For Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Assault, AB218 Is A Chance For Justice

On January 1, 2020, the state of California took a bold step in confronting the epidemic of child sexual assault when it enacted Assembly Bill 218 (AB218).This landmark bill took on the problem in three major ways — it broadened the definition of child “sexual abuse” to “sexual assault”; it extended the civil statute of limitations from age 26 to age 40; and it allowed for a three-year “lookback window” for those who had suffered sexual assault as a child but missed the prior statutory deadline.The deadline for filing claims under the three-year lookback window is rapidly approaching. It’s an important opportunity for anyone across the nation who suffered sexual assault in California decades ago to finally seek justice for the abuse they endured, as well as help others who have suffered like they have.A Major Step ForwardAB218 represents a major step forward for the state of California in recognizing the seriousness of the problem and its long-lasting impact on the victims. By relabeling what was formerly known as “sexual abuse” to “sexual assault,” it helps to emphasize what a serious and damaging crime it really is.This new definition not only more broadly defines what constitutes sexual assault, it also allows victims to sue organizations such as school districts, clubs and membership organizations, religious organizations and others for these crimes. What’s more, those organizations that are found to have been involved in covering up sexual assault can now be subjected to triple the damages than they were before the act was passed.And by extending the statute of limitations to age 40, the bill takes on one of the most important roadblocks that prevents victims of sexual assault from obtaining justice, which is that unique combination of social and psychological factors that deter many victims from coming forward until they have reached adulthood.Courageous ActionsStudies have shown that child sexual abuse is committed most often by a trusted adult, whether a clergy member, teacher, coach, adult family member or other person close to the child.Many times, when a child or adolescent is sexually assaulted, the predator will use a combination of threats and/or psychological manipulation to keep the child silent.And sadly, in many cases, if the child is brave enough to come forward, they are met with disbelief or told to keep quiet by a parent or authority figure.Furthermore, in many instances, the child may block out the memory of the trauma and not recall the details until much later in life.The truth is that most victims of childhood sexual assault don’t have the courage to come forward until they are well into adulthood. In many cases, they may not know that what happened to them was in fact sexual assault, due to their age and trust of the person who perpetrated it. In fact, a recent study suggests that the average age that victims feel comfortable in coming forward with the details of their assault is 52, by which time the statute of limitations has long since passed.Fortunately, the AB218 lookback window offers a new opportunity for those who suffered sexual assault during their lifetime to get the help they need and to finally get justice. There are a number of resources and attorneys who advocate for sexual assault survivors, including attorney Raymond Boucher of Boucher LLP (www.boucher.la) in Woodland Hills, Calif.Boucher has dedicated much of his practice to helping victims of child sexual abuse and assault, including bringing in over $1 billion in settlements for victims who were sexually abused by Catholic priests. He is a fierce advocate of legislation such as AB218 and encourages victims, regardless of age, to come forward to take advantage of the unique lookback window for claims.”Those individuals who decide to come forward and pursue their case under the AB218 lookback window are courageous and selfless pioneers who not only seek justice for the lifetime of pain they endured but are forging the way for others who are suffering like they did, and are paving the way for meaningful change,” says Boucher.

Incentives for Adoption of Renewable Energy

 Posted On: 03 FEB 2022 8:45PM by PIB Delhi

The Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy in the country. These include :

  • permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route, 
  • waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025, 
  • declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022, 
  • setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land  and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play

basis, 

  • schemes such as Pradhan MantriKisanUrja Suraksha evamUtthaanMahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc,
  • laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power,
  • setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
  • Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects. 
  • Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.

The Ministry supports a scheme “Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme” through various research institutions and industry which is being implemented to enable indigenous technology development and manufacture for wide spread applications of new and renewable energy in an efficient and cost effective manner across the country.

The scheme encourages research and technology development proposals in collaboration with the industry and provides upto 100% financial support to Government/non-profit research organizations and upto 50-70% to Industry, Start-ups, Private Institutes, Entrepreneurs and Manufacturing units.

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Bajrang Punia

Bajrang Punia wins BRONZE in one-sided match at the Tokyo Olympics — India’s medal contender Bajrang Punia has won another medal, bringing India’s total to six, as he competes against Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov. Bajrang Punia decided to play the match despite sustaining a knee injury during the semifinals and won.

Photo by Jim De Ramos on Pexels.com

After overcoming Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov here at the Makuhari Messe Hall A Mat B on Saturday, grappler Bajrang Punia won a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 65kg category at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Punia won the bronze medal match 8-0 over Niyazbekov. Bajrang held his own in the final three minutes, keeping his opponent at bay and taking home a bronze medal.

Wrestler Bajrang Punia started his Tokyo 2020 campaign with a resounding victory in both games. In the 1/8 Final, the Indian wrestler defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Ernazar Akmataliev, and in the 1/4 Final, he pinned Iran’s Morteza Ghiasi Cheka to the mat (winning by fall).

