#international telecommunication union (itu)

[documenting-apartheid]

JUNE 21, 2024 - "Israel opposed a proposal at a recent United Nations forum aimed at rebuilding the Gaza Strip’s war-ravaged telecommunications infrastructure on the grounds that Palestinian connectivity is a readymade weapon for Hamas."

"The resolution, which was drafted by Saudi Arabia for last week’s U.N. International Telecommunication Union summit in Geneva, is aimed at returning internet access to Gaza’s millions of disconnected denizens."

“Based on this rationale, Gaza will never have internet,”

"Marwa Fatafta, a policy adviser with the digital rights group Access Now, told The Intercept, adding that Israel’s position is not only incoherent but inherently disproportionate."

“You can’t punish the entire civilian population just because you have fears of one Palestinian faction.”

"Israel’s monthslong bombardment of the enclave has severed fiber cables, razed cellular towers, and generally wrecked the physical infrastructure required to communicate with loved ones and the outside world."

"A disconnected Gaza Strip also threatens to add to the war’s already staggering death toll. Though Israel touts its efforts to warn civilians of impending airstrikes, such warnings are relayed using the very cellular and internet connections the country’s air force routinely levels. It is a cycle of data degradation that began at the war’s start: The more Israel bombs, the harder it is for Gazans to know they are about to be bombed."

The United States, which has previously harshly condemned Russia for national internet disruptions in Ukraine, told the Council that it could not support the resolution as it was drafted because it "disagreed with some of the characterizations", specifically the language blaming the destruction of Gaza and the forced use of obsolete technology on Israel.

"Whether or not the U.S. ultimately voted for the resolution — the State Department did not respond when asked — it appears to have been successful in weakening the version that was ultimately approved by the ITU. The version that did pass was stripped of any explicit mention of Israel’s role in destroying and otherwise thwarting Gazan internet access, and refers obliquely only to “​the obstacles practiced in preventing the use of new communication technologies.”

[hicginewsagency]

ITU Publishes updated Global Treaty to Optimize Radio Spectrum Management and advance Technological Innovation

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Boss Geneva, 28 August 2024 ​​The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released today an updated version of the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the global use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.  Entering into force on 1 January 2025, the 2024 e​dition of the ITU Radio Regulations is the result of a four-year process that…

[southsouthcooperationday]

Multi-stakeholder round table 8: Science, technology, innovation and capacity-building.

7th Plenary meeting (continued) - Round table at the First Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 22-26 July 2024. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (Addis Agenda) recognizes science, technology, innovation (STI), an...

Watch the Multi-stakeholder round table 8: Science, technology, innovation and capacity-building!

[autismday]

Immersive inclusivity: Enhancing virtual worlds with accessibility - ITU WEBINARS

This World Autism Awareness Day, explore the link between accessibility and virtual worlds to pave the way for more inclusive + immersive virtual experiences for everyone.

Enhancing virtual worlds with accessibility features holds great promise in making immersive digital experiences more inclusive. By incorporating accessibility features into virtual worlds environments, developers can ensure that individuals with diverse abilities can participate fully in virtual activities. For instance, customizable controls, haptic feedback, and voice commands can empower users with motor impairments, while text-to-speech and speech-to-text functionalities enhance communication for those with hearing or speech challenges. Moreover, platforms in virtual worlds can implement features like adjustable contrast, font sizes, and color schemes to cater to individuals with visual impairments. These innovations not only improve accessibility but also contribute to a more equitable and diverse digital landscape.

On April 2, 2024, the global community will come together to observe World Autism Awareness Day 2024. This occasion, significantly elevated by the commitment of SDG Resources, showcases the powerful intersection of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and autism advocacy. This Webinar will explore the link between accessibility and virtual worlds to pave the way for more inclusive and immersive virtual experiences for users of all abilities.

Target Audience

Participation is open to the ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates, ITU Academia, and to any individual from a country that is a member of the ITU and who wishes to contribute to the work. This includes individuals who are also members of international, regional and national organizations. Participation is free of charge. 

Register Here

[wildlifeday]

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Message for World Wildlife Day 2024.

