Features

Our cars, our homes, our appliances and even our toys: Things around us are going to keep getting smarter. In 2016, we’ll entrust even more of our lives and their intimate details to machines — not to mention the companies that run them.

Are we ready for that?

You might, for instance, like the idea of turning on your TV with a spoken command — no more fumbling for the remote! But for that to work, the TV needs to be listening all the time, even when you’re not watching. And even when you’re discussing something extremely personal, or engaged in some other activity to which you’d rather not invite eavesdroppers.

How much should you worry? Maybe your TV never records any of your casual conversations. Or maybe its manufacturer is recording all that, but just to find ways to make the TV better at understanding what you want it to do. Or maybe it retains everything it hears for some other hidden purpose.

You may never know for sure. At best, you can hope the company keeps its promises on privacy. More important, you have to trust that its computer systems are really secure, or those promises are suddenly worthless. That part is increasingly difficult to guarantee — or believe — as hacking becomes routine.

And here’s the chief quandary: Every technological benefit comes with a cost in the form of a threat to privacy. Yet not paying that price has its own cost: an inability to participate in some of technology’s greater achievements.

Because smart gadgets thrive on data — data about you and your habits, data about what large numbers of people do or say or appear to want in particular situations — it’s difficult not to share pretty much everything with them. Doing otherwise would be like turning off your phone’s location services, which disables many of its most useful features.

The consequences aren’t restricted to phones and TVs:

— Kids will be able to talk to more toys and get personalised, computer-generated responses. Does the “don’t talk to strangers” rule apply if the stranger is the Hello Barbie talking doll or Dino, the dinosaur powered by IBM’s Watson artificial-intelligence system?

— Cars will work with GPS technology and sensors in parking metres, roads and home appliances to help route you around traffic and turn on your living-room lights as you approach the driveway. But that can also generate a detailed record of your whereabouts.

— Thermostats from Nest and others will get smarter at conserving energy when you’re away. Potential burglars might find that information handy.

— Home security cameras are getting cheaper and more plentiful, but they’re sometimes insecure themselves, especially if you set them up clumsily. There’s already a website devoted to showing video from cameras with no passwords. Though they are mostly outdoor or business cameras, one was trained on a baby’s crib, and another in a living room.

— Wearable health devices will track your heart rate, fitness levels and more — and share achievements with friends and family. But slacking off may carry a heavier cost than those extra holiday pounds, particularly if your insurance company yanks discounts for meeting fitness goals.

— Software from Google and Facebook will get even more refined to help you cut through the noise. That’s great if Facebook is showing you posts from friends you already interact the most with, but will a long-lost friend’s plea for help go unanswered because you don’t see it?

The pending onslaught of privacy trade-offs might seem trivial when it comes to a talking — and listening — Barbie. But maybe it’s less so when your phone knows enough about you to remind you it’s time to leave for an important interview (if the alternative would be losing a shot at that job) or your smart home can really tell you if you turned off the oven before leaving for an international trip.

“The encroachments on our privacy are often self-inflicted in the sense that we will accept the trade-off one bit at a time,” says John Palfrey, co-author of “Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems.

And these trade-offs can be quite subtle. Technological advances typically offer immediate, tangible benefits that, once you’ve put enough of them together, can indeed revolutionise daily life. Can you imagine living your life without a smartphone? A few years from now, you might goggle at the thought of managing your day without constant advice from Siri or “OK Google”.

As for the risks, they’ll tend to be diffuse, abstract and often difficult to ascertain even if you’re paying attention — and most people won’t. In a recently released study, the Pew Research Centre says about half of American adults have no confidence that they understand what’s being done with their data, and about a third are discouraged by the amount of effort needed to get that understanding.

In short, convenience usually wins. Shiny new things are inherently attractive, and it takes a while for some of us to get uneasy about the extent to which we may be enabling our own surveillance.

Humans have made this bargain with technology for some time. When cameras were invented, legal scholars debated how far you can go snapping pictures of people in public. That’s no longer an issue — although the camera on a drone in your backyard is.

Over time, manufacturers will get better at putting in safeguards, and consumers will get better at setting boundaries and taking charge.

For instance, this holiday season’s Hello Barbie talking toy won’t listen in until your kid presses its belt buckle. Though it does store conversations between kids and their dolls to improve speech-recognition technology, its maker says there’s little personal information tied to those conversations — no first or last names, no ages, no gender.

“We don’t need that information,” said Martin Reddy, co-founder and chief technical officer of ToyTalk, which developed Hello Barbie with Mattel. “We don’t want that information. It just makes it more difficult on our end.”

