VIDEOGAME POWERHARNESSED FORPOSITIVE GOALSWWaasshhiinnggttoonn,, MMaarrcchh 1177:: Evenas videogames come underscrutiny for potential harmfulimpacts, researchers anddevelopers are touting digitalgames for positive effects onhealth, learning and othersocial goals. The immersivepower of games is beingused to encourage kids todevelop healthy eating, helpseniors maintain brain func-tions and even to tackleproblems like poverty andclimate change.

Most Americans in a recentHarris online survey said theysee a link betweenvideogames and violentbehaviour. US Vice-PresidentJoe Biden, who convened aWhite House meeting afterthe Sandy Hook school mas-sacre that saw a man gundown 20 children and sixadults before taking his ownlife, has said more research isneeded on how videogamesaffect users. But manyresearchers say there is littleevidence that playing gamescan cause users to becomeviolent, and point to numer-ous positive impacts. “Gamescan have a positive impact,particularly with psychologi-cal functions,” said JasonAllaire of North CarolinaState University’s GainsThrough Gaming Lab.

“We focus on cognition andlearning, trying to understandthe exact mechanisms, suchas the impact on reactiontime and memory.”

Allaire led a recent studythat found seniors whoplayed digital games showedhigher levels of emotionalwellbeing than non-players.Though the research did notoffer a clear cause and effect,Allaire expressed confidencethat the research wouldeventually find such a rela-tionship. Digital games “get abad rap because often theyare played to excess" butblaming games for societalills is “simplistic”, Allaire said.

Still, he said researchers are

reviewing their thinking fol-lowing a spate of shootings.

“If I say as a scientist I thinkgames can have a positiveeffect, it would be hypocriti-cal to say that they cannothave a negative impact,”Allaire said.

But he argued, “There is noevidence to show that play-ing a violent videogame cancause you to engage in vio-lent behaviours.”

Big game companies andindependent developers havecreated many games aimedat positive skills and habits.

Jive Health, a startupfounded by NorthwesternUniversity student Dennis Ai,produced a mobile game thatencourages children to eatmore fruits and vegetables,with the goal of curbingchildhood obesity. In thegame, kids must find applesor other fruits for their animalcharacters and take a pictureof real-life foods to advanceto the next level. “Kids, theyreally do enjoy playing thegame, it’s looking verypromising,” said Ai, whoseteam won the InnovationChallenge prize sponsored bythe nonprofit Partnership fora Healthier America.

"You can't teach kidshealthy eating habits by justpreaching to them."

Even the oft-criticized“shooter games” can have anupside: a University ofToronto study showed thatplaying shooting or drivingvideogames, even for a shorttime, improves the ability tosearch for a hidden target.

Researcher Ian Spence saidthese visual skills can be use-ful. “It's necessary for bag-gage screening, reading X-rays or MRIs, interpretingsatellite images, defeatingcamouflage or even justlocating a friend's face in acrowd,” he said.

Boston Children’s Hospitalresearchers reported that agame can help children withanger problems regulate theiremotions. The game involvesshooting at enemy spaceshipswhile avoiding shooting atfriendly ones. When theirheart rate goes above a cer-tain level, players lose theirability to shoot, teaching themskills to keep calm, accordingto a study published in thejournal Adolescent Psychiatry. – AP

c m y k c m y k

TECHNOMICSPAGE 13

Dropbox says it will buy start-up behind hot email management app Mailbox

Google’s Eric Schmidt to visit Myanmar, an untapped telecom market

MONDAY 18 | MARCH 2013BENGALURU

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SSAANNGGEEEETTHHAA CCHHEENNGGAAPPPPAA || DDCCBENGALURU, MARCH 17

With a vision to provide best-in-class healthcare in India, MrVikram Kirloskar and MrsGeetanjali Kirloskar have part-nered with Secom MedicalSystems and Toyota Tsusho,Japan, to set up a chain of multi-specialty hospitals across thecountry, beginning withBengaluru at a total investment ofRs 200 crore.

The first one in the chain, theSakra World Hospital, inBellandur, Bengaluru, is a 300-bedmulti-specialty hospital whichwill bring together Japanese qual-ity, precision, medical practicesand protocols with Indian exper-tise in neurosurgery, orthopaedicsand cardiology including pedi-atric cardiac care.

The Kirloskars have invested 50per cent of the cost in the holdingcompany, Takshasila HospitalsOperating Pvt Ltd. Secom’s shareis 30 per cent and Toyota Tsushohas invested 20 per cent.

“This is the first time that a Japanese hospital chain is stepping out of Japan to partnerwith an Indian company to set up a chain of multi-specialty hospitals.

“We hope to introduce new stan-dards of patient care, infectioncontrol, hygiene and emergencycare,” said Mrs GeetanjaliKirloskar of the Kirloskar Group.