Statement of ITU Secretary-General, Mrs. Doreen Bogdan-Martin for World Wildlife Day 2024.

[girlsinictday]

Encourage girls to pursue a future in ICTs towards bridging the digital gender divide.

The global celebration of International Girls in ICT Day 2023 will be held on 27 April 2023. This year and every year, ITU and partners work together to inspire and encourage girls to pursue a future in ICTs towards bridging the digital gender divide. The aim is to encourage young women and girls to pursue their studies and careers in science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and other fields and help them achieve their dreams. 

This year, the theme of Girls in ICT Day is ‘Digital Skills for Life’. The global Girls in ICT event will be celebrated on 27 April in Zimbabwe as part of the Transform Africa Summit 2023, in coordination and collaboration with the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) and Smart Africa. This is a hybrid event and will be live streamed. 

In the CIS Region to celebrate the Girls in ICT Day, we partner with Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic and ISOC Chapter Kyrgyzstan. Regional forum will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in a hybrid format. A forthcoming event will promote awareness of the gender digital divide, advocate for STEM education and digital skills training, and encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in ICT. 

Register and attend the event: Forum on ICT Opportunities for Girls in Central Asia​​ (9:00-13:00, UTC +6). 

[socialjusticeday]

2023 Commemorative Event on the Occasion of the World Day of Social Justice.

The Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN and the International Labour Organization, in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the UN Youth Office, are pleased to convene the commemorative meeting of the 2023 World Day of Social Justice. This year’s theme will focus on the recommendations of Our Common Agenda to strengthen global solidarity and to re-build trust in government by “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice”.

Today, the majority of workers have not recovered their pre-pandemic labour incomes and the gender gap in hours worked has continued to grow. Increases in food and commodity prices is disproportionately impacting poor households and small businesses, especially those in the informal economy. Roughly half the world’s population remains without any access to social protection. And in too many places, having a job does not guarantee the ability to escape from poverty. A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments in social policy, and an over-consumption of natural resources have led to an erosion of trust and a frayed social contract in many countries. Even before the pandemic, there was growing concern about the adverse effects of high and rising levels of inequality, and a recognition of the need for urgent and decisive action to reduce them and ensure more inclusive growth that provides decent work opportunities for all. The digital divide and disruptions to global trade and supply chains risk further deepening inequalities and poverty. Women and youth are disproportionately affected by overlapping crises, unemployment, and socio-economic insecurity and face many barriers in accessing decent work. There are however many opportunities to unleash greater investments in decent jobs, particularly in the green, digital and care economy. In an era of rapid technological development, young digital natives can also find solutions to overcome inequalities. Youth entrepreneurship is on the rise and the increasing number of incubators, accelerators, and programs focused on supporting young entrepreneurs contributes to this trend. As tech leaders, young entrepreneurs can also use their influence to advocate for policies and practices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, launched by the UN Secretary-General and welcomed by member States and many other stakeholders, also provides a platform to mobilize financing, to boost employment in the green, digital and care economy and to extend social protection floors. Almost thirty years ago, at the World Summit for Social Development in 1995, global leaders pledged to make the eradication of poverty, the goal of full employment and social justice overriding objectives of development. The 2030 Agenda also aims to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all”. Decent work has increasingly been recognized as the lynchpin of strategies to achieve social justice by linking the social, economic and environmental components of sustainability.

[meilas]

"why is Israel in Eurovision even though it's not in Europe" - setting aside the genocide thing, because Israel really should've been disqualified. Non-European countries can take part in Eurovision, because being European isn't a prerequisite for taking part in Eurovision - being a member or associated member in the European Broadcasting Union is. That's also how other non-European countries take part (like Australia) or took part in the past (like lebanon and Morocco). Now, European Broadcasting Union implies that only European countries can join, right? Nope. Actually every country that is within what the international telecommunications union ITU defines as the European Broadcasting Area, which reaches into north Africa and Western Asia (including Israel). (that area, again, is defined by the historical reach of European Television cables). Associated members however can be any state from around the globe, including Australia and the USA, as Associated Membership is more of a business partnership. Participation in the Song contest for Associated members is negotiated on an individual basis (like, again with Australia).

thank you anon!

