How e-commerce marketers can turn the current situation to their advantage

The COVID-19 pandemic has, without a doubt, altered the way we go about our lives. Companies too are trying to figure out ways to be in sync with the โ€˜new normalโ€™. E-commerce brands can view the current scenario as an opportunity, provided they are able to focus on few and important marketing mantras, that will help them survive through the crisis and thrive in the future. Here are some simple marketing mantras that can be followed.

Know your ability โ€“ Strategy

An alternate word for business strategy is Focus. Focus is about knowing oneself, in this case itโ€™s about knowing the ability of your business or brand that makes it attractive to consumers while also being profitable. Defining the areas of focus for a business is not easy. There are opportunities in many areas, and it requires a deep understanding of consumer needs and an honest assessment of the brandโ€™s ability to meet those needs to arrive at the areas of focus. It also means knowing what the business cannot do and the areas where it cannot win. In the current situation, it becomes even more imperative for brands or businesses to understand the area where they should play in and rationalize their portfolios accordingly. That will help in ensuring focus of the organisation towards the most important priorities that the business can deliver.

What do you offer? โ€“ Brand Building

Building a strong brand is of critical importance to any business, and itโ€™s no different in the current situation. Many companies tend to only invest in performance driven marketing and short-term measures like discounts and high levels of activity where an immediate impact is perceived. While these are needed, itโ€™s vital to continue building on the brand proposition to ensure the long-term health of the brand. A brand proposition is simply the benefits, functional and emotional, that a brand provides consumers. Identifying these benefits based on observations and insights from consumers and communicating them in an interesting way is critical to form strong and meaningful connections with consumers. Brands that will continue to focus on this in the current situation will also come out of it stronger.

Stretch while being rooted โ€“ Innovation

The common saying that modern problems require modern solutions is true. Consumers are constantly on the lookout for new products and services that are enhanced and cater better to their requirements. The pandemic has presented an opportunity as consumersโ€™ requirements are evolving, and brands can dedicate their resources to come up with creative solutions that serve these requirements, while still being rooted to the brand proposition mentioned above. For example, an e-commerce firm in the furniture space can launch home-office solutions, a consulting firm can offer remote-expert consultations online etc.

While these steps might seem to pose a challenge of choosing a medium to reach consumers, it is, in fact, quite simple. Gone are the days when television was the only way to let the consumers know about your product/service. With technology and digitisation, brands are now taking to social media where consumers spend most of their time. E-commerce shopping has significantly increased since the onset of the pandemic and adapting these mantras will give further boost to the boom.

From Period Poverty to Period Dignity

A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.

Sadly, in a country where 70% of reproductive diseases are caused by pitiable menstrual hygiene conditions, we’re still missing out on addressing the ‘period poverty’. Period poverty refers to the lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints. Lack of access to clean water, lack of toilets with doors, and difficulties disposing of used products are just some of the challenges that women face when trying to manage their periods in a private, safe and dignified manner. The inadequate access to menstrual products and education around hygiene had been a serious barrier in working towards menstrual equity. Period stigma is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality, cultural shame, internalized taboo and dogmatic religious practices that have made initiating a discourse on menstruation a catch-22. The most direct cause-cum-consequence of it is menstruation blood being strictly distinguished from other bodily fluids and being culturally portrayed as dirty, unclean and impure.

Another example of consequence of period stigma can be seen in the famous Ambubachi Mela which celebrates the menstrual time of Goddess Kamakhya where rice holds a huge significance denoted by dhan. However, itโ€™s accompanied by the absurd myth is that when a menstruating woman touches the rice container in her household, then she and her family faces the wrath of Goddess Lakshmi. It is believed that the influx of dhan or wealth gets negatively affected in that particular household. Us, women, live a life of irony don’t we? While Ambubachi signifies fertility and celebrates the child bearing capabilities of women, the ground reality of menstruating women portray a different tale altogether.

Itโ€™s unfortunate that even though weโ€™re living in todayโ€™s 21st century and everyone knows about it, no one is allowed to talk about it publicly. Films are being made on this, numerous campaigns are going on but the fact is that people still hesitate to utter this word in front of others looms large.

To add further to this paradoxical situation, sanitation facilities are unaffordable by most. Approximately 70 million people in India live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 dollars per day. Hence for low-income households, the cost of sanitary pads is often unattainable. An average of more than 40% of students in India resort to missing school while menstruating as a consequence of social stigma, isolation, embarrassment and inaccessibility of products. The instances of avoiding school are also ramification for the lack of proper sanitation facilities across the country.
Government has intervened to tackle this issue several times, but to no avail. In fact, in 2017, the Indian government had labelled menstrual products as luxury goods, but fortunately enough, in July of 2018, the Indian government removed the tax, to make the sanitary products more accessible to everyone. Other than this thereโ€™s the Janaushadhi Suvidha scheme which aims to provide women with oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins at a meagre cost of Rs. 2.50/pad across 3,600 Janaushadhi Kendras in the country.

The pandemic has made the situation even more challenging than it already was. Itโ€™s well known that the coronavirus outbreak is having a devastating impact on family finances all over the world, but now we see that girls and women are also facing widespread shortages and price hikes on period products, with the result that many are being forced to make do with whatever they can find to manage their period. This can pose a real threat to their health and may increase the risk of infection. Thus, is about time we realise that menstruation is just a biological process and the secrecy surrounding it must go. It is important to normalise and de-stigmatise menstruation, and destroy taboos around this natural process.

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Period. End of Sentence.

Sustainability: The Only Way Out

We can’t just consume our way to a more sustainable world…

When the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi decided to return back to his motherland from South Africa where he had gone as a lawyer for the Indian community, he called Kasturba and told her, ‘Letโ€™s distribute these gifts among the impecunious and needy people.โ€™ Kasturba, befuddled, replied, ‘But these gifts have been given to you by the very same people. To this Mahatma Gandhi answered, โ€˜They gave it to me out of love , but I don’t need it.’ This man spent his whole life the basis of needs, that too reduced.

This is also what he had preached in context of sustainability, ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed’. This is proved by a research conducted in the 80s which indicates that if the world’s population is multiplied by 4, there still would be enough for everyone provided that our life is confined to our needs and not greed. Keeping this in mind, it’s vital to understand that the distribution of development in our country isn’t horse to horse. The current model of development has created more problems and solved less. The irrational methods of production, consumption and distribution has created a huge gap between the haves and have-nots. If the benefits of development doesn’t reach to all the people then how can we call it development? So it’s logical and rather exigent to question ourselves whether the type of development we pursue creates, reinforces and perpetuates this crises. If the answer is yes, then it’s the eleventh hour for us to altercate our policies and consciously design a thorough plan development that by every means is sustainable.

We can recall an advertisement where a school going youngin expresses his wish of becoming a cycle mechanic to his father reasoning it with the fact that if we are ever so careless with the precious resources we possess, it wouldn’t even last until he’s grown up. The father in the same advertisement shows sensitivity and awareness towards his son’s words and turns off the car stuck in the traffic . But what if he hadn’t, what if WE don’t, donโ€™t what would lie in our future? Perhaps something like this ‘The street is carpeted in the same dusty powder that is in my hair and clothes. Homes trajectory the street like broken teeth, falling down impetuously as if they were bombed. Yet the most sumptuous thing to happen here in the past twenty years is the ever hotter summers and wind that howls across the landscape unhindered by trees. Graffiti still shows red and blue through the dust, tags from people who fled north with the dying rains, all childish rebellions long blotted out. How all this trauma aged us. Adolescents could be ninety in those teenage bones. One wouldn’t come here if it weren’t for the resources we now need, stuff that could be lying relinquished behind these sunbaked walls. I would shout to shock this place with the exuberance of life, but then I would have to breath this foul air in more deeply and I don’t know how much this old hospital mask will filter.”

The child symbolizes the future generation and the father represents the present generation. As parents we all are concerned about our children’s future. After all we want it to be safe, secure and prosperous. But do we really? The answer is a big no. You need not ask me โ€˜whyโ€™. Let us ask ourselves what are we leaving for our children โ€“ toxic air, water and soil. This translates to the fact that whatever they will inhale , drink and eat is TOXIC. This again leaves us with a question – Are we responsible parents or citizens? No matter how harsh this dreadful imagination may sound, it has the potential to transform into reality if we aren’t cautious enough. We are setting up the future generation for a dark future. Can we reverse the trend, repair the damage and change it for the better? The answer is yes. The solution is Sustainable Development which is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

But this leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Whose โ€œneeds of the presentโ€ is this referring to? The needs of a family of four in a United States suburb are quite different than those of a similar sized family in sub-Saharan Africa. And regarding the needs of future generations, a world in 2100 is drastically different than our current world . Figuring out how to meet our needs while simultaneously considering the uncharted territory of such a large future population is a massive undertaking. Most importantly this definition doesnโ€™t tell us what sustainability actually looks like in practice. How can we motivate people to move toward more sustainable lifestyles if they canโ€™t envision what theyโ€™re moving toward?
Further complicating the topic of sustainability are the myriad aliases it operates under โ€” sustainable development, resilience, sustainable entrepreneurship, Triple Bottom Line, corporate social responsibility, etc.
That’s why, perhaps itโ€™s more efficacious to break the issue into smaller, more manageable knobs than to speak of sustainability in grand pronouncements .To that end, here are four suggestions to help advance the โ€œglobal sustainabilityโ€ narrative.

1. Break sustainability down by sector

When throwing around phrases such as โ€œbuilding a sustainable future,โ€ itโ€™s critical to identify the sector youโ€™re talking about. The sustainability of the transportation sector obviously presents a different range of challenges and opportunities than, say, the sustainability of global agriculture. And if one becomes more sustainable while the other becomes less sustainable, are we truly moving toward a more sustainable future overall? Even within sectors there are challenges. If your goal is to create a more sustainable energy system, does that mean reducing carbon emissions โ€” thus including nuclear energy โ€” or are you referring to โ€œcleanโ€ sources of renewable energy such as solar and wind? Once again, details matter greatly.

2. Speak in specifics

Ask a hundred people if theyโ€™re interested in living in a โ€œmore sustainable worldโ€ and I bet the vast majority would respond, โ€œYes.โ€ The trouble is, theyโ€™d probably all have a different idea in their heads of what that meant. We need to start talking about a sustainable future in specifics. Sustainability over what time frame? Where? For whom? Which brings me to my next pointโ€ฆ

3. Clearly identify who benefits

We need to clarify who benefits from sustainability efforts. For example, does sustainable apparel benefit someone making dollars a day? If so, explain how. Does sustainable energy help the millions living without access to electricity? Are we talking about sustainability for humans, animals, plants and/or other natural systems? If humans are living โ€œmore sustainable lifestylesโ€ while the extinction rate for plants and animals continues its upward trajectory, can we call that a success?

4. Paint a picture

What does sustainability look like in practice? How does it actually work? Whatโ€™s different from the world we live in today? And, perhaps most importantly, what are the trade-offs? Walking and biking might be the most sustainable forms of transportation, but theyโ€™re probably not the most time efficient if you need to drive 10 miles across town for work or an appointment. No matter how different we want the future to be, we canโ€™t simply ignore the way people actually live today. We cannot simply wish for a world we want.

It’s also imperative to comprehend that sustainable development does not mean a return to a preindustrial or pre-technological era. It calls for perpetuated economic growth and for business and industry to play a pivotal role in achieving sustainable livelihoods for all peopleโ€“alleviating poverty and improving living standards while maintaining the integrity of the global environment. But the process has been hindered by a conceptual obstacle: the belief that economic progress and environmental protection are mutually antagonistic goals. This thinking originated with the industrial revolution and achieved its fullest realization in the decades of unprecedented growth following World War II, when innovation produced such high-tech items as computer chips and satellites, new and quicker modes of transport, agricultural green revolution, etc. However, this only served to reinforce a belief in the virtues of unbridled industrial development, even at the expense of the environment. Balance is essential between development and environment changes in global climate patterns, deforestation, species loss, air and water pollution, ozone depletion and toxic waste disposal, all indicate the urgent need for sustainable practices. The crisis is global. So everyone rich or poor , developed or underdeveloped have to make painful choices in the name of mutual security in order to meet the goals of sustainable development.

Sustainable development is the need of the present time not only for the survival of mankind but also for itโ€™s future protection. Unlike the other great revolutions in human history like the Green Revolution and the Industrial Revolution; the โ€˜sustainable revolutionโ€™ will have to take place rapidly, consciously and on many different levels and in many different spheres, simultaneously.

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Sustainability

Insanity As A Defence In A Crime

The defence of insanity is mainly used in criminal prosecutions. For an offence to be called as a crime two essentials have to be satisfied i.e. actus rea and mens rea. โ€œActus Reaโ€ is the physical act and โ€œmens reaโ€ is the mental intention to do the crime, only if both are present it constitutes a crime. Therefore the โ€œInsanity Defenceโ€ is used by the defendants to get away with the โ€œmens reaโ€ part of a crime by assuming that the person who committed the crime was having a mental illness or was mentally incapable of understanding their actions during the time of commission of the crime or was of an unsound mind. The defence of insanity in the Indian judicial system is stated under the section 84 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. It is given under the heading โ€œAct of a person of unsound mindโ€ and this can be used as a defence only if three conditions are fulfilled, they are:

  • That the person was incapable of knowing the nature of the act,
  • That the person was incapable of knowing that his/her act was wrong,
  • That the person did not know that what he/she was doing is contrary to law.

There are two legal maxims which make us understand the fundamental principle stated in section 84 of the IPC and they are: 

Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea which means that nothing is a wrong unless it is done with a guilty intention.

Furiosi nulla voluntas est which means that a person with mental illness has no free will and therefore they can do no wrong.

There is no liability formed on the person who is said to have no โ€œmens reaโ€ or a guilty intention, hence they are declared innocent, but this is not as easy as it seems to prove it. Cause one may prove medical insanity but proving legal insanity is quite difficult. Know you may ask what is the difference between the both, in simple terms medical insanity is simply a person suffering from a mental illness so itโ€™s more of a psychological aspect but legal insanity is when a person is very mentally ill that he /she could not understand their actions during commission of the crime, so if the person was knowing what they were doing during the crime but was mentally ill in other times still he will charged for the crime and be held liable (Anosognosia). There are different types of insanity they are permanent insanity and temporary insanity. In the first one they are considered insane at all times but in the second one the person is not always insane; they are sane at times. The โ€œburden of proofโ€ always lies on the accused and they have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that during commission of the crime they were โ€œlegally insaneโ€.

The psychiatrist opinion also plays an important role in the decision given by the court. Hence, punishing a person who is not responsible is a violation of basic human rights under the Constitution of India. There is a saying that โ€œRather leave the crime of the guilty unpunished than condemn the innocent.โ€ Some positive effects of this defence are death penalty is not given to the insane person as they cannot understand the gravity of the situation, this acts as a relief to the mentally challenged people as this defence moreover save their life as they are considered to have a childโ€™s state of mind and punishing a child is against our ethics and morals.

On the other side is the defence of insanity acting like a loophole in law or being misused by the โ€œadvantagedโ€ people, say people who are really wealthy enough to bribe the authorities in getting a fake medical certificate or getting false proof, or people who take the help of people who have big backgrounds like politicians or celebrities and so on, or if the lawyer is very intelligent enough to prove it even though the accused is of sane mind. Anything can happen in the present world of misbelief and in the โ€œnothing is impossible in this worldโ€. Seeing the loopholes of this defences it is abolished in some jurisdictions.Some other negative aspects of this defence are that it is very difficult to prove, and it can lead to high and increased trial costs. The insanity defence is a loophole for criminals as it is one of the popular used weapons which is used a defence to escape from any crime, as it is almost next to impossible to prove the mental state of the person during the commission of the crime. 

At a conclusion my opinion is  is that โ€œNO CRIMINAL SHALL BE LEFT UNPUNISHEDโ€, to achieve that we have to make our laws stricter and more specific and make sure such matters are governed in a very clean and transparent manner without scope for misuse or misleading the eyes of law. There is always good and bad to everything, but we should be capable and efficient enough to  make the bad perspects good.

The Problem with Online Activism Today

We live in times of great political and economic turmoil. Questions that have been pushed back till now are being asked on public platforms and many are unable to answer. There is also the rise of alternate ideologies, identities, and other categories which are challenging traditions and cultures, and rightly so.ย  An intrinsic part of our current culture is activism and social media engagement with issues in the world. Problems such as discrimination, violence, and abuse are talked about greatly and much needed debates held, often in the comments section of posts. While there is meaningful engagement, many activist pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are littered with comments of vitriolic language, multiple opinions, and yelling. While discussions are useful, one has to stop and wonder whether this is the best to go about bringing change.

Most of the social media today is usually seen protesting or talking about an issue. Posts are shared and people are called out. But we have to be mindful that it does not lead to a kind of elitism where only those who are educated in the โ€˜wokeโ€™ culture can speak. There has to be respectful space for dissent and dialogue that is inclusive of even opposing views. It is saddening that there is an increasing group of people who limit their activism to what they do online. We tend to become comfortable once we have posted something on a public platform and wait for approval from others. We shape our words in such a way that it will have a lot of impact or even invite debate. Once we have a debate going, it is often the sensational value of it rather than what is being said that is the focus. And this approach might be detrimental to true engagement. Such online activism also allows many to feel like they are actually doing something to change the status of things in the real world. This doesnโ€™t mean that raising awareness online or speaking about it is unnecessary or useless but also shows that if our activism ends after posting something and ranting about it, we have changed nothing. It is a mechanism to gain emotional satisfaction especially in a culture that is oriented towards getting things done quickly and seeking instant gratification. Actually engaging on the ground is a messy affair and requires patience, perseverance, ability to listen, and also to accommodate. But we do not like those things and it is much more convenient to talk about discrimination sitting on our couches typing on our high-end laptop while watching Netflix. This is to be expected with the virtual world indulgence that we have but we need to realize that just because we enjoy something or think something is good does not mean that it is good.

A desire to change things is necessary and essential. But when we live in a culture geared towards justice but often becoming hateful in the process, unless we are able to see beyond our own opinions, look for objective frames of reference, and listen to those who have been systemically discriminated against, and then get onto practicing what we say in real life, no amount of sharing posts or shouting will change much. We have to learn to respond intelligently, with love and concern, rather than react spontaneously with anger and then stop with that. Unless we learn to do that, no matter how wronged we feel, the ultimate result of our campaign wouldnโ€™t be effecting change but creating another kind of exclusivity which might not solve the problem at all.

India- Nepal relationship in the diplomatic level.

Recently, Nepal has banned all the TV news channels of India except the Doordarshan stating that it will not allow any foreign TV channels that assassin the character of its leaders.We have seen how the kalapani dispute has soften the relation between the two neighbor countries in the diplomatic level. India enjoys the civilizational and cultural relation with Nepal from many years. Any Bilateral relation set on the foundation of soft power treats both the partners as equal irrespective of their size and the influence. India has given soft power higher priority , so setting up strong trade and economic relations.

Over the last 30 year’s India’s soft power influence in Nepal has come under threat due to internal political instability and by the external players such as Pakistan and China.India’s relation is primarily built on three main pillars – Religious connect built by Hinduism and Buddhism , Link of Madhesi – Terai belt with UP and Bihar , Influence of Bollywood and Indian Television. But over the past 30 years there has been rising Anti-India sentiments .Nepal has always alleged that India has excessively interfered in the internal affairs right from the days of Nepal Monarchy.In civil war ,India was accused of taking Maoists sides and interfered in the transition of democracy through taking a political side at the time of Constitution framing.There has always been few political elements who have opposed in the India’s involvement in Nepal and these sentiments have been exploited by external players such as Pakistan and China leading to the significant surge in anti India sentiments.This sentiments has led to the decrease in soft power influence in Nepal take for Example Lumbini project which India was looking to develop was handed over to the chinese .

Since Buddhism has share a strong cultural connection between South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia , Indian diplomacy has always tried to exploit this connection by developing all the buddhism sites under the Buddhist circuit project but the project was taken over by china .China’s interest in Nepal can be explained to counter Indian influence in Nepal and also to monitor the Tibetian refugees who are present in large number in Nepal. Over the last few years China has bought massive investment in construction of Nepal’s -Road, Rail, Hydro power plant, Internet and Telecom sector. Apart from these hard investments, China is also looking for soft power influence by promoting the Mandarian language in Nepali schools. So overall a combination of Indian mistakes, Political instability and External players have contributed to the decline in soft power influence of India in Nepal.

Mental Health: during Covid-19

As we all are aware about the current situation, dealing with this pandemic is the biggest challenge for all the Nations. Corona virus causing death to thousands of people. So many people are suffering from this decease and large number of infected persons are increasing day by day. Due to Nation-wide Lockdown people are locked in thier houses only can go out for essential services, watching News channel, reading articles about Covid-19 causing anxiety, fear and stress among the people, India and other countries facing economic instability and many losing their jobs increasing unemployment and daily wage workers are facing difficulties for living and worried about getting work and how to feed thier families. Doctors are working overtime to provide treatment to more and more patients, people are running hospitals to hospital to admit patients.

Number of Corona infected patients increasing day by day
Daily wage workers worried about thier future

The environment around us is very stressful and negative, but people should try to fill themselves with positivity and hope for better future. Take breaks from news and information related to Covid-19 excercise and meditate. Let’s foucus on building our immunity stronger and eat healthy. listening music or pursue some hobbies all should try to be happy and stress-free.

The UN has urged the governments around the world to take the mental health consequences very seriously, and ensure widespread availability of mental health support. WHO has published guidelines for the communities regarding this issue, because mental health matters. In this difficult time do not lose hope,We will fight, we will win.

One Nation One Law

India is an ancient civilization governed by customs and traditions. Sometimes, it is called the museum of various religions, castes, cultures and ethnic groups. If we go down the ancient period we find that India was governed only geographically and not politically. Religion played an important role in the political life of the nation and it also acted as a guide for the ruler and the ruled. Hence the law enacted at that time formed part and parcel of the religion. However, with the advent of the British rule, our nation entered the phase of modern history. The British brought new thoughts like, western education, idea of secularism, a constitution containing the rules and regulations for the people and the government, political institutions like parliament and the political thoughts like Democracy; Supremacy of the Constitution, Liberty, Equality, Justice Rule of law, etc. They formulated Indian Penal Code, i.e., codifying criminal laws in 1860. Thus, it was the first attempt to cover all the citizens of India under one law. But the civil sphere of life of all the people was left untouched. As a result of these developments a wave of nationalism arose in the minds of the people of India and with the enactment of various legislation like Government of India Act, 1935, India for the first time became a nation politically. With freedom in 1947 and enactment of the Constitution in 1950, India was born as a nation and the Constitution, the supreme law, occupied a supreme position in the political life of this nation.

Based on the ideals like Equality, Rule of law, Justice, Liberty, etc., our Constitution made enough provisions to uphold these ideals. It is the duty of the government to enact legislation based on these principles. By keeping this in mind criminal law is made applicable to all citizens of India irrespective of race, religion, caste or sex. But considering the vast diversities in India and the ambiguous condition prevailing at the time of Independence and the communal tension rife in our country, no Uniform Civil Code for all the citizens was made.

Uniform Civil Code

Article 44, makes it an obligation on the State to promote a uniform civil code to all citizens throughout the territory of India. Uniform civil code is a set of law proposal which will replace all the lawsโ€”personal laws governing institutions like marriage, divorce, inheritance of property, etc., based on religious faith.

M.C. Chagla former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court observed that, โ€œArticle 44 is a mandatory provision binding on the government. The Constitution was enacted for the whole country, it is binding on the whole country and every section and community must accept its provisions and directives.โ€

The Supreme Court suggested in favour of Uniform Civil Code through many judicial precedence. Some of them are:

Mohammad Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum mainly known as Shah Bano Case. In this case in 1985, Shah Bano moved to Supreme Court for seeking maintenance under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when her husband divorced her after 40 years of marriage by giving triple talaq and denied her regular maintenance. The Supreme Court gave verdict in favour of Shah Bano by applying section 125 of Indian Criminal Code and it is applied to all citizens irrespective of religion. Then Chief Justice, Y.V Chandrachud, observed that a Common Civil Code would help the cause of national integration by removing disparate loyalties to law. And so, the court directed Parliament to frame a UCC.

The second instance in which the Supreme Court again directed the government under Article 44 was Sarla Mudgal case. In this case Sarla Mudgal v Union of India, the question was whether a Hindu husband, married under the Hindu law, by embracing Islam can solemnize second marriage. The Supreme Court held that adopting Islam for a second marriage is an abuse of Personal laws. Further said that Hindu marriage can be dissolved under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 i.e. mere by converting itself in to Islam and marry again does not dissolve the marriage under Hindu Marriage Law and thus will be an offence under Section 494[5] of the Indian Penal Code.

In John Vallamattom v. Union of India, the Priest from Kerala, John Vallamatton filed a writ petition in the year 1997 stating that Section 118 of the Indian Succession Act was discriminatory against the Christians as it imposes unreasonable restrictions on their donation of property for religious or charitable purpose by will. The bench comprising of Chief Justice of India V.V Khare, Justice S.B Sinha and Justice A.R. Lakshamanan struck down the Section declaring it to be unconstitutional. Further Khare stated that;

โ€œArticle 44 provides that the State shall endeavour to secure for all citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India. It is a matter of great regrets that Article 44 of the Constitution has not been given effect to. Parliament is still to step in for framing a common civil code in the country. A Common Civil Code will help the cause of national integration by removing the contradictions based on ideologiesโ€.

Need for a Uniform Civil Code

The need for a uniform civil code is promoted on the following reasons mentioned below:

  •  Firstly, India being a secular republic needs to progressive and must have a common law for all citizens. To have different rules based on religion is against the principle of equality. In fact, the fundamental rights have sought to reform many religious practices that were found to against the progress of the nation.
  • Secondly, a uniform civil code helps to check the caste and religion-based politics. India has shown remarkable progress in the economic front but the social progress is hampered by the anachronistic religion-based traditions and personal laws. In the social-cultural respect, Indian society remains at a midpointโ€”neither a modern nor a traditional society.
  • Thirdly, the existence of the personal laws keeps the nation divided in many respects and retards the nation-building activity.
  • Fourthly, the promotion of gender justice demands a uniform civil code. Indian society is primarily a patriarchal society ridden by age-old traditions that promotes unfair unequal treatment of women. The constitution declares the resolve of the people to guarantee equal rights to women, which accelerates the need for a uniform civil code.
  • Fifthly, the existence of various personal laws has been a loophole which is effectively exploited by the dominant and elite social class. For instance, the alternate judicial systems in rural India and the practices like honour killings are supported by the absence of the uniform civil code.
  • Sixth, vote bank politics can be reduced by a uniform civil code. When all religions are brought under a single set of laws, the opportunity to offer benefits to certain religious denominations, especially the minorities, for garnering their vote will be reduced.

On the above grounds, there have been demands to make uniform civil code and implement in the past. At present, Goa is the only State in India to have a common civil code, also known as the Goa Family Law. The demand had always resulted in heated arguments for and against having the code. This had been a most debated provision even in the constituent assembly. However, the founding fathers have deliberately provided it as an unenforceable directive.

Uniform Civil Code: Why an Unenforceable Directive?

Uniform civil code aims at securing โ€˜harmony through uniformityโ€™ is an undeniable truth. But making it a compulsory provision would result in a sort of regimentation of the civil code which will result in โ€˜discontent or dissatisfactionโ€™.

Similarly, the Supreme Court has also ruled that although uniform civil code for all persons may be desirable, its enactment in one go may be counterproductive to the unity and integrity of the nation. Progressive changes must be brought gradually because social change is a slow process. The legislature must make or amend the existing law where there is an acute necessity.

To make all laws to be uniformly applicable to all people in one go would be inexpedient and incorrect.

