Communication is the medium through which people convey their opinions, feelings and emotions. It is the key to build a relationship but sometimes ineffective communication ways may create more barriers. That is why it becomes necessary to possess good communication skills.

Effective communication is more than just relaying the message to the listener. The one on the receiving end should be able to comprehend the message as well as the speaker’s intentions clearly with the said words. If not done correctly, this can create misunderstandings and spoil relationships. For some, communication may come easily while others may have to struggle with their words. Nevertheless, one can improve their communication skills by practicing or adopting certain tactics:

Being an active listener:

Good communication involves the active participants of both the speaker and the listener. Keep focus on what the person is saying and trying to tell you. If you will be able to understand the message clearly, you will also be able to respond appropriately. Not only pay attention to the words but also on the non-verbal clues. A person’s body language tells a lot and may make it easier to understand the tone as well as the nature of the conversation.

Avoid interrupting:

Try not to interrupt the speaker and wait for your turn.

Show genuine interest:

If you are disinterested, it will show on your face and the speaker may notice it. Try to encourage the speaker by saying short verbal comments in between.

Try not to be biased:

One doesn’t have to agree with every idea or opinion of the person but it is necessary to keep aside the criticism and try to understand from the other person’s perspective.

Pay attention to your own non-verbal clues:

Your non-verbal signals should align with what you are speaking. Otherwise, the other person may feel confused. Refrain from spreading around any kind of negative body energy. Be assertive with your speech and try to set the tone of the conversation as neutral. All the parties involved should get the chance to voice their opinions and not feel threatened to do so. Direct and clear dialogue should be maintained for an effective communication.

Communication can be an effective medium to build relationships, both personal as well as professional. If done effectively, it builds mutual trust and can deepen the connections.

A Cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class cephalopoda such as Octopus, Squid and Nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles. Cephalopods, namely octopus, squid and cuttlefish form a subclass referred to as coleoids. The coleoids are invertebrates but may possess some of the most intelligent species among all of invertebrates.

Octopus vulgaris, widely referred to as the common octopus is one such organism. Apart from the fact that octopus has a complex nervous system and sophisticated behavior, arms capable of a wide range of movement, developed eyes, chemoreceptors located in epidermis, suckers, mouth, etc., the recent discovery of high level of RNA editing makes the organism more competent than its companions. This mechanism of RNA editing gives it a way to face environmental changes. It also turns out that this may cause them and their cephalopod brethren to evolve differently from any other organism on the planet. Their great adaptability can be linked to their ability to edit some of their genes, changing RNA that encodes proteins.

In most organisms, the genetic information is transmitted relatively faithfully from DNA to RNA, and on into proteins but studies have shown that octopus along with squids and cuttlefish deviate from this trend and use their own enzymes to edit their RNA, producing proteins that differ from those encoded by DNA.

In 2015, the researchers discovered that the common squid has edited more than 60% of RNA in its nervous system. This brought about a change in its brain physiology and is assumed to confer an ability to adapt to various temperature conditions in the ocean. In 2017, the same team returned with new findings that revealed that at least two species of octopus and one cuttlefish do the same thing. Joshua Rosenthal and his team’s work involved analysis of not only thousands of different squids but also of other molluscan organisms like gastropod slug and nautilus. But unlike the coleoids, the aforementioned didn’t give any hints of straying away from the conventional mechanism. This led to a conclusion that RNA editing couldn’t be generalized for the entire molluscan phylum and was rather limited tot he coleoid subclass. In exchange of this remarkable adaptation, these alien like creatures have given up the ability to evolve relatively quickly. These coleoids don’t evolve like other organisms and this may one day lead them to become useful for humans. During transcription in an animal cell, duplication of the A,T,C and G nucleotides into RNA strands of A,T,C and U takes place. After transcription, introns are spliced out and the remaining sequence is read in a designated fashion. But sometimes, a special sequence in the RNA lets it hook up with an enzyme that edits a single spot in the RNA, turning an A into an I, which the ribosome interprets as a G. It may seem like a minor change but it changes the entire function of a protein. An animal could use RNA editing to change how its proteins work if its environmental changes.

The natural selection seems to have favored RNA editing in coleoids even though it slows down the DNA-based evolution, the reason is wrapped in some double-stranded clover-leaves that form alongside editing sites in the RNA. That information is like a tag for RNA editing. According to Rosenthal studies, RNA editing provides a faster mechanism to try out slightly different protein shapes and sizes and functions. This provides a way for the genome to evolve more slowly than those of other organisms. Eisenberg lists other possible advantages of RNA editing rather than mutations in the DNA. Some of the important contents of the list include- (1)Editing could occur selectively at specific conditions. (2)Editing could be partial, with only a fraction of the reads edited, resulting in coexistence of both edited and non-edited forms of proteins.

In order to maintain flexibility of editing RNA, these coleoids have had to give up on the ability to evolve in their surrounding regions which may have been worth it for them. Rosenthal hypothesizes that development of a complex brain was worth the price of having to evolve slowly. Many of the edited proteins were found in the brain tissue, creating the elaborate dendrites and axons of the neurons turning the shape of the electrical signals that neurons pass. It may also be possible that RNA editing (means of creating a more sophisticated brain) allowed these species to use tools, camouflage themselves, and communicate.

Further objective of Rosenthal’s study is to develop ways of genetically manipulating cephalopods. If he succeeds, he could disable the enzymes responsible for RNA editing and then see what happens.

REFERENCES:

Liscovitch-Brauer N et al. Trade off between transcriptome plasticity and genome evolution in cehalopods. Cell (2017)

Albertin et al. (2012) Cephalopod genomics : A plan of strategy and organization

Doubleday Z A et al(2016) Global proliferation of cephalopods. Curr Biol.

Garrett s, Rosenthal JJC (2012) RNA editing underlies temperature adaptation in K(+) channels from polar octopus. Science

Caroline B Albertin et al. (2015). The octopus genome and the evolution of cephalopod neural and morphological novelties. Nature

Alon S., Eisenberg E. (2015). The majority of transcripts in the squid nervous system are extensively recorded by A- to I- RNA editing.

MASH stands for multi-agency safeguarding hub, which aspires to provide safety and security to the more vulnerable children and young people. They bring professional health care support, social services, police, local authorities to meet their objectives. Different agencies under MASH come together to design a collective approach and this collective approach is dispatched to all in a clear and concise manner so that every individual can resonate with the ultimate goal.

According to the London safeguarding children board, following agencies should be involved in MASH: Children’s social care, Health, Police, Education, Probation, Housing and Youth offending service.

Core features of multi-agency safeguarding hub:

1.Working together approach: It is an agreement between all the agencies involved that nothing can be achieved if only one agency or authority works towards their respective aims. They manifest this working together approach so that everyone learns to take responsibility on their parts to get the work done sincerely.

2.More accurate assessment of risks and needs: The working together approach has improved the ability to gather sources form wide areas. These sources have been clubbed together to give a better output. Since the data contains in-detail information, it becomes easier to paint a bigger picture of the case, the circumstances and the consequences.

3.Better management of cases: Multi-agency hubs are expected to keep a better track record of the cases and ensures that no case is missed or lost in the system. Multiple agencies going through the same data removes the chances of discrepancies.

4.Professional support: Professionals from diverse sectors have a better understanding of the situation and raises the standard of efficiency.

5.More confidence in the system: People generally tend to be a bit apprehensive towards authorities, but multiagency hubs have been able to build a strong foundation and confidence due to the team of professionals they hire.

6.Good leadership and clear governance: Responsibility for the actions is shared by the managers of all the different agencies, which creates a better understanding, induces work ethics and also lead to better team work.