Of course, kids might simply tell their toys personal details about themselves. ToyTalk employees who review such conversations to improve the technology are trained to immediately delete anything sensitive, but they aren’t charged with actively monitoring stored discussions.

Step One in managing interactions with our newly smart digital companions comes down to simple attentiveness. Parents, for instance, can be actively involved in what their kids are doing — in this case, by taking the time to review and delete conversations from ToyTalk’s website.

Step Two might be learning to say no. Many services ask for birth dates, phone numbers and even income levels just because they can — and few people resist. If enough people rise up, companies will stop. There’s precedent: Enough people fed up with online ads have turned to ad blockers, such that websites are taking steps to make ads less annoying.

There will always be a trade-off, but the balance can always shift.

Selected Healing Modalities from the Quran—A Holistic Approach with Universal Applications
Laila N. Irshaidat
Amman, 2015
Pp. 303

Faith is often thought to be the opposite of science, but Laila Irshaidat’s new book demonstrates the considerable overlap between these two fields of human consciousness. An observant Muslim, Irshaidat has been interested in holistic and energy therapies for over 20 years, and attained a doctorate in natural health. In the world view she expounds in these pages, nothing is random, and human beings should leave neither their spiritual life nor their health to chance. “A proper understanding of the existence of a Divine plan for humanity enables one to live in peace and tranquillity.” (p. 21)

Mental and physical health is a state of wellbeing one must actively cultivate, and the wisdom found in the Koran is an essential guide in this respect. In Irshaidat’s view, Islam is “a religion compatible with human nature… that disciplines human instincts and desires without suppressing them completely… “(p. 65) 

To demonstrate the applicability and benefits of the Koran, Irshaidat systematically examines the meaning and practice of the Five Pillars of Islam in successive chapters. For each pillar, she draws parallels to scientific knowledge, and to the beliefs and practices of other religions. She cites numerous scientific studies that reinforce the validity of the Koran’s teachings, as well as the opinions of philosophers, historians, doctors, psychologists and scholars from diverse cultures and religions. As an example, she cites Arnold J. Toynbee’s still relevant words: “The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.” (p. 59)

Prayer is compared to meditation, and the health benefits of each body position of Muslim prayer, if done regularly, are explained in detail. “Prayer is the most powerful tool in bringing the mind and body into harmony. The teachings of Islam give special attention to the mind, since it has a tremendous capacity over the biological functioning of the body.” (p. 86)

Charts are included to show the resemblance of Muslim prayer positions to yoga postures, and quotes from medical doctors and neuroscientists affirm the benefits of such movement in slowing the progress of diseases such as Alzheimer.

The call to prayer (athan) and chanting the Koran is connected to sound therapy. Irshaidat cites recent research showing that “the regular breathing and musical structure of chanting can have significant and positive physiological impact.” (p. 119)

Ablution is likened to hydrotherapy, as it covers important spots in the body corresponding to the zones treated in reflexology. Irshaidat notes, “One of the most efficient tools to manage anger is to preform ablution.” (p. 152) 

The spiritual and health benefits of fasting — the ultimate detox — are explained, while the following chapter lists the properties of sacred foods mentioned as beneficial in the Koran: palm dates, olives, grapes, pomegranates, figs, Cavendish bananas, honey, black cumin (nigella seeds) and ginger. Water is considered sacred in all religions, and there is an analysis of why zamzam water is uniquely beneficial.  

In a chapter, titled, “Experience the Joy”, Irshaidat synthesises the Koranic wisdom highlighted in previous chapters to present an Islamic perspective on fighting depression and a recipe for joy that also includes falling in love with nature and living in the present. In fact, Irshaidat advises to live life as a traveller, referencing Prophet Mohammad’s saying: “The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveller, who takes rest underneath the shade of a tree and then moves on to his ultimate destination.” (p. 220)

At a time when some are carving deeper divisions between different religions and sects to their own advantage, Irshaidat emphasises the commonalities among various faith traditions.

This book can serve as a beautiful introduction to Islam for those who need such introduction. Those already in the know can benefit from its integration of Koranic teachings with health advisories. The book is aesthetically pleasing and embellished with stunning paintings done by the author, as well as photos. Anyone interested in this book can contact the author at [email protected] or +962777740055.

Last month Jordan lost a pioneering businessman, a social activist, a humanitarian, and most of all, a true lover of Amman. A co-founder of the powerhouse engineering and architectural design firm Arabtech Jardaneh and past chairman of Al Nisr Al Arabi Insurance Company, Mohammad Abdel Rahim Jardaneh’s passion for Amman, was a driving force behind his dedication and zeal to its betterment. He served as the president of the Jordan Engineers Association, two terms as a member of the Amman City Council and was for many years (up to 2014) the chair of the Arab Cultural Society (Al Raed Al Arabi School). 