India being a pluralist society, people have different faiths and the tenets propounded by their religious faiths are multifarious. It is indeed a challenge to achieve unity among the people professing different religious faiths, born in different castes, creeds or sub-sections in the society, speaking different languages and dialects in different regions and provided a secular constitution. Supreme Court, in Pannalal Bansilal versus state of Andhra Pradesh, observed that,

“The directive principles of the constitution themselves visualize diversity and attempt to foster uniformity among people of different faiths.”

The orthodox section among the minorities such as Muslims feels that the Uniform civil code will adversely affect their identity. The issue has been sensationalized by the media which brought the debate from the need for uniform civil code to the divinity of personal law. Consequently, the demand for Uniform Civil Code is regarded as identity politics and viewed negatively.

Section 73A of Indian Evidence Act

This section comes under Part II of Chapter V of documentary evidence, here how execution of proof is done is to be shown. If a document is required by law to be attested, it shall not be used as evidence until one attesting witness at least has been called for the purpose of proving its execution, if there be an attesting witness alive, and subject to the process of the Court and capable of giving evidence: Provided that it shall not be necessary to call an attesting witness in proof of the execution of any document, not being a Will, which has been registered in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), unless its execution by the person by whom it purports to have been executed is specifically denied[1].

Now in section 73 of Indian Evidence Act it is stated โ€“

Comparison of signature, writing or seal with others admitted or proved.

 In order to ascertain whether a signature, writing or seal is that of the person by whom it purports to have been written or made, any signature, writing, or seal admitted or proved to the satisfaction of the Court to have been written or made by that person may be compared with the one which is to be proved, although that signature, writing, or seal has not been produced or proved for any other purpose. The Court may direct any person present in Court to write any words or figures for the purpose of enabling the Court to compare the words or figures so written with any words or figures alleged to have been written by such person

73A. Proof as to verification of digital signature:

In order to ascertain whether a digital signature is that of the person by whom it purports to have been affixed, the Court may directโ€”

(a) That person or the Controller or the Certifying Authority to produce the Digital Signature Certificate;

(b) Any other person to apply the public key listed in the Digital Signature Certificate and verify the digital signature purported to have been affixed by that person.

For the purposes of this section, โ€œControllerโ€ means the Controller appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Comments:

Whenever there is doubt of signature, seal or writing before the court this section 73 of Indian Evidence Act will be applicable. According to this this, court can match or compare the disputed signature, seal or writing with undisputed signature, seal or writing which have been submitted to the satisfaction of court. In this it provides for a straight method of comparison of disputed writing, signature or finger impression, in deciding unresolved matter whether a particular signature, writing or seal of a particular person by whom it purports to have been written or made, the court can compare the same with other signatures, seal or writing which have been already submitted or proved to be the same ( i.e. writing or signature or seal) of that person. โ€œIt is necessary that the writing to be used as a standard should be properly proved to the satisfaction of the judge to be the handwriting of the person concernedโ€. In this situation the rule of prudence is that the comparison of signature by courts as a mode of ascertaining the truth should be used with great care and caution.

This section contains two parts. The first one provides with the comparison of writing, signature, figure etc. purporting to have been written or made by a person with other admitted or proved signature, writing, figure etc. by the court to have been written signed or made by the same person. Second part here empowers the court to order the person to appear before it and to give his specimen signature or writing for the purpose of evaluating the disputed signature, writing, figure etc. and to see that it matches or not.

Here according to Supreme court it is clear that such comparison made by a handwriting expert or by one with the handwriting of the person concerned or by the courts direction. Here the court should not be in hurry it should slowdown in making comparison itself. It should take the proper aid of any writing expert. As both plaintiff defendant has not taken steps to secure the opinion of handwriting expert as such the court has the discretionary power to compare disputed signature with the undisputed signature.

It is equally important to take note of the sentence โ€œfor the purpose of enabling the court to compareโ€ found in the second part of Section 73. In this regard the Supreme Court held that the language of Section 73 does not permit a court to give a direction to the accused to give specimen writings for anticipated necessity for comparison in a proceeding which may later be instituted in the court. Section 73 cannot be made use of for collecting specimen writing during investigation and recourse to it can be had only when the court before which the enquiry or trial of proceeding is pending requires the writings for the purpose of enabling it for comparison.

In case of determination of finger impression the court is required to make a thorough study, if necessary with the assistance of counsel, to ascertain the characteristic, similarities and dissimilarities of such finger impression. The court should avoid reaching conclusions based on a mere casual or routing glance or perusal. There are methods of proving writing such as, with the help of expert who can prove handwriting and signature under section 45 of the Evidence Act, With the help of other person who is acquainted with the handwriting of the person alleged to have signed or written the document and by calling and examining the writer himself and his admission.

In 73A again to proof the digital signature the court will tell certifying authority to produce its digital signature certificate in court or else, apply by other method and then compare it accordingly. Here is digital signature certificate comes under IT Act.


[1] Section 73A of Indian Evidence Act

Whatโ€™s Going to Happen Next: Speculations and Rumours about MS Dhoni

The most successful captain, finisher and wicket keeper, all said, and very well said. MS Dhoni has been on the forefront of Indian cricket for quite sometime now. The legendary keeper batsman is one of the few captains to achieve such success at international level or letโ€™s say he is the only one till now. What not the Indian legend has won, the 50 over world cup, T20 world cup as well as the Champions Trophy. He was the one who even took India to the number 1 ranking in the test format. But as the game goes on, so does the players form and their age. Mahi has turned 39 this year and many believe this might be the last year of his international career. And the rumours are getting stronger and stronger since Mahi hasnโ€™t appeared in any international game since the 2019 World Cup semifinal game against the Kiwis.

Mahi was all set to return to playing competitive cricket as the IPL was scheduled from 29th March, 2020. But as is very well said, everything doesnโ€™t go according to plan. Thatโ€™s what happened in the case of Mahi, as his planned return to competitive cricket was stopped by the outbreak of coronavirus in the world. All sporting events from across disciplines have been cancelled and the IPL has been postponed till any further notice. Also, the coronavirus threat is looming upon the scheduled World T20, 2020 to be held in Australia which supposedly was going to be Mahiโ€™s last world cup event in his illustrious career.

But with the sporting calendar most likely to be postponed for the rest of the year, future of Indiaโ€™s most successful captain is under scanner again. So, now we would analyse various aspects which would help us know if Mahi could be part of Indiaโ€™s world T20 squad if it is postponed for 1 year. Mahi hasnโ€™t played competitive cricket for almost 1 year now. And his replacement still hasnโ€™t been found in the Indian team. The Indian team gave chances to Rishab Pant but the young dasher from Delhi hasnโ€™t performed up to the standard expected from him. But when KL Rahul was given the role of a keeper batsman in the team, the youngster from Karnataka has impressed one and all with his performances in India as well as overseas. So, if India go with youth over experience for the T20 World Cup, looking at the next 2023 World Cup to be held in India. So, below I would be listing the possible wicket keeping options for India ahead of the T20 World Cup:

The above fig. clearly points out the fact that India would be having around 4 wicket keeping choices to go with. Looking at the type of format, wicket keeper is an essential part of the team as he provides the balance needed to the team. As of now, the most likely to go for the world cup is KL Rahul but he can play in the team as a specialist batsman also. So, there is a three-way race for the remaining spot. The selectors now have to choose whom to go with, be it the experience of MS Dhoni or the youngster from Delhi. Dinesh Karthik comes into the picture only if he has a good IPL with KKR as he has helped India always with his batting as well as his wicket keeping skills. Remember the Nidhas trophy final, how can any Indian forget that innings. So, will the Indian management go for Dhoni or not?

Dhoniโ€™s fitness level isnโ€™t a question at all, the Indian legend is fit as ever and not even a youngster can challenge him at this moment in relation to his fitness. The concerning point is his form with the bat which has dipped a little bit over the years. But it canโ€™t be the only factor dependent upon his selection. If Mahi performs extremely well in the IPL if it happens, then the doors are clearly open for him in the T20 World cup team. But the problem is if the IPL is cancelled this year and the T20 World Cup goes on as scheduled, will the Indian team management take the risk of including Mahi in the team as he hasnโ€™t played professional cricket for over a year now. This is the question the team management has to answer and answer fast as the T20 World Cup is approaching.

No doubt that MS Dhoni is a legend of the game but has the time come that MS Dhoni bids farewell to the game or is cricket still left in him? This is the question everybody is waiting to get an answer and only MSD has the answer to all these questions but the speculations would continue on and on.

No child left behind

Theย No Child Left Behind Act of 2002ย (NCLB) was a U.S.ย Act of Congressย that reauthorized theย Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it includedย Title Iย provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supportedย standards-based education reformย based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels.


Legislative history

It was coauthored by Representativesย JohnBoehnerย (R-OH),ย George Millerย (D-CA), and Senatorsย Ted Kennedyย (D-MA) andย Judd Greggย (R-NH). Theย United States House of Representativesย passed the bill on December 13, 2001 (voting 381โ€“41), and theย United States Senateย passed it on December 18, 2001 (voting 87โ€“10).ย President Bush signed it into law on January 8, 2002.

Replacement

On April 30, 2015, a bill was introduced to Congress to replace the No Child Left Behind Act, theย Every Student Succeeds Act, which was passed by the House on December 2 and the Senate on December 9, before being signed into law by President Obama on December 10, 2015. This bill affords states more flexibility in regards to setting their own respective standards for measuring school as well as student performance.

The major focus of No Child Left Behind is to close student achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. The U.S. Department of Education emphasizes four pillars within the bill:

  • Accountability: to ensure those students who are disadvantaged, achieve academic proficiency.
  • Flexibility: Allows school districts flexibility in how they use federal education funds to improve student achievement.
  • Research-based education: Emphasizes educational programs and practices that have been proven effective through scientific research.
  • Parent options: Increases the choices available to the parents of students attending Title I schools.

Pros and Cons of NCLB for Students With Learning and Thinking Differences

On the positive side, NCLB led to inclusion. Before NCLB, many schools didnโ€™t measure the progress of students with learning and thinking differences. These students were often shut out of the general education curriculum and left out of state tests.

NCLB also set the expectation that struggling students learn alongside their peers. By making schools report their results by subgroup, NCLB shined a light on students receiving special education services. Schools were pushed to give struggling students more attention, support and help.

And they did. The graduation rate for students with specific learning disabilities increased from 57 percent in 2002 to 68 percent in 2011.

On the negative side, some say that NCLB focused too much on standardized testing. Some schools end up โ€œteaching to the testโ€โ€”focusing only on what students were tested on. This left little time for anything else the kids may have needed or wanted to learn.

Certain penalties, such as requiring school improvement plans, were reasonable, critics said. Others could be very harsh, such as firing school staff or closing a school thatโ€™s struggling. Critics linked several cheating scandals to NCLB, citing the pressure on teachers and educators to perform.

Some argued that NCLBโ€™s standards-based accountability was inconsistent with special education, which focuses on meeting a childโ€™s individual needs.

Despite the controversy, most people supported parts of NCLBโ€”especially requirements for highly qualified teachers, research-based instruction and basic reporting on school results.

#nochildleftbehind #EDUperk #thinkingdifferent

Whole Brain Teaching

WBT Basics provides a simple starting point for teachers new to Whole Brain Teaching. Whole Brain Teaching is a type of teaching that uses the whole brain to engage students in learning.ย 

Whole brain teaching is a philosophy of teaching and learning that aims to activate students’ brains for maximal involvement in the learning process. Whole brain teaching relies on precepts fromย neuroscience, or the study of brain anatomy in order to understand how best to reach children over the course of the school day. Overall, whole brain teaching asks that students and teachers work in synch and very actively all the time. The classroom that uses whole brain teaching is an engaged, synchronized, collaborative classroom. It might initially appear more structured than other contemporary classrooms because each aspect of structure and routine is aimed at appealing to a neurological, cognitive need. Whole brain teaching can reach difficult students as well as those who are already strong.

First developed in 1999, Whole Brain Teaching promotes a high-energy, hyper-focused method where teachers use game-like challenges, key words, and motivational methods, while eliciting continuous spoken responses from their students to keep them fully engaged every minute.

The Pros of Whole Brain Teaching Strategies

WBT classes are fast-paced. Students donโ€™t know when the Class-Yes, Teach-OK, Mirror, or Scoreboard Game activities will require them to engage actively, so they constantly pay attention.

When you enter a class, youโ€™ll feel the energy and enthusiasm as students become active participants in instruction. You might even think theyโ€™re playing games and having fun at the expense of learning. They are having fun, and itโ€™s building a love of learning.

In a study that sought to evaluate the impact of Whole Brain Teaching on the behaviours of challenging students, nine types of student behaviours were evaluated with fifth grade students. The results of this study indicated a 50 percent decrease in student negative behaviours from the pre-observationsย to the post-observations after implementing Whole Brain Teaching (Palasigue, 2009). These results support student engagement theories that state that the more a student is engaged in the lesson, the less likely the student will engage in disruptive behaviours (Scott, Hirn, & Alter, 2014).

The Cons of Whole Brain Teaching Strategies

If you watch a WBT video and donโ€™t recognize the WBT strategy, you could confuse the parroting with old-school memorization. Itโ€™s not, but teachers must know how to make that differentiation for this approach to work in their classes. In truth, if WBT is not delivered correctly, it seems like it could become rote drills. Teacher training, personal attitude, and direction to students can fix this.

Students are encouraged to respond in preprogrammed phrases and words rather than independently thinking out responses. The teacher must make it clear when responses are required and when higher-order thinking is whatโ€™s called for.

Shy students or those who are more reserved may be uncomfortable with so many hand and body gestures and the need to interact so often with classmates. Mostly this passes, but be aware of those students who have difficulty.

There are excellent training programs in Whole Brain Teaching. Take advantage of these to get teachers excited about this effective, unique learning strategy. Donโ€™t be afraid to unpack WBT slowly if youโ€™d like, as students get used to it.

Child Labour

An innocent child, whose age is to enjoy the best days of his childhood, He/she should see big dreams about his/her future, should be learning new things and grow freely and play carefreely, should be going to school everyday. Is going to work everyday whose shoulders should be carrying a School bag but instead of carrying school bag carrying heavy burden of responsibility. That burden is spoiling his mental and physical health and opportunity to build a better future.

Child labours are exploited, exposed to hazardous work conditions and paid a pittance for their long hours of work. Child labour is very common in many developing countries due to severe poverty and poor schooling. High rate of child labour is still more than 50 percent in which children of 5 to 14 years are working in developing countries. Child lobour are cheap and easily available in developing countries, that’s why they are preferable which is an offence, under Child labour (prohibition and regulation) Act 1986.

The Constitution says that :- a) No child below the age of 14 shall be employed to work in any hazardous employment (Article 24) b) Childhood and youth are to be protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment (Article 39 (f)) c) The State shall endeavour to provide within a period of 10 year from the commencement of Constitution free and compulsory education for all children until they have completed the age of 14 years (Article 45)

Child labour is becoming a big social issue in India which should be resolved on regular basis. This is not only the responsibility of the government, but it also be reconciled by all the social organizations, bosses and guardians. This issue is for everyone which needs to be sorted out personally because it can be with any child of anybody.

How To Get Rid Of Negative Emotions

We know emotions play an important role in our lives. You might have noticed that sometimes for some or no reason, you just don’t enjoy doing the daily activities, you are sad and might even cry. Even the things you usually find interesting, don’t pump up your mood. This is when you feel, ‘depressed’. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are actually depressed. We call them the bad days.

There are a lot of negative emotions that we experience. Sadness, jealousy, anger, frustration, and hate are few to name some. One negative event can bring down our entire enthusiasm for the day. For example, even though you have been in the company for more time, one day, you get to know that the person who is junior to you got the promotion that you thought you were going to get. Now because of this event, you will be frustrated the entire day, and might even take out this frustration on your family and friends.

Now instead of doing this, let’s analyse why your junior got the promotion that you thought you deserved. Yes, you have been in the company for a longer time. But isn’t it possible that your junior made a leap by bringing more profit than ever? Or maybe he was more sincere and hardworking than you were? I am not saying that you didn’t put in any efforts for the sake of your company. What I am saying is that maybe, s/he went two steps ahead and worked twice as hard than anyone else.

Negative emotions not only affect you but also those who are generally around you. For example, maybe because of the frustration, you get into a fight at home with your spouse or your sibling. They won’t know why you were in such a bad mood, but now they are frustrated. This is a classic example of displacement. Displacement is a defense mechanism according to which you direct strong emotions and frustrations toward a person or object that doesnโ€™t feel threatening. In this case, your family member.

Now it is quite clear that this behavior is toxic and harms not only your mental peace but also those around you. Before such kind of behavior becomes a common occurrence in your life, it is important to learn to get negative emotions out of your system in a healthy and positive way. And even if you are stuck in this cycle, there is always a way out.

Ways to Cope with Negative Emotions

1. Acceptance. Accepting that you are going through negative emotions and that this is affecting everbody around you is the first step. Yes, I am frustrated. Yes, I am sad. Yes, I feel jealous. Yes, I feel angry. Yes, I am having a bad day.

2. Finding the cause. Sometimes, we get into a bad mood for ‘no reason’. I say, there is always a reason for you to feel negative emotions. This may not be something that happened to you just now. It can be something that happened to you a long time ago. You just haven’t realized that. The thing is, our mind naturally tries to protect us from negative emotions. These are our natural defenses. One of these, is repression. When we feel threatened by a situation, we try to repress it. You put the painful memories or a trauma in the very back of your mind, in hopes of completely forgetting that it ever happened. We must become brave and face the negative emotions head on. If we don’t sort our emotions then and there, we suddenly one day feel sad for ‘no reason’.

3. Talk. Talking about your emotions with someone you trust helps to a huge extent. Sometimes, hearing someone else’s opinion helps us to sort out our own emotions. They help us look through another perspective. Talking is majorly underrated. Parents, friends, siblings, and sometimes even strangers play an important role in making us feel healthy and positive again. If there is no one who you trust or feel like you need professional help never think twice before approaching a therapist. They will definitely help you to sort things out.

4. Developing a hobby. Get a hobby. Or if you have one, cherish it. Writing, singing, dancing, painting, drawing, exercising and many more; can help us to take our negative energy and convert it into a positive one.

Just remember, nothing is permanent. All the pain, sadness, and negativity can go away if you want it to go away. No matter what your situation is, there is always a positive manner to deal with it!

How to Be Happy

Behavioral scientists have spent a lot of time studying what makes us happy (and what doesnโ€™t). We know happiness can predict health and longevity, and happiness scales can be used to measure social progress and the success of public policies. But happiness isnโ€™t something that just happens to you. Everyone has the power to make small changes in our behavior, our surroundings and our relationships that can help set us on course for a happier life.

Mind

Happiness often comes from within. Learn how to tame negative thoughts and approach every day with optimism.

Conquer Negative Thinking

All humans have a tendency to be a bit more like Eeyore than Tigger, to ruminate more on bad experiences than positive ones. Itโ€™s an evolutionary adaptation โ€” over-learning from the dangerous or hurtful situations we encounter through life (bullying, trauma, betrayal) helps us avoid them in the future and react quickly in a crisis.

But that means you have to work a little harder to train your brain to conquer negative thoughts. Hereโ€™s how:

Donโ€™t try to stop negative thoughts. Telling yourself โ€œI have to stop thinking about this,โ€ only makes you think about it more. Instead, own your worries. When you are in a negative cycle, acknowledge it. โ€œIโ€™m worrying about money.โ€ โ€œIโ€™m obsessing about problems at work.โ€

Treat yourself like a friend. When you are feeling negative about yourself, ask yourself what advice would you give a friend who was down on herself. Now try to apply that advice to you.

Challenge your negative thoughts. Socratic questioning is the process of challenging and changing irrational thoughts. Studies show that this method can reduce depression symptoms. The goal is to get you from a negative mindset (โ€œIโ€™m a failure.โ€) to a more positive one (โ€œIโ€™ve had a lot of success in my career. This is just one setback that doesnโ€™t reflect on me. I can learn from it and be better.โ€) Here are some examples of questions you can ask yourself to challenge negative thinking.

First, write down your negative thought, such as โ€œIโ€™m having problems at work and am questioning my abilities.โ€

  • Then ask yourself: โ€œWhat is the evidence for this thought?โ€
  • โ€œAm I basing this on facts? Or feelings?โ€
  • โ€œCould I be misinterpreting the situation?โ€
  • โ€œHow might other people view the situation differently?
  • โ€œHow might I view this situation if it happened to someone else?โ€

The bottom line: Negative thinking happens to all of us, but if we recognize it and challenge that thinking, we are taking a big step toward a happier life.

Controlled Breathing

Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and attention deficit disorder. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality. Buddha advocated breath-meditation as a way to reach enlightenment.

Imposter syndrome : Is it real?

Have you ever felt that you donโ€™t deserve an award youโ€™ve won ? Like you donโ€™t belong somewhere? Like people might discover that you are a fraud , and that you donโ€™t deserve the position youโ€™re in ? Then this is called โ€˜ THE IMPOSTER SYNDROMEโ€™. Itโ€™s a psychological pattern in which a person doubts [โ€ฆ]

Imposter syndrome : Is it real?

Communication

“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.”. – Paul J. Meyer

The above quote is very true. Communication is the basic thing which is required for existence and survival of humans as well as an organisation. Really personal and organisational and career oriented goals cannot be achieved without communication. Communication means conveying or exchanging of ideas, knowledge, information or opinions from one place, person or group to another by speech, writing or signs. Business Communication is exchanging or conveying of information or opinions to promote an organisation’s goals and objectives. Communication helps people to have access to knowledge, experience and expertise as these are the essential things which are necessary for achieving growth and development. Communication takes place in all living things. It is a part of our life without which we can’t survive. Communication involves sending messages and being more precise, sending meaningful messages from one person to another. The messages may be in the form of oral or written. The communication can be by means of seeing, hearing, touching, etc. The purpose of communication is to obtain some results, response or feedback. One single person can’t communicate so communication involves plurality of person which means at least two persons are involved in every communication. In which one will be a sender. A sender is a person who sends his ideas, information or opinions. And the second person will be a receiver. A receiver is a person who receives the ideas, information or opinions send by the sender and give back some response or feedback. Communication is a continuous and a two-way process. The primary purpose of communication is to motivate a response. Communication can motivate employees by clarifying to them what is to be done and if they do the things correctly and his superiors appreciate him for the same it will motivate them to work more harder. Communication is always existing and an unavoidable phenomenon. It is a universal and a social process. As we all are a social animals and we can satisfy our basic needs and desires through written, spoken or non-verbal message. And all the living beings whether it is humans, animals, insects or birds communicate through their own symbols and signs. So, the importance of communication are –

  • Smooth Running of the Enterprise- Communication helps in smooth and unrestricted running of an enterprise. Whether the organisation is big or small, public or private sector communication plays a major role in each and every organisation.
  • Quick Decisions and Implementation- Communication helps the organisation to take vital decision. So an effective communication can help in taking quick and systematic implementation of the management decision.
  • Proper Planning and Coordination- Communication helps a lot in proper planning and coordination. The widest possible participation in planning is a pre-condition for getting the task done and this can be done only through a media of communication.
  • Morale Building- Communication helps in resolving grievances and problems that are faced by employees and thus this helps in increasing the morale of the employees.
  • Improve Public Relation- A good communication system helps in ensuring free-flow of information between the organisation and various other components of the society like customers, suppliers, bankers and public at large. Communication also helps in building a good image in the mind of the public.

Last But Not the Least

Communication is important not only in professional life but in personal life too. As it is a tool which either makes or breaks any relation. So think hundred times before saying anything.

IS PROCRASTINATION POISONOUS TO HUMANS?

Did you ever involve yourself in something very trivial , when you had an important assignment submission or work? Did you ever regret not doing the job right?. If yes , then thatโ€™s what we call procrastination. Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something that needs to be accomplished within a given period [โ€ฆ]

IS PROCRASTINATION POISONOUS TO HUMANS?

The Rwandan genocide

The year 1994 marks the occurrence of one of the most horrifying incidents to ever happen to humanity.ย  The Rwandan genocide was a systematic killing of the people of Tutsi ethnic minority by the members of the Hutu ethnic majority in Rwanda.ย  The main agenda of the mass killings that were instigated by the Hutu government was to kill all of the members of the Tutsi community in the country… About 800,000 to 1 million Tutsi were massacred by the Hutu government, their militia and ordinary citizens who were trained by the government. The genocide was halted when the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) took control of the country through military tactics.

 Racial tensions in the country between the Tutsis and the Hutus served as fuel to the genocide. During the colonization of Rwanda by the Belgians and the Germans, the Tutsis ethnic minority was favored and the Hutus ethnic majority was discriminated against. The Belgians and the Germans supported the Tutsi monarchy and decreed that all local chiefs must be Tutsis. A Hutu revolution in 1959 forced more the 300,000 Tutsis to leave the country in fear of their lives and 1662 the Hutus captured and exiled the Tutsi monarch and declared that Rwanda is a republic country. Belgium granted Rwanda independence in July 1962. Post-independence with the majority of the population being Hutu, a resolutely Hutu government came to power. The leader of the new Hutu government was Habyarimana who founded a new party and the only party in the country called the national revolutionary movement for development. Now with the Hutu government violence against the Tutsis became the new normal.

In 1990- 1993, the Hutu government fought wars with the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front).ย  The RPF was mainly Rwandan refugees from Uganda. These actions of the government and the RPF started the civil war in Rwanda. Seeing, how both parties were running a loss, the Arusha accords were signed. The Arusha accords were the peace agreement between the government of the Republic of Rwanda and the Rwandan patriotic front to end the three-year-long civil war that battered the country in 1993. But the Rwandan genocide was not an ordinary war crime, it was predetermined and a carefully planned massacre of the Tutsi people. The Hutu ruling government had members of the party who were against Habyarimana and believed that a final killing of all the Tutsi people will solve the problem of the country. The Hutu power wing trained and armed youth militia groups such as the Interahamwe and the impuzamugambi. The youth militia youth had already been actively killing Tutsi people across the country. In 1990, the government armed civilians and trained them with the pretense of self-defense against the RPF. But the peace agreement fell through when presidents Habyarimana plane was shot down. Who was responsible for the shooting down the plane is still unclear but this incident catalyzed the genocide. On April 7th, the genocide started with the murder of moderate Hutu the Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. This created a power vacuum in the country where the country had no clear leader. An intermediate government was formed with Hutu power leaders was formed.

The genocide started on 7th April of 1994, mass killings in Kigali started with the killing of moderate leaders and liberal journalists in the capital. The extremely efficient militia and the trained ordinary citizens proceeded to slaughter all Tutsi insight. In the capital city of Kigali, the military set up roadblocks where they would check a personโ€™s identity card, if the card classified them as Tutsi then they were murdered. Ordinary citizens were prompted to kill the neighboring Tutsi. In the rural areas where everyone knew each other, it was relatively easier to identify and kill Tutsi people.  Within months 800โ€™00 to 1 million people had been killed. The Hutu military also used other disgraceful methods in the genocide.  The military supported group Interahamwe used rape as an instrument to hurt the moderate Hutu and Tutsi women. Not only did the Interahamwe but the soldiers of the army of the liberation of Rwanda, the presidential guard, and Hutu civilians also engaged in sexual violence against Tutsi women. The Interahamwe used men who were HIV positive and formed them into rape squads. Every day around 800 Tutsis were killed.  Only in July of 1994 did the genocide end. The genocide ended when the RPF took control of the country and the capital. The remaining Hutu population fled to the country of Zaire (now the democratic republic of Congo) in fear that the army would retaliate for the genocide.

The genocide had many repercussions, due to sexual violation; many female survivors had a long list of sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and self-isolation. The genocide had left many buildings inhabitable and the economy of the country was in a deplorable state. The country since then has bounced back. The country has adopted a new constitution, the ethnic classification on the Rwandan identity cards were removed. The economy of the country has grown at a rate of 8 percent making Rwanda one of the most invest able countries in Africa.

