BEIJING (AP) — From his temporary home on a friend's sofa, Yin Yusheng hopes to craft a new kind of journalism in China, where the industry is widely seen as state-controlled and corrupt. He wants to make his readers the boss — and that includes paying his salary.
Once users pledge 5,000 yuan ($800) — half his monthly pay when he worked for a business daily — he takes a story up. He has completed one piece since beginning his experiment in crowdfunding in September, appealing to those who are "tired of the praises sung by the state-run media."
Journalism in China is held in low esteem by many members of the public, not just because virtually all media is state-controlled and toes the government line, but also because of dirty practices dating back to the 1990s. Journalists regularly demand money from companies or individuals not to report a negative story about them, and expect a "red envelope" with cash to report a positive development or to turn up at a press conference.
Yin, who lost a reporting job at a magazine earlier this year when it changed from a weekly to a monthly, wants to be beholden only to the news-reading public, and is testing whether crowdfunding from online donations can give him a stable income.
In an online mission statement, he says crowdfunding can make a product successful, save a company and bring donations to the weak and vulnerable. "In the same way, it can give us the truth," he writes.
There already are several self-styled citizen journalists in China publishing online reports on their own websites. Yin said he wants to bring a professional standard to this kind of reporting and thinks colleagues in the industry may follow his lead because such reporting "enjoys a little more sliver of freedom" than working in the state-controlled industry.
Yin, 43, has advertised his story ideas on China's two largest microblogging sites and the online marketplace Taobao.
The crowdfunded investigative piece he has completed was about Chen Baocheng, a Beijing reporter detained during a protest over a land demolition in his hometown. Yin's pitch attracted the required funding within 24 hours. A week and a half later, he uploaded the finished piece onto two Twitter-like microblogging sites, Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo.
State media stories on the case tended to focus on police and lawyers' reactions, but Yin's vivid report was based on more than 20 interviews with police, lawyers, witnesses, local officials and some of those who had been detained. Some reports alleged that Chen doused an excavator operator in gasoline, but Yin's report found that he had arrived only after others had already poured the fuel.
Yin also tweets from the scene. "I am on the scene, meaning you are on the scene as well," his promise to readers goes.
His plan came from discussions with friends who, like him, entered print journalism from backgrounds in computer science or online media, and who began to see the Internet's power to usurp traditional media.
"We began to ask ourselves the question: Why do we have to confine ourselves to one specific media outlet? Many of us had already become quite influential, so publishing an article online might have more public impact," he said in an interview at a Beijing cafe.
In the U.S. and Europe, journalists and activists have used crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter to find money for one-off creative projects, like a first book or a documentary. A number of sites also have experimented with such financing for journalists in the past few years, especially in the United States, said George Brock, a journalism professor at City University London.
"I don't think it's going to be the central plank or pillar of a new business model for journalism, but the experiments that have been done in it have shown that projects that catch people's imagination, whether they be Web or print or film, really can raise money," Brock said.
Yin set his limit at 5,000 yuan, which is also slated to cover his expenses, in hopes of discouraging the notion that a big spender could control his agenda. He uploaded details on the 1,955 yuan he spent covering his first report, including photos of bus and train tickets and other receipts.
He is saving money by staying in a friend's apartment, which he says might also make it more difficult for officials to track him down.
He risks becoming a target in the government's intensified crackdown on online expression. In recent months, China's leaders have clamped down on what they call online rumors and efforts to erode the rule of the Communist Party through lies and negative news. Their targets have included celebrity bloggers that call attention to social injustices.
Even if the government does not detain Yin, it could scrub his reports from the Internet.
"The key point here is the distribution question" and whether Yin's reports will be censored, said David Bandurski, a researcher with the China Media Project at Hong Kong University. "All Internet is China is in a recent period of extreme intensification of control and he's dealing — presumably if he's doing investigations — with sensitive issues."
___
Follow Louise Watt on Twitter at twitter.com/louise_watt
A majority of Oracle shareholders have once again voted against the company’s executive pay practices, including for CEO Larry Ellison (shown above).
Thursday’s vote at Oracle’s annual shareholder meeting is nonbinding, and follows complaints from some large shareholders and their representatives who say Ellison is overpaid compared to his peers.
Ellison is paid $1 in salary, receiving the rest of his pay in stock options. In Oracle’s past fiscal year, that totaled $76.9 million. Ellison declined to receive a bonus. Other top Oracle executives such as co-President Mark Hurd also receive a lot of stock options.
Ellison, who is one of the world’s richest people, controls about one-fourth of Oracle’s shares.
Shareholders voted against Oracle’s executive pay practices at last year’s meeting as well.
Oracle has defended its policy on the grounds that the stock options aren’t worth anything unless Oracle’s share price rises, which is good for both executives such as Ellison and every other Oracle shareholder.
