because it has a well-established PlayStation brand and the headset works with consoles already sitting in millions of homes, analysts said.

Earlier this year, Facebook-owned Oculus began selling its Rift virtual reality headsets for $599, a price which does not include the cost of a computer that can handle the processing and graphics demands of the technology.

Taiwan’s HTC set a price of $799 for Vive VR gear, which also requires computer systems that can handle the rich experience.

Google has unveiled its Daydream View virtual reality headgear that is compatible with smartphones and a direct challenge to Samsung Gear VR.

Microsoft announced Wednesday that it was taking pre-orders for its HoloLens — an augmented reality headset it says will allow users to interact with holograms — and would start shipping the device in November.

‘Dawn of virtual reality’

“This year is going to to be the dawn of virtual reality games,” said Hiroshi Sakai, a senior analyst at SMBC Friend Research Centre.

“Tomorrow’s launch could signal the day when VR becomes more mainstream.”

Sony has not released global sales forecasts for the headsets.

The technology, which is still unfamiliar to many consumers, will likely supplement the industry rather than transform it, Sakai said.

“Instead of being a game-changer, VR is likely to give a boost to the gaming industry,” Sakai told AFP.

According to an AFP reporter who had tried the new headset, it was lightweight and comfortable but complicated to install with numerous cables that need to be hooked up to allow it to work.

It may be initially confusing for gamers to adapt their playing style to virtual reality, the reporter said, and users will also need to buy a PS4 camera, which is not provided.

For Sony, the new headset could be key to driving the PlayStation brand, which is essential to its finances as it recovers from years of losses largely tied to an ailing TV unit and consumer electronics.

As Sony battles to stay ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console, PS4 has seen the fastest and strongest adoption since the first generation of the console was introduced more than 20 years ago. 

“[PSVR] is likely to be a significant factor when you look at the bigger picture of Sony’s future business,” Sakai said.

No other title could have better projected the meaning Clara Amado’s works, and surely the artist herself, wish to convey to the viewer.

“The Light of Change” is an exhibition of a somehow “changed” style and imagery in the works of this artist’s long career, but also an allusion to a change in her life, for, Amado has decided to leave Jordan, “my second home” for the equally warm and blue skies of her native Barcelona.

This, possibly last in Jordan, exhibition at Nabad Art Gallery is, in the words of Instituto Cervantes Director Antonio Lázaro-Gozalo, a “search for the possibility of a different perspective and understanding of the self”, a continuation of the process of “self-examination and self-analysis, and everything else implied: isolation, identity, constancy, devotion, estrangement, construction of memories and reassessment of life options”.

She explores such different perspectives and the result of this inner analysis by contrasting light and shadow, juxtaposing dark blocs of colour to fine, luminous lines to create a minimalist landscape that even in the small paintings can send to the immensity, and solitude, of the desert where she seems to be searching for an elusive meaning that might, in the crepuscular light of a spectacular sunset, make itself clear.

Earthen colours — ochre, brown, beige, pale yellow — on their own, make her landscapes pure. Like a thought that comes to illuminate and make sense, these colours, with an occasional golden ray breaking through, create images that are bright, sensible and immutable.

When mixed, the colours create infinite possibilities and degrees of shades, moving gradually from light to dark, hinting, perhaps, at life come full circle or, in the sombre mood around, at the darkness that slowly descends on this area.

But the mood is not bleak. It elicits a wide range of feelings, just like life would.

Abstract images of clearly delineated spaces at times become more figurative, assuming the shape of barren mountains of overwhelming beauty hiding some glowing valleys, not unlike Jordanian landscape on the way to the south.

Rolling hills — or are they waves? — are brighter, in beautiful shades of blue, moving away from the brownish landscape and preparing for the unexpected explosion of red poppies on an orange field that arrest the eye and do not fail to make happy.

Mirror images of a playful sort form lively projections against indigo blue or black backgrounds. Small frames hold symbolic images — Petra’s siq, the outline of the Dead Sea, a simplified country map, deep crevices or stylised human silhouettes, the imagination is free to interpret — only to then make space for bigger canvases in black, blue and ochre tones.