In the men’s freestyle 65kg category, Bajrang suffered a humiliating defeat in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics to Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan. Balwan Singh, the father of wrestler Bajrang Punia, is optimistic that his son will bring a medal to India from the Tokyo Olympics.

Neeraj Chopra- The Golden Boy of India

07th of August, 2021; as the flag was getting higher and higher, and after a few moments; the beautiful hymn- Jana Gana Mana, was played, every Indian had goosebumps and water in their eyes. One day before the closing ceremony, when almost all hope was lost, Neeraj Chopra with a massive throw of 87.58m, brought a gold medal to out country. India had shined at the Olympics this time bagging a total of 7 medals, compared to last times 2, which has already raised hopes for the next Olympics. Till date not even a single Indian has won a gold medal at the Olympics for athletics. By winning a gold medal, Neeraj carved his name into our history books. In the coming years, when students will hear his name, not only will they remember the achievements he has done or yet to, but also this 23 year old young lads inspiring journey to the Olympics.

Photo by Anthony on Pexels.com

How many of you know, that unlike PV Sindhu or Mirabai Chanu, our Neeraj Chopra is not a full time athlete. He is currently in the Indian Army and holds the position of Naib Subedar. One great lesson that we can learn from Neeraj aside from his great skill would be balancing. He balanced his career and sports, not lagging behind anywhere. But a decade ago, if you were to meet this lad, you would be surprised to find him that way. An obese kid from Panipat, who was very mischievous and also often ridiculed by his friends for weighing 90 kilos and looking like a sarpanch aka a village head, Neeraj had started to hit the gym to reduce his weight. He used to visit a gym at Madlauda, cycle 24 kilometers to and fro to reach it. He was the youngest member at the gym and he later shifted to a gym at Panipat. Here, he used to visit the Panipat Sports Authority of India, and the magic happened here. Jaiveer Singh, another Javelin thrower found the potential and skill in Neeraj Chopra, when he was able to throw the javelin for more than 40 meters that too without any prior coaching or knowledge. After this incident, Jaiveer started coaching Neeraj Chopra for Javelin throw. After an year of training from Jaiveer, Neeraj headed to Panchkula, four hours away from his home to train for Javelin and his maximum throw now was about 55m. His coach Naseem Ahmad, described Neeraj to be a very attentive student who took notes about how to be better from other players and asked more questions than usual. After this he went on the achieve a new national record a throw of 68.40 meters. Soon there was no turning back and for each competition Neeraj started to shine even better than usual and soon was throwing more than 70 meters. He had won many golds at prestigious competions like the Asian Games, Commonwealth, South Asian Games, Asian Championships, World Junior Championships and the historic recent Olympics. He has also bagged a silver medal at the Asian Junior Championships. Neeraj Chopra indeed still has a lot more to see and win, but at such a young age, he inspired and made many people proud and will continue to do so. Something that we all shpuld learn from Neeraj Chopra would be, “Dream Big, Work Hard, Stay Positive and Enjoy the journey.”

How to read efficiently

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“Reading maketh a full man” states the great English essayist FrancisBacon. Indeed, reading habbit can even be considered as virtue, as it gives us immense knowledge and pleasure. But nowadays our reading is getting diminished because of the advent of mobile phones. Even if you are a beginner or someone who reads daily, sometimes you may find it hard to read or lack interest. Don’t be bothered, this article will aid you in such cases.

If you are a beginner in reading, you must find your genre of books. Each person have seperate tastes so they may like fiction or non-fiction. You must find what interests you the most either fiction or non-fiction. Non-fiction and fiction is like an umbrella term in reading, because there different types inside this division. For example, non-fiction consists of self-help books, journals, autobiographies and biographies whereas fiction consists of fantasy…

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Service Sector in India

The service sector is the quickest and the largest developing sector in India, it also has the highest productivity of labour and is predicted to keep developing at a faster rate. By providing employment, intensifying investment and advancing infrastructure, the service sector can contribute greatly to economic growth. It is significant for a growing country such as India with a huge population to provide standard employment and cope up with the development. Private funding is needed for services of configuration which includes telecommunications, energy and transport.

In India, there are various service sectors that signify and execute robust prospects for the upcoming development in economic field.

Fintech/ IT-BPM: The biggest component of ITs is export. The growth potential is around 10-15% per annum and the gross value addition provided by sections of Fintech and IT/ITs is above $ 155 billion. Till now, low-priced investment of labour was beneficial in countries, where mainly English is spoken. In order to expand the growth, the sections of IT/ITs are required to make subsequent changes by upgrading from a ‘service provider of low-value addition’ to a ‘service partner of high value addition’. IT companies can provide Fintech measures to intercontinental pecuniary clients by upgrading their skills to the maximum extent. The high value addition services provided by India to international clients are all sorts of services related to pecuniary risk, indemnity, refunding and management of circumstances beyond human control.