7.Facilitates early intervention: Multiple teams working together can determine the risks involved considerably quicker and also brainstorm to resolve them.

Practitioners often struggle to develop trusting relationships in order to form the bigger picture of needs of vulnerable family but this can be overcome following proper procedures. The eventual aim of the MASH initiative is to develop a process that enables partners to effectively and securely share information to safeguard both children and young people. Safeguarding process in the multi-agency arena is a complex matter, and it is considered that unnecessary risks will be introduced if it is extended too quickly into adult safeguarding. However, once the merits of establishing MASH are proven, they can and should extend their services to adults as well.

The Boeing company is an American multinational corporation which is among the largest global aerospace manufactures.

In march 2019, Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded due to two plane crashing within the span of 5 months.  These crashes led to the death of 346 people which urged the authorities to open up multiple investigations. The crashes were mainly credited to the faulty automated system present. The pilots have claimed that they had no information related to this system. Boeing’s philosophy relies on the belief that more control should be provided to the pilots rather than automated systems. However, the crisis is one of the ironies.

The first plane crash took place in Indonesia on October 28 killing around 189 people on board. This led to concerns among pilots since they weren’t aware of the newly installed automated system. This was a severe case of misinformation or lack of information.  After looking into the matter, Boeing assured that the planes were safe enough to fly but then 5 months later, another plane crash occurred in Ethiopia which killed 157 people on board. Investigations brought out the fact that malfunctions in MCAS-Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System made them inoperable by pilots. This built apprehension towards flying in these planes even when they returned back to sky.

As a consequence, Boeing had to pay fines and deal with lawsuits from families, airlines and pilots. They even received public backlash. The existing CEO was fired in response to the backlash and a new CEO was appointed, David Calhoun who is now met with responsibility to get the planes re-certified.

Hospice care is the care designed to give to people who are suffering from a terminal illness and are in the last phase of it. The aim of this support center is not to provide cure for the illness, rather to supply emotional and psychological support that the patients may need during the difficult phase to prevent the feelings of isolation and loneliness. A team of skilled professionals is made available to provide counselling to the people. This team includes occupational therapists, nurses and therapy assistants.

The setting up of a helpline number is a confidential and safe space for people to lay down their grievances and seek support for it.

The main objectives of this helpline are to improve the quality of lives of the grieving and their family members as well as providing support to the professionals responsible for the care.

This stands for a social responsibility and adds public value. Palliative care and hospice team identify and try to treat distress causing symptoms that may increase medical complications in future. It is also required that they remain in contact of the family members of the patients and design appropriate and realistic goals.

In this sector, human resource plays crucial role i.e., the care givers. It will depend on how efficient these people are and how the overall service proves beneficial. It is important to set up an office, or any infrastructural site which can house a large number of employees. These employees should be made equipped with appropriate and fast communication systems. Moreover, the public should be made aware of the fact that there is a service which may benefit them.

This can be initiated through a connection or a collaboration with any hospital or health care centers. It will also help in cases where any professional expertise may be required.

The base work mainly comprises of data of the patients in need of such care, their information, registration forms and consent forms. Getting patients registered with this facility can be mediated by a practitioner indulged in similar kind of service.

Moreover, the nurses or the care-givers should be trained well to deal with such situations. Providing counselling can be difficult over telephone since lack of physical clues may make it hard for both the parties involved to understand the situation. A report of the patient’s situation should also be provided to the care giver member of the family.

The hospice telephone helpline can be a benefit and turn out to be profitable if there is a proper dialogue maintained between the authorities or the managers, the task force, the patients and their families. By starting this initiative, wishes of the terminally ill people can be granted. They can get to spend their remaining time with their families and using this facility will also help the family care givers to better understand the grievances of the patient and help them through it.

In the end, the core motive behind this support facility is to take up social responsibility and make an effort to add a little more to people’s lives.

This lockdown has put a halt on many people’s travel plans. Pro-travellers are suffering the most. These people may have been so accustomed to spending their lives travelling that they may not have a clue about how to deal with the situation anymore. The only travel they may be able to experience is from one room to another within their houses.

Not getting a chance to travel can be inconvenient but there are activities that can be done to make up for one’s long lost love.

Reading books:

People generally resort to travel guides while planning when they go out but since the option is not available for a certain period, a good alternative will be to switch to storybooks. The different genres of books that one comes across is unlimited. The biggest advantages attached is that most of the books are easily accessible on the internet. Kindle becomes a bundle of joy in these times. Books that narrate a travel journey carries you along with them to new lands. Audio versions are also available if one doesn’t like reading a lot.

Movie time

Documentaries, movies or even TV shows can be a great pass-time activity. They do a great job in making the viewer travel the world along with the characters. This is an activity that has something for everyone. One need not be a movie buff to enjoy them. Documentaries can even be informative. You may find various interesting topics about nature. People who like to spend their time interacting with the mother planet can benefit a lot. Netflix has a lot of content to offer in this case. The number of TV series can’t be forgotten either. Netflix originals have got everyone hooked to them. Binge-watching has become everyone’s favourite hobby now and all they believe in is “Netflix and chill.” 

Social media/ travel blogs

There are many bloggers on social media who post photos or blog about their travel experiences. Following such travellers can provide you with fresh photos of many otherworldly locations that you have yet to visit. One advantage is to have your feed filled with photos of the most beautiful locations on the planet. You can even search up your favourite destination and read various articles about those places.

Document your own experiences

If you get inspired, you can create your travel blog. As a traveller, one may tend to have a collection of many untold stories waiting to be spread around. If one is a writer, photographer and a blogger along with being a traveller, they can be a great storyteller to do. Maybe they can connect their experiences with their other interests and put out something worth reading. Relive your travel videos. Nothing can be more peaceful than remembering your own time in the blanket of wilderness. 

Learning languages of the countries you want to visit

Whenever you travel across countries, you will be exposed to a plethora of cultures, some of them being very different from your own. The language also constitutes an important part of the culture. You will find yourself trying to pick up new words from the places you visit. Maybe you can prepare for this well in advance. This can make your experience easier as it will help you in connecting well with the people there.

You can turn to YouTube to take you on a virtual tour with the millions of videos it has to offer on travelling. Vloggers put out eye-catching content and make the experience interactive as well as fun.

Virtual tours

For a virtual 4-D experience, there may be some technology that can make the experience better. But since everyone can’t resort to spending money on it, it is best to make use of the resources at hand. There is nothing that can amount to the same level of excitement or adventure that travelling on your foot provides but having a personalized experience for yourself sitting within the walls of your home does not lag behind either.

This doesn’t mean that people give up on their dreams of travelling. It’s just basically putting them on hold till this global pandemic comes to an end. Meanwhile, you can start planning your future trips. Start journaling the name of the cities you want to visit in future and make a bucket list for yourself. You can also read about travel hacks to make your next experiences better than your past ones. This time can be put to good use if you engage yourself in learning many activities that can eventually help you with your future experiences.

With the on-going global pandemic, people have become stuck in their homes. Many people are not able to go to work and are finding it hard to deal with the financial loss. This quarantine has also taken a toll on many people’s mental health. Honestly, I was scared when I realized that I will have to stay in my home and this might become the new normal for a long time. But this time made me learn a lot of lessons.

I learned to be more grateful towards even the littlest moments of my life. I used to obsess over a lot of materialistic stuff but I have realized that there is so much more to be grateful for.

I started spending more time with my family which not only strengthened our family bond but also created a healthy atmosphere where we can talk and have fun. We are so used to being attached to our screens that we often forget that we need to actually learn to socialize without the use of it. Sitting with my family has made me open up more and have also considerably decreased the amount of time I spent using social media.

