Google Images soon to get their own Page Rankings

This appeared in The Age Newspaper in Australia

Google algorithm improves image search


Google researchers said they had a software technology intended to do for digital images on the web what the company's original PageRank software did for searches of web pages.

Last week, at the International World Wide Web Conference in Beijing, two Google scientists presented a paper describing what the researchers called VisualRank, an algorithm for blending image-recognition software methods with techniques for weighting and ranking images that look most similar.

Although image search had become popular on commercial search engines, results were usually generated by using cues from the text that is associated with each image.

Image analysis remained a largely unsolved problem in computer science, the researchers said.

So while progress had been made in automatic face detection in images, finding other objects such as mountains or tea pots, which were instantly recognisable to humans, had lagged.

"We wanted to incorporate all of the stuff that is happening in computer vision and put it in a web framework," said Shumeet Baluja, a senior staff researcher at Google, who made the presentation with Yushi Jing, another Google researcher. The company's expertise in creating vast graphs that weigh "nodes", or web pages, based on their "authority" could be applied to images that were the most representative of a particular query, he said.

The research paper focused on a subset of images the giant search engine had catalogued because of the tremendous computing costs required to analyse and compare digital images. To do this for all of the images indexed by the search engine would be impractical, the researchers said. Google did not disclose how many images it had catalogued.

The company said that in its research it had concentrated on the 2000 most popular product queries on Google's product search, words such as iPod, Xbox and Zune. It then sorted the top 10 images from its ranking system and the standard Google Image Search results. With a team of 150 Google employees, it created a scoring system for image "relevance". The researchers said the retrieval returned 83 per cent less irrelevant images.

The New York Times

Email and its Place

Courtesy of Annette over at Interactions, I came upon Matt Moores slideshow about email. As Annette say it is simple yet very sophisticated presentation. It shows how far we have come with our cyber forms of communication.

| View | Upload your own

This presentation uses another handy programme called SlideShare that allows you to share your presentations with the world letting your ideas reach a broad audience. You can share publicly or privately.

More and more people turning to web based programmes. Most are free, and offer a freedom of not always being tied to your own laptop or computer.

The main contender in free web based programmes is Google. The Labs section lists all the programmes that are available, some are still in beta but are worth exploring and having fun with.

A site I found Zoho.com also offers a superb range of mostly free programmes from the main office suite; wordprocessor spreadsheets, presentation and database programmes to email, organisers, invoices, CRM and project management programmes to name but a few.

Education and the Knowledge Based Economy

This is such a good blog posting by Piaras I have quoted it in its entirety.

So the INTO (Irish National Teachers Organisation) held their annual conference a couple of weeks ago. There was back and forth between the teacher’s union and Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin T.D., on a number of points including class sizes, IT in classrooms and education for disadvantaged and disabled students.

What’s of particular interest for me about how the whole knowledge based economy was thrown into the mix yet again. I’ve given my two cents on the topic in the past, but not so much in the context of the Irish education system (and what’s probably relevant to other education systems across the globe.)

We’re at a bit of a crossroads at the moment. On the one hand, we have business leaders, government and teachers talking about how we need to innovate in order for the country to continue on its path of unheralded economic success. On the other hand, we’re staring blankly at the huge waves of innovation taking place in front of us currently and failing to acknowledge how these new creative processes are affecting the current socio-economic environment.

Firstly let’s look at a new White Paper published by the UK government recently. The BBC reports that the UK government’s viewpoint is that “the key to the UK becoming a world leader in innovation is to forge closer links between industry and higher education.” However, when you read down through the article, the Association for Science Education points out that while that is all well and good, the current education system in the UK (like Ireland) stifles innovation when it comes to science. The BBC quotes’s Alan Rhodes from the Association for Science Education, “Our curriculum is so test orientated that children are being taught to pass tests and you do not innovate when teaching children to pass tests. I believe in high standards, but there is insufficient time for creativity in the curriculum from primary school up to the age of 18.”

The main problem facing most education systems is that they are centred on rote learning which by definition avoids understanding of a subject and instead focuses on memorisation. Ultimately this does not instill the type of creativity and free thinking that innovation depends on. The CAO system adds to the problem as it simply incentivises people to study subject like law or medicine simply based on the fact that they require high points. Some commentators are calling for bonus points to be given to maths, but this fails to recognise that the system is the problem. Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, President of DCU, offered some other reasons why the CAO system is flawed in the Irish Times last year (subscription required):

It may be useful to describe briefly what the points system is. In order to be admitted to the third-level programme of her or his choice, a student needs to have the points required for that programme.

