Google Ikut Runut Sebaran Flu

Perusahaan mesin pencari infomasi internet, Google telah meluncurkan alat online baru untuk membantu melacak penyebaran flu di Amerika Serikat. Perusahaan itu mendapati warga Amerika yang yang jatuh sakit mencari nasihat berkaitan dengan flu menggunakan fasilitas internetnya sebelum meminta pertolongan dokter. Berikut laporan Greg Morsbach:

How many times have you consulted an internet search engine when you're feeling ill before going to your doctor for help? Many of us do exactly that when we're feeling sick.

Now the internet search engine Google has come up with a tool designed to register search requests for common phrases such as "flu symptoms" or "muscles aches".

The idea is to map clusters of influenza in the United States in order to track the spread of the disease. There are also plans to roll out the system in other countries around the world.

The new web tracker known as "Google Flu Trends" could act as an early warning system for internet users: if there are a lot of flu cases in your area, then you could take preventative measures such as have a flu jab. Early tests of the new web tool show it can detect regional outbreaks up to ten days earlier than the US health authorities.

A senior health expert from the United Nations told the BBC, Google Flu Trends would have to prove its reliability over time. But he added it could be very useful in nations where health authorities don't have a reliable database of infectious diseases.

Oana Lungescu, BBC News, Brussels

consulted
berkonsultasi, mendapatkan informasi atau nasihat dari orang, buku yang memiliki informasi tertentu

to register search requests
mencatat berapa kali orang memanfaatkan mesin pencari informasi internet untuk bertanya mengenai sesuatu

symptoms
gejala sakit atau perubahan fisik yang ditimbulkan oleh penyakit atau gangguan kesehatan tertentu (di sini, flu adalah kependekan untuk influenza)

muscles aches
kelelahan atau rasa sakit di salah satu jaringan tubuh (otot) yang bisa menjadi kencang atau kendur untuk menghasilkan gerakan

map clusters
menunjukkan kumpulan benda atau orang di tempat yang berdekatan yang memiliki persamaan di peta (di sini, orang yang terjangkit flu)

to track the spread of the disease
mencatat perkembangan pergerakan virus flu dari satu tempat ke tempat lain

roll out
meluncur atau merilis produk atau jasa baru (dalam konteks ini, alat pencari baru Google)

an early warning system
alat yang dimaksudkan untuk memberikan peringatan bahaya sebelum sesuatu menjadi bahaya besar

take preventative measures
melakukan sesuatu sekarang untuk mencegah sesuatu menjadi masalah di masa datang, melakukan langkah pencegahan

a reliable database of infectious diseases
kumpulan informasi dari sumber yang terpercaya atau diyakini soal penyakit menular antar-manusia

Barack Obama's Blitz Tonight is Audacious

Barack Obama memperkuat kampanye kepresidenannya dengan menayangkan iklan politik dengan durasi setengah jam di televisi. Iklan itu muncul di beberapa jaringan televisi Amerika beberapa hari di jam siar utama. Berikut laporan Justin Webb:

It's not unheard of for American politicians to buy large chunks of television time. The maverick millionaire Ross Perot did it in 1992 and gained respectable audiences.

But, Barack Obama's blitz tonight is audacious. Only one of the major TV networks, ABC, is not running the half-hour film. The Fox network has arranged that the fifth game of the World Series baseball, one of America's biggest sporting events, will be delayed to accommodate the Obama broadcast.

The advertisement has been weeks in the making and Obama campaign will pay several million dollars for the right to have it shown. But the money is a drop in the ocean - they are taking in that sum almost every day.

John McCain cannot afford to put on such a show himself, the fact that he is using to his advantage. Mr McCain told supporters, 'when I am president no-one will delay the start of the World Series with an infomercial'.