Introspection

I get a lot of time to reconnect with myself. This makes me more self-aware and I am able to point out my strengths as well as weaknesses. I have started enjoying my quite time.

Hobbies

I have tried to make use of this period to do something productive and tried to develop new skills, painting has been a recent hobby of mine. There are many more activities that people can do indoors and still make it fun. People can switch to dance, indoor workout, cooking, learning languages, reading books and catching up on the shows that they previously missed because of their busy schedules.

Reconnecting with old friends

Since it’s not possible to meet friends, gadgets come in handy. Face-timing your friends or even calling them up can also be a good use of one’s time.

Rest and Relaxation

As much as it is good to use your time to do something productive, rest and letting yourself relax is equally important. We work in our lives almost every day to meet the needs. This free time should not be another stress trigger for you. One should not feel overburdened with work. Take some time for yourself and grow at your own place.

Hopefully, everyone finds a way to deal with this quarantine period and come out as a better person at the end of it.

You must have heard people telling you to stay positive when you are going through hard times or maybe you must have heard yourself giving advice to others about how staying positive can help them. Being positive is essential to get through life but too much of it can sometimes do more damage than good. Excessive of anything can be harmful. As much as everyone believes in the undeniable power of positivity, it can take a toxic turn when we try to use it to hide the negative situations. It is a very normal human experience to face the hardships along with the good stuff but trying to negate your true feelings goes against any sort of development.

Over sweetening of positivity comes at a price of hiding one’s true emotions. Since it is always encouraged to stay positive and be happy all the time, we miss the fact that feeling sad is one of the most basic human emotions and should not be sidelined under false happiness. This only builds guilt towards one’s own emotions. Being on the receiving end of someone’s feel good quotes can be annoying at times. Sometimes you just want to and need to face the reality. This should also hold true when you are the one giving advice to someone. You telling someone to think positive doesn’t help anyone. It just creates resentment and feels as if you are minimizing someone’s experiences. Telling someone to look at the brighter side of the situation should also not be your first response when someone confides in you. Try to be emotionally supportive.

It is also apparently believed that there is some shame attached to feeling certain emotions or letting them out in the form of crying. The only reply we get is to man up and stop being a crybaby. In order to avoid this, we end up braving and portraying a false front. Suppressing or hiding these emotions lead to more stress and can erupt in a harmful manner. It makes one end up creating a fake persona for themselves. It creates pressure to be or act in a certain way around some particular people.

In order to lose this toxic positive attitude, try listening to people’s emotions and feelings rather than brushing them off. Tell them that even though you may not be able to provide solution for their problems, you will still be with them or even ask them what they need.

Being a healthy person requires being conscious of one’s emotions as well as others. Being overly positive can be harmful to you as well as to those around you. So cut the chain of toxic positivity but don’t dwell in sadness either. Set healthy boundaries for yourself and don’t let anyone, including yourself belittle your experiences.

I found myself growing irritated and discontented with my life recently. It felt as if i was not doing enough and my life was just passing by. I was living in this bubble that something amazing would happen one day, take a miraculous turn on my life and make everything better. How wrong I was!

During this quarantine period, I realized that I had previously attached all my happiness to materialistic stuff and now I couldn’t have them anymore and that made me sad. I forgot about the happiness of the littlest moments of my life or the memories I created with my friends. I couldn’t look beyond the things I was stuck with and cherish what life had to offer for me. But spending time in quarantine period made me realize that I can be happy with minimalism as well.

Appreciating life means being grateful for the things life has offered to us and how we get to cherish them depends on us. The bad things will keep on happening and we will have to learn to deal with them in our own ways but it doesn’t mean that we spend our entire energy on obsessing over them. Telling a person to remain happy in his or her hard times seems shallow because we can not understand what someone is going through . That is why try to seek for satisfaction. Don’t attach high importance and your feelings to something that you know is not going to last forever.

Firstly, we need to give up on the cynicism. Thinking the worst of every situation is not going to help anyone. As someone once said, expect the best and prepare for the worst. Since you can’t prevent bad things from happening, try to change your reaction or outlook to it. GRATEFULNESS can be achieved if one wants to be grateful towards his life. You can try keeping a grateful journal where you note down the things that you are grateful for whenever you think as if everything feels way too overwhelming. Spend time with your family and friends or the people who make you feel good about yourself so that you realize that there are people who are always going to want the best for you. Ask people out on walks whenever you feel that the weather is nice or curl up with a book and a cup of tea in your study room when you feel like it. Don’t restrict yourself from making mistakes. Failures are very normal. You win some, you lose some. Right?

The quarantine period has made everyone glued to their screens. Since going out is not an option, people have attached themselves with social media to keep up with what’s happening around the world. Social media can be informative as long as its use is limited, otherwise it can be overwhelming at times. Being overloaded with so much information and at the same time, having no idea of what is actually true can make people anxious. In this case, social media can do more damage than good. The amount of mental health and energy we spend on social media can be put to some other use. In this case, social media detox can do a great job.

Social media detox doesn’t mean that one needs to delete all their accounts and go incognito for the rest of their lives, rather it means that using the platform selectively for a set period of time. Many people may even resort to deleting all their social media apps from the mobile phones or disabling their accounts for few days. If someone feels that social media is affecting them negatively and has consumed their minds, then it’s best to take some time off. Social media mostly presents us a picture of fabricated lives. It is easy to get influenced by the people and want the same things for yourself. This also builds an immense dissatisfaction in life and we end up comparing ourselves to those captured photos. Spending time away from social media can declutter your mind. It will give you space to invest your time and energy somewhere else, even though it may not be productive. Being attentive of one’s mental health should be paramount, the rest of the things can come next. There is nothing weak in caring for your own self and needs to be done more.

The applications are designed in a way that people become obsessed and start using them compulsively. We always wait around for new notifications and comments because this makes us excited. This is what the creators want the people to do. If you even detach yourself from the platform for a few days, you start having this “feeling of missing out” (FOMO). You start feeling as if you will be out of the loop. In this case, depend on your friends to feed you with important news. Staying in touch with people is healthy but social media doesn’t have to serve as the platform every time.

You can start with limiting your time on the platform if you are finding it hard. Also, decide what you will be doing with the free time on your hands so that you do remain preoccupied but with something better than social media. Try out a social media detox if you are feeling overwhelmed to deal with things and get a grip on your digital experiences.

Have you ever felt an intense anger for something that ticked you off because of which you unloaded your emotions on someone who didn’t deserve it and then ended up regretting it?  The same thing happened with me a few days back and now I regret my previous actions.

Anger is one of the many emotions that humans feel and is very natural but sometimes this anger may not find a proper outlet. It can be misdirected and may be harmful for the one being at the receiving end of it. This may destroy both personal and professional relationships.

Some people may often find themselves getting annoyed with even the slightest of discomforts. In times like this, one should learn to manage them. The first step to deal with one’s anger issues is to acknowledge them and address the nature that instigates it.  Sometimes it may be a spur of a moment thing such as getting stuck in traffic or it may be induced by some past traumatic events. Most people resort to high level of aggression when triggered. This natural response may work well as a defense when someone feels attacked but you can’t go on lashing out at every other person for the littlest of things that may bother you. For example: A person dropped his coffee at you as a mistake but then you started verbally abusing him even after he apologized.

Suppression of anger doesn’t work well either since this pent-up frustration may burst one day. Anger should be expressed but in a healthy way, meaning, that the person should keep his needs in an assertive manner and be clear about what actually bothered him. This should not sound demanding or disrespectful.  Keeping one’s anger inside without dealing with it can often eat up people from inside and make them bitter. Such type of people then become cynical about everything and try to criticize others at every turn.