Born and raised in Amman, Jardaneh saw the city as a haven for people and cultures from the region and beyond. 

The following words were written by Jardaneh as a preface for the book “Impressions of Amman” by painter Peter Lawrence, and are as relevant today as they were decades ago.

I became aware of Amman’s first features in our old house that my father built on Mango Street (nowadays Omar Bin Alkhattab Street) in Jabal Amman, to which my family moved in 1935. 

The Jordanian Royal Film Commission now occupies the second and third floors. The first floor, with its large garden, houses memories of my family’s joyful past and now brings together children and grandchildren for special occasions. 

Not only was my world small at the time, moving between school, house and neighbourhood, but Amman was a small town physically, though large when measured by the deep relationships it citizens had. 

The Amman of the past straddled one of the tributaries of Zarqa River, known as Amman’s stream which connects the Raghadan cement bridge downtown with the prince’s divan and the Roman theatre. 

The Hammam steel bridge connects Al Muhajirin (immigrants) area, named after the second wave of Circassian immigrants, with the ItalIian Hospital area, with Jabal Surur and Jabal Al Jofa. 

The relational bridges, by contrast, were unlimited and made of much more solid, lasting material. 

Amman was a simple town in its neighbourhood, but rich in its diversity.

In our simple neighbourhood on Mango Street, or Glubb Street, named after Glubb Pasha who lived in that neighbourhood, there was a broad spectrum of people including Muslim, Christian Arab, Circassian and Armenian families.

Among them: Mango, Anabtawi, Rifai, Mufti, Hikmat, Al Khos, Al Qussous, Swiess, Kashjian, Madanat, Haddad and Hamid. 

Life was not complicated. People were good hearted. Amman was so simple that while going from our house on Mango Street to my father’s pharmacy downtown, which was the second pharmacy to open in Amman. I used to know and greet every person I met, from the garbage collector to the highest-ranking official in the government at that time. 

I still remember how Tawfiq Abu Al Huda, who later became prime minister, gave me a ride in his car to my father’s pharmacy.

There was nothing ostentatious about Amman for its visitors, but it was vivacious city thriving in the hearts of its friendly people. 

Its centre was Al Husseini Mosque and its square, from which three paved streets branched out to Zarqa, Salt and Jabal Amman. 

There were secondary schools in Amman: The Bishop’s School for Boys, Al Ahliyyah School for Girls, the government school next to Petra Cinema, which was the only cinema at that time, and the Scientific Islamic College, which opened in 1947, as well as a number of elementary schools. 

The year 1948 was a turning point in the history of Amman. Life started to have a different flavour. Amman changed from a small town to a big city. 

I left Amman to study in Cairo and then at the American University of Beirut. I used to return to Amman during my school holidays. When I lived in it and worked in the Public Works Ministry, I saw that Amman had become a different city bigger, larger and more complicated. 

I was honoured to be elected as the head of the Engineers Association as well as a member of the Municipal Board of Amman for two separate terms.

We worked hard to organise the city and offer the best services. However, Amman was growing faster than we could organise it. Continual immigration from the neighbouring countries as a result of the prevailing political situation in the region obstructed serious planning efforts. 

What draws me to Amman is not only my attachment to the memories of the past or friendships made that have continued for decades, but my love for everything in it, especially its summer evenings with their mild breezes. Its location at the edge of the desert makes it a meeting place for the warmth of the east and the mild breeze of the west. 

I love Amman; it became a home for me and for my family. As it will be for my children and grandchildren.

During their study abroad, my children (and now my grandchildren) with the encouragement of the family, used to spend the Christmas and summer holidays in Amman among family members and friends. 

During the holidays, we used to have group trips in the summer; it has become a tradition that the three generations plan and look forward to.

A cohesive family has been the best guarantee of a better society. 

As my father Abdul Rahim Jardaneh, I and my brothers Nizar and Basel have contributed to building and serving this homeland, I am sure that the generations to come will follow the same path. 

I extend my love to Amman and its people. May Amman stay radiant in its colours, rich in its people, scented with the smell of the jasmine of its old neighbourhoods.

As we reach the cusp of another year-end, I am filled with ambivalent thoughts. Should I ruminate on the 12 months that have gone by, or should I focus on the fresh set of 12 months that are approaching us? 

Without getting into too much of detail about the year that was, let me just say, if I had a gratitude diary, I would firstly be grateful for being alive. I was not in the wrong place at the wrong time and, therefore, did not get into a road accident, become a terrorist target, suffer a medical trauma or have any other fatal catastrophe. For this I am very thankful to God, nature and the divine spirit that is watching over me.