Justin Webb, BBC News, Washington

unheard of
sesuatu yang belum terjadi sebelumnya

large chunks
banyak slot,

maverick
seseorang yang berfikir dan bertindak secara independen, sering berperilaku sangat berbeda dari yang diharapkan orang

gained respectable audiences
banyak pemirsa televisi menonton siaran tersebut

blitz
di sini, kampanye iklan gencara yang yang menjadi bagian menonjol kampanye politik Obama

audacious
berani, tak kenal takut, nekat

been weeks in the making
dibuat dalam waktu beberapa pekan

a drop in the ocean
di sini, sangat sedikit sedikit jika dibandingan dengan keseluruhan dana yang dikeluarkan oleh kubu Partai Demokrat dalam kampanye politik

sum
jumlah, di sini jumlah uang

infomercial
iklan yang mirip acara biasa di televisi mengingat durasi dan gayanya; presentasi yang menyajikan banyak informasi untuk membujuk agar orang menerima suatu pandangan (kata ini gabungan dari dua kata 'information + commercial')

Kurir Timbun Barang Kiriman

Seorang petugas pengiriman yang bekerja untuk sebuah perusahaan jasa kurir di Frankfurt, Jerman tidak mengangar puluhan ribu surat dan parsel. Aparat kepolisian Jerman mengatakan, saat mereka menggerebek rumah si petugas, mereka menemukan banyak barang kiriman disembunyikan di bawah kasur dan di dalam lemari. Berikut laooran Steve Rosenberg:

There's an old saying amongst postmen the world over: the mail must get through. But a postal worker in Frankfurt appears to have decided that the mail must get hidden.

German police say the man, who'd been working for a leading courier company, had failed to deliver post for over a year - choosing instead to hoard it at home in his flat. When police raided his apartment, they discovered an Aladdin's cave of undelivered letters: they found envelopes stuffed under the mattress, parcels packed into cupboards, mail squirreled away in every nook and every cranny.

It's thought the postman, who police say was born in Scotland, had failed to deliver more than twenty thousand items. He was caught when a neighbour spotted him disposing of lots of letters. Asked by police why he'd done it, the courier claimed he'd had a lot on his plate - he'd been attending evening classes and hadn't had time to deliver the post.

Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Berlin

an old saying
pepatah, peribahasa, pernyataan bijak yang sudah dikenal luas

get through
diserahkan, disampaikan ke alamat tujuan

courier company
perusahaan yang mengantarkan pesan penting atau paket dengan cepat

to hoard
menimbun, menumpuk, mengumpulkan banyak barang dalam suatu tempat yang aman, tapi biasanya tersembunyi

raided
menggerebek dan menggeledah

Aladdin's cave
tempat rahasia (biasanya tempat dengan banyak banyak bendar menarik dan berharga)

in every nook and every cranny
di setiap bagian dalam flatnya

spotted
mendapati, memergoki

disposing of
membuang

a lot on his plate
banyak tugas lain yang harus dilakukan

Amerika Akan Atasi Krisis Keuangan

Para pejabat Amerika membahas rumusan rencana untuk membantu bank-bank yang terlilit kredit bermasalah di tengah krisis ekonomi dunia. Berikut laporan wartawan BBC Justin Webb:

A comprehensive approach backed by legislation - that is what the US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, said he was hoping would be the result of last night's meeting on Capitol Hill.

The deal is not yet done but senior administration officials say they will keep at it for as long as it takes, and the leaders of the Republicans and the Democrats in the House of Representatives both suggested that agreement was close.

What they want to do is allow financial institutions to hand all the toxic loans that are at the heart of the financial meltdown to a newly created repository - in effect a nationalisation of all the bad debt.

The details of the plan are vague but there is a sense that the authorities need to find a way of getting a grip on this crisis - to convince everyone that the nation's politicians understand the gravity of the situation and will do whatever it takes to bring it under control.

Justin Webb, BBC News, Washington

A comprehensive approach
cara menyelesaikan masalah dengan menagnai setiap segi dan/atau penyebabnya

backed by legislation
di sini, ketika undang-undang diberlakukan untuk untuk membuat rencana penyelamatan keuangan itu berjalan lebih baik dan lebih cepat

keep at it
di sini, melanjutkan, atau tetap terus menangani kesepakatan penyelamatan

it takes
di sini, diperlukan

to hand
menyerahkan, memberi seseorang kewenangan atau tanggungjawab atas sesuatu

toxic loans
pinjaman berisiko tinggi, yaitu, ketika orang menarik uang dalam jumlah besar meski tidak mampu melunasi, dan menimbulkan 'kredit macet'

at the heart of
alasan utama

meltdown
kegagalan menyeluruh, kebangkrutan, khususnya yang terkait urusan keuangan

repository
tempat sesuatu dikumpulkan dan disimpan

getting a grip on
mencengkeram, mengendalikan, mengontrol

Ujicoba Laptop Pengganti Buku

Para murid di sebuah sekolah di Italia mulai mengikuti ujicoba untuk menggantikan seluruh buku dengan komputer laptop. Masing-masing anak-anak yang mengikuti eksperimen ini memperoleh sebuah laptop khusus yang memuat seluruh isi kurikulum sekolah. Berikut laporan wartawan BBC Duncan Kennedy dari Roma:

Until today, the Don Milani di Rivoli elementary school in central Turin was like any other. Children turned up, got out their books and pens and began the process of learning. But now, in what's being described as a unique experiment, 60 fifth-grade pupils and a number of third-graders, will start using computers only.