Some people are naturally more hotheaded than others which can be attributed to genetic, physiological or sociocultural aspects. Since anger is always perceived as a negative emotion, people never learn to deal with it.

Some easy steps one can resort to are:

• Slowly repeat yourself to be calm.
• Take deep breaths from your diaphragm
• Meditation and some yoga techniques can be helpful
• Take a time out and dissociate your self from the environment leading to your fury
• Stop holding grudges. It does you more harm than others
• Use humor to release tension

Whenever you see yourself getting agitated, always tell yourself that there is no point of getting angry. Learn to address and deal with the root cause of the problems. If you learn to stay calm and look at things with the same attitude, you will be able to come up with the solution to the problem. If there is no solution, then don’t let yourself get frustrated and choose to deal with it head-on. Also, don’t jump to conclusions and end up trying to find yourself a person who can be used as your personal punch bag. This will improve your communication skills and prevent you from spoiling building relationship. If you feel as if you are unable to control your issues, then never shy away from resorting to professional help. Professionals will be able to help you come up with certain strategies and techniques to deal with them.

Feedback is the response or the reaction to the work or performance of the workers but it can not only be limited to employees. Feedback plays a significant role in school systems as well . Students, if provided with teachers who can guide them well can help them navigate their own lives but students aren’t the only ones who are in need of it. The teachers as well as the management should also be receptive of the feedback so that a collective approach can be established.

Appropriate feedback systems when employed in school provide a provision to measure the efficacy of the current educational system and methodology of teaching. It would also help to highlight the nature of the school leadership and whether it is being reciprocated by the students in a positive manner. An amicable working environment can also be judged with the help of feedback systems that are designed to test that; it also provides an opportunity to address the issues of sexual harassment which require continuous vigilance.

• This should be made out into a cohort study with the help of psychologists and trained personnel to create a nurturing environment for the kids.
• Also, a sensitization of various social issues is especially important at the school level and a prospective approach should be taken to analyse the effectiveness of these feedback forms. It should be monitored whether these feedback systems are in anyway helping students to self-reflect and improve upon themselves.
• Teachers should also be trained and sensitized to become competent to help students. A teacher’s ability to teach should not only be assessed on the basis of their knowledge but also on their overall personality. Some people have a lot of knowledge but may not be equipped enough in social skills and find it hard to deal with children. It would be better if such people are trained or there are some training programs for teachers as well which helps them to take their students feedback in an impersonal manner.

A feedback system designed to address all the issues that a student, teacher and the workers face, would also help to bring trust and faith in the working of the educational institutions. Such systems help to develop and build community trust that would allow individuals to openly discuss the issues that they might face with their self-image. Students should be able to trust their elders so that they can seek their help. A healthy working environment would also help the teachers and other workers to enjoy their work and be satisfied with it.

This would also improve their productivity. Therefore, any new measure/system undertaken by the educational institute should also be subjected to feedback from both teachers and students as they are the ones directly affected by it.

This is necessary to create an environment that would help both the teachers and students to grow.

Hence, the positive implications of the feedback system are innumerable. However, these need to be properly studied and designed to be able to properly capture the intricacies of human nature and behavior.

Feedback is given as a response to any performance or work submitted which aims to improve the quality of output in future. Feedback basically involves evaluation, appreciation and coaching for improvement. The objective behind feedback is to highlight the positive and the negative aspects of the performance, encourage the workers to do a better work, while also providing a guide on how to reach the desired performance.

Feedback or constructive criticism can be very effective if given in the right way. it is supposed to provide suggestions to the person so that they can learn from their mistakes and identify the areas where they are lacking. The difficult par about giving feedback is making it not sound like down right criticism. some people may put out insults and pass it around as opinions which should be taken in a constructive manner. there is a way of presenting your opinion, specifically while dealing or giving negative feedback, otherwise it may put down the morale of the listener.

The feedback giver should make it a point to not make the conversation personal and stick to the performance of the person and not his/her personality. The listener should also try to not take the criticism personally and have trust on the feedback giver.

While giving feedback, the person should make sure to not use the “feedback sandwich”. It is basically providing criticism sandwiched between praises. It may appear to be an ideal technique but it does much more damage than good. This may soften up the criticism but in actual, it renders the criticism ineffective. The listener may also start believing that the praise isn’t true. Also, be clear about what needs to be improved. If you will give any vague suggestions, it won’t help anyone. Learn to be open to others’ perspective as well. it is best that the people concerned come together, discussion the problem and try to come up with a collaborative action plan.

Therefore, people should not hesitate to acknowledge their mistakes and should help each other with “feedbacks” that would help them to grow. A positive feedback system would also help to develop a community that is not shy of its mistakes and takes every challenge in life as a step to move forward in life.

I have always heard people telling me to self-reflect whenever I make a mistake. It always made me wonder how self-reflection can help me be better. It was later when I actually applied this in my life, I realized that I could not only identify my flaws but also manage my personal growth. If we ever delve deeper in self-reflection, we will realize its significance. It is very difficult to be one’s own critique. Sometimes, we tend to be too hard on ourselves while sometimes, we may find it hard to pick out our own flaws. Being objective about oneself is difficult since everyone tends to be a little bit bias but it can be developed like any other skill.

Personal reflection encourages us to do better in our lives. Its benefits can be reaped earlier if self-reflection is inculcated at an early age. For example: In school going students, self-reflection can be encouraged by making them keep a record of their improvement, helping them set their own goals and guiding them to work towards them. Writing diary entries can also be a good means to record one’s thoughts. The benefit of this will be that the children from a very young age will develop critical thinking and navigate through their own journey. They will be able to point their own lacking areas and work on them to grow.

This develops a deeper understanding of the world and people tend to generally become more self-aware and socially-aware. Reflection gives an opportunity to process the inside of one’s brain as well as outside. Practicing self-reflection takes self-discipline and a willingness to learn. When you will self-reflect, you will be able to recognize many of your weaknesses, not everyone can be easily accepting of them since all of us have some level of insecurities, so it is needed to throw that fear way and let yourself learn more about yourself.

Many people may think that it is useless and stick to doing what they have always been doing but living a life without self-reflection remains futile. Having a reflective thinking is essential to get through one’s difficult life situations. Emotions can cloud your judgments which may sway you away from looking at things from a different perspective. Self-reflection allows you to take a step-back and analyze the situation from a broader point of view and then create an appropriate response to it.

Meditation can help a lot in your journey of self-reflection. Creating a space for yourself so that you have time to self-reflect is the first step. It is basically an ability to live a well-balanced life.

How many hours do we work spending in a day? This thought came to my mind some days back when I clearly had nothing to do. I was contemplating on how to make my day productive and I realized that this quarantine period has provided me with a lot of time to give myself enough rest, probably something no one gets to experience on a daily basis anymore.

I mostly used to feel proud of working more hours, because it somehow became synonymous with more productivity for me. But I later realized how wrong I was. I was bragging about something which was clearly nothing to brag about. There is nothing great about overworking yourself.

Overworking yourself to the limit of exhaustion doesn’t benefit anyone. It just leads to a burnout and even decreases efficiency. We all have become such busybodies that we can’t even appreciate our own self, let alone others. This may eventually lead to a stage of complete burnout and may also bring along physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. Too much involvement in everything can be harmful. We should learn to give ourselves a break too. The amount of pressure we put on ourselves can be unbearable.

The major consequences of overworking oneself incudes

Fatigue: There is sheer tiredness all the time. Even after a well-rested sleep, this doesn’t seem to go away.

Multitasking: Having thousands of tasks to accomplish on our to-do-list can be daunting. Accepting a large number of tasks and then juggling among them just reduces efficiency.