[kf4rws-actual]

... --- ... We've all heard the dits and dahs of the morse code signal for S.O.S. ... --- ... It's been used in every type of entertainment medium. It's also the name of steel wool cleaning pads. ... --- ... S.O.S. wasn't formally adopted by the International Telecommunications Union until around 1908, so did no one need help before then? Before the ITU adopted ... --- ... there was -.-. --.- -.., or CQD. Come Quick Danger was the common call for help prior to the S.O.S. ... --- ... The radio operator aboard the Titanic had sent out various calls for help over morse code with CQD DE MGY, MGY being the callsign of the ship, before alternating between CQD and S.O.S. ... --- ... Alot folks have thought the meaning of the S.O.S. is "save our ship," or "save our souls," but the letters have no real meaning. The meaning can be found in the simplistic and easily remembered dit dit dit dah dah dah dit dit dit tones. The ITU believed that operators and listeners alike would better hear and understand the call for help. CQD lives on in amateur radio though. A general call of CQ can be heard over the airwaves for other stations to hear and respond. And now, ... --- ... you know ... --- ... the rest of the story, --. --- --- -.. -.. .- -.--!

73

Artwork by F. Allen Gilbert, 1909

[mariacallous]

For more than a century and a half, an organization that has been referred to as “the most important agency you’ve never heard of” has been making technology global.

In its latest iteration, as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), its global regulations now underpin most technologies we use in our daily lives, setting technical standards that enable televisions, satellites, cellphones, and internet connections to operate seamlessly from Japan to Brazil.

The next big technology may present the organization with its greatest challenge yet. Artificial intelligence systems are being deployed at a dizzying pace around the world, with implications for virtually every industry from education and health care to law enforcement and defense. Governments around the world are scrambling to balance benefits and bogeys, attempting to set guardrails without missing the boat on technological transformation. The ITU, with 193 member states as well as hundreds of companies and organizations, is trying to get a handle on that rowdy conversation.

“Despite the fact that we’re 158 years old, I think that the mission and mandate of the ITU has never been as important as it is today,” said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the agency’s secretary-general, in a recent interview.

Founded in 1865 in Paris as the International Telegraph Union and tasked with creating a universal standard for telegraph messages to be transmitted between countries without having to be hard-coded into each country’s system at the border, the ITU would subsequently go on to play a similar role in future technologies including telephones and radio. In 1932, the agency adopted its current name to reflect its ever-expanding remit — folding in the radio governance framework that established maritime distress signals such as S.O.S. — and was brought under the aegis of the United Nations in 1947.

Bogdan-Martin, who took office in January, is the first woman to lead the ITU, and only the second American. Getting there followed months of campaigning to defeat her opponent, a former Russian telecommunications official who also worked as an executive at the Chinese technology firm Huawei, in an election that was widely billed as a battle for the future of the internet, not to mention a key bulwark for the West in the face of an increasingly assertive China and Russia within the U.N. (Bogdan-Martin also took over the ITU leadership from China’s Zhao Houlin, who had served for eight years after running unopposed twice.)

“It was intense,” Bogdan-Martin acknowledged. Ultimately, she won with 139 out of 172 votes cast.

Russia and China have been at the forefront of a competing vision for the internet, in which countries have greater control over what their citizens can see online. Both countries already exercise that control at home, and Russia has used the war in Ukraine to further restrict internet access and create a digital iron curtain that inches closer to China’s far more advanced censorship apparatus, the Great Firewall. In a joint statement last February, the two countries said they “believe that any attempts to limit their sovereign right to regulate national segments of the internet and ensure their security are unacceptable,” calling on “greater participation” from the ITU to address global internet governance issues.

“I firmly support a free and open, democratic internet,” Bogdan-Martin said. Those values are key to her biggest priority for the ITU—bringing the internet to the 2.7 billion people worldwide who still haven’t experienced it. “Safe, affordable, trusted, responsible, meaningful connectivity is a global imperative,” she said. 