A purely black canvas is bisected by a golden line like a glittering gash: light attempting to free itself from the darkness surrounding it, and prevailing. 

Amado’s works pay homage to Jordan’s landscape. She uses Petra and Wadi Rum sand, together with other natural pigments, to recreate vast, warm deserts, forbidding mountains, a hint of blue waters and serenity.

Maroon, red and blue are used occasionally, but mostly it is ochre, orange, yellow, beige and brown, defined by black.

The images linger on the retina long after being viewed.

It is a touching exhibition, for the imagery it depicts, for bearing witness to Amado’s artistic voyage and because she is leaving the local artistic scene, left poorer for that.

The artist studied drawing, painting, graphic art and mural painting in Barcelona, Spain, Mexico and Italy. She held 27 solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions regionally and around the world. Her works are in public and private collections in an array of countries.

This exhibition runs through October 26.

Can not we really do without 100 apps on our smartphone? Life used to be simpler.

With increased mobility, security on the Web is now everyone’s concern. As to knowing if things are any better, if we are more protected than before or if there are fewer viruses around and less hacking taking place, there is no clear cut answer, though in a general manner it will be a no, things are not really getting better.

Former president of Mozilla Europe, Tristan Nitot, put it bluntly, but rightly: “To use the Internet is to [implicitly] accept a certain form of surveillance.” We are unequivocally warned.

Smartphones and tablets are the new Achilles’ heel of the global network. The consumer tends to think that these devices do not really require the installation of antivirus software, that the operating system, be it Android or other, is well protected. The truth is that these systems are vulnerable as other platforms, such as Windows for example. They can even be more exposed to threats, given the large number of apps that we, in general, install on these portable devices, and that understandably increase the risk.

Installing a good antivirus on mobile computing equipment is not a luxury or a redundant precaution, but a necessity. Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Avira and the like provide inexpensive and good protection, often for as little as JD8 per year. In fact the term antivirus is not accurate for the best products are labelled as Internet Security and protect against various types of threats such as viruses, malware, downright machine intrusion and so forth. Antivirus is only part of the story.

Apps on mobile devices are treacherous. You have to know that whenever you install one you allow it to perform a large set of actions on your device and to have access to information stored on it and that — in principle — is not directly linked to the app’s primary function or usage. An example: the Uber taxi app asks to have access to your SMS messages! Incredible, but true. And yet, I do use it myself, I must confess. Although there is a warning from the app maker when you first install it, we all tend to accept the conditions without even reading the warning. And anyway, not accepting the conditions often means aborting the installation.

To reduce the risk there is the usual list of advice and recommendations such as not browsing suspicious websites, not opening unverified e-mails or attachments, not clicking commands or links that people send you without taking extra precaution and verifying the link, etc. There is a new one and it simply consists of installing as few apps as possible on your tablet or smartphone. The larger the number and the higher the risk.

Acknowledging the level of risk and the fact that it is spreading alarmingly, and willing to address it in the best possible way, authorities in Jordan have set a special unit within the General Security Department and that can help those who have been victims of an attack to track the perpetrator and sometime even obtain compensation. It may not be a foolproof remedy but it has already given tangible results in many cases, according to citizens’ stories. The unit has the capability to track the origin of the attack outside the country’s borders, in cooperation with similar units abroad.

The special department is called Cybercrime Control Unit, as translated from the Arabic name “Wahdat Mukaafahat Al Jaraa’em Al Elektroniyah”. It is part of the larger Criminal Investigation Department. They encourage anyone who may have been the victim of a cyber-attack to report it.

Introduced in 2015, the Corsa VXR version arrived shortly after the latest incarnation of Britain’s best-selling car model arrived in 2014. A hot super-mini hatchback rival to the likes of the Ford Fiesta ST, Peugeot 208 GTI, Renault Clio RS and Volkswagen Polo GTI, the compact Corsa VXR delivers agile handling, muscular output, eager performance and reassuringly stable, “big car” highway ride quality, characteristic of Vauxhall. 