The mini-laptops, which run Windows software, all have a full curriculum programmed into them. The pupils will use the computers to do all their reading and writing. Security systems within the laptops mean the children's access to the internet is strictly controlled. The machines weigh less than a kilogram, can be dropped from a height of 1.5 metres and are waterproof.

Instead of spending the equivalent of 700 dollars a year on books, the laptops, built by the Italian company Olidata, cost less than 400 dollars. One of the teachers involved in the scheme says that, for the first time, schools will be able to verify in a scientific way how a computer alone can improve the learning process. The experiment, which has the backing of parents, is due to last a year.

Duncan Kennedy, BBC News, Rome

elementary school
sekolah dasar, sekolah yang memberikan jenjang pendidikan pertama bagi anak-anak (biasanya usia 5 hingga 11 tahun)

turned up
di sini, hadir, datang ke sekolah

grade
kelas, tingkat kelompok pengajaran di suatu sekolah tempat semua anak memiliki usia dan/atau kemampuan yang kurang lebih sama

curriculum
semua mata pelajaran yang diajarkan di sekolah, kolese, perguruan tinggi, dsb. Istilah 'kurikulum' terkadang berarti 'silabus', yaitu, topik atau buku yang dipelajari dalam suatu mata pelajaran atau kuliah

access to
di sini, kemampuan untuk berselancar, mencari informasi dan menggunakan internet

are waterproof
tahan air, tidak mudah rusak akibat air

the equivalent of
jumlah dana yang setara atau senilai dengan

involved in the scheme
ikut serta dalam ujicoba

to verify
membuktikan bahwa sesuatu itu benar atau tidak

backing
dukungan, dorongan

SMS untuk Lindungi Populasi Gajah

Kenya telah menjadi negara pertama di dunia yang mencoba melindungi populasi gajah dengan pesan singkat atau SMS. Kartu sim telepon seluler yang disisipkan ke ban leher gajah secara otomatis mengirimkan pesan saat mereka bergerak mendekati lahan pertanian, dan ini memungkin petugas pengaman satwa liar untuk menghalau hewan besar itu, bukannya menembak mereka. Berikut laporan Matt McGrath.

Hungry elephants pose big problems for small farmers and villagers in some parts of Kenya raiding for food and wiping out homes and livelihoods in the process. Two years ago the Kenyan wildlife service had to reluctantly shoot five elephants who continued to raid crops.

In an attempt to avert such drastic measures the Save the Elephants charity installed a mobile phone sim card in a collar that was placed on a huge bull elephant called Kimani. The conservationists then set up a virtual fence using a global positioning system. Each time Kimani came near the fence, a text message was sent to rangers. So far he's been intercepted fifteen times.

The project is expensive requiring five full time staff and a standby vehicle but it seems to be working successfully as Kimani hasn't come near a farm for four months. A similar system has now been implemented in another part of the country.

One of the biggest benefits of the project is that elephants seem to learn from one another. Tracking and controlling one crop raider can help a whole group change their habits.

The elephants can also be tracked using Google Earth software. This is also helping prevent poaching as the rangers know where to concentrate their resources to best protect the animals.

Matt McGrath, BBC, Environment Reporter

pose
menimbulkan

wiping out
memusnahkan, menghancurkan destroying

reluctantly
dengan berat hati

to avert
mencegah

drastic measures
langkah yang sangat merusak

a virtual fence
bukan pagar fisik, tapi sistem otomatis yang bisa mengirimkan pesan peringatan ketika gajah mendekati kawasan tertentu, sehingga bisa dicegah

intercepted
dihadang, dicegah berpindah ke tempat lain, di sini, dihentikan agar tidak masu ke zona bahaya

implemented
dioperasikan

poaching
memburu dan membunuh satwa secara ilegal

to concentrate their resources
mengorganisir dan menempatkan staff dan perlengkapan