Is the radiation from mobile phone base station antennas a health hazard?
Introduction:
There are mobile phone base station antennas on towers and buildings throughout Australia’s metropolitan areas. These antennas are part of the mobile (or cellular) telephone network and they emit radiofrequency (RF) radiation. This fact sheet provides information about the possibility of adverse health effects arising from exposure to this radiation.
Current research indicates that no adverse health effects should be expected from exposure to the RF radiation from mobile phone base station antennas. Read on for more detail.
Antenna Description and Operation
When a call is made from a mobile telephone, RF signals are transmitted between its antenna and the antenna at a nearby base station. The telephone call is then routed through telephone network (cable or radio) to the destination telephone.
Mobile telephones emit signals at the frequency of around 800 MHz for the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) network, 900 & 1800 MHz for the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) network and 2100 MHz for the 3G network. These signals are picked up by antennas which are on the towers. The signals may also be transmitted between base stations and are in a higher frequency range, 15 to 23 gigahertz, and radiated as a very narrow beam by dish shaped antennas, also mounted near the top of the tower.
Radio Frequency Radiation
RF radiation, as well as ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation and power frequency fields, are types of non-ionising radiation. These radiations, together with ionising electromagnetic radiation (X radiation and gamma radiation) make up the electromagnetic spectrum (Download a chart (PDF 384kb) of the electromagnetic spectrum).
When ionising radiations collide with biological material, they create positively and negatively charged particles, which may have adverse effects. Non-ionising radiations cannot create such particles. As far as is currently known, RF radiation, for example, can only cause the molecules in biological material to vibrate and thereby generate heat.
Exposure Levels and Recommended Limits
The exposure levels of RF radiation are measured in microwatts per square centimeter (abbreviated as μW/cm2). One μW is a millionth of a watt. The maximum exposure levels measured adjacent to the base station towers are less than 2 μW/cm2. The exposure level decreases with increasing distance from the base of the tower.
These levels can be compared with 450 μW/cm2, which is the exposure limit at 900MHz for members of the public (that is, unlimited exposure duration) recommended by the ARPANSA Radiation Protection Standard - "Maximum exposure levels to radiofrequency fields - 3kHz to 300GHz"
Health Effects
Current research indicates that, at the exposure levels indicated above, RF radiation is not known to have any adverse health effects.
It is considered that rises in tissue or body temperature of about 1.0 oC or more are required before any adverse effects will occur. In cases of pregnancy, rises in the temperature of the foetus of 2.5 to 5 oC are necessary before defects are seen in the newborn. These temperature rises will not occur unless the exposure level is greatly in excess of the Australian Standard mentioned above. Exposure to the low level of RF radiation emitted from base station antennas will not, in fact, cause any noticeable temperature rise.
There are many reports in the literature of research on non-thermal effects, usually of a subjective nature. Studies that have investigated if RF radiation affects biological cells, other than by heating them, are inconclusive. In addition, the exposure levels used in these studies are higher than those mentioned above.
The present concern that people have about RF exposure is whether these non-thermal effects also include cancer. While human studies to assess the possibility that RF exposure increases the risk of cancer are few in number, laboratory studies do not provide evidence to support the notion that RF fields cause cancer. Review groups evaluating the state of knowledge about possible links between RF exposure and excess risk of cancer have concluded that there is no clear evidence for any links. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency continues to closely monitor the research being conducted in this field.
Conclusion
No adverse health effects are expected from continuous exposure to the RF radiation emitted by the antennas on mobile telephone base station towers.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Cordless phones: the unspoken DECT hazard at home and at work
Cordless phones: the unspoken DECT hazard at home and at work
Why talk about DECT phones on a TETRA website? One main reason is to help determine causes of symptoms that might be attributed falsely to TETRA. We have heard and found many reports of similar adverse symptoms that are more likely to be caused by DECT (Digital Electronic Cordless Telephones), and indeed that have been eliminated by stopping using these phones. You will be unaware of what they do, but if you have one, read the following carefully. Many people will be equally unaware of neighbours using DECT, whose pulses penetrate right through their walls. DECT comes with no guidance and no health warnings. This must be wrong.
About DECT Cordless Telephones
All modern (DECT) digital cordless phones emit the same type of pulsed microwave radiation (about 1.8 GHz) as ordinary (GSM) mobile phones. Emissions can be about 6 V/m within a metre of the base unit, for as long as it is plugged in. These base stations emit their radiation even when the phone is not in use. All DECT base units emit microwaves continuously 24 hours a day as long as they are plugged in. For this reason cordless phones are regarded as bad news. The latest Lennart Hardell paper on mobile phone use and brain tumours (× 3 for 5 years use and × 3 to 4 for 10 years use) also show a dose response increased brain cancer risk for long-term (over 5 years) regular cordless phone use. A DECT phone is a mobile phone, and its base is a mobile phone mast in your house or office. You must use one? Keep the base unit and remote extra handsets away from where you sit or sleep, and remember that you are transmitting into neighbouring property through your walls.
Unlike mobile phones, DECT cordless phones work at a fixed power. Mobiles turn their power down to the lowest level possible, so when you are near a base station this can be much lower than a DECT cordless. DECT pulses are far more aggressive than for mobiles.
Note: DECT phones are now being manufactured and available in Germany, and now in the UK that only transmit from the base when the handset is lifted. Of course, these are not sold as a ‘safer’ variety, but as ‘lower emission’. Lower emissions matter to the more wary manufacturers, who nevertheless claim that there is not much demand. They are safer – to everyone. But don’t be deceived, the handset is still a GSM mobile phone. Read on ...
Orchid have are now producing their 3rd generation ‘low radiation’ DECT cordless phones – their main advantages over the previous models are:
There are no microwave emissions when the phone is not being used. When a call is ended both the phone and the base station go into ‘sleep mode’ (no microwave radiation) until either a call is received or made. There is no need to return the handset back to the base station for ‘sleep mode’ to become operative.
The phone/base station adjust their power output depending on how far away the base station is from the handset. It you make a call up to several meters from the base station power output is reduced by as much as 75%.
Rowtex Limited has now taken over the sales and distribution of all Orchid Low Radiation phones.
Mobile phone concerns
A team led by Professor Kjell Mild, a Swedish biophysicist, who has produced a number of many leading mobile-phone health effects papers has published an update on his brain-tumour work in the summer of 2001, when he discussed his results to date at an international conference chaired by Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch.
Another study by Dr Lennart Hardell, published in the International Journal of Oncology, was based on the analysis of 1,600 tumour victims who had been using mobile phones for up to 10 years before being diagnosed. Prof. Mild now states: ‘The evidence for a connection between phone use and cancer is clear and convincing. The more you use phones and the greater the number of years you have them, the greater the risk of brain tumours. ... Mobile phones are here to stay so my advice is never to use one without a hands-free headset.’
An earlier study by Mild, a cancer specialist, linked brain tumours to the use of analogue mobile phones. The new research repeated this and also looked at digital mobiles and DECT cordless phones. It showed that all three types were linked with increased tumour rates. The extra tumours only start to really show up after about 5 years use, but there is increasing dose-related-response with minutes of use per month and number of years of use.
Since 1980, the number of acoustic neuromas (a rare tumour) diagnosed in Britain has risen from one in every 100,000 of the population to one in 80,000 a year. Some (but not all) other types of tumour also show an increase.
Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK and quoted in the Sunday Times on 16th March 2003, said the study was worrying. ‘It suggests a strong link between mobile phones and brain tumours. We now need a full-scale study.’
On 14 October a study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found a pronounced risk of acoustic nuroma (cancer) from use of mobile phones over a ten year period (imagine: aged just from 14 to 24: ages of many big users of mobile phones).
DECT pulse frequency concern
It is important to put out a warning about DECT phones, as they could be up to 100 times worse than an ordinary mobile, particularly if used in built up areas. The reason for this is the frequency of the pulse. DECT pulses at 100Hz whilst a GSM mobile pulses at 217Hz. Remember, the lower the pulsing frequency, the stronger the biological effect. It’s the pulsing within the ELF (extremely low frequency) range we have to be concerned about. That’s why TETRA is so dangerous. It pulses at 17.6Hz, right within the human beta brainwave rhythm range. Dr von Klitzing, who was one of the Medical Physicists signing the Freiburger Appeal, reported his research regarding DECT phones. His research on blood samples taken from children in the vicinity of DECT phones showed that the red blood corpuscles did not ‘ripen out properly’ (a direct translation of his words). The physical signs were: listlessness and/or aggression, pallor, sleeplessness etc. This could be reversed with the removal of the phone.
Choice
In your own home you have a choice, and it is yours. If you have reservations as a result of reading up on DECT, at least revert to an older style analogue cordless phone – or put up with wires!