Secondly, I am filled with gratitude for a fair bit of travelling that I did throughout this year. Some might say, I was permanently in and out of airports but they would be exaggerating. Other than seeing new places, cities and cultures, I managed to be with my friends when they celebrated their milestone birthdays or anniversaries. The joy on their faces at seeing me was enough reward for the jet lag and the long haul flights that I had to undertake.

Finally, I am happy that I got to live in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for one more year, taking the total tally of my years in Amman, to five. I don’t know about the other expatriates, but I am delighted to be based here, and why shouldn’t I be? Only yesterday, there were five people who guided me as I parallel parked my car, including the two, who were ahead of me in the lane, but stopped and got out of their vehicles to do so. I mean, where else would one have such courteous folks?

On a personal note, my eyesight deteriorated some more. When I went to the optometrist and she said my power had jumped, I disagreed with her completely. I read the words on the reading board in a rushed manner to confuse her, but she would have none of it. We argued over the number she prescribed, till she reminded me firmly that we were not in a vegetable market.

But since I was the one paying for the final product, I dug my heels in, so to speak. Ultimately, I had my way and got the reading glasses of my choice. While I was at it, I ordered six pairs of them. She wrote down my request in a totally unperturbed fashion and then raised her eyebrows to ask me why. I was losing my memory, I told her, preparing myself for another disagreement. But she agreed with me so readily that I felt a bit cheated.

For the New Year, I wish all my readers health, wealth and happiness. For myself, I wish that a latest health food got discovered, that would help me in enhancing my total recall.

“At the stroke of the midnight hour,” our daughter quoted the other day.

“When the world sleeps,” I continued automatically.

“Hush,” she said.

“India will awake to life and freedom,” I concluded. 

“This is a famous speech, right?” she queried. 

“India’s first prime minister delivered it,” I said. 

“Wow,” she exclaimed. 

“Tryst with something it was called,” I muttered. 

“What thing?” she was curious. 

“I’m trying to remember,” I admitted. 

“You are destined to forget everything,” she complained. 

“That’s it! Tryst with destiny,” I yelled.

LOS ANGELES — “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has reached $1 billion at the box office, achieving the milestone with record-setting hyper speed.

The Walt Disney Co. said “The Force Awakens” crossed the billion-dollar mark Sunday, accomplishing the feat in just 12 days. The previous movie to reach $1 billion the fastest was Universal’s “Jurassic World”, which did it in 13 days in June. “Jurassic World” also had the benefit of record grosses in China. “The Force Awakens” doesn’t open in the world’s second-largest movie market until January 9.

J. J. Abrams’ installment of “Star Wars” also posted the biggest Christmas Day box office in history with $49.3 million and the best second-weekend earnings with $153.5 million.

“The Force Awakens” has been setting records since its debut December 17. It brought in a galactic $238 million in North America over its opening weekend, besting previous record-setter “Jurassic World”, and set international opening-weekend records in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe. It scored the biggest worldwide debut with $529 million. It also topped $100 million in IMAX screenings in 10 days, another global record.

“You almost have to rewrite all the record books for this movie,” box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak said. “It’s absolutely mind-blowing that ‘Star Wars’ could get to a billion dollars in 12 days and it hasn’t even opened in China, the second biggest movie market in the world.”

The power of “Star Wars” meant the rest of the week’s releases were competing for second place. That prize went to the Paramount comedy “Daddy’s Home”, which opened with $38.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. David O. Russell’s new drama starring Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”, debuted in third place with $17.5 million.

A flurry of new films also opened in the top 10 this weekend. “Concussion”, the Will Smith-NFL drama, took in $11 million, good for sixth place, followed by the financial-crisis saga “The Big Short”, which collected $10.5 million. The remake of “Point Break” opened with $10.2 million. And Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, “The Hateful Eight”, debuted in 10th place with $4.5 million.

A juggernaut like “Star Wars” empowers the entire industry, Dergarabedian said.

“It’s great for the audiences, great for studios and theatre owners in particular who can point to this and say the movie theatre industry is as viable and relevant as it’s ever been,” he said.

Even though poor health is a known cause of unhappiness, and bad lifestyle choices often follow bad moods, misery alone probably won’t kill you, a UK study suggests. 

“We found that after accounting for poor health and other lifestyle choices, being happier doesn’t make you live longer, and being stressed doesn’t increase your risk of death,” lead study author Bette Liu of the University of New South Wales said by e-mail.