Additionally, plans are on to setup a 100-bed hospital within a 10km radius of Sakra WorldHospital as well as a chain of poly-clinics 10-15 km in and around thehospital. Hiring has begun to fillup the 1,000 positions, of which 400would be nurses.

“We are looking beyondBengaluru to hire some of the bestdoctors in various specialties,from Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi etc.

The Japanese Nursing Directoris here in Bengaluru and is work-ing closely with our nurses to setup training procedures, manuals,and setting up processes jointly tointegrate the best of Indian andJapanese practices.

Rehabilitation is a strong offer-ing at this hospital where it pro-vides complete after-care rehabili-tation after surgery,” she said.

Elaborating, Dr Prem P Singh,DGM – Clinical Quality & MedicalAdministration, Sakra WorldHospital – said, “We are setting upa state-of-the-art trauma unit, witha stringent infection-control pro-gramme in line with Japanesehealthcare practices in high-endcritical care, with zero-toleranceto errors.

One of our key focus areas is tofacilitate faster patient recoverythereby, reducing in-hospitaltime, leading to satisfied patients.

To do this, we are defining theclinical processes after mappingvarious scenarios, while comply-ing with international standards,such as the National Accredi-tation Board for Hospitals andHealthcare Providers (NABH) andJoint Commission International(JCI), whose standards have beenincorporated at the design stage ofthe hospital itself.”

A hospital information system is

being set up to automate every-thing from the time a patient reg-isters at the hospital till he getsdischarged.

Involving nursing in clinicaldecision making is another keyaspect in Sakra Nursing care, saidDr Singh.

“We are defining an environ-ment for nursing which is not onlyfocused on skill-sets such as beingpleasant, communicative and

highly skilled in care delivery, but also by developing nurses as leaders in hospital functioning;all imbibed from Japanese best practices. While profitabilityis important to us, we will continue to remain focused on the quality of clinical outcomes,which will be regularly assessedby qualified multi-disciplinarycare teams,” added Mrs GeetanjaliKirloskar.

Healthcare: Japanese efficiency, Indian warmth

Arguably, the most lethal destructive weapon ever cre-ated (at least for the marketer and advertising agency) isthe remote control for the television at home. Customerswield the power of switching channels with such desper-ate ease that it can be painful to watch for people whoseunfortunate commercial gets zapped by an increasinglyrestless and demanding customer.

But advertising agencies are not the ones who are goingto take this sort of apathy lying down, so they increasing-ly push the creative envelope, doing edgier, funnier andmore entertaining work that will ensure that you stay onto the same channel. No wonder the advertising is moreinteresting than the programming on occasion.

Hardly surprising given the fact that my favourite seri-al is only onto its 634th episode! Even poor sage VedaVyasa would have been unable to stretch theMahabharata that long! But despite all the threats anddistractions that marketers worry about, they can stilltake heart from people like me who spend more time withthe TV set than with their spouse! I am the advertiser’sdream and the family’s nightmare whose greatest cata-strophe in life is a missing remote control.

My wife has given up on me as even during the mostserious of conversations, I can’t help peeping surrepti-tiously at the TV screen lest I miss a commercial and I amgoing to talk about two commercials that I saw recentlyfor Havells’ fans – one of which is nice and the other ques-tionable but both conform to my earnest belief that adver-tising should be either loved or hated but never ignored.Well you can’t ignore these commercials!

The winds of changeIn a sense advertising reflects the times that we live in

and that is what makes people look at it though some-times the creative mind depicts something that it wishesfor than what is a true reflection.

But the reality is that women in this country are notbeing treated with the respect that they deserve by a soci-ety that is largely male chauvinistic.

The other reality and most of us are guilty of this is thesuperior manner in which we treat servants and domes-tic help simply because we happen to be more affluent,better educated and pay the wages of the people who workat our homes.

The recent Havells fan commercials address both theseissues with differing degrees of success. Mind you,Havells was a relatively unknown company to the aver-

age Johnny a few years ago but today, thanks to visibleadvertising and a whole host of other things which theymust be doing they are fairly well known. I do remembertheir “wires that don’t catch fire” commercials from thenot too distant past.

Equality the new mantraLet me talk about the first of the two commercials that I

am reviewing now. A middle class family has sat downfor dinner and is discussing about an impending weddingand the maid lays the last dish on the table. As she pre-pares to move away someone compliments the sabji andthe mistress of the house asks her to sit down at the sametable, at the head of it to be precise and the embarrassedand surprised maid sits down with the cleaning cloth thatshe has been carrying with her.

The voice over talks about the “winds of change” doubt-less a reference to the brand that is being advertised –that is fans. I liked this because even if the Rajas have losttheir place in the Indian system we think we are Rajas theway we treat our domestic help. Maybe things will notchange overnight and equality restored overnight but atleast we can stop to think about the way we treat our ser-vants.

