THE first live television broadcasts to UK mobile phones started this week as Channel 4 beamed pictures of its controversial new round- the-clock sleep-deprivation show Shattered to phone users around the country.

Though the test service has been largely unheralded, experts believe the technology could spark a resurgence in the telecoms and media sectors and open up a 550,000-ayear market.

Pictures are being beamed to GPRS or 2.5G phones capable of taking video feeds at a cost of 1 per day. The use of the current crop of phones for the broadcasts is expected to pave the way for the more powerful 3G models when they become popular.

The service is a collaboration between programme makers Endemol UK, Channel 4's interactive arm 4interactive and wireless streaming company Vemotion, a spinout of BT Exact. The show features a dozen individuals trying to stay awake for a week to win 100,000.

Tony Antoniou, chief executive of Vemotion, said: "The service went live on Sunday and it's working a treat." His firm has an agreement with Channel 4 to provide a similar service for other reality TV shows over the next year.

"In a sense this was a trial, but it will be promoted as a service on the next series of programmes. It runs beautifully on 2.5G which is a real triumph for the UK because it uses a compression technology called H264 developed by BT."

Vemotion is working on a system for in-car broadcasting and separate applications for use by the military and emergency services.

Analysts say sports events, soaps and audience-participation shows are the most likely entertainment applications.

"There is a huge potential," says Paolo Pescatori, mobile TV analyst for market researcher IDC, which has tested services involving sport and news.

Major suppliers will introduce new levels of additives at the K show in October. And in spite of the rising cost of the products, due to increasing raw material prices, suppliers are reporting upward demand for their process aids, flame retardants, stabilisers, plasticisers, nucleating agents and clarifiers.

Process aids

To meet the demands of masterbatch and resin manufacturers for higher productivity levels, DuPont Dow Elastomers introduced its Viton FreeFlow Z100 and Z200 fluoroelastomer process aids two years ago. These, together with the Engage polyolefin elastomers, which were also introduced two years ago, are enjoying unprecedented growth today.

Imagine a discourse between the arts in which the conventions of what we might call "ordinary" cognition do not apply, on a site of intense lobbying neither tethered by history or cultural integrity, nor, frequently, concerned with social cohesion or communicative norms. It will be a discourse in which the categories of an imperial culture are abrogated (however temporarily) by an "indigenous" one, yet it will undoubtedly also be a site of intense "colonization." On it, likewise, there will be an appropriation of language on an unprecedented scale. Past experience will play little part. Memory is short and episodic, rather than semantic. It is a primal discourse. Primal in that it is the site of first contact. Primal also in that it is most often considered to be the meeting of a primitive culture and an advanced. Primal, likewise, in a behavioral sense: in it, the satisfaction of physiological needs is tantamount. Indeed, body and mind here are in a state of kinetic unrest. This is a scene of prolonged immat urity, yet ontological and epistemological questions held in a private language are encouraged to be made public. Here the verbal arts have no canon. Literature has no prevailing cultural standard of merit. Questions of the popular and the high cultural are not naturalized and the fictional and nonfictional carry the same degree of verisimilitude as works of propaganda, rhetoric, and didacticism. In modem times, the West has become the site of this tenacious yet frequently unacknowledged imperial discourse, the discourse between multifarious forms of artistic representation to win the attention of children. It is in such a discourse that the picture book is located.

Arguing the need for a critical language for the discussion of children's picture books, Peter Hunt suggests that "to force pictures into the same mould as words seems to be potentially unproductive, except in terms of establishing conventions, when, of course, it is, by definition, necessary" (181). It is impossible, however, to conventionalize pictorial representation to the same degree as linguistic representation. Linguistic systems are mastered painstakingly, piece by piece, referent by referent, word by word. Pictorial systems, by contrast, are mastered all at once; they involve what Flint Schier has called "natural generativity" and are therefore much less conventional than linguistic systems. Each system, nevertheless, relies on general agreement and on a willingness to engage in communicative activity: the pictorial system on deep recognitional capacities that link object and its picture, the linguistic system on lexical and syntactical regularities and rules.