To explore the connection between unhappiness and the likelihood of dying, Liu and her colleagues looked at data on more than 700,000 middle-aged women collected over more than a decade. At the start, when the women were around 59 years old, 17 per cent reported being unhappy, and this was more likely in women who were in poor health.

During the next 10 years, about 31,500 women died, representing about 4 per cent of the study population. 

After researchers adjusted for a host of factors independently linked to mortality — like hypertension, diabetes, smoking, drinking, asthma, arthritis, depression and anxiety — mere unhappiness wasn’t associated with increased mortality from all causes, or specifically from cancer or heart disease. 

The data was collected from 1996 to 2001. When they joined the study, and again every three to five years, women completed questionnaires asking about social and demographic factors, lifestyle choices and health. 

At the start of the study, 39 per cent said they were happy most of the time, and another 43 per cent described themselves as usually happy. Researchers counted as “unhappy” the 16 per cent of women who were happy only sometimes and the 1 per cent who said this was a rare occurrence.

Over time, few women changed their assessment of their own happiness levels, the researchers report in The Lancet. 

Generally, the happy women in the study were older, less likely to have advanced degrees and more likely to be nonsmokers as well as regular exercisers with steady romantic relationships who routinely participated in religious or other group activities. These happy women were also more likely to get eight hours of sleep each night. 

In contrast, the unhappy women were more likely to report only fair or poor general health and to be in treatment for depression or anxiety, the study found.

Women were 20 per cent more likely to die during the study if they reported being in fair or poor health. 

There is no perfect way to measure happiness, the authors concede. Unhappiness might, however, lead people to do things known to hasten death like drink too much or exercise too little, they speculate.

“Previous reports of reduced mortality associated with happiness could be due to the increased mortality of people who are unhappy because of their poor health,” the study team points out.

It’s also important to note that death isn’t the only outcome that matters when assessing the benefits of happiness, noted Philipe Barreto a researcher at the University Hospital of Toulouse in France who wrote an accompanying editorial. 

Even if happiness won’t impact life expectancy, it will probably be associated with quality of life, Barreto said by e-mail.

“In other words, even if happiness does not add years to life, it probably adds life to years,” Barreto said. 

Having made huge sales and brand equity gains following the 2008 financial crisis as other automotive brands suffered, Hyundai are now at the crux of another transformative phase. With enhanced emphasis on product refinement, and a sharper maturing design direction, Hyundai also recently and finally confirmed plans for two more prestigious sub-brands. 

With luxury cars to be repurposed for the Genesis brand and an N performance wing announced — with products in the offing — Hyundai is pursuing more profitable segments to offset the export implications of a stronger Korean won and weakened euro and Japanese yen. But while these gestate, mainstream models like the new Tucson compact crossover remain Hyundai’s bread and butter.

Complex yet fluent

The Korean brand’s third best-selling model and the most popular crossover SUV in the region, with 60,000 units sold in 2014, the outgoing Tucson leaves big shoes to fill. But benefiting from Hyundai’s increased design, refinement and technology emphasis, the new Tucson is a thoroughly improved product expected to build on its predecessor’s success.

Characterised by sculpted surfaces, defined ridges and dynamic posture, the new Tucson’s interpretation of Hyundai’s evolving Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design direction is a more complex yet fluent and more cohesive aesthetic. Dominated by a bold and broad three-slat hexagonal grille, flanked by squinting inward-tilted headlights, the new Tucson also features hexagonal lower intakes and foglight housings.

With concave and convex surfacing, bulging and scalloped bonnet, carved sills and character lines, the new Tucson has greater presence. And with sharply descending roofline and longer and wider dimensions, it takes a more urgent stance, especially with optional 245/45R19 footwear filling its wheel arches, as tested during the recent global launch in the Canary Islands.

Flexible and frugal

Driven in range-topping Tucson 1.6 T-GDI guise with four-wheel drive and 7-speed dual-clutch automated gearbox, Hyundai’s compact crossover’s turbocharged direct injection engine develops 183BHP at 5500rpm and 195lb/ft at 1500-4500. Responsively versatile throughout a broad mid-range, the Tuscon T-GDI is more muscular than the naturally-aspirated 2.0 MPI version, and is confident and flexibly exploitable on inclines and when overtaking.

Driving its front wheels under normal circumstances and able to divert power rearwards when necessary for additional traction, the Tucson T-GDI is confident off-the-line. Covering the 0-100km/h dash in a brisk 9.1 seconds and capable of 201km/h, the 1695kg Tucson 1.6 T-GDI also returns frugal 7.5l/100km combined cycle fuel efficiency rating.