Getting that level of global consensus on how to regulate artificial intelligence may not be as straightforward. Governments around the world have taken a variety of approaches—and not always compatible. The European Union’s AI Act, set for final passage later this year, ranks AI applications by levels of risk and potential harm, while China’s regulations target specific AI applications and require developers to submit information about their algorithms to the government. The United States is further behind the curve when it comes to binding legislation but has so far focused on light-touch regulation and more voluntary frameworks aimed at allowing innovation to flourish.

In recent weeks, however, calls for a global AI regulator have grown louder, modeled after the nuclear nonproliferation framework governed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Proponents of that idea include U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose advanced chatbots have catalyzed much of the hand-wringing around the technology. But some experts argue that comparisons to nuclear weapons don’t quite capture the challenges of artificial intelligence.

“People forget what a harmony there was between the [five permanent members of the Security Council] in the United Nations over the IAEA,” said Robert Trager, international governance lead at the nonprofit Center for the Governance of AI. When it comes to AI regulation these days, those members “don’t have the same degree of harmony of interest, and so that is a challenge.”

Another difference is the far wider application of AI technologies and the potential to transform nearly every aspect of the global economy for better and for worse. “It’s going to change the nature of our interactions on every front. We can’t really approach it and say: ‘Oh, there’s this thing, AI, we’ve now got to figure out how to regulate it, just like we had to regulate automobiles or oil production or whatever,’” said Gillian Hadfield, a professor of law at the University of Toronto who researches AI regulation. “It’s really going to change the way everything works.”

The sheer pace of AI development doesn’t make things any easier for would-be regulators. It took less than six months after the launch of ChatGPT caused a seismic shift in the global AI landscape for its maker, OpenAI, to launch GPT-4, a new version of the software engine powering the chatbot that can incorporate images as well as text. “One of the things we’re seeing with the EU AI Act, for example, is it hasn’t even been passed yet and it’s already struggling to keep up with the state of the technology,” Hadfield said.

But Bogdan-Martin is looking to get the ball rolling. The ITU hosted its sixth annual AI for Good Global Summit last week, which brought together policymakers, experts, industry executives, and robots for a two-day discussion of ways in which AI could help and harm humanity—with a focus on guardrails that mitigate the latter. Proposed solutions from the summit included a global registry for AI applications and a global AI observatory.

“Things are just moving so fast,” Bogdan-Martin said. “Every day, every week we hear new things,” she said. “But we can’t be complacent. We have to be proactive, and we do have to find ways to tackle the challenges.”

And although total consensus may be hard to achieve, there are some fundamental risks of AI that experts say countries will be keen to mitigate regardless of their ideology—such as protection of children—that can form something of a baseline.

“No jurisdictions, no states, have an interest in civilian entities doing things that are dangerous to society,” Trager said. “There is this common interest in developing the regime, in figuring out what the best standards are, and so I think there’s a lot of opportunity for collaboration.”

[whatsonmedia]

