Digital Detox

It all started a few months back, spending time on my phone was making me feel sick to my stomach. The strive to remain connected was making me feel annoyed, distracted and detached than ever.

Ever since data charges got cheaper and cheaper, using social media platforms one after the other became a part of our day. A routine to be exact.

It started off with taking over our lives when we felt bored at first, time does fly when you’re having fun. The transition to a time when we grew bored of it often. We’re certainly overdoing it.

However it never felt like an addiction to me, but on contemplation it became rather obvious that the struggle was inflicted by the content I consumed. The connectivity was paying a one hefty fee.

As faith would have it, one day it finally hit me. A solution to my problem lies in plain sight. Simple but genius. ‘Why do I have to do it, if it’s not healthy for me?’

A grave moment of epiphany.

The pandemic has fuelled people to spend long hours on their phones. The amount of content consumption should be a reason for concern.

We fancy all that our brothers from the West preach. We try to dress like them, eat like them and when they went onto to discovering social media platforms, we accepted it wholeheartedly.

Now as more and more such brothers preach the need for digital detoxes, this can’t be more true. They more or less do have an elder sibling effect on us.

The solution was ever apparent, for the taking to the ones that seek. We’re all stressed, tensed and severely pumped up than ever before. We all do find it hard to manage time too, and our attention span is just a little more than that of a goldfish.

Above all, the lack of sleep has also been found to have it’s toll on a few. The trends seemed to have circulated a few years back, around the time when the data charges were dragged to the ground.

The very essence of us passing time, being the very reason behind the matter of concern. They say, “the best days are the ones that doesn’t make you check your phone,” so why not do it? Make it a reality.

Social media has helped us out immensely, letting us to be connected to our loved ones around the world. Helping relationships to sustain itself over geographical and time barriers.

However we fell short to draw the boundaries. Boundaries are necessary. Knowing where to draw the line can absolutely do wonders.

The idea of a digital detox seemed a bit paradoxical to me at first. Cutting out the use of any device that is electric, seems far too barbaric, now. Our lives are so entangled that getting rid of it is not an option. However, Striking a balance seems apter by leaps and bounds.

I believe radical changes can cause more bane than boon. Whereas baby steps can take you places. Rather than completely throwing it out the window, imposing restrictions can be the first step.

Reducing the screen time to a smaller periods and then slowly stepping up a notch every now and then.

If it gets better and better, do more of it. After all life’s more about doing things that sets One’s soul on fire right.

Why should one bicker from doing more of what makes you feel better.

I believe in preaching what I believe in, A couple of months down the line, following the following has made me feel so much better lately. I’m connected but disconnected. Life got so much better.

Live and let live, right?

Binge watching and Mankind

We humans are the masters of our domain. At times, us, the masters go berserk by certain pursuits. We do go overboard with things, from petty tasks to pursuits complex.

I believe the quote, “Nothing to extremes, everything in moderations”, from the remarkable book ‘The monk who sold his Ferrari’, by writer Robin Sharma is something we all should adhere to. In all aspects of life.

We humans are masters of passing time.
It doesn’t matter where we’re, or what we have, we’ll inevitably find ways to destress or to chill.

We’re the lords who have mastered the art of passing time. Everyone’s a Picasso or your own ‘unique being’ for this matter.

But when the phenomenon of ‘fomo’ (fear of missing out) kicks in, beings scramble to ‘fit in’. To find a firm ground to socialise with fellow beings. Gradually paving the way for losing bits and pieces of oneself.

The recent trends of passing time – Binge watching has proven the point well.

It has united the world, that was once divided. Surveys have shown that almost all the generations; especially ‘generation z’ and ‘millennials’, have been ‘swept off their feet’ by a plethora of content to stream and chill.

For the ones that were living under a rock, the ones unaware, binge-watching refers watching far too many episodes of a tv series at one go. It’s funny I guess tv series’ are a thing of the past now. Web series’ being the new black.

Netflix was the catalyst for such a mammoth change in the lives of many. By releasing the entire season of a series to watch all at once. Doing away with the process of having to wait out a new episode every week.

This fast paced life has made such anticipation seem surreal or nerve wrecking to be aptly put. Killing the beauty of waiting.

I guess sometimes you do have to give it time. If not, you lose sight of the whatever’s beautiful in this world in the process.

A true testament that change is part of nature’s way. Embrace the change and go with the flow, or get drowned in the process.

The struggle was real earlier. A few years back, privileged were the ones that had umpteen storage facilities and a high speed internet connection. But the transmission of life into digital has made the struggles fade.

The struggle now is settling on what to watch and finish it before any spoilers. With traditional cable tvs’, cinemas and movies taking the hit in the process. Transforming the entertainment world by a few hundred steps stcsdym a time. The changes are abysmal.

The ‘work from home’ culture just fuelling the way for major streaming platforms to sow millions in this times of crisis. With too much time in hand, people going frenzy to fit in something or the other into their lives to pass time.

Like I mentioned earlier, not adhering to moderations has its own antagonising effects. The binge watching culture has made several beings vulnerable to numerous health conditions.

Having a toll on the body and the mind. Two spectrums of well-being, taking severe hits by the 4G and 5G spectrums, causing many a imbalances in the lives of mankind, as a whole.

Experts have commented that the new culture of bingeing has adverse impacts on health, as the excessive indulgence has thrown the dopamine levels of the body off the charts.