The points themselves are, it could be said, a market currency. There is a minimum number for each programme, reflecting the educational attainment thought necessary to succeed in that programme; but the actual points required are the product of supply and demand: where there are more applicants for a programme than there are places - ie where there is strong demand for a scarce product - then you will have higher points. Therefore if a subject becomes particularly popular, the points go through the roof. This does not reflect the intellectual demands of the programme, just its popularity; and the points can go up and down dramatically from year to year without the syllabus changing at all. If you want to buy a scarce product, you need to pay a high price; and if few want it, you can get it very cheaply.

So what is the effect of that in practice? Let us take the case of points required for entry to various subjects in University College Dublin last September.

A student wanting to study architecture or law, for example, would have to have between 500 and 600 points. But if the same student wanted to study chemical engineering, food science or biochemistry, she would need only 300-400 points.
What does that tell us? Nothing at all about the intellectual demands of the subjects concerned; in fact arguably the more difficult ones seem to require the lower points in the above examples (though all third-level studies require intellectual application). Maybe these points reflect national priorities? Certainly not, as the country’s needs in technological studies and life sciences are much greater than its need for more lawyers, for example.

It could be argued that points are a beauty parade of college programmes, reflecting current fashions rather than any assessment of need. But my worry is that they don’t reflect student preferences and aptitudes either. A student with 550 points will tend to look at programmes that require these.

Disproportionately few students with 550 points apply for programmes requiring 300, so that the brightest often shun the less popular programmes, though these in turn often reflect real national needs.

It is also arguable that some of the most popular subjects provide training for the professions, such as the law, accountancy, architecture, the Civil Service, and so on. Social pressures may be pushing students into those professions, influencing the points. But national needs don’t necessarily point in the same direction, since the biggest need for more graduates is not in areas like law and architecture, but arguably in technology-related subjects and life sciences.

If the points system is a market, then it should be assessed like any other market - is it a good distribution mechanism for the resources being traded? I would find the evidence on that count to be fairly damning, and I would fear that we are institutionalising a set of trends that are not particularly good for the colleges, the students and the country.

The other factor in the mix is how sites like Wikipedia are challenging traditional perceptions of learning in the education system. There’s a really interesting post on one of our new Edelman blogs about the difference between colloboration and cheating. Phil Gomes points out that an acquaitance if his, a scientist-turned-business-leader, once said, “In the workplace, they call it ‘collaboration’. In academia, they call it ‘cheating’.” Gomes highlights the case of Chris Avenir, a student at Ryerson University, who “is fighting charges of academic misconduct for helping run an online chemistry study group via Facebook last term, where 146 classmates swapped tips on homework questions that counted for 10 per cent of their mark.” according to an article in the Toronto Star. Gomes simplifies the situation as:

Study group wherein it’s entirely possible that solutions for chemistry and math problems are freely swapped: Perfectly okay.

Study group on Facebook, where it is demonstrably clear that no solution was traded, only helpful tips (as in any IRL study group): Expulsion-worthy!!

Education as we know it is fundamentally changing. We’re operating a system that is around one hundred years old. If there needs to be innovation in any sector, then it’s the education system. The INTO hit the nail on the head in one of the demands of Minister Hanafin at their conference and that was not to reduce the invesment in the education system in the face of an economic downturn. It’s a bit like selling your star player when a sports team gets relegated. It might make financial sense, but when it comes to getting promoted next year, you’ve effectively chopped your own legs off before you’ve started.

The main challenge facing teachers though is that change needs to be built into the education system. How prepared are Irish teachers to be constantly challenging themselves and self-improving. Why do I say this? Let’s look at the whole IT in the Irish education system debate. A number of people are saying that 252 million euro is too little, the government are saying its just fine. They’re both right in a sense.

The problem with most IT investment is that it’s a capital investment. The lifetime of a laptop is 18 months before it’s effectively obselete, but a secondary school student’s educational lifetime is six years so they will have seen four laptops in that period alone.

The big problem with introducing anything new into the classroom is that teachers need to be confident enough to use it. No-one wants to stand up in front of a class of 30 kids and be heckled because they don’t know where the ANY key is. ANY key aside, if a laptop is installed as a bare minimum into every classroom across the country then teachers need to be prepared to know how to use it and commit to further training for hardware and software upgrades.