A.I.B.E EXAM (XV) – LETโ€™S CRACK IT

All Indian Bar Examination is the National Level Examination conducted twice in every year by the Bar Council of India. The objective of conducting this exam is to examine the advocates basic knowledge of law, analytical thinking, understanding the concept of law from those who are willing to practice in this profession. AIBE exam is an open book exam. The candidate who pass the exam will receive โ€˜Certificate of Practiceโ€™ by the Bar Council of India. AIBE exam will be conducted across 40 cities in India. Candidate can choose the medium of language from 11 different languages.

Who are eligible?

Eligible persons having a recognized law degree (3 years or 5 years) and they should be admitted as advocates on State Bar Council. In simple language the eligible person should have โ€˜Sanadโ€™ which is the ID card given by State Bar Council. The Advocates Act 1961 empowers State Bar Council to frame their own rules for on enrolments of advocates.

AIBE Exam

AIBE exam forms are available on the official website of AIBE i.e www.allindiabarexamination.com. The candidate should carry their own study material in the exam hall. The exam will be in offline mode. The questions will be in MCQ format. The candidate had cleared his LL.B exam then to some candidate gets difficulty in clearing this exam. But, if the candidate have had studied all the subjects well during his/her law school days then this exam can be cleared easily.

Who are eligible?

Eligible persons having a recognized law degree (3 years or 5 years) and they should be admitted as advocates on State Bar Council. In simple language the eligible person should have โ€˜Sanadโ€™ which is the ID card given by State Bar Council. The Advocates Act 1961 empowers State Bar Council to frame their own rules for on enrolments of advocates.

AIBE Exam

AIBE exam forms are available on the official website of AIBE i.e www.allindiabarexamination.com. The candidate should carry their own study material in the exam hall. The exam will be in offline mode. The questions will be in MCQ format. The candidate had cleared his LL.B exam then to some candidate gets difficulty in clearing this exam. But, if the candidate have had studied all the subjects well during his/her law school days then this exam can be cleared easily.

Syllabus

These subjects below cover the high weightage if the candidate studied these subjects thoroughly then the chances of passing of that candidate is higher :

1.  Constitutional Law                                             10 marks

2.ย  I.P.C (Indian Penal Code)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย ย  8 marks

3.ย  Cr.P.C (Criminal Procedure Code)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย ย ย  10 marks

4.ย  C.P.C (Code of Civil Procedure)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย  10 marks

5.ย  Evidence Actย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย  8 marks

6. Law of Contract, Specific Relief,

Property Laws, Negotiable Instrument Actย ย ย  ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย 8 marks

7. Family Lawย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  8 marks

Whereas, these subjects are low in weightage which are mentioned below :

8.  Alternative Dispute Redressal

including Arbitration Act ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  4 marks

9. Public Interest Litigation                                    4 marks

10. Administrative Law                                           3 marks

11. Professional Ethics &

Cases of Professional Misconduct

under BCI rules                                                        4 marks

12.  Company Law                                                   2 marks

13. Environmental Law                                           2 marks

14. Cyber Law ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  2 marks

15. Labour & Industrial Lawsย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย  4 marks

16. Law of Tort, including

Motor Vehicle Act and

Consumer Protection Lawย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย  5 marks

17. Law related to Taxation ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย  4 marks

18. Land Acquisition Actย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย ย  ย  2 marks

19. Intellectual Property Laws ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย  2 marks

How to prepare for the AIBE Exam

  • Bare Acts

The candidate should go through the Bare acts of all the Subjects. Reading the Index is very important the candidate can stick sticky notes on the important sections and definitions. The candidate should avoid mugging up the sections and should focus on reading it as much you could as it an open book exam

  • Question Papers

The candidate should solve the last years question papers which is available in book stores or online stores too. Reading the question paper the candidate will get an idea about what type of question was asked in earlier exams. It is a time based examination where the candidate will get 3hr 30 min to answer 100 questions. The candidate should practice to solve the questions in the same time span. 

  • Legal Maxims/One Liners

The candidate can get a printout of all the important Legal maxims and one liners and can carry with themselves on the examination day. The candidate can get some of the legal maxims in Legal Language subject book. 

  • Commentary Books

The candidate can carry commentary book of the respective subjects for Judgements. There is a case index in every commentary book so it will be very helpful to find a case and answer the questions related to it.

  • All India Bar Examination Books

There are books available in the book stores or online website where there are subject wise MCQs given and also last year question papers with answers.

  • Strategy of Cracking the Exam

The candidate should read the question paper thoroughly the candidate can divide the question paper in three category they are as follows :

  1. Solvable
  2. Confusion
  3. Unsolvable

When a candidate read the question paper he/she can understand in which category he/she can place the given question if the category choose by the candidate is solvable then he/she should mark the answer of the question in the OMR sheet. If the candidate is confused regarding the answer what the answer is, he/she can mark the answer with certain symbol which indicate it is in confusion category. Later on, when he/she finished up answering all the solvable question then he/she can search the correct answer of the confusable question from the books he/she has got. Last but not the least the candidate should try to find the answer of the questions which he/she kept in unsolvable category. The candidate should use the time very effectively. The candidate should keep in mind there is no negative marking so the candidate must answer all the questions.

THE LEGALITY AND VALIDITY OF LOCKDOWN

Lockdown is not a legal term but it has been framed by the society and government as a situation where there is restriction in movement, only with a single exception that basic necessities should operate. Some law enthusiasts may say that the lockdown is unconstitutional, violating our fundamental right of movement stated under article 19(1), but they tend to forget that as per article 19 (2) the government has the right to put reasonable restrictions on the above stated right. The government also supported the action of the lockdown by the following legislations:

Provisions from the constitution i.e., article 256 and 257 which gave the central government power over the laws implemented by the parliament, it states that the Centre can direct on how to implement the laws, and it can use it in a manner it doesnโ€™t impede the power of the executive. Article 39 (Directive principle Of State policy) which puts a duty on the state to look after the survival and livelihood of its people in the situation.

Section 2, 3, 4 of Epidemics Diseases Act, 1897, S.2 and 2A gives the government  power to make rules and regulations to stop the spread of a disease for the welfare of the people and the nation, S.3 states the penalties for disobeying the rules that are made by the government (Under S.2 and 2A).

Section 2(d) of the Disaster Management Act defines a disaster as โ€œA catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area.โ€ The Ministry of Home Affairs declared the spread of COVID-19 as a โ€œnotified disasterโ€ .Section 8 and 9 of Disaster Management Act, 2005 were also followed  and accordingly a lockdown was initiated with an official public notification.

Other provisions in the Indian Penal Code, like S.188 which states punishment if one disobeys the order that is passed by the public servant.  Section 269 of Indian Penal Code which states โ€œNegligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.โ€ The term of imprisonment can extend up to six months. Section 270 of Indian Penal Code which states  โ€œMalignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life. The term of imprisonment can extend up to two years.โ€ Section 271 of Indian Penal Code stating โ€œDisobedience to quarantine rule. The term of imprisonment can extend up to six months.โ€ All the above provisions can be invokes so that the cromes specified are not committed

Keeping in mind the situation of Covid-19 and the ways it can spread, S.144 of Criminal Procedural Code was followed, which imposes a curfew on everyone either restricting individuals from moving out of their houses or prohibiting people from going in crowds. The restrictions are usually imposed as per the order that is passed by the magistrate. The provisions stated under the CrPC and IPC are general provisions which have to be followed.

Now, after understanding the legality and validity, a question may arise that why is the lockdown useful, its utility and importance, to answer this there is a theory which was proposed by Jeremy Bentham, he states that we humans give more importance to self happiness and personal gain than anything else, therefore, the thought of the pain that is caused by the virus becomes more important than the thought of restriction on movement. Hence, the lockdown becomes a vital step taken to control the pandemic and to stop the spread of pain caused due to it.

At a conclusion we can understand that the Centre and the government used a combination of all laws as only a mixture of all can lead to a lockdown and this can lead to a relaxation in the current situation prevailing in India. Law is always the same in every case but it reveals its true colors only if it is interpreted and analyzed in the right manner. I believe that โ€œNecessity needs no law”, we have seen many such situations in the past where all these were tackled even when there was no legislation, necessity brings everyone together and make them collectively think for solutions, so even in the present situation the government played an important role in analyzing the laws properly, and this will eventually lead to the welfare and well-being of the nation. Everyone should keep the societal interest in mind in order to gain individual happiness and success.

COVID-19 and domestic abuse and violence

Movement restrictions aimed to stop the spread of the corona virus may be making violence in homes more frequent, more severe and more dangerous.

Domestic violence has been defined as encompassing any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationships. It is a major social and public health problem with significant costs on individuals, families, communities and the society.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines violence as โ€˜the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivationโ€™.

Under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) of India, domestic violence is defined as โ€˜any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent in case itโ€”(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or (b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or (c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or (d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.

According to the Crime in India Report 2018, published by the National Crimes Research Bureau (NCRB), every 1.7 minutes a crime was recorded against women in India, every 16 minutes a rape was committed and every 4.4 minutes a girl is subjected to domestic violence.

Factors influencing domestic violence

It is quite apparent that domestic violence does not constitute an occasional, rare incident. In fact, it is a regular, systemic and structural manifestation of social control. No single factor can alone explain the reasons of domestic violence. Rather, there are several complex and interrelated factors such as institutionalized social and cultural factors, family institution, including fear of and control over female sexuality, belief in the inherent superiority of males, and independent legal and social status. According to the World Health Organisation, one in every three women across the globe experience physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by any perpetrators in their lifetime: at least 30% of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.

Factors Outcomes
Socioculturalย Gender-specific socialization
 Cultural definitions of appropriate sex roles
 Expectations of roles within relationships
 Belief in the inherent superiority of males
 Values that give men proprietary rights over women and girls
 Notion of the family as the private sphere and being under male dominance
 Customs of marriage (bride price/dowry)
 Acceptability of violence as a means to resolve conflict
EconomicWomenโ€™s economic dependence on men
 Limited access to cash and credit
 Discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights, use of communal lands and maintenance after divorce or widowhood
 Limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors
 Limited access to education and training for women
LegalLesser legal status of women either by written law and/or by practice
 Laws regarding divorce, child custody, maintenance and inheritance
 Legal definitions of rape and domestic abuse
 Low levels of legal literacy among women
 Insensitive treatment of women and girls by police and the judiciary
PoliticalUnderrepresentation of women in power, politics, media, and legal and medical professions
 Domestic violence not taken seriously
 Notions of family being private and beyond control of the state
 Risk of challenge to status quo/religious laws
 Limited organization of women as a political force
 Limited participation of women in organized political system

Increase in domestic violence cases

Domestic abuse is being reported all over the world such as China, Argentina, Germany Turkey, South Africa, UK, USA, France, Malaysia, Lebanon to name a few. UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for global `ceasefireโ€™ because of horrific global surge violence directed towards women and girls linked to lockdown imposed globally in response to the pandemic. It is expected that millions of cases of violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation and unintended pregnancies may occur during crisis causing devastation

Before COVID-19 broke-out the statistics reveal that every third woman in the world has faced violence at least once in her lifetime. The mandatory lockdown being imposed in wake of COVID-19 is leading to increase in number of incidents of domestic violence. In 2020, between March 25 and May 31, 1,477 complaints of domestic violence were made by women. This 68-day period recorded more complaints than those received between March and May in the previous 10 years. The National Commission for Women has reported a rise of 94 percent in complaint cases where women have been abused in their homes during lockdown.

Laws on domestic violence in India

Although women may be victims of any of the crimes such as โ€˜murderโ€™, โ€˜rapeโ€™, โ€˜robberyโ€™, โ€˜cheatingโ€™, etc., the crimes that are directed specifically against women are characterized as โ€˜Crimes Against Womenโ€™. These are broadly classified under two categories:

  1. Crimes identified under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and
  2. Crimes identified under the Special Laws.

The crimes identified under the IPC include: rape (Sec. 376); kidnapping and abduction for different purposes (Sec. 363/373); homicide for dowry, dowry deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304-B); tortureโ€”both mental and physical (Sec. 498-A); molestation (Sec. 354); sexual harassmentโ€”referred to in the past as eve-teasing (IPC Sec. 509); and importation of girls (up to 21 years of age) (Sec. 366-B).

The crimes identified under the Special Laws include those specified under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986; the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987; the National Commission for Women Act, 1990; the PC & PNDT Act, 1994; the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Key Constitutional Rights conferred to women in India

Article14Confers on men and women equal rights and opportunities in the political, economic and social spheres
Article15Prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, etc.
Article15(3)Makes a special provision enabling the State to make affirmative discrimination in favour of women Article 16 Provides for equality of opportunities in matter of public appointments for all citizens
Article 21Protection of life and personal libertyโ€”No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law
Article39(a)State shall direct its policy towards securing to all citizens, men and women, equally, the right to means of livelihood
Article39(c)Ensures equal pay for equal work
Article 42State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief
Article 47Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health
Article51(A)(e)Imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen to renounce practices derogatory to dignity of women

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16 highlighted that 30% women in India in the age group of 15-49 experienced physical violence since the age of 15. The report suggested that among married women experiencing physical, sexual or emotional violence, an alarming 83% claimed that their husbands were the main perpetrators of such forms of abuse, followed by abuse from the mothers (56%), fathers 33% and siblings 27% of the husbands. The major crimes reported by women in India are โ€” cruelty by husband or relatives 32.6%, assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty โ€” 25%, kidnapping and abductions 19% and rape 11.5%.

Therefore it is necessary to protect oppressed women in India with the help of stringent laws, appropriate schemes, rules and regulations. Such protection shall be provided not only on the grounds of fundamental rights violations but also on humanitarian, social and economic grounds.

Bilingual Education: Dual Language immersion

Bilingual education involves teaching academic content in two languages, in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model.

Need for Bilingual Education

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, proficiency in only one language is not enough for economic, societal, and educational success. Global interdependence and mass communication often require the ability to function in more than one language. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 9.7 million children ages five to seventeenโ€“one of every six school-age childrenโ€“spoke a language other than English at home. These language-minority children are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. school-age population. Between 1990 and 2000, the population of language-minority children increased by 55 percent, while the population of children living in homes where only English is spoken grew by only 11 percent.

Language-minority students in U.S. schools speak virtually all of the world’s languages, including more than a hundred that are indigenous to the United States. Language-minority students may be monolingual in their native language, bilingual in their native language and English, or monolingual in English but from a home where a language other than English is spoken. Those who have not yet developed sufficient proficiency in English to learn content material in all-English-medium classrooms are known as limited English proficient (LEP) or English language learners (ELLs). Reliable estimates place the number of LEP students in American schools at close to four million.

5 WAYS CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM A BILINGUAL EDUCATION

A large amount of research is being done to discover how being exposed to a bilingual education benefits individuals as they grow up.

COGNITIVE BENEFITS

Evidence from recent research is beginning to show that if you are exposed to a bilingual education and grow up with a high degree of literacy in both languages, you are more likely to develop better cognitive skills that provide advantages for learning and progress in later life. Although many parents worry about their child ending up with weaker skills in both languages and feeling confused, according to theย New York Times, the conflict caused by learning two languages early on is actually a good thing:

โ€œThis interference, researchers are finding out, isnโ€™t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.โ€

Pre-school children learning in a bilingual environment tend to be more flexible in their cognitive behaviour and begin to understand more deeply at an early age the subtleties of how language works. This is thought to be one of the reasons why those exposed to a bilingual education develop better mental acuity early on, growing the tools to solve complex mental puzzles. Other research suggests that bilingual students are better at processing sound and therefore are much more likely to pay attention in class, whatever the subject.

CULTURAL BENEFITS

There are, of course, many cultural benefits to having a bilingual education. Moving between two different worlds means children come into contact and identify with the traditions and identities of each one. This is particularly the case with immigrant families and expat communities, where children may grow up with dual cultural identities.
The added level of communication skills and the necessity of developing keen listening skills can also lead to improved social competence that can help bilinguals to adapt more easily to different multi-cultural environments, as well as making them more attuned to subtle cultural sensitivities.

FINANCIAL AND CARER-RELATED BENEFITS

Being able to speak proficiently in two or more languages has always been hugely beneficial across different professions, but is increasingly so in the modern, โ€œglobalisedโ€ world that we hear so much about.
The ability to adapt to and absorb different cultures is in itself a precious commodity to companies operating across multiple countries, with clients in different locations. Within these global companies, employees with multiple languages are likely to be valued more, and often paid more. In these huge companies, there are often opportunities to work in their offices in around the world, usually an incredibly rewarding experience.
Even if the corporate world is not for them, with two languages, they will rarely be out of a job. From the creative industries to the charity world, companies want employees with an innate sensitivity to cultural trends, to be comfortable interacting with a variety of people, and to have great communication skills. They can also feel safe in the knowledge that they can always support themselves through translation work.

ACADEMIC BENEFITS

You would expect those with a bilingual education to be higher academic achievers than their monolingual peers, on average. Research atย Cambridge Universityย adds to the evidence that bilinguals have the edge in cognitive ability, social interaction and communication skills. It is no wonder then, that universities themselves prize language skills highly in those applying.

LONG-TERM HEALTH BENEFITS

There is a growing body of research into how the cognitive benefits of bilingualism extend to fighting off neurological diseases. For example,ย researchers in Walesย are looking at whether being educated in both English and Welsh can help delay dementia and even Parkinsonโ€™s disease in later life.
Wales is not the only place where research into bilingualism and long-term mental health is of interest. Researchย in Californiaย found that, as well as earning more money, on average.

Collaborative Learning: Learn something Together

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalise on one another’s resources and skills.

Collaborative learning can occur peer-to-peer or in larger groups. Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts or find solutions to problems. Similar to the idea that two or three heads are better than one, educational researchers have found that through peer instruction, students teach each other by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions.

The organisational benefits of collaborative learning:

1. Develops self-management and leadership skills

When individuals are tasked with working together to achieve a common goal, they are being given the opportunity to develop high-level skills.

While having to organize, assign, and teach, they are learning how to manage both themselves and others while leading in a productive fashion.

2. Increases employee skills and knowledge

When employees participate in collaborative learning, they are developing a wide range of skills and knowledge. Not only will they strengthen their existing skills by having to teach others, they in turn will learn new skills from other employees.

This reduces the need for formal training while encouraging employees to continually upskill in known concepts and engage with new concepts.

3. Improves relationships across teams and departments

When individuals have limited contact across teams, it is difficult to foster connections and teamwork. Collaborative learning across teams forces individuals to develop new connections and find ways to work together.

This can be especially beneficial for organisations that depend on remote workers, as fostering strong connections among distant workers can be difficult.

4. Improves knowledge acquisition and retention

Studiesย have shown that utilizing collaborative learning may lead to increased involvement and better retention of knowledge.

The process of collaborative learning allows participants to achieve higher levels of thought and the information is retained much longer than when learned in a non-collaborative setting.

5. Improves employee retention and promotes workplace engagement

Employees that are given the opportunity to learn new skills tend to be more satisfied in their work, and are less likely to seek out other opportunities.

Satisfied employees are more productive and will engage in their work, leading to increased efficiency and output.

Virtual Education: New face of Learning

Itโ€™s always been a tough time for parents when they have to decide what education they should choose for their children; education that is both right and appealing to them as well. Each child has different kind of educational needs and preferences and depending on that, education should be imparted to them. One of the most highly remarkable innovation of the age is the virtual education, the best alternative to traditional educational module. This kind of education through the world of internet is especially helpful to kids who find it difficult to cope with the concept of actual school. In fact, virtual school has been hailed as the next big solution in education that is surely going to change the way education is delivered to its recipients. Read this article to know why virtual education is such a great beginning in theย world of education.

Virtual educationย refers to instruction in aย learningย environment where teacher and student are separated by time or space, or both, and the teacher provides course content through course management applications, multimedia resources, the Internet, videoconferencing, etc.

Virtual education is not similar to the kind of education available in traditional classes. The best part about this kind of education is that it allows students and parents to go through proper counseling to know what will work best for each student, based on his strength and weaknesses. Customized education can bring out the best in each student as it helps to ignite the willingness to learn. Besides, the flexibility that is allowed to students in virtual schooling is what attracts more and more parents. The reason is the fact that it facilitates students to learn and not mere learning that is forced at a particular time. It has been proved through research that students tend to learn more when it is convenient to them, rather than making studies a mere everyday fixed routine.

Likewise, the rising cost of attending courses in colleges and other educational institutions has already forced many students to go for virtual education. The education costs involved in virtual schooling is pretty less as it does not include the immense course fees and resource expenses among a whole lot of others that just go unnoticed sometimes. But with virtual schools, the education delivered does not require such high investments and it is an advantage to students with fewer privileges who are unable to attend well known campuses. The cost involved in this kind of education via internet is way less than the face-to-face method.

Now, if we think beyond the studentโ€™s point view, we can also find how virtual education is a great boon to the environment as well. Just think how many trees you are saving by reducing the use of paper. The amount of paper you need while attending a classroom lecture is huge and most of the paper used always end up in the dustbin. While virtual education does help you save the environment and keep your data safe in your computer.

The advantages of virtual education are great in number and these are just few of them. We must always remember one thing that the benefits of virtual education vary from person to person depending on individual needs and requirements. The huge number of students enrolling for virtual schools itself stands as a witness to the ever increasing demand ofย virtual education.

INCEPTION OF JURISPRUDENCE

Jurisprudence is the philosophy of law. In other words, it seeks to explain what law is about in the most general way. Etymologically, the word โ€˜jurisprudenceโ€™ is the English derivation of the Latin word โ€˜jurisprudentiaโ€™ which means the study, knowledge or skill with regards to the law. It discusses law in the most general way e.g. what is law, what is its purpose, how it originated, how does it develop, what are its basic concepts and structure, what is its relation with other social phenomena like the economy, the social system, etc. 

The study of jurisprudence as separate branch of knowledge started with the Romans. For them, jurisprudence meant โ€˜knowledge of lawโ€™. But in modern sense this meaning is too vague and general. Though the Romans in practice never confused law with morality or religion, in theory this distinction is hardly found to be in existence in earlier times. The definition and concept of jurisprudence by Roman jurists may appear to be vague and inadequate in the modern sense of the term, but the credit of recognizing jurisprudence as an independent branch of legal science for the first time goes to the Roman legal philosophers, which eventually paved way to development of the subject in the present form.

The Indian jurisprudence is as old as humanity itself; there is no founder of it other than the Creator itself. It owes its origin to ancient concept of Dharma which was considered to be best way to discipline oneโ€™s mind. The practice of Dharma enabled citizens to inculcate the sense of discipline in conducting themselves in the society. This eventually brought about peace and prosperity in the society. According to Dr. Kane, the concept of dharma passed through several transitions over the years and in the modern context it signifies privileges, duties and obligations of a man, his standard of conduct as a member of the society.

However, with the passage of time and changes in the socio-political conditions of India due to the influence of Mughals and later British rule, โ€œthe ancient Hindu law which at one time governed the entire gamut of human activity-civil, criminal and miscellaneous, was modified, supplemented and finally superseded by various legislative enactmentsโ€. Thus the Hindu law which was at one time revealed to have a divine origin being a part of dharma, has now become โ€œman-madeโ€ law and therefore has lost its divinity which the religion still retains, though the distortions therein have reduced it to a mere farce and tool for hoodwinking and playing with the sentiments of the masses by those who are the helm of the religious affairs. It is an irony of fate that dharma, which is as old as humanity itself and of which law proper has been only a part and parcel, has lost all its credence and glory and its is now being increasingly used as a means to accomplish the selfish ends of those who are in power rather than as an instrument to secure even-handed justice to the people of India.

However, with the march of time and progress of Indian society, concept of law and therefore, of jurisprudence has changed radically. India is now a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. Democracy presupposes government of the people, by the people and for the people, and therefore, citizens are expected to be self restrained and self disciplined. They should also be conscious of their rights and duties. Law played a significant role in sustaining a stable social order. India being a welfare state, a new Indian jurisprudence needs to be developed so as to ensure that law becomes an effective instrument of social change in various facet of Indian life. It has to play the functional role of harmonizing the conflicting interest if individuals in the society by maintaining equilibrium between the freedoms of individuals on the one hand and social welfare on the other.

The modern law and legal philosophy does not touch the morality or the religion. But the dharma of the ancient Indian legal system comprised all the three, namely law, morality and religion within its ambit. This is evinced by the fact Sadachar laid greater stress on morality then law. The element of religion was conspicuously present in the dharma because of its emphasis not only in noble feeling or intentions but in both noble motive and action. Thus religion as a part of dharma meant by what is approved by conscience of virtuous men who are free from hatred and worldly temptations. Religion therefore, consisted in both noble motive and action because noble feeling precedes noble action. In other words, former is the cause and the latter is the effect. For example, to help the poor and needy or attending to the sick and diseased persons are no doubt noble but that should be achieved in a noble way either by sacrifice of personal comforts or personal money but if it is done by robbing others or exploiting others, it would be contrary to dharma.  

The modern conception of Indian law is based on the notion of reasonableness. Though morality and reasonableness appear to be identical concepts, all that are reasonable need to be necessarily moral. For example, in the Bearer Bondโ€™s case, the law in question, namely, the Special Bearer Bonds (Immunities & Exemptions) Act, 1981 was challenged on the ground of immortality as it extended immunity to tax-evaders and hoarders of black money but the Supreme Court by majority of 4: 1 upheld the validity of the Act on the ground of reasonability because it was enacted to unearth black money which was an โ€˜obstinate economic problemโ€™ and other efforts having failed. The Apex court took a positivist view and observed that โ€˜Law is Lawโ€™ and, therefore, immunity to black-money hoarders by itself could not be ground of constitutional challenges under Article 14 of the Constitution.

The study of the evolution of ancient Indian law and jurisprudential philosophy would reveal the conception of justice in the form of Dharma governed the communal life with a view to safeguarding the common interests of the people. As rightly pointed out by S. Vardhachariar, there appears to have been a logical order in the historical evolution of the ancient legal system in which desire for justice and respect for law were greatly influenced by the public opinion. Kohler also believed that the essential element of law in ancient Indian was not that it should lead to objectively right results, but that society should recognize the domain of the law in administration of justice.

As the time advanced, there was a radical change in social conditions and human behavior which resulted in shift of trend and jurisprudence come to be envisaged in a broader perspective.

Women suffers at every phase of her life!

Introduction:

Right from the birth till death, we as ‘Women’s’ have to go through some or the other pain. Be it killing of a girl child after her birth, family abuses, menstrual pains,forceful marriages, domestic violences, molestations, pregnancy pains, emotional pains or sufferings, and many more. The list doesn’t stops.

Killing of a Girl born Child:

Women still have to go through a lot of things which they don’t talk about it openly. Although its illegal today, killing the girl child in the womb itself or right after the birth are not been practised from several years. But what about the days when such sins used to take place? It all started from there. Getting born as a girl child was earlier known as a sin. Thanks to the law and the changes in the mentality of the people that it has stopped now.

Family abuse or emotional torture:

Even after getting born as a girl child, some families still try to emotionally and at times physically abuse or torture them. Some orthodox families still compare their girls with the male members of their family. Some girls even today do not have the freedom to speak and even the rights to do something they wish to. Narrowminded people still follows a gender stereotype mentality that a women is made only for the kitchen and education and working or maybe chasing their dreams is worthless.

Yes, you read it right! There are people who still have such thinkings maybe not in cities but if you go and look around in the small districts or villages; such type of mentalites still do exist.

