December 2022:
December 2022:
The exhibition: Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs
De Young Museum
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
De Young Museum is a fine art museum located in the beautiful Golden Gate Park of San Francisco. It was opened in 1895 and was housed in an Egyptian revival structure. The building was damaged in the 1906 SF earthquake; then it was Michael de Young who planned the new building structure. The current collections including American Art, Oceanic Art, Graphic Art, Photography and Textile Art. The permanent collection galleries have a variety of paintings and sculptures on display.
The current exhibition, Ramses the Great, displays the Egyptian treasures from 3,000 years ago. It is an interesting and must see exhibition. The unique ambiance of the exhibition takes the visitors to a dreamlike journey in 3,000 years ago. Ramses the Great was the most powerful pharaoh of Egypt’s golden age. He built enormous temples and statues and highly expanded the Egyptian empire. In the exhibition hall, the visitors have the opportunity to walk among towering Egyptian statues.
In 1280 B.C. Ramses became the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty. As a warrior he commanded an army of 100,000 men. He defeated Nubian invasion from the south, Libyan forces that attacked from the west, Sherden pirates on the Mediterranean coast and Hittite in Syria.
Ramses offered a “rebus”: a collection of images that form a word or phrases when spoken such as 🐝+🍁= bee + leaf (belief)
Caskets discovered hidden in the secret niches at several sites were a variety of valuable jewels and objects.
Ramses’ mummy was discovered in 1881 and now is in the National Museum of Cairo. In 1976, the mummy was forensically tested by Pierre Ceccaldi in a laboratory in Paris. According to Ceccaldi, the mummy had slightly wavy red hair and fair skinned. In ancient Egypt people who had red hair were often associated with the deity Set. In 2006, French police arrested a man who was trying to sell several tufts of Ramses’s hair online. All the tufts of hair was returned to Egypt.
Ramses completed his father Seti’s temples at Abydos and Thebes; he built a variety of monuments and statues. The artifacts from Dashur royal tombs demonstrate the women’s lives; they included jewelry which belonged to his mother, wives and daughters. Ramses revered his mother, Tuya. She appeared beside him on the temple facade. No other Egyptian king celebrated his queen as Ramses did Nefertari. She accompanied Ramses on the state ceremonies and actively participated in the peace negotiations.
The exhibition ends with this interesting sentence on display: “Speak the name of the dead and they will live forever.”
(C)CTR Press
November 2022:
November 2022:
October 26-28, 2022
All-In Conference:
Co-Creating Knowledge for Justice
Santa Cruz, California
The conference’s mission was expanding collaborations for equitable co-production of knowledge. The academics, community members and foundations, artists, activists and intellectuals gathered together to share strategies and solutions for collaborative research challenges. The goal was to expand the boundaries and build community-university partnerships for finding solutions for the social problems. The newly created engaged scholarship aims to act across more aspects of the social research processes.
The panelists in plenary session discussed Santa Cruz model of critical community engagement. Valentin Lopez, chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band talked about the language and culture of his tribe. He lamented their lost language and wished to creat a museum to tell the true history of his people, native Americans living in the Santa Cruz (Awaswas) areas. The Amah Mutsun lived in the San Juan Valley for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the late 1700’s. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the Mutsun language had been spoken in the San Juan Valley for thousands of years. Then the Mexican arrived in 1834. Then there was the arrival of the Anglos and the rush for gold. Each time they forcibly displaced the Tribe’s members from their homes.
In the breakout session, the associate state archeologist, Michael Grone who worked with the Amah Mutsun tribe talked about his research on the historical ecology of coastal resources in California and archeological data. He discussed the remote sensing methods to document cultural resources that threatened by coastal erosion.
In another plenary session, Chancellors of UCSC, Dr Larive and Chancellor of Rutgers university, Dr Cantor talked about community- engaged research in universities. Nancy Cantor pointed out that when we mention “public good” we should pay attention to “which public” and she discussed the ways of moving from public good to public better. She said: “when we get out of our comfort zone, the progress happens.” She added: “I am a classic pessimist but I say there’s hope.” Dr Cantor pointed out that one way street approach of universities is wrong and it should be collaborative.
In the session about the exploration of art, the artists with both academic and community organizing experiences discussed art making and resilience. Melissa Mack (UCSC) talked about her experience in visiting Mountain View Cemetery. She pointed out how keeping memories of dead, makes her wanting to live. She read her poetry and showed a variety of slides from different cemeteries. Kristen E.Nelson talked about her family experiences: her great grandmother who moved from Italy to the USA. She told the audience about her great grandmother’s personal experience in the new country.