Neighbours’ phones are another matter. If you know where such a phone base is, you may decide to try foil on the wall in a large patch, to screen the DECT out. If it works, you might prefer to install it more permanently under wallpaper. But do note that microwaves tend to run around such barriers like water around a stone in a stream, so a small phone-sized patch will not work. (Findings from using an Acousticom detector.)
If you find your foil disrupts the neighbouring phone, you don’t want to get into a dispute, with one of you moving the phone and the other moving the screen. Try and explain the problem in an open way, using the research listed here.
DECT in the office? Again an emotive subject. All your employer will do is refer to the Health and Safety Executive, who refer to the NRPB, who cite the ICNIRP (if it doesn’t heat you it can’t harm you) guidelines. These are wholly inappropriate, so employees have (a) no guidance and (b) no way to assess exposure in the office. The manufacturers give no advice on density of DECT per square metre. If you are sensitive to DECT, try to explain what you experience and ask for a wired phone. But I know it may not be easy.
Signs of change
One might ask why, if there is absolutely nothing to worry about from such a small radiation source as DECT, there has been such medical concern, and now, industry response. Here is a press notice ‘DECT – radiation source in the dwelling’ from the German Bundesamot für Strahlenschutz (Federal Office for Radiation Protection) [translation]. The issue is that DECT does not need to transmit continuously. And so a new DECT is being manufactured in Germany that does not transmit continuously, and only as required. In fact it is so popular, they cannot make them fast enough.
Why talk about DECT phones on a TETRA website? One main reason is to help determine causes of symptoms that might be attributed falsely to TETRA. We have heard and found many reports of similar adverse symptoms that are more likely to be caused by DECT (Digital Electronic Cordless Telephones), and indeed that have been eliminated by stopping using these phones. You will be unaware of what they do, but if you have one, read the following carefully. Many people will be equally unaware of neighbours using DECT, whose pulses penetrate right through their walls. DECT comes with no guidance and no health warnings. This must be wrong.
About DECT Cordless Telephones
All modern (DECT) digital cordless phones emit the same type of pulsed microwave radiation (about 1.8 GHz) as ordinary (GSM) mobile phones. Emissions can be about 6 V/m within a metre of the base unit, for as long as it is plugged in. These base stations emit their radiation even when the phone is not in use. All DECT base units emit microwaves continuously 24 hours a day as long as they are plugged in. For this reason cordless phones are regarded as bad news. The latest Lennart Hardell paper on mobile phone use and brain tumours (× 3 for 5 years use and × 3 to 4 for 10 years use) also show a dose response increased brain cancer risk for long-term (over 5 years) regular cordless phone use. A DECT phone is a mobile phone, and its base is a mobile phone mast in your house or office. You must use one? Keep the base unit and remote extra handsets away from where you sit or sleep, and remember that you are transmitting into neighbouring property through your walls.
Unlike mobile phones, DECT cordless phones work at a fixed power. Mobiles turn their power down to the lowest level possible, so when you are near a base station this can be much lower than a DECT cordless. DECT pulses are far more aggressive than for mobiles.
Note: DECT phones are now being manufactured and available in Germany, and now in the UK that only transmit from the base when the handset is lifted. Of course, these are not sold as a ‘safer’ variety, but as ‘lower emission’. Lower emissions matter to the more wary manufacturers, who nevertheless claim that there is not much demand. They are safer – to everyone. But don’t be deceived, the handset is still a GSM mobile phone. Read on ...
Orchid have are now producing their 3rd generation ‘low radiation’ DECT cordless phones – their main advantages over the previous models are:
There are no microwave emissions when the phone is not being used. When a call is ended both the phone and the base station go into ‘sleep mode’ (no microwave radiation) until either a call is received or made. There is no need to return the handset back to the base station for ‘sleep mode’ to become operative.
The phone/base station adjust their power output depending on how far away the base station is from the handset. It you make a call up to several meters from the base station power output is reduced by as much as 75%.
Rowtex Limited has now taken over the sales and distribution of all Orchid Low Radiation phones.
Mobile phone concerns
A team led by Professor Kjell Mild, a Swedish biophysicist, who has produced a number of many leading mobile-phone health effects papers has published an update on his brain-tumour work in the summer of 2001, when he discussed his results to date at an international conference chaired by Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch.
Another study by Dr Lennart Hardell, published in the International Journal of Oncology, was based on the analysis of 1,600 tumour victims who had been using mobile phones for up to 10 years before being diagnosed. Prof. Mild now states: ‘The evidence for a connection between phone use and cancer is clear and convincing. The more you use phones and the greater the number of years you have them, the greater the risk of brain tumours. ... Mobile phones are here to stay so my advice is never to use one without a hands-free headset.’
An earlier study by Mild, a cancer specialist, linked brain tumours to the use of analogue mobile phones. The new research repeated this and also looked at digital mobiles and DECT cordless phones. It showed that all three types were linked with increased tumour rates. The extra tumours only start to really show up after about 5 years use, but there is increasing dose-related-response with minutes of use per month and number of years of use.
Since 1980, the number of acoustic neuromas (a rare tumour) diagnosed in Britain has risen from one in every 100,000 of the population to one in 80,000 a year. Some (but not all) other types of tumour also show an increase.
Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK and quoted in the Sunday Times on 16th March 2003, said the study was worrying. ‘It suggests a strong link between mobile phones and brain tumours. We now need a full-scale study.’
On 14 October a study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found a pronounced risk of acoustic nuroma (cancer) from use of mobile phones over a ten year period (imagine: aged just from 14 to 24: ages of many big users of mobile phones).
DECT pulse frequency concern
It is important to put out a warning about DECT phones, as they could be up to 100 times worse than an ordinary mobile, particularly if used in built up areas. The reason for this is the frequency of the pulse. DECT pulses at 100Hz whilst a GSM mobile pulses at 217Hz. Remember, the lower the pulsing frequency, the stronger the biological effect. It’s the pulsing within the ELF (extremely low frequency) range we have to be concerned about. That’s why TETRA is so dangerous. It pulses at 17.6Hz, right within the human beta brainwave rhythm range. Dr von Klitzing, who was one of the Medical Physicists signing the Freiburger Appeal, reported his research regarding DECT phones. His research on blood samples taken from children in the vicinity of DECT phones showed that the red blood corpuscles did not ‘ripen out properly’ (a direct translation of his words). The physical signs were: listlessness and/or aggression, pallor, sleeplessness etc. This could be reversed with the removal of the phone.
Choice
In your own home you have a choice, and it is yours. If you have reservations as a result of reading up on DECT, at least revert to an older style analogue cordless phone – or put up with wires!
Neighbours’ phones are another matter. If you know where such a phone base is, you may decide to try foil on the wall in a large patch, to screen the DECT out. If it works, you might prefer to install it more permanently under wallpaper. But do note that microwaves tend to run around such barriers like water around a stone in a stream, so a small phone-sized patch will not work. (Findings from using an Acousticom detector.)
If you find your foil disrupts the neighbouring phone, you don’t want to get into a dispute, with one of you moving the phone and the other moving the screen. Try and explain the problem in an open way, using the research listed here.
DECT in the office? Again an emotive subject. All your employer will do is refer to the Health and Safety Executive, who refer to the NRPB, who cite the ICNIRP (if it doesn’t heat you it can’t harm you) guidelines. These are wholly inappropriate, so employees have (a) no guidance and (b) no way to assess exposure in the office. The manufacturers give no advice on density of DECT per square metre. If you are sensitive to DECT, try to explain what you experience and ask for a wired phone. But I know it may not be easy.
Signs of change
One might ask why, if there is absolutely nothing to worry about from such a small radiation source as DECT, there has been such medical concern, and now, industry response. Here is a press notice ‘DECT – radiation source in the dwelling’ from the German Bundesamot für Strahlenschutz (Federal Office for Radiation Protection) [translation]. The issue is that DECT does not need to transmit continuously. And so a new DECT is being manufactured in Germany that does not transmit continuously, and only as required. In fact it is so popular, they cannot make them fast enough.
MOBILE PHONES HAZARD.
CORDLESS PHONES: THE (DECT) HAZARD.
Extremely low frequency pulsed electromagnetic radiation does affect living organisms. That means you and me - We are the experiment!!
There have been many reports of adverse symptoms possibly caused by DECT (Digital Electronic Cordless Telephones), and reportedly eliminated by stopping the use of these phones. Many people will be equally unaware of neighbours using DECT, whose pulses penetrate right through their walls. DECT comes with no guidance and no health warnings.
About DECT Cordless TelephonesAll modern (DECT) digital cordless phones emit pulsed microwave radiation (about 1.8 GHz), same as ordinary (GSM) mobile phones. Emissions can be around 6 V/m within a metre of the base unit, while powered. All DECT base units emit microwaves continuously as long as they are plugged in. The latest Lennart Hardell paper on mobile phone use and brain tumours (× 3 for 5 years use and × 3 to 4 for 10 years use) shows a dose response increased brain cancer risk for long-term regular cordless phone use. A DECT phone is a mobile phone, but its base station is a mobile phone mast in your house or office. If you must use one, keep the base unit and remote extra handsets away from where you sit or sleep.
Unlike mobile phones, DECT cordless phones opeate at fixed power levels. Mobiles turn their power down to the lowest level possible. DECT pulses are far more aggressive than mobiles.
Mobile phone concernsA team led by Swedish biophysicist Professor Kjell Mild, author of a number of papers on mobile-phone health effects, has published an update on his brain-tumour work in the summer of 2001. Professor Mild discussed his results to date at an international conference chaired by Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch.
Another study by Dr Lennart Hardell, published in the International Journal of Oncology, based on the analysis of 1,600 tumour victims who had been using mobile phones for up to 10 years. Prof. Mild now states: ‘The evidence for a connection between phone use and cancer is clear and convincing. The more you use phones and the greater the number of years you have them, the greater the risk of brain tumours. ... Mobile phones are here to stay so my advice is never to use one without a hands-free headset.’
An earlier study by Mild linked brain tumours to the use of analogue mobile phones. The new research repeated this and also looked at digital mobiles and DECT cordless phones. demonstrating that all three types were linked with increased tumour rates. Tumours only seem to appear after about 5 years use, but there is increasing dose-related-response with minutes of use per month and number of years of use.
Since 1980, the number of acoustic neuromas (a rare tumour) diagnosed in Britain has risen from one in every 100,000 of the population to one in 80,000 a year. Some (but not all) other types of tumour also show an increase.
Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK and quoted in the Sunday Times on 16th March 2003, said the study was worrying. ‘It suggests a strong link between mobile phones and brain tumours. ’
A study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found a pronounced risk of acoustic neuroma from use of mobile phones over a ten year period.
DECT pulse frequency concernDECT phones could be up to 100 times worse than an ordinary mobile, particularly if used in built up areas, due to the pulse frequency. DECT pulses at 100Hz whilst a GSM mobile pulses at 217Hz. The lower the pulsing frequency, the stronger the biological effect. Pulsing in the extremely low frequency (ELF) is of great concernt. This is why TETRA is so dangerous. TETRA pulses at 17.6Hz, in the same range as human beta brainwave rhythm. The research of Dr von Klitzing, one of the Medical Physicists signing the Freiburger Appeal, on blood samples taken from children in the vicinity of DECT phones showed that the red blood corpuscles did not ‘ripen out properly’ . The physical signs were: listlessness and/or aggression, pallor, sleeplessness etc. This was often reversed when the phone was removed.
ChoiceIf you are worried, as a result of reading up on DECT, then put up with the wires! However, the neighbours’ phones are another matter. If you know where their DECT phone base is, you can try a patch of foil on the wall, to screen the DECT out. Microwaves tend to run around such barriers like water around a stone in a stream, so a small phone-sized patch will not work. If your foil disrupts the neighbouring phone, to avoid arguments, try to explain the problem, using the research listed here.
DECT in the office? All your employer will do is refer to the Health and Safety Executive, who refer to the NRPB, who cite the ICNIRP (if it doesn’t heat you it can’t harm you) guidelines. These are wholly inappropriate, so employees have (a) no guidance and (b) no way to assess exposure in the office. The manufacturers give no advice on density of DECT per square metre. If you are sensitive to DECT, try to explain what you experience and ask for a wired phone.
Extremely low frequency pulsed electromagnetic radiation does affect living organisms. That means you and me - We are the experiment!!
There have been many reports of adverse symptoms possibly caused by DECT (Digital Electronic Cordless Telephones), and reportedly eliminated by stopping the use of these phones. Many people will be equally unaware of neighbours using DECT, whose pulses penetrate right through their walls. DECT comes with no guidance and no health warnings.
About DECT Cordless TelephonesAll modern (DECT) digital cordless phones emit pulsed microwave radiation (about 1.8 GHz), same as ordinary (GSM) mobile phones. Emissions can be around 6 V/m within a metre of the base unit, while powered. All DECT base units emit microwaves continuously as long as they are plugged in. The latest Lennart Hardell paper on mobile phone use and brain tumours (× 3 for 5 years use and × 3 to 4 for 10 years use) shows a dose response increased brain cancer risk for long-term regular cordless phone use. A DECT phone is a mobile phone, but its base station is a mobile phone mast in your house or office. If you must use one, keep the base unit and remote extra handsets away from where you sit or sleep.
Unlike mobile phones, DECT cordless phones opeate at fixed power levels. Mobiles turn their power down to the lowest level possible. DECT pulses are far more aggressive than mobiles.
Mobile phone concernsA team led by Swedish biophysicist Professor Kjell Mild, author of a number of papers on mobile-phone health effects, has published an update on his brain-tumour work in the summer of 2001. Professor Mild discussed his results to date at an international conference chaired by Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch.
Another study by Dr Lennart Hardell, published in the International Journal of Oncology, based on the analysis of 1,600 tumour victims who had been using mobile phones for up to 10 years. Prof. Mild now states: ‘The evidence for a connection between phone use and cancer is clear and convincing. The more you use phones and the greater the number of years you have them, the greater the risk of brain tumours. ... Mobile phones are here to stay so my advice is never to use one without a hands-free headset.’
An earlier study by Mild linked brain tumours to the use of analogue mobile phones. The new research repeated this and also looked at digital mobiles and DECT cordless phones. demonstrating that all three types were linked with increased tumour rates. Tumours only seem to appear after about 5 years use, but there is increasing dose-related-response with minutes of use per month and number of years of use.
Since 1980, the number of acoustic neuromas (a rare tumour) diagnosed in Britain has risen from one in every 100,000 of the population to one in 80,000 a year. Some (but not all) other types of tumour also show an increase.
Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK and quoted in the Sunday Times on 16th March 2003, said the study was worrying. ‘It suggests a strong link between mobile phones and brain tumours. ’
A study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found a pronounced risk of acoustic neuroma from use of mobile phones over a ten year period.
DECT pulse frequency concernDECT phones could be up to 100 times worse than an ordinary mobile, particularly if used in built up areas, due to the pulse frequency. DECT pulses at 100Hz whilst a GSM mobile pulses at 217Hz. The lower the pulsing frequency, the stronger the biological effect. Pulsing in the extremely low frequency (ELF) is of great concernt. This is why TETRA is so dangerous. TETRA pulses at 17.6Hz, in the same range as human beta brainwave rhythm. The research of Dr von Klitzing, one of the Medical Physicists signing the Freiburger Appeal, on blood samples taken from children in the vicinity of DECT phones showed that the red blood corpuscles did not ‘ripen out properly’ . The physical signs were: listlessness and/or aggression, pallor, sleeplessness etc. This was often reversed when the phone was removed.
ChoiceIf you are worried, as a result of reading up on DECT, then put up with the wires! However, the neighbours’ phones are another matter. If you know where their DECT phone base is, you can try a patch of foil on the wall, to screen the DECT out. Microwaves tend to run around such barriers like water around a stone in a stream, so a small phone-sized patch will not work. If your foil disrupts the neighbouring phone, to avoid arguments, try to explain the problem, using the research listed here.
DECT in the office? All your employer will do is refer to the Health and Safety Executive, who refer to the NRPB, who cite the ICNIRP (if it doesn’t heat you it can’t harm you) guidelines. These are wholly inappropriate, so employees have (a) no guidance and (b) no way to assess exposure in the office. The manufacturers give no advice on density of DECT per square metre. If you are sensitive to DECT, try to explain what you experience and ask for a wired phone.
OBSTACLES AND BARRIERS BEHAVIORS IN GROUP DYNAMICS
OBSTACLES AND BARRIERS BEHAVIORS IN GROUP DYNAMICS
The following questions can used to self-debrief your behavior in settings where personal communications are used to build relationships -- at work, at home, in a church, with a spouse and about any place where two or more gather. These are the common barriers and you may think of others or variations. It is often helpful to do this evaluation in a group and exchange your views to enhance learning about yourself. The value of this is to discover what you may be doing to shut off communications and find ways to improve your behavior.A second way to use these barriers is to just copy the heading and discuss each within a group. The number one barrier to communications is not listening. Different forms of this are at the end of the list.
(jump to listening barriers)
EXPECTATIONS:
Are your expectations of others or organizations a barrier? Do others know your expectations or do you just think they know them? Can you change your expectations or let go of them to be part of a group or a relationship? How would that feel? Did this in any way feel like giving up your "self" to be what the group wants you to be? This is probably the number one barrier to communications. Expectations are often not expressed to others and it is as if the other is expected to have a crystal ball and know what you expect.RISKING: What is a risk for you? How much do you risk in a communications setting? What keeps you from risking? Is it fear? If so, fear of what? Is it control? Control of what? Yourself or others or the group? Do you wish to risk more? What will it take to risk more?This is probably the top barriers in communicating authentically. Risk in communication often has this silent question: " If I risk myself and this is all I've got, what will happen if I am rejected?" Building communications with others authentically takes a degree of risk.AVOIDANCE: What did you do to avoid looking at yourself? Think about this. What was behind the avoidance? Fear of rejection? Fear of loss of control? Were you part of an avoidance "project"? What did the group do to avoid doing what it needed to do? Did group norms facilitate avoidance?Avoidance frequently is present when a person feels unsafe or is unsure if its safe. Many business meetings start with considerable avoidance and only in the last minutes does the group get to the real subject, and then often try a quick fix. Avoidance can become a habit.FIXING: Did anyone try to fix you? The group? How did that feel? Did you try to fix, heal or convert anyone or the group? Can you fix anyone other than yourself? How aware are you that this is often done, with good intentions and well-meaning but usually not wanted and unaccepted 90+% of the time? What is your level of acceptance of people just as they are?
Fixing is often trying to get the other to believe as you do or to do as you have done in a similar situation or to be more like you so you will feel more comfortable.
PROJECTS:
Most groups are creative in making projects that have something to do with avoidance. Can you name a project in your group? What do pseudo-projects represent in a group?Sometimes projects are things, sometimes people and often it's something completely outside the group and the room. Projects can be a way of fooling ourselves and have many of the characteristics of "organizing a group" and represent avoidance. They can be barriers to communications. Projects are sometimes necessary to help build safety and trust in groups. They can take the form of challenging the norms of a group or the written rules.SCAPEGOATING: Did you feel scapegoated? What did it feel like? Were you part of a scapegoating effort on another person?Scapegoating is often another form of avoidance or blaming or excluding. It may be an attempt to keep focus off of the person doing the scapegoating! It is seen in most family situations and in the workplace and is usually destructive to the personality.PROBING: Did anyone probe you for information? How did that feel? Did it create a barrier for you? If you were probed and did not like it, what kept you from confronting the prober? If you were the prober, why did you probe? Did it have anything to do with keeping the focus off of you?Probing can be avoidance of task or scapegoating if carried too far.SPEAKING IN CODE: If you were part of a subgroup of two or more people, did/do you speak with language that only those in the subgroup can understand? Can you understand how this is a form of exclusivity?This is often done without realizing it in all kinds of groups. It is not polite and keeps understanding low.CONTROL: Did anyone try to control you or what you said? How did it feel? Were you aware at any time that you were trying to control an outcome? If you tried to control, what was the reason? Was it to control what might happen to you? Did you notice others trying control?Most of us believe we have far more control than we actually do. Letting go of control and risking more may result in more love coming into your life.
BLAMING:
Did anyone blame you for what was or was not happening? How did that feel? Did you blame anyone? What was your motive for the blaming? Did it have to do with trying to make some other person responsible for your behavior? Did you experience blaming in your family of origin?Blaming can become an almost unconscious habit.
PLACATING:
Did you feel placated by anyone? Did you placate anyone? How does it feel to be placated?CHAOS AVOIDANCE: Do you run from conflict or avoid it in some way instead of trying to go through it? Do you leave a conversation when it gets too hot for you? (either actual or emotionally) How do you react to change?Another word for Chaos is change. People find many ways to avoid talking about change as it usually feels uncomfortable because of the unknown. Chaos can also mean conflict and many will do anything to avoid it. Chaos is one of the most certain things in life and it is well to learn how to embrace it.
SILENCE:
How comfortable are you with silence? Can you listen to yourself? To your source of spirit? Do you recognize respectful silence? Do you experience a silent time at home? What would it be like if you asked for some silence in your workplace during a meeting?Silence is an unused tool that is very effective in all kinds of ways. Scott Peck says in the Different Drum, "Silence is the primary key to emptiness." Also, "More than half of Beethoven's music is silence. Without the silence there is no music; there is only noise." Most people have little true silence in their lives, yet it provides considerable peacefulness.
EXCLUSION:
Did you feel excluded at any time? Did you exclude yourself? Did some person say anything that made you feel excluded? Was your feeling of exclusion accurate? Is this something that often happens to you? Did you exclude any person either by avoiding them, or emotionally tuning them out, or by making a judgmental statement? Did you later change the exclusion to inclusion?Think of how people are often excluded and why. It is often done as an unconscious act that may have been learned in the family or work place.
BOUNDARY OR BARRIER:
A boundary is often created for protection and should only be changed with considerable thought. A boundary "rule" is one you have originated that defines what is good or bad for you. A boundry may be a barrier to communication depending on what it is. Are you aware of any boundary you have that is a barrier to meaningful communications? Are you aware of any boundary that you want to change? How will you do that and how will you know if it is safe to change?Boundaries are accumulated during life for protection and become a learned method of existing. Boundaries need to be changed slowly and may be replaced with another boundary that offers more freedom until it becomes safe to "take the next step". Some people have few or almost no boundries and this often gets them into trouble. An example of this is a person that regulary offers far more information that is asked for by people they talk to. This becomes a turnoff to others and may result in other avoiding you.
LISTENING:
How well do you listen to what people say? Do you hear what is not said with words, but with emotions or body language? How about listening to what is not said? How can you listen with your whole being, body, mind, spirit and heart? There are many sub-barriers that come under Listening. Below are some.
Automatic Talking: Listening just long enough to find a word that you know something about. Then shut off the rest of what is being said, particularly the emotional content. Then start talking about the word you know something about. This blocks real communications by not hearing the total content. This is the most used form of blocking true communication. For more on this, see Automatic Talking Exercise.
SELECTIVE LISTENING:
This is when a person hears another but selects to not hear what is being said by choice or desire to hear some other message. This can take several forms and result in acting out in destructive ways. An example is to become passive agressive by prentending to hear and agree to what was said when actually your intent is to NOT act on the message, but make the other person think you will. Another form is to act on what you wanted to hear instead of what was said. Continued selective listening is one of the best ways to destroy a relationship.
BEING A "FIXER":
A fixer is a person that tries to fix another person's faults, problems or personality by offering what worked for them or a friend in a similar situatuon. Fixers often cut off others in the middle of a conversation without hearing the whole story to offer their fix. People overall do not like to be fixed and most suggestions for a fix will be disregarded and may result in anger toward the fixer.Using "You" or "We" statements instead of "I" statements. "I statements show ownership of what is being said. "You" statements are often a form of criticism. "We" statements often implies everyone within listening distance agrees with the statement which is not true. Its like you speaking for another person without their permission.Absolute Statements. These use such words as Never, always, forever, etc. and are often make a statement untrue. Use a less absolute word.Daydreaming. Letting your attention drift away. There are many causes of this and you can stop it by getting into the conversation and saying you are having a hard time staying with what is being said, without blaming. You may find out others are having the same difficulty and will do the same.Being right. This can take several forms. The most common is polite criticism of how a person speak or what they say or to insinuate that the person said it wrong. This can stop communication particularly with sensitive people. Many people have to learn how to communicate and can only do it by trying the way they know how.Derailing. (a form of avoidance) Changing the subject, or tell a joke, or point a finger at another person or try and turn a question around and back to the speaker.Name calling or belittling. This is hurtful and may make another feel foolish or stupid and they may exclude themselves from further conversation.Being the Reactor. On occasion, a person will attempt to get you to speak by trying to "hook" you to react. Swearing is a way of hooking some people. A good listener will continue to just listen and not react. This will often cause the person to stop trying to hook you if you keep it up long enough.
The following questions can used to self-debrief your behavior in settings where personal communications are used to build relationships -- at work, at home, in a church, with a spouse and about any place where two or more gather. These are the common barriers and you may think of others or variations. It is often helpful to do this evaluation in a group and exchange your views to enhance learning about yourself. The value of this is to discover what you may be doing to shut off communications and find ways to improve your behavior.A second way to use these barriers is to just copy the heading and discuss each within a group. The number one barrier to communications is not listening. Different forms of this are at the end of the list.
(jump to listening barriers)
EXPECTATIONS:
Are your expectations of others or organizations a barrier? Do others know your expectations or do you just think they know them? Can you change your expectations or let go of them to be part of a group or a relationship? How would that feel? Did this in any way feel like giving up your "self" to be what the group wants you to be? This is probably the number one barrier to communications. Expectations are often not expressed to others and it is as if the other is expected to have a crystal ball and know what you expect.RISKING: What is a risk for you? How much do you risk in a communications setting? What keeps you from risking? Is it fear? If so, fear of what? Is it control? Control of what? Yourself or others or the group? Do you wish to risk more? What will it take to risk more?This is probably the top barriers in communicating authentically. Risk in communication often has this silent question: " If I risk myself and this is all I've got, what will happen if I am rejected?" Building communications with others authentically takes a degree of risk.AVOIDANCE: What did you do to avoid looking at yourself? Think about this. What was behind the avoidance? Fear of rejection? Fear of loss of control? Were you part of an avoidance "project"? What did the group do to avoid doing what it needed to do? Did group norms facilitate avoidance?Avoidance frequently is present when a person feels unsafe or is unsure if its safe. Many business meetings start with considerable avoidance and only in the last minutes does the group get to the real subject, and then often try a quick fix. Avoidance can become a habit.FIXING: Did anyone try to fix you? The group? How did that feel? Did you try to fix, heal or convert anyone or the group? Can you fix anyone other than yourself? How aware are you that this is often done, with good intentions and well-meaning but usually not wanted and unaccepted 90+% of the time? What is your level of acceptance of people just as they are?
Fixing is often trying to get the other to believe as you do or to do as you have done in a similar situation or to be more like you so you will feel more comfortable.
PROJECTS:
Most groups are creative in making projects that have something to do with avoidance. Can you name a project in your group? What do pseudo-projects represent in a group?Sometimes projects are things, sometimes people and often it's something completely outside the group and the room. Projects can be a way of fooling ourselves and have many of the characteristics of "organizing a group" and represent avoidance. They can be barriers to communications. Projects are sometimes necessary to help build safety and trust in groups. They can take the form of challenging the norms of a group or the written rules.SCAPEGOATING: Did you feel scapegoated? What did it feel like? Were you part of a scapegoating effort on another person?Scapegoating is often another form of avoidance or blaming or excluding. It may be an attempt to keep focus off of the person doing the scapegoating! It is seen in most family situations and in the workplace and is usually destructive to the personality.PROBING: Did anyone probe you for information? How did that feel? Did it create a barrier for you? If you were probed and did not like it, what kept you from confronting the prober? If you were the prober, why did you probe? Did it have anything to do with keeping the focus off of you?Probing can be avoidance of task or scapegoating if carried too far.SPEAKING IN CODE: If you were part of a subgroup of two or more people, did/do you speak with language that only those in the subgroup can understand? Can you understand how this is a form of exclusivity?This is often done without realizing it in all kinds of groups. It is not polite and keeps understanding low.CONTROL: Did anyone try to control you or what you said? How did it feel? Were you aware at any time that you were trying to control an outcome? If you tried to control, what was the reason? Was it to control what might happen to you? Did you notice others trying control?Most of us believe we have far more control than we actually do. Letting go of control and risking more may result in more love coming into your life.
BLAMING:
Did anyone blame you for what was or was not happening? How did that feel? Did you blame anyone? What was your motive for the blaming? Did it have to do with trying to make some other person responsible for your behavior? Did you experience blaming in your family of origin?Blaming can become an almost unconscious habit.
PLACATING:
Did you feel placated by anyone? Did you placate anyone? How does it feel to be placated?CHAOS AVOIDANCE: Do you run from conflict or avoid it in some way instead of trying to go through it? Do you leave a conversation when it gets too hot for you? (either actual or emotionally) How do you react to change?Another word for Chaos is change. People find many ways to avoid talking about change as it usually feels uncomfortable because of the unknown. Chaos can also mean conflict and many will do anything to avoid it. Chaos is one of the most certain things in life and it is well to learn how to embrace it.
SILENCE:
How comfortable are you with silence? Can you listen to yourself? To your source of spirit? Do you recognize respectful silence? Do you experience a silent time at home? What would it be like if you asked for some silence in your workplace during a meeting?Silence is an unused tool that is very effective in all kinds of ways. Scott Peck says in the Different Drum, "Silence is the primary key to emptiness." Also, "More than half of Beethoven's music is silence. Without the silence there is no music; there is only noise." Most people have little true silence in their lives, yet it provides considerable peacefulness.
EXCLUSION:
Did you feel excluded at any time? Did you exclude yourself? Did some person say anything that made you feel excluded? Was your feeling of exclusion accurate? Is this something that often happens to you? Did you exclude any person either by avoiding them, or emotionally tuning them out, or by making a judgmental statement? Did you later change the exclusion to inclusion?Think of how people are often excluded and why. It is often done as an unconscious act that may have been learned in the family or work place.
BOUNDARY OR BARRIER:
A boundary is often created for protection and should only be changed with considerable thought. A boundary "rule" is one you have originated that defines what is good or bad for you. A boundry may be a barrier to communication depending on what it is. Are you aware of any boundary you have that is a barrier to meaningful communications? Are you aware of any boundary that you want to change? How will you do that and how will you know if it is safe to change?Boundaries are accumulated during life for protection and become a learned method of existing. Boundaries need to be changed slowly and may be replaced with another boundary that offers more freedom until it becomes safe to "take the next step". Some people have few or almost no boundries and this often gets them into trouble. An example of this is a person that regulary offers far more information that is asked for by people they talk to. This becomes a turnoff to others and may result in other avoiding you.
LISTENING:
How well do you listen to what people say? Do you hear what is not said with words, but with emotions or body language? How about listening to what is not said? How can you listen with your whole being, body, mind, spirit and heart? There are many sub-barriers that come under Listening. Below are some.
Automatic Talking: Listening just long enough to find a word that you know something about. Then shut off the rest of what is being said, particularly the emotional content. Then start talking about the word you know something about. This blocks real communications by not hearing the total content. This is the most used form of blocking true communication. For more on this, see Automatic Talking Exercise.
SELECTIVE LISTENING:
This is when a person hears another but selects to not hear what is being said by choice or desire to hear some other message. This can take several forms and result in acting out in destructive ways. An example is to become passive agressive by prentending to hear and agree to what was said when actually your intent is to NOT act on the message, but make the other person think you will. Another form is to act on what you wanted to hear instead of what was said. Continued selective listening is one of the best ways to destroy a relationship.
BEING A "FIXER":
A fixer is a person that tries to fix another person's faults, problems or personality by offering what worked for them or a friend in a similar situatuon. Fixers often cut off others in the middle of a conversation without hearing the whole story to offer their fix. People overall do not like to be fixed and most suggestions for a fix will be disregarded and may result in anger toward the fixer.Using "You" or "We" statements instead of "I" statements. "I statements show ownership of what is being said. "You" statements are often a form of criticism. "We" statements often implies everyone within listening distance agrees with the statement which is not true. Its like you speaking for another person without their permission.Absolute Statements. These use such words as Never, always, forever, etc. and are often make a statement untrue. Use a less absolute word.Daydreaming. Letting your attention drift away. There are many causes of this and you can stop it by getting into the conversation and saying you are having a hard time staying with what is being said, without blaming. You may find out others are having the same difficulty and will do the same.Being right. This can take several forms. The most common is polite criticism of how a person speak or what they say or to insinuate that the person said it wrong. This can stop communication particularly with sensitive people. Many people have to learn how to communicate and can only do it by trying the way they know how.Derailing. (a form of avoidance) Changing the subject, or tell a joke, or point a finger at another person or try and turn a question around and back to the speaker.Name calling or belittling. This is hurtful and may make another feel foolish or stupid and they may exclude themselves from further conversation.Being the Reactor. On occasion, a person will attempt to get you to speak by trying to "hook" you to react. Swearing is a way of hooking some people. A good listener will continue to just listen and not react. This will often cause the person to stop trying to hook you if you keep it up long enough.
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION (community) EXERCISE
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION (community) EXERCISE
(jump to barriers and skip exercise)
INTRODUCTION:This group dynamics exercise allows people to find their communications barriers. It can be used in any kind of group an can be adapted for use in a number of ways. You may just want to use the handout of barriers and discuss them or just part of them. The main barriers people have are listed first in the handout except for the barriers on listening which are listed last. The exercise below is how this is done in conjunction with a Community Building Workshop. I've used this exercise more than 100 times and always with great success.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE:
This exercise is done toward the end of the second day of a community building event. The introduction is usually done at about 4 -4:30 p.m. and the small groups work is in the evening with presentations given the following day.
PURPOSE: The facilitator introduces the exercise by telling that barriers to communication most often keep people from experiencing community in a workshop and in relationships they have in life. The purpose of the exercise is for each individual to find one primary personal barrier they would like to change. Discuss various barriers and how you see them in your communications with others. Then talk about what you would like to do to minimize one barrier in your life.
FACILITATIVE NOTES:
Tell the group that you know they are probably tired and that this is a time they may go into chaos, but you are asking them to be patient for the next 10 minutes. Listen to the instructions and be prepared to ask some questions. Tell them they will work in small groups and you will start by dividing them into the groups.
You can do this in two ways:
(1) Put people in the groups you want them in. Use this only when you have a number of subgroups and what a person from each subgroup in a small group.
(2) Count off by the number of people you want in each small group. This can be 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. Any larger groups may not provide enough individual time. I prefer an odd number of 3 or 5 people per group.Each group will need a private place (room) to meet. Some may decide to have dinner together and work after in a persons room. You need to limit where they meet to the facility where the workshop is being held.
PROCEDURE:
Read the following to the group and give each person a copy with the handout.The object of this project is to have you discuss barriers and obstacles to community, both individual and group, and then determine how to transcend these in your everyday life. Be sure to look at how "coming from emptiness" plays a part in overcoming obstacles. Also, try to use actual examples in your life or from the workshop to learn how the barrier works in your life.
Priorities in this exercise:
1. Have fun!
2. Build Community in your group3. Do the assigned task.
Instructions:
1. In your small group, take some silence and start to build community in this group. (have fun)
2. Examine the Barriers Handout. Discuss your barriers in your group in an attempt to find the barrier you would like to transform (let go of or improve) in your life. (have fun)
3. Share your personal insights with each other. (have fun)
4. Select a barrier (or barriers) to present to the large group. This can be a common barrier or each person may feel a need to present their individual barrier. (have fun)
5. Together as a group, decide how you wish to present the barrier(s) and their transformation to the large group. This can be done in about any way you desire. Be creative. Make it fun. It can be just a report, a song or group of songs, or a poster, but a skit is preferred. Try to keep the your presentation to 10 minutes. You can use props. The transformation should embody emptiness in some way. (have fun)
6. There are a few rules about the presentation:
· Do not use any presentation that uses fire or smoke (fire detectors may go off and stop the workshop.)· Do not require participation by individuals in the large group.· Be mindful of our differences and respect all differences .
Ask if there are any question and for only one person at a time to speak.
Have some materials available that they can make props from, like cardboard boxes, marking pens, colors, poster board, old "dress up" clothes, hats and anything else you can think of.
Have each group write on a paper where they will be doing their project and the times they will be there. Your task in the evening is to move between the groups and help if they truly get stuck. Some groups will get stuck but can usually get themselves out of it. So don't do a rescue until you know they are truly stuck. On very rare occasion, some group may find it very difficult to work together. In this case you will have to work with them and perhaps tell them what to do. This is very rare. Many groups will struggle and that is good. Some will be working out chaos that happened in the workshop or even work out differences between people. Usually three hours is enough for most groups. Some have gone six hours because they were having such fun. You may need to limit them to a certain time to quit. I usually say 9:30 pm. Some will labor to have a skit. You can encourage them to just have a theme and let it happen. I've seen groups put their skits together as they did them and it looked like they had practiced it for hours. Tell them to let the spirit guide them.
(jump to barriers and skip exercise)
INTRODUCTION:This group dynamics exercise allows people to find their communications barriers. It can be used in any kind of group an can be adapted for use in a number of ways. You may just want to use the handout of barriers and discuss them or just part of them. The main barriers people have are listed first in the handout except for the barriers on listening which are listed last. The exercise below is how this is done in conjunction with a Community Building Workshop. I've used this exercise more than 100 times and always with great success.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE:
This exercise is done toward the end of the second day of a community building event. The introduction is usually done at about 4 -4:30 p.m. and the small groups work is in the evening with presentations given the following day.
PURPOSE: The facilitator introduces the exercise by telling that barriers to communication most often keep people from experiencing community in a workshop and in relationships they have in life. The purpose of the exercise is for each individual to find one primary personal barrier they would like to change. Discuss various barriers and how you see them in your communications with others. Then talk about what you would like to do to minimize one barrier in your life.
FACILITATIVE NOTES:
Tell the group that you know they are probably tired and that this is a time they may go into chaos, but you are asking them to be patient for the next 10 minutes. Listen to the instructions and be prepared to ask some questions. Tell them they will work in small groups and you will start by dividing them into the groups.
You can do this in two ways:
(1) Put people in the groups you want them in. Use this only when you have a number of subgroups and what a person from each subgroup in a small group.
(2) Count off by the number of people you want in each small group. This can be 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. Any larger groups may not provide enough individual time. I prefer an odd number of 3 or 5 people per group.Each group will need a private place (room) to meet. Some may decide to have dinner together and work after in a persons room. You need to limit where they meet to the facility where the workshop is being held.
PROCEDURE:
Read the following to the group and give each person a copy with the handout.The object of this project is to have you discuss barriers and obstacles to community, both individual and group, and then determine how to transcend these in your everyday life. Be sure to look at how "coming from emptiness" plays a part in overcoming obstacles. Also, try to use actual examples in your life or from the workshop to learn how the barrier works in your life.
Priorities in this exercise:
1. Have fun!
2. Build Community in your group3. Do the assigned task.
Instructions:
1. In your small group, take some silence and start to build community in this group. (have fun)
2. Examine the Barriers Handout. Discuss your barriers in your group in an attempt to find the barrier you would like to transform (let go of or improve) in your life. (have fun)
3. Share your personal insights with each other. (have fun)
4. Select a barrier (or barriers) to present to the large group. This can be a common barrier or each person may feel a need to present their individual barrier. (have fun)
5. Together as a group, decide how you wish to present the barrier(s) and their transformation to the large group. This can be done in about any way you desire. Be creative. Make it fun. It can be just a report, a song or group of songs, or a poster, but a skit is preferred. Try to keep the your presentation to 10 minutes. You can use props. The transformation should embody emptiness in some way. (have fun)
6. There are a few rules about the presentation:
· Do not use any presentation that uses fire or smoke (fire detectors may go off and stop the workshop.)· Do not require participation by individuals in the large group.· Be mindful of our differences and respect all differences .
Ask if there are any question and for only one person at a time to speak.
Have some materials available that they can make props from, like cardboard boxes, marking pens, colors, poster board, old "dress up" clothes, hats and anything else you can think of.
Have each group write on a paper where they will be doing their project and the times they will be there. Your task in the evening is to move between the groups and help if they truly get stuck. Some groups will get stuck but can usually get themselves out of it. So don't do a rescue until you know they are truly stuck. On very rare occasion, some group may find it very difficult to work together. In this case you will have to work with them and perhaps tell them what to do. This is very rare. Many groups will struggle and that is good. Some will be working out chaos that happened in the workshop or even work out differences between people. Usually three hours is enough for most groups. Some have gone six hours because they were having such fun. You may need to limit them to a certain time to quit. I usually say 9:30 pm. Some will labor to have a skit. You can encourage them to just have a theme and let it happen. I've seen groups put their skits together as they did them and it looked like they had practiced it for hours. Tell them to let the spirit guide them.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Computer Crashings
Computer Crashings
People are impatient, which doesn’t come as a surprise to me seeing as I am listed in that category (especially when I am driving). For the last four/five days the library has been having some significant computer problems with our Pharos system, which is the system that allows patrons to log on to the public computers. The effect of these problems has been that for long periods of time over the last couple of days nobody has been able to get on any of the computers. Now I can understand how this could make somebody pretty impatient, especially if they have some piece of important business they need to get done. Still there were are a few people who just don’t seem to get, “We are really sorry that the system is down, IT is working on it, and hopefully they will be back up as soon as possible.” There was this one dude this morning who just didn’t get it, and he was getting all pissed off and trying to use the 15 minute express computers even though I had told him they were down too. Again I can understand the frustration but I have to say that when somebody has politely explained to you that the problem is being worked on and will hopefully be resolved soon, I’d think that you’d probably just try and accept it. Not this dude though, he was going to keep trying to log on until it worked even if he sat here all day long. I actually finally had to ask him to leave because he started playing around with the power buttons, turning a couple of the computers on and off (which is a big no-no in the library — only myself or other library employees are allowed to turn the machines off or on). He wasn’t too happy to be asked to leave either but I just gave him a slight smile and said, “I’m really sorry for the inconvenience this is causing you sir but there is very little that can be done about it right now. I cannot have you turning computers on and off in here. Doing so isn’t going to fix anything anyway. There are six gentlemen downstairs who are working as fast as they can to get the system back up. I recommend that if you have any other business in the library or downtown you might want to go ahead in do that and check back a little later to see if the computers are back up. I don’t know how long it will be before they are working again but I think it is safe to assume that it will be a little while.” That probably wasn’t verbatim what I said, but it was probably pretty close seeing as I’ve had to say very similar things to about a hundred plus people in the last two days. My angry dude did take his leave, albeit with a lot of grumbling and cursing under his breath (he also showed up almost immediately as soon as the computer started working again about an hour later which leads me to believe he was just sulking around the library for some time. Further, his very important need to get on a computer was just to play computer games, which he has been doing non-stop since the system started working again). So far the computers have not crashed again today which is a good thing because the computers malfunctioning cause inconvenience for patrons. It also gets annoying to me to have to repeat again and again that the computers are down especially considering that when they crash I always promptly put up signage explaining that there are system problems in the library (this has led me to believe very firmly that people really just don’t pay attention to signs. The same goes for all the “No Cellular Phone Use in the Library” signs that are literally unavoidable in this place, yet every day people have to be asked to please silence there phones or go outside to have conversations). Well the computers have been back up and running okay for several hour now and hopefully they won’t crash again (knock on wood here). I’d just say to all the people who use library public computers everywhere, remember that they are computers and computers have problems sometimes, so try to be patient when things don’t work, because being impatient or rude isn’t going to do anything to make things work any better, it is just going to piss other people off.
People are impatient, which doesn’t come as a surprise to me seeing as I am listed in that category (especially when I am driving). For the last four/five days the library has been having some significant computer problems with our Pharos system, which is the system that allows patrons to log on to the public computers. The effect of these problems has been that for long periods of time over the last couple of days nobody has been able to get on any of the computers. Now I can understand how this could make somebody pretty impatient, especially if they have some piece of important business they need to get done. Still there were are a few people who just don’t seem to get, “We are really sorry that the system is down, IT is working on it, and hopefully they will be back up as soon as possible.” There was this one dude this morning who just didn’t get it, and he was getting all pissed off and trying to use the 15 minute express computers even though I had told him they were down too. Again I can understand the frustration but I have to say that when somebody has politely explained to you that the problem is being worked on and will hopefully be resolved soon, I’d think that you’d probably just try and accept it. Not this dude though, he was going to keep trying to log on until it worked even if he sat here all day long. I actually finally had to ask him to leave because he started playing around with the power buttons, turning a couple of the computers on and off (which is a big no-no in the library — only myself or other library employees are allowed to turn the machines off or on). He wasn’t too happy to be asked to leave either but I just gave him a slight smile and said, “I’m really sorry for the inconvenience this is causing you sir but there is very little that can be done about it right now. I cannot have you turning computers on and off in here. Doing so isn’t going to fix anything anyway. There are six gentlemen downstairs who are working as fast as they can to get the system back up. I recommend that if you have any other business in the library or downtown you might want to go ahead in do that and check back a little later to see if the computers are back up. I don’t know how long it will be before they are working again but I think it is safe to assume that it will be a little while.” That probably wasn’t verbatim what I said, but it was probably pretty close seeing as I’ve had to say very similar things to about a hundred plus people in the last two days. My angry dude did take his leave, albeit with a lot of grumbling and cursing under his breath (he also showed up almost immediately as soon as the computer started working again about an hour later which leads me to believe he was just sulking around the library for some time. Further, his very important need to get on a computer was just to play computer games, which he has been doing non-stop since the system started working again). So far the computers have not crashed again today which is a good thing because the computers malfunctioning cause inconvenience for patrons. It also gets annoying to me to have to repeat again and again that the computers are down especially considering that when they crash I always promptly put up signage explaining that there are system problems in the library (this has led me to believe very firmly that people really just don’t pay attention to signs. The same goes for all the “No Cellular Phone Use in the Library” signs that are literally unavoidable in this place, yet every day people have to be asked to please silence there phones or go outside to have conversations). Well the computers have been back up and running okay for several hour now and hopefully they won’t crash again (knock on wood here). I’d just say to all the people who use library public computers everywhere, remember that they are computers and computers have problems sometimes, so try to be patient when things don’t work, because being impatient or rude isn’t going to do anything to make things work any better, it is just going to piss other people off.
Swarm Algorithms, Better Pictures, and Multicore Computers
Swarm Algorithms, Better Pictures, and Multicore Computers
I received an interesting email this morning, the Dr. Dobb's Report, a newsletter I subscribe to. The lead article is titled "Swarm Algorithms and (Better) Digital Photos." Whenever I see something like this, I am immediately reminded of the potential benefits of multicore processors on home computers. Surely, if there's a way to improve the quality of digital pictures, that's something everyone's going to want to be able to do.
But if improving the pictures involves complex algorithms, then those algorithms will have to be multithreaded, using Threading Building Blocks or some other technique, and the enhancement program will have to run on a multicore system; otherwise, users will be idly watching their screens, getting ever more impatient as they wait forever for the enhancement analysis to complete.
The Method: Particle Swarm Optimization Enhancement
Here's a snippet from the Dr. Dobb's Report message:
... researchers are turning to "swarm intelligence" as a means of enhancing digital photos. Swarm intelligence is an AI technique that's based on the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems.
The technique ... uses a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to enhance contrast and details without distortion.
Somewhat like Genetic Algorithms, PSO treats each version of an image as an individual member of a swarm and makes a single, small adjustment to contrast levels, edge sharpness, and other image parameters. The algorithm then determines whether the new members of the swarm are better or worse than the original, according to an objective fitness criterion.
The authors' paper, "Particle swarm optimization enhancement approach for improving image quality", was published in the International Journal of Innovative Computing and Applications in 2007, and is available for purchase.
Conclusion
Algorithmic techniques that are applicable to everyday activities are being actively researched. The advent of multicore computers and multithreading techniques like TBB present opportunities to bring these innovations to home and office desktop computers. I expect that, once people realize such software is possible, they'll want to have it. The beneficiaries will be the developers and software vendors who recognize the full potential of multicore processors, and bring these new products to market early on.
I received an interesting email this morning, the Dr. Dobb's Report, a newsletter I subscribe to. The lead article is titled "Swarm Algorithms and (Better) Digital Photos." Whenever I see something like this, I am immediately reminded of the potential benefits of multicore processors on home computers. Surely, if there's a way to improve the quality of digital pictures, that's something everyone's going to want to be able to do.
But if improving the pictures involves complex algorithms, then those algorithms will have to be multithreaded, using Threading Building Blocks or some other technique, and the enhancement program will have to run on a multicore system; otherwise, users will be idly watching their screens, getting ever more impatient as they wait forever for the enhancement analysis to complete.
The Method: Particle Swarm Optimization Enhancement
Here's a snippet from the Dr. Dobb's Report message:
... researchers are turning to "swarm intelligence" as a means of enhancing digital photos. Swarm intelligence is an AI technique that's based on the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems.
The technique ... uses a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to enhance contrast and details without distortion.
Somewhat like Genetic Algorithms, PSO treats each version of an image as an individual member of a swarm and makes a single, small adjustment to contrast levels, edge sharpness, and other image parameters. The algorithm then determines whether the new members of the swarm are better or worse than the original, according to an objective fitness criterion.
The authors' paper, "Particle swarm optimization enhancement approach for improving image quality", was published in the International Journal of Innovative Computing and Applications in 2007, and is available for purchase.
Conclusion
Algorithmic techniques that are applicable to everyday activities are being actively researched. The advent of multicore computers and multithreading techniques like TBB present opportunities to bring these innovations to home and office desktop computers. I expect that, once people realize such software is possible, they'll want to have it. The beneficiaries will be the developers and software vendors who recognize the full potential of multicore processors, and bring these new products to market early on.
Can Computers Create Usable Interfaces by themselves?
Can Computers Create Usable Interfaces by themselves?
Composing semantic Web services is a fascinating technology: creating new applications on-the-fly from existing services. However, it raises a new problem for user interfaces. Usability cannot be evaluated or optimized in traditional ways when the application is constructed dynamically, and can change during runtime.
In order to answer this problem, we tried to construct an automatic method for evaluating and optimizing the usability of simple composition of Web services. The method is encapsulated in the LiquidInterface system, which automatically creates Web-based mockup application for semantic Web services.
Composing semantic Web services is a fascinating technology: creating new applications on-the-fly from existing services. However, it raises a new problem for user interfaces. Usability cannot be evaluated or optimized in traditional ways when the application is constructed dynamically, and can change during runtime.
In order to answer this problem, we tried to construct an automatic method for evaluating and optimizing the usability of simple composition of Web services. The method is encapsulated in the LiquidInterface system, which automatically creates Web-based mockup application for semantic Web services.
Bird Flu
Bird Flu
It’s not like this has taken off. Just note that everytime you read about human contact with this disease the fatality rate is around 85-percent. That’s why they get so freaked.
HANOI, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) — Bird flu has, since January, spread to 26 cities and provinces across Vietnam, killing and leading to the forced culling of over 613,000 fowls, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.
A total of 454 areas in 263 communes of 26 out of 64 localities nationwide have been hit by bird flu. The latest locality being hit by the disease is northern Thai Nguyen province.
Since Dec. 28, 2004, a total of 11 human cases of bird flu infection have been reported in Vietnam, eight in the south and three in the north. Among the 11 victims, nine have died.
Among the two alive patients, one has already recovered fully, and the other will be discharged from the Tropical Disease Institute in Hanoi capital city in a couple of days, local doctorssaid, noting that early hospitalization is largely attributed to their recovery.
It’s not like this has taken off. Just note that everytime you read about human contact with this disease the fatality rate is around 85-percent. That’s why they get so freaked.
HANOI, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) — Bird flu has, since January, spread to 26 cities and provinces across Vietnam, killing and leading to the forced culling of over 613,000 fowls, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.
A total of 454 areas in 263 communes of 26 out of 64 localities nationwide have been hit by bird flu. The latest locality being hit by the disease is northern Thai Nguyen province.
Since Dec. 28, 2004, a total of 11 human cases of bird flu infection have been reported in Vietnam, eight in the south and three in the north. Among the 11 victims, nine have died.
Among the two alive patients, one has already recovered fully, and the other will be discharged from the Tropical Disease Institute in Hanoi capital city in a couple of days, local doctorssaid, noting that early hospitalization is largely attributed to their recovery.
Thieves steal four Diocese of Providence computers
Thieves steal four Diocese of Providence computers
Victims:Current and former Catholic school employeesNumber Affected:about 5,000Types of Data:Names, addresses and Social Security numbersBreach Description:Sometime during the weekend of January 27th, 2008 thieves broke into the Chancery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and stolen four desktop computers, one of which contained sensitive personal information belonging to current and former Catholic school employees.Reference URL:The Diocese of Providence online announcement The Providence Journal online storyReport Credit:The Diocese of ProvidenceResponse:From the online sources cited above:An individual or individuals broke into the Diocesan Office Building (also known as the Chancery) located at One Cathedral Square in Providence. The perpetrator(s) gained access by breaking through an office window in the Catholic School Office suite.Once in the building, the perpetrators forcibly entered through two locked office doors where they stole desktop computers and other equipment.The office suite that was burglarized did not have an alarm system[Evan] It was reported that the Diocese does employ a security guard, but it is not known where he/she was at the time of the break-in. The fact that the timeframe in question is 8 hours (10 PM Friday - 6 AM Saturday) is interesting. Typically security guards are expected to make regular rounds (~ once every hour or two) throughout the area being guarded. Eight hours is a long time for a break-in to go undetected, so an alarm system would have been very beneficial as an alert if not a deterrent.One of the stolen computers (a desktop computer, not a laptop) contained a substantial amount of data that included personnel information on present and former Catholic school employees throughout the Diocese of Providence. The Rhode Island State Police have been notified of this incident. Additionally, the Providence Police Department has assumed responsibility for the investigation.Thus far, the stolen equipment has not been recovered however, the Catholic Schools Office is fully cooperating with law enforcement who are investigating the situation.Present and former employees of Rhode Island Catholic schools may be affected.A number of safeguards are in place such as: locked offices, password protected computers, local administrator account password protected, guest accounts disabled.[Evan] These are all good security practices.Employees have unique passwords that they are required to change every few weeks[Evan] Another good security practice, but every few weeks might be a little too often. If we make people change their passwords too often we increase the chances that they will write them down.Additionally, personal information of students, teachers, parents and others associated with the Catholic Schools Office are prohibited from storage on lap top computers.[Evan] Yet another good security practice.Personal information of students and their parents and or guardians was not stored on the stolen equipment.In addition to notifying current and former employees by letters sent to last known addresses, the Catholic Schools Office has created this page on the web site and established a special phone number, 401/278-4678 to answer inquiries from those who feel they may have been affectedAnother diocese office was broken into about a year ago and a computer stolen“The Catholic schools office sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience this incident may cause its current and former employees,”Commentary:Judging from what the Diocese has told us about their security practices it is easy to see that they have made a conscious effort to secure confidential information. They put some sound information security practices to use, but now we understand that it wasn't enough. At least two vital information security controls were missed; data at rest encryption and adequate physical security (alarm system missing). There is no mention as to whether or not the Diocese or Chancery are surveilled.
Victims:Current and former Catholic school employeesNumber Affected:about 5,000Types of Data:Names, addresses and Social Security numbersBreach Description:Sometime during the weekend of January 27th, 2008 thieves broke into the Chancery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and stolen four desktop computers, one of which contained sensitive personal information belonging to current and former Catholic school employees.Reference URL:The Diocese of Providence online announcement The Providence Journal online storyReport Credit:The Diocese of ProvidenceResponse:From the online sources cited above:An individual or individuals broke into the Diocesan Office Building (also known as the Chancery) located at One Cathedral Square in Providence. The perpetrator(s) gained access by breaking through an office window in the Catholic School Office suite.Once in the building, the perpetrators forcibly entered through two locked office doors where they stole desktop computers and other equipment.The office suite that was burglarized did not have an alarm system[Evan] It was reported that the Diocese does employ a security guard, but it is not known where he/she was at the time of the break-in. The fact that the timeframe in question is 8 hours (10 PM Friday - 6 AM Saturday) is interesting. Typically security guards are expected to make regular rounds (~ once every hour or two) throughout the area being guarded. Eight hours is a long time for a break-in to go undetected, so an alarm system would have been very beneficial as an alert if not a deterrent.One of the stolen computers (a desktop computer, not a laptop) contained a substantial amount of data that included personnel information on present and former Catholic school employees throughout the Diocese of Providence. The Rhode Island State Police have been notified of this incident. Additionally, the Providence Police Department has assumed responsibility for the investigation.Thus far, the stolen equipment has not been recovered however, the Catholic Schools Office is fully cooperating with law enforcement who are investigating the situation.Present and former employees of Rhode Island Catholic schools may be affected.A number of safeguards are in place such as: locked offices, password protected computers, local administrator account password protected, guest accounts disabled.[Evan] These are all good security practices.Employees have unique passwords that they are required to change every few weeks[Evan] Another good security practice, but every few weeks might be a little too often. If we make people change their passwords too often we increase the chances that they will write them down.Additionally, personal information of students, teachers, parents and others associated with the Catholic Schools Office are prohibited from storage on lap top computers.[Evan] Yet another good security practice.Personal information of students and their parents and or guardians was not stored on the stolen equipment.In addition to notifying current and former employees by letters sent to last known addresses, the Catholic Schools Office has created this page on the web site and established a special phone number, 401/278-4678 to answer inquiries from those who feel they may have been affectedAnother diocese office was broken into about a year ago and a computer stolen“The Catholic schools office sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience this incident may cause its current and former employees,”Commentary:Judging from what the Diocese has told us about their security practices it is easy to see that they have made a conscious effort to secure confidential information. They put some sound information security practices to use, but now we understand that it wasn't enough. At least two vital information security controls were missed; data at rest encryption and adequate physical security (alarm system missing). There is no mention as to whether or not the Diocese or Chancery are surveilled.
HOWTO save daily WebSphere 6.1 configuration with an "online" way?
HOWTO save daily WebSphere 6.1 configuration with an "online" way?
Hi all, in my previuos experience I'm used to export the whole configuration daily using XMLConfig tool. Guessed! In the previous experience I had a cluster of 6 WS4.0.7. Now I want to replicate this kind of managing, but talking with our IBM specialists I was warned about ws_ant ExportImport procedure. ws_ant stops all the applications but I have the goal of maintaining 24/7 usability SLA. Unfortunately I can't use only the wsadmin generation scripts to rebuild a disaster situation because of many performance tunning were performed all day long from many working units. So, I ask the community: what is your best suggestion on this issue?
Hi all, in my previuos experience I'm used to export the whole configuration daily using XMLConfig tool. Guessed! In the previous experience I had a cluster of 6 WS4.0.7. Now I want to replicate this kind of managing, but talking with our IBM specialists I was warned about ws_ant ExportImport procedure. ws_ant stops all the applications but I have the goal of maintaining 24/7 usability SLA. Unfortunately I can't use only the wsadmin generation scripts to rebuild a disaster situation because of many performance tunning were performed all day long from many working units. So, I ask the community: what is your best suggestion on this issue?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Formulation
Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Formulation
.
Scientists at Cirrus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. use nanotechnology to approach classical and novel drug delivery applications. They provide services for producing, formulating, and characterizing nanoparticles for a wide array of applications including, but not limited to, oral, pulmonary, and parenteral delivery.
.
Scientists at Cirrus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. use nanotechnology to approach classical and novel drug delivery applications. They provide services for producing, formulating, and characterizing nanoparticles for a wide array of applications including, but not limited to, oral, pulmonary, and parenteral delivery.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)