Menstruation:

Educated or not, every women suffer during their menstrual days. Menstruation is normal still even today it is known as a taboo in ‘India’.Menstruation is associated with impurity in India.They are often kept out of communal cooking and eating places on days when they are menstruating, and are barred from entering temples. Menstruation comes with severe cramps, back pains, mood swings, and sometimes heavy bleeding. Women silently suffer the pains while menstruating. Working womens on their menstruation days never complained. However, now mandatory first two days of leaves have been issued by the law during the menstruation days which brings relief to the working women for atleast the first two days. Even while menstruating, a women does all her work, household chores,in that pain. Imagine working when you are bleeding for continous 5 to 7 days. Only womens can do that. She bleeds every month for 5 to 7 days and handles all the pain by herself.

Molestation or Harassments:

We do live in a democratic country. But yet ‘Womens’ are still not safe here. And its the fact. Even today, womens are not safe and to be honest I really don’t know when we would feel safe here.

Each and every girl or a women in the society has been through molestation or harrasments atleast once or twice or maybe more in her life. Sad but the truth. Some experience this through a family member while some experience this in their school. Some might experience in their college , some might in their classes. Work spaces, empty roads, bus stops, buses, trains, empty railway stations, restaurants, entertainment field, hospitals, etc. Where are the womens safe?

Actually, no where. Womens always live in the fear of getting molested or getting harassed by someone. Womens can never be relaxed if they are out of their houses. They have to be extra cautious and protect themselves from any happenings on their own. Womens everyday deals with the uncomfortable stares that are passed by mens to them. It is like a daily routine. Womens are not free and safe yet where they can openly roam anywhere and at anytime without having any fear.

Forceful Marriages:

Earlier, child marriages were been practiced in India. Today, the legal age of marrying for womens is above 18 years of age. Families who haven’t developed their minds force their daughters to get married as soon as they are above 18 years. Womens are forced to marry to strangers by their families and are led to suffer for lifelong. Forceful marriages are done where womens are emotionally blackmailed. Families stop their daughters education to just get her married. Womens are not only born for marriages. Today, Womens have created histories. But sadly, forceful marriages still takes place.

Domestic Violences:

Womens do suffer domestic violences in silence without raising their voices or asking for help. Womens suffer domestic violences for their childrens if any. Due to the society, womens tolerate domestic violences and do not seek help. Few womens are afraid to take steps against their husbands. Womens who do not work are afraid to leave their husbands. The fear of being alone, the fear of raising their childrens alone, the fear of not accepted in the society, the fear of getting a ‘divorce tag’ all this makes a women to suffer domestic violences alone.

Pregnancy Pains:

The biggest gift is to give birth to a child which womens are blessed with. The pregnancy phase every women deals with is unbelievable. A women while pregnant makes her whole body goes through drastic changes. A woman goes through frequent urination, dizziness, headaches, changes in breasts, fatigue, nausea, Her appetite changes, her moods, her body, and many more. The amount of pain while delivering a baby every women goes through is unimaginable. A women suffers all the pain for her baby.

Even after all this, Womens are not treated with the respect she deserves. Womens are made feel less superior than mens. Womens are compared every day with the mens of the society.

A woman compromises her dreams, her ambitions, her wishes, all for her family and still never complaints.

A woman has to face challenges at every aspects of her life be it through emotionally or physically. Women sufferings do not end. According to me, I listed out some of the common sufferings but it doesn’t ends here.

Till the death of a women, she has to go through something or the other. Womens are so powerful that they suffer in silence and still get up daily and fight back against the world. Womens pains are endless. Some choose to compromise with their life. Some get up and change their lives.

Adaptive Physical Education

Adaptive Physical Education (APE) is a direct service that can be provided to a special needs child, should the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) or the Committee on Special Education (CSE) determine that the child is in need of such service. In many cases, if a child is identified as visually impaired, physically handicapped, severely multiply impaired, or other health impaired, he or she will be warranted APE services.

Adaptive Physical Education (APE) is an adapted, or modified, physical education program designed to meet the individualized gross motor needs, or other disability-related challenges, of an identified student. The program can be provided one-on-one, in a small group, or within the general physical education setting. The APE instructor needs to be trained in assessing and working with special needs children. Lesson plans, rubrics, and worksheets need to be adapted for the needs of the children.

The need for Adaptive Physical Education (APE) is determined by the CPSE or CSE. The APE instructor assesses the child and presents the information to the committee. The assessment must include diagnostic and curriculum-based data, observations, and input by the child’s general physical education teacher. If the child is receiving OT, PT or Vision Therapy (VT), then input should be obtained by these providers as well.

Based on the assessment and any other information provided by committee members, the committee determines whether or not APE services are needed. If the committee recommends such services, then APE becomes a part of the child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The plan must include the assessment information, the amount of APE to be received, whether or not the child will be in the general physical education setting, and goals with measurable objectives/benchmarks.

It’s important to note that APE should not be viewed as a related service. Because physical education is federally mandated for all students, the APE teacher is a direct service provider. The APE teacher is to provide adaptations or modifications that will allow the special needs child to participate in age-appropriate physical educational activities. Adaptations or modifications can be made in four areas:

1. Instruction. Rules, lesson plans, strategies, etc. can be modified or included to help the child be successful in physical education. For example, a down’s syndrome child may respond to one word signs as reminders for doing a summersault correctly.

2. Rules. A rule can be adapted or changed if it allows the special needs child to be successful. For example, if the students are working on volley ball skills, a wheelchair bound student is allowed to serve the volley ball from four feet ahead of the serving line.

3. Equipment. Standard gym equipment can be replaced with other objects that vary in shape, color, size, etc. For example, when playing kickball, provide a large bright orange ball for a visually impaired child to kick.

4. Environment. If need be, change the size of the playing area or use tape to define the area. For example, if the general education students are pitching softballs back and forth, work with a severely mentally handicapped child on rolling a ball back and forth by starting out being two feet apart and gradually increasing the space.

For some special needs students, Adaptive Physical Education may be needed every school year. For other students, as they continue to make gains with their gross motor skills, APE services might be tapered back and at some point no longer needed. APE students need to be encouraged to do their best. Programs, such as the Special Olympics, have provided a wonderful and positive opportunity for APE students to experience competing just like their non-disabled peers.

Adapted games for disabilities

The adaptation and development of games for children with disabilities is fundamental for the progression and stimulation of children with disabilities. Apart from adapting the games and toys design according to certain standards to comply with the needs of children with disabilities, we should not forget, that adapting them to the universal standards will benefit, not only children with disabilities, put also children without them, so they can share moments together while playing, favouring social inclusion.  

Games and toys for children with disability: inclusion, encouragement and development

Games for children are a synonym with psychomotor activity, development and stimulation. They are a source of assertiveness, motivation, satisfaction and social interaction.

In the case of children with disability, games are more than that. All these benefits mentioned above are duplicated when disabilities are present, so that the game turns to be an occupational area which is a very basic element for their social, cognitive, sensory, prescriptive, affective and communicative development.

We need to take into account that games for children with disabilities are also essential tools to accomplish educational objectives. Nevertheless, children with disabilities usually find obstacles in the game, not only if toys are not adapted to their own needs, but also when interacting with other children.

Furthermore, since there is not only a type of disability (there could be motor, cognitive, sensory, perceptive, relational disabilities), it is hard to set global patterns to define games for every kind of disability. Professionals (doctors and specialists) and family members are the ones who need to be in charge of spotting the features each child needs.

adapted toys

Some of the esential things we need to take into account when choosing a toy or a game for children with disabilities are the age and type of disability. For instance, in cases of motor disability, adaptations in toys for babies is quite high per se. This is due to the fact that at an early age the mobility of babies with or without disabilities is practically the same, but the differences in motor activity are more notable as children grow.

But not only the age and the type of disability are key when choosing any toy or game, children (not only the ones with disabilities), usually have different learning rhythms, so it is important to call certain specifications into question with regard to the age, depending on the case.

Even so, when talking about games for children with disabilities, we can establish the following general guidelines.

  • Look for toys with different visual designs, use and play (characteristics of toys with universal design)
  • Choose those that allow you to change the rules so you can easily adapt them.
  • Encourage them to explore and participate so that they realise what they are or not able to do, and get to know their preferences too
  • Donโ€™t forget that stimulation through games for the disabled is both an individual and group experience. The former reinforces personal autonomy while the latter promotes communication and teamwork.
  • Adapted toys are those that, in a group of children with and without disabilities, all of them can play with it and none feels excluded.
  • “Dirty game” (using sand, water, finger paints, play dough, kneading, wax, modelling clay…) stimulates sensory and motor development.
  • If you suggest games for disabled children, try to mix tradition and innovation together. Traditional games (clapping games, songs, etc.) promote the sensorimotor development and enhance social relations. On the contrary, innovative toys use interesting and useful programmes and technological adjustments for children with disabilities.

Games for children with physical disabilities: challenges and basic modifications

Children with motor disabilities usually start their physical therapy when their first months of life are taking place and their parents moving their efforts and eagerness into it. In this phase, play is presented as a major element for physical development.

Among the main obstacles that children with physical disabilities may find when playing, are problems with moving certain parts of their body, reaching the elements, and the precision of movement and coordination.

One of the usual elements for adapting games for children with disabilities is the use of push buttons. They, apart from stimulating the game, are used in some day-to-day devices such as computers, controls, switches or keys. Getting to have autonomy with push buttons, will make easier for them the fact of controlling those devices in the future.

Some other basic elements to take into account when choosing accessible games for children with phisical disabilities are:

  • Children can handle them without needing the help from others.
  • Push buttons (and other elements which they need to interact with)ย are adapted, distinguishable and easy to run.
  • Large structures like kitchen sets, little tables, etc. need to beย large enough to allow the entrance of a wheelchair. In the absence of this possibility, the structure should be detachable.
  • The need to perform multiple actions at the same time isย excluded (for example, the need of pressing two buttons simultaneously).

Technology Integration

Technology integration is the use of technology resources — computers, mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, digital cameras, social media platforms and networks, software applications, the Internet, etc. — in daily classroom practices, and in the management of a school. Successful technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is:

  • Routine and transparent
  • Accessible and readily available for the task at hand
  • Supporting the curricular goals, and helping the students to effectively reach their goals

When technology integration is at its best, a child or a teacher doesn’t stop to think that he or she is using a technology tool — it is second nature. And students are often more actively engaged in projects when technology tools are a seamless part of the learning process.

Defining Technology Integration

“Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner, analyse and synthesize the information, and present it professionally. The technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions — as accessible as all other classroom tools.”ย — National Educational Technology Standards for Students, International Society for Technology in Education.

The success behind technology integration in education

There are two keys to successfully integrating technology in the classroom. The first lies in understanding the role of technology in the classroom. Keeping students โ€” not the technology โ€” at the center of instruction is the second.

Authentic and meaningful technology integration is a relationship between the teacher, the student, and the curriculum. Technology is the vehicle that makes it happen.

In Ms. Hartโ€™s classroom, students used technology as an appropriate medium for completing their assignment. Their focus remained on the learning objectives and project goals โ€” the tech was just a tool. Learning how to use the available technology also supplemented their learning experience and helped them work more efficiently.

Digital automation and machinery alone will never make school a better place. Technology integration in education doesnโ€™t shift the focus from instruction. Instead, it enhances an existing educational program by serving as a learning device.

Benefits of technology integration

First, technology meets students where they are in the learning continuum by assessing their strength and weaknesses. Then, the programs identify appropriate learning objectives and establish learning pathways for each student.

Second, instructional software allows students to access their classwork anytime. Students may extend their learning by working on programs outside of class: before school, during lunch time, or from home if they have access to the apps from their own devices.

Third, learners find technology responsive and engaging. In the classroom,ย students with access to technologyย have useful tools that assist withย active learningย and problem-solving. Integrated technology encourages engagement and exploration in a way that traditional textbooks can never fill. Classroom lessons are less about the technology itself and more about deep learning. Students use technology toย achieve the task at hand: understanding content.

Additionally, software and digital voice assistants provide alternative, reliable sources of information or fact-checking. These programs patiently repeat directions and lessons, customizing instruction through differentiation.

Finally, as learners engage with software and other technology, certain algorithms can collect data about student achievement for teachers to analyze. This data allows them to better plan future lessons and attend to their studentsโ€™ needs

Career Counseling

Career counseling, also known as career guidance, is counseling designed to help with choosing, changing, or leaving a career and is available at any stage in life. One’s career is often one of the most important aspects of adulthood, and embarking on a new career, whether for the first time, the second time, or any time thereafter, can be aย stressfulย event, especially when economic difficulties such as recession are a factor. Aย career counselorย can help by outlining and discussing one’s potential career options.

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Career Counseling

View of surveyor working in field through blades of grass

Career counseling, also known as career guidance, is counseling designed to help with choosing, changing, or leaving a career and is available at any stage in life. One’s career is often one of the most important aspects of adulthood, and embarking on a new career, whether for the first time, the second time, or any time thereafter, can be a stressful event, especially when economic difficulties such as recession are a factor. A career counselor can help by outlining and discussing one’s potential career options.

WHAT IS CAREER COUNSELING?

Most Americans will spend a third of their lives at work, but a 2014 study showed that only 52.3% of Americans report being satisfied with their jobs.ย Job stressย may lead toย anxietyย orย depression, so finding a fulfilling career is considered to be important to mental well-being. When choosing the most fitting career or finding a new job when one proves unsatisfying or frustrating, the services of a career counselor may be helpful.A career counselor could be a therapist, life coach, or a volunteer from the business world but will generally be trained to provide career information resources, discuss career development, and administer and interpret aptitude and ability assessments. Students might see aย guidance counselorย in high school before applying to college and then again in college before choosing or changing majors, but career counseling can help anyone who wishes to change careers, leave work altogether, or explore ways to be more satisfied with a current career.

CHOOSING A CAREER

Choosing a career is an important task, but it may also be a difficult one. It may not be easy to decide what type of job will be the best fit, and since career counseling helps people assess their skills, needs, and desires in order to find a career that works for them, this type of counseling is considered to be an important step to take before deciding on a permanent career. Researching a wide variety of potential careers may be overwhelming, and information on the skill sets and education needed for a particular position may be contradictory or difficult to find. A career counselor will often be able to provide valuable information in these areas and others.

Some of the following questions may be helpful for narrowing one’s focus when considering a career change:

  • What do I enjoy doing?
  • What kinds of activities are fun and fulfilling for me?
  • What am I good at?
  • What is my skill set?
  • What qualifications do I have, such as a degree or experience?
  • How much money do I need to make to feel satisfied?
  • What jobs are available in the place(s) Iโ€™d like to live?
  • Do I want to travel?
  • What are myย values?
  • Is it important to me to be of service to others?
  • Am I looking for intensely challenging work or something relatively easy?
  • Am I willing to do what others tell me without question, or would I rather make most decisions on my own?
  • To what degree do I need stability and security?

HOW CAREER COUNSELING CAN HELP

In a career counseling session, the counselor will help a person explore skills and strengths, consider education levels and give advice about continuing education, and determine interests and personality type. Counselors may also administer anย IQ testย or an aptitude test. Theย Myers-Briggs Type Indicatorย has also been shown to be useful at helping individuals determine possible careers based on personality traits.

Some potential topics of discussion in career counseling:

  • Particular skills or talents. In which careers might they be useful?
  • The educational commitment required of various careers.
  • The potential earnings of various careers.
  • The daily working environment. Some people enjoy working in an office, while others might be more successful in a fast-paced or outdoor environment.
  • The opportunities for change or advancement in a particular career. Some careers are more flexible than others. Lawyers and doctors, for example, may shift their focus or area of specialty but will generally remain lawyers and doctors. Other careers or education paths might more allow mobility between positions in a given field.
  • The necessary skills/education for a desired career.

Who is a Career Counselor?

The Career Services staff member assisting you holds a masters degree and has expertise in career development theory, counseling techniques, administration and interpretation of assessments, and career information resources. Career Counselors have masters degrees in Counseling or Career Counseling.

Your job search/ career attainment process is also a critical aspect of your career development, and therefore, Job Search Advising and Career Counseling are intertwined. Your Career Counselor is also fully trained to assist with all aspects of your job search.

Trend ‘Web-Series’

What is a Web Series?

A web series is a series of episodes designed like Television series except for the matter that its shown on the web. Normally, TV daily soaps run for months or years but a web series have small number of series of episodes that could end in a day or maybe in two to three days. It depends on the person who is watching. Some prefer in binge watching the episodes which means the practice of watching multiple episodes of a series in rapid succession. Where else some people prefer watching it at their free time.

Webseries tells you a story that are released over time in order. Its not like the episodes of daily soaps that requires dramas to entertain the audience. All you need is a creative content for the show to reach out the target audience.

The first web series in India that created a lot of buzz amongst the youths was ‘Permanent Roommates’ in 2015. Since then, there has been a rise on the Web series platform with various different shows or series.

Web series can be watched on your smartphones, desktops, laptops, tablets and even on Televisions. It can be scripted or non scripted videos or series of episodes.

The budget of the web series is normally less compared to the TV or films shootings. The web series can be made by anyone who has a great content and a creative ones which the audience would love to watch and also something new and exciting one.

The best part about web series is that you can show whatever content you want to and there are no restrictions or violations against it whereas on the other hand, TV shows or Films are violated for the content to a certain extent.

Over the few years, different genre of web series have been created and released on different platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee 5, Alt Balaji, etc. People typically spend time in watching the series for 4 to 5 hours or sometimes even more than that. Web series can be watched on the online platforms through WIFI or cellular data on your smartphones or tablets.

Web series can be in different genres like romance, drama, mysteries, horrors, suspenses, thrillers, crimes, etc. The contents can be made available in different languages like English, Hindi, German, Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and many more.

A great content is all you need and ofcourse the ‘Camera’ for creating a Web Series.

Pros:

– Web series can be watched anywhere at anytime and at anyplace.

– Webseries can be watched alone with no disturbance.

– Web series can be watched in your free time to avoid boredom.

– Web series can be enjoyed without any censored content.

-Web series can be watched on different online platforms.

– You need to subscribe and login your details to watch your favorite series on the online platforms.

Cons:

– Due to the uncensored content, web series can’t be watched with families.

– People with busy schedules cannot enjoy web series as it requires free time.

– You need to do payments for your subscription.

The current scenario:

Today, Webseries have took over the Television daily soaps among the youths and certain age groups who like to watch series on the Web. Not completely but more than TV shows, the youth prefers to binge watch the different series as per their likings that are released on different online platforms.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos, Alt Balaji, Zee 5, Voot Select are few of the online platforms that are the most trending. The nation lockdown has made people sit at their homes due to which some are working from wfh and some are free. As more and more people have free time, generally youths are spending more time in binge watching the trending series which are going on releasing and entertaining and keeping themselves busy in this lockdown.

Depending on the preferences or depending on the trending series people make time and binge watch it. Nowadays, youths have no topics to talk about except for one i.e CoVid-19. So, they do discuss about the series that are trending or the ones which they have watched amongst their friends and yes resulting in ‘word of mouth’ publicity which helps the series to grow and be trending.

Television soaps are rarely watched by the youths due to the upgrowing webseries industry. Not completely neglected by youths but yes they do enjoy watching series on the web more than Television daily soaps.

Well, that doesn’t mean that TV daily soaps are not in demand or will be going off air in the upcoming years. No, not at all.

Web series have created a trend in the market. The nation- wide lockdown increased the number of viewers of web series more rapidly and is trending today than compared to earlier as TV daily soaps weren’t available with new episodes or dramas.

Everyone wants something new always due to which the web series have started getting maximum number of viewerships as new series are being released till date.

Web series or TV daily soaps , all we need is entertainment, creative and different stories. The people who prefer series over the TV daily soaps will continue to watch series and vice-versa. And the people who love watching web series and TV soaps will always continue doing that.

Importance Of Staying Positive

In a world full of “glass half empty”, it is important for us to be the “glass half full”. Some people are happy even when their situations are challenging. And some people, no matter how comfortable they are, they always feel like they are still lacking something in their lives, which ultimately makes them sad.

Human is a materialistic being. After s/he gains one thing, they get their eyes set on another. Humans always want more than what they have. For some, it works as an extrinsic motivation which may or may not be healthy for them.

Some believe that if you persistently think of wanting something, you will just magically get it without putting actual efforts. And when they don’t get it, for obvious reasons, they blame their ‘destiny’. But let’s not talk about these people. Let’s look into the lives of people who are genuinely happy and satisfied with their lives.

These people are quite rarely found in our society. Such people aren’t running after materialistic things. They love to live in the moment and make the best out of a situation. Even when all odds are against them, they manage to find one positive thing that keeps them going.

For example, I was out for a morning run in our community park when it suddenly started pouring. It was around 6:30 in the morning. Everyone took shelter under a tree a or nearby shed. I too, went under a shed to protect myself from the rain. That’s when my eyes landed on an old couple who looked around the age of early 60s. They were still out there and we’re now soaking wet. All their clothes stuck to their bodies and their shoes looked wet too. But, they were laughing and smiling. If I can recall correctly, they were even dancing merrily. A guy beside me, around my age, yelled at them telling them to take shelter from the rain. They just looked at him and laughed. A woman in late 30s mumbled ‘Great. Now I am going to get late. The road is going to be filled with water. Ugh.. What am I going to do..’

That’s when I saw the old couple again as they continued laughing and enjoying the weather. Since I was on school break I decided to see why they were so happy. I myself got out of the shed and the moment I did that my clothes turned wet. But then I realized something. The water felt nice against my body and brought coolness inside me. I suddenly started enjoing the rain and started walking around.

Now that I think about it, I too got scolded by my mother for getting wet in the rain. And I think I even caught the flu. But those moments when I was enjoying the rain, I never regretted them. Since then, I understood that if we spend our entire lives worrying about one thing or the other, we will never really get to live in the moment.

Yes, I know it’s easier said than done. Everyone’s situations are different. Everyone’s lives are stressed. Especially in these times. But if we try to look at the brighter side of the picture, it might just help us learn to cope with the current situation. It won’t be easy. Because the glass right now looks half empty. But with practising, we can start looking at things in a somewhat positive light!

Vikas Dubey Encounter & U.P Police

Was Vikas Dubeyโ€™s house demolition legal? Was Dubey killed in fake encounter?

Rule of Law states that even in case of worst Human Being or Dreaded Criminal, he should not be eliminated and given due process of natural justice. Principle of Human Rights- Every person shall have right to fair trial and should be assumed innocent until proven guilty, i.e. AUDI ALTERM PARTEM.

Five of Dubeyโ€™s men have been killed in encounter since July 3, 2020. Now in this present case, how Vikas Dubey travelled from Faridabad to Ujjain through Kota and how he is roaming in Ujjainโ€™s temple fearlessly to offer prayer in temple, where he got arrested by U.P police, confessing โ€œMai Hoon Vikas Dubey Kanpur Walaโ€. Whole story seems to be concocted one. U.P Govt. here might have thought of being exposed by Dubey as he has insider connection with various high-profile ministers, Police officers and other personnel. They were left with single option of encounter to refrain Dubey from recording his statement.

Here arises Dozens of questions regarding Dubeyโ€™s Encounter?

  1. In Toll Plazaโ€™s CCTV footage, we can see Dubey in Safari, however he was encountered while fleeing in another car of police personnel. How cars got switched?
  2. That vehicle was lying conveniently on its side with all the doors being closed and not much damage to road with open fields on each of its sides. How person can escape in open field?
  3. Press/Media was following the cavalcade it seems Press was threated and might be halted in between state highway?
  4. In ordinary crimes, criminals are handcuffed so they canโ€™t escape, in present scenario Dubey being dreaded criminal was not handcuffed by the police. Why?

These are just kind of factual errors. Moreover, encounter seems to be scripted badly.

U.P is a state where encounters are celebrated. If we look few years back, one police office was heavily applauded for the encounter he had done, he sat in chariot decorated with flowers and took round of city.

Words of Chief Minister regarding Encounter-

OUTLOOK JOURNAL (9th Oct, 2019)

CM announces, โ€œAgar Apradh Karenge to Thok Dieye Jayengeโ€ the state police without any doubt, becomes trigger happy. Moreover Swatch Bharat Abhiyan was replaced with Swatch Badmas Abhiyan.

Supreme Courtโ€™s Judgement:

โ€œIt is not the duty of the police officers to kill the accused merely because he is a dreaded criminal. Undoubtedly, the police have to arrest the accused and put them up for trial. This court has repeatedly admonished trigger happy police personnel, who liquidate criminals and project the incident as an encounter. Such killings must be deprecated. They are not recognized as legal by our criminal justice administration system. They amount to state sponsored terrorism.โ€

# When Police kills a Criminal it’s called an ‘Encounter’. When a Criminal kills police it’s called ‘Murder’

Few things that readers should understand:

1. It’s Time for major Criminal Laws reforms in the country

2. Who will judge the Police?

3. Has it become so easy to by-pass Court system?

4. Is calling every high profile case as Encounter in the garb of socio-media justice lawful?

5. A person who is one of the most wanted Criminal after a failed escape surrenders to police

6. Will he try to run away and endanger his own life?

7. For someone as smart as Vikas Dubey@Vikas Pandit that’s a really stupid way to die. Isn’t it?

8. How far would he have run away on foot with an army of armed police persons surrounding him?

9. Police training requires a fair warning and thereafter shooting at non-fatal body parts only to disable a person

10. Killing someone and claiming self-defense in the given scenario comes across as foul play

11. The real question is who is a Criminal?

12. The criminal himself or the police. Both Breaking Laws and not respecting any Due Process

We need to ask ourselves:

“Are we safe when Police is stepping out of the domain of Policing and entering the domain of Judiciary?”

Domestic violence

โ€œI am living in hell from one day to the next. But there is nothing I can do to escape. I donโ€™t know where I would go if I did. I feel utterly powerless, and that feeling is my prison. I entered of my own free will, I locked the door, and I threw away the keyโ€
Above words of Haruki Murakami precisely echo the sentiments of millions of souls suffering the agony of tourture and harrassment in the hands of their loved ones. Domestic Violence is a multifaceted problem. It roots from our verandah and branches out nationally and globally. There is hardly any village, hardly any city, hardly any country which is free from this social evil.
But the question arises: โ€œWhat is domestic violence?โ€ We all know the answer: the violence against women done by her husband in perticular or any male in general is known as domestic violence. Wrong! Domestic Violence is not limited to violence against women alone. It is a much broader concept. Shortly put, Domestic Violence is any form of violence which is born inside the four walls of the house. It has nothing to do with the gender of the victim or the victimizer. Any act of violence and torture whether physical or emotional, against anyone whether male or female inflicted by their intimate partners or any other member of the family is Domestic Violence.
Letโ€™s take the case of this young woman for example which was highlighted by the Deccan Herald. A young married woman sought refuge in her motherโ€™s home in Delhi to save herself from the verbal and physical abuse of her spouse. Just after that the country wide lockdown was imposed so she was not able to return to her husbandโ€™s home for long. She felt safe here but not for long as her brother saw her to be an extra burden on the family in the time of financial crisis and in a fit of anger and frustration beat her black and blue. Another famous case is of former stuntman of the โ€˜James Bond movieโ€™, Eddie Kidd. According to a report Eddie was subject of constant physical torture by his wife Samantha for years. After the imprisonment of his wife Eddie narrated his plight while talking to an English Newspaper. He said that Samantha had a drinking problem and she used to punch him and slap him in front of their house help. Eddie was rendered unable to walk after a work mishap and hence became the recipient of verbal, physical and emotional abuse in the household.Both of the above-mentioned cases tell us about the universality, genderlessness and seriousness of the problem.
Letโ€™s talk about the present scenario for example, the pandemic and the lockdown. There has been a soaring increase in the rate of domestic violence during the lockdown period globally. According to WHO data, the cases of domestic violence reported in Jingzhou (Hubei), tripled during lockdown as compared to the number of last year. There is a report by National Commission of Women (NCW) released in mid April 2020, which claims that there has been an increase of 100% in the cases of domestic violence against women during the period of lockdown. This is the data of domestic violence against women specifically in lockdown. But, we know that the problem is neither limited to lockdown nor to women alone. So where is the data of men you ask? Well there are none available. Yes you read it right!