There were interesting discussions about social justice efforts, community engagement, social transformation, equality initiatives, environmental justice, and building communities & academics collaborations. But as one expert pointed out they all talk the talk and just the future and the actions show if they have walked the talk. (C)CTR Press
October 2022:
October 18-20, 2022
2022 OCP Global Summit
San Jose, California
The Open Compute Project Conference is considered the largest tech gathering for the open source. Empowering Open Source was the main theme of the conference. The summit emphasized the importance and benefits of openly researching, testing and sharing the latest technologies through collaboration. In the conference sessions the recent innovations were discussed. The innovations such as shifting to liquid instead of chilling air for cooling, adopting the edge and modularity and embracing light.
During these three days, the tech professionals, experts, business leaders, investors and tech engineers gathered together to discuss the latest challenges in open computing. They talked about the latest products, emerging solutions andthe experiences from leading edge companies.
The speaker who discussed the current complexities of hyper scale infrastructure and its solutions emphasized the process of optimization for the performance and cost of cloud scale deployments. He pointed out that contributing and supporting Open Compute Project is essential. The next speaker talked about data centers edge of the future in rapidly expanding hyper cloud environment and open compute project that ultimately providing opportunities for a broader ecosystem of suppliers and consumers. The next presenter discussed challenges of using fully generic Ethernet for interconnection.
In executive talks sessions, Scott Stetzer talked about software enabled Flash, open source software defined technology for flash. He discussed empowering the next generation of cloud and data center storage intensive applications. He described the process of hardware and software based workload isolation and data placement.
CEO of Credo, Bill Brennan talked about breaking bandwidth barriers. He pointed out that his company addresses every Ethernet connection in the HSDC. And he introduced the first OSFP-XD device.
The Open Compute Project Foundation was established in 2011 and its mission was open source collaboration and creating new innovations. Its collaboration model has been applied beyond the data centers and aimed at advancing Edge Infrastructure. Its data centers facilities providing services and supporting AI & ML workloads. The OCP solution provider is for the companies that manufacture and integrateOCP solutions. Solution Provider fees starting from $4,000 for a high level of support services.
In the exhibition hall, a variety of companies presented their latest products and services. Meta (Facebook) was inviting the visitors to try their virtual reality headsets and lots of visitors refused to do so explaining they had previous bad experiences of headaches. And in the walking distance from San Jose Convention Center, there is an interactive Tech Museum for the families and children. (C)CTR Press
October 5, 2022:
Legion of Honor Collections & Exhibitions
San Francisco
Legion of Honor art museum is the crown jewel of San Francisco’s cultural institutions. It is located in the elevated area of the Lincoln Park with the dreamy views of the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge. The architecture of the building is a fantastic example of neoclassical design.The Legion of Honor Art Museum displaying a rare collection of ancient and classic & neoclassical European paintings and artifacts, some ancient artifacts are from 8,000 years ago. In the Court of Honor visitors see Rodin’s Thinker sculpture. The collections on display including works of Rembrandt, Titian, Louis David, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Tiepolo, Rubens, Greco, Cézanne, Jean León Gérôme and many other artists.
The current exhibition is a pleasant surprise: there are more than 80 works by Guo Pei. The costume designer who uses unconventional dressmaking techniques. The museum’s galleries are interestingly interspersed with her designs. Despite her upbringing, her designs has western appeal and her works was showcased as a part of Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks. Her designs presenting women empowered and in positions of authority. Also she has used lots of Catholic visual culture: lots of signs of Cross.
The museum’s collections including Cypriot heads from 6th century BC, and some impressive artifacts from Achaemenid Empire, Persepolis.
A masterpiece by Peter Paul Rubens, the Tribute Money, attracts the visitors attention: each character in the painting has different facial expressions while they are discussing paying the taxes. The composition of colors is rare and appropriate to convey the message.
A fifteenth century Italian painting depicting the Last Judgment is very strong and masterful portraying double edge swords of justice in Italian Classic Style.
A masterpiece by Jean LéonGérôme collection of Oriental paintings called “The Bath” is on display. Gérôme had extensive travels throughout the Ottoman Empire and depicted the culture using the contrast in different elements such as the color of skin and the role in society.
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot painted the View of Rome in 1826 and the painter portrayed the famous bridge and Castle Sant’Angelo with the Cupola of Saint Peter’s. He was very impressed by the Castle during his first trip to Italy.
Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière created the Bust of Diana in 1882. The curator of the museum tastefully placing it in the suitable part of the gallery that displays a painter’s self portrait in the background.