In the media-saturated culture of the contemporary West, the commonalities and differences of our separate but shared experiences are frequently offered up in a televisual or hypertextual format in which what Hunt describes as "force" is a set of discursive practices that address and interpellate both adults and children as potential viewers or listeners. The linguistic and the pictorial are frequently experienced as synergistic or polylogic systems bound up in this mass media, a media whose intention, according to Jean Baudrillard, is to transcribe the complexity of contemporary life into an ongoing procession of meaningless simulacra, a hyperreal, "a real without origin or reality" (2).

Baudrillard's disenchanted vision of postmodernity, articulated most profoundly in the late 1970s and 1980s, produced an interesting ontological metaphor. "Disneyland," he claimed, "is there to conceal the fact that it is the 'real' country, all of 'real' America, which is Disneyland (just as prisons are there to conceal the fact that it is the social, in its entirety, in its banal omnipresence, which is carceral). Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real, when in fact all of Los Angeles and the America surrounding it are no longer real, but of the order of the hyperreal and of simulation" (25). As Baudrillard's dystopic metaphor of America was offered up, somewhat questionably, as a metaphor appropriate for the entire West, it is worthwhile noting its prime rhetorical flaw. Simply, that Disneyland's aesthetic, its communicative philosophy, has a very specific cultural origin. It is constructed, not as Baudrillard intimates, in adulthood; rather, it is constructed within the realms of childhood.

Childhood is a construct of modernity. As Phillipe Aries argues, [...] the new sciences such as psycho-analysis, paediatrics and psychology devote themselves to the problems of childhood, and their findings are transmitted to parents by way of a mass of popular literature. Our world is obsessed by the physical, moral and sexual problems of childhood. [...] The preoccupation was unknown to medieval civilization, because there was no problem for the Middle Ages: as soon as he had been weaned, or soon after, the child became the natural companion of the adult.

The Net Election - are you ready?' asked Guardian Unlimited on its invitation to an Internet launch last week. I went along.

A gathering in a theatre where people from the worlds of the media and politics have come to discuss a Guardian/Observer political website is not a right-wing occasion. Not that the audience amounted to a conspiracy or even a community; but let us just say it had a flavour. The assembled company were not, as it were, hungry for the good news about William Hague.

The panel on stage were briskly chaired by the Guardian's political editor, Mike White. Mo Mowlam joined the senior analyst at Forrester Research, Caroline Sceats, and the chief of Newsweek's London bureau, Stryker McGuire. Alongside was James Cronin, co-founder of FaxYourMP.com. `loll the Internet alter the way people vote?' was the question.

There were short presentations from each of the panel. Questions were invited from the audience. The prospectus which the webmasters at www.guardian.co.uk/politics wanted us to to talk about could be summarised thus: that the means are now available, at little cost in time or money, for all interested citizens to gain almost immediate access to politicians, their news - and news and commentary about them - unmediated by the filter of editor, broadcaster or printing press. Unmediated access is the key. That was the possibility this audience of avowed democrats was to contemplate.

Nobody quite said so, but they were not at all sure they liked it.

Among the reasons for this, of course, will have been the usual self-interested ones. Ms Mowlam and others wondered how most Members with limited resources would be able to cope. A constituent seeking access to his or her MP has in the past been obliged to attend a 'surgery' - or at least write out a letter, address an envelope, pay for a stamp and walk to a postbox. Most of us have at one time or another considered writing to our MP, even formed the intention of doing so; but we don't get round to it. What if the task became the work of a moment? Too many people would try.

And journalists among the audience were, I suspect, conscious of a career interest in remaining the intermediaries between the politicians and the public. I had the distinct impression of a `ho-hum -- what have we here?' attitude towards the systematic provision of direct access to politicians. Where does that leave us journos? Is it not our job to tell the public what the politicians think? And it's surely our job to tell the politicians what the public thinks. When an MP wants to take the temperature of the mob, he looks at the Sun. The Daily Mail speaks for Middle England, while the Daily Telegraph will tell William Hague what the better sort of Tory thinks. Our journalistic role as go-between makes us interesting to both sides.