Health consequences: Putting in too many hours can cause some serious health concerns, both physical and mental. You will constantly find yourself keeping unwell or if the work is physically more demanding, back pain and other muscular pain can be frequently experienced. Too much work may bring too much stress and emotional and mental health may suffer.

There are certain situations or elements that are beyond our control but we do have the choice to decide on how to act on them. In order to take care of ourselves, we have to come to a realization that some things can be done while others can’t. There is no need to feel guilty about this. We all have our limitations and breaking points, if our work is always taking us over the edge of these limitations, this may be the time to stop and reflect.

Never let work come in between personal relationships. This can damage both. It is always good to be ambitious and put continuous efforts, but emotional support from family members and friends can contribute a great deal in our journey. Also, try to set realistic goals for oneself. Be a bit accepting of your own shortcomings and learn to be compassionate towards yourself. Don’t shy away from taking little breaks from time to time. A pause from the monotonous stressful life can really put things into perspective.

Cultural awareness or cultural sensitivity refers to the idea of being aware of your own cultural background as well as others. It is nearly impossible to learn about all the cultures present in this world but it is necessary to gain some helpful knowledge if we ever visit a particular country. This can go on to avoid a lot of conflicts and misunderstandings. You will never want to send out the wrong vibes to anyone, so being informed can prevent all of this from happening.

When we learn or are exposed to some new information regarding any culture, it should not be considered as a division or barrier. It should be looked at in a positive way, believing that everyone has their own cultural beliefs and no culture is above any other culture. Feeling of judgment should be absent, rather there should be a willingness to learn when you are likely to experience cultural differences.

Cultural sensitivity should be kept in mind even when you are at home or in a workplace. In your offices or workplace, you will interact with a lot of people who have grounds or origins of cultures that are completely different from your own. You will never want to sound insensitive and create an awkward environment for work. Everyone has some pre-conceived notions or stereotypes but cultivating cultural sensitivity is basically removing them from one’s minds.

Travelling to other countries also does a bit in making people aware of the differences present and how these differences should be acknowledged and appreciated. It is an effective communication key. This also involves body gestures. Some responses may be considered rude in some countries whereas appreciated elsewhere. If misinterpreted, it can spoil budding relationships, both personal and professional. Hence, it is always safe to do one’s homework.

The first step in developing cultural awareness is to keep an open mind accompanied with a desire to learn and adapt. One should be observant about what basic social clues are acceptable and unacceptable. It is also okay to raise questions and seek answers about what may confuse you regarding certain cultural beliefs.

Cultural diversity should always be viewed as an advantage because you get to learn a lot about each other which not only creates a positive mindset but also one of brotherhood.

Active discussions have been going about this issue recently as every one has started becoming more aware. Provided people also have a lot of information on the internet to educate themselves regarding any topic, all they basically need is to have a willingness for it. There is a higher chance that the future generation will consists of global citizens being more culturally sensitive, aware, and understanding in their interactions with others.

Homeschooling is the type of education that is provided to children at home or at a variety of places other than school. It is usually conducted by parents, tutors or online teaching. People generally prefer to send their children to schools to get a formal education. Homeschooling does its best to provide the same level of education and has certain positives over formal education but this choice of education is also accompanied by some cons.

The biggest advantage that homeschooling confers is the flexibility. Guardians and the children themselves can come up with a curriculum that may benefit the child in the best way possible. In a formal education setting, providing personalized education is near to impossible but home schooling can make it possible. The quality of the education increases in a one to one environment. Parents can inculcate the value system in their own children. Moreover, they can even take vacations during off-season. Stress encountered may even be less since there will not be as strict of a regime as in schools. People who are home-schooled often feel that they had more educational and physical freedom than in schools. They have the option to learn things at their own pace, this does not mean that any basics are left uncovered.

Parents may also feel more confident since they will have a direct role in their child’s learning. The child can move more quickly through assignments and subjects they understand, and spend more time on topics that are challenging. Also, the best part that every student can relate to is technically not having any homework.  Classroom distractions can also be avoided.

Along with its benefits, it may also bring certain disadvantages. The parents would have to take up the responsibility of a teacher or an administrator. This may be a potential for more stress and fatigue. More family time may also be spent on homeschooling. There is a chance that their extracurricular activities may suffer. Children are provided with all overall development in home education as well but they may not be allowed to participate in certain competitions.

They may also have fewer technology or resources to use. Parents must also be versed enough to teach a whole variety of subjects, along with a strong value-based education.  Also, the teaching program may be less structured. The biggest opposition that home education faces is socialization or lack thereof. Home schooled kids generally tend to have a small circle of friends and may feel missed out on interaction with their peers. Children may also not get much recognition outside of family as much as that in schools.

Since both the types of learning style pose advantages and disadvantages, it all comes down to what suits a child better to attain his or her development. Some may grow better in a one to one environment while others may be best suited for a typical classroom learning experience.

Have you ever looked around yourself and wondered how everyone seems to be way ahead of you? You all have been trying to reach the same goal but you seem to be lagging behind or everyone has picked up speed whereas you seemed to have slowed down. I used to feel the same and still experience the same when I see others.

I have always felt as if there was a rush to accomplish something. I understand that you can’t always wait around for good things to happen to you and you need to be quick enough to achieve your goals, but sometimes this notion feels so foreign to me. This maybe because I was the one who always felt left behind.

In this highly competitive world, everything has become a race and not being able to keep up with your peers can be a huge disadvantage. I used to view it in a negative light as well and blamed myself for being incompetent. It used to lower my self-esteem and filled me with self-doubt. I often felt as if I wasn’t trying hard enough even though I was doing the best I could at the moment. But I have grown to realize that it is alright for me to take my own time to achieve my goals. Everything isn’t for everyone. I don’t need to indulge myself in activities just because everyone else is doing it. Getting out of my comfort zone is important but I don’t have to force myself to be a part of something that I may not be ready to do as of now. Again, it doesn’t mean pushing my fears and never dealing with them, rather promising myself to deal with them at my own pace than to meet someone else’s demands. If I won’t be doing it to better myself and only to fulfill someone’s expectations, then I won’t be able to learn anything at all. I will constantly remain paranoid about not being good enough.

There was a haste to be productive all the time that I couldn’t even enjoy my free time without feeling guilt of not doing enough. Now, learning at your own pace shouldn’t mean that you miss the deadlines given to you by your company or that you aimlessly end up procrastinating but the deadline that you set for your personal targets should not be so rigid that you find it unable to breathe. This can be very suffocating and you my even end up losing interest in your work. Afterall, it will be just another task to do. Moreover, it feels very sad to feel worn out of something that you used to love so much.

You need to recognize your individual pace of doing things. You should motivate yourself to be better but the pressure to be better faster is quite unnecessary. Every individual holds himself to the highest standards but these standards may seem unreasonable at times. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Continuously taunting yourself or criticizing won’t take you anywhere. I know feeling left behind is the worst but the realization that you are not behind anyone is must.

Look at the colossal heap of things that you want to learn or achieve and try to take them one at a time. Even I made an attempt to juggle many things at a time but ended up learning nothing. Some people are good at picking up multiple things at the same time and some may even master it but for others, why not take up things one by one so you learn better.

This has been deeply engraved in our minds that the faster we may achieve something, the more successful we are. This abstract clock needs to stop ticking because in the real world, you still have time. Learn at your own pace, follow your interest and grow better. Enjoy your journey.

Tact is the ability to keep your point across assertively without being inconsiderate of people’s feelings and reactions, especially when the said point can come off as rude. It enables you to give a difficult feedback and convey sensitive information. Tactful speech can be very helpful, especially in preserving relationships.