Slick, swift and seamlessly smooth shifting the 1.6 T-GDI’s 7-speed dual-clutch is more rewarding and efficient than traditional six-speed automatic gearbox versions. More responsively concise in “sport” mode, the Tucson’s dual-clutch gearbox could benefit from slightly snappier shifts and the ability to hold gears at its rev limiter in manual paddle-shift mode for a discernibly sportier “sport” mode.

Agile and eager

Agile and eager through winding hilly and country routes during test drive, the new Tucson’s compact size and larger footprint lend it a nippy manoeuvrability and confident road-holding. Benefiting from more linear torque delivery and precise on-centre responsiveness, the new Tucson’s steering delivers better feel and feedback, while new rebound spring makes it more settled on sudden crests and dips

Tidily tucking into corners and diverting power to rear wheel through tight twists, the Tucson pulls out assertively. However at certain angles and inclines, one felt that closer second and third ratios or a slight power rise to existing 183BHP or 201BHP iterations of the same engine would lend it a sportier and urgent charisma.

One hopes that the newly formed N division might be looking into such possibilities, even if at the expense of efficiency for a hotter Tucson iteration. Nevertheless, the new Tucson 1.6 T-GDI is an accomplished and rewarding compact crossover, and benefits from improved front MacPherson strut and rear multi-link suspension design fir discernibly improved agility, body control and grip.

Refined and roomy

Stiffer and better insulated and quieter, the new Tucson is built using 51 per cent high strength steel content and benefits from 48 per cent enhanced torsional rigidity for better ride, handling and collision safety. Smooth, fluent, stable and refined riding on highway, B-roads and gravel and dirt roads, the Tucson also gets revised bushes for improved noise, vibration and harshness refinement.

Horizontal and symmetrical in design inside, the new Tucson cabin is noticeably improved in aesthetics, textures and ergonomics, and features an airy and up-market feel. Longer, wider and slightly lower, the new Tucson offers better cabin and 10 per cent improved cargo space including unexpectedly accommodating rear seats. Driving position is supportive, comfortable and alert, with ventilated 10-way adjustable driver’s seat.

Well-equipped, the new Tucson features an 8-inch non-reflective infotainment display with faster navigation system and key-detecting automatically opening powered tailgate among other features. In terms of safety, Hyundai expect to receive the maximum rating for 25 per cent front overlap crash safety. Technology features include automatic cruise control, Blind Spot Detection and front and rear parking assistance, and other systems.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1.6-litre, transverse, turbocharged 4 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 77 x 85.44mm

Compression ratio: 10:1

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

Gearbox: 7-speed dual clutch automated, four-wheel drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 175 (177) [130] @5500rpm

Specific power: 110BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 103.2BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 195 (265) @1500-4500rpm

Specific torque: 166.5Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 156.3Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 9.1 seconds

Top speed: 201km/h

Fuel economy, urban / extra-urban / combined: 9.2- / 6.5- / 7.5 litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 175g/km

Fuel capacity: 62 litres

Length: 4475mm

Width: 1850mm

Height: 1650mm

Wheelbase: 2670mm

Track, F/R: 1604/1615mm

Ground clearance: 172mm

Approach / break-over / departure angles: 17.2° / 18.6° / 23.9°

Cargo capacity, min/max: 488/1478 litres

Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.33

Kerb weight: 1,695kg

Suspension: MacPherson struts/multi-link

Steering: Electric assistance, rack & pinion

Turning circle: 10.6 metres

Lock-to-lock: 2.71 turns

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs

Tyres: 245/45R19

WASHINGTON — US smartphone users are anxious to protect their private data, but it can be challenging in a massive system of applications with various policies and technical needs.

A recently released study by the Pew Research Centre found 235 types of permissions on more than 1 million apps in the Google Play Store.

The survey found smartphone users are keen to understand how their data is being used and shared: 60 per cent of people using the Play Store had decided against installing an app when they discovered how much personal information is required, and 43 per cent had uninstalled an app for the same reason.

Users need to accept terms when downloading an application.

But the study noted that “once that permission is granted, the apps can amass insights from the data collected by the apps on things such as the physical activities and movements of users, their browsing and media-use habits, their social media use and their personal networks, the photos and videos they shoot and share, and their core communications”.

The researchers said 90 per cent of app downloaders indicated that how their personal data will be used is “very” or “somewhat” important to them when considering whether to download an app.

“The data suggest that users are concerned about the information that apps require, but less is known about what permissions these apps are most likely to ask for,” said Pew research Aaron Smith.

App permission is not necessarily pernicious, the researchers said: a programme may need to access the camera, flash or location in order to function properly.

