The Darker Side of the Computer Spectrum
Panorama
When SQU Students Use the Internet
Mind Over Matter
Oman-India Symposium Committee Meets
News Update
Fungal Biodiversity
of Oman
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 207
View Point
Prevention, not Cure
Before 1970, the health care system in Oman was inadequate. Forty years ago,
with the advent of the Blessed Renaissance, the Omani Government undertook the responsibility of providing high-quality health care to all Omani
people and citizens. Since then, the life expectancy at birth had increased, the
crude death rate had decreased, and the infant mortality rate had declined.
Accordingly, the World Health Organization ranked Oman as the first among
emerging countries for excellence in health system performance.
Khamis Rajab Al Busaidi
Editorial Supervision
Humaid Al Adwani
Despite the improvement in the health care system in the country, the incidence of children born with congenital or genetic disorders is as high as 7%,
while about 21.6% of infant mortality in the country is attributed to congenital
malformations. This high incidence of genetic disorders has been credited to
the high rate of consanguinity, the high prevalence of hemoglobinopathies or
congenital disorders of the haemoglobin synthesis, and G6PD, a recessive hereditary disease.
Editor -in-chief
M.K. Santhosh
Senior Editor
Younis Al Harrasi
Editor & Translator
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Rashad Al Wahaibi
& Photography Dept., CET
Statistics shows that 58 percent of Omani population carries one of the blood
disorder genes. Among 58 per cent of the Omani population, 47 per cent have
alpha Thalasamia gene, 5.5 per cent have sickle cell disease, 2.62 have beta
Thalassemia gene and 1.6 per cent have other haemoglobin variants.
Educating couples before and after marriage is an important requisite for prevention of genetic diseases. The initiative of the College of Nursing at SQU to
organize an awareness campaign for local residents at Al Khoudh area is commendable in this regard. The only way to effectively prevent passing a genetic
disease to a child is to avoid having children. If a couple really wants a child,
however, they can undergo genetic testing to determine their chances of passing any genetic diseases to their child. These genetic tests can help hopeful
parents make a decision concerning whether or not having a child is the right
choice, as well as provide information concerning your baby’s health while it’s
still in the womb.
Photography
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited
for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
Horizon is published three times a month by the Department of Public Relations and Information,
Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
30 January 2011
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Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
Oman-India Symposium
Committee Meets
HH Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd Al Said, SQU Assistant Vice Chancellor for
External Cooperation recently presided over a meeting of the organizing
committee of the forthcoming symposium on “Oman and India: Prospects
and Civilization”. The symposium is organized by the Omani Studies Centre and the Office for External Cooperation at SQU, in association with different government bodies. The meeting approved the overall program of
the symposium and the program of the opening ceremony and reviewed
the preparations.
The symposium will shed light on the deeply rooted ties between the Sultanate of Oman and its neighbouring country, the Republic of India. The
symposium addresses past and present relations between the Omani and
the Indian nations in different aspects such as culture, economy and education.
The event aims to identify links between Oman and India in the areas of
economy, science, culture and education and to explore the economic, cultural, social and historical dimensions of the exchange between the two
countries. It also aims at recognizing the achievements of both the countries
in various fields, strengthening the relations between the two countries and
expanding the horizon for future cooperation.
Ban Soon-Taek Visits SQU
News Update
SQU at Enjazaat Oman
SQU participated in the Enjazaat Oman, an exhibition that portrayed
the achievements of Oman in different fields, which was held from 16 to
21 of January 2011 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. The Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies & Research,
the Department of Public Relations & Information, and the Omani Studies Centre represented the university in the exhibition. The exhibition
detailed Oman’s progress and achievements over the past 40 years since
the dawn of Oman’s new renaissance in 1970 which saw His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos coming to power and the beginning of a new chapter of
progressive development in the country’s history.
The SQU pavilion portrayed the achievements of the university in terms
of student output through the years. It highlighted the chart consisting of the number of masters, bachelor and doctoral graduates passed
out from the university since its inception until the present. The pavilion also celebrated the achievements of the university in the field of research, scientific publications and publishing of other books.
The SQU stall also highlighted the activities of the Omani Studies Centre in serving the university community, the community outside and
international resource persons in disseminating information on the rich
history and cultural heritage of the Sultanate.
UNESCO Director
General at SQU
Mrs. Ban Soon-Taek, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s
wife, visited the Child Care Centre at Sultan Qaboos University recently.
At SQU, she was received by HE Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, SQU Vice
Chancellor and HH Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd Al Said, Assistant Vice
Chancellor for External Cooperation. Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General,
and his delegation is currently visiting the Sultanate.
At the Child Care Centre, Dr. Sameera Moosa, Head of Department of Early Child Education of the College of Education and Director of the Child
Care Centre and other officials welcomed UN Secretary General’s wife. She
watched a short video about the centre and its activities before interacting
with the children and staff at the centre.
The Child Care Centre aims to prepare highly skilled, knowledgeable, and
experienced teachers for the pre-school education sector in Oman. It runs
bilingual holistic programs for kids, maintains a library stocked with books
in both languages for the kindergartners, students and teachers, assorted
tools for early childhood education, and technologies designed for interactive teaching experiences.
Dr. Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General and her delegation
visited Sultan Qaboos University recently. At SQU she was received
by HE Dr. Ali bin Saud al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of the University, HH Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation, and other officials. The delegation
then watched a video on SQU which depicted its performance in
academic, research and community service and internationalization spheres. Both sides discussed the higher education scenario in
the country and the major role played by SQU in this field.
During her visit to Oman Dr. Bokova visited the country’s highest
authorities and participated in the ‘Conference on Education for
Sustainable Development in support of Cultural and Biological diversity’.
30 January 2011 P3
Insight
Dr. Abdullah Al Sadi
Dr. Mike Deadman
The desert truffle, a beneficial fungus (locally called Fagah or Kamah) collected in Al
Buraimi and eaten throughout Arabia
Fungal Biodiversity of Oman
Dr. Mike Deadman and Dr. Abdullah Al Sadi from the Crop Sciences Department of Sultan Qaboos University, in association with
Oman Botanic Garden, have embarked on a collaborative research
to characterise and conserve the fungal biodiversity of Oman. The
study is important as fungi are one of the most diverse groups of
organisms on the planet. The United Nations proclaimed 2010 as
the International Year of Biodiversity, and people all over the world
are working to safeguard the irreplaceable natural wealth and reduce biodiversity loss. This is vital for current and future human
wellbeing. This is the reason that prompted SQU crop scientists to
earnestly pursue the study of biodiversity of fungi.
“In terms of information on fungal biodiversity, Oman’s position is
close to the bottom among the Middle East nations whereas countries like Turkey, Iran and Jordan know much more about their native fungal flora”, Dr. Deadman said.
Dr Mike Deadman, Associate Professor in the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, said that fungi are vitally important for the
good growth of most plants, including crops, through the development of associations between the fungi and the roots of the plants.
On the other hand, they can be extremely injurious, causing disease
and death or reduced fitness. “Around 1200 native plants are found
in Oman. Considering the average plant-fungi ratio worldwide is
1:6, it is estimated that at least 7200 fungal species could be indigenous to Oman. At the moment we know about approximately 100
of them”, Dr. Deadman said.
The medicinal value of fungi is known to everybody since penicillin, perhaps the most famous of all antibiotic drugs, was first derived from a fungus. Other fungi also produce antibiotic substances,
which are now widely used or have been synthesised to produce
drugs to control diseases in human and animal populations. Some
fungi which parasitize caterpillars have also been traditionally used
as medicines. Many fungi produce unusual natural products and
we have only just begun to explore their potential.
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Dr. Deadman pointed out that not all fungi are beneficial to man and
plants. Fungal pathogens can have enormous negative consequences for crop production. Some fungi are parasites of plants. Most of
our common crop plants are susceptible to fungal attack of one kind
or another. “Fungal diseases can on occasion result in the loss of entire crops if they are not managed correctly”, he said. There are also
instances of harmful fungi jumping from native plants to cultivated
plants in Oman.
Commenting on the research venture, Dr. Deadman said that only a
fraction of the total fungal wealth of Oman has been subjected to scientific scrutiny and mycologists have to unravel and explored this
hidden wealth. The Crop Science Department scientists are working
alongside Dr. Annette Patzelt of the Oman Botanic Garden in pursuing the fungi biodiversity project. Scientists from Oman Botanic
Garden are currently pursuing master’s degrees in the Crop Science
Department of SQU and are researching into fungal pathogens of
the native Omani plants. When plants at the Garden show signs of
poor health, samples are taken to SQU so that the disease-causing
pathogen can be correctly identified. This usually involves extracting the fungal genetic material and sequencing the DNA so that it
can be compared with similar fungi found elsewhere. The research
will also support the development of the Garden by identifying fungi that reduce the success rate of plant propagation.
The Oman Botanic Garden aims to collect the entire flora of Oman
on the site of the Garden in Al Khod, illustrating its variety and
beauty for the public and for scientists. So far, the number of plants
at the Garden has grown to 76,000 from 320 species. This is the largest documented collection of Arabian plants in the world. The development of Oman Botanic Garden represents a “fantastic opportunity to study the biodiversity of fungi associated with a nation’s
entire flora” Dr Deadman said, adding that ”the collaboration between Oman Botanic Garden and SQU not only allows us to study
the fungi of Oman but will also give us the opportunity to educate
the public about the benefits and dangers of this group of poorly
studied organisms.”
What
Mind Over Matter
Does Happen Communicatively When
SQU Students Use the Internet?
know as a result of their general experience of life and what writers on the
Internet believe their readers will know.
In Pragmatic theory, all communication is considered as being like conversation, in which there is interdependence and interaction between sender
and receiver. A conversation is meaningful only if both participants contribute to it. What a piece of writing means, then, is not so much a feature of the
text itself as the result of the relationship between the text and a reader.
Readers make sense of texts against a framework of what is already in their
minds. They make predictions, test them, if necessary revise and renegotiate them to produce meaning. Comprehension depends on a reader’s purpose and expectations. But problems can arise if there is a significant gap
between a writer’s intention and a reader’s interpretation. Thus, if Omanis
read texts on the Internet uncritically and indiscriminately, there may be a
communication breakdown because of this kind of mismatch.
Academic essays written by students at SQU illustrate some of these points.
There is sometimes a tendency to accept Internet information as transparent
truth, unmediated by a writer’s intent, background, or bias and a reluctance
to interpret what writers say in terms of the readers’ purpose, experience,
and knowledge of the world. A simple example of this is the student who
in writing an essay about the painting of the Mona Lisa declared that it is
an important feature of our culture, uncritically reproducing the pronoun
that had been used by the writer of her source. There can also be a failure to
perceive irony and sarcasm, which feature in much of the informal English
on the Internet.
By trying to become the kind of reader that the (non-Omani) Internet writer
assumes, Omanis may not only lose sight of their reasons for reading a particular text but are also in danger of abandoning their own identity. The
cultural and intellectual threat the Internet poses, then, is not so much an
overt exposure to foreign ideas and ideologies but, rather, the result of a
failure by Omani readers to position themselves pragmatically in relation
to the texts they read.
Almost all university students in Oman use the Internet in their studies.
Its benefits are well known and cannot be denied. In a world of globalized
communication, its potential value in education seems almost endless. And
yet, Omani students, rather than controlling the Internet, sometimes allow
it to control them.
Because the Internet is used in so many aspects of our lives, there is a risk
of its being taken for granted. For example, students may assume that information is universally applicable if nothing is explicitly stated to the contrary. Often students report statistics and facts relating to other places as if
they applied to Oman. In addition, Internet writers’ unproven opinion may
be accepted as fact. With such a large variety of information (and disinformation) available online, students can fail to judge sources properly; they
may not distinguish writing which is academically authoritative from that
which is not. All these issues revolve around a basic misconception about
the nature of communication in general and can be considered from the
standpoint of the particular area of linguistics known as Pragmatics, which
analyses what actually goes on when people use language.
One important pragmatic fact needs to be recognized: most of what is on
the Internet is not meant for Omani readers. Writers usually believe that
they will be read by people like themselves, who share similar beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, and background knowledge. Writers on the Internet
are more likely than not to be first-language speakers of English in the USA
or Europe, and they assume that what they say will be read by readers who
resemble them. But many of the actual readers of Internet texts are not
native-speakers of English. They have it, as Omanis do, as a second or foreign language. Furthermore, there are discrepancies between what Omanis
What is the correct communicative position of Omani readers with regard to
most Internet texts? Since these tend to be written by and for native speakers of English, Omanis are like eavesdroppers on conversations between
foreigners. Thus, they should read in the role of critical observers of communication between other people. In overhearing exchanges involving
people we do not know, we need to work imaginatively in order to make
sense of what they are saying. Third-party eavesdroppers can observe and
respond to the creation of meaning by other communicators. This way of
approaching foreign texts is productive and valuable, for it can tell us something about the implied opinions and attitudes of people different from ourselves.
The Internet is commonly praised as an interactive medium. But the question of who is interacting with whom is less often asked or answered. Too
much engagement with the “virtual” world of the Internet (where mostly
native speakers of English are “conversing” with one another) can lead to a
neglect of the real Omani community where English is being used between
non-native speakers for an ever-increasing variety of functions. Successful
readers know whether they are the ones being addressed by writers and,
if not, they understand how appropriately to respond to what they read. If
university students place themselves in this position, then they will be able
to use Internet resources and avoid being used by them.
By: James Moody
English Department
College of Arts and Social Sciences
30 January 2011
P5
News Round Up
CIRC Holds Workshop on GNU/Linux
College of Nursing Holds
Genetic Awareness Day
The Maternal Child Health and Community Mental Health Departments of College of Nursing at SQU, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Muscat Municipality organized a genetic awareness and health check up at Jamila Bint Thabit school, Old Al-Khoud.
Nursing students of College of Nursing participated in various activities of the event. The event was attended by good number of family
members from the village of old Al Khoudh.
The highlight of the event was the presentation by Dr.Salam Al-Kindi,
Head of the Department of Hematology of the College of Medicine &
Health Sciences at SQU, about common blood disorders in Oman. He
explained that genetic disorders, especially blood disorders is a big
challenge in Oman as half the population is affected. “The alarming
statistics shows that 58 percent of Omani population carries one of the
blood disorder genes. Among 58 per cent of the Omani population,
47 per cent have alpha Thalasamia gene, 5.5 per cent have sickle cell
disease, 2.62 have beta Thalassemia gene and 1.6 per cent have other
haemoglobin variants,” Dr. Salam Al Kindi said. He explained the importance of having healthy families in the Sultanate.
Dr. Wafa Bashir, Senior Registrar, Department of Child Health gave
a talk on genetic counseling with special focus on premarital counseling. She emphasized the need for people to go for pre-marital
blood tests before their big day comes. “It is only a single blood test
that would reveal all diseases. In case parents are infected with sickle
cell disease, for instance, then the possibility of their children getting
infected with the disease is 25 per cent”, Dr. Wafa said.
As a part of the MoU signed between Sultan Qaboos University and Information Technology Authority (ITA), a workshop titled ‘Train the Teacher’ (TTT)
on GNU/Linux was organised by the Communication & Information Research
Centre (CIRC) at SQU. The training workshop was organized in partnership
with Linux professional Institute (LPI) for the GNU/Linux operating system.
The TTT workshop, started on January 15 continued till January 26 at the advanced networking lab the Electronic and Computer Engineering Department
of the College of engineering.
Prof. Hadj Boudourcen, Director of CIRC said that the mission of the ongoing
workshop was to promote the free and open source software (FOSS) through
training the trainers to support the national initiative on FOSS. The workshop
was attended by faculties from SQU, University of Nizwa and Higher College
of Technology. The course was divided into parts LPI 101 and LPI 102 to prepare
the faculties to take the 101 and 102 exams of the LPI level 1 certification. “This
course covers fundamental Linux skills such as file management and manipulation, text processing, command line use, package management, file systems,
hardware, and many more”, Prof. Hadj said.
The Communication & Information Research Centre at SQU has taken the initiative to launch the Free and Open Source Software Society at the University. It
also joined hands with the Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman to
bring out the first Omani pilot computer system based on GNU/Linux called
Omanix Intillaqah. The MoU signed between ITA and SQU envisages capacity
building in FOSS and encouragement of technical solutions. It also foresees educating the society on the importance of open source software. To this end, workshops, seminars, conferences and awareness programmes will be conducted at
frequent intervals to encourage students to use open source applications.
Regional Award for Undergraduate Student
Hussam Al Rawahi, a student
in the Department of Earth
Sciences of the College of Science at SQU has won the first
place in the undergraduate
division of the student paper
contest held on the sidelines of
the 2nd Saudi Meeting on Oil
and Gas Exploration and Production Technologies (OGEP
2010) held at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) recently.
Hussam won a certificate of appreciation and a gift cheque.
The paper that won first place in the contest was titled “Sedimentologic
and petrographic attributes of the late Barremian to early Aptian Hawar
Member”. Commenting on his paper, Hussam said: “ The name Hawar
came from Hawar Islands in Qatar. The estimated age of Hawar Member
is 125 to 120 million years ago at early Cretaceous in time. Sedimentoloigic
properties and fossil content of the Hawar Member suggest a shallow marine depositional environment under rising sea level condition (transgression).. Two field trips have been organized to wadies of Jabal Akhdar to
30 January 2011
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study Hawar Member: Wadi Bani Kharus in Al Aawabi (north Jabal
Akhdar) and Wadi Muaydin in Nizwa (south Jabal Akhdar). Lithostratigraphic correlation between the two sections indicate that the
upper part of the Hawar Member interfingers with the overlying Shuaiba Formation.
Unlike previously published work that considered Hawar Member
as part of the underlying Kharaib Formation, the outcome of this research re-defines Hawar Member as part of the Shuaiba Formation.
In addition to that, biostratigraphic data indicate that there is no
unconformity between Hawar Member and the underlaying Kharaib
Formation Since deposition of the Hawar Member i related with that
of the Shuaiba Formation, (the latter being a geologic unit that contributes significant hydrocarbon production throughout the Gulf countries), understanding its local and regional extension and properties
is important.
Dr. Osman Salad Hersi, a sedimentologist from Department of Earth
Science, supervised Hussam in this project. An excited Hussam said:
“I would like to thank Dr. Hersi for his full support and supervision
during the time of my study”. He also expressed his gratitude to second supervisor from Petroleum development Oman (PDO) Mr. Sulaiman Al-Furqani for his helpful assistance of data provision.
Panorama
The Darker Side of the
Computer Spectrum
By: Regina E. Xavier & Chandrani Isac
Lecturers, College of Nursing, SQU
Gone are the days of hand written documents, filing cabinets and hoards
of manual search from cataloged instructions. The advent of computer has
virtually abolished these compulsive behaviors. Computer has become the
lifeline of the human race. The continuum of computer’s utility is widespread and cannot be encompassed within the scope of this article. However, the growing evidence on the computer users’ stress can be focused.
This article permeates through these stressors and highlights on the means
to prevent these mishaps.
The following can be cited as causes of computer user’s stress:
Failing to anticipate problems
Procuring cheap computers
Failing to ask help
Failing to related to stress as feedback
Unfruitful experimentation
Unrealistic experimentation
Beating upon yourself
Conflicting ideas
Failing to do your homework
Compromising your own integrity
Many novice computer users (and some veterans too), are reluctant to ask
other people for help. Experienced computer users, supplemental training
or tutorial guide and on-line sources of help can relieve stress originating
from ignorance. Stress can be viewed as a personal feedback. Whatever type
of computer stress you might be experiencing, introspect the situation in
terms of what you could have done to prevent or overcome the issue.
Lack of time forces many computer users to foster the ‘plug and play’ mentality of using hardware or software without reading the manuals or doing the basic tutorials. The stress which cumulates because of this could
be eradicated with proper training at the outset. The world of computer is
dependent on the optimal functioning of man and machine. Hence your
perfectionism is not sufficient to make flawless outputs. Many a times our
perfect and well planned work comes to a tragic end because of one incorrect letter, number, or symbol. Forgiveness and compassion are what you
need to deal with this issue.
The computer world may give us the illusion of working alone, but literature focuses on computer related conflicts at home and at work. At home,
there may be issues of sharing usage between family members, exposure of
children to outside influences, increased financial burdens, conflicts over
the amount of time spent at the terminal and many others. At work, similar
types of issues can surface. These types of conflicts require strong communication, relationship building, and negotiation skills.
Before purchasing a computer or its accessory, the author urges us to research products or companies more thoroughly. Many computer users feel
safe about accepting copied software, using shareware without paying registration fees, giving copies of non-free software to others, or using purchased software programs on multiple machines. The author of this article
concludes this stress generating issue by stating that ‘Do yourself and others a favor--don’t engage in any of this behavior. Even if no one else finds
out, you will know, and that’s all that counts’.
It has been identified that the health related problems due to computer
stress as eye related problems (eye fatigue, dry eye, blurred vision, eye irritation, pain in eye), carpel tunnel syndrome (damage to the median nerve
at the wrist), neck fatigue and neck ache, back fatigue and back ache, head
ache and musculo-skeletal problems. These health issues are preventable
and have quoted the following tips.
Computer users can sometimes forgot to move grossly. This can lead to hazardous effects on the long run. These effects could be alleviated by taking
‘time out’ once in an hour. These sessions should include movements to
hands, legs and back. Taking a short walk periodically has been consistently
recorded in literature as ‘a welcome break’ which improves concentration
and work efficacy. Maintaining a good working posture contributes to a
healthy lifestyle which helps a person to perform and enjoy everyday activities, including the time spent at the computer. Self discipline is the key to
this highly necessitated compulsive behavior.
Computers are truly user friendly, they can be accommodated to suit our
needs. This virtue of the computer has to be taken advantage by its users,
so as to enjoy a long lasting healthy relationship with this technology. Some
cardinal points emphasizes on the need for the monitor to be placed at eye
level within a distance of 50 to 100cms (20-40inches), keyboard to be raised
or lowered and for the mouse to be placed on a platform so as to permit the
user to maintain straight, neutral wrist postures.
Altering the environment caters to the prevention of computer users’ stress
and strain. Devices which require repetitive access (keyboard, phone,
mouse) must be within the primary work area. Literature places a lot of
weightage on the seating arrangement of a computer user. Features which
needs to be enlightened includes a back rest that adjusts well to the natural
curvature of the spine, comfortable seat that allows your feet to rest on the
floor, without arm rest so as to allow your shoulders to relax and your elbow to stay close to your body and five-leg base with casters that allow easy
movement along the floor.
Computer is a man made device and we are to have command over its good
and bad effects. The tendency for dependency to this technology is growing
which further forces every individual to introspect and gain insight into
the stress provoking nature of computer usage. This realization will foster
the birth of refined and rejuvenated behaviors which could combat these
stressors.
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P7
Straight Talk
Prof. Hiromichi Fukui
Hiromichi Fukui is a professor at the Faculty of Policy Management of the
Graduate School of Media and Governance in Keio University, Japan. His
specialisation is in geo-spatial informatics and environmental impact assessment. Prof. Fukui’s current research interests include regional planning, ecological development and global environment issues with emphasis on spatial information systems. He has also served as directors of GIS Association
and Centre for Environment Information Sciences and as guest professor of
the Chinese Academy of Science. Prof. Fukui holds a Doctor of Science in
Earth Sciences from Nagoya University. During his recent visit to SQU Remote Sensing & GIS Centre, he spoke to Horizon.
Horizon: What is the objective of your visit to Oman and SQU?
Prof. Fukui:
My visit is aimed at exploring the possibilities of joint
activities between Keio University and SQU building up Spatial Data
Infrastructure (SDI) for Oman, the Middle East countries and the
world at large. In order to deal with environmental issues from global
scale to regional and local levels, a correct grasp of the history and the
current status of the earth are essential, and we must share a common
recognition of the issues. SDI encompasses monitoring, identifying,
storing the data of phenomena on the earth, then processing and interpreting the raw data, turning them into understandable information to display, publish and distribute. This is the first step to build
a sustainable society. We believe that environmental and pollution
management needs to incorporate a holistic approach.
Horizon: Could you explain the concept of ‘the Digital Earth (DE)’?
Prof. Fukui: The Digital Earth is a virtual representation of our
planet on the internet that enables a person to explore and interact
with the vast amounts of natural and cultural information gathered
about the earth. Much of this information refers to some specific location on the earth, therefore it is referred to as geospatial information which is mainly provide by Remote Sensing and Geographical
Information System. In the last decade, Japan has developed NSDIs
(National Spatial Data Infrastructures) to promote economic development, good governance, and sustainable development. NSDIs that
facilitate the more effective use of national geographic information
resources are core contents in an information-based society in both
national and local level.
Horizon: What prompted you to come to a Middle East country like
Oman in your SDI development march?
Prof. Fukui:
Specific DE activities in our interest are intended to
move sub-Digital Earth project that is Digital Asia. The concept of
Digital Asia is an initiative to provide people and community with
easy access to geo-spatial information over the internet by establishing a scheme to integrate and share the GIS and Remote Sensing data
among all the countries of Asia by using Web-based GIS. Since 2004,
Keio University initiated Digital Asia data sharing project with the
sponsorship of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology of Japan. This project targets to develop an infrastructure
for data sharing via Internet in the region with the collaboration of
potential agencies who will participate on voluntary basis. The media
browser being developed is providing easy and fast access to news
and information that related to social and community activities in
the region. Finally, the project will develop a process to identify most
appropriate system in solving problems associated with any society
with most appropriate way using enormous data coming from various agencies and individuals in the region for the sustainable future
and wealth creation.
Horizon: What role can Digital Earth play in disaster management
and environmental impact assessment?
Prof. Fukui: Apart from natural disasters such as earthquake and
tropical cyclones, emerging adversities such as global warming are all
interrelated. Conventional sciences will not alleviate these problems.
The new approaches associated with the DE concept, the digital information revolution, will help to deal with the emerging risks. The
purposes of DE are to gather information, process, distribute, present
and archive through ubiquitous computing. The accumulated information in the DE can be restructured with respect to the objectives.
Thus understanding of the world and its perceptions will undoubtedly be amplified. Digital Earth is a virtual representation of our
planet, consisting of all its systems and life forms, mainly human society. Thus it is possible to incorporate the world into cyberspace and
visualise disparate natural phenomena and socio-economic activities.
Immeasurable amounts of digital information will be available in the
DE-Library project. This information can be shared and mined for any
kind of research, from genome research for information on human
DNA to any earth surface or subsurface phenomena. Thus DE alone
is itself a big science, remote sensing and internet GIS forming its core
technologies.