Dopamine being a chemical produced naturally in the body, is a neurotransmitter, which regulates many a actions of our bodies.

The health problems involving both physical and mental. Ranging from severe medical conditions like insomnia, chronic boredom, apathy to depression. The physical effects ranging from cardiovascular diseases, thrombosis and other vision related diseases.

The excessive snacking whilst bingeing also affecting the tummy areas too. Transforming generously the packs into a vast ‘single pack’ in the process.

All this rambling might make me sound like a boomer trying to bully the younger generations. But in all honesty, if you don’t care to stop and analyse what’s happening, then whole of life will slip away before you take notice.

Periodic reality checks should be squeezed into the equation of life. For a better and beautiful tomorrow.

For “Tomorrow has no reality, since every day is experienced as today”, excessive indulgence today might fade out all our realities amidst a global pandemic.

Cyber Security – Nobody is Safe.

The need for Cyber security in the new world

I for one, got sceptical about the internet, when I was signing up for a newsletter for some website. The ones that end up being unread in the spam folder of the inbox.

As I was about to type in my details, an option popped up on my device, offering to type out the my details for me. The moment I clicked ‘ok’, it entered all my details, which even I, myself got wrong at times. Alarmed was not the word for it.

Being a law student, a paper in the current semester brought me up close with the nuances of cyber security and its relevance in this new age world.

Prior to that, me, being a victim of a cyber attack, never crossed my mind. It felt as the fort of the ‘big body corporates’ and hackers as we’ve seen in the movies.

The scene starting of with a shot of the outside of a high rise building and then the scene progressing into the interiors filled with people in expensive suits hustling and bustling. Then we were shown a guy Sitting in a shady corner, mostly, in a far away place, with blood shot eyes behind the specs, with the hoody on and staring onto the screen with the concentration of a heart surgeon conducting bypass surgery, not concerned about the realities of the world.

The power of what all a person can accomplish with a gadget connected to the internet is old news for us, but the intensity of the troubles are worth pondering about.

The need for educating people of all walks of life about the dangers of the internet and how to steer clear is indeed the need of the hour.

If systems of international banks can be compromised over the web, why not a person like you and me, who are unaware of the pool we’ve our legs dipped in.

Surely, it has made our lives easier, closer and more colourful, but don’t forget that there are two sides to every coin. We go about living our lives believing that the ‘common man’ will never be vulnerable to cyber attacks.

In the quest of becoming more social, we often get carried away on a few things. A couple of decades back and even now at times, the society as a whole gets sceptical of exposing sensitive datas like addresses, contact details and other stuff to a complete stranger.

But now, to fit in, we’ve all details from our DOB to mail ids and everything and anything on the web for people to access. What if it goes into the hands of the wrong kind?

Completely forgetting that everything about them is just a few taps away on some site.

Most importantly I believe conversations in the past were restricted due to the fear of getting punched in the face. But now the power of the internet has made anybody a ‘somebody’, a ‘keyboard warrior’; people, hiding away behind a screen, doing anything, feeling assured against not getting punched, at all.

Sure, we can justify all these, that we’ve progressed and become free thinking but people are still people.

We were taught not to step into the cars of a stranger but now we book and share cabs with people who we’ve never met.

Whole of my life I was asked to live by the rules and I believe that’s the best way to live. When all my peers started downloading movies and songs, from random sites, I’ve never felt the need; because I’ve always been certain that there’s nothing like a ‘free lunch’ in this world. People play it smart, by downloading pirated stuff, believing that they pulled a fast one, unaware of the threats posed by such sites.

Cyber security experts have time and again conferred that such articles are often kept out as baits for snatching the weak ones. You may never know when your luck runs out.

Everything comes with a cost.

The very websites that may host such pirated content may contain malware that might end up compromising your system.

Taking everything from basic details to bank info along with it. Enough to make you lose everything you own to your name in a matter of seconds. Losing everything you’ve had to strive for your entire life, gone, in just a matter of minutes, to download a movie or two, is something we can surely live without, right?

Most websites know us like the back of their hands with the algorithms they use. Next time when you see an ad for something you were searching for a little while back, coincidence, I think not.

Digital footprint is something that’s not talked about. It’s the track of what all we’ve done across the Internet. The track would itself suffice to tell a tale or two about us.

They say energy can’t be destroyed, same applies to data, once created it can never be destroyed. Every single time we send a doc or text to the Recycle bin and get it erased from there, we feel we’ve got it out of the system. But apparently what happens is that the data gets taken out from the view but will continue to be stored on the hard disk. The tech is so advanced that, nowadays anyone can buy a software and retrieve all kinds of data from your device.

The vastness of the internet has made us ever so negligent of what all we do. .

Every time we hear somebody being a victim of a cyber attack, we judge them, that very moment, that ‘they should’ve been more careful.’ But how safe do you think you’re? It might be somebody today, and you tomorrow. Think twice before your next type/leap.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

As the internet gets more and more entangled with our day to day lives, going the extra mile to ensure that no data is unnecessarily shared can make all the difference in all the world.

The internet is nothing more than a large network connecting and abridging the gaps between networks. It grants us access to everything and anything.

But always remember a bridge has two ends, what may connect us to everything, connects us to them too.

EIA 2020

The EIA draft 2020 have been doing the rounds on various online and social media platforms for a while now. People are doing everything in their hands to educate the rest and to put a stop to this draft from being implemented, which the national and most local medias have shut a blind eye towards.

