Tag Archives: China

Russia Asks China Not to Clone Su-35 Fighters

Russia was ready to sign a contract with China to supply 48 multi-role Su-35 fighter jets. However, Russia put forward a condition to the Celestial Empire. Moscow demands guarantees that the aircraft will not be further copied for sale.

According to Kommersant, the amount of the expected transaction could reach $4 billion, or approximately $85 million per unit. If the contract is signed, it will be the largest arms contract of the last decade. (more…)

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3-D Laser Map Shows Earthquake Zone Before and After

*Geologists learn how earthquakes change the landscape — down to a few inches*

Geologists have a new tool to study how earthquakes change the landscape–down to a few inches. It’s giving scientists insights into how earthquake faults behave.

In this week’s issue of the journal Science, a team of scientists from the United States, Mexico and China reports the most comprehensive before-and-after picture yet of an earthquake zone, using data from the magnitude 7.2 event that struck near Mexicali, Mexico, in April 2010. (more…)

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Facebook Blasts into Top Position in Brazilian Social Networking Market Following Year of Tremendous Growth

*Facebook Audience Triples in the Past Year while Engagement Grows Nearly Sevenfold*

São Paulo, Brazil, January 17, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data showing that Facebook assumed the top position in the Brazilian social networking market following a year of exceptional growth. In December 2011, Facebook.com attracted 36.1 million visitors – representing an increase of 192 percent in the past twelve months – to surpass Orkut as the leading social networking destination in the market.

“Facebook’s rapid ascent in the Brazilian market has certainly been one of the most interesting stories to develop during the course of 2011,” said Alex Banks, comScore managing director for Brazil. “Brazil has always been a particularly social market and currently owns the fifth largest social networking population in the world. But despite the cultural affinity for social media, Facebook adoption had traditionally lagged in the market. That has all changed in the past year, during which the site has tripled in audience size as engagement has grown sevenfold to assume the leadership position in the market.” (more…)

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More than 200 Billion Online Videos Viewed Globally in October

YouTube Delivers 2 of Every 5 Videos Viewed Worldwide
comScore Releases Inaugural Report on Global Online Video Viewing Habits

Reston, VA, December 14, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released inaugural data on worldwide online video viewing from the comScore Video Metrix service. The report found that nearly 1.2 billion people age 15 and older watched 201.4 billion videos online globally during October 2011. Google Sites, driven by YouTube.com, ranked as the top video destination with nearly 88.3 billion videos viewed on the property worldwide during the month.

“As global broadband connectivity continues to rise, online video viewing has taken off in a big way and has become a fully integrated component of the digital content experience,” said Dan Piech, comScore product manager for video. “With the introduction of comScore’s global measurement of online video viewing, multinational media brands and advertisers can now gain a more comprehensive understanding of how online video reaches audiences around the world.” (more…)

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J. Timmons Roberts: What did Durban do for climate?

J. Timmons Roberts, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Environmental Studies, led a group of Brown researchers and students to the United Nations climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa. On his return, Roberts spoke with Richard Lewis, reflecting on the Durban meetings, the status of research, and the challenges of activism on issues of climate change.

Timmons Roberts, professor and director of the Center for Environmental Studies, has just returned from attending climate talks in Durban, South Africa. Roberts and a delegation from Brown — faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students — witnessed the negotiations up close as observers to ministerial speeches and negotiations. The talks ended with an agreement to extend the greenhouse gas emissions targets set under the Kyoto Protocol and a pledge to work on a replacement treaty incorporating the United States, China, and India.

Roberts spoke with Richard Lewis on the importance of the talks, the need for industrialized countries to compensate developing countries for damages from climate change, and the unique opportunity for people from Brown’s environmental program to attend the talks. (more…)

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Chinese Health Coverage Improves With Government Efforts

*A new study of health insurance in nine Chinese provinces shows that individual coverage surged within a two-year time frame, from 2004-2006, coinciding with new government interventions designed to improve access to health care. The changes were most dramatic in rural areas.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Health care coverage increased dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care, with particularly striking upswings in rural areas, according to new research by Brown University sociologist Susan E. Short and Hongwei Xu of the University of Michigan. The findings appear in the December issue of Health Affairs.

Led by Xu, a former Brown graduate student, the study analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, which follows households in nine provinces that are home to more than 40 percent of China’s population. Xu and Short specifically focused on patterns of coverage among rural and urban residents. (more…)

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Examining The Changing Face of Christianity

U of T leading centre for study of global Christianity

A century ago, 80 per cent of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and North America; today, nearly 70 per cent live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, making Christianity a predominantly non-Western religion.

A critical mass of scholars who are looking into the implications of this shift has made the University of Toronto a leading centre for the study of global Christianity.

Christianity today has more than 2.2 billion adherents worldwide. The majority are overwhelmingly poor, displaced from rural villages into overcrowded cities in search of work, and adhere strictly to the word of Scripture, which can command their loyalty far more than state or society. (more…)

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