Tact involves emotional intelligence, being self-aware as well as socially aware, thoughtfulness, honesty, courtesy and diplomacy.

The ability to apply tact in your speech can provide added benefits to the speaker, in personal as well as professional settings. When a person communicates tactfully, they are able to build credibility and are often perceived as being very polite and honest individuals.

Having a tactful communication skill is usually based on good judgment and a clear understanding of others’ emotions. It is not always easy to be mindful about others, especially while stating some critical thought. If not done right, it can create misunderstandings and even spoil relationships. The best outcome of tact is development of mutual trust and respect.

Every setting is unique and requires dealing with it differently. Though it may come off as a tedious job, people can still inhabit tact and diplomacy if they follow certain practices:

Being attentive to what others are saying and how they are saying will help you understand the tone of the conversation as well as the emotions of the person saying it. When you will hear and analyze the points stated by the said person, you will be able to respond to them better in a coherent manner.

Emotional intelligence and an empathetic nature will lead you to have a better understanding of your emotions as well as others. Additionally, qualities such as compassion and politeness can be used in avoiding an argument.

Assertiveness: The main reason behind using tact is to be assertive without sounding condescending or rude. It is often used to be influential. Being polite shouldn’t negate one’s ability to be assertive.

The key is to understand what is the appropriate behavior in a conversation. Sometimes it is best to withhold your opinions and sometimes it may be necessary to keep a direct stance. Your motive behind a conversation should not be the one where you just want to prove yourself right and the others wrong to such an extent that you may make others’ points feel invalidated. The end of any conversation should be one where all the individuals involved feel represented and respected.

Having great communication skills help you to get out of difficult situations and you end up with a win-win situation.  This may not be easy for all but is certainly attainable with practice just like any other skill.

In the cut-throat world of competition, it is natural to feel stressed about not keeping up with others. Stress up to a certain limit is normal and may motivate you to get ready for action. It is your body’s response to challenges. But too much of it for a long period of time can cause distress and may even prove to be a hindrance in performing day-to-day activities.

This may hit a person as early as their teenage years. Being a teen can be stressful. You have a constant pressure from the society. It may look easy but there is a lot going on internally which can be a huge burden for such a young mind. As you grow older, you suddenly start becoming conscious of who you are and what is your identity in the society, feeling a pressure to prove yourself the best. Now there is nothing wrong in trying to become a better person but the continuous expectations from school and one’s own peers can build a tremendous amount of pressure.

Some of the causes of the rising stress levels of teens can be attributed to the following factors:

School work:  School work and periodic assessments form an important part of evaluation of a student’s progress but sometimes it can be a lot for an individual to bear. Sometimes, students even start to avoid going to school as a result. Some may even end up developing a “don’t care anymore” approach which doesn’t benefit anyone in anyway.

Along with excelling at academics, extra-curricular activities also need to be taken seriously for an overall development. It is always nice to take part in activities beyond your academics but again, pressure tags along with it. Now, there is a need to balance your studies as well as the activities.

Lack of time and sleep: As there is a lot to accomplish in a limited time, teens often end up sacrificing a good sleep cycle. Social media also occupies a lot of time because of which, they may get distracted and end up wasting their precious hours.

Life challenges: They may often feel unprepared for the future challenges or situations. This can make them feel overwhelmed and result in anxiety issues.

Some common signs of stress in teens are:

• Having trouble sleeping or even feeling sleepy after having the right amount of it.
• They have trouble concentrating and may lose focus easily.
• They are always tired, fatigued or overly-anxious.
• They many not be eating well leading to health issues.

Even though it is very prevalent, there are certain measures that can be applied to deal with it.

Here, major responsibility may lie on the parents to be attentive of their teen’s needs. If they are given a supportive environment to grow rather then a hostile one where they always feel criticized and undervalued, they may find it easier to open up about their problems.

Staying connected to family and friends, getting good enough sleep, eating healthy and exercising can be some of the ways to deal with stress.

Moreover, practicing helpful thinking patterns is important rather than unhelpful thinking, which constantly involves viewing yourself in a self-deprecating manner.

If the situation becomes way too serious, it is always ideal to get a professional involved. They will understand the situation better and help the child to deal with his stress as well as for their parents to know the causes behind of it so that they can create a stress-free environment for them.

Cognizance or the commonly used word- self-awareness means being conscious of one’s own character, personality or individuality. It is basically an individual’s conscious understanding of one’s own feelings, motives and desires. A person should be able to assess himself objectively and have a sound knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses, then only can he be truly called a self-aware person.

Though it may be considered near to impossible to maintain an objective view of oneself in totality, certain degree of self-awareness is attainable.

Two broad categories of self-awareness are considered: internal self-awareness and external self-awareness.

Internal awareness represents our feelings, emotions, our social behavior, our values, passion, ambitions along with the negative aspects such as anxiety, stress or depression.

External self-awareness means being aware of how others see us in terms of the internalized factors.

Being self-aware has a lot of benefits to it:

• It can be a forward approach towards self-development. Knowing one’s positives can boost the morale and knowing the negatives can be an encouragement to put efforts on changing for the better.
• It builds a new perception which leads to a better overall assessment.
• It also improves decision making. If we work creatively as well as productively, it will eventually give a boost to our self-esteem. We can become better at our jobs, better team players, a good asset in a community, develop social skills and ultimately enhance our self-confidence.

There can be certain methods that can be practiced daily to cultivate self-awareness:

• Create time and a safe space for yourself: Avoid distraction such as technology and try to connect with yourself.
• Mindfulness and introspection, if done right can help us in better processing of ourselves. Being mindful means living in the present. Occasional daydreaming doesn’t harm anyone but it is important to be aware of what is happening around you. You wouldn’t want to miss on any moment of your life.
• Meditation also creates a peaceful head space and increases our focus and concentration. It can lead to filtering of unwanted thoughts. Often times we fail to be self-aware because we are too busy thinking too much even about little issues. Meditation eases your brain and proves to be a good practice to remain calm.
• Recognize your internal conflicts and try channelizing them in the form of writing. Journaling your thoughts can later serve to be a record of your inner state and eventually turn into a very productive hobby. With time, you can always go back and see how far you have come. A journal or a diary can fulfill this for you.
• Practice listening: Try to pay attention to the speaker and his body language. Don’t try to judge or evaluate anyone on unfounded bias. This will help you point the things you don’t like about other people. Often the things that bothers us about other people can be synonymous with our own habits.
• Lean on feedback from people you are close with: They will be the best ones to give you a feedback because these people would be rooting for your growth and not deliberately try to be a hindrance to it.

If you practice this daily, you will gradually see a clear image of your personality from scratch. You just need to pay attention to the different pieces of yourself, as in the different traits of you that make up your entire being. In the end, you will see yourself become the best version of yourself.

Emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ) or emotional intelligence quotient (EIQ) is the capability of individuals to realize and manage their emotions in a positive way. This relieves stress and facilitates effective communication with our own self as well as those around us. A high EQ gives us the ability to empathize with others, overcome challenges and make us adaptable to various circumstances.

We generally tend to down-play the importance of EQ in our lives and hold high IQ on a pedestal. There is no doubt that having a high IQ or high intellectual ability is always a good factor but it is not enough on its own to achieve success. IQ can get us high academic achievements but without EQ it can be hard to manage the stress that comes along with it.

Generally, four attributes are associated with EQ:

Self-management, self-awareness, social awareness and relationship management.

Self-management is basically keeping a check on your emotions such as your impulsive and negative feelings or behavior.

Self-awareness means having the ability to recognize your emotions and dealing with them accordingly. it helps us to analyze our weaknesses and strengths.