This clearly depicts where their priorities are at, more on mainstream politics and other topics, putting the people who depend on such mediums in the dark. Unaware.

The very idea of people having to take to social media to get the word about such a devious plan is a clear depiction that we’re in the endgame now. It’s going to be every man for himself from now.

The EIA draft of 2020 is something we as the citizens of this great nation can’t afford to be a part in. It’s for a greater cause, for a better future. If neglected, the consequences coming generations will have to face will be a plenty. It’s now or never.

From elementary schools we are taught about the importance of conservation of mother nature and the dangers of pollution. We’re taught that the earth is our only home, yet and that we should do everything in our hands to protect it from such acts of fellow less concerned beings.

Several movies and campaigns instituted by conservative environmentalists are more often that not given the spotlight to inform the masses of what we’re in store for. I for one, believe that an educated nation will be a better functioning nation.

The destructions of the Bhopal Gas tragedy needs no introduction. A grave tragedy. Post the Gas tragedy of ‘86, the Government of India brought into action the Environment Protection Act with a concern for the safety of the Public and the Nature.

The EIA under the aforementioned Act of 1986, constitutes a process which prevents the industrial and Infrastructural projects by Individuals and body corporates from being approved without proper oversight. It basically consists of a tool of environmental management forming a part of project approval and decision making.

It ensured that every project would go through the process for obtaining proper environmental clearance certificates , for a better, safer tomorrow.

The point of contention in the draft of Environment Impact Assessment is post-facto clearance and less public participation of the affected communities. Making the voices of the already barely heard voices, totally mute.

The EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) draft 2020 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Government of India has a counter regressive approach towards protecting the nature of the Largest democracy in the World.

The EIA covers numerous projects like mining of various minerals, infrastructure development, industrial projects, thermal nuclear and hydropower projects. The projects for which clearance was sought was allotted clearance by a panel of experts based on its potential impact on the environment.

It involves prospective changes suggested against the EIA notification of 2006. By embodying norms to weaken environmental norms and outright silencing the affected communities.

This draft basically allows the various Infrastructural and Industrial bodies to go ahead with various projects and seek the approval later ( post facto clearance), which would certify the starting of various projects without proper clearance certificates, afterwards when the destruction would’ve been already done.

The point of emphasis is that the principles embodied in the draft is against the various principles that shouldn’t exist in such a democratic nation. It not only possess a grave threat to the environment but also takes away the fundamental rights of citizens to raise their voices and deliver criticism regarding such concerns.

Rather than strengthening the norms under the Act and allowing the people to participate and raise their concerns, this draft focuses on restricting the Public’s voice over such environmentally degrading projects.

It also curtails the right of the communities by legalising projects that has already caused a great deal of harm and the ones which are already existing without proper approvals under the EIA. Making potential threats of mass destruction legal.

However, the Government has commented that the proposed draft would further bring transparency and expedite the process of development. Experts in the field have commented that the only process expedited by such a drastic change would be dragging the country to the ground and crippling the powers of the common man versus huge industrial organisations.

Foreseeable accidents of Vizag Gas leak and the Baghjan Oil fire are grave examples of the gravity of destruction that can be caused by projects that are not run under proper EIA guidelines.

Sighting the present troubles already upon the citizens, the drafts brought to life should be of those which corporates building a greener and more sustainable future where the nature would be the heart of all operations.

NEW AGE OF ONLINE LEARNING

Getting educated has never been this easy. Putting the relevance of colleges under the spotlight.

A few decades back, not everyone had the liberty and the opportunity to go to college. The huge numbers of people joining colleges rather than the workforce was not the thing back then.

The expensive college system paved the way for such a trend, which was also aided by the lack of infrastructure and other opportunities in most sectors which are quite relevant now.

The brick and motor system of people finishing school and then going to college to get a job has been changing slowly but significantly for the past few years. Lesser and lesser people have been seen shutting the eye towards getting a college degree to have a guaranteed successful career across the industries.

The current pandemic status quo is sure to have put a dent to this trend on a larger scale. With the ever fluctuations in the job market and the downward scaling of businesses, employees in most industries are scrambling to make sure that they will have a living by the end of the pandemic.

Making the fear of the pandemic second to the fear of having a job to hold on to sustain a living. The hardships of having a job did not seen this hard in a while.

The upscaling of technology has certainly impacted the education system the most. With the widespread of internet and other gadgets, it has allowed people to even resort to remote learning; from upskilling to even pursuing degrees these days.

Aiding schools and universities to function on with their course structures to an extend.

It has also paved the path for people building up and pursuing shorter courses, which helps in building up certain skills and foundations in almost all the sectors of business. Contributing to a more conscious and productive workforce yet to have hit the floors.

People now have the liberty to sit from the comfort of their homes and with a few clicks be able to start doing a course to up skill their own person. Making the opportunities to learn a plenty and the easiest it has ever been.

The pandemic and shifts in the education system has promised that the system is never going to be the same again.

With people resorting to digital measures to eliminate their shortcomings of knowledge regarding different spectrums, it has started giving major companies sound grounds to even consider candidates without a proper degree for various job opportunities.

With the ability to receive information and answers regarding almost everything with just a click of a few buttons, has shown that the people are going the extra mile to incorporate additional skills that might help them become more educated to handle the tasks at work and also developing as professionals. Paying homage to the age old saying, “with great powers, comes great responsibilities.”