The Fortune Teller by Jacques Louis David is another of museum’s treasures. David skillfully demonstrates the event by the characters gestures. The hand gestures playing the main role in conveying the main message.
In the collections there are lots of French paintings from 19th century. Napoléon Bonaparte heavily influenced the neoclassical artifacts of the period. And the artists such as Jacques Louis David who admired Napoléon adopted bold classical forms and colors in their paintings. The ambiance in Legion of Honor Art Museum is unique and very pleasant. The visitors leave the museum with the smile and satisfactory expressions from a fulfilling visit that added to their knowledge.
(C)CTR Press
September 2022:
September 2022:
Museo dell’arte Salvata
(The Museum of Rescued Art)
Rome, Italy
Museo dell’arte Salvata is a must see exhibition. The visitors have a chance to see the rare artworks from the eighth century BC to the third century. These ancient artworks have been rescued from illegal possessions obtained by illegal excavations of some Italian archaeological sites. The rescue has been possible by international cooperation between Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office, Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and FBI.
The stolen items had been laundered on the British antiquities markets and then illegally sold to the highest offers internationally. In the early 1990s a large number of antiques with Italian origins were uncovered; these artworks were being obtained and sold illegally without the legitimate provenance.
The investigators have examined the documents regarding the ancient artworks at auction houses, museums, galleries and private collections in a variety of countries mainly in the USA.
The magnificent ceramic jars originated from the city of Cerveteri in southern Etruria dated the seventh century BC. They signifying the Etruscan version of Ann episode from Homer’s Odyssey. The beginning of the Archaic period is documented through a series of perfume jars of Corinthian Greek productions.
Thousands of artifacts from different periods and eras: Etruscan, Magna Graecian and Roman were seized. Heads of major museums in the USA ethically contacted Italian authorities to verify the lawfulness of their collections. One Greek visitor, a professor of archeology, while reading the note on the wall made the comment that British Museum and some archeologists in the UK should be reminded of the ethics. He was offended when a British archeologist, Dorothy King, commented that if the Greeks can demonstrate they are able to care for the Marbles in Athen, then, perhaps we can discuss a loan! Lord Elgin removed the Greek Marbles from Athens and moved them to England in 1821. Since then there has been arguments for their return to Greece. Lord Byron denounced the removal of the Greek Marbles as stealing and it costing him the refusal of the British Museum to display Byron’s statue in 1834.
The Metropolitan Museum of New York, Fine Arts Museum of Boston, Paul Getty Museum of Malibu, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum and other US museums and cultural institutions have returned the prestigious Marble statues to Italy such as the statue of Emperor Hadrian’s wife and several significant archeological heritage. As the result, the new ethos adopted around the world of respecting and returning the stolen artworks.
Recent international investigations revealed fencing of the very large quantity of archeological objects and artifacts. The illegal holders of artifacts creating false claims of provenances through false attribution of ownerships.
Southern Italian archeological sites are represented by the Magna Graecian production from the fourth century. One of the most significant productions are large volute kraters. Returned artworks including several artifacts stolen from the national institutions. Illegal excavations and illegal exports of the artifacts have created a huge profits for those involved illegally and culturally damaging the countries involved.
The current exhibition revealing the extent of the systematic looting of the archeological sites in Italy. It is unknown how many graves, temples and sites have been violated and how many ancient artifacts discovered and subsequently looted. At the final stage of the exhibition there was an interesting note by the organizers of the exhibition mentioning: “if you are an Italian and failing to defend art is like turning your back on your history and disrespecting your mother and father.” (C)CTR Press
Summer 2022:
An Unforgettable Journey:
Walking to Sacra Di San Michele
Torino, Italy
Sacra Di San Michele is an ancient abbey that was built in the 10th century on the top of mount Pirchiriano, 42 km from Torino. It is dedicated to the Archangel Michele. It is located in the pilgrimage route that runs from Saint Michel in France and Monte Sant’Angelo in Puglia.
Visitors of the abbey is not limited to the pilgrims; but the intellectuals, artists, writers, philosophers, athletes, environmentalists, scientists or simply tourists who are interested to visit this unique place. The green surrounding, spectacularly panoramic views, fresh air, beautiful trees, birds songs and wild flowers all adding to the spiritual ambience of the place.
This is one of the many beautiful houses in the road; you will pass many of them with spectacular scenery and all made of stones and glasses.
Archangel Micheal is respected and cherished not only by Christians, but by other monotheistic religions who believe in one God. The literary figures, intellectuals and artists around the world love him too. Archangel Michael, Michel (France), Michele (Italy) and Miguel (Spain) is the ardent supporter of goodness and good people. He is the leader of all angels; he fights Devil and deceitful evils . He is an enemy of evils and holding the scales when Judgment Day comes.