And now for the name changerThen we come to the second commercial shot in the

Registrar’s office where a young couple – Vikas Vermaand Shanti Pandit want to get married. To the lady regis-trar’s question whether the bride to be would change hername to Shanti Verma the bridegroom says “no, I willtake her name and will be Vikas Pandit”. I nearly fell offthe chair! As a father who has just got his son married, Iwondered what my reaction might have been if my sonhad proposed that.

I would have blown a fuse perhaps. Had an attack ofapoplexy or been in intensive care and saved you thebother of reading this column! Would someone dumptheir parent’s name simply in the name of equality orlove for the woman he has met a few months ago?

Has this been written by a lady who has no clue of whatis happening or who is completely insensitive to whatolder people might feel. Isn’t there a better way ofempathising with downtrodden women than by upsettingparents? Is this the wind of change that is sweeping thecountry that I am completely oblivious to?

Even if it is a wish, is the wish justifiable, acceptable orso radical that I will switch the brand of fan I am willingto consider and even buy? You be the judge!

Ramanujam Sridhar is Director of Custommerce and Founder CEO of brand-comm, a

communications consulting company

The times theyare a changing…..

VIEW FROM THECORNER ROOM

RAMANUJAM SRIDHAR

Advertising agencies are increasinglypushing the creative envelope, doingedgier, funnier and more entertainingwork that will ensure that you stayon to the same channel

The under-construction Sakra World Hospital in Bellandur, Bengaluru. The 300-bed multi-specialty hospital will be the first of achain of hospitals being set up by Mr Vikram Kirloskar and Mrs Geetanjali Kirloskar in partnership with Secom MedicalSystems and Toyota Tsusho, Japan. (Below) Japanese and Indian staff of the hospital learn each other’s traditions and culture

– R. SAMUEL

We are setting up astate-of-the-art traumaunit, with a stringentinfection-control pro-gramme in line withJapanese healthcarepractices in high-endcritical care. One of ourkey focus areas is tofacilitate faster patientrecovery, reducing in-hospital time

–––– DDrr PPrreemm PP SSiinngghhDGM - Clinical Quality & Medical

Administration,Sakra World Hospital

DDCC CCOORRRREESSPPOONNDDEENNTTBENGALURU, MARCH 17

Riding the wave of consumer pref-erence for natural products,Himalaya Drug Company hasreentered the oral care space withthe launch of a range of herbaltoothpastes that offers consumersprotection from germs/cavitiesand also addresses specific oralproblems. like stained teeth, sensi-tive teeth, gum health and badbreath.

The `1,200-crore ayurvedic phar-ma major had forayed into the oralcare space over a decade ago withits Himalaya Dental Cream thatpredominantly targeted the SouthIndiam market.

The recent national launch of thenew range of herbal toothpasteincludes, Complete Care, whichhas natural antioxidants thatremove germs and neutralise tox-ins to ensure healthy gums andteeth; Sparkling White, whichremoves stains and whitens teeththrough natural whitening agents;Active Fresh Gel, which preventsbad breath and lends freshness;and Sensitive, which providesrelief from pain and sensitiveteeth.

“It has taken us over two years ofR&D to come up with the range oftoothpastes that uses innovativeplant-enzyme technology, power-ful antioxidants and naturalactive ingredients,” said MrRajesh Krishnamurthy, BusinessHead, Consumer ProductsDivision, Himalaya DrugCompany.

Despite the company’s late mar-ket entry into the oral care space,Mr Krishnamurthy says heexpects the company to garner atleast a 2 per cent share (urban) ofthe `3,500 crore toothpaste sector

in India over the next two years.The oral care market in urbanIndia is valued at around `4,000crore and is growing at about 19per cent per annum, of which thetoothpaste category is approxi-mately `3,500 crore.

Herbal toothpaste constitutes 10per cent of the overall toothpastecategory, where Dabur dominateswith approximately 8-9 per cent

market share.Pointing out that freshness as a

separate segment was the first toemerge in the country, followedmany years later by sensitivity asa segment which picked up in2009, he said, the whitening seg-ment is just about marking itsentry into the market.

“Within the toothpaste categorytoday, basic oral healthcare seg-

ment contributes to around 65 percent of the total pie and is growingat 14 per cent per annum; thefreshness segment makes up 25per cent with a growth of 19 percent; the sensitive segment,although smaller at 7 per cent isgrowing at a whopping 262 percent and the whitening segmentenjoys a share of around 3 per centof the overall category,” he said.

The new range of toothpasteswill be available in 115 Himalayastores across the country, in all modern trade and kirana stores as well as in medical stores. While the company has a strong distribution muscle in the South, it is in the process of ramping up distribution in the North. — SC

Mr Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Head, Consumer Products Division, Himalaya Drug Company launchingoral care products

Himalaya enterprise re-enters oral care

Himalaya Drug Company has reentered the oral care space with the launch of a range

of herbal toothpastes that offers consumers protection from germs/cavities and

addresses specific problems

■ Launches a range of herbal toothpastes for specific oral problems