These all have made the jobs of the recruiters much easier, by letting them have the freedom to have a chance to hire people with the right skillsets, which would let them employ the workers without further training or other actions. Making the pace of the workplace faster than ever.

Politics and Life

Educating the promises of tomorrow regarding politics in the society.

Human beings are social beings. Being a social being, I strongly believe one’s life has to indulge with politics or politics will definitely cross paths with theirs.

No one is born with full fledged knowledge about the politics of the world. Knowledge in these matters arise from social interactions, which could and should be nurtured at a young age through healthy mediums.

Hindering the promises of tomorrow in this aspect is no different than digging an immaculate grave for all of us. In all honesty, I’d rather be informed than ignorant!

The very generation that is bound to take over in a decade’s time are often found ignorant and ill- informed about what’s what in this ever evolving world. I don’t advocate upon political affairs being sternly exposed to such individuals. But rather the mere essence of it will equip them of the basic knowledge required to sustain their life in a society.

Without an apt source for educating them about the order and history of politics and its relevance, these young minds wouldn’t have an authentic source for learning much about it; and will grow up as idealists.

Easily influenced by the ideals of their acquaintances and their families making them unable to have an identity of their own.

Being an individual, the need for having a personal understanding and stand has been outright frowned upon at times.

The world is indeed a cruel place, more often than not such unnecessary restrictions leaves them unaware of the harsh realities of life in a society. Catering to such needs will not only save them from making a laughingstock of themselves but would rather provide for a better tomorrow to one and all.

With the forward pouncing of most aspects of society- socially, politically and economically; more and more younger individuals are growing unaware of the nuances of the world. Making the need for educating about the same more perennial than ever.

It’ll also aid an individual blossom into a being, fully aware of the concepts of the society and might even strike an interest towards it. Making them the much needed change amongst around the ones who lead a society.

A generation sound with a strong foundation of the workings of the public domain.

Change is the only constant and those who dare to stand in the way shall not prosper. For revolution is impersonal.

Marketing Keywords

Hey Readers! Hope you are doing well. Here are some terms related to the field of “Marketing” that are not much popular but everyone should be aware of them. Let’s try to know about them in a simplified manner.

Bottom of the funnel

The funnel approach determines the customer journey with the company. It begins from awareness when customers start knowing about the product or service and then move to other stages and finally making a purchase. At the bottom stage, the leads are finally ready to try the product/service.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

B2B is a transaction between businesses where both parties are involved in some agreement for benefiting each other and fuel the business growth of their company with the deal.

Business-to-Customer (B2C)

B2C, as the name suggest, involves transaction and communications that take place between a company and an individual (customer).

Churn Rate

Sometimes, individuals leave the usage of product or service in the middle and churn rate measures the number of such individuals who stop subscribing to a service or a product in a specific time duration.

Cold Calling

This term is quite common and used a lot when it comes to sales department. The main objective if any business is that their product or service should reach out to the masses and for that the concept of cold calling comes into picture. It means reaching out to potential customers who have never been contacted before and telling them about the product or service.

Comparative Advertising

Some days before, I wrote a blog on “reverse comparative marketing”. Comparative Advertising is one of the advertising method where companies make direct comparison with their competitors.

Corporate Identity

Just like your identity is defined by various parameters, a company has its own logo, vision, mission, symbols etc. that form the “corporate identity”.

Dark

Well, now that “Dark” has taken the internet by storm and people are loving the series, “dark” in case of marketing refers to the person who is not more responding to notifications and has left probably due to his/her own reasons.

Demographics

This term is also used in various circumstances to get the basic information about the person such as their age, gender, occupation, income, family class etc. In the field of marketing, demographics help in segmenting people into various groups that can be used for strategizing and implementing innovative campaigns.

Discovery Call

This refers to the first call that the person makes to any prospect in order to get information about the person, “to discover about them”.

Engagement

After people have joined the service, it is very important to design campaigns to maintain their interest and keep them “engaged”. Social media is a boon and helps in customer engagement with various activities such as comments, asking questions, creating a poll, live streaming about something, resharing the content, viral marketing and real time advertisements etc.

Forecasting

It refers to the process of predicting the future with past data and other analyses and help in getting more insights of marketing and sales trends.

I am now making a prediction that you will have gone through these keywords and must have learnt something new. Don’t go in the “dark” as there will be more articles coming with more such interesting keywords.

Till then, keep reading, liking and sharing.

Reverse Comparative Advertisements

Pandemic has led to “CHANGE”. Change in how people used to live their normal lives, communicate, attend function, travel places, meet people as well as their behaviour towards anything significant. Considering the business perspective, it has changed the way brands used to advertise and strategize. It has somewhere led to an inclusive environment where brands are not focussing on “them” or “us” but are going with the specific keyword “we”. They want to depict the fact that we are in this together and the sense of accomplishment can also be done without being competitive, at least from outside.

The coronavirus has reached India some time back and the cases are increasing at a much higher rate. The novel coronavirus has inadvertently lent a premise to various brands to advertise their goods and services. Many brands are using this as an opportunity to establish their effectiveness and value over their counterparts with respect to the outbreak. Initially, when the virus was on the rise, Indians started looking for health care measures for preventing themselves from the virus and there was a surge in the sales of hand wash, face masks and sanitizers.

The best example for this is the “Lifebuoy Ad” where they didn’t use the concept of comparative advertisement where one brand is shown inferior to others. Instead, they chose the other strategy of inclusiveness to create awareness among the masses. In the advertisement, they asked people to use any liquid or any soap that they fight convenient and hence gained popularity by not attacking any rival brand.