And we like to decide what is the news. Broadcasters especially do so. The news, as we know, lasts three minutes. Listeners and viewers cannot browse as readers can, and broadcast news must be a ruthless excluder of potential stories. By what they exclude, as well as by how they present what they include, news editors wield enormous power.

If the medium is the message, then do not expect the media to welcome our own removal from the exchange. We may feel about direct public access to politicians much as estate agents feel about `no middle-man' house sales on the Internet. We cast around for reasons why it would not be a good idea, wouldn't work, won't take off.

And perhaps it never will. I have no useful comment to add to the debate about whether we really are on the verge of an information revolution in politics. There do seem to be severe practical difficulties about the separation of wheat from chaff, about information-overload, about the verification of identity and about authenticity of voice. I do not overlook the difficulties. But this assembly of pre-eminently modern and progressive-minded democrats seemed to be clutching at them with a kind of desperation: the anxiety with which Roman Catholics seize on medical evidence that embryology may not deliver the breakthroughs for which scientists hope; the anxiety of those who hope to be rescued from arguing that something should not be done by the merciful arrival of reasons why it cannot be done.

But at that Guardian launch, I sensed that journalists, broadcasters and politicians are uneasy about the prospect of an unmediated meeting of politics and the people, for a reason beyond a selfish wish to avoid any disruption of our cosy careers. I sensed a fear of what real democracy would be like.

The Estonian ambassador in London (a former deputy prime minister of his country) put it this way to the panel: Estonia, he said, had experimented with websites on which every citizen could post his views. 'A problem,' he said, was that `people started to say some things which were not nice.'

Other contributors raised the danger that undesirable pressure-groups would find the Net an easy place to get bandwagons going. And, as discussion proceeded, I began to realise that what really concerned those present was not how politicians might use the Web to influence and explain, but how the electorate might do so. As one of the panel put it, the people might be gripped by a temporary mood of demanding something - without any requirement that they consider the longer-term costs of providing it. Another raised the difficulty, when expression of opinio

DMS is the UK's largest manufacturer of precision standardized mould components to both European and American standards, and market leader in mould supplies to the UK.

DMS is the UK's largest manufacturer of precision standardized mould components to both European and American standards, and market leader in mould supplies to the UK. With a total of 130 employees, sites include manufacturing and/or distribution in the UK and North America. DMS (UK) has ISO 9000 accreditation ad offers a comprehensive range of components for toolmakers, a complete hot runner service - from specification through to commissioning as well as consumables for moulders and diecasters.

2D and 3D machining of plates to 1400 x 1800 x 3tonne with additional pockets, bores, waterways, clamping slots, eye bolt holes are avalable as well as complete hot runner 'hot tops' and insulation board.

First time exhibitor at Interplas, precision toolmaker FSG Tool and Die took a stand, as part of the GTMA village, to promote the company's strengths in high-end plastic injection mould toolmaking.

First time exhibitor at Interplas, precision toolmaker FSG Tool and Die took a stand, as part of the GTMA village, to promote the company's strengths in high-end plastic injection mould toolmaking. The experience proved to be really worthwhile. FSG MD, Gareth Jenkins was enthusiastic; 'This was a fantastic show for us.

We met so many people that we almost lost count - it was certainly over 50 each day.

We have come away with 20 serious enquiries.

We have already quoted for 10 projects and arranged visits to our site for two different prospects on the Monday after the exhibition closed.

Altogether, it was a really worthwhile experience and money well spent.'

Steve Bell has joined Burcas as UK and European Sales Manager for the Paper and Printing Knife Division.

Steve Bell has joined Burcas as UK and European Sales Manager for the Paper and Printing Knife Division.

Steve's wealth of knowledge regarding paper guillotine blades and trimmer and sheeter knives, gained during 20 years in the Paper, Printing and Converting industries, will help him promote Burcas' special High Speed Steel and tungsten carbide knives to printers and paper-mills throughout Europe.

Steve will also be focussing on Burcas' unique Rent-a-Knife knife management system, which is already installed in companies throughout the UK, providing customers with a simple knife leasing option, including regrinds, and full traceability of knife-use.

Jason Wheeler has successfully completed his toolmaking apprenticeship at Pontypridd-based precision toolmaker FSG Tool and Die and is continuing his studies.