International Women’s Day 2023: Accelerating Equality and Empowerment

International Women’s Day is marked annually on March 8 in an effort to promote gender equality and build a more equitable society. The day honors Women and raises awareness of topics including equal rights for women, violence and abuse against women, and reproductive freedom. How did international Women’s Day start? The seeds were planted when 15,000 women marched through New York City in 1908 demanding less work, better pay, and the right to vote. The Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day a year later. Making the day a global holiday was the idea of Clara Zethkin, a communist activist and defender of women’s rights. She floated the idea during a gathering of working women in Copenhagen in 1910. There were 100 women, from 17 different countries, and they all agreed to support her idea. International Women’s Day’s purpose: The goals of International Women’s Day are to celebrate women’s accomplishments and advance gender equality. This day also strives to promote gender equality by encouraging equal participation in social, economic, cultural, and political activities in order to guarantee that the most vulnerable people of our society have equal rights in all areas. How is Women’s Day celebrated? International Women’s Day is observed as a national holiday in a number of countries, including Russia, where flower sales increase in the three to four day leading up to March 8. A large number of Chinese women will have a half day off from work on March 8 in accordance with the State Council’s recommendation. Italy celebrates the Festa della Donna, or International Women’s Day, by exchanging mimosa blooms. This habit is said to have started in Rome after World War Two, however its exact origins are uncertain. In the US, March is observed as Women’s History Month. A presidential proclamation recognizes American Women’s achievements each year. Theme for IWD 2023 The United Nations Designated “DigitalALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” as the year’s theme in order to highlight the significance of technology in bringing gender concerns to light. The website for International Women’s Day states, Equity is a necessity, not simply a pleasant to have. Every society needs to have a strong emphasis on gender equity. Understanding the distinction between equity and equality is also crucial. The IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to spread awareness about why equal opportunities are insufficient. According to the IWD website, equity takes into account that each person has unique circumstances and distributes the precise resources and opportunities required to produce an equal result, as opposed to equality, which refers to providing each person or group of people with the same resources or opportunities. Some facts about women in digital technology In 2022, only 63% of women would be internet users, compared to 69% of men, according to a forecast by International Telecommunication Union (ITU). According to a survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF), 75% of occupations by 2050 will be in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Yet, women only hold 22% of the role in the workforce today, to name just one industry. According to the Gender Snapshot report from 2022, a study of 51 nations found that 38% of women have personally encountered online assault. The potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and advance gender equality is increased when women are involved in technology. UNESCO’s message for this year In her message for this year’s International Women’s Day, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay noted the importance of guaranteeing equal opportunity for women and girls while also ensuring that they benefit from the opportunities presented by technological change. She said that the theme for this year will be “Innovation and technology for gender equality”, noting that women are four times less likely to possess advanced ICT skills, make up less than 20% of the IT workforce, and just 12% of AI research is conducted. Read the full article

[hicginewsagency]

"Witnessing regulatory leaders coming together in Uganda to balance innovation with regulation was a reminder of what we can achieve through unity."  ITU Boss Speaks at the Closure of the 4-Day Summit.

[theleadersglobe]

China Advances 6G Standards with International Recognition

China has taken a major leap in the global race for next-generation telecommunications by establishing three crucial 6G technological standards under the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). These new standards represent a significant step toward shaping the international framework for 6G, putting China at the forefront of the future of telecommunications. 

Endorsed on July 26 during a plenary meeting of the ITU’s Telecommunication Standardisation Sector study group, these standards are designed to align with the International Mobile Telecommunications 2030 framework. The focus is on improving immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency connections, and the seamless integration of artificial intelligence. These advancements will pave the way for new services requiring high bandwidth, reliability, and minimal latency, making them a cornerstone of the future global telecommunications landscape.

Read More: https://theleadersglobe.com/science-technology/china-advances-6g-standards-with-international-recognition/

[teardownit]

Telecommunications Protocols: Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model

Usually, the analysis of communication protocol stacks begins, relatively reasonably, by considering the seven-layer Open System Interconnection model (seven-layer model or just OSI model or OSI), which the International Organization for Standardization ISO developed jointly with the telecommunications division of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). The OSI model is still an excellent tool for learning the fundamentals of telecommunications network architecture, although it has not gained the popularity its creators hoped for.

The main feature of the OSI model is its openness. This means that an appropriate standardized set of protocols guarantees the possibility of interoperability between equipment from different manufacturers, which is vital not only for equipment and software manufacturers but also for telecom operators, service providers, and users since it dramatically simplifies the procedure for equipping networks.

The OSI model was developed in the 1970s based on experience gained in creating computer networks, mainly global ones. Therefore, its application area, strictly speaking, is packet data networks.

Interestingly enough, global data networks came earlier than local ones. This is explained by the history of the development of computers (computing machines), the first stage of which is associated with mainframes. These vast machines were costly and served many users, who were granted access only for a certain period. Long-distance communication channels were needed to organize such access. In the first stage, the role of such data transmission media was played by analog modems operating over voice-frequency channels (touch-tone) of analog transmission systems (Analog Data Transmission Systems, or ADTS), and the first data transmission protocols were modem protocols of physical levels that ITU-T has standardized in a series of Type V recommendations.