In India, people are going for year-old traditional food, dishes and drinks to boost their immune systems. The use of “kaada”, a warm drink made up of various healthy ingredients to cure cold and cough has become a household entity and people are using it on a daily basis.

Businesses have to keep a level of competitiveness to increase their presence but sometimes it is also possible to keep aside the differences and come out together to fight a battle. Coronavirus has changed and is still changing the way we as a human think, believe, expect and follow up. Reimagining the core benefits and core values to the customers that combines usefulness and interactivity is needed. This can help in strengthening of a brand’s innate immunity through this crisis.

Brands need to change their focus that was traditionally aimed at increasing their ‘Share of Voice’ to increase ‘Share of Empathy.’ They will need to create few micro experiential campaigns on social media and other platforms where people will feel more inclusive towards the brands as well as human race as a whole. With social solidarity and a sense of community growing, consumers will naturally look to brands that embrace such values and stand for a higher purpose. Together, everyone is fighting their own battles and it is not the right time to focus on profit, though that will always be the first priority for any businesses but it is time to couple it with empathy and strategize accordingly.

Every brand should keep in mind that: “We are in this together”

Telematics

Hello Reader, Lets dive into a new concept that is changing the way one can be benefited when it comes to vehicles and their operations. Broadly speaking, telematics is the combination of two sciences—telecommunications and informatics. Telecommunication include phone lines, wires, cables, GPS systems, navigation systems etc. and informatics is related with computing systems. It has developed and progressed with the advancement and changes in technology and various new concepts such as big data are elevating the usage of this concept.

Telematics enables wireless data communication through the use of high end technology and opens up a huge range of possibilities. It can enable one to have wireless television and internet on your vehicle. Since the world is focusing more on analytics, the most essential thing is “data”. Telematics is essentially a range of different features, options and devices that are brought together by a single principle – data and communication. Though the concept was there in the industry from a long time, it is getting evolved with each day.

According to Gartner, wireless telematics devices and “black box” technologies collect and transmit data on vehicle use, maintenance requirements and automotive servicing. Today, a vehicle can have various things connected to it at the same time such as asset tracking, rear camera, GPS, driving behaviour, front cameras, special gears etc.

From the business perspective, the value comes from data transformation. Telematics has changed how various industries used to work earlier, transforming them in construction, transfer and site excavation. Telematics can be used in a wide range of vehicles from cargo vans/pickup trucks to smaller cars, buses and specialist vehicles.

Working of Telematics

The working of telematics includes a GPS system data gathering system and sensor and vehicle data to provide fleet operations. The data that is fetched from various systems is temporarily stored in a telematics device that in installed in each vehicle, and is then transmitted over private cellular networks to secure servers. It is like a centralized controlled system, the central data hub that enables fleet management system to provide easy-to-understand visualizations that help fleet managers optimize their operation.

Fleet management programs now enable firms to manage fleets of all sizes – from a handful of vehicles to hundreds – and help deliver major improvements across the board. Telematics has now developed to the point where it goes well beyond mere asset tracking to incorporate vehicle and driver performance as well as maintenance management. (https://www.teletracnavman.com/resources/resource-library/faqs/what-is-telematics)

Telematics in Business:

Telematics can greatly streamline communication, job dispatch and routing, and also record and transmit information on whether individual vehicles are in motion or stationary, their engine performance (including power-up, shutdown, idling or malfunctions), vehicle speed, driver conduct and more besides. It benefits in improving service, lower the administrative costs and help in improving the safety via location tracking and other features.

Telematics has changed the way businesses used to work specially in managing fleet of vehicles and is already delivering major improvements to safety, productivity and ultimately profitability, and it is only likely grow in the coming times. The businesses that have integrated and implemented this across the world into their operations can actually expect to continue to reap significant rewards.

Arctic Circle and Climate Change

Remember the times when we used to get ” Global Warming” as a topic for writing an essay or in multiple debates? Well, seems like climate change was always real and is now becoming more visible. With the smartphone users rising exponentially due to advancement of Technology, issues like climate change have become the topic of discussion and people are now talking about it openly and become more conscious towards such sensitive issues.

Though some of the prominent world leaders have said that climate change is not an issue to be discussed but news about Arctic Ocean to be warming twice as fast as the global average is something that cannot be neglected. Yesterday, it was observed that the temperatures in the Arctic Circle are likely to have hit an all-time record on Saturday, reaching a scorching 38C (100F) in Verkhoyansk, a Siberian town. The rising and Hot summer weather is not uncommon in the Arctic Circle, but recent months have seen abnormally high temperatures.

arctic

Every year, Earth is experiencing change in weather and rise in temperature but the intensity is quite more when it comes to Arctic Circle. It is an alarming situation as Arctic is warming faster than anywhere on this Earth. In fact, most scientists agree on the fact that over the past 30 years, the Arctic has warmed at a rate of twice the global average.

Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the early 20th century are primarily driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. These human-produced temperature increases are commonly referred to as global warming. Natural processes can also contribute to climate change, including internal variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and external forcings (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy output, variations in Earth’s orbit). (NASA Article)

Global warming is a part of climate change. According to a report by BBC, warming in the Arctic is leading to the thawing of once permanently frozen permafrost below ground. This is alarming scientists because as permafrost thaws, carbon dioxide and methane previously locked up below ground is released. These greenhouse gases can cause further warming, and further thawing of the permafrost, in a vicious cycle known as positive feedback. The higher temperatures also cause land ice in the Arctic to melt at a faster rate, leading to greater run-off into the ocean where it contributes to sea-level rise.