Earlier this month, Oracle secretary and general counsel Dorian Daley described Ellison as the company’s “most critical strategic visionary” and characterized his pay as a bargain compared to the benefits Oracle receives.
Ellison takes shareholder questions
Ellison took questions from shareholders in attendance after the meeting’s formal agenda concluded and the topics didn’t always center on enterprise technology.
One referred to a near “disaster” the city of New York would have experienced had Eliot Spitzer been elected comptroller, and asked Ellison whether Oracle could “intervene financially” in New York elections.
“We live in a democracy and the people pick their leaders, and we do that all the time,” Ellison said. “If we’re not happy with that we can pick someone else. I don’t think Oracle should engage in political activity specifically trying to influence the New York City and New York state elections. We should focus on things like building fast computers and better software.”
Another shareholder questioned why Oracle has two presidents in Hurd and Safra Catz.
“I just figured two’s better than one,” Ellison said to laughter. “Seriously, it’s a large company. We have a separation of responsibilities.” Hurd focuses on sales and support while Catz handles operational matters, he said. “I think they’ve both done outstanding jobs in their respective areas of expertise,” Ellison added. “Either one of them could go out and get a CEO’s job tomorrow.”
A third questioner complained that she had to call Oracle’s investor relations office three times to find out when the shareholder meeting was supposed to occur.
“We love people to come to our annual meeting,” Ellison said by way of apology. “We even have cookies.” Oracle will make sure information about the meeting is posted to its website, he added.
Ellison steered clear of saying anything controversial when asked about Oracle’s involvement with the troubled Healthcare.gov website.
“As an information technology company we are doing everything we can to make it a highly performant, highly reliable [system],” he said. “I will refrain from editorial comments about what has happened there. I think most of us want our government to operate efficiently.”
But Ellison revealed which rivals Oracle watches most closely. IBM, EMC, SAP, and Salesforce.com “are four competitors we spend a lot of time thinking about,” he said.
Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for the IDG News Service. More by Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service
UTSA researchers develop prototype football kicking simulator
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
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Contact: KC Gonzalez kc.gonzalez@utsa.edu 210-458-7555 University of Texas at San Antonio
National Science Foundation-funded project aids football kickers through virtual training system
In football, kicking is a fundamental and vital part of the game. The few points a kicker scores can make a critical difference in the outcome of a game. To help improve a football kicker's performance, University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) mechanical and bioengineering professor Yusheng Feng and seven students have developed the prototype components for a football kicking simulator designed to be a real-time training tool.
Sponsored by the UTSA Center for Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction (SiViRT) with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Football Kicking Simulation & Human Performance Assessment is a virtual training system that uses real-time wireless feedback and computer sensing to measure football kicking mechanics data. It gives a kicker the ability to practice either on or off the field and receive the same kind of attention to detail he would experience at a training camp. Moreover, the quantitative data collected from the football dynamics and kicker's body motion can not only be used to predict the accuracy of a kick, but also give feedback to maximize the kicking power while mitigating the risk of injury.
In particular, the prototype provides quantifiable measures to improve a football kicker's consistency and reliability by:
Predicting the football's trajectory, incorporating real life factors such as drag, lift and wind factor
Sensing the pressure of the planted foot and angle of contact
Capturing the body motion of legs and joints through high speed cameras and video tracking
Displaying a realistic stadium environment by providing 3D visualization and surrounding sound
Providing dynamic and kinesiological analyses and simulations for coaches and players to design player-specific training programs
UTSA mechanical engineering undergraduate students Alyssa Schaefbauer, Cole Meyers, Jacob Kantor and Michael Lasch, kinesiology undergraduate student Ekow Acquaah, along with electrical and computer engineering graduate student Aaron Stout and computer science graduate student Ehren Biglari, have been developing and testing the virtual training system under the mentorship of Feng since February 2012.
"What sets our product apart from other kicking simulations is that we are using computer sensing and mathematical models to predict the football trajectory along with various training tools. It was designed specifically to be used for training rather than a form of entertainment, and it will be affordable," said Schaefbauer, the student team leader.
The group has been working with UTSA Football place-kicker Sean Ianno and assistant coach Perry Eliano to test the simulator and make necessary adjustments for ideal training. In order to consider the human factors in training and coaching, they are also incorporating feedback from faculty members in the UTSA Department of Health and Kinesiology.
"The simulator is an awesome idea. Although it is not a finished product yet, it has the potential to be on the cutting edge of technology and quite possibly could revolutionize how kickers train," said Ianno.
"The kicking simulator is an incredible project and something I believe can be very beneficial not only for our kickers, but for kickers across the country," stated Eliano. "I'm really humbled and thankful that the College of Engineering and their students who worked their tails off on this project chose us to be a part of it."
The research team has published two papers that were presented at the International Workshop on Computer Science in Sports and the Society for Modeling and Simulation International conference this summer.
"The football kicking simulator is a perfect example of how engineering and science can make improvements beyond the scientific arena, such as football, that are of interest to the greater community," said Feng. "It has been exciting to see these students develop into fine researchers who are determined to make a difference in society."
The research team has filed a patent application for the technology through the UTSA Office of Commercialization and Innovation and the team hopes to make the simulator commercially available for coaches and football teams to use as a training tool.
###
Established in August 2009 as a result of a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the UTSA Center for Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction is a computation and visualization center that integrates high-performance computing into its activities which include imaging, visualization, modeling and simulation to help faculty and student researchers investigate structural reliability, particle flow, nanotechnology, biomechanics, computational neuroscience and cancer treatment simulation.
The SiViRT Center aims to shape UTSA's research environment by creating and supporting first-hand collaborative research and design experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students year-round. It is an interdisciplinary research center where students can apply their knowledge through teamwork. Learn more about the SiViRT Center at http://www.sivirt.utsa.edu.
For further information regarding the licensing of this or any UTSA technology, contact the UTSA Office of Commercialization and Innovation at oci@utsa.edu or call (210) 458-6963.
Connect online with UTSA at http://www.utsa.edu, http://www.facebook.com/utsa, http://www.twitter.com/utsa or http://www.youtube.com/utsa.
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is an emerging Tier One research institution specializing in health, energy, security, sustainability, and human and social development. With nearly 29,000 students, it is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. UTSA advances knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. The university embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property for Texas, the nation and the world.
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UTSA researchers develop prototype football kicking simulator
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: KC Gonzalez kc.gonzalez@utsa.edu 210-458-7555 University of Texas at San Antonio
National Science Foundation-funded project aids football kickers through virtual training system
In football, kicking is a fundamental and vital part of the game. The few points a kicker scores can make a critical difference in the outcome of a game. To help improve a football kicker's performance, University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) mechanical and bioengineering professor Yusheng Feng and seven students have developed the prototype components for a football kicking simulator designed to be a real-time training tool.
Sponsored by the UTSA Center for Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction (SiViRT) with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Football Kicking Simulation & Human Performance Assessment is a virtual training system that uses real-time wireless feedback and computer sensing to measure football kicking mechanics data. It gives a kicker the ability to practice either on or off the field and receive the same kind of attention to detail he would experience at a training camp. Moreover, the quantitative data collected from the football dynamics and kicker's body motion can not only be used to predict the accuracy of a kick, but also give feedback to maximize the kicking power while mitigating the risk of injury.
In particular, the prototype provides quantifiable measures to improve a football kicker's consistency and reliability by:
Predicting the football's trajectory, incorporating real life factors such as drag, lift and wind factor
Sensing the pressure of the planted foot and angle of contact
Capturing the body motion of legs and joints through high speed cameras and video tracking
Displaying a realistic stadium environment by providing 3D visualization and surrounding sound
Providing dynamic and kinesiological analyses and simulations for coaches and players to design player-specific training programs
UTSA mechanical engineering undergraduate students Alyssa Schaefbauer, Cole Meyers, Jacob Kantor and Michael Lasch, kinesiology undergraduate student Ekow Acquaah, along with electrical and computer engineering graduate student Aaron Stout and computer science graduate student Ehren Biglari, have been developing and testing the virtual training system under the mentorship of Feng since February 2012.
"What sets our product apart from other kicking simulations is that we are using computer sensing and mathematical models to predict the football trajectory along with various training tools. It was designed specifically to be used for training rather than a form of entertainment, and it will be affordable," said Schaefbauer, the student team leader.
The group has been working with UTSA Football place-kicker Sean Ianno and assistant coach Perry Eliano to test the simulator and make necessary adjustments for ideal training. In order to consider the human factors in training and coaching, they are also incorporating feedback from faculty members in the UTSA Department of Health and Kinesiology.
"The simulator is an awesome idea. Although it is not a finished product yet, it has the potential to be on the cutting edge of technology and quite possibly could revolutionize how kickers train," said Ianno.
"The kicking simulator is an incredible project and something I believe can be very beneficial not only for our kickers, but for kickers across the country," stated Eliano. "I'm really humbled and thankful that the College of Engineering and their students who worked their tails off on this project chose us to be a part of it."
The research team has published two papers that were presented at the International Workshop on Computer Science in Sports and the Society for Modeling and Simulation International conference this summer.
"The football kicking simulator is a perfect example of how engineering and science can make improvements beyond the scientific arena, such as football, that are of interest to the greater community," said Feng. "It has been exciting to see these students develop into fine researchers who are determined to make a difference in society."
The research team has filed a patent application for the technology through the UTSA Office of Commercialization and Innovation and the team hopes to make the simulator commercially available for coaches and football teams to use as a training tool.
###
Established in August 2009 as a result of a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the UTSA Center for Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction is a computation and visualization center that integrates high-performance computing into its activities which include imaging, visualization, modeling and simulation to help faculty and student researchers investigate structural reliability, particle flow, nanotechnology, biomechanics, computational neuroscience and cancer treatment simulation.
The SiViRT Center aims to shape UTSA's research environment by creating and supporting first-hand collaborative research and design experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students year-round. It is an interdisciplinary research center where students can apply their knowledge through teamwork. Learn more about the SiViRT Center at http://www.sivirt.utsa.edu.
For further information regarding the licensing of this or any UTSA technology, contact the UTSA Office of Commercialization and Innovation at oci@utsa.edu or call (210) 458-6963.
Connect online with UTSA at http://www.utsa.edu, http://www.facebook.com/utsa, http://www.twitter.com/utsa or http://www.youtube.com/utsa.
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is an emerging Tier One research institution specializing in health, energy, security, sustainability, and human and social development. With nearly 29,000 students, it is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. UTSA advances knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. The university embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property for Texas, the nation and the world.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
We reported Wednesday that the polio outbreak in Somalia had spread to South Sudan. But health officials say that they were mistaken. There have been no polio cases in the country since 2009.
The World Health Organization said previously that it had confirmed three cases of polio in South Sudan back in August.
"There was a problem in the lab analysis," WHO spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer told Shots Thursday in an email. "So in fact those are not [polio] cases. South Sudan is being removed from the list of infected countries.
"But given that the Horn of Africa outbreak is continuing, South Sudan remains at risk," Rosenbauer wrote. "And immunization activities continue to be implemented in the country."
The polio outbreak in Somalia is currently the largest one in the world, with 174 cases. The virus has spread to Kenya and Ethiopia, which share borders with Somalia.
South Sudan, on the other hand, is hundreds of miles from the Somali border. So the corrected information means that the spread of the virus is more limited than previously thought.
Today brings an end to all the rumors, leaks and speculation — the LG-made Google Nexus 5 is finally official and the Google Play Store is now taking orders.
Here's the long and short of it: This year's Nexus handset is a 5-incher with a 1080p display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU and 2GB of RAM. Storage comes in 16 and 32GB configurations. The Nexus 5 is the first Nexus device to ship with an OIS (optical image stabilization) camera — an 8MP unit — which should compensate for hand motion in photos. It's also packing a 2300mAh battery and wireless charging capabilities.
Two Nexus 5 models will be offered, a North American version with CDMA support, 7-band WCDMA and 9-band LTE, and an international version with 6-band WCDMA and 6-band LTE. For a full list of radio bands and other technical info, check out our full Nexus 5 specs post.
Prices in the UK start at £295; in the U.S. it's $349 for 16GB and $399 for 32GB. It's available to order now on Google Play Store in several countries with 1-2 day shipping times; brick-and-mortar stores in the UK should have it tomorrow (Nov. 1). The first thousand UK buyers who pick up a Nexus 5 from Carphone Warehouse on-contract can claim a free 16GB Nexus 7 (2012). Carphone's on-contract prices start at £32 per month on 3G and £37 on 4G, both from O2.
Naturally, the Nexus 5 runs the all-new Android 4.4 KitKat, which we're still in the process of learning about amid today's announcements. Stay tuned for additional info just as soon as we get it.
Keep it locked to Android Central for more on today's Nexus and Android 4.4 KitKat news as it breaks.
Opening up a bit about his tenuous relationship in an interview with the one and only Katie Couric, Orlando Bloom spoke briefly about Miranda Kerr, his son, Flynn Bloom and the family they will continue to be.
Airing this coming Friday (November 1), the talk show episode finally got some answers out of Orlando. "We love each other. We're a family. We're going to be in each other's lives for the rest of our lives. There's no question that for the sake of our son and everything else, we're going to support one another and love each other as parents to Flynn," the 36-year-old said.
"Life sometimes doesn't work out exactly as we plan or hope for," the "Hobbit" stud continued. "But we're adults, I'm 36 and now she's 30. We're professionals. We love and care about each other. Most of all, we love our son."
The celebrity couple demonstrated that fact on Saturday, when Mirando and Orlando stepped out with little 2-year-old Flynn in New York City, looking like a complete family unit.
Married in July of 2010, they have been separated for the past several months, and plan to continue seeing one another for the benefit of their family.
Got a Galaxy Nexus? No KitKat 4.4 for you. Sorry. That seems dumb and weird since KitKat is supposed to be tricked out for low-spec phones, but it seems to be the case.
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