Since the touch-tone ADTS channel is very narrow, with a width of 300 to 3200 Hz, in addition to multi-position modulation methods for data transmission, additional efficient algorithms for using the frequency band were required, particularly data signal compression algorithms. The critical issue with modem data transmission over ADTS channels was the number of errors since touch-tone channels were initially designed only to transmit telephone signals. Therefore, the third group of V-series protocols contains, among other things, error correction protocols.

In terms of error correction, communication systems are divided into systems with and without retransmission of corrupted data elements. In transmission systems over electrical cables subject to external interference and containing many intermediate amplifiers or regenerators, the probability of errors in the data signals is very high. Therefore, the channels of these systems usually retransmit corrupt message fragments. Naturally, this method significantly reduces the data efficiency of channels.

The situation turned around with the transition to optical cables, which are well-protected from external interference and contain a small number of intermediate amplifiers and repeaters. This significantly reduced the number of errors, so it was possible to eliminate error correction at the physical layer and, if necessary, perform it at higher protocol levels.

The active development of local networks began with the advent of mini, micro, and, finally, personal computers (PCs). Thus, telephone networks first formed local ones, and only then, with technological progress, intercity ones; data transmission networks, on the contrary, evolved from global down to local.

The creation of the seven-layer OSI model was based on the following principles:

There should not be too many layers so that the design and implementation of the network are not overly complex. There should not be too few levels so that the functions performed by the levels do not turn out to be overly complex

The functioning of each level is transparent to other levels

The tasks performed by each level must be clearly delineated

The next level is created only when a new level of abstraction is needed

It is clear that solving such a problem successfully takes not only a lot of experience and knowledge but also a particular artistic approach.

Each layer of the OSI model interacts with three others: it provides services to an upper one, uses the services of a lower one, and accesses an equal (peer) layer of another computer system. More formally, a service architecture contains three essential elements: the Service User, the Service Provider, and the Service Access Point (SAP).

In this context, a service user is an OSI model layer receiving services from an adjacent OSI model layer. The service provider is the layer of the OSI model that provides services. Finally, SAP is an element of the OSI model through which one OSI layer can request a service from another OSI model layer. Simply put, SAP is nothing more than a service delivery protocol.

For example, the link layer of system A is a user of physical layer services, a service provider for the network layer of this system, and exchanges information with the link layer of system B.

OSI Layers and Layer Groups

Each layer of the OSI model performs specific functions necessary for the system's proper functioning. Let's list the seven layers of the OSI model from top to bottom and describe their main functions.

Implementations of the four upper layers of the OSI model (application, presentation, session, and transport) can be found in every peripheral device; the three lower layers (network, data link, and physical) are present at all intermediate (transit) connection points between endpoints.

Therefore, all the OSI model layers can be divided into two functionally different groups: the upper and lower layers. The first—also called 'Host Layers' or 'end-end'—are responsible for the operation of applications and are implemented only in software products. The second—'Media Layers' or 'chained'—transmits data. Moreover, the physical and data link layers contain software and hardware components.

A common feature of the three lower levels is that they can support any type of data (including service data) generated by the four upper levels. In other words, the lower levels are utterly indifferent to the data they transmit and are solely concerned with delivering it from one point to another.

Host Layers OSI

In this part, we will talk about the four upper levels that ensure the operation of network applications.

The Application Layer provides services directly to the user's apps. It forms a set of open and standard application programming interfaces (APIs). Implementing the application layer might be complex because many applications use its services. Examples of OSI application layer protocols are distributed directory services by the ITU-T X.500 recommendation and its "lightweight" version (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, LDAP), as well as remote procedure calls (RPC). The latter is a very efficient way to distribute computing power between the client and the server.

The Presentation Layer performs general data transformation. One of the services at this level is encryption, which ensures information security. In particular, Web server software includes encryption protocols to protect customers' financial information. Another example of a presentation-level service is compression, which reduces the amount of data sent between two computers. Thus, many virtual private network (VPN) implementations use tunneling protocols, where a packet of one protocol is placed inside another packet. The tunneling mechanism requires adding significant service information to the transmitted data, which can be easily compressed. Therefore, VPNs usually include a compression algorithm.