Though climate change deniers have argued that there has been a “pause” or a “slowdown” in rising global temperatures, but several recent studies shows that is the not the case. The situation in Arctic clearly indicates that the steps have to be taken on a global stage with strict actions. Countries have come together and have discussed about the same in G-20 and other summits but there is still a long way to go. Measures must be defined and followed by the masses to change some aspects of climate change.

Corporate Governance

Corporate governance is the current buzzword in corporate jargon. It has become a subject of discussion in corporate boardroom, academic circles and government around the globe. Unethical business conduct and behavior, laxity on the part of board, failure of external audit, unfettered powers in the hands of the Chairman/CEO, lack of transparency, inadequate disclosures, fraud, lack of proper internal audit are the most common governance problems/flaws noticed in the collapses of all such corporate failures in India, USA, UK and the other parts of the world.

The last few years have also highlighted major scams that have changed the way businesses were seen and have resulted in pendulum of public faith. Due to this, the emphasis on Corporate Governance has increased so much that some firms have an independent department for handling it. Various independent start-ups are also built to manage corporate governance practices. The events such as Satyam scam, Harshad Mehta scam, AgustaWestland chopper scam, Enron, Lehman Brothers, WorldCom, HealthSouth etc. have shifted the market to focus on a regulated market from a free market.

What is Corporate Governance?

Corporate governance in simple words can be defined as the combination of rules, processes or laws by which businesses are operated, regulated or controlled. The term encompasses both, internal as well as external factors that affect the interests of a company’s stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, suppliers, government regulators and management.

Many institutional investors have taken a substantial interest in engaging with respect to corporate governance and have dedicated significant resources to governance issues. Not only this, they are thinking about company outreach, the overall development of voting policies and also the analysis of multiple proposals on the ballots of their portfolio companies. Additionally, overall levels of shareholder activism remain at record highs, imposing significant pressures on targeted companies and their boards.

Benefits of Good Governance:

It provides a framework for accessing effective external finances.
It helps to achieve sustainability and improve company’s performance.
It helps to conceptualize the practicality of CSR Activities that the company is having and gives it a new dimension to showcase it.
Helps in higher firm valuation and share performance.
It helps in reducing risks associated with corporate crisis and scandals.
It helps in effective management of relation among various people and entities such as shareholders, managers, employees, customers, creditors etc.

Fundamental Pillars of CG:

Fundamental Pillars of Corporate Governance include:

Accountability: Ensures that management is accountable to the board, shareholders and other involved.
Transparency: Ensures accurate disclosure of information on all material matter that includes financial situation, events, ownership, performances, mergers and corporate governance.
Independence: It gives freedom to take decisions so that major leaders are not influenced by others. There must be procedures and structures to minimize conflicts of interest.
Fairness: It combines treating all shareholders and related entities with fairness and provide effective redress for violations.

SEBI in India:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator of the securities and commodity market in India owned by the Government of India. It was established in 1992 and given Statutory Powers on 12 april 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.

The main function is to make sure companies are running fairly and to stop any fraudulent activities of financial/stock market.

In-Person Attendance at Conferences

5 Articles to Help You Manage Conference Speakers Better | CadmiumCD

Group and Institutional Benefits of In-Person Attendance at Conferences

In addition to individual benefits, non-governmental organizations (NGO) can also garner much-needed support by presenting and attending conferences. Online, non-profit charities and NGOs compete against a vast array of other organizations. It can be difficult to gather supporters through the daily background noise of online information. Conferences are an unequivocal means to meet people crucial to furthering organizations. In-person representation makes a greater impression on potential supporters, similar to the effects for individual attendees previously discussed. Increased support from conference attendees leads to increased online chatter, which can have exponential results. More support means more funding and increased real-world impacts made by NGOs.

Conferences also allow for exchanges across universities. Multi-university collaborations can be difficult, but conferences provide the interface for this to transpire. Combining resources and experiences can not only further specific research efforts, but also science in general. Examples of such fruitful collaborations from IMCCs include Parsons et al. (2014), Cigliano et al. (2015b), Hind et al. (2015), and Cigliano et al. (2016). Emails are not always effective for starting collaborations, and researching potential universities for partnerships takes time. Being in the same place as representatives from other universities accelerates the process and leads to real results. New research stations and enterprises have been established by multiple universities pooling resources as a result of meeting at conferences.

For certain conferences, registration fees help to financially support other initiatives of non-profits. Conferences can be a fundraiser for projects and grants that provide direct backing for environmental issues and endeavors. For example, funds collected at IMCCs help support marine conservation communication initiatives and policy projects of the SCB Marine Section, such as the Save the Vaquita campaign. Funds may also support other branches of an organization. For example, some registration fees received at a large international conference may be used to support research projects in underrepresented regions, as is done with some of the fees collected at IMCCs by the SCB Marine Section. These regions may be comprised of developing countries with limited resources but ample biodiversity. The SCB Marine Section Conservation Research Small Grants program, for example, is made possible through registration fees collected at IMCCs.