Social awareness helps you gain clear understanding of the people around you. By being socially aware, it becomes comparatively easier to empathize with others, pick on social clues and adapt in a social environment.

Relationship management enables you to maintain any kind of relationship build on effective communication. It can be a good asset when working in a team and also helps to resolve conflicts in the relationship.

In today’s fast-paced life, every other person you meet faces some kind of stress in life. It can be school related stress, workload of office or even some internal or personal conflicts. School going students are exposed to a new level of competition which deprives them of their childhood earlier than it should. There is a tremendous pressure to do well in every sector. Either you are the best or you are not good enough. People, even after achieving mainstream success find that they are not very happy with their lives. This is where it becomes important to focus on improving our EQ level.

High emotional intelligence can help you navigate the complexities that you may experience because of hectic schedule. It may also enable you to lead and motivate others, have a positive influence on the people around you in your work space, which may eventually lead to a great professional life. If you don’t manage your emotions effectively, there is a high chance that it is going to affect your mental as well as physical health.

Uncontrolled stress can lead to high blood pressure, increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes and may even speed up the aging process. It can also disturb your head space making you prone to anxiety and depression. You can end up feeling lonely. This also disrupts your relationship with yourself as well as others. If you have an EQ, it becomes comparatively easier to deal with life obstacles. If you have an understanding of self, it will also become easier to communicate your feelings to others.

The best thing about EQ is that it can be improved. Start with self-reflection, recognize the aspects of your life which you can improve. Learn to observe those around you and how they feel. Also, always remain open to feedback. Constructive criticism can play a huge role in better development if it is given in a right way and taken in a right way.

In the end, practice is all that matters. Emotional intelligence can finally be achieved if we practice to stay patient and evaluate any circumstance. It doesn’t come easily but it can definitely come eventually.

Qualitative education is a form of education which majorly lays emphasis on the need for children to learn practical knowledge along with theoretical. It focuses on skill building, creativity and innovative learning so as to provide an overall development for the children.

Currently, the education system is exam-centric and focuses more on quantitative and rote learning. This prevents an effective learning approach and also decreases active learning participation of students as well as of teachers.

The start of education should begin with ensuring that everyone can or is able to reach it. In any learning environment, be it school or any university, there should be no bias towards anyone on any basis.

After establishing the medium for education, it becomes necessary to keep a check on whether the given teaching methods are beneficial to the students. Children should be receptive to the style of learning and teaching, otherwise the education system needs to modify its provisions.

In a classroom of children, there are going to be many minds which think differently, process differently or maybe at different speeds and even communicate differently. It can be difficult to come to a conclusive method to meet everyone’s needs so what can be applied to cater to everyone’s needs?

There is no right and the only answer for it. There are many things involved in the process of learning and its success can’t be attributed to any one method independently.

Firstly, students should be provided with an environment where they can approach their teachers and voice their difficulties and pose questions. Questions should be valued over answers so that they learn to be curious. It is okay to be incorrect about certain things but they should be able to grasp the concepts. The knowledge imparted should not be limited to text-books only. Students should be encouraged to search beyond it. They may end up finding many valuable sources, including educational videos. Classroom learning also can facilitate the development of a connected community. Children learn to co-exist in the same environment as many others. This leads to a better social development.

Assessment of what the student has learned is important to keep a track of the progress of the child but more often than not, these assessments turn out to be threatening and burdensome for the students so much that they dread coming to school. One thing should be accompanied with grading of the assessments is feedback. If they are not provided with feedback, they are never going to realize their mistakes and even end up repeating them. Also, labelling students on the basis of their grades should be avoided. This only instigates a feeling of envy and lack of self-confidence in the individuals. Moreover, the meaning of success should not rely solely on assessments. There should always be room for growth and development. Errors can be rectified if shaped by good guidance. In the end, all we are looking for is inculcating curiosity, creativity, persistence, confidence, priority and collaboration.

Personalized learning is likely the future, but for now, the responsibility for guiding students is almost entirely on the shoulders of the classroom teacher. This makes personalization a challenge. One response is to personalize learning by a variety of criteria—not just assessment results or reading level, but interest, readiness-for-content, and others as well.

If you put all of these things together after studying them from various different angles, there finally can be a good learning model designed to be effective for the learners according to their needs.

Have you ever found yourself going through the internet and coming across a video that you actually like? Then you go to its comment section and feel horrified about the amount of hate and rage people spew out in the comment section. I have felt the same over and over again. Sometimes, internet rage feels as universal as road rage.

Internet or let’s be more specific- the social media, is filled with the types of people who go on to express hate or rage without any accountability. These people are referred to as keyboard warriors.

By definition, A Person who, being unable to express his anger through physical violence (owning to their physical weakness, lack of bravery and/or conviction in real life), instead manifests said emotions through the text-based medium of the internet, usually in the form of aggressive writing that the Keyboard Warrior would not (for reasons previously mentioned) be able to give form to in real life.

The term is a combination of the words-keyboard, the weapon that they use and warriors because of the rage and aggression they show towards others.

Now the main question is why are people on the internet so ruthless? It’s an easy answer-no accountability. People behind the screens can say whatever they want without meeting the consequences and nobody knows them or has seen their faces.

People who rely too much on the internet for social interaction can often end up frustrated and release their stress and anger on people whom they don’t even know. These keyboard warriors are not generally bad people. They can turn out to be some of the sweetest and nicest people in real life. If they ever meet people whom they have targeted on the internet in reality, they may often end up feeling guilty for their past behavior. Then what does internet do for people to behave this way? When you find people, who express dissent with you or your opinions, you will naturally feel a little irritated or you may come off as a bit strong while keeping your point. You may generally not resort to rage or aggression because you perhaps know the person with whom you are having a disagreement with or you may be good friends with the person. As you can see the person and read their body language, you can understand them better and their tone of speaking. While on the internet there is an emotional separation from others along with physical. You may generally not find yourself getting irritated to this extent with people around you. On the internet, it becomes hard for you to treat others as humans and you may not be able to associate any feelings with them.

Internet pages often release articles or posts with certain headlines to trigger an enhanced emotional response from people so that they can get a large number of views. People may feel misrepresented in the article or may believe that it goes against their beliefs. It can be hard to accept new data or information when it may go completely against our opinions which may lead to a heated debate in the comments section.

The comment section then basically becomes a hub for hate comments, death threats and heated debates which may not only be poor for the mental health of the person being attacked but also for the attacker. Hostile comments are often found as an act of defiance. People’s perspective of the article may not necessarily align with the actual content written and this in turn, may give rise to hostility.

But obviously this can not be generalized. There are platforms where people can genuinely talk about or praise the content. This also involves having healthy discussions even if it is in the form of criticism. A power that is left with the user is one of choice. We have the choice to view the content as per our wishes. We can always opt out of becoming a part of hostile or negative comments and also, regulate our viewing options.

According to Greek mythology, a chimera is known to be a hybrid creature represented by a lion with a goat’s head protruding from its back and a tail terminating with a snake’s head.

Science has been successful in preserving the mythological roots of a chimera but this research has also been quite transgressive in its approach.

A chimera is a single organism which has been made of cells from different individuals, meaning it contains two different sets of DNAs. For example, tissue chimera may result from organ transplant or tissue transplant such as that of bone marrow. Not only restricted to being a lab experiment, it is known to occur naturally as well. This may happen when the mother and the fetus swap cell during pregnancy via placenta (micro chimerism) or when in a case of fraternal twins, if the two embryos somehow fuse together to form a single fetus having genetically distinct cells (tetragametic chimerism).

The total number of chimeras in the world isn’t known but there have only been 100 cases recorded so far making it a very rare condition.