Anthropologists believe that Zoroastrianism is the root of prehistoric belief in angels. Ahura Mazda engaged in creating the Archangel of righteousness. They believe that the evil Ahriman challenges the goodness of Ahura Mazda and good people. According to Zoroastrianism, good and evil are permanently at battle with each other. San Michele as the symbol of goodness is in constant battle with the evil forces.
Archangel Michele is depicted in the paintings and sculptures as a handsome and determined figure with a sword and shield to combat the dragon. The crown jewel of Sacra di San Michele is the painting of San Michael by Antonio Maria Viani that is on display. It is a very powerful and striking painting of San Michele.
San Michele painting by Guido Reni is heavenly beautiful.
and the most breathtaking sculpture of San Michel is by Michael Pacher.
Dosso Dossi also in the year 1518 created a masterpiece portraying San Michele. Saint Michael also inspired many other saints such as Joan of Arc.
Sacra Di San Michele is one of the most spectacular monastic construction in Italy. It is all made of stones and it has significant spiritual meaning for those who climb a long path to reach it.
The visitors have the chance to walk for three hours in the beautiful forest road from Avigliana Station or walking one hour through the stony pathway from Sant’Ambrogio station. Both pathways are refreshing, dreamy and adventurous. If you have the blessing of enjoying knowledge, culture, arts, history and nature, this journey would be perfect for you. Buona Fortuna.
(C)CTR Press
June 2022:
June 2022:
Museums & Galleries in Rome, Italy
Castel Sant’Angelo
Galleria Borghese
Museo Napoleonico
Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Barberini & Galleria Corsini
Rome, Italy
Rome is a fascinating city. In fact the city itself is an enormous museum: the architecture, the archeological sites, the buildings, the pavements, the churches, the museums and galleries all are elegant and rich in history. A special ambiance takes the visitors hundreds years back, all telling the marvelous history of the past. For those interested in antiquity, classics and Renaissance arts, it is an ideal place to stay for a while and explore the hidden treasures that ranging from a sculpture from Canova, or a painting by Caravaggio or Reni, or numerous less known classical artists of the past. For centuries the intellectuals and artists traveled to Italy and stayed for several years. Especially during the Renaissance, the painters used to spend a considerable time in Italy and to develop their style.
There are hundreds of museums, galleries and churches with breathtaking paintings. It is very difficult to choose some museums among all these magnificent museums and cultural institutions. All are beautiful and rich in culture. For June article five museums have been chosen:
Castel Sant’Angelo
Castle of Saint Michael was commissioned by Roman emperor Hadrian for family use. Later the Pope used it as a fortress, then it was used as a prison and now it is a very popular museum. Once it was the tallest building in Rome. In 136 AD it was used as a tomb for the Roman emperor. According to the legend, the Archangel Michael appeared at the top of the building with his sword combating Devil and heralding the end of the plague in the year 590. The Terrazzo dell’Angelo provides a panoramic view of all the city of Rome. In fact for the visitors of Rome, it is convenient to visit the Castle first and climb all the stairs, go to the top of the building and experience the fantastic panoramic view and choose where will be the next to visit. There are proper information about all the buildings that can be seen from the top.
Inside the castle, the library was built in 1542 and used to provide access to the papal archives and in the 18th century it became known as the library. It contained the stories of Ancient Rome. The vault was designed by Luzi who was inspired by Raphael and his students.
Beautiful Paolina Room was the place the Pope welcomed his guests. And on the wall, there is a portray of the Saint Michael. San Michele Arcangelo made by Pietro Bracci is on display too.
Galleria Borghese
Galleria Borghese displays a collection of ancient sculptures and classic paintings that goes back to the 15th century. Magnificent paintings by Caravaggio, Botticelli, Reni, Raphael, Bellini and breathtaking sculptures by Bernini and Canova are on display. Also more than 260 paintings are housed in the storeroom of the galleria. The mission of the Galleria is promoting Italian cultural heritage and values through exhibitions, educational sessions and projects. It collaborates with other cultural institutions both nationally and internationally. One of its projects is Caravaggio Research Centre Project that focuses on historical research on works of art by Caravaggio.
The crown jewel of the Galleria is the “Ratto di Proserpina” by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is very strong and profound; the skills in creating this rare work of art is amazing; the facial expressions and hand gestures are created in an amazing intensity that is breathtaking. Bernini had been very successful in conveying the message; the presence of a dog with three heads makes it more deep and challenging to get the real message. Visitors are fascinated by this artwork and the room surrounding it.
The visitors have a chance to view and admire two marvelous works of art in the same room: Antonio Canova portrayal of Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as Venus and Guido Reni’s painting. Several paintings by Caravaggio such as “boy with a basket of fruit” and “Saint John the Baptist” attract visitors attention and admiration.
Botticelli’s “The Virgin and Child” with its rare and wonderful composition of colors and the facial expressions by the angels is another jewel and must see in the museum. The Last Supper by Jacopo Bassano is very pleasing and thought stimulating to watch; the colors, hand movements and glances by the apostles and the powerful gaze of the Christ in the painting has made it unique.
Museo Napoleonico
Napoleon Museum in Rome is a must see museum. It contains the rare collection of artworks belonged to Napoleon’s family. In 1927, Giuseppe, son of Princess Charlotte Bonaparte, donated his magnificent collection of artworks to the City of Rome. In 1811, Rome was destined to be governed by Napoleon’s son. After the tragic fall of Napoleon, Pope Pius VII granted asylums to nearly all the members of Napoleon’s family. Even he tried to help and prevent Napoleon’s exile to St Helena ; but even the powerful Pope was unable to change their decision. Napoleon’s family bought homes in Italy. Napoleon’s ancestors moved from Tuscany to Corsica.
Napoleon’s mother, Laetitia Ramolino lived in Palazzo Rinuccini. There is a beautiful painting portraying the elegant Napoleon’s mother. Napoleon like all the great men was very fond of his mother. There are profound and beautiful quotations by Napoleon describing his own mother and mother in general. The quotations such as: “My success and everything good that I have done, I owe to my mother.” And “The future destiny of a child is always the work of the mother.”
Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Venezia is an ancient and a 15th century palatial home in Rome. Its external façade looks like an ancient fortress. It has admirable collections. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in Rome. It has rare collections of frescos and artworks. A famous Terracina case portraying Adam and Eve and the fighting scenes between Good and Evil, is on display in the museum; it attracts the attention of the most indifferent visitors.
One of the masterpieces in the museum is Saint Michael Defeating Satan by Michael Pacher. He created this extraordinary work of art in 1485. It is typical work from Pacher. It has the delicacy and at the same time conveying sharpest message. It is profound and make the viewer to reflect about the relationship between Good and Evils.
The painting “Christ and the Adulteress by Niccolò De’ Barbari (1516) is outstanding painting with an interesting composition of colors. The 14th century artwork by Paolo Veneziano called “Choir of Angels” is unique regarding its style.
Palazzo Barberini & Galleria Corsini
Palazzo Barberini collections are mainly from the 13th to 18th century. It has impressive collections that includes the paintings by Raphael, Cosimo, Bronzino, Caravaggio, Reni and Guercino.
The museum’s masterpieces are on display in Caravaggio’s Followers rooms: the painting “Christ Driving the Merchants from the Temple” by Valentin De Boulogne is on display in front of another masterpiece by De Boulogne that is “Last supper”. De Boulogne has proved his extraordinary talent and skills in these two intense and at the same time pleasing paintings. The eyes sentiments and the facial expressions of the peoples on these paintings is amazing: it demonstrates shock and admirations at the same time. The viewers can share the sentiments of the characters in the paintings.
The originality of Caravaggio’s style influenced his followers and students. Valentin de Boulogne paintings has the strength of Caravaggio’s paintings. They portray the most dramatic moments of the story that has deep effects on the viewers. Guido Reni painting “penitent Magdalene” shows the sacred beauty in the unique way. Reni has portrayed thoughts on death, sacrifice, the cross and thetwo angels above.
The charm of Italy is its elegance and its relationship to the antiquity. Italy should be very careful not to fall into the trap of superficially cheap-modern attractions that has no root and no elegance.
(C)CTR Press
May 2022:
May 10-20, 2022
Florence Museums & Exhibitions
Galileo Galilei Museum
&
Donatello in Palazzo Strozzi
Florence, Italy
The Museo Galileo has exceptional collections of scientific instruments that goes back to Medici family collections in the 16th century. In the 19th century, the architect Martelli arranged a statue of Galileo surrounded by frescoes to illustrate his discoveries. In 1929, most Italian institutions took part in the National Exhibition of the History of Science. The bombings at the end of the Second World War and 1966 Flood destroyed many collections. The current name of Museo Galileo was adopted in 2010 and it became a center for research and study.
Galileo was an Italian astronomer and scientist. He is called the father of observational astronomy. He championed the Earth rotation and its revolving around the sun and like almost all the great men who think ahead of their time, Galileo in 1615 faced inquisition and spent rest of his life under house arrest. He is buried in Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. Galileo observed the Milky Way. He has been admired by the scientific community. Galileo was one of the first thinkers who defended the idea that law of nature is mathematical. Once he said the universe and philosophy are written in mathematical language. Albert Einstein called Galileo, the father of modern science.
In 1609 the telescopic explorations by Galileo was sensational. These discoveries fundamentally changed the image of the universe that was held for thousands of years. Galileo admired Archimedes and his geometrical methods in dealing with physical problems. The visitors of the museum take the journey to the 16th & 17th centuries and learn a lot about science, astronomy, history and human nature. There were special tours for the kids to learn about astronomy in basic level and the kids were asking interesting questions about the scientific instruments on the display in the exhibition.
In Palazzo Strozzi, the visitors have the opportunity to view hundred masterpieces by Donatello. The masterpieces on display have been borrowed from a variety of museums and art galleries both nationally and internationally such as the Musée du Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Donatello was a talented sculptor from Florence in the Renaissance period. He worked with stone, marble, wood, bronze and clay. He created the notable statues for the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence which is known as Duomo. His bronze statue “David” was commissioned by Cosimo de Medici for the Palazzo Medici.
In Donatello masterpiece Virgin & Child, he adopts the special skills. The Child and Mary’s hands and heads are in the round and the arms are reduced to minimal. Donatello had a special talent of creating eyes and eye impressions. His sculpture of Hope and Faith are both strong and exceptional and the visitors were attracted to them; these works of art make visitors to think about life and human nature in special way and nothing else can replace its depth. (C)CTR Press
May 1-3, 2022
American Telemedicine Association Conference
Boston, MA
ATA annual conference is showcasing telehealth applications in healthcare. The physicians, scientists, medical experts, IT professionals and telehealth enthusiasts gather to discuss practical applications of Telehealth.
The speakers discussed a variety aspects of telehealth such as: legal issues of Telehealth, the privacy issues and regulatory considerations, the global health partnerships in Telehealth, FDA regulations on digital health, the future of Telehealth, setting standards for digital health, qualitative and quantitative data in Telehealth, Covid pandemic impacts on digital health systems, patient care issues and preventive measures, regulatory changes during pandemic, advancing health care strategies in Telehealth, real time diagnosis, Telehealth in rural and urban areas, compare and contrast, does Telehealth really work?, comparing in person visits to telemedicine practices, language interpretation in Telehealth consultation, virtual care VS in person care, expanding ED access to behavioral specialists, traditional care VS virtual health care, the hidden and increasing costs of telemedicine, the shift from disease centric to human centric, environmental impacts of Telehealth, insurance in telemedicine, and patient satisfaction in telemedicine.
Experts define Telehealth as giving and receiving health services and information via information technologies. It makes possible the long distance interactions between patients and medical professionals. It has been proved to be an effective practice for the remote and restricted areas. Covid pandemic increased Telehealth uses. But there is a huge concern over privacy issues and trust issues. For some patients this question arises about the reliability of the medical staff they are connecting through phone calls and video links.
Healthcare costs over 3 trillion dollars a year in the US. The advocate for telemedicine believe that Telehealth can save the cost of the waiting and commuting for the patients. But the critics believe that it decreases the standard of the care and the doctor patients relationships would be robotic.
The panel discussing Telehealth policies argued that the choices policymakers in federal and state level make would have an enormous impact on patient care. They mentioned that 2020 was the year of “forced adoption of Telemedicine and 2021 was the year of making practical strategies for Telehealth. And 2022 will be the year of expanding the remote and virtual interaction between the physicians and the patients.
The next speaker talked about creating the home environment in the hospital by telemedicine and teaching the healthcare professionals to adopt effectively to the latest procedures. He pointed out that a hybrid care strategy is needed to meet the requirements of the patients.
The presenter who discussed the venture capital funding for Telehealth mentioned a new record of $18 billion in capital funding requires the considerable improvement in practice standards. She added that the digital health companies should adopt the strategy that meets the regulatory requirements.
The critics of Telehealth argue that the remote and digital visit by the doctors is not suitable for all the types of visits. For a test the patients still have to travel to the healthcare clinics. They are also worried about the privacy issues of digital healthcare. The insurance companies are reluctant to cover all the costs of Telehealth. In case of the mental patients and their demands, telemedicine lacks the effectiveness. Telemedicine that delivers healthcare services through technology use and remotely can be efficient for the remote areas, but considering the potential mistakes in diagnosis, prescription and the care process even when the physicians and the patients are in the same place, there are some doubts about virtual Telehealth practice to be accurate and being carried out efficiently. (C)CTR Press
April 2022:
April 5-7, 2022
DesignCon 2022
Santa Clara, California
DesignCon is a premier system design conference that offers engineering education in the Silicon Valley. The conference covered all aspects of electronic designing and high speed communication. Hundred sessions in 14 tracks covered a variety of topics and discussions and gathered many engineers, software developers, academics, IT professionals and enthusiasts to discuss the latest in the industry.
There was a variety of topics and discussions such as: high-speed link design, machine learning, optimization for supply chain challenges, acceleration APIS for graphics and compute, digital transformation frameworks for automotive applications, modeling for power integrity simulations, VNA calibration, new system opportunities with OSFP, the latest in data labeling, structuring the data, open source and debugging and the latest in system designing, and securing automotive semiconductor in the newly centralized car architecture.
Some anticipations have been made on the size of the global technology markets in the future: $700 billion market for 5G by 2025, $1.3 trillion for IoT and $162 billion for cables and connections by 2025. Benjamin Cabé from Microsoft discussed his works in building a connected artificial nose using TinyML. He pointed out that his project is a complete open source work. He gave an introduction how to make TinyML application in IoT. He discussed a variety of tools like Wokwi that comes with debugging support. The presenter explained the process of optimization for on-device machine learning and regarding privacy, he mentioned that no personal data leaves the device and there is no need for the internet connectivity and it is power efficient.
The speaker mentioned that a 13-year old from California recently contacted him regarding his artificial nose project. The talented kid had worked on fungal pneumonia for his science project in the school and his research led him to further study in organic compound concentrations in human breath that can be correlated to metabolic processes in human body. He was very impressed by the enthusiasm of this talented kid who finally invented an AI powered breath analyzer that can detect the fungal pneumonia in someone’s breath.
Open source is source code that allows modifiers to modify and redistribute the code. The open source model encourages the open collaboration. Supporting an open source and dealing with its issues and reporting the bugs are the essential elements of collaboration in open source systems. There are programs that stop working after updating. Seeking the patterns in the process of debugging is essential.
Christian Kurzke and Corey Minyard from MontaVista Linux discussed how to use open source to build safe and secure systems. They emphasized the process of securing update systems. The speaker pointed out that the recent update has the ability to detect the bug and the attackers. He explained how to mitigate the attacks and how to debug the systems. They discussed the common misunderstandings in open source such as the claim that it is free. They pointed out that there are legally binding licenses, but when the code is modified, there will be a new owner! The speaker mentioned that open source should be maintained. The presenter pointed out that there are bugs in any code. (C)CTR Press
March 2022:
MWC Barcelona 2022
Mobile World Congress
February 28- March 3, 2022
Barcelona, Spain
MWC is considered one of the largest connectivity events in the world. This year the speakers, experts, tech professionals, engineers and software developers from 190 countries attending the events. They gathered to discuss the latest in fintech manufacturing, cloudnet, 5G, AI, future of internet of everything, tech horizon, smart mobility industries and cross-industry collaboration.
The speakers discussed the increasing connectivity and the endeavor of digitalization of almost everything. They focused on innovative methods for achieving a digital future. The panel discussing 5G pointed out that in less than three years 5G networks could cover one third of the population in the world. The speaker described interoperability as the heart of connected 5 G world. He talked about its usage in aviation, manufacturing and healthcare industry. The speaker said: “6G is the future.”
The next speaker talked about sustainability and partnerships. She emphasized the need for reducing the costs, increasing ROI and providing solutions for the world needs. The presenter pointed out that partnership is “the only way forward.”
The panel discussing AI called it the main “driver of the fourth industrial revolution”. They estimate that the AI global investment could reach $200 billion. The speaker talked about geopolitical aspects of AI , data and quantum computing. He said that networks continuing adaptation and supporting the services. “Cloud migration can create a new blueprint for the future.”
Managing critical technology systems, the digital systems and building fintech businesses with new assets were discussed. The speaker pointed out that tech connectivity is reducing the global barriers and increasing the innovation and disruptions. He talked about NFTs and blockchain role in the mobile eco system.
The speaker talking about the Internet of Things mentioned that 50 billion devices providing new means to transform physical spaces and our homes. He discussed the roles of drones and smart cities in supporting the effort of integrating them into our lives. “The new tech horizon inspirations the next generation to reinvent.”
Crypto innovation has attracted more investors especially now that seems the crypto market has become more mainstream. But still the founders of crypto start up, engineers and investors insisting on anonymity. There are many venture capital companies that are investing the start ups without ever knowing the name of the people involved! Blockchain provides a public record of the transactions and enablingthe qualifications to be checked. Increasingly the tech jobs applicant who are involved in crypto refusing to disclose their real names even during the job interviews!
Some wants to keep their privacy , and other who are afraid of creating the attention while they are making huge money, fearing that it could make them a target for hackers. The measures they take to remain anonymous goes extreme in such way that some uses voice altering software during the phone calls and blurring their image during video conferencing. Last year an anonymous founder of a crypto raised $70 million in five hours! And the investors supported his project without knowing who he is. Critics expressing their concerns over lack of auditing and extreme anonymity of the people involving in crypto.(C)CTR Press
February 2022:
Developer Week & Cloud World 2022
February 7-9, 2022:
San Francisco, California
Developer Week and Cloud World conference gathered digitally the technical leaders and experts in the cloud computing and software development industry together with cloud architects, engineers, developers and tech enthusiasts to discuss the global cloud computing economy and the latest in software development.
They talked about cloud security, enterprise integration, cloud management, software development challenges and serverless computing. The panel welcomed the launch of the first cloud risk encyclopedia for educating the learners how to practice the cloud security. The panel discussed the cloud risks and the remediation strategies. The speaker pointed out that multi cloud complexities and lack of enough cloud security experts have created problems in adopting cloud services. He added that cloud management tools can provide solutions for the ongoing challenges.
The next presenter mentioned that cloud management can be described as combination of policies, automation and softwares. She emphasized the importance of data analysis by the existing professionals and experts in order to provide market information for developers. She discussed public cloud environment’s servers, storage and data centers.
The process of purchasing cloud services through a console interface on a per transaction basis and how the customers charged were explained. The next panel discussed serverless as the cloud execution model that is more cost effective for operating cloud applications. The speaker explained how it offloading the management responsibilities for cloud infrastructure. He added that the developers would have more time for optimization of their application codes.
The speaker discussing enterprise integration mentioned that as a technical field for enterprise architecture the focus would be on system interconnection and distributed computing. She discussed CIM: computer integrated manufacturing for integration of the operations.
The privacy issues in the cloud services is the topic that needs more attention. The cloud service providers must ensure the data protections and block the unauthorized access; but the main question is: do they do it? Personal data is defined as any information that relates to an individual such as name, address, email, current location, IP address, social security number and medical data. Under European GDPR and Californian CCPA , the individuals have the right to enquire what personal data is collected by the companies and the involved companies need to comply with the request. Privacy activists have expressed their concerns over the data collected by the third-party processors. Cloud security controls requiring coordination with cloud service providers in order to block unauthorized access to data. But still there is considerable concerns over data privacy law and its implementation. (C)CTR Press
January 2022:
Technology Innovations Conference
January 4-7, 2022
Nevada , USA
CES as the global stage for innovation gathering manufacturers and developers of technology hardware, business leaders and suppliers together to discuss the latest challenges and innovations in 5G technology, AR/VR, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, blockchain, cloud data, cybersecurity, fintech, IoT, robotics and privacy issues.
The speaker discussing 5G innovations, talked about untethered AR and VR. He pointed out that as the result of pandemic, people spending more time at their home and there has been considerable increase in digital communications. But he didn’t discuss the recent request by the transportation officials to the main 5G providers companies for the delay of new 5G services because of the serious risk to the flight safety. Recently Aviation regulators expressed their concern over 5G 3.7 GHz frequency bands and the possible interference with the altimeters.
The panel who talked about cryptocurrency introducedthe latest software solutions for a secure infrastructure. They discussed disruptive financial technologies and the security of its ecosystems. Recently a blockchain infrastructure company announced that it would pay the dividend in bitcoins, dubbed the “Bividend” ; if the shareholders decide to accept the so called “Bividend”, they would have the responsibility of providing their own bitcoin wallet that is not an easy task.
The next presenter discussed NFTs and the decentralized digital ledgers of transactions. She explained the latest challenges and how the experts working on necessary infrastructure to address the adoption concerns. The speaker who talked about weight watchers using technology for inspiring healthy habits emphasized the creating of ecosystem for wellness.
The panel talking about technology and reshaping travel industry discussed the processes of customizing the traveling by AR and VR and the latest in AI. They pointed out that redefined tourism should be the goal by leveraging technology in travel industry.
And privacy is viewed differently by each user: the factors involved are age, geography, sensitivity, education, and social backgrounds. But they all have one thing in common; if they think their privacy has been violated, they feel anger. Sometechnology companies have announced that they use anonymous approach for data collection by advertisers. But the privacy activists concern about the fact that the process of user’s data sharing has become a norm. (C)CTR Press