Overcoming the Limitations of In-Person Attendance at Conferences

Many science conferences, especially those concerning environmental issues, are increasingly taking steps to monitor (Hischier and Hilty, 2002) and counterbalance the environmental impacts of conference travel (Parsons, 2015). Moreover, agencies (such as the US Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/p2/green-meetings) and industry (e.g., Doubledutch, 2014) even have websites offering advice for those wanting to reduce the impacts of their meetings. IMCCs, for instance, follow the Sustainable Event Policy of the SCB (https://conbio.org/conferences/about-scb-meetings/scb-sustainable-event-policy).

Additionally, conferences are now frequently offering or mandating the collection of required or optional carbon offset fees to help ameliorate the negative environmental effects of conference travel. Delegates to IMCC4 paid a compulsory offset fee as part of a policy adopted by the meeting organizers to bring the conference into alignment with the Paris Agreement (http://conbio.org/mini-sites/imcc-2016/about/carbon-offsetting/). Carbon offset fees fund environmental projects, such as native tree planting and wildlife conservation.

Although technology has advanced to levels once thought of as unattainable, these tools should supplement conferences, not replace face-to-face interactions. Fraser et al. (2017) rightly conclude that global virtual conferencing is possible for fields like conservation biology. These have been investigated by IMCC delegates in discussion sessions at OceansOnline, an affiliate conference of IMCC4, with a result of organizers subsequently looking to offer telepresence as an option for the forthcoming 5th International Marine Conservation Congress (Thaler, 2017). Yet, Fraser et al. (2017), while additionally noting the virtual approach’s susceptibility to technical difficulties, are also among the scientists that cannot get past the social limitations virtual conferences impose. Psychology, management, and communications studies have shown that information exchange, collaboration, and networking multiply during face-to-face meetings (Duffy and McEuen, 2010). Effective collaborations require understanding the nuances of collaborators—nuances that cannot be perceived virtually. Physically gathering people with different backgrounds and expertise may be difficult on a regular basis, but large conferences allow for this to happen.

Suggestions that a number of regional meetings could replace global meetings, providing the same face-to-face benefits while reducing travel-associated carbon emissions (Smythe, 2010), may well be appropriate in some cases. However, history has shown that regional conferences provide a different face-to-face knowledge sharing experience to global meetings, capture few non-regional issues, and lack the scope to address global problems like those typical of marine conservation (Craggs and Mahony, 2014). For large-scale environmental efforts to be successful, multidisciplinary endeavors and collaborations across regions are crucial.

Recent thinking associated with delegate carbon footprints is, anyway, beginning to ask whether groups like scientists are becoming a bit over-pious with refusals to travel. Calls, have instead been made for individuals and groups to perform a “net-benefit test” when making travel decisions (Favaro, 2017). In the case of attending an IMCC, this would mean them asking, “Is there a reasonable chance that by attending this conference I will be able to produce, directly or indirectly, a net benefit for conservation?” (Dr. Brett Favaro, personal communication). If their non-attendance is impeding career-advancing opportunities and important knowledge sharing, they may be slowing the development and advance of the marine conservation discipline to the detriment of ocean health. Accepted norms for scientists should allow the most effective pursuit of goals, such as those for marine conservation. IMCC organizers have already implemented the net-benefit approach by reforming their organizing approach to reduce carbon emissions, running in-situ applied workshops to improve conservation practitioners’ skills, integrating outreach activities in the conference host city (e.g., beach cleanups, marine education activities) as part of the official conference program, and through advancing conservation initiatives as part of scientific sessions. Although conference travel can have negative environmental impacts, the environmental benefits achieved by increased conference participation surely outweigh the travel factor.

Moreover, conference organizers can take steps to reduce their environmental impacts by picking a venue that uses sustainable practices (Draper et al., 2011; Parsons, 2015). Other ways in which the impacts of delegate travel can be offset or minimized include (Parsons, 2015):

• Trying to reuse, reduce, and recycle as much as possible—give delegates travel mugs and distribute water stations and recycling bins throughout the venue.

• Ensuring that food and drink are from as sustainable a source as possible (vegan and local options are best, but if not possible, then vegetarian and local options should be used).

• Having the program online (available to download as a.pdf or an online app). Have delegates order hard copies of programs in advance, to minimize printing costs and paper wastage.

• As noted above, having a carbon offset charge for the entire conference included as part of the conference budget (“opt in” carbon offset structures have a low rate of enrollment, i.e., <10%).

• Conference organizers and delegates uniformly applying the net-benefit test described in this section.

Finally, when hosting a conservation/environmental conference, organizers can make the most of having a large congregation of international conservation/environmental experts—recruit volunteers from attendees to participate in beach clean-ups, tree plantings, and similar activities; host advisory meetings and capacity building/training workshops with local grassroots environmental groups; do educational visits to local schools, hospitals, and colleges (Parsons, 2015). The educational and practical, real world benefits provided by a conference delegate might have a major and long lasting benefit to the local host community and their environment.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – A Key to success

The word communication alone decides the state and level of the individual. It is because the person who has nothing but a good communication skills, wins everyone in the room whereas the person with everything but no communication skills will be losing in that situation. I am not saying that, only communication matters, but it gives an added advantage and that is Confidence in the work and it makes the job more easier. Let us see how it works…

MAKES YOU UNIQUE

There will be one person in the class whose name will be always be in the mind of the every person because he/she will be definitely a amazing communicator and a fabulous speaker in the class. When there is any function in the college or workplace, the one with a creative speaking ability will be given a chance and that person will always speak. It becomes an easy way to be known by everyone and it will give a big friend circle. And that circle will be your stepping stone to your career.