Most often, chimeras have been a result of lab experiments performed by humans for genetic research. With advancements in science and technology and an increasing need for performing organ transplantation, scientists have developed a technique called xenotransplantation which can be understood as the implantation of live cells, tissues or organs from a non-human animal source into human body. Hiromitsu Nakauchi, a Japanese stem-cell scientist has been the first person to receive government support after the ban on this practice was uplifted recently. The team headed by him aims to produce animals with organs made of human cells that can be used to facilitate organ transplantation. This research has been active in other countries as well such the United States but has not been brought to terms because of the prohibition on its funding since 2015 imposed by the National Institutes of Health.

The first interspecies chimera sheep-human chimera was created by scientists in which human stem cells were introduced into sheep embryos resembling 99% sheep but also showing a tiny bit similarity to humans.

Bioethicists have argued against this idea because there may be a possibility that human cells may go beyond the development of the targeted organ and may reach other organs of the animal such as the brain and interfere in its cognition.

The main strategy of the scientists working on this research is to perform only targeted organ generation, so the cells do not sway away from their original path and penetrate other organs. The necessary concerns need to be taken into consideration regarding this research. Nakauchi plans to address the issue and plans to maintain a dialogue with the public so as to eradicate all of their concerns.

SUNBOT or the popularly known smart flower owing its name to its flower like appearance is an innovative product being set up in many universities of the United States such as North Colorado University but has yet to popularize itself in India.

Claiming to be the world’s first intelligent energy plant, it offers much more than the conventional static solar panels. It is a photovoltaic flower system with its solar panels arranged as the petals of a flower that automatically unfold during daytime to capture maximum solar energy. The solar cells bearing petals of the solar flower just like those of a sunflower due to its dual axis and trackers follows the movements of the Sun allowing 40% more production than the traditional ones. Working on better technology and low maintenance requirements, it works as an overall self-sufficient device that outcompetes other solar based devices. One of the most important advantage is its portability and high ease of set up. It can be put up in a few hours unlike the bulky installation of solar panels. The effectiveness of this device can not only be seen in its energy capturing efficiency but also as a self-cleaning device. The petals when closed uses already installed brushes that clean the petals. Its designing gives it a superior edge with added benefits such as smart cooling and smart system. When detected bad weather conditions, the petals close themselves to minimize the damage.

It does pose as a better option in terms of design and efficiency but its high cost plays the biggest factor in making people question its worth and necessity. Cost may be the prime factor it is not that popular. Before adding the incentives and the tax credits, it may range from $25,000 to $30,000 while the conventional devices of nearly the same size may vary between $14-15,000. Eventually, it comes down to the person’s requirements and preferences. If a person prefers effectiveness, the smartflower has an edge but the low cost and higher affordability of the conventional rooftop solar panels may be more appealing for the customers.

All in all, it is a new technology which has a lot of scope and if used efficiently, it can prove to be very beneficial.

There has recently been a discourse among the youngsters about the need for loving ourselves, accepting ourselves and being ourselves. We go on Instagram and find uploaded photos of people captioned with love my self, self-acceptance, self-love and other self-approving quotes. Now the real question is where doe self-love stems from?

How do we go on to say or to preach this self-love?

Self-love means respecting one self and is inevitably linked to self-acceptance. It doesn’t mean to hold yourself in high regards as compared to others, rather it means to consider yourself in the same regards as those around you. If you love yourself, you need to learn to accept yourself with all your faults. It doesn’t mean you have to be perfect for it to happen. Change is better, growing up is required, you just need to believe that your best and worst are your own.

One may go on to chant a few words or write some hashtags claiming that they love themselves, but the real question is how? How do we go on to love our self in a positive manner which not only builds a positive image of ourselves but also does not build arrogance so that we may appear conceited or high-headed? 

You can learn to love yourself by investing your time and efforts on personal growth and development rather than belittling yourself. Positive criticism can do wonders but it is different than being too hard on yourself.

As a human, you are bound to have faults, but the confidence that you have the ability to conquer the obstacles if you focus towards your growth is the first step to loving ourselves. You need to care about your body, mind as well as your spirit.

Your body needs a balanced diet and nourishment. Give it the rest that it needs.

Your mind should be filled with positive thoughts. Stimulate it by learning new and interesting things.

Your spirit needs to be fed too, otherwise there will be a mis-balance. Meditation can be a great tool.

Since we have always been told to love and be kind to others, loving oneself and putting oneself before others can be perceived as a selfish task to do. But that’s where everything went wrong. We were never told or taught to learn ourselves. Our main motto of life has always been to work hard, gain success, earn money and live a decent life. But something major was neglected in that process. We never understood how it felt to enjoy the journey because it never mattered. But after attaining the society’s set list of success, we often find ourselves feeling empty because for us that was our only goal. And now we don’t know what to do after that. We were always so focused on the goal that we forgot to be happy.

Our happiness is not only limited to ourselves but also with those around us. When we love ourselves, we also gain the power to spread love to others. The moment we begin this journey of loving ourselves, we will experience positive changes and maybe learn to see the world in a much different way. Not everything in life has to be dark and deep to have great meaning. Warmth and comfort come even from the slightest of gestures, even form the kindest of smiles and the tightest of hugs.

When you will internalize or channelize your efforts towards something positive, things will improve. Relationships will improve. It may seem a very vague thing to say but it can be concrete if you are willing to put your efforts into it.

In order to be loving, you need to prioritize your needs and pay attention to them. Don’t be dismissive of them.

Learn to be independent in loving yourself. Believe that the first love in your life is love towards your own self. It is always good to have people to provide you with support, comfort and strength in your difficult times but your self-worth can not and should not be measured by someone else’s criteria.

Recognize what is good for you and set boundaries accordingly. Getting out of your comfort zone is a step towards growth but not enough where people can walk all over you without an ounce of guilt or regret. You don’t want to be a pushover.

One more thing that is essential is not using the victim card. Many people feel helpless towards their conditions and choose to play the victim in situations even where they could do something to improve it. You need to own up to your actions.

Another thing that comes with self-love is often appreciating even the little steps because the progress matters.

We always end up aiming to reach higher but let’s focus on going farther. Maybe that will help us better.

Stop seeking happiness from exterior or materialistic things. They will never be enough.

Find things that make you happy. Don’t try to isolate yourself sub-consciously. Hang out with people who turn out to be of great moral support, whose company you dearly enjoy. Read, travel, listen music, dance, draw, talk or do whatever you feel like.

Realize that you can’t always be filled with positive thoughts. There are going to be times when you are going to be lazy, selfish and jealous, own up to your actions and move forward. You can act on these feelings if it is in a form of safe outlet without harming anyone else. The worst idea is pretending that you don’t have nay feelings. Ignorance won’t help in this case. Being apathetic and indifferent doesn’t add value to anyone or anything.

Learn to love your company. Don’t fill your mind with out worldly things to ignore what goes on in your mind. If you find yourself sitting in silence with no one else beside you, learn to not let it bother you.

And if you still find yourselves slipping into a dark space, never fail to seek professional help if it is possible for you. Everyone can’t afford to seek help of professionals or even a safe space for emotional outlet, this is where NGOs can hold various campaigns to actively spread awareness about this growing need.

Accepting that you don’t love yourself currently as much as you would like to is the beginning and making efforts to run down the journey of self-love is progress. This is an ever-going process, a fruitful journey in itself. You will end up finding things about yourself that you never even knew existed.

All the poems and quotes may sound superficial and seem false if you can’t apply them in real life. Trust that you are the source of many wonderful things. Everything requires constant efforts, so put efforts into yourself as well.