Jason Wheeler, 21, having successfully completed his toolmaking apprenticeship at Pontypridd-based precision toolmaker FSG Tool and Die, is continuing his studies by taking an HND in Mechanical Engineering at Bridgend College. Jason, who plays at Centre for Pontyclun RFC in his leisure time, has been at FSG for more than four years. At the conclusion of his apprenticeship, in August, he was promoted to the position of skilled toolmaker, working in the CNC Turning Section, where, according to Quality Manager and Skills Mentor, Ian Fletcher; 'he has fitted in really well and has become a highly valued member of staff.' Jason is the first FSG apprentice to continue on to HND, a significant commitment for the company, which is paying his fees without the benefit of any external support, and also for himself.

Jason's workload now includes eight hours of formal classes, including such topics as CAD, Quality, and Materials, in addition to significant home study.

However, Jason is fully committed to the course, saying 'I have always wanted to continue my education as far as possible, so I was determined to take this next step.'

Burcas, present at Interplas for the very first time, will be promoting its complete range of pelletizer and granulator cutters for the plastics industry.

Burcas, present at Interplas for the very first time, will be promoting its complete range of pelletizer and granulator cutters for the plastics industry. These razor-sharp precision cutters are manufactured from a variety of materials, including powdered steel, Stellite-tipped and Carbide-tipped. Burcas also manufactures the bed knives that the pelletizer cutters work with, and which are also manufactured from a variety of materials, including Tungsten Carbide-tipped.

Other Burcas services include: tool management systems, based on the KANBAN push-pull principle of stocking and web-based e-comerce stocking, allowing known customers to log on and order on-line form a range of stock items.

When moving production of ball-lock punches from machining centres to turning centres, AW Precision encountered a number of tooling problems - until it teamed up with ITC Tooling of Tamworth.

When moving production of ball-lock punches from machining centres to turning centres, AW Precision encountered a number of tooling problems - until it teamed up with ITC Tooling of Tamworth. Following numerous tooling trials with a multitude of suppliers; the Rugby based manufacturer of punches, dies, die-sets and press tool accessories for the automotive, pharmaceutical and confectionary industries has hit a sweet spot with ITC. A number of AW Precision's automotive customers use a ball lock system to enable press tool setters to quickly and efficiently click-out damaged punches and click-in a new one.

To guarantee the high speed steel punches do not slip out of the press tool during production or alternately become nigh on impossible to remove, the punches must be produced to extremely tight tolerances.

This tolerance is also important to maintain the punches position within the press tool and so avoiding the time consuming resetting of the tool once the punch has been changed.

With production of over 1,000 punches per week for this particular punch - production needed to be exceptionally reliable.

Moving production of the parts to the new Biglia fixed head turning centres, multinational manufacturer AW Precision conducted trials with a number of tooling suppliers.

The best performing tool managed to inconsistently produce up to 100 punches before breaking.

The company discussed the matter with ITC sales engineer Paul Ensor.

With its capability to tailor cutters to the exacting needs of the customer, it wasn't long before ITC found the optimum solution.

A European leader in press tool accessory manufacture; AW Precision produce a similar ball-lock form on nine different diameter punches.

Split between metric and imperial dimensions for the US and European markets the diameter range has very few standard dimensions.

This needed an equal amount of bespoke cutting tools to fulfil the needs of the application.

The key aspect was maintaining tight tolerances of less than +/-0.005mm whilst machining at angles.

The solution from ITC was in the cutter geometry.

Mr Ensor comments: 'Competitors would take a standard tool and grind it to the desired size; this method changes the cutter geometries resulting in breakages and poor tool life.

We at ITC manufacture cutters from blanks and this guarantees the correct tool geometry of the cutter.' Another issue that led to tool breakages was poor rigidity of cutting tools.

Combining poor tooling with a turning turret that inherently has less rigidity than a machining centre; the result was always going to be poor tool life.

The rigidity of the ITC range of cutters supplied to AW Precision has enhanced tool life and surface finish considerably.

The ITC solution of bespoke ball nosed cutters gave AW Precision the extremely accurate and reliable tool geometry required.