Domestic Abuse against men is not legally recognised by Indian Law. The gender biased law only sees men as the abuser and not the abused. The cases of domestic violence against men have risen as alarmingly as womenโ€™s in recent years; maybe more because we have no systematic data. Most of the cases go unreported because most men suffer from the additional stigma of public humiliation if matter is highlighted. Moreover, the form of violence is different than the one we have presumed in our minds. Many victims told that they were beaten by the male members of the wifeโ€™s family or were pressurized by the wife in ways unimaginable which left them traumatized both physically and emotionally.
Society is a coin and male and female are the two faces of the coin. Evils like domestic violence are heinous crimes not against sexes but against humanity as a whole. It is inopportune that such a nefarious atrocity exists in our society and we are responsible for it. As civilized humans it is our duty to raise our voices against the malpractices of our surroundings. We need to be more sensitive as citizens, more observant as neighbours, more vigilant as colleagues. We need to stop stigmatizing and stereotyping the people around us. We canโ€™t shrek our responsibility by saying โ€œHow can we interfere in someone elseโ€™s private affairsโ€œ. It is time to intervene. There are numerous laws to correct this felony and to safeguard the victims. Both the central and Government along with NGOs are working to eradicate it. But, our support and encouragement is needed. We need to strengthen the law, reduce the loopholes and extend a helping hand to protect the victims. The need of the hour is to remove the spectacles of prejudice and ignorance and to come together as a society.

Succession Planning

” Succession Planning helps build the bench of strength of an organisation to ensure the long-term health, growth and stability.” – Teala Wilson

Succession Planning is a very important part of the talent management process. Succession Planning has many benefits in an organisation in current scenario. It helps in ensuring the continued success of an organisation. But before moving further we should first understand that what is succession planning? Succession Planning is the process of identifying and developing new leader who can replace the old leaders and can fill each key role within the company. It can also be described as having the right people with right skills and experience in the right job at right time. It is an ongoing process of identifying future leaders in an organisation and making them capable enough so that they can fill the key or important position within the organisation.

Succession Planning establishes a balance between individuals and organisation as succession planning not only helps in achieving organisational goals and needs but also the growing recognition that your employee need. As we know recognition and rewards are the things which each and every employee or person wants in his or her life and if they get it they would work hard to retain the same. It helps in maintaining organisational performance during uncertain times. Assume if an employee retires so it won’t be possible to hire someone immediately, in this situation succession planning helps a lot. One more example is if an employee decides to leave your organisation and take another job, it is a form of voluntary separation. So, companies need to be prepared for such situations. To handle this type of situation the organisation need to train its staff that can back-up current employees and can act smoothly. Succession Planning also helps the employee so that they can realise their career plans for the future. It also helps in enhancing the employee’s morale and to motivate them so that they can perform better on their job. Succession Planning also helps in cutting cost of recruitment. Some of the impact of Succession Planning are –

  • Leadership- Succession Planning helps in providing continuous leadership. Organisation select leader from the current employees who are more likely to adhere to their mission and manage new challenges.
  • Reputation- It helps in enhancing reputation of the organisation. As if an employee and those outside the organisation get to know that this organisation uses succession planning process within their organisation this will build confidence in them. As this will show that the organisation is well-organized and ready for future. This process will also show that the organisation helps its employees to choose their potential career path and achieve the same.
  • Eliminates Confusion- Succession Planning helps in eliminating confusion as to who will fill the key or critical position of the organisation when the employer is no longer available to make decisions.
  • Builds Confidence- Succession Planning helps in building confidence among employees. It also helps in bringing a sense of security.
  • Saving Time- Succession Planning helps in saving time as the organisation has already planned to promote and train people within the organisation which means that less time is spent on recruiting from external sources.

Last But Not the Least

So lastly, Succession Planning is a critical but an important part of the talent management process and should be done nicely to reduce cost and time and to increase efficiency and confidence.

Indian Education Future

India is known for a quiet a few things through out the world. For example indiaโ€™s information technology one of the leading factor in shaping the future of the world.
Similarly India has also emerged as an important player in the field of outsourcing . Indiaโ€™s economy is the 5th largest in the world with a GDP of $2.94 trillion, overtaking the UK and France in 2019 to take the fifth spot.There are a number of reasons for such dramatic success of India but the most important one is the education system of india as two third of Indiaโ€™s GDP is due to the skilled jobs created in tertiary sector. And in order to predict the future of india it is necessary to determine the future of the education system of India. Therefore this article will be discussing the promising future offered in education as well as the dark abyss that the country must overcome to walk on the boulevard of development.

As Robert Kiyosaki once said โ€œThe best way to predict the future is to study the past, or prognosticate.โ€ it is essential to learn about the past of education in India and how it has changed up till now. Since independence providing education to all has been the major goal of the government. During 1952-2014 the percentage of total government expenditure increased from 7.92 to 16 %
But the increase in education exoentiure has not been uniform and there has been irregular rise and fall. However the total educational expenditure including the private expenditure by individuals and charitable institutions has been quite much.

Indian government is trying there best to make the promising dream offered by the education system come true and due to this there are a number of positive changes that are expected to take place in the near future. Firstly education for all ,that is, 100 per cent literacy might just not be a distant dream and can become a realty as free and compulsory education is already a fundamental right and in addition to this government sanctioned a large outlay for the promotion of higher education and new loan schemes for students. Secondly, education might change into e-education, that is, technology will innovate the present education system. For example-Examination patterns will change completely with increased use of online quizzes and group discussions, classes would be more computer based and become more paperless. Thirdly there would be more subjects to chose from and education system would be more flexible as with more subjects to chose from students can actually study subjects according to there interest.

However for these to positive changes to take place the government needs to overcome a lot of challenges. Like the Indian education system is like a pyramid indicating lesser and lesser number of people for higher level of education. Therefore the government needs to increase allocation for higher education and also improve the standard of higher education institutions, so that students are imparted employable skills in such institutions. Similarly there is huge difference in educational opportunities across states. The per capita educational expenditure differs considerably across states from as high as โ‚น34651 in Himachal Pradesh to as low as โ‚น4088 in Bihar. This leads to differences in educational opportunities and attainments across states.

Soil Pollution

Soil pollution refers to the contamination of soil with anomalous concentrations of toxic substances. It is a serious environmental concern since it harbours many health hazards. For example, exposure to soil containing high concentrations of benzene increases the risk of contracting leukaemia. An image detailing the discolouration of soil due to soil pollution is provided below.

Soil Pollution

It is important to understand that all soils contain compounds that are harmful/toxic to human beings and other living organisms. However, the concentration of such substances in unpolluted soil is low enough that they do not pose any threat to the surrounding ecosystem. When the concentration of one or more such toxic substances is high enough to cause damage to living organisms, the soil is said to be contaminated.

The root cause of soil pollution is often one of the following:

  • Agriculture (excessive/improper use of pesticides)
  • Excessive industrial activity
  • Poor management or inefficient disposal of waste

The challenges faced in soil remediation (decontamination of soil) are closely related to the extent of soil pollution. The greater the contamination, the greater the requirement of resources for remediation.

What are the Pollutants that Contaminate Soil?

Some of the most hazardous soil pollutants are xenobiotics โ€“ substances that are not naturally found in nature and are synthesized by human beings. The term โ€˜xenobioticโ€™ has Greek roots โ€“ โ€˜Xenosโ€™ (foreigner), and โ€˜Biosโ€™ (life). Several xenobiotics are known to be carcinogens. An illustration detailing major soil pollutants is provided below.

Soil Pollutants

The different types of pollutants that are found in contaminated soil are listed in this subsection.

Heavy Metals

The presence of heavy metals (such as lead and mercury, in abnormally high concentrations) in soils can cause it to become highly toxic to human beings. Some metals that can be classified as soil pollutants are tabulated below.

Toxic Metals that Cause Soil Pollution
ArsenicMercuryLead
AntimonyZincNickel
CadmiumSeleniumBeryllium
ThalliumChromiumCopper

These metals can originate from several sources such as mining activities, agricultural activities, electronic waste (e-waste), and medical waste.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (often abbreviated to PAHs) are organic compounds that:

  1. Contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms.
  2. Contain more than one aromatic ring in their chemical structures.

Common examples of PAHs include naphthalene, anthracene, and phenalene. Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has been linked to several forms of cancer. These organic compounds can also cause cardiovascular diseases in humans.

Soil pollution due to PAHs can be sourced to coke (coal) processing, vehicle emissions, cigarette smoke, and the extraction of shale oil.

Industrial Waste

The discharge of industrial waste into soils can result in soil pollution. Some common soil pollutants that can be sourced to industrial waste are listed below.

  • Chlorinated industrial solvents
  • Dioxins produced from the manufacture of pesticides and the incineration of waste.
  • Plasticizers/dispersants
  • Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

The petroleum industry creates many petroleum hydrocarbon waste products. Some of these wastes, such as benzene and methylbenzene, are known to be carcinogenic in nature.

Pesticides

Pesticides are substances (or mixtures of substances) that are used to kill or inhibit the growth of pests. Common types of pesticides used in agriculture include:

  • Herbicides โ€“ used to kill/control weeds and other unwanted plants.
  • Insecticides โ€“ used to kill insects.
  • Fungicides โ€“ used to kill parasitic fungi or inhibit their growth.

However, the unintentional diffusion of pesticides into the environment (commonly known as โ€˜pesticide driftโ€™) poses a variety of environmental concerns such as water pollution and soil pollution. Some important soil contaminants found in pesticides are listed below.

Herbicides

  • Triazines
  • Carbamates
  • Amides
  • Phenoxyalkyl acids
  • Aliphatic acids

Insecticides

  • Organophosphates
  • Chlorinated hydrocarbons
  • Arsenic-containing compounds
  • Pyrethrum

Fungicides

These chemicals pose several health risks to humans. Examples of health hazards related to pesticides include diseases of the central nervous system, immune system diseases, cancer, and birth defects.

What are the Processes that Cause Soil Pollution?

Soil pollution can be broadly classified into two categories โ€“

  • Naturally caused soil pollution
  • Anthropogenic soil pollution (caused by human activity)

Natural Pollution of Soil

In some extremely rare processes, some pollutants are naturally accumulated in soils. This can occur due to the differential deposition of soil by the atmosphere. Another manner in which this type of soil pollution can occur is via the transportation of soil pollutants with precipitation water.

An example of natural soil pollution is the accumulation of compounds containing the perchlorate anion (ClO4โ€“) in some dry, arid ecosystems. It is important to note that some contaminants can be naturally produced in the soil under the effect of certain environmental conditions. For example, perchlorates can be formed in soils containing chlorine and certain metals during a thunderstorm.

Anthropogenic Soil Pollution

Anthropogenic Soil Pollution

Almost all cases of soil pollution are anthropogenic in nature. A variety of human activities can lead to the contamination of soil. Some such processes are listed below.

  • The demolition of old buildings can involve the contamination of nearby soil with asbestos.
  • Usage of lead-based paint during construction activities can also pollute the soil with hazardous concentrations of lead.
  • Spillage of petrol and diesel during transportation can contaminate soils with the hydrocarbons found in petroleum.
  • Activities associated with metal casting factories (foundries) often cause the dispersion of metallic contaminants into the nearby soils.
  • Underground mining activities can cause the contamination of land with heavy metals.
  • Improper disposal of highly toxic industrial/chemical waste can severely pollute the soil. For example, the storage of toxic wastes in landfills can result in the seepage of the waste into the soil. This waste can go on to pollute groundwater as well.
  • Chemical pesticides contain several hazardous substances. Excessive and inefficient use of chemical pesticides can result in severe soil pollution.
  • Sewage produced in urbanized areas can also contaminate soil (if not disposed of correctly). These wastes may also contain several carcinogenic substances.

Other forms of waste that can pollute soil include nuclear waste, e-waste, and coal ash.

What are the Negative Consequences of Soil Pollution?

Soil pollution harbours a broad spectrum of negative consequences that affect plants, animals, humans, and the ecosystem as a whole. Since children are more susceptible to diseases, polluted soil poses a greater threat to them. Some important effects of soil pollution are detailed in this subsection.

Effects on Human Beings

Soil contaminants can exist in all three phases (solid, liquid, and gaseous). Therefore, these contaminants can find their way into the human body via several channels such as direct contact with the skin or through the inhalation of contaminated soil dust.

The short term effects of human exposure to polluted soil include:

  • Headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
  • Coughing, pain in the chest, and wheezing.
  • Irritation of the skin and the eyes.
  • Fatigue and weakness.

A variety of long-term ailments have been linked to soil pollution. Some such diseases are listed below.

  • Exposure to high levels of lead can result in permanent damage to the nervous system. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead.
  • Depression of the CNS (Central Nervous System).
  • Damage to vital organs such as the kidney and the liver.
  • Higher risk of developing cancer.

It can be noted that many soil pollutants such as petroleum hydrocarbons and industrial solvents have been linked to congenital disorders in humans. Thus, soil pollution can have several negative effects on human health.

Effects on Plants and Animals

Since soil pollution is often accompanied by a decrease in the availability of nutrients, plant life ceases to thrive in such soils. Soils contaminated with inorganic aluminium can prove toxic to plants. Also, this type of pollution often increases the salinity of the soil, making it inhospitable for the growth of plant life.

Plants that are grown in polluted soil may accumulate high concentrations of soil pollutants through a process known as bioaccumulation. When these plants are consumed by herbivores, all the accumulated pollutants are passed up the food chain. This can result in the loss/extinction of many desirable animal species. Also, these pollutants can eventually make their way to the top of the food chain and manifest as diseases in human beings.

Effects on the Ecosystem

  • Since the volatile contaminants in the soil can be carried away into the atmosphere by winds or can seep into underground water reserves, soil pollution can be a direct contributor to air and water pollution.
  • It can also contribute towards acid rain (by releasing huge quantities of ammonia into the atmosphere).
  • Acidic soils are inhospitable to several microorganisms that improve soil texture and help in the decomposition of organic matter. Thus, the negative effects of soil pollution also impact soil quality and texture.
  • Crop yield is greatly affected by this form of pollution. In China, over 12 million tons of grain (worth approximately 2.6 billion USD) is found to be unfit for human consumption due to contamination with heavy metals (as per studies conducted by the China Dialogue).

How can Soil Pollution be Controlled?

Several technologies have been developed to tackle soil remediation. Some important strategies followed for the decontamination of polluted soil are listed below.

  • Excavation and subsequent transportation of polluted soils to remote, uninhabited locations.
  • Extraction of pollutants via thermal remediation โ€“ the temperature is raised in order to force the contaminants into the vapour phase, after which they can be collected through vapour extraction.
  • Bioremediation or phytoremediation involves the use of microorganisms and plants for the decontamination of soil.
  • Mycoremediation involves the use of fungi for the accumulation of heavy metal contaminants.

How the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Changed the Default Policies

Introduction to the Code

India had the highest economic growth rates after the internet boom in the year 2000. A huge amount of investments were pouring inside the country as big companies saw it as a vast market and wanted to put solid footing in India. Companies had over-leveraged themselves in fear of losing lucrative opportunities. During the financial year of 2007-08, the Global Financial Crisis hit, and the high growth levels stopped. It led to low revenues, and subsequently, the high inflation levels caused RBI to increase the interest rates. This all led to the creation of an enormous number of NPAs in the financial sector. 

The government introduced the 12 Debt resolution mechanisms, but it was a failure in the end as all the laws failed to curb NPA’s. The borrowers used the loose provisions of law and created ambiguity in the judicial proceedings. They kept delaying it, and even when the cases were resolved, the creditors ended up taking massive cuts in debt recovery. 

The Ministry of Finance, in the year 2015, estimated that it would take 326 years to complete the backlogs. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was enacted in the year 2016 to tackle problems relating to insolvent companies and their closure. Many public sector banks, operational creditors, and financial institutions were facing challenges. The Code aimed to tackle the bad loans which were affecting the banks due to these insolvent companies. The Code has introduced a time-bound process under which insolvency will take place. Enactment of the Code has helped many employees working in these companies in India. They are now able to claim their dues quickly with the help of the National Company Tribunal (NCLT) established under this Code. IBC, after its enactment has successfully stopped many companies from defaulting their loans. The Code improved India’s ranking in “Ease of Doing Business” drastically. Currently, India stands at the 66th position. Before this Code was enacted, India’s ranking was 133. 

Objective and Purpose of the Code

  • Resolve Conflicts between the creditors and the debtor โ€“ The Code defines procedural certainty and the process of negotiation. The Code works in a way that reduces the problems of common property. This Code reduces the information asymmetry for all the economic participants.
  • The Code provides flexibility to the parties to reach the most efficient solution to achieve the maximum value during negotiation.
  • A platform for negotiation between the creditors and the external financers are created through this Code to create the possibility of rearrangements.
  • To amend the laws relating to the reorganization and insolvency resolution of the partnership firms, individuals, and corporate firms. 
  • A time limit is to be set in which the insolvency proceedings will be completed i.e., 180 days.
  • To raise the value of the assets of the interested parties.
  • This Code works in increasing the global ranking of the world in doing ease of business. 
  • The Code will help in promoting entrepreneurship. 
  • The Code establishes an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to act as a regulatory body. 
  • The Code proposes to regulate the insolvency professionals and professional insolvency agencies. The role of these agencies would be to develop professional standards and work as a disciplinary committee. 
  • Three types of resolution professionals are set up under the Code i.e., the Interim Resolution Professional, Final Resolution Professional, and the Liquidator.
  • Information Utilities has been set up under the Code. The work of these information utilities is to various types of data from the listed companies and also the data of the creditor’s companies. 
  • Individual Insolvency database is to be set up to provide information about the insolvency status of individuals.
  • An Adjudicating authority is set up to exercise the cases over a debtor. 

Relevant Social & Political Scenario at the time of enactment

At the time when the Code was passed in the parliament, big defaulters like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi’s defaults were putting pressure upon the public sector banks of India. There was no unified law against these defaulters. The rules which dealt with defaulters came under the likes of the Indian Contract Act, the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985, (SICA), the Securitizations, and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002. The Code aims to bring all the laws under one roof to provide ease to the primary creditors. The then Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley said that “A systemic vacuum exists with regard to bankruptcy situations in financial firms. This Code will provide a specialized resolution mechanism to deal with bankruptcy situations in banks, insurance firms and financial sector entities. This Code, together with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015, when enacted, will provide a comprehensive resolution mechanism for our economy”. However, at the time of enforcement of the Code, there were no special provisions for cross-border insolvency. 

Amendments

1. The Code went under a lot of changes since its inception; the first change came with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Act), 2017. Partnership firms, a proprietorship firm, individuals, and personal guarantors will be included under the heads “applicability” With this amendment, frivolous applications made by the personal guarantor will be avoided after the moratorium period is declared. Section 29A is inserted in the Code which lists the persons who cannot submit a resolution plan. It includes the undischarged insolvent, person convicted of an offence, disqualified from the post of director, account is NPA, a willful defaulter etc. If a person is NPA, if he pays his/her dues within 30 days, then they can submit the resolution plan. 

2. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance Bill was introduced in the year 2018. The objective of the Ordinance Bill was to strengthen the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIPR). The Ordinance states that “to balance the interests of various stakeholders in the Code, especially the interests of home buyers and micro, small and medium enterprises, promoting resolution over the liquidation of corporate debtor by lowering the voting threshold of the committee of creditors and streamlining provisions relating to the eligibility of resolution applicants.” 

 One significant change brought with this Ordinance was the inclusion of “Home Buyers” under the definition clause of Financial Creditors. The home buyers will be able to recover the amount paid as advanced through this addition. Another significant addition to this Act was that CIPR can now be initiated by the guardian, administrator, and the executor of the financial creditor. 

 A “Committee of Creditors” will be formed that will consist of all the “financial Creditors.” They will majorly work as a body to make routine decisions regarding the CIPR. 

3. Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 โ€“ The approval of the Competition Commission of India is required to finalize the resolution plan set by the financial creditors. This will reduce the chances of extending the time of the CIPR, i.e., 90 days of extension. 

4. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Bill), 2019 โ€“ The amendment proposes to strengthen the time-limit provisions in the Act. Secondly, a specific minimum payout is defined for the operational creditors for any resolution plan. Thirdly, it provides the manner in which the group of financial creditors should vote. 

JOBS

The work that you do regularly to earn money.

A job ,employment ,work or occupation is a person role of society .morespecifically .A job is an activity. Often regular and often performed in exchange for payment .many people have multiple jobs.A person can being a job by becoming an employee, volunteering,starting a business ,or becoming a parent.

A job is homogeneous tasks related by similarity of functions. When performed by an employee in an exchange for pay, A job consists of duties, responsibilities and task

BENEFITS OF JOB you have an identity ,not just a name ,image credit. The paycheck. The joy of being independent. Adding the new one to your slam book polishes to your skills. Have happy retirement let your personal life breathe let you enjoy some extra perks . It gives you money and purpose.

The job is just not about working for few hours. It’s more than that,working ,improving you as the person ,learning the skills will make certainly help u in full filling your purpose.no matter how small your work is ,remember that u are adding value to the organization and ultimately to the world. Having the job will give you the satisfaction. Happiness of maximization of wealth.

DISADVANTAGES OF JOB

wastage of time and effort . Employees take time . Leads to a whole lots of stress . It doesn’t check the time wasted. Zero results.

can be costly and time consuming. Could end up with dusgruntied employees.

Some jobs name are.

teacher. Doctor. Lawyer. Artist. Scientists. Etc.

Print vs Digital: Reading in the Modern Era

Much has changed with the advent of technology and globalization in our societies. This change comes in all kinds of forms, from how we dress and eat to how we study and engage. Reading is an arena where this is very evident. Our reading habits have changed drastically with the inflow of gadgets and technologies that transform the reading experience. It has also affected how we engage with what we are reading, our attention span, and the ability to grasp and recollect the things we read. While many prefer older ways of reading like directly from a book or newspaper, more people are turning to the digitalized spaces to read what they are interested in.

The print versus the digital media has always been an ongoing tug of war. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but as time moves on, one is bound to see a shift in reading habits, when a generation that grew up with technology starts becoming the main consumers of the market. Reading printed copies of books and newspapers are many a time described as a wholesome activity with no โ€˜modernโ€™ interruptions. It allows the individual to engage with something tactile, a book with pages they can feel, touch, and turn. It also allows one to mark passages with pencil and scribble down notes on the sides. And how can one let go of the sensory experience, the smell of old books, and the satisfaction of putting it down after finishing it or running your hands through the worn pages? Researches also opine that one is prone to remember better when one reads something in print rather than from a screen.

person reading on book
Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com

However, with the evolving ways of being and living in a technological era, change is inevitable. Today it is not uncommon to read entire books online or as a pdf on a computer. Books are available in these formats for sale as well as for free on some sites. Gadgets like the Amazon Kindle have furthered this field by offering a digital device that can store a large amount of information and books which you can access at all times. It is like carrying around thousands of books in your pocket and very efficient in that sense. It is also a very convenient and cost-effective investment. Books online tend to be much cheaper than paperbacks or hard copies. So, investing in a kindle and buying and reading books online turn out to be much more economical than spending on printed material. As a betterment from the app, kindle as a device also does not have any screen glare which makes the experience of sight exactly how it is as that of a book. ย It also allows you to highlight, bookmark, and add notes. However, the aesthetic experience that paperbacks afford is almost non-existent here.

In the end, it comes down to what you and your preferences are. Older generations tend to prefer reading print, but also a huge part of the current generations lean towards print as well when given a choice between the two because of the experience of holding a book in your hand and reading. However, we should never discount the conveniences that digital reading affords, especially in such a fast-paced world. Understanding the limitations of both while embracing what is best suited to your situation in life, without discounting either completely, is the only way to go about it. Mixing both as and when required in order to gain the most out of it and learn better should be our goal. And one can keep wondering if reading as a phenomenon refers to only the act of reading or if it denotes the entire sensory experience.

Types of Education

What is education?

In general terms, it is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

Four types of Education:

Indigenous education

1. Indigenous Education- It focuses on spreading knowledge of cultural beliefs, rules and customs and its oral transmission from one generation to another. Indigenous education can be seen as a response to a strong wave of globalization. This type of education is more accepted and valued in some systems than in others, but in African context it is seen as a vital part of protecting and maintaining a nationโ€™s cultural spirit.

Formal education

2. Formal Education- As a prototype of the picture we have of education, is set in a formal, school environment with professional teachers, who follow a specific and planned teaching program. This program concentrates on specific skills, knowledge and education goals. Formal education is in most countries fully-funded by the state and in Nigeria there are different levels of formal education system: kindergarten, primary, secondary (divided in junior and senior secondary school) and tertiary education. Children would spend 6 years in a primary school, 3 in a junior secondary and 3 in senior secondary school, and at the end 4 years in a tertiary institution i.e. institution of the third level education such as university.

Informal education

3. Informal Education- As the name says, takes place in an informal setting and is a lifelong process. People learn from each other in everyday situations about various topic. This can be illustrated as a parent teaching his/her child how to determinate sides of the world or how to cook a family meal. There are no specific teaching/learning methods when it comes to informal education and a person can gain informal knowledge by visiting museums, reading books in library or being a part of a local community.

Non- formal education

4.Non-formal Education- This form mostly focuses on specific needs and goals of a group. Students of the non-formal education can be from different age and this system and its program, although pre-planned, takes place outside the institutional system. Non-formal education aims often adult literacy problems and other continuing education and skill programs such as, for example, swimming lessons for children. Methods used in non-formal education are very flexible and can last for different period of times, depending on the goals and the student group.

Through different types and methods it is easy to use childrenโ€™s natural curiosity. And although different, every type of education is a part of a puzzle, which leads to youth having good career opportunities and living conditions in the future.

Anorexia Nervosa

‘Hey, you have lost a lot of weight suddenly. Are you alright?’ You might have seen someone saying this to a girl/boy who really did lose a lot of weight suddenly. They look weak and skinny and often come across as short tempered. This is a common symptom of a disorder named anorexia nervosa.

It is an eating disorder causing people to obsess about weight and what they eat. Anorexia is characterised by a distorted body image, with an unwarranted fear of being overweight. Basically such people constantly obsess over their weight. This usually happens during adolescence. This is because during this time period, teenagers go through puberty. This means they feel the need of constantly looking pretty. This also usually happens to girls as the social norm is set as such that the skinnier you are, the prettier you look. No doubt this social norm is now dramatically rejected as people are more accepting of all kinds of body types.

Anorexia nervosa is a dangerous disorder. It’s like having a voice in your head constantly telling you that you look fat and should lose more weight. This is dangerous because people suffering from anorexia nervous are repulsed by the idea of eating. They literally don’t like eating. To the point they isolate themselves from their friends and family so that they don’t have to eat.

They not only despise eating, they exercise aggressively and push their limits to the store extent that they endanger their own lives. They constantly work out and drink water when they feel hungry. Whenever they do eat, they feel guilty and put off all the calories by working out more than ever.

Other symptoms of this disorder includes dizziness, dehydration and feeling cold all the time. Girls often miss their menstrual cycle. People often become short tempered or moody. They also become more anxious and apprehensive about basically everything.

They are often constipated and force themselves to vomit from time to time. Their nails become brittle and hair become dry, thin and fall out occasionally. Most dangerous of all is that they become malnourished and their heart beats slower than usual. They refuse getting treated because they constantly feel that they will become ‘fat’ or overweight. They might also suffer from depression.