Another typical operation of the presentation level is transcoding, which is less complex than encrypting/decrypting or compressing/decompressing. An example of transcoding is the conversion of ASCII codes to EBCDIC and back according to specific tables. Still, such simple transcoding operations are only sometimes possible. Therefore, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a special Abstract Syntax Notation program version 1 (ASN.1), which helps programs running on different machines and written in different programming languages to exchange data.

The Session Layer provides additional services to the transport layer if the connection session is established first. In addition to managing data back and forth, the most important functions of this layer are starting and terminating the session and syncing data. Session layer services are unused if the connection does not need to be established.

The Transport Layer performs error-free, message-oriented end-to-end transmission, and it must support this function regardless of the reliability of the underlying layer. The underlying layer is especially unreliable during packet transmission in connectionless communication. In this case, the transport layer must be 'smart' enough to compensate for the weaknesses of the underlying layer. Due to its greater reliability, the transport layer can be less complex in a connection-oriented packet network. Finally, the underlying service can be highly robust, connection-oriented with channel switching, and have a reliable link-layer protocol. In this case, the transport layer does not need to do anything to ensure consistently high transmission quality. Thus, the complexity of the transport layer is inversely proportional to the reliability of the underlying layers. To perform its main task—error-free delivery of messages—the transport layer provides the functions of addressing, opening, and closing connections, assigning priority to data, monitoring and error correction, data flow control, failure recovery, and multiplexing.

Continued in the next Around Cable category post.

[regressionsmodeling]

Data Analysis and Interpretation Course-3 Assignment - 1

Writing About Your Data

In today's increasingly digital world, internet connectivity has become a fundamental aspect of societal development. To understand how internet usage influences health outcomes, I conducted an analysis using the GapMinder dataset, focusing on the relationship between internet use rates and life expectancy across various countries.

Sample Data

a) Study Population: The study population comprises 213 countries from around the world. The focus is on understanding how life expectancy, an indicator of the average number of years a newborn is expected to live, influences internet use rate, defined as the percentage of the population that accesses the internet at least once every three months.

b) Level of Analysis: The level of analysis in this study is at the aggregate level, meaning that the data represents country-level statistics rather than individual or group-level observations.

c) Number of Observations: The dataset includes 213 observations, corresponding to 213 countries. However, for life expectancy, data is available for 191 countries, and for internet use rate, data is available for 192 countries.

d) Data Analytic Sample: The analytic sample focuses on countries with available data for both life expectancy and internet use rate for the year 2022. Countries with missing values for either variable were excluded from the analysis to ensure accuracy and completeness of the results

Data Collection Procedure

a) Study Design: The data was collected through a combination of data reporting and projections. The life expectancy data was originally collected as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, while internet use rate data was reported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

b) Original Purpose of Data Collection: The original purpose of collecting life expectancy data was to track and analyze global health outcomes and trends over time. The internet use rate data was collected to monitor global digital connectivity and access to the internet across different countries.

c) Data Collection Method: Life expectancy data was gathered through a combination of official records, surveys, and health databases by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The internet use rate data was collected via national reports and telecommunications data provided to the ITU.

d) Data Collection Period: The data spans from 1950 to 2019 for life expectancy, with projections for 2020 to 2100 based on UN forecasts. However, the analysis in this study focuses specifically on the data from 2022.

e) Data Collection Location: The data was collected on a global scale, encompassing 213 countries worldwide. The data sources include international health organizations and telecommunications authorities.

Measurement and Analysis

a) Explanatory and Response Variables:

Explanatory Variable: Life expectancy at birth, which measures the average number of years a newborn is expected to live under current mortality rates. Response Variable: Internet use rate, which measures the percentage of the population that uses the internet at least once every three months. b) Response Scales:

Life Expectancy: Measured in years, ranging from 47.7 to 83.3 years across the countries studied. Internet Use Rate: Measured as a percentage, with values ranging from 0.21% to 95.6%. c) Variable Management: For the analysis, countries with missing data for either life expectancy or internet use rate were excluded. The life expectancy data was used as the explanatory variable to examine its impact on the internet use rate, the response variable. The data was analyzed at the country level to explore global patterns and correlations between these two variables.