Driven on UK roads, the Vauxhall Corsa VXR is sold globally as the Opel Corsa OPC. Founded in 1857, a carmaker by 1903 and General Motors subsidiary by 1925, Vauxhall began merging with GM’s German Opel brand by the mid-1970s. Offering an almost identical model line-up as Opel nowadays, Vauxhall is, however, consistently Britain’s second best-selling car brand with comparatively better market share and brand equity in its sole native market than Opel does in world markets.

Urgent appearance

Identical to the left-hand drive global Opel Corsa OPC save for its right-hand drive position and Griffin badge — as pictured — rather than lightning bolt emblem, the Vauxhall Corsa VXR is based on its predecessor’s basic platform with similarly compact dimensions yet practical cabin space and packaging. It is however a more sculpted, dynamic and athletic design with sharp headlights framing its hungry low trapezoidal grille, more powerful road-hugging stance, and considerably improved cabin and infotainment and assistance technology.

More aggressive than the “garden variety” Corsa, the VXR’s features a honey-comb grille, more assertive bumper design with big side intakes. Meanwhile, a decorative hood scoop, 10mm lower ride height, prominent side sills, large tailgate spoiler, dual exhausts and rear air diffuser lend it a more grounded yet urgent demeanour. With optional Performance and Carbon packages — as driven — the VXR features carbon side mirrors and grille bar, in addition to 18- rather than 17-inch alloy wheels.

Quick and confident

Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine developing 202BHP at 5,800rpm, the Corsa VXR packs quite the punch, with 0-100km/h dispatched in just 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 230km/h. Quick and eager to build power, the VXR’s mid-range is underwritten by a meaty and broad wave of torque, peaking at 207lb/ft throughout 1,900-5,800rpm during temporary overboost and 181lb/ft otherwise. Meanwhile, fuel efficiency is restrained at 7.5l/100km combined, but flexing the VXRs muscles is often tempting and increases consumption. 

With quick-spooling turbo, the VXR is responsive off-the-line, eager towards its redline. Its mid-range delivery is, meanwhile, versatile and muscularly over a flexibly broad band and, with swift 6.4-second 80-120km/h acceleration. Transmitting power to the driven front wheels, the VXR’s 6-speed manual gearbox features a precise short throw lever and light yet intuitive clutch pedal pick-up. Gearing is well judged for performance and efficiency, with an aggressively short first gear, tall sixth gear and close ratios in between.

Agility and control

Compact, agile and eager through narrow switchbacks yet comfortable enough on imperfect roads, and refined and stable at speed the latest Corsa VXR benefits from revised suspension design and settings, including new bushes and rear axle, and improved damper anti-roll bar rates. Its precise and quick steering has also been revised to deliver more natural road feel, while new mechanical — rather than electronic — Koni adaptive dampers reconcile the VXR’s taut cornering body control with a more forgiving ride.

Rapid, rewarding and reassuring, the Corsa VXR also receives tauter suspension rates and a Drexler limited-slip-differential to reduce torque steer and under-steer as part of the optional performance pack. Turning crisp into corner the VXR’s limited-slip differential allocates power to the front wheel better able to put it down to tarmac, so allowing it to dig in and pounce out with poise, purpose and power. Through successive corners, the VXR compact length and relatively wide footprint provides nimble agility, stability and grip.

Compact comfort

Refined from noise, harshness and vibrations, the VXR is smooth, settled and buttoned down over rebound, with a firm and controlled ride that remains forgiving and fluent for daily driving. Eager and adjustable when chucked through corners, the VXR’s capable chassis is complimented by robust and effective brakes, including larger 380mm performance pack front discs and lower profile 215/40R18 tyres. For more seasoned drivers and additional track driving fun, the VXR’s effective electronic stability and traction can be completely disengaged, or kept on standby in Competition Mode.

Well packaged, the small 3-door Corsa VXR comfortably accommodated four adult passengers during test drive. Shell-backed front seats with high side bolsters and integrated headrests were notably spacious, comfortable and supportive. Driving position is high-set but alert with controls ergonomically laid out, while front visibility is good.