Now that we know about this disorder, one must look out for all of these symptoms as we might just be able to help them. People suffering from anorexia nervosa need their family and friends even though they might avoid them. It is important for their family and friends to make them realize that life is more than just body types and weight. If they are not happy even after losing all that weight, losing weight is not the true path of becoming happy. They need to realize that their family and friends love them for who they are. Yes, it will be very hard for everyone around them. Especially the parents. But this is the time we must remember that we are the only ones who can bring their child back. Proper professional help should be taken and apart from that through therapy and proper healthy diet, they can always come back to their real home.

The only way to gain true happiness is through self care and self love. They need to realize no matter how skinny they become, if they don’t love themselves for who they are, all this trouble can never be worth it! Loving yourself is more important than anything. Accepting your body type is one step of becoming happy.

What Are the Effects of Water Pollution

Causes and consequences of water pollution

On human health

To put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often closest to the most polluting industries.

Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water. Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations, accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as well as runoff from farms and urban areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways. Thousands of people across the United States are sickened every year by Legionnairesโ€™ disease (a severe form of pneumonia contracted from water sources like cooling towers and piped water), with cases cropping up from Californiaโ€™s Disneyland to Manhattanโ€™s Upper East Side.

A woman using bottled water to wash her three-week-old son at their home in Flint, MichiganTodd McInturf/The Detroit News/AP

Meanwhile, the plight of residents in Flint, Michiganโ€”where cost-cutting measures and aging water infrastructure created the recent lead contamination crisisโ€”offers a stark look at how dangerous chemical and other industrial pollutants in our water can be. The problem goes far beyond Flint and involves much more than lead, as a wide range of chemical pollutantsโ€”from heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury to pesticides and nitrate fertilizersโ€”are getting into our water supplies. Once theyโ€™re ingested, these toxins can cause a host of health issues, from cancer to hormone disruption to altered brain function. Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk.

Even swimming can pose a risk. Every year, 3.5 million Americans contract health issues such as skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, and hepatitis from sewage-laden coastal waters, according to EPA estimates.

On the environment

In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungiโ€”all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments.

When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water. This dearth of oxygen, known asย eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can create โ€œdead zones,โ€ where waters are essentially devoid of life. In certain cases, theseย harmful algal bloomsย can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.

Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as well. These contaminants are toxic to aquatic lifeโ€”most often reducing an organismโ€™s life span and ability to reproduceโ€”and make their way up the food chain as predator eats prey. Thatโ€™s how tuna and other big fish accumulate high quantities of toxins, such as mercury.

Marine ecosystems are also threatened by marine debris, which can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such as plastic bags and soda cans, gets swept into sewers and storm drains and eventually out to sea, turning our oceans into trash soup and sometimes consolidating to form floating garbage patches. Discarded fishing gear and other types of debris are responsible for harming more than 200 different species of marine life.

Meanwhile, ocean acidification is making it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive. Though they absorb about a quarter of the carbon pollution created each year by burning fossil fuels, oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it harder for shellfish and other species to build shells and may impact the nervous systems of sharks, clownfish, and other marine life.

What Can You Do to Prevent Water Pollution?

With your actions

Itโ€™s easy to tsk-tsk the oil company with a leaking tanker, but weโ€™re all accountable to some degree for todayโ€™s water pollution problem. Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can prevent water contamination or at least limit your contribution to it:

With your voice

One of the most effective ways to stand up for our waters is to speak out in support of the Clean Water Rule, which clarifies the Clean Water Actโ€™s scope and protects the drinking water of one in three Americans.

Tell the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and your local elected officials that you support the Clean Water Rule. Also, learn how you and those around you can get involved in the policymaking process. Our public waterways serve every American. We should all have a say in how theyโ€™re protected.

Training

“Training helps teach the vision and mission, but employees must put the training into action for it to have meaning.” – Shep Hyken

The above quote really has a deep meaning as it is an important element for an employee and his organisation. It constitutes a basic concept in human resource development. Before starting further first we should know what is training? According to Edwin Filippo- ” Training is the act of increasing the skills of an employee for doing a particular job.” In layman terms training is a learning process which gives an opportunity to the employees to develop their skills, knowledge and competency as per their job requirements. It is a very useful tool as it brings an employee into a position where they can perform their jobs correctly, efficiently and confidently.

Generally training is not a continuous process, it is periodical and given in specified time. Training is given by an expert or professional in related field or job. Training helps an employee to keep themselves updated in this dynamic environment. Training programs is generally provided to the employees so that they can improve their quality of work. Training bridges the gap between job need and employees skills. Training is a task oriented activity as it helps in improving the performance of an employee. Training is about acquiring competencies to cope with the variety of complex and difficult situation. It is a journey of self-awareness and self-discovery as it leads to growth and development. It helps your employees to explore and realise their potential and talent. Through this training program one is able to identify his strength and weaknesses and it also helps in clearing there doubts and misconception which will help them to know their hidden abilities. It helps in establishing relationship between theory and practice as it develops the ability to translate acquired concepts, principles, knowledge and skills into action and through this way we can build a relationship between the two. Training is very important in an employee’s life as through training he or she will be able to know and learn so many new things like it will develop new skills in an employee, it helps in improving employee’s performance, it increases engagement as we know that an engaged employee has an increased level of productivity, it improves employee retention and growth as the process of training involves cost and thus it motivates the employee who undergoes training, consistency in training- as creating consistency within an organisation is difficult but training helps reduce a disparity between your teams, it helps in tracking employee skills, training is necessary when the existing employee is promoted to the higher level in the organisation as it requires some new skills and knowledge according to job requirements and so on the list of importance of training is never ending. As good things has never ending positive results. Training also helps in motivating the employee and helps in gaining organisational excellence. It also helps in preventing employee attrition as training program provides them a sense of satisfaction as they think that there organisation invest in them by this training session.

Last But Not the Least

“Our strength comes from our people.” Training is a very important HR function as it helps in the growth of an employee as well as the organisation.

ENVIRONMENT

Environment is the surrounding in which an organization operates ,including air,water,land,natural resources flaura ,fauna,human beings and there interrelation .

the natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally ,meaning in this case not artificial .the term is not often applied to the earth or some parts of earth.

Components of environment. Environment mainly consists of atmosphere ,hydrosphere ,lithosphere and biosphere .but it can be roughly divided into 2 parts such as micro environments and macro environments. It can be divided into two types such as physical and biotic environments.

Some important components of environment. Atmosphere. The atmosphere is the protective blanket of gases which is surrounded the earth .it protect the earth from the hostile environment of outer space .

Hydrosphere the hydrosphere is a collective term given to all different forms of water.it includes all type of water resources such as oceans ,sea ,river,lakes ,streams,and groundwater .

Biosphere the biosphere refers to the realms of living organisms and there interactions with the environment .the biosphere is very large and complex and is divided into smaller units is called ecosystems.

Environment is a place where different things are such a swampy or hot environment it can be living or non living things. It includes physical, chemical and other natural forces ………..since everything is a part of of environment of something else .the word environment is used to talk about many things.

human impact on the environment .human impacts of physical environment in many way .overpollution,pollution, burning fossil fuels ,and deforestation .changes like these have triggered climate change,soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water.

How do our activities affect the environment human activities contribute to climate change by causing changes in earth’s atmosphere in the amount of greenhouse gases aerosols and cloudiness .the largest known contribution comes from the burning fossil fuels ,which realised carbon dioxide gas at the atmosphere.

the simple things you can do to help protect the earth . Reduce,reuse,and recycle volunteer conserve water plant a tree use long lasting lights bulbs etc.

The Problem with Online Education in India

With Covid-19 disrupting all the hitherto establish modes of living, studying, and working in our society, more activities are being moved online. This is aimed at continuing our stream of activities but in a different mode so as to ensure that no business or endeavour is fatally suffering from this pandemic. While this might not be fully possible for every aspect of existence, it is a method to try and maintain a semblance of normalcy in our everyday activities. Most IT companies have moved completely online and allow all their workers to work from home. Restaurants and hotels rely highly on apps that deliver food to continue their business, and even education is now gearing to completely move online. This seems well and good at first glance but the question of whether this can ever be successful in a country like India is a serious one.

woman working at home using her laptop
Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

Our country is a developing one, where the majority of the population still lives in rural areas and the internet is not a luxury that everyone can afford nor have access to. While the need to continue education is important, one might ask at what cost this is being done. Even when we talk about work from home, we are all aware that a very narrow part of the population has this privilege. Daily wage workers do not get to work from home and they have no option but to risk their lives in the midst of the pandemic if the government itself fails to take care of them. Small scale industries and shops all close down. We have a massive economic crisis on our hands but alongside this, we need to understand that there will be a widening of the educational gap, a crisis whose effects we will start to fully comprehend in a couple of months.

Most middle-class and upper-class households are able to comply with the needs of online learning since they own laptops and smartphones. They also have enough money for data and internet connections. However, it is still a stark reality that education in rural India and amongst lower-class households is extremely limited owing to factors of economy and access, as well as gender and caste. India supposedly houses 430 million persons below the age of 18 many of whom come from rural settings. Only 47% of households in India have electricity for more than 12 hours a day according to a survey that the Ministry of Rural Development conducted in 2017-18. It is an eye-opener to the urban citizen that only 24% of Indians own a smartphone. And one must remember that in a household with more than one child, there has to be multiple gadgets for all of them to receive their education.

66% of Indiaโ€™s population lives in villages and an extremely minuscule portion of them will even be able to attend classes of any sort. The development of our country and much of its economy is reliant on these villages but if we forget them in this hour of need, the consequences will be hazardous for the whole country. If we do not take aggressive measures to tackle these problems and provide materials resources to those in need so that their children can access classes, the current online education system will create a massive digital divide that will cause a majority of the Indian population to suffer. It will impair their access to a better life and opportunity, any attempt to get on par with their privileged peers would largely result in failure and this will drive many to lives of low economic value, toil, suffering, and access. This will be carried forward into their coming generations. Unless addressed, it will lead to a systemic denial of the fundamental right to education and opportunity, and hence, while attending our own online lectures, we should take this very seriously and implement measures to better this situation in every possible way. This is not the only problem that online education creates but it is by far the most important.

‘The New Normal’

Lockdown In India: India has been in a complete lockdown system due to the global pandemic issue since March 2020. It was the only way of staying safe at our homes and maintaining social distancing. However, all essential services,essential commodities and medicines were available. Banks, ATMs, grocery shops, petrol pumps, hospitals were not included in the lockdown. The night curfew was initiated by the Government that no movement of people from 7pm to 7am shall take place except for essential items.

The global pandemic changed the daily lifestyles of people, the work scenarios, the Indian economy, the Entertainment Industry, and so on.

Nothing like this was expected that the world would be in such a dilemma.The entire world has been affected by the global pandemic issue. Be it the economy, the business and industry sectors, the health sectors, the agriculture and law sectors, small scale and large scale sectors,railways and metros,aviations,etc.

The poor and daily wages workers have been hit tremendously by this pandemic. They are the ones suffering a lot today. Even the unemployed are facing problems and a number of employees have lost their jobs already. The ones still working in their work spaces are constantly in fear of the safety of themselves and the others.

This pandemic has changed a lot of things over the past few months. Each and every person is suffering due to the sudden issue be it through mentally or financially.

Even after the complete lockdown system initiated by the Govt. of India for literally three months, the number of cases of covid-19 has been going on tremendously increasing day by day. There is no number of decrease in the cases till date.

The nation followed complete lockdown for more than two months except for essential items. Initially, the domestic flights were resumed from May 25th with guidelines that has to be followed for travelling. The Railways then decided to start to operate the Shramik Special trains from May 1st to transport the stranded migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists.

The centre then decided to start lifting few restrictions on things in lockdown as Unlock 1.0 phase from the 8th of June. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi Ji however gave the authorities to the States and Union Territories to decide about what should be made opened and not in their respective states.

In the Unlock 1.0 phase malls, hotels and restaurants for takeaway and home delivery, and places of worship for the public were made opened. However, social distancing and proper safety measures had to be followed. The containment zones were in complete lockdown as earlier. People stepped out of the houses as soon as they heard about the Unlock 1.0 phase thus increasing the risk of themselves and others.

Amid the rise in the cases of the coronavirus after the Unlock 1.0 phase, the Government directed the State & Union Territories to ensure mandatory basis that no movement of people except for essential things would be allowed from 9pm to 5am throughout the whole nation. Indian Railways decided to operate 15 pairs of Special AC trains from 12th of May and 200 time-tabled trains from the 1st of June.

On July 1st, the nation entered into the Unlock 2.0 Phase with relaxations in night curfew, provision for more domestic flights and trains and clearance for more than five people in a shop. However, schools, colleges and other educational institutions are closed till July 31st. At present, offices are too opened with all the safety measures that has to be followed. Some offices still prefer work from home (wfh) for their safety. Works which can’t be done from wfh are resumed.

Shootings have also been resumed for daily soaps and TV Stars are practicing all the social distancing and are following safety measures while they are on the sets and all the reality shows would be getting back with new episodes from 13th of july.

Looking at the increasing number in the cases day by day, the nation would be entering in the Unlock 3.0 phase from July 31st.

The fact:

Currently, as we have entered unlock phases of lockdown people have accepted and are trying to make it a habit of wearing masks and scarfs before stepping out of their homes. Maintaining social distancing and using a hand sanitizer as and when required. All the precautions and safety measures have been followed by every person.

Markets have realised that masks are now an essentials things and also trendy and therefore, producing different brands and patterns of masks to the customers. This is an amazing business which is in actual demand and has already started making profits.

People are trying to accept ‘the new normal’ or you can say ‘the new usual.’ Earlier hand sanitizers were not in much demand the way it is now. Without masks, its impossible to think of going out right now today. And you think we have to follow this only for some months?

No, we have to follow and adapt this new normal not only till the number of cases gets reduced to ‘0’ which we all are hoping but also for some years for future prevention. It is true that we are not safe anymore. We can’t freely go out or hang out like earlier we used to do. We can’t do social gatherings or get together at some one’s home. We can’t chill with our friends or spend time with them at our homes. We can’t go to theatres for watching movies or go shopping with our friends. We can’t chill at the malls, or public places like earlier. This is the reality. We can’t touch anywhere or anyone without having the fear of risk right now or for few years till everything settles down completely.

I am just stating the facts. No one knows when exactly we all will be free and will be back to our normal life. Everyone is waiting for that one day when we hear the news that coronavirus (covid-19) is reduced and no more cases have been detected.

Hence, today looking at the current situation I do feel its not safe to step out of the houses without wearing our masks for coming years. This is the new normal that we have to abide by and just like we can’t leave our smartphones at homes, the same way we can’t leave our masks today before stepping out of our homes for anything.

Well, who imagined a world full of people wearing masks one day? But here we are today.

Masks are the new normal.

Brief Summary of Indo-China conflict and the role US has played over the years

Due to the clash between soldiers of both the countries โ€“ India and China around Pangong Lake in Ladakh, one thing is clear that nobody knows whatโ€™s coming up next. Once Indiaโ€™s friendship with China seemed natural as the country has put socialist principles in its national constitution and prided on taking a neutral stand during the cold war. Under its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, India was interested in broadening ties with other socialist nations, including Russia & China. But factors more powerful than the ideologies knocked off the relationship leading to tensions and war-like situations today.

At first, the relationship was all smiles based on five principles enunciated under the Panchsheel Agreement: mutual non-aggression, mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful coexistence and equality and mutual benefit. A slogan also went out,ย โ€œHindi Chini Bhai-Bhaiโ€– India and China are brothers.

But soon, India and China started to disagree on the border between the two nations. All thanks in part to the legacy of certain colonial boundaries. The Ardagh- Johnson Line was drawn by British India that showed Aksai Chin inside Jammu& Kashmir in India. This didnโ€™t go down well with China as they never accepted this border. Instead, they argued for Macartney-MacDonald Line, a later boundary that gave it more territory.

There were talks in India in 1960 between Nehru and Zhou Enlai, the Chinese Premier to address border issues but no solutions came up. Keen to maintain the strategic relationship between the two countries, India hosted Dalai Lama when he fled and kept funding resistance movements in Tibet.

The brotherhood died after the two nations went to war. The events of 1962 are broadly seen as humiliating domestically for India.

Even more critical to understand India- China relationship is an alliance between Pakistan & China. As both have border issues with India, a common goal emerged. In recent years, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his predecessors have maintained deeper ties with China through initiatives such as Chinese funding for Gwadar port, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and other economic initiatives. Because of this, Pakistanโ€™s cooperation with the US has also crumbled up under pressure. If another Cold War happens, it already seems Pakistan has chosen its side.

This has helped India to strengthen its relationship with the US. India choosing free markets was a drastic change for the nation, and a shift to the Western economic sphere soon followed. As India started seeing high rates of growth, it started becoming Chinaโ€™s competitor. India also managed to tighten relations with American allies such as Vietnam and Japan.

Today, the United States plays a key role in the Indo-China relationship. In recent times, India has sought to strengthen ties with the US, powered by fear of Chinese political and economic influence in the region. Even since the Chinese have got more aggressive in the Indian Ocean, India is seeking an ally in the US to bolster deterrence.

All this clearly shows we are a long way in Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai.

 

 

Self-love Culture: Is it Healthy?

Importance to the individual and the self is a phenomenon that came by as a product of modernity. With more emphasis on self-accomplishment and success becoming often defined as what you are able to make of yourself, talks about what is important to the self and how to understand our own personalities have increased. Nowadays we see a large number of people who propagate what is known as the โ€˜self-loveโ€™ culture. The self-love essentially prioritizes the well-being of the self and calls for the acceptance by each person of their own individuality.

woman in black shirt holding white flowers
Photo by Masha Raymers on Pexels.com

This movement which is increasingly seen in online spaces and urban settings have its benefits as well as adverse effects. We can say that it is extremely necessary, especially when we have a society that is constantly finding fault with us and setting standards that very few are able to stick to. Everyone who does not meet those standards, whether it be about success or beauty or relationships, are considered as failures. Many companies are designed in such a way that they prey on insecure individuals and make a profit by offering them products that supposedly will make them โ€˜enoughโ€™. However, this is a false hope. in this situation, it is absolutely crucial that we have counter-narratives that dispel these myths of success and encourage people to understand their own uniqueness. We should not buy into the ideas that are marketed for the sake of money nor give into traditions that place unwarranted emphasis on appearances and performances. This idea can even cause serious mental health issues when one is constantly seeking the approval of others to be worthy of love.

The problem with this self-love culture, however, is when it goes out of hand and becomes almost narcissistic. People tend to get obsessed with their own selves and will do anything they have to in order to secure what they think will bring them fulfillment. This is dangerous because such an individualistic outlook might lead them to take advantage of others and even cause them harm. It also makes them egoistical and unwilling to accept any criticism. They forget that loving oneself does not mean loving everything about oneโ€™s own self and being against all kinds of change or betterment. In fact, if one is loving, one should be willing to change or work towards bettering aspects of their personality which might be potentially hurting themselves or others. Anger issues is an example of an aspect like this.

Self-love is healthy as long as it doesnโ€™t lapse into the other extreme of being obsessed and infatuated with everything about ourselves. Man being a social animal has to live in relationship with others and anything that hinders that will potentially hurt him as well. It is a tightrope walk of loving oneself and accepting our personalities, flaws and all, and being cocksure of our supremacy and infallibility as an individual. We should love ourselves enough to identify things that could potentially be hindering our growth as a person while also keeping in mind that it is not our performance in the world out there that defines our worth. If we are able to be secure in our identity thus, evolving and changing, and embracing it, then we will also be willing to take constructive criticism as well as discern between what should be taken seriously and what should not be.

Effects Of Bullying On Self-Esteem

Remember the days when you’d go to school, make memories with your friends and enjoy your lunch with everyone? Those days are golden. Eating from each other’s lunch boxes was personally my favourite thing about school. These memories from school stay with us for about a lifetime. People say that school days were the best of their lives. But remember that shy and introverted kid who you made fun of for bringing the same food everyday? Or the kid who you passive aggressively forced to do your homework? What about them? What are their happy memories?

Self esteem is an individual’s subjective evaluation of their own worth. In order to have a truly healthy mental health, it’s important that your self esteem levels are high. This means that you are overall confident about yourself and feel good about being you. We all have our moments of embarrassment in our lives. Most of us get over it. But when we already have a low self esteem and something embarrassing happens to us, we forever build walls around ourselves and fail at developing healthy bonds with a lot of people.

These problems generally develop when we are in schools because our bodies have still not completely developed. Some girl who alfeady feels self conscious about her body will further get scarred if we are not welcoming and accepting her for who she is.

This brings me to the topic of effects of bullying on self esteem. Now, we know that bullying is not a good trait for a person. But why exactly?

It is because it’s effects on the child’s last for a long time. It not only makes the child feel less confident about themselves but they also start believing the things they are told. For example, if someone constantly makes fun of a girl’s weight in a passive aggressive manner, after sometime she will start believing these things. She will believe that she is fat.

She might start exercising and dieting tithe point she loses her consciousness and becomes anorexic. Or she might binge eat so much that she will jeopardize her health. And it will ultimately affect her mental health. We may not even realise it, but our small actions have a lasting effect on someone else.

Not just schools, bullying is a common occurrence not only in colleges but also in work places. In a research it was seen that people who were bullied at their work place had a lower self esteem than those who were not bullied. This was also noticed that people who were bullied quit their jobs at a higher rate than those who were not bullied.

In schools even the teachers are harsh on kids who are not doing well academically. Why do we not think that they might just be suffering at home because of a family dispute? Or maybe they have an intellectual disability? Instead of helping these kids, why does EVERYONE push them to the edge by calling out their weakness in a way that would make them lose their will to live!?! Why is it that their are so many kids who commit suicides so early in their lives!

We.. We are responsible for that. We are the ones who do this to them. We may not be ‘the bullies’ but even our snide remarks about their looks, or their grades or their work, make them feel like dying is better than going through all this. This says a lot about as a society. Is there no way we can change this disturbing tradition ?

Yes, there is a way. The change will come only if we are willing to change. The next time you see your fellow peer not doing well academically, ask them if they are going through something. Offer them your help. Talk to them. The next time you see your subordinate or a coworker making a mistake, teach them the right way of doing things instead of calling their mistakes out in a disrespectful way. They are humans too. And impart the same morals in your at an early age. Acceptance is the only way we can correct this situation. Accepting the people around you as they are. Accepting that you can be wrong too. And mainly, don’t let some bully bring your self esteem down. Even if they are your best friends. You deserve respect too. Wouldn’t the world be beautiful if everyone was looking out for everyone?

COVID-19 and Brain Damage

The novel Coronavirus, better known as Covid-19, has proved itself to be the biggest health crisis that mankind has seen in nearly a century. While the H1N1 influenza outbreak of 2009 was also a pandemic, it wasnโ€™t as all-pervasive and life-disrupting as Covid-19 is, atleast to many parts of the world. Covid-19 is a disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS CoV-2 virus) which primarily attacks the lungs. It is largely spread from infected persons and leads to situations of community transmissions which can cause uncontrolled spreading of the infection and cause a huge number of deaths. This is currently a global health crisis and may change every aspect of the world as we know it.

The symptoms of the infection include fever, dry cough, and breathing difficulties. The infection is not usually fatal, although extra care should be taken by those with underlying health conditions, and it can be treated using medications since we do not have a vaccine yet. Much vigilance and care are taken regarding this and recovery rates are encouraging. However, new studies are starting to show that the virus does more than just affect the lungs. Even when the patient has recovered and tests negative for the COVID-19 test, the disease seems to affect the individualโ€™s brain. It is not just the respiratory system that is attacked by the virus. The researchers at University College London (UCL) report that many COVID patients show conditions of a rare brain inflammatory condition usually only seen in children. Increase dizziness, weakness, and headaches among others are also now considered symptoms of the infection and they are all neurological. It can even cause delirium and long-lasting brain damage, studies say. The Hindu reports that UCL studies show โ€œ43 cases of patients with COVID-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effectsโ€.

This is a cause of great concern for neurologists, medical professionals, and the governments of the world since it indicates that there can be a whole wave of neurological disorders and problems arising from this damage. It can even lead to an unprecedented medical crisis wherein newer ways of treatment have to be devised. The increasing number of studies that show such concomitant complications caused by the novel coronavirus is a warning that this disease has far-reaching effects, the extent, and scale of which we might not have yet understood. This is to be taken seriously by the world governments seeing how this can escalate demands on healthcare as well at a time when it is already under high pressure. It should also serve as a warning to the citizens of the world to not take this disease lightly and to follow government regulations. While one can always say that it is easy to recover from the disease and thereby it is okay to risk it, we should keep in mind that such findings only serve to prove that this infection can cause complications in our body that will not be cured when the infection is. Utmost caution and care should be taken in this situation to ensure that we keep our own selves and those around us safe. It is our duty and responsibility to be wise, alert and cautious at this time.

Blogging for Beginners

What is a blog?

A is a type of website that focuses mainly on written content, also known as blog posts. In popular culture we most often hear about news blogs or celebrity blog sites, but as youโ€™ll see in this guide, you can start a successful blog on just about any topic imaginable.

Bloggers often write from a personal perspective that allows them to connect directly with their readers. In addition, most blogs also have a โ€œcommentsโ€ section where readers can correspond with the blogger. Interacting with your readers in the comments section helps to further the connection between the blogger and the reader.

This direct connection to the reader is one of the main benefits of starting a blog. This connection allows you to interact and share ideas with other like-minded people. It also allows you to build trust with your readers. Having the trust and loyalty of your readers also opens up the door to making money from your blog, which is something I discuss later in this guide.

To be successful as a blogger there is really just one requirement: a passion for your topic.

At its heart, blogging is about sharing your knowledge with the world. Choosing a topic that you are passionate about makes the process of starting a successful blog so much easier. Writing about more than one topic is totally fine too. As long as you are writing about things that you are genuinely interested in, your passion will shine through and keep your readers interested.

So why would you go to the trouble of blogging? There are a few reasons:

  • Make money from home. Blogging can be quite lucrative if done correctly. The top bloggers in the world obviously earn quite a bit, but even a part-time blogger can expect to make a nice profit if things are done correctly. The best part about it is that blogging is a form of passive income, since you can spend just a few hours a week writing a blog post and then continue to make money from it long after the blog post is written. I go into much more detail on how to blog for money later in this guide.
  • Share your story. A blog allows you to have a voice and be heard. You can share your story with the entire world if you so choose. One of the most common ways blogs are used are as a diary where the blogger writes about their daily experiences so that friends, family, and others can all be a part of their lives.
  • Recognition for yourself or your business. No, you probably wonโ€™t have paparazzi following you around because of your latest blog post. But a successful blog makes your idea into a reality, and can gain you a ton of recognition in your respective field. Many bloggers are known as experts just because of their blogs, and some have even gotten book and movie deals based on their blogs.
  • Find a community. Blogging at its heart is interactive. You write a blog post and people comment on it. This is a great way to connect with people who are interested in the same things as you are. Blogging allows you to teach these people based on your experience, and it gives you the opportunity to learn from your readers as well.

How to start a blog?

The good news is that the internet is exploding with growth right now. More people than ever are online. This explosion in growth means more potential readers for your blog. In short, if you are thinking about starting a blog then there is no better time than right now.

How to Start a Blog in 6 Steps

Learn how to create a blog in about 20 minutes following these steps:

  1. Pick a blog name. Choose something descriptive.
  2. Get your blog online. Register your blog and get hosting.
  3. Customize your blog. Choose a free template and tweak it.
  4. Write & publish your first post. The fun part!
  5. Promote your blog. Get more people to read your blog.
  6. Make money blogging. Choose from several options to monetize your blog.

Letโ€™s start your blog!

Step 1: Pick a blog name

The first step to finding a good blog name is choosing your topic.