But more troublesome is how personal data is accessed and shared with marketers or other parties.

Privacy depends on context

“Our research on privacy suggests that Americans’ attitudes are highly contextual — users might be happy to share a particular piece of information in one context, but much more concerned about sharing it in a different context,” said study author Kenneth Olmstead.

“Some of the most popular apps require their users to grant access to a wide range of potentially sensitive personal information — while at the same time, many apps request little to no information from their users but have been downloaded only a handful of times.”

The research, focusing on Android applications and not Apple’s iOS apps, which are on a more tightly guarded system, said a relatively small number of apps dominate the ecosystem.

It found 47 per cent of all apps available in the Google Play Store had been installed fewer than 500 times, while 11 apps were downloaded more than 500 million times.

The research underscored growing privacy concerns about smartphone applications and their ability to glean data from users.

A separate study last month by university researchers found 73 per cent of Android apps shared personal information such as e-mail addresses with third parties, and 47 per cent of iOS apps shared location data with third parties.

Apple has in some cases removed applications that share data with third parties without user permission.

But the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and Carnegie Mellon University said much of the sharing of data was not disclosed.

“Given the popularity of apps on smartphones, consumers worry about how much personal information apps share,” they wrote in the Journal of Technology Science.

The Pew research found the average application asks for five permissions, with the most popular one simply accessing the connectivity of the smartphone.

The majority of the permissions related to allowing apps to access hardware functions of the device such as controlling the vibration function, while 70 allowed apps to access some kind of personal information.

Police Encounters: Security and Surveillance in Gaza under Egyptian Rule

Ilana Feldman 

California: Stanford
University Press, 2015

Pp. 207

Egypt’s policing of Gaza in the years 1948-67 may seem a rather narrow topic, but the analysis in this book extends to broader questions of politics, citizenship, community, popular aspirations and pivotal points in Gaza’s history.

Feldman is Associate professor of anthropology, history and international affairs at George Washington University. She has spent much time in Gaza, and conducted both interviews and archival research for this study.

Based on evidence ranging from the nitty-gritty of who was arrested and why, to the testimonies of former Palestinian police officers and the writings of imprisoned communists, the book reveals “a policing apparatus that concerned itself with the control of social and moral order as well as crime and politics, that engaged in the surveillance of seemingly ordinary activity, and relied on informers as much as professional police”. (p. 2)

It also reveals links to “the colonial policing that existed in Palestine before 1948, and the increasingly authoritarian policing that developed in Egypt during the 1950s”. (p. 3) 

While much about Egypt’s policing was similar to policing anywhere, there were also unique features related to the geopolitical situation —Israel’s proximity, Gaza’s provisional borders and unresolved legal status, and the presence of thousands of refugees, only recently expelled from their homes in historical Palestine. 

Several paradoxes were built into the Egyptian security forces’ dealings in Gaza: On the one hand, Gazans were viewed as a subject population in need of protection, care and rights. On the other hand, they were viewed as security threats, whose actions could provoke a violent Israeli response or threaten Egyptian control. Moreover, widespread policing produced both “security about daily life [little crime or violence] and insecurity about other members of the population, about political machinations inside and outside Gaza, and about the future”. (p. 24) 

Overall, policing was a repressive undertaking, but Feldman also shows another side of the story: “Perhaps more unexpected are the ways this expansive observation also provided mechanisms for people to influence government and to make changes in the conditions of their lives”. (p. 72)

Widespread surveillance made the police aware of popular demands. To be on top of the situation, they required that the public participate in policing by informing on their compatriots, and police reports indicate that Gazans did report others’ suspected political or criminal activities, as well as social behaviour considered harmful to the community. In response to signs of popular discontent, the police often moved to address everyday problems and even corruption in their own ranks. Due to this reciprocal relation, Gazans could sometimes press for their own demands for public order, protection, representation, and the right to fight for the liberation of Palestine, as occurred in 1955, when Egypt changed its policy from preventing Palestinians from crossing the border, to supporting fedayeen actions.

Entering into virtually every sphere of life, the police also dealt with honour killings, which “bring two features of the security field into conflict: interdiction of crime and the claim of propriety”. (p. 87)

Feldman cites an interesting example of a woman who was strangled in Khan Yunis. “In this case, the police response to the murder did not engage the question of the validity of the charges of ‘immorality’ against Fatima. Killing her was murder, whatever the justification.” (p. 88)

This was in 1965, whereas such thinking has only recently taken hold in the judiciary of some countries in the region, if at all.