Well built and user-friendly, if slightly busy, the VXR features a chunky flat-bottom steering wheel and standard heated windscreen, A/C and voice control infotainment system. Optional features include numerous driver assistance systems including rear-view camera and lane departure warning.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1.6-litre, transverse, turbocharged 4 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 79 x 81.5mm

Compression ratio: 8.8:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing

Gearbox: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive, limited-slip differential

Gear ratios: 1st 3.82:1; 2nd 2.16:1; 3rd 1.48:1; 4th 1.07:1; 5th 0.88:1; 6th 0.74:1

Final drive ratio: 4.18:1

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 202 (205) [151] @5,800rpm

Specific power: 126.4BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 156.2BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 207 (280) @1,900-5,800rpm

Specific torque: 175.2Nm/tonne

Torque-to-weight: 216.5Nm/tonne

0-97km/h: 6.5 seconds

80-120km/h: 6.4 seconds

Top speed: 230km/h

Fuel capacity: 45 litres

Fuel economy, urban/extra-urban/combined: 9.9-/6.2-/7.5 litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 174g/km

Length: 4,021mm

Width (inc. mirrors): 1,944mm

Height: 1,479mm

Wheelbase: 2510mm

Track, F/R: 1,472/1,464mm

Luggage volume, min/max: 285/1,090 litres

Kerb weight: 1,293kg

Payload: 377kg

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Turning radius: 10.6 metres

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/torsion beam

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 330mm/264mm

Tyres: 215/40R18

Pammi Aunty was in Jordan last month. Who is Pammi Aunty? People who read my columns regularly every week should not be asking this question. What they should be asking instead is what was Pammi Aunty doing in the Hashemite Kingdom? 

She, who is actually a he, was here to promote Jordan as a safe and friendly tourist destination, but if you saw his/her hilarious videos, he/she was essentially having the time of his life. Her life, I mean. No, his life is correct!

Confusion arises when I meet Ssumier Pasricha, the man behind the fictional character of Pammi Aunty. He is a suave looking gentleman and has acted in many television serials, theatre performances and movies. His alter ego, Pammi Aunty, on the other hand, is an impersonation of a typical middle-class Delhi Punjabi woman. She loves to gossip, crib and complain about many things to her best friend Sarla Bhenji, over the phone. With a purple towel wrapped around the head that has giant curlers sticking on it, pink oversized sunglasses and an AC remote that serves as a makeshift cellphone, the comedian literally sheds his identity and gets into the guise of Pammi Aunty, effortlessly.

Ssumier’s mother is Spanish but moved to India when she was 19 years old and speaks fluent Punjabi. His father is Indian and worries about him whenever he travels to distant countries like Jordan. A linguist, Ssumier is proficient in six languages, and switches from one to the next, easily. 

“Pammi Aunty resides in every house and is a combination of our grandmothers, neighbours and aunties. I belong to a Punjabi family and am constantly surrounded by them. One day I created this concept on Snapchat video with my nephew and it just clicked. I never expected it to go viral and have so many people relate to it,” he confides. 

Go viral it did, and how! According to him, the first 43 web episodes altogether received over 5 million views.

I don’t know how many views his videos endorsing the world heritage sites in Jordan got, but the clippings of Pammi Aunty floating in the Dead Sea while sipping tea were riotously comical. As were the ones he uploaded from Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba. 

The manner in which Pammi Aunty talks to her son Timmy on the telephone is also very reminiscent of how our mothers spoke to us. It did not matter how old we were, after the initial greeting, they wanted to know whether we were eating properly or not. If the queries were ignored, it quickly deteriorated into an emotional wrangle of sorts and then a lot of time and effort was spent on placating our mums. 

In real life, Sumier is a soft spoken, courteous and extremely humble person. Dressed in a crisp white pantsuit, he exudes friendliness and warmth. After lunch in my house, he is hijacked by some Indian ladies and taken to a Pammi Aunty themed party held in his honour, in downtown Amman. 

In the evening, he comes to our home once again. He is carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers this time. Over drinks he explains how much he enjoyed working with the Jordan Tourism Board. 

“Pammi Aunty is amazingly funny” I compliment him. 

“She’s now becoming Aunty Preneur,” he says. 

“In other words, entrepreneur,” he corrects himself. 

“Don’t let her become Aunty National”, I caution. 

“In other words… ,” I leave him guessing.