If youโ€™re not sure what to blog about, there are a few ways to find a good blog topic:

  • Hobbies & passions. Hobbies or other interests you are passionate about are a great place to start. Cooking, travel, fashion, sports, and cars are all classic examples. But even blogs about more obscure hobbies can be successful, since the your audience is literally anyone in the world with the internet.
  • Life experiences. Everyone has lessons they have learned through life experience. Sharing this knowledge can be incredibly helpful to others in similar situations. For example, I recently helped a woman start her blog about being a firemanโ€™s wife. She has a lot of experience and knowledge to share with others about this topic, and it has helped her connect with others in similar situations.Think about the things you have experienced in life. This could be related to your family (example: a blog about being a stay at home mom), work (a blog about experiences dealing with clients), or other life experiences (a blog about dealing with a troubling time such as a disease or divorce, or about a happy time such as preparing for a wedding or a birth of a child).
  • A personal blog. A personal blog is a blog all about you. This will include a variety of topics, from things you do on a daily basis, to random thoughts and musings. This is a great way to share you thoughts with the world without having to stick to just one topic.

How To Start A Blog In 2020An Easy Free Step-By-Step Beginnerโ€™s
Guide To Create A Blog In 20 Minutes

Updated July 5, 2020

Are you looking for a free, easy, step-by-step guide on how to start a blog?

My free guide on this page will show you how to create a blog that is beautiful and functional, all in an easy step-by-step tutorial (with pictures).

The Blog Starter's tutorial on how to start a blog for beginners

Ready to start the simple step-by-step tutorial? Click here to go to Step #1

My name is Scott Chow, and I am going to show you how to start blogging. I have been building blogs and websites since 2002. In that time I have launched several of my own blogs, and helped hundreds of others do the same.

I know that starting a blog can seem overwhelming and intimidating. This free guide is all about blogging for beginners, and will teach you how to be a blogger with just the most basic computer skills. So whether youโ€™re 8 or 88, you can create your own blog in less than 20 minutes.

I am not ashamed to admit that when I was first learning how to build a blog I made a ton of mistakes. You can benefit from more than a decade of my experience so that you donโ€™t repeat these same mistakes when you make your own blog. I created this free guide so that anyone can learn how to blog quickly and easily. And if you get stuck at any point, please send me a message and I will do my best to help you!

Skip the rest of this introduction and start building your blog!

What is a blog anyway?

In short, a blog is a type of website that focuses mainly on written content, also known as blog posts. In popular culture we most often hear about news blogs or celebrity blog sites, but as youโ€™ll see in this guide, you can start a successful blog on just about any topic imaginable.

Bloggers often write from a personal perspective that allows them to connect directly with their readers. In addition, most blogs also have a โ€œcommentsโ€ section where readers can correspond with the blogger. Interacting with your readers in the comments section helps to further the connection between the blogger and the reader.

This direct connection to the reader is one of the main benefits of starting a blog. This connection allows you to interact and share ideas with other like-minded people. It also allows you to build trust with your readers. Having the trust and loyalty of your readers also opens up the door to making money from your blog, which is something I discuss later in this guide.

Should you start a blog?

Simple steps to help you create a blog easily


One of the misconceptions about starting a blog is that you need to be a great writer to be successful. Nothing could be further from the truth. People read blog sites to get a personal perspective on things, so most bloggers write in a very informal and conversational style.

In addition, you donโ€™t need to be an expert on your topic in order to have a successful blog. For example, readers of a cooking blog donโ€™t want to read a textbook from a food scientist, they want to hear the experiences of someone who has actually cooked some real meals, mistakes and all.

To be successful as a blogger there is really just one requirement: a passion for your topic.

At its heart, blogging is about sharing your knowledge with the world. Choosing a topic that you are passionate about makes the process of starting a successful blog so much easier. Writing about more than one topic is totally fine too. As long as you are writing about things that you are genuinely interested in, your passion will shine through and keep your readers interested.

So why would you go to the trouble of blogging? There are a few reasons:

  • Make money from home. Blogging can be quite lucrative if done correctly. The top bloggers in the world obviously earn quite a bit, but even a part-time blogger can expect to make a nice profit if things are done correctly. The best part about it is that blogging is a form of passive income, since you can spend just a few hours a week writing a blog post and then continue to make money from it long after the blog post is written. I go into much more detail on how to blog for money later in this guide.
  • Share your story. A blog allows you to have a voice and be heard. You can share your story with the entire world if you so choose. One of the most common ways blogs are used are as a diary where the blogger writes about their daily experiences so that friends, family, and others can all be a part of their lives.
  • Recognition for yourself or your business. No, you probably wonโ€™t have paparazzi following you around because of your latest blog post. But a successful blog makes your idea into a reality, and can gain you a ton of recognition in your respective field. Many bloggers are known as experts just because of their blogs, and some have even gotten book and movie deals based on their blogs.
  • Find a community. Blogging at its heart is interactive. You write a blog post and people comment on it. This is a great way to connect with people who are interested in the same things as you are. Blogging allows you to teach these people based on your experience, and it gives you the opportunity to learn from your readers as well.

The good news is that the internet is exploding with growth right now. More people than ever are online. This explosion in growth means more potential readers for your blog. In short, if you are thinking about starting a blog then there is no better time than right now.

So, just how do you start a blog?

How to Start a Blog in 6 Steps

Learn how to create a blog in about 20 minutes following these steps:

  1. Pick a blog name. Choose something descriptive.
  2. Get your blog online. Register your blog and get hosting.
  3. Customize your blog. Choose a free template and tweak it.
  4. Write & publish your first post. The fun part!
  5. Promote your blog. Get more people to read your blog.
  6. Make money blogging. Choose from several options to monetize your blog.

Letโ€™s start your blog!

Step 1: Pick a blog name

The first step to finding a good blog name is choosing your topic.

If youโ€™re not sure what to blog about, there are a few ways to find a good blog topic:

  • Hobbies & passions. Hobbies or other interests you are passionate about are a great place to start. Cooking, travel, fashion, sports, and cars are all classic examples. But even blogs about more obscure hobbies can be successful, since the your audience is literally anyone in the world with the internet.
  • Life experiences. Everyone has lessons they have learned through life experience. Sharing this knowledge can be incredibly helpful to others in similar situations. For example, I recently helped a woman start her blog about being a firemanโ€™s wife. She has a lot of experience and knowledge to share with others about this topic, and it has helped her connect with others in similar situations.Think about the things you have experienced in life. This could be related to your family (example: a blog about being a stay at home mom), work (a blog about experiences dealing with clients), or other life experiences (a blog about dealing with a troubling time such as a disease or divorce, or about a happy time such as preparing for a wedding or a birth of a child).
  • A personal blog. A personal blog is a blog all about you. This will include a variety of topics, from things you do on a daily basis, to random thoughts and musings. This is a great way to share you thoughts with the world without having to stick to just one topic.

Once you have a topic itโ€™s time to choose your blog name.

A good blog name should be descriptive so that potential readers can instantly tell what your blog is about just from the name.

If you are blogging about one specific topic then you will definitely want to include that in some way in your blog name. Try not to get hung-up on just one word though. For example, a cooking blog doesnโ€™t necessarily have to have the word โ€œcookingโ€ in it. The words โ€œfoodโ€, โ€œrecipesโ€, and โ€œmealsโ€ would also let people know that your blog is about cooking.

If you are planning to create a personal blog where you discuss a variety of topics then I recommend using your name, or some variation of it, since your blog is all about you. For example, I own the blog scottchow.com. You can also add your middle name or middle initial if you find your name is already taken. Or you could use a variation like โ€œScott Chow Blogโ€ or โ€œBlogging with Scottโ€.

Canโ€™t decide on a good name for your blog? Contact me and I will help you personally (for free)!

Once you have some blog name ideas you will need to choose a domain extension.
A .com domain extension is the most preferred, but .net or .org work as well. It is also important to note that for the purposes of a blog domain you cannot have any spaces between words. So โ€œBlogging with Scottโ€ becomes bloggingwithscott.com

Now that youโ€™ve got your name and have picked an extension itโ€™s time to make sure that no one else has already registered the same name:

                      See if your blog name is available

Note: You cannot use any spaces or punctuation other than dashes in a domain name.

If you find that the name you wanted is already taken there are a few things you can do:

  • Try a different domain extension. If the .com version is already registered you may still be able to get the .net or .org version of your blog name.
  • Add small words. Words like โ€œaโ€, โ€œmyโ€, or โ€œtheโ€. For example, this site is called TheBlogStarter.com instead of BlogStarter.com.
  • Add dashes between words. For example, scott-chow.com

Step 2: Get your blog online

Now that youโ€™ve got a name picked out itโ€™s time to get your blog online. This might sound hard or technical, but the steps below will walk you right through and make the process easy.

To get your blog up and running you need two things: blog hosting and blogging software. The good news is that these typically come packaged together.

A blog host is a company that stores all of the files for your blog and delivers them to the user when they type in your blog name. You must have a blog host in order to have a blog.

Step 3: Customize your blog

In WordPress, blog layouts are known as โ€œThemesโ€. What is a blog theme? Themes control the entire design of your blog. To change your theme you are going to click on the โ€œAppearanceโ€ tab on the left menu.

You will see several themes are already installed on your blog: Twenty Seventeen, Twenty Sixteen, etc. These are well-designed, clean-looking themes that can work for just about any type of blog. In fact, many of the worldโ€™s top bloggers use one of these themes.

Unless you have a very specific design in mind for your blog, I suggest you use one of these themes to start with. For our example, letโ€™s use the โ€œTwenty Sixteenโ€ theme. In order to activate the theme on your blog, hover over the theme and click the โ€œActivateโ€ button. Thatโ€™s it! You have changed the entire design of your blog with just one click!

How To Start A Blog In 2020An Easy Free Step-By-Step Beginnerโ€™s
Guide To Create A Blog In 20 Minutes

Updated July 5, 2020

Are you looking for a free, easy, step-by-step guide on how to start a blog?

My free guide on this page will show you how to create a blog that is beautiful and functional, all in an easy step-by-step tutorial (with pictures).

The Blog Starter's tutorial on how to start a blog for beginners

Ready to start the simple step-by-step tutorial? Click here to go to Step #1

My name is Scott Chow, and I am going to show you how to start blogging. I have been building blogs and websites since 2002. In that time I have launched several of my own blogs, and helped hundreds of others do the same.

I know that starting a blog can seem overwhelming and intimidating. This free guide is all about blogging for beginners, and will teach you how to be a blogger with just the most basic computer skills. So whether youโ€™re 8 or 88, you can create your own blog in less than 20 minutes.

I am not ashamed to admit that when I was first learning how to build a blog I made a ton of mistakes. You can benefit from more than a decade of my experience so that you donโ€™t repeat these same mistakes when you make your own blog. I created this free guide so that anyone can learn how to blog quickly and easily. And if you get stuck at any point, please send me a message and I will do my best to help you!

Skip the rest of this introduction and start building your blog!

What is a blog anyway?

In short, a blog is a type of website that focuses mainly on written content, also known as blog posts. In popular culture we most often hear about news blogs or celebrity blog sites, but as youโ€™ll see in this guide, you can start a successful blog on just about any topic imaginable.

Bloggers often write from a personal perspective that allows them to connect directly with their readers. In addition, most blogs also have a โ€œcommentsโ€ section where readers can correspond with the blogger. Interacting with your readers in the comments section helps to further the connection between the blogger and the reader.

This direct connection to the reader is one of the main benefits of starting a blog. This connection allows you to interact and share ideas with other like-minded people. It also allows you to build trust with your readers. Having the trust and loyalty of your readers also opens up the door to making money from your blog, which is something I discuss later in this guide.

Should you start a blog?

Simple steps to help you create a blog easily


One of the misconceptions about starting a blog is that you need to be a great writer to be successful. Nothing could be further from the truth. People read blog sites to get a personal perspective on things, so most bloggers write in a very informal and conversational style.

In addition, you donโ€™t need to be an expert on your topic in order to have a successful blog. For example, readers of a cooking blog donโ€™t want to read a textbook from a food scientist, they want to hear the experiences of someone who has actually cooked some real meals, mistakes and all.

To be successful as a blogger there is really just one requirement: a passion for your topic.

At its heart, blogging is about sharing your knowledge with the world. Choosing a topic that you are passionate about makes the process of starting a successful blog so much easier. Writing about more than one topic is totally fine too. As long as you are writing about things that you are genuinely interested in, your passion will shine through and keep your readers interested.

So why would you go to the trouble of blogging? There are a few reasons:

  • Make money from home. Blogging can be quite lucrative if done correctly. The top bloggers in the world obviously earn quite a bit, but even a part-time blogger can expect to make a nice profit if things are done correctly. The best part about it is that blogging is a form of passive income, since you can spend just a few hours a week writing a blog post and then continue to make money from it long after the blog post is written. I go into much more detail on how to blog for money later in this guide.
  • Share your story. A blog allows you to have a voice and be heard. You can share your story with the entire world if you so choose. One of the most common ways blogs are used are as a diary where the blogger writes about their daily experiences so that friends, family, and others can all be a part of their lives.
  • Recognition for yourself or your business. No, you probably wonโ€™t have paparazzi following you around because of your latest blog post. But a successful blog makes your idea into a reality, and can gain you a ton of recognition in your respective field. Many bloggers are known as experts just because of their blogs, and some have even gotten book and movie deals based on their blogs.
  • Find a community. Blogging at its heart is interactive. You write a blog post and people comment on it. This is a great way to connect with people who are interested in the same things as you are. Blogging allows you to teach these people based on your experience, and it gives you the opportunity to learn from your readers as well.

The good news is that the internet is exploding with growth right now. More people than ever are online. This explosion in growth means more potential readers for your blog. In short, if you are thinking about starting a blog then there is no better time than right now.

So, just how do you start a blog?

How to Start a Blog in 6 Steps

Learn how to create a blog in about 20 minutes following these steps:

  1. Pick a blog name. Choose something descriptive.
  2. Get your blog online. Register your blog and get hosting.
  3. Customize your blog. Choose a free template and tweak it.
  4. Write & publish your first post. The fun part!
  5. Promote your blog. Get more people to read your blog.
  6. Make money blogging. Choose from several options to monetize your blog.

Letโ€™s start your blog!

Step 1: Pick a blog name

The first step to finding a good blog name is choosing your topic.

If youโ€™re not sure what to blog about, there are a few ways to find a good blog topic:

  • Hobbies & passions. Hobbies or other interests you are passionate about are a great place to start. Cooking, travel, fashion, sports, and cars are all classic examples. But even blogs about more obscure hobbies can be successful, since the your audience is literally anyone in the world with the internet.
  • Life experiences. Everyone has lessons they have learned through life experience. Sharing this knowledge can be incredibly helpful to others in similar situations. For example, I recently helped a woman start her blog about being a firemanโ€™s wife. She has a lot of experience and knowledge to share with others about this topic, and it has helped her connect with others in similar situations.Think about the things you have experienced in life. This could be related to your family (example: a blog about being a stay at home mom), work (a blog about experiences dealing with clients), or other life experiences (a blog about dealing with a troubling time such as a disease or divorce, or about a happy time such as preparing for a wedding or a birth of a child).
  • A personal blog. A personal blog is a blog all about you. This will include a variety of topics, from things you do on a daily basis, to random thoughts and musings. This is a great way to share you thoughts with the world without having to stick to just one topic.

Once you have a topic itโ€™s time to choose your blog name.

A good blog name should be descriptive so that potential readers can instantly tell what your blog is about just from the name.

If you are blogging about one specific topic then you will definitely want to include that in some way in your blog name. Try not to get hung-up on just one word though. For example, a cooking blog doesnโ€™t necessarily have to have the word โ€œcookingโ€ in it. The words โ€œfoodโ€, โ€œrecipesโ€, and โ€œmealsโ€ would also let people know that your blog is about cooking.

If you are planning to create a personal blog where you discuss a variety of topics then I recommend using your name, or some variation of it, since your blog is all about you. For example, I own the blog scottchow.com. You can also add your middle name or middle initial if you find your name is already taken. Or you could use a variation like โ€œScott Chow Blogโ€ or โ€œBlogging with Scottโ€.

Canโ€™t decide on a good name for your blog? Contact me and I will help you personally (for free)!

Once you have some blog name ideas you will need to choose a domain extension.
A .com domain extension is the most preferred, but .net or .org work as well. It is also important to note that for the purposes of a blog domain you cannot have any spaces between words. So โ€œBlogging with Scottโ€ becomes bloggingwithscott.com

Now that youโ€™ve got your name and have picked an extension itโ€™s time to make sure that no one else has already registered the same name:

                      See if your blog name is available

Note: You cannot use any spaces or punctuation other than dashes in a domain name.

If you find that the name you wanted is already taken there are a few things you can do:

  • Try a different domain extension. If the .com version is already registered you may still be able to get the .net or .org version of your blog name.
  • Add small words. Words like โ€œaโ€, โ€œmyโ€, or โ€œtheโ€. For example, this site is called TheBlogStarter.com instead of BlogStarter.com.
  • Add dashes between words. For example, scott-chow.com

Step 2: Get your blog online

Now that youโ€™ve got a name picked out itโ€™s time to get your blog online. This might sound hard or technical, but the steps below will walk you right through and make the process easy.

To get your blog up and running you need two things: blog hosting and blogging software. The good news is that these typically come packaged together.

A blog host is a company that stores all of the files for your blog and delivers them to the user when they type in your blog name. You must have a blog host in order to have a blog.

Step 3: Customize your blog

Logging in

If you are not already logged-in from the previous step, go to Bluehost.com and click โ€œLoginโ€ on the top right to bring up the login screen.  You can then login using your domain name and the password you set in the previous step.  If you have misplaced your password you can reset it by clicking the โ€œForgot Passwordโ€ link.

Once you log-in you will be taken to your BlueHost Portal.  From the portal you can click the blue โ€œWordPressโ€ button to be logged-in automatically to your blog.

Changing your blog design

Once you login you will be in the WordPress administrator area. This is where you can make any changes you want to your blog.

Everyone has a different idea of how they want their blog to look. One of the great things about a WordPress blog is that you can change your entire layout and design with just a few clicks.

In WordPress, blog layouts are known as โ€œThemesโ€. What is a blog theme? Themes control the entire design of your blog. To change your theme you are going to click on the โ€œAppearanceโ€ tab on the left menu.

You will see several themes are already installed on your blog: Twenty Seventeen, Twenty Sixteen, etc. These are well-designed, clean-looking themes that can work for just about any type of blog. In fact, many of the worldโ€™s top bloggers use one of these themes.

Unless you have a very specific design in mind for your blog, I suggest you use one of these themes to start with. For our example, letโ€™s use the โ€œTwenty Sixteenโ€ theme. In order to activate the theme on your blog, hover over the theme and click the โ€œActivateโ€ button. Thatโ€™s it! You have changed the entire design of your blog with just one click!

If you donโ€™t like any of the themes that are already installed you can easily choose from thousands of other free themes. To install a new theme, click on the โ€œAppearanceโ€ tab on the left menu and then click โ€œAdd New Themeโ€.

This is the theme search screen.  There are thousands of themes to choose from.  You can change your entire design at anytime simply by activating a new theme.  To find a theme you like, I suggest you click on the โ€œPopularโ€ tab and start browsing. When you find one that you like click the blue โ€œInstallโ€ button.

Once the theme is installed click โ€œActivateโ€ to activate the theme on your blog. To see your new theme in action, go to your blog and take a look!

Changing your theme is the simplest way to customize your blog, but there are lots of other customizations you can do. Check out my full post on customizing your blog for an in-depth step-by-step guide. You can also watch the video at the end of this guide to see me completely customize a blog from scratch.

Step 4: How to write a blog post & publish it

Now that your blog is up and running itโ€™s time to actually do some blogging!

Go to the left menu and click on โ€œPostsโ€.

You will see there is already a post there. This is a default post on every new WordPress blog, and we donโ€™t need it. To delete it click โ€œTrashโ€ just under the post.

Step 5: Promote your blog

Creating a well-designed blog and writing great content is just the start. In order to get readers for your blog you will need spend some time promoting it, especially when you first start. Click on the strategies below for more info. 

How To Start A Blog In 2020An Easy Free Step-By-Step Beginnerโ€™s
Guide To Create A Blog In 20 Minutes

Updated July 5, 2020

Are you looking for a free, easy, step-by-step guide on how to start a blog?

My free guide on this page will show you how to create a blog that is beautiful and functional, all in an easy step-by-step tutorial (with pictures).

The Blog Starter's tutorial on how to start a blog for beginners

Ready to start the simple step-by-step tutorial? Click here to go to Step #1

My name is Scott Chow, and I am going to show you how to start blogging. I have been building blogs and websites since 2002. In that time I have launched several of my own blogs, and helped hundreds of others do the same.

I know that starting a blog can seem overwhelming and intimidating. This free guide is all about blogging for beginners, and will teach you how to be a blogger with just the most basic computer skills. So whether youโ€™re 8 or 88, you can create your own blog in less than 20 minutes.

I am not ashamed to admit that when I was first learning how to build a blog I made a ton of mistakes. You can benefit from more than a decade of my experience so that you donโ€™t repeat these same mistakes when you make your own blog. I created this free guide so that anyone can learn how to blog quickly and easily. And if you get stuck at any point, please send me a message and I will do my best to help you!

Skip the rest of this introduction and start building your blog!

What is a blog anyway?

In short, a blog is a type of website that focuses mainly on written content, also known as blog posts. In popular culture we most often hear about news blogs or celebrity blog sites, but as youโ€™ll see in this guide, you can start a successful blog on just about any topic imaginable.

Bloggers often write from a personal perspective that allows them to connect directly with their readers. In addition, most blogs also have a โ€œcommentsโ€ section where readers can correspond with the blogger. Interacting with your readers in the comments section helps to further the connection between the blogger and the reader.

This direct connection to the reader is one of the main benefits of starting a blog. This connection allows you to interact and share ideas with other like-minded people. It also allows you to build trust with your readers. Having the trust and loyalty of your readers also opens up the door to making money from your blog, which is something I discuss later in this guide.

Should you start a blog?

Simple steps to help you create a blog easily


One of the misconceptions about starting a blog is that you need to be a great writer to be successful. Nothing could be further from the truth. People read blog sites to get a personal perspective on things, so most bloggers write in a very informal and conversational style.

In addition, you donโ€™t need to be an expert on your topic in order to have a successful blog. For example, readers of a cooking blog donโ€™t want to read a textbook from a food scientist, they want to hear the experiences of someone who has actually cooked some real meals, mistakes and all.

To be successful as a blogger there is really just one requirement: a passion for your topic.

At its heart, blogging is about sharing your knowledge with the world. Choosing a topic that you are passionate about makes the process of starting a successful blog so much easier. Writing about more than one topic is totally fine too. As long as you are writing about things that you are genuinely interested in, your passion will shine through and keep your readers interested.

So why would you go to the trouble of blogging? There are a few reasons:

  • Make money from home. Blogging can be quite lucrative if done correctly. The top bloggers in the world obviously earn quite a bit, but even a part-time blogger can expect to make a nice profit if things are done correctly. The best part about it is that blogging is a form of passive income, since you can spend just a few hours a week writing a blog post and then continue to make money from it long after the blog post is written. I go into much more detail on how to blog for money later in this guide.
  • Share your story. A blog allows you to have a voice and be heard. You can share your story with the entire world if you so choose. One of the most common ways blogs are used are as a diary where the blogger writes about their daily experiences so that friends, family, and others can all be a part of their lives.
  • Recognition for yourself or your business. No, you probably wonโ€™t have paparazzi following you around because of your latest blog post. But a successful blog makes your idea into a reality, and can gain you a ton of recognition in your respective field. Many bloggers are known as experts just because of their blogs, and some have even gotten book and movie deals based on their blogs.
  • Find a community. Blogging at its heart is interactive. You write a blog post and people comment on it. This is a great way to connect with people who are interested in the same things as you are. Blogging allows you to teach these people based on your experience, and it gives you the opportunity to learn from your readers as well.

The good news is that the internet is exploding with growth right now. More people than ever are online. This explosion in growth means more potential readers for your blog. In short, if you are thinking about starting a blog then there is no better time than right now.

So, just how do you start a blog?

How to Start a Blog in 6 Steps

Learn how to create a blog in about 20 minutes following these steps:

  1. Pick a blog name. Choose something descriptive.
  2. Get your blog online. Register your blog and get hosting.
  3. Customize your blog. Choose a free template and tweak it.
  4. Write & publish your first post. The fun part!
  5. Promote your blog. Get more people to read your blog.
  6. Make money blogging. Choose from several options to monetize your blog.

Letโ€™s start your blog!

Step 1: Pick a blog name

The first step to finding a good blog name is choosing your topic.

If youโ€™re not sure what to blog about, there are a few ways to find a good blog topic:

  • Hobbies & passions. Hobbies or other interests you are passionate about are a great place to start. Cooking, travel, fashion, sports, and cars are all classic examples. But even blogs about more obscure hobbies can be successful, since the your audience is literally anyone in the world with the internet.
  • Life experiences. Everyone has lessons they have learned through life experience. Sharing this knowledge can be incredibly helpful to others in similar situations. For example, I recently helped a woman start her blog about being a firemanโ€™s wife. She has a lot of experience and knowledge to share with others about this topic, and it has helped her connect with others in similar situations.Think about the things you have experienced in life. This could be related to your family (example: a blog about being a stay at home mom), work (a blog about experiences dealing with clients), or other life experiences (a blog about dealing with a troubling time such as a disease or divorce, or about a happy time such as preparing for a wedding or a birth of a child).
  • A personal blog. A personal blog is a blog all about you. This will include a variety of topics, from things you do on a daily basis, to random thoughts and musings. This is a great way to share you thoughts with the world without having to stick to just one topic.

Once you have a topic itโ€™s time to choose your blog name.

A good blog name should be descriptive so that potential readers can instantly tell what your blog is about just from the name.

If you are blogging about one specific topic then you will definitely want to include that in some way in your blog name. Try not to get hung-up on just one word though. For example, a cooking blog doesnโ€™t necessarily have to have the word โ€œcookingโ€ in it. The words โ€œfoodโ€, โ€œrecipesโ€, and โ€œmealsโ€ would also let people know that your blog is about cooking.

If you are planning to create a personal blog where you discuss a variety of topics then I recommend using your name, or some variation of it, since your blog is all about you. For example, I own the blog scottchow.com. You can also add your middle name or middle initial if you find your name is already taken. Or you could use a variation like โ€œScott Chow Blogโ€ or โ€œBlogging with Scottโ€.

Canโ€™t decide on a good name for your blog? Contact me and I will help you personally (for free)!

Once you have some blog name ideas you will need to choose a domain extension.
A .com domain extension is the most preferred, but .net or .org work as well. It is also important to note that for the purposes of a blog domain you cannot have any spaces between words. So โ€œBlogging with Scottโ€ becomes bloggingwithscott.com

Now that youโ€™ve got your name and have picked an extension itโ€™s time to make sure that no one else has already registered the same name:

                      See if your blog name is available

Note: You cannot use any spaces or punctuation other than dashes in a domain name.

If you find that the name you wanted is already taken there are a few things you can do:

  • Try a different domain extension. If the .com version is already registered you may still be able to get the .net or .org version of your blog name.
  • Add small words. Words like โ€œaโ€, โ€œmyโ€, or โ€œtheโ€. For example, this site is called TheBlogStarter.com instead of BlogStarter.com.
  • Add dashes between words. For example, scott-chow.com

Step 2: Get your blog online

Now that youโ€™ve got a name picked out itโ€™s time to get your blog online. This might sound hard or technical, but the steps below will walk you right through and make the process easy.

To get your blog up and running you need two things: blog hosting and blogging software. The good news is that these typically come packaged together.

A blog host is a company that stores all of the files for your blog and delivers them to the user when they type in your blog name. You must have a blog host in order to have a blog.

You also need to have the software to build your blog. In this guide I will be showing you how to build a blog using the WordPress blogging software, because it is the most popular, customizable, and easiest to use.

post-it

The blog host I recommend, and the one I show you how to use in this guide, is BlueHost. I personally use BlueHost and I recommend them for all new bloggers because:

  • They will register your blog name for you for free, making sure no one else can take it.
  • They offer a free, simple installation of the WordPress blogging software (which I show you how to use in this guide).
  • They have been recommended by WordPress since 2005 and currently host over 2 million blogs and websites.
  • They have helpful 24/7 customer service via phone or web chat.
  • They have a 30 day money-back guarantee if you are unsatisfied for any reason.

Use any BlueHost link on this site to make sure you get the special discount price of $2.75 per month.

Disclosure: BlueHost compensates The Blog Starter when you purchase through this link, so my services are free of charge to you! In fact, if you have any trouble at all setting up a blog with this tutorial, just contact me and I will do it for you (free!).

1. Click here for the special $2.75 per month rate on BlueHost and then click โ€œget started nowโ€.

2. Select your plan. I recommend that new bloggers get the basic plan. Click โ€œSelectโ€ to choose your plan.

3. Type in your domain name in the left box and then click โ€œnextโ€ to start the registration process.

  • If you already own a domain name and want to use it for your blog, type your existing domain in the right box and then click โ€œnextโ€. Only use the right box if you have previously paid to register a domain!

4. Fill out your billing details on the registration page.

5. You will also need to choose your hosting package and options.

  • All packages have everything you need to get your blog up and running, including a free domain name, easy WordPress blog installation, web hosting, and branded email accounts (e.g. yourname@yourdomain.com).
  • The 36 month package gets you the lowest monthly rate, while the 12 month package has a lower up-front cost.
  • uncheck the boxes next to the other products when I sign-up. You can always get these products later if you decide you need them.

6. You will then need to create your account and password.

Once you do that you will be taken to an installation helper.  Since you are following this tutorial you can just click โ€œSkip this stepโ€ on the next few pages to be taken directly to the dashboard.

Now your blog software (WordPress) will be installed. Once the install is complete click the blue โ€œWordPressโ€ button to be logged-in to the administrator area of your blog.

Having trouble installing your blog? Get help here.

Step 3: Customize your blog

Logging in

If you are not already logged-in from the previous step, go to Bluehost.com and click โ€œLoginโ€ on the top right to bring up the login screen.  You can then login using your domain name and the password you set in the previous step.  If you have misplaced your password you can reset it by clicking the โ€œForgot Passwordโ€ link.

Once you log-in you will be taken to your BlueHost Portal.  From the portal you can click the blue โ€œWordPressโ€ button to be logged-in automatically to your blog.

Changing your blog design

Once you login you will be in the WordPress administrator area. This is where you can make any changes you want to your blog.

Everyone has a different idea of how they want their blog to look. One of the great things about a WordPress blog is that you can change your entire layout and design with just a few clicks.

In WordPress, blog layouts are known as โ€œThemesโ€. What is a blog theme? Themes control the entire design of your blog. To change your theme you are going to click on the โ€œAppearanceโ€ tab on the left menu.

You will see several themes are already installed on your blog: Twenty Seventeen, Twenty Sixteen, etc. These are well-designed, clean-looking themes that can work for just about any type of blog. In fact, many of the worldโ€™s top bloggers use one of these themes.

Unless you have a very specific design in mind for your blog, I suggest you use one of these themes to start with. For our example, letโ€™s use the โ€œTwenty Sixteenโ€ theme. In order to activate the theme on your blog, hover over the theme and click the โ€œActivateโ€ button. Thatโ€™s it! You have changed the entire design of your blog with just one click!

If you donโ€™t like any of the themes that are already installed you can easily choose from thousands of other free themes. To install a new theme, click on the โ€œAppearanceโ€ tab on the left menu and then click โ€œAdd New Themeโ€.

This is the theme search screen.  There are thousands of themes to choose from.  You can change your entire design at anytime simply by activating a new theme.  To find a theme you like, I suggest you click on the โ€œPopularโ€ tab and start browsing. When you find one that you like click the blue โ€œInstallโ€ button.

Once the theme is installed click โ€œActivateโ€ to activate the theme on your blog. To see your new theme in action, go to your blog and take a look!

Changing your theme is the simplest way to customize your blog, but there are lots of other customizations you can do. Check out my full post on customizing your blog for an in-depth step-by-step guide. You can also watch the video at the end of this guide to see me completely customize a blog from scratch.

Step 4: How to write a blog post & publish it

Now that your blog is up and running itโ€™s time to actually do some blogging!

Go to the left menu and click on โ€œPostsโ€.

You will see there is already a post there. This is a default post on every new WordPress blog, and we donโ€™t need it. To delete it click โ€œTrashโ€ just under the post.

To begin writing a new post, click the โ€œAdd Newโ€ link.

You are now on the post editor screen. Enter the title of your post in the top box and then begin writing your post in the lower box.

If you would like to add a picture to your post, click on the โ€œAdd Imageโ€ icon and click โ€œUploadโ€ to upload a picture from your computer. You can make adjustments to the picture size on the next screen. When you are ready click โ€œInsert into postโ€ to add the picture.

Once you have finished your post just click the โ€œPublishโ€ button on the top right side of the screen to publish it.

Publishing Your Blog

Even after you have written a post your blog may still be showing a โ€œComing Soonโ€ page.

When you are ready to make your blog public just click the โ€œBlueHostโ€ menu at the top left of the menu in your administrator area then click the blue โ€œLaunchโ€ button to remove the โ€œComing Soonโ€ page.

Congratulations! You now know how to start your own blog and publish content!

For more info on blog content guidelines, click the tabs below:

Content That Should be on Your Blog

How to write a great blog post

Step 5: Promote your blog

Creating a well-designed blog and writing great content is just the start. In order to get readers for your blog you will need spend some time promoting it, especially when you first start. Click on the strategies below for more info. For more tips on promoting your blog make sure to check out my in-depth guide to blog promotion.

Alert Your Inner Circle

Use Social Media

Comment on Other Blogs

Engage with Your Readers

Collaborate

Create an Email List

Submit to Search Engines

SEO

Step 6: Make money blogging

Once you have put in the effort of creating great blog content and promoting your blog, making money from your blog is actually the easy part.

Blogs have the potential to be extremely lucrative, but donโ€™t assume that youโ€™re going to start making money in the first week, or even in the first month. It could take six months to a year to start seeing a steady stream of income. Blogging takes work and dedication, but once you develop a large enough audience, there are several methods you can employ to monetize your blog. 

Improving your Communication Skills

how-to-improve-english-speaking-skills

English is the worldโ€™s lingua franca, a common language that people with different native languages can use to communicate.

Thanks to English, people with completely different native languagesโ€”maybe Hindi, French and Japaneseโ€”can sit down and have a conversation together.

English now spans across countries and cultures, and the ability to speak it well will open many doors for your career and social life.

The more fluent you are in English, the more interesting, exciting and insightful conversations you can have.

It enables life-enriching experiences like traveling, studying and working abroad, not only in the US but also many other countries where English is widely spoken.

The world is your oyster (the world is yours).

The other good news is that you can improve English speaking skills without a classroom partner or stressful lessons. Itโ€™s totally possible to have fun and master speaking a language at the same time.

Pronouncing the words correctlyย is the key to eloquence, but it is not everything. This article will take you beyond the foundational aspects toย reach communicative competence.

Build a Strong Foundation

In order to express yourself eloquently in English, you need a wide variety of vocabulary and the correct pronunciation.

1. Expand your vocabulary

Learn New Words Every Day

Gleaning new words day in, day out is a good way to widen your vocabulary. Commit to a suitable target: it can be three daily words or it can be ten daily words.

Even if you only have time to learn one new word per day, it is still worth trying. By learning one word every day, after one year you will have learned 365 new English words.

Write the number down to remind yourself frequently. If you have a learning partner, share it with her so that she can check on your progress.

Some good resources for words are the news, songs and TV shows, depending on your daily habits. If you love listening to music, pay attention to the lyrics and take note of the words you do not know. Songs often contain a lot of useful vocabulary, phrases and expressions, therefore, they are great for learning English. You can do the same thing with FluentU videos.

Learn Words in Phrases and Chunks

It is important that you learn words in groups. For example, you refer to beverages as a glass of wine, a pint of beer, a cup of tea, a pot of coffee, etc. It is better to learn those phrases than merely winebeertea and so on.

You can also benefit from learning words that are related. The moon has four phases during a lunar month: crescent, gibbon, waxing and waning. It is more efficient to learn all four words at the same time.

2. Improve your pronunciation

You might know a lot of words, but if you fail to say them correctly, you will not be understood. That seems like a waste of the time spent on remembering words, right?

When using online dictionaries such as Macmillan and Merriam-Webster, make use of the little speaker symbol to check the pronunciation of any word that you are not sure about. There are English pronunciation tutorials on YouTube or podcasts like English Pronunciation Pod or American English Pronunciation to teach you the many aspects of American English pronunciation.

When you are ready for something more challenging, try out tongue twisters. Some examples are available here. Personally, I love the Fork handles sketch from the show โ€œThe Two Ronnies.โ€ It might not be a typical example of everyday conversation, but it shows you the richness of spoken English. Besides, you will have a good laugh.

3. Learn the natural flow of English

Being able to say individual words correctly is great, but the secret of speaking fluently lies in the flow of sentences. Whenever you read a piece of poetry, listen to a melodic song or watch a hilarious sitcom, pay attention to the following:

  • Linking. Notice how native speakers link words together: joining two sounds, making a sound to disappear or changing a sound for a better flow.
  • Contractions. Contractions are shortened forms of two words. For example:
    • I + am = Iโ€™m
    • he + will = heโ€™ll
    • they + have = theyโ€™ve
    • do + not = donโ€™t
  • Stress. There are stressed syllables in a word and stressed words in a sentence.
  • Rhythm. The rhythm is the overall result of stress, contractions and linking. It is the ups and downs, the musical feature of English.

Techniques to Improve English Speaking Skills

Now that you have a strong foundation, you can apply some techniques to hone (improve) your English speaking skills.

4. Speech shadowing

In a nutshell, this technique is about imitation. You listen to how a native speaker says something and try to copy it.

  • Pick your favorite video with subtitles. Make sure that it is something you enjoy watching because you willโ€ฆ
  • Listen to it many times. Listen to the video once and read the subtitles to get a good grasp of the general content and flow. While you are playing it again, complete the next step.
  • Imitate the narrator sentence by sentence. Play. Listen. Pause. Speak. Record (optional). Copy the speech pattern as best as you can. If you choose to record your practice, you can compare yours and the original. Or else, just listen to your own sound and be critical of the difference or similarity. Repeat this step until the end of the video.

5. Self-talk

Talk to yourself in English loudly. It can be anything from a suggestion like, โ€œShall we go get a glass of water?โ€ or a reminder, โ€œI need to do a load of laundry today.โ€

Alternatively, pick up a book and read a couple of pages out loud. This exercise might slow down your reading, but it will speed up your speaking skills.

You can also record yourself, listen to the recording and watch out for any wrong pronunciations. If it is possible, ask for feedback from a native speaker.

6. Think in English

If you already think in English, it takes less time to produce or respond in everyday conversations. No translation needed!

A good way to start rethinking is to keep a diary where you express your daily thoughts in English. It does not have to be perfect, it is more about getting out thoughts in English with less and less effort.

7. Retell a story in English

Take the challenge a step further by retelling a story. You retrace other peopleโ€™s line of thoughts in your own words.

I would start with a familiar story from your culture. Your translation needs to convey not only the meaning of words but all rhetorical and cultural nuances.

Alternatively, you can choose different words to retell a simple story in English. Start from the basics, reading something like a fairy tale or a fable. Either way will be beneficial to your English communication skills.

Frequently Practice to Improve Your English Speaking Skills

Practice makes perfect, so do speak English in plenty. Some people think that they do not have the opportunity to practice speaking because they do not live in the US or another English-speaking country. They might also be discouraged because English is not used at their workplace, or they do not know any native speakers.

There is some validity in those excuses, but do not let them hinder your learning. Thanks to the growth of globalization and technology, you have more chances than ever to practice speaking English. Youโ€™ll find many ideas below.

8. Participate in public speaking events

Big universities, theaters and culture societies organize events like open debates, spoken word readings and improvised storytelling gatherings. These are places where you can come and mingle with like-minded people and practice speaking English.

Many cities are now hosting TED or TEDx talks where you can register to participate and share your innovative ideas. Check the events page of your local university to see if there are any available. It might be a nerve-racking experience, but it would be great for your English!

9. Go to language cafes

If public speaking terrifies you (and I know it does for many), you can opt for language cafes. Those cafes create a friendly and relaxing atmosphere for people who want to practice and exchange languages.

You can find language cafes through local universities or the Meetup groups available in your cities.

10. Using apps

Another option is to use an app to talk to native speakers online, in the comfort of your own home. Some popular apps are HelloTalk and Tandem. Basically, you register for an account, introduce yourself, your native language and your hobbies. The app will find you some matchesโ€”the people who speak English and want to practice the language you know well. All you need to do is to press a few buttons and start talking.

11. Chat with Siri

I find chatting with Siri is a great way to force myself to speak more clearly. As Siri is a machine, you cannot rely on environmental clues and facial gestures to get your ideas across. Your words are the only tool you have to make yourself understood. Thus, you need to speak as clearly and precisely as you could.

Another plus point of using Siri is that she is always available (as long as your phone is charged and connected to a WiFi network). Just press the home button and start asking questions.

If you own an Android smartphone, you can practice speaking with Google Now.

So, off you go! Choose your preferred method to expand your vocabulary, correct your pronunciation, and boost your English speaking with the methods that are right for you. Do not forget to practice as much as possible.

How NGO can help in improving the lives of poor

“You will discover that you have two hands. One is for helping yourself and the other is for helping others.”

By Audrey Hepburn

This quote is only for NGOs and their volunteers who work selflessly and priceless for others. They are next to God for the one who get benefited from there services. Actually NGO’s help people for doing some worthy or deserving things in there life. These NGO’s are working so nicely because of the people who are associated with them and give their heart and soul for betterment of people, culture and environment.

NGO’s plays a significant role in providing services, relief and other amenities to individuals or community who are suffering from various problems like poverty, certain type of disease, child labour, etc. The main problem in our country is poverty as our country’s population is second largest in the world but these NGO’s are really doing great work by providing various opportunities to the people like employment opportunity, providing them training on various courses like plumbing, tailoring and beautician course and by forming self-help groups. These NGO’s are providing consistent benefits to many families both in rural and urban areas. NGO’s contribute in several ways to ensure that India sees poverty eradication, sustainable growth and empowerment of underprivileged section of our society. And these all can be achieved through following these points:

  • Sustainable Development- This idea is to help the present day community to grow and advance without affecting the resources of future generation as we have to pass these valuable resources to our coming generations. And this can be done with the help of our NGOs.
  • Poverty Alleviation- As our country has shifted towards developing nation and is showing tremendous economic advancement and is now access to clean water, sanitation, housing, quality education, healthcare and nutrition. But then also some sections of our country are deprived of these valuable resources and that’s why NGOs provide these information by spreading awareness, sensitisation and development programmes.
  • Children Empowerment- As they are considered as the future of our country and a well educated, happy and prosperous child will turn to be a responsible adult in future so providing them the essential services they deserve should be our priority and support is given by our NGOs. Some examples of well known NGOs are Goonj, Child in Need Institute, Katha, Help India, CRY, Lepra Society, Smile Foundation, Rural Health Care Foundation, etc.

But these NGOs face some challenges too they are lack of credibility, getting the right people on board, getting people to support an NGO, lack of funds and resources, absence of strategic planning, poor governance and networking, limited capacity, etc. So as these challenges are coming as a hurdle in front of the NGOs which we have to erradicate by taking some steps like spreading awareness, tracing the one who can donate, establishing network, etc.

Finally, with every passing day new NGOs are coming into existence but only a few of them are able to survive and are becoming successful as they are seriously doing their work as it is ultimately reflected from there work. Everybody should actively participate in these NGOs as they are also one of the part of our society. NGOs have bought a holistic change in socio-economic landscape of India. So lastly,

” No one has ever becoming poor by giving.”- By Anne Frank

Continue reading “How NGO can help in improving the lives of poor”

WATER

Water is a colorless and odorless substance found all over the earth.water is made up of billions of molecules……..water on our planet flows as liquid in river,steams and oceans ,.is solid as ice at the north and south poles .and is gas (vapor )in the atmosphere .water is also underground and inside plants and animals. Water is very very important for every .Because without water we cannot survive. Everyone wants water.

Importance of water.,water carries nutrients to all cellS in our body and oxygen to our brain .water allows the body to absorb and assimilate minerals, vitamins, amino acid .glucose and other substances .water flushes out toxins and waste.water helps to regulate body temperature.

Water,a substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous ,liquid, and solid states .it is one of the most plentiful and essential compounds .A testless and odourless liquid at room temperature. It has the important ability to dissolve many other substances .

68.7% of the fresh water on earth is trapped in glaciers .30% of fresh water is in the ground.1.7% of the world’s water is frozen and there fore unusable .approximately 400 billion gallons of water are used in the United state per day ……….nearly one-half of the water used by Americans is used for thermoelectric power generation.

The world water resources

Water resources are natural resources of water.that are potentially useful. Uses of water include agriculture, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities .all living things require water to grow and reproduce .

97%of water on the earth is salt water and only 3% is fresh water. Slightly over two third of this is frozen in glicers and polar ice caps .this remaining unfrozen fresh water is found mainly as ground water ,with only a small fraction percent above ground or in the air

The world water

there’s a whole lot of water on Earth!something like (326 million trillion gallons )found in our earth

water is one of the most important substances on earth.All plant and animals must have water to survive. If there was no water .there would be no life on earth.

Why should we care about light pollution?

Among the various kinds of pollutions that we discuss about and find measures to deal with in the contemporary world , light pollution is probably the one least known and consequently least discussed. This is particularly a problem in developed countries and the metropolitan cities of the world owing to the increased commercial activity. Lights are always on and roads are always illuminated. People work longer into the night and many go to sleep late as a routine. This phenomenon is increasingly seen in different parts of the world as we move towards greater urbanization and longer days of work.

aerial photo of cityscape at night

Light pollution is also known as luminous pollution. It refers to the excessive use of artificial light to such an extent that it is obtrusive and starts harming the environment. This is a direct result of our modern and industrial lifestyle. Light pollution is important because it is also a way through which humans leave their carbon imprint on the planet. It is seen that increased light pollution can create health issues as well as be harmful to wildlife and the natural environment. It affects nocturnal animals more and can even have an effect on the physiology of plants. It can disrupt normal migration patterns and the biochemical rhythmic cycles of nature which rely on the variations of light and dark during the day. In humans, it can cause stress, headaches, fatigue, sleeplessness, and many lifestyle disorders. It can even cause depression or cardiovascular diseases. Light pollution makes it extremely difficult to see the night sky as it is without the extraneous lights that tend to get in our eyes thereby dimming our view of the sky. The peace of the night sky and the view it offers has become difficult to find. Increased light pollution also interferes with research related to astronomy and can lead to calculation errors as well. This interference is the reason even astro-photographers search for places where there are no extra lights to click pictures of the night sky. These dark spaces where only natural illumination is present are decreasing at a rapid rate. Many researchers opine that the darkness of the night is essential for us and have to be reclaimed. The excessive light used causes a massive waste of energy also which directly increased the carbon footprint that humans leave on the planet.

We can do much to reduce light pollution if we are thoughtful and take some simple measures. Making sure that we do not use an unnecessary amount of illumination in our homes and streets is an effective method that can help. Turn off lights that are unnecessary. Wastage of light energy has to be reduced as well. So, we can use light bulbs that are energy efficient and use light shields to reduce glares. LED lights if used well can be an answer here. We can also work towards policies that seek better strategies of utilizing light energy and is eco-friendly. Spread awareness about this issue and help others to use their lights efficiently. All these will aid us in protecting our planet better and being responsible guardians of it.

How to be positive?

Positive thinking can lead to a lot of positive change in your life. Developing an optimistic outlook can be good for both your physical and mental health.

But sometimes, certain situations arise in life that makes it hard to keep a positive outlook. Take steps to make positive thinking become more like your second nature and youโ€™ll reap the biggest benefits.

1.ย Start the day with a positive affirmation.

How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Have you ever woken up late, panicked, and then felt like nothing good happened the rest of the day? This is likely because you started out the day with a negative emotion and a pessimistic view that carried into every other event you experienced. Instead of letting this dominate you, start your day with positive affirmations. Talk to yourself in the mirror, even if you feel silly, with statements like, โ€œToday will be a good dayโ€ or โ€œIโ€™m going to be awesome today.โ€ Youโ€™ll be amazed how much your day improves.

2.ย Focus on the good things, however small

Almost invariably, youโ€™re going to encounter obstacles throughout the dayโ€”thereโ€™s no such thing as a perfect day. When you encounter such a challenge, focus on the benefits, no matter how slight or unimportant they seem. For example, if you get stuck in traffic, think about how you now have time to listen to the rest of your favorite podcast. If the store is out of the food you want to prepare, think about the thrill of trying something new.

3.ย Find humor in bad situations

Allow yourself to experience humor in even the darkest or most trying situations. Remind yourself that this situation will probably make for a good story later and try to crack a joke about it. Say youโ€™re laid off; imagine the most absurd way you could spend your last day, or the most ridiculous job you could pursue nextโ€”like kangaroo handler or bubblegum sculptor.

6.Turn failures into lessons.

You arenโ€™t perfect. Youโ€™re going to make mistakes and experience failure in multiple contexts, at multiple jobs and with multiple people. Instead of focusing on how you failed, think about what youโ€™re going to do next timeโ€”turn your failure into a lesson. Conceptualize this in concrete rules. For example, you could come up with three new rules for managing projects as a result.

5.ย Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk.

Negative self-talk can creep up easily and is often hard to notice. You might thinkย Iโ€™m so bad at thisย orย I shouldnโ€™t have tried that. But these thoughts turn into internalized feelings and might cement your conceptions of yourself. When you catch yourself doing this, stop and replace those negative messages with positive ones. For example,ย Iโ€™m so bad at thisย becomesย Once I get more practice, Iโ€™ll be way better at this.ย I shouldnโ€™t have triedย becomesย That didnโ€™t work out as plannedโ€”maybe next time.

6.ย Focus on the present.

Iโ€™m talking about the presentโ€”not today, not this hour, only this exact moment. You might be getting chewed out by your boss, but what in this exact moment is happening thatโ€™s so bad? Forget the comment he made five minutes ago. Forget what he might say five minutes from now. Focus on this one, individual moment. In most situations, youโ€™ll find itโ€™s not as bad as you imagine it to be. Most sources of negativity stem from a memory of a recent event or the exaggerated imagination of a potential future event. Stay in the present moment

Pressure On Students To Do Well

Our extended families probably don’t wish us on our birthdays, don’t talk to us to ask about our general health from time to time. But they always call us the moment our results are declared. They pry on our very move after our results are out. And they always look out to see if their child is better than everyone else. Heck even our neighbors ring our doorbells to ask our parents about our result.

If you are a high achiever they would expect nothing less than admissions in the top universities. But if you are of any ‘other‘ category, you have to go through a kind of pressure that is worse than that of anything else. Your parents keep hovering over you to get good grades. Mostly because they want a bright future for you. Partly because they want to look proud infront of others. They want to boast about their child’s achievements. Sometimes, they worry a hundred times more than their child because they know what the society expects from them.

And because of all these multiple kinds of stress, the worst affected are the students. They study day and night, all year long. They study so much that sometimes they literally faint walking down their school halls. Because they too don’t want to disappoint their parents. They too, want their parents to boast about them in family and social gatherings. Why do we forget that ultimately they are just kids right now?!

Now with the current situation of Covid 19, I can’t imagine what these kids must be going through. Exams were cancelled. Students who were not very good at one subject were hoping that they would cover up in the upcoming exams. Now that the result is going to be declared soon, they are continuously on the edge. Some of them are sleeping too less or too much. Some of them are binge eating or not eating much. Their mental health is at stake and in grave danger.

So, to all those students who are going through a tough time, I would like to say that all this stress and anxiety is not worth it. Even if you don’t score as well as you expected, always remember that no matter what, your parents will never stop loving you. It all works out for the best in the end. If you score well, COODOES to you because you have made your life just a bit easier. Yes, just a little bit. Because this is just the beginning. Once you enter college it’s a whole different ball game. And once you get a job, forget about a comfortable social life.

Friends, it’s an endless cycle of struggle no matter how well you do. So take a break. Relax a little. Try to calm yourself down. Because that’s all you can do right now. What’s done is done. Start planning your timetable. For example, wake up, exercise a little, eat, spend a healthy time with your parents, call up your friends, play video games, watch movies and eat lots of food.

Because no matter what, at the end of the day you are going to make your parents proud. It’s a long way ahead. Don’t think too much about those prying relatives and neighbors. You are different. You are unique and you are special in your own way. Don’t forget that no one can steal this time from you. It’s yours. Develop a hobby and find out your zing. Live your life. Because if not now, then never!

Employee Empowerment

“Empower your employees to make decision on their own, even if it means making a mistake.”

By Shep Hyken

Empowerment is the process of giving power, authority of decision making, responsibility and resources to an employee in the organisation. It is the process of empowering the employees so that they take the initiative and utilise their skills, knowledge, abilities and creativity by accepting accountability for their work. In order to take such initiatives and decision the employee needs adequate training, relevant information, tools and resources. Empowerment focuses on employees so that they can use their full potential towards taking decision, setting goals, accomplishing the goals and receiving rewards. Empowerment takes place when higher level transfers the power, authority and responsibility to lower level employees. Employee Empowerment is a continuous or ongoing process as it helps in achieving the predetermined goals of the organisation. Through empowering the employee becomes “self directed” and “self controlled”, they feel motivated and develops a sense of commitment. It helps in increasing the confidence of the employees. It generally occurs in human beings as we desire for recognition and rewards, power, status and responsibility. The process of empowerment also helps in increasing the productivity which can further reduce the cost. As we know that individual and organisational goals are not different from each other rather they are interdependent on eachother and if we empower an employee his morale will increase and this will help in achieving our organisational goals.

Pros of Employee Empowerment

  • Helps in saving cost – Empowering those employees who have years of experience and allowing these employees to suggest and make changes that can make their jobs more efficient, companies benefit by saving money.
  • Boost Morale – Employees who are empowered in their jobs experience a sense of responsibility. They know that there ideas matter a lot to the success of the organisation. This can even reduce employee turnover rate as they experience satisfaction from the organisation.
  • Less stress on Managers and Supervisors – As in employee empowerment, higher level transfers the power, authority, responsibility and accountability to lower level employees so now they don’t have to take day-to-day decisions and can focus on key areas like making strategies, network building, etc which reduces the stress on managers and supervisors.

Cons of Employee Empowerment

  • Demoralisation – Although empowerment seems attractive to many people but not every employee wants authority and responsibility that comes to them. So, if we force those employees for taking the additional responsibilities they may become seriously demoralised.
  • Security – Empowerment may lead to leakage of critical data as information comes and is shared by all.
  • Delay in taking important decision – When employees get authority and responsibility to make their own decisions, it can slow down the process of decision making as quick decisions can’t generally be made.
  • Increase in Risk – Empowering an employee who has lack of experience can increase the number of mistakes made and can put reputation at risk. So in order to minimise this situation proper training should be provided to the employee.

So, the key practices that will help you to empower your employees are delegate responsibility, share your vision and recognise good performance.

Last But Not the Least

We know that employee empowerment is a positive element in an organisation as it develops self confidence, commitment and loyalty among employees.