Police records not only tell a lot about the situation in Gaza, but, according to the author, “provide a rare window into the details of police procedure in the security states of the Arab world”. (p. 22)

Over time, policing in Gaza also acquired an international dimension as Gaza was the destination of the first ever UN peacekeeping force — the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), deployed after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 1957. In Feldman’s view, Gaza’s experience also has universal implications: “As we think about what conditions are necessary for civic and political action now — a question that has tremendous importance — it is worth remembering that the possibility of such action can exist even in highly policed and constrained circumstances… The lives of Gazans under Egyptian rule and our lives today, in whatever country we live, are shaped in this nexus of possibility and constraint.” (p. 149-150

NEW YORK — Kiddie tablets have grown up.

Tablets designed just for kids are getting more sophisticated as they face increased competition from regular tablets. The new products also have better screens, speedier chips and fashionably slim bodies. They let older children do more, yet hold their hands until they’re ready for unsupervised access.

Although many of the tablets were originally conceived as educational toys for kids as old as middle schoolers, they’ve been more popular with younger children. Older kids have been apt to reject them in favour of their parents’ tablet or smartphone.

That shift has prompted companies to focus more on preschoolers and kindergarteners, as they create super-durable products that can withstand repeated abuse and develop games and apps that teach reading and math.

But now, some of those companies are looking to take back some of the sales to older kids that they’ve lost over the years, offering premium products — most with price tags of over $100 — that look and perform less like toys and more like the ones adults use.

LeapFrog, maker of the toy-like LeapPad, released its first Android tablet this year. And Kurio is branching out to Windows 10 and includes a full version of Microsoft Office in a new tablet-laptop combination.

The use of Android and Windows software, in place of the more basic, custom-made systems used in toy tablets, allows for more sophisticated apps and games and a range of content from standard app stores.

Monica Brown, LeapFrog’s vice president for product marketing, said the company aimed to “create something that was kind of sleek and more tech forward for kids who were looking for something that felt like their parents’ tablet”.

But parents still want educational content and safety features that come with a tablet designed purely for kids. LeapFrog’s Epic, along with the other new tablets for kids, are attempts to bridge that gap.

The Epic looks like a regular Android tablet, but comes with a removable bright-green bumper. It is much faster than a LeapPad and can run versions of popular Android games such as “Fruit Ninja” and “Doodle Jump”. There’s access to the Internet, but it’s limited to about 10,000 kid-safe websites (though parents can add others). Parents can also limit and track how much time a child spends watching videos, playing games or reading.

Lynn Schofield Clark, a professor of media studies at the University of Denver, said kids tablets are a tough sell these days.

“Kids are always aspirational in their ages, and they’re always interested in what older kids are doing,” Clark said, pointing to the fascination that many preteens have with smartphones as a prime example.

Meanwhile, most parents won’t spend money on kids-only gadgets unless they believe they offer significant educational benefits.

“If they’re just looking for something to entertain their kid, then why wouldn’t they just hand over their smartphone?” she asked.

Kurio aims to answer that question with the Smart, a device that let kids do things they previously might have needed their parents’ laptop for, such as typing up and saving their homework online or playing video on their TV through an HDMI cable. The Smart is a Windows 10 laptop with a detachable screen and comes with a free year of Microsoft Office.

Eric Levin, Kurio’s strategic director, said kids using children’s tablets are getting younger, as older kids gravitate towards adult products. Four years ago, he said, most Kurio users ranged from ages 6 to 12. Now, half of them are 3 to 5.

Although older kids may be ready for adult tablets, the shift has left those 8 to 12 without age-appropriate devices, Levin says. The Smart tries to fix that.

Other makers of kids tablets have also gone high-end this year. Fuhu bills the Nabi Elev-8 as a premium, 8-inch tablet. But the company ran into financial problems early in the holiday season, and its products have been tough to find.

Nonetheless, adult tablets remain popular with kids.

Amazon touts its Fire tablet as something the entire family can use, eliminating the need to buy something just for the kids.

“While I appreciate that might have led other companies to adjust their products, we’re upping our game based on what customers want in the best kid experience,” said Aaron Bromberg, senior manager of product management for Amazon Devices.

The tablet’s FreeTime app lets parents set up profiles for each kid, with access to only the content they approve. It also lets parents limit the amount of time spent on different kinds of content such as videos or apps. For an additional fee, Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited service offers more than 10,000 books, apps, games and videos geared towards kids ages 3 to 10.

Nonetheless, Amazon is selling a kids’ edition tablet for $100. It’s essentially Amazon’s bare-bones $50 Fire tablet packaged with a colourful protective bumper and a year’s subscription to FreeTime Unlimited.

It also comes with a two-year guarantee: If your kid breaks it, Amazon will replace it.