GIVES CONFIDENCE

The main reason that everyone insists the young one to speak is mainly because the communication skill improves only by speaking and by speaking, slowly the confidence level of the person increases steadily. And the benefits of the communication is very huge . It is because the person with that skill will be able to tackle plenty of people in a situation. And it also helps that individual to believe that he is capable of the job and he will always have that ability to tackle any situation.

HELPS TO MANAGE THE SITUATION

In a company or at work place there will always be a situation for you . And if that situation cannot be handled, you will definitely lose that position. And in order to tackle that situation you need to have a better communication skill. So always be a person with a good communication skill. Only if you develop your communication skill, you will be able to develop your skill and you will improve your level in your field.

CONCLUSION

“Speak it whether its right or wrong, and always engage yourself in speaking!!!!”

Benefits Of Freelancing

What if you could choose your own office? What if you could change the dim, fluorescent lights from a cubicle, with a large open space. One where the wind would caress your face gingerly, and you could hear the waves breaking at the shore, not too far away. To make this Mediterranean setting complete, what if you could sip on your drink from a coconut while tapping passionately at your keyboard? Sounds highly idyllical, doesn’t it? Not to twist the knife in the wound, but this is more than feasible. By choosing the path of self-employment, you can pick your own place to work from. And this is just one of the many benefits of freelancing.

The workforce emerges in different directions

It’s true, most individuals frown upon the idea of freelancing because aside from the plenty of misconceptions available, it seems to be an unreliable job. Think about it: you are living from paycheck to paycheck, from client to client.

However, it’s highly understandable why most people fear this. After all, freelancing started as an option for income supplementation, and the main idea was not necessarily to find constant projects but to find some when you needed them. Yet in the past years, with millennials entering the workforce, it became a reliable alternative to 9-to-5 jobs. Moreover, because of the traction, it gained in the past years, companies of all sizes – including enterprises are reorienting themselves into hiring freelancers as well, not only full-time employees.

Now, I won’t claim that office jobs will be dead in a certain amount of time, but what I do say instead is that it could be a good option for you to take into the account the idea of going freelance, at some point, especially if you are seeking things such as flexibility, variety, work-life balance and more. Since I do not enjoy making claims without any arguments, here are 5 benefits of freelancing

*) Flexibility

Keeping all the prejudices aside on how millennials do this, do that, “destroy” industries, one of the highest desire of the upcoming generations is flexibility. Whether we talk about having the option of choosing the time to start working or the amount in one day, flexibility is one of the main benefits of freelancing. Aside from this, freelancing gives you the option to work from anywhere – your own home, a café, another city or another country, as long as you have a stable connection to the Internet

*) Thriving on variety

One of the greatest benefits of freelancing is having the opportunity to dip your toes into a pool of possibilities. Usually, freelancers work on a variety of projects, from several industries. It’s not unheard of working only with one, but that’s usually a matter of choice (and of income).

Thus, going freelance will give you the chance to grow, to expand your horizons and to achieve plenty of knowledge and an impressive portfolio. This way, you will be some sort of Jack of all trades (but better than a master of none), in your own field

*) Its a companion

Let’s be honest about something – when having a full-time job, even if you have the chance to work on various projects, choosing which one to work on, is not one of the perks. This way, you might find yourself stuck with a project that goes against your ethical and moral objections, or would stick you in a routine. Even worse, in case your company provides services for other clients, there’s always the option into finding one who is either overly-demanding or aggressive.

On the other hand, one of the benefits of freelancing is this – you get to choose who to work with. If your client comes to you with a project proposal that doesn’t fit you, or his behavior is not one of your likings, you can always refuse. However, if this is the case, you need to have a plan B. Which, usually freelancers do have – and thus we can talk about another benefit

*)financial security

The idea of living from project to project, without knowing if the income will be enough to pay the bills, is indeed scaring. Yet, history has shown us that having a full-time job, doesn’t necessarily reassure you that you will have the financial security you wish for.

Working as a freelancer makes you aware that maybe, not all the gigs you have are 100% certain. In numerous cases, projects can be cut short for a variety of reasons – budget, style, relationship between the client and the provider and more. Because of this, you will always be prepared to have a Plan B, C or Z, and you won’t leave things to fate.

There is some cost-cutting involved

Maybe this isn’t the main benefit of freelancing, but it’s worth mentioning – working on your own can help you to reduce some of the costs. For instance, if you choose to work from home, you will cut on gas or any other type of commute. Even more, you might have some cost-cuts on food as well, since you can organize your work as you please and you might squiz in some time to cook. However, working from another place, such as a coworking or a café, might increase the costs. But then again, as a freelancer, you can always pick a place closer to your home.

Eduindex News

Eduindex News is a next-generation global news publishing company that helps scholars get the free access to educational contents and news at one place. Our digital products, services, and engineering are built on years of innovation, with a world-renowned management philosophy, a strong culture of invention and risk-taking, and a relentless focus on customer relationships.

EDUindex News is a division subsidiary company of Edupedia Publications Pvt Ltd created with a vision to provide educational contents & educational news at one place. With our brands like IJR, EduPub, Pen2Print and Eduindex, we are serving the humanity and helping scholars around the world.

Joining the Eduindex News team give you an opportunity to work on different fields of content writing, editorial works, digital marketing, publishing, audio visual communication and public relation building aspects of the media publication work.

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

The workforce emerges in different directions

Rate this:

Rate this: