Lilavati, gracious lady of arithmetic – India – A Mathematical Mystery Tour Francis Zimmerman DURING the eighth century AD, Arab scholars working in India on Sanskrit mathematical texts made two major discoveries which they developed and later transmitted to the Western world: the place-value notation of figures using the decimal system coupled with the zero” […]
Category: UNESCO Courier
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The spy in your refrigerator…
The spy in your refrigerator… Simon Davies Governments and corporations are wiring their way into your home and you may not even notice it, according to Simon Davies. The world’s leading privacy advocate chronicles the rise of the surveillance society where the bedrock of civil rights — privacy — is being systematically chipped away. To […]
Reaching the missing millions – UNESCO’s education programs – UNESCO’s programme for 1994-1995: Solidarity and Sharing Cilla Ungerth Jolis IN Croatia, 200,000 children displaced by civil strife have no access to schooling. In Somalia, where war has destroyed virtually all schools, 99 per cent of boys and girls are deprived of education. In Cambodia, most […]
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez – novelist
Gabriel Garcia Marquez – novelist – Interview Manuel Osorio Born in the Colombian village of Aracataca in 1929, Gabriel Garcia Marquez made his mark as a master of the modern novel with the publication of Cien anos de soledad in 1967 (published in English as One Hundred Years of Solitude in 1970). His reputation was […]
Soaps with a Latin scent – includes related article on cultural impact of telenovelas – Latin American soap operas Araceli Ortiz de Urbina Charged with suspense and fantasy, Latin American soap operas are pouring off the production lines into living rooms all over the world During Ramadan last January, some of the mosques in Abidjan […]
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When the media meet as one
When the media meet as one – digital convergence John Vince Now the Internet’s star has faded, a new buzzword is circulating in the corridors of the world’s media. But will “digital convergence” really be able to keep its promise of communication and information anytime, anywhere, in any shape or form? The past 40 years […]
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An art and an industry
An art and an industry – motion pictures Peter Schepelern Torn from the start between money-spinning and creativity, the cinema took a long time to win acceptance as an art in its own right All through its first century, cinema has enjoyed an immense following, but it has also been feared and scorned. Both the […]
What came before – origin of universe – Statistical Data Included Ivan Briscoe Do the secrets of the universe lie within the atom? Could a 27-kilometre tunnel reveal the deep truth? Reverse the film of our universe’s history, and things seems to get mighty strange in the last reel. What began in physical harmony, propitious […]
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Sounding the alarm
Sounding the alarm – disaster warning systems Fabrizio Ferrucci From tolling bells to remote sensing by satellite, disaster warning systems have come a long way The tolling of bells was once the usual way to warn people of impending disasters like floods, fires or approaching armies. Warnings based on eye-witness reports were passed on from […]
Dossier: nature under threat – species extinction – Greenwatch France Bequette IN June 1992, the authorities in Kigali (Rwanda) seized a young Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) and a young chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) from a foreigner passing through the country. He had purchased them for $1,000 and $500 respectively. It turned out that the […]