This combination now enables the customer to consistently produce 300 punches before changing the cutting tool.

ITC also provides the company with a re-grind service and this additional service makes the tooling a very cost effective exercise.

Turning team leader at AW Precision, Mr Ian Hartnack says: 'We had considerable trouble finding a reliable and consistently high performing cutting tool.

The ITC cutters overcame any performance problems we encountered and gave us peace of mind.

Now, the worn ITC tools are used for roughing operations whilst the new or re-ground tools are used for finishing operations.

With ITC being a UK manufacturer we are guaranteed an excellent turnaround for new and re-ground tools.' AW Precision's Works Director Graham Tranter concludes: 'We have invested heavily in the latest lights out manufacturing equipment and the importance of high quality tooling to support the machines cannot be overstated.

ITC tools have performed in many cases better than anything available in the market and we are very pleased with the products and service we receive.'

• ITC Tooling: contact details and other news

A toolmaker is retaliating in the face of increased competition from the Far East is to use cost effective standard parts and hot runner systems from injection mould tool specialist DMS-Diemould.

One of the ways that a Nottinghamshire toolmaker is retaliating in the face of increased competition from the Far East is to use cost effective standard parts and hot runner systems from injection mould tool specialist DMS-Diemould. Based at Kirkby-in-Ashfield, AL Tools was founded 27 years ago as a manufacturer of injection mould tools and die casting dies. Today the company employs 11 people and is ISO9002 accredited.

While AL Tools has used DMS standard mould tool ancillary parts such as plates, pins, pillars, bushes and ejector pins for many years, the transition to using DMS hot runner systems was only recent.

'We were looking for a really good UK-based service,' explains director Peter Riley, assistant to the managing director, 'and we appreciated the fact that the DMS hot runner systems were very competitively priced.' AL Tools now uses DMS for all of its standard part and hot runner requirements.

The latest example is an eight-impression mould tool with a hot runner system on the back that will produce closures for a rolled cardboard tube.

DMS will complete all the wiring and testing of the system on site and if required will attend first off tool trials.

Although this example is fairly small in size (cap diameter is 24mm), AL Tools can manufacture tools up to 7.5 tonnes for a diverse range of industries, including automotive and food.

'Apart from competitive prices, one of the principal benefits of using DMS is the service,' says Mr Riley.

'If one of our customers required a spare or replacement part, DMS will get the item in the post to us the same day, which is invaluable to companies like ours where lead-times are vital.

The market is really tough these days: because of Far East competition there are probably 30 per cent less opportunities than there were 10 years ago, which means we have to be as competitive as possible on both price and delivery if we are to progress.

Standard parts and hot runners from DMS have proved regularly to be one of the best ways of achieving some of our goals without compromising quality.'

Since its inception just 10 years ago, Paragon Precision Engineering has achieved impressive growth, today employing 23 people that help generate a turnover in the region of £1.7 million.

Since its inception just 10 years ago, Paragon Precision Engineering has achieved impressive growth, today employing 23 people that help generate a turnover in the region of £1.7 million. There are many reasons for the success of this Cambridgeshire-based subcontractor, not least the fact that the company has used milling cutters from ITC of Tamworth since day one. Paragon's speciality is the provision of CNC machining and sheet metalwork services for hi-tech manufacturing companies that make equipment for medical and scientific research.

Cambridge, just 11 miles south of Paragon's Ely facility has the largest cluster of hi-tech companies in the UK.

Paragon's prismatic machining capabilities are impressive and take centre stage at the core of the company's business.

Most of the machines are Haas models, including vertical, horizontal, twin pallet and high-speed variants.

All have full fourth-axis capability and all use ITC milling cutters.

'We've used ITC since the outset,' confirms managing director John Kent.

'It started simply because one of my co-directors knew Gary Bambrick, ITC's area sales manager, from a previous role.

However, over the past five years our use of ITC tooling has increased significantly, so much so that we now keep a reasonable amount of ITC cutters in stock on site.

We have tried other suppliers but we like the service we get from ITC along with the performance of the cutters.

The tool life and surface finish we achieve makes them very cost effective.' Paragon uses a wide range of ITC milling cutters including Cyber Series slot drills, end mills and ballnose cutters across materials that include steel, aluminium and plastic.

At the time of visit, many of these cutters were being put to work machining heatsinks for the telecommunications industry.

The company also deploys multi-flute cutters for stainless steel as well the 6011 multi-flute carbide end mills.

With its fast helix and square end straight shank, the 6011 Series is available in three different lengths.

The cutter is manufactured from ultra wear resistant micrograin carbide and comes with a TiALN coating for enhanced life and heat resistance.

The 6011 Series is designed for profiling steels up to 60HRc.

Typical batch sizes are 5-50 off but Paragon regularly processes orders up to 9000 off.

While the machine shop is manned for 12 hours a day, most of the machining centres are left to run overnight, hence confidence in cutting tool performance is paramount.

The company's large Haas VF8 and HS1 machines are frequently left unattended to make long sequences of complex cuts using up to 24 different tools.

Among the components that are processed regularly by Paragon, are parts for fibre-optic testing equipment, DNA testing machines, laser scanning devices, x-ray machines, bio-robotics, MP3 audio equipment and inkjet printers.

'We're really pleased with the ITC service,' continues Mr Kent.

'We can phone up for a cutter and it will arrive by post the next morning.

They are also very good when we require the occasional carbide special.

ITC are open and honest with us in the same way that we are with our customers.

Good relationships are vitally important for relatively young businesses like ours.' In fact, Paragon is so open that the company is quite happy for its customers to 'pop in' unannounced to see parts being manufactured - something that few subcontractors encourage.

'We haven't got anything to hide,£ concludes Mr Kent.

'We offer a complete manufacturing solution using high technology machinery and cost effective processes, in which our milling cutters from ITC play an integral role.'

Pontypridd-based precision toolmakers FSG Tool and Die, is now the proud possessor of a large 1300 x 700mm capacity, Proth surface grinding machine, successfully purchased at an internet auction.

Pontypridd-based precision toolmakers FSG Tool and Die, is now the proud possessor of a large 1300 x 700mm capacity, Proth surface grinding machine, successfully purchased at an internet auction. Operations Director, David Jones, takes up the story; 'We had never participated in an internet auction before, and I have to admit we went into it with a bit of trepidation. It is our policy for what we term our 'primary equipment' to purchase from new, but for support machines it sometimes makes economic sense to make exceptions.

In the case of the Proth we were looking to replace an existing machine, so we knew exactly what we wanted and had the space already allocated, so we made a judgment call, that, in this instance, the internet could offer a good purchasing method.' Having learnt that a suitable machine was for sale, FSG made enquiries both from the auctioneers and from other sources about its age and condition of the machine, before bidding.

It would have been possible to view the machine before the auction, but in this particular case the company did not think that was necessary as all reports were very favourable.

The auction process itself was very simple, with the winning bidders being informed by email within minutes of their success, after which they had one week to arrange collection of the machine.

In this case the auction house had its own logistics department which arranged for delivery and positioning of the machine at FSG's location - where it was hard at work grinding the next day.

Burcas manufactures a wide range specialised cutting products including thread mills, die sinkers, hollow mills, rotor blade cutters, step drills, step reamers and spline cutters.

Burcas manufactures a wide range specialised cutting products including thread mills, die sinkers, hollow mills, rotor blade cutters, step drills, step reamers and spline cutters, with the largest proportion of the special cutters division products being hacksaw / bandsaw milling cutters. These cutters are produced in particle metallurgy high speed steels in a wide variety of diameters and lengths according to the application and machine. Burcas cutters are utilised to machine all types of bandsaw forms including vari-pitch, hook and positive rake.

The company also produces hacksaw cutters that manufacture fretsaw blades with a pitch as fine as 120TPI.

The majority of cutters are produced with a spiral lead, but when the customer does not have the capability to regrind spirals Burcas interlocks the cutters enabling them to be set up with all cutting faces parallel for regrinding or staggered for cutting.

The company also interlocks spiral fluted cutters when the customer requires a length of cut greater than 330mm (13').

Burcas designs the cutting geometry of the cutter around the customer desired finish form and all cutters are verified by machining a test piece.