What really needs to happen in classrooms when it comes to teaching IT is that the concepts behind the applications need to be taught. Focusing on the software is shortsighted as students will be using something completely different when they graduate. Instead they should be learning about collaboration and using the Internet as a research tool, but at the same time realising that they need to investigate a number of information sources, before ultimately offering their opinion rather than repeating what they read on Wikipedia or in a text book.

The big worry however is the resistance to change in any institution, especially public sector. Just look at the health system, everyone admits that there needs to be change, but no-one will implement it. In effect, that’s the complete opposite of what the knowledge based economy should be - the ongoing development of new processes and their incorporation into organisations.

It is all about style

As Mae West famously said

It isn't what I do, but how I do it. It isn't what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it.

is a maximum that could have been said about Geraldine Brand. Gerldine, renowned for her own sense of style and fashion and who ran the very successful Brand model agency has turned her attention to the most style conscious section of our community, our teenage girls.

Geraldine is holding summer style workshops for 16-19-year-olds that begin in June and run weekly until the beginning of August in St. Stephens Green, Dublin.



The workshop is all about learning how to make the most of oneself. How to wear clothes that suit your body shape and colouring, how to achieve a clear skin tone and even skin colour through the correct application of skin care and make-up.
The girls learn how to style their hair, how to walk with ease and grace, and lots more about image and style.

Through her contacts in fashion and make-up, both Irish and international companies contribute to the workshop. a-wear part of the Brown Thomas group supply Geraldine with a range of their summer fashion, allowing her to show practical examples of how to build a wardrobe without spending a fortune. (I can hear parents scrambling to book their daughters on the course for this alone!)

Bobbi Brown an international make-up company based in New York supply the latest in make-up for the girls to experiment with under guidance from their make-up artists. Roc supply skin care especially suited to young and problem skin.

From etiquette to wardrobe planning, from body language to interview techniques, the workshops' aim is that each student will be able to present themselves in the best possible way with confidence.

Geraldine also works with the corporate sector who realise the advantage in developing the image and style of their employees as a reflection of their company.
One to one consultations are also available for men and woman.

Geraldine has her courses listed with Courses.ie

This sounds like a wondeful way to spend a week of the summer holidays and I know many 16-19 year old girls that would just love to do this course.

Tai chi exercises help to fight diabetes

Tai-Chi describes a way of life and a system of healing and exercise which combines physical training (martial art) with spiritual growth and mental discipline. Its history can be traced back to India and the development of Buddhism circa 500BC.

Tai Chi has been practiced in all corners of the world. The most popular style of Tai Chi taught today in the Western world is Yang style, after the family name. Cheng Man Ch'ing (1900-1975) is largely credited as being the greatest master of Yang style in the modern world. Cheng developed the short Tang form, which is a concise, and shortened form. It contains the most basic principles and movements that are of great benefit to health and well-being.

According to an article in today's Irish Independent

TAI CHI exercises could help diabetics control their blood sugar levels, researchers said today.

A 12-week programme was shown to boost the the body's immune system in people suffering Type 2, which is linked to obesity.

Two studies, published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at the impact of tai chi on diabetes.

Tai chi involves moderate exercise using flowing movements and deep breathing using the diaphragm.

The first study, from researchers in Taiwan, compared 30 diabetics with 30 healthy people acting as controls.

Over the 12-week period, those in the tai chi group learned 37 movements under the guidance of an expert, and took home a video to study the correct poses.

Each session was 60 minutes which included a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool down. Sessions were given three times a week.

The study revealed that, after 12 weeks, levels of interleukin-12, which boosts the immune response, doubled.

Meanwhile, levels of interleukin-4, which suppresses the immune response, fell.

The study also revealed a significant drop in HBA1C levels in patients after the exercise programme. HBA1C is a measure of blood glucose.

The authors suggested that tai chi may cause a fall in blood glucose levels or improve blood glucose metabolism which sparks a drop in the inflammatory response.

Or, exercise may boost fitness levels and the feeling of wellbeing, which may then boost the health of the immune system, they said.

Cathy Moulton, care adviser at Diabetes UK, said: “This interesting new research further confirms that moderate exercise is vital in effectively managing Type 2 diabetes.

- Jane Kirby

Find your Tai Chi Course on Courses.ie