Tourism and Healthcare: Healthcare industry’s contribution is expected to reach $ 372 billion by 2022. The accessibility of elite proficient doctors, healthcare facilities, medicinal etc has greatly added up in the development of the service sector. By 2022, the Indian government is intended to increase Medicare by contributing 3% to the gross domestic product (GDP). In this Covid pandemic, two vaccines, namely Covaxin and Covidshield have preserved the population of India, including a number of countries as well.

The tourism industry in India is expected to reach $ 488 billion with a contribution of about 9.2% to the Indian economy in total and about 39 million jobs were offered from this sector in FY20. After the pandemic is over, topographical tourism is expected to come in light for the tourists of Asian countries in the south. Free loans by the government are provided to MSMEs in order to deal with the post crisis of the pandemic and resuscitate the tourism industry.

Transportation and Logistics: In India, the extensive meshwork of rivers and coastlines gives rise to extensive back and forth competition to services related to logistic and transportation. These services include warehousing, e-logistics, the port service, abroad trading etc. By 2032, the logistic industry is expected to reach $ 360 billion.

By 2022, the government has targeted the construction of 65,000 km of national highways at a price of about $ 741.51.

Space: Globally, India made a record of launching the highest number of space satellites. This could only be possibly done by the powers sustained from other spaces. Skilled experts in various technological sections of the launch plan have made possible such advancement in the industry of space transportation over its worldwide associates. The launch competence is nearly 100% in the record. Great developments can be seen in this field, but more improvement can be made by further building measurements in non-military and military implementations.

Top sector companies in India:

  • Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS): It is a transnational information technology (IT) services in India. In the world, TCS is the largest IT services in terms of market value of worth $ 200 billion. It has its headquarters located in Mumbai and has large estate in Chennai.It is the most worthy brand of IT service around the globe and second largest company in India by market value. It is a corporation that provides explanation and counseling in context to business via its erratic Global Network Delivery Model (GNDM) which is regarded as the standard of brilliance in the advancement of software.  ICS has proposed a consolidated collection of infrastructure, IT, engineering and guarantee services. It also justifies a degree of reliability which is unattainable by other organizations. TCS is a part of the Tata group and has around 453,540 pre-eminent skilled consultants in about 46 countries.
  • HDFC Bank: HDFC Bank Limited is a company that holds the security interests and shares of other companies. It has about 5,608 branches and 14,897 ATMs, in around 2,902 cities. The different sections of the bank includes consumer or personal banking, exchequer, large scale banking of wholesale and various other services related to banking. On the side of retail banking, it includes transferable banking and on the wholesale banking side, it includes financial and business banking. The section of exchequer comprises of net profit income from the consolidated collection of Bank’s funding, funding profits or losses, lending or borrowing of money in the market and cognate contracts and commercing in overseas exchange. In the consumer banking section, different delivery mediums and branch matrix serves the customers. Earning from para banking services such as mutual fund services, investment services, portfolio management business etc. are also included in different sections of the bank. The conventional and business clients of the bank are provided a gamut of transferable and trading products. In 2021, the integrated earning of the bank is about $ 19.91 billion.
  • Bharti Airtel: Globally, Bharti Airtel Limited is considered as a chief company of telecommunication, connecting over 1000 corporates leading in India. In India, the product of the company proposes 2G, 3G, 4G and now even 5G wireless networking services, high speed wifi at home, wired networks, DTH, and other venturing services such international calling network services. Total income drawn from both wired and wireless network is about $ 3.65 billion with a huge number of mobile service customers.

How Atomic clocks are so accurate?

Most types of clocks rely on the oscillation of a slid body, be it a pendulum, a balance-wheel, or a quartz crystal, but each suffers from the effects of temperature, pressure, and gravity. Time measuring devices depended on the spin of the earth, but these suffer from seasonal effects and tidal friction. The moon causes tides to occur on earth and it causes friction between moon and the earth. This friction slows down the earth’s rotation by few milliseconds. This is called tidal friction. The atoms, however, vibrate a fixed number of times per second. Both the U.S. National Bureau of Standards and the United Kingdom’s National Physics Laboratory tried to take advantage of these vibrations.

Four atomic clocks are used in each of the many satellites of the global positioning system and comparisons of electromagnetic-wave travel times enable positions of earth to be measured very precisely. The clocks are also used by geophysicists to monitor variations in the spin rate of earth, and the drifting of the continents. Since record began, earth recorded the shortest day on July 19, 2020, when the day was 1.4602 milliseconds shorter than 24 hours.

In 1949 the Americans built a quartz clock that was synchronized by the 24-GHz vibrations of low pressure gaseous ammonium molecules. The British, under the leadership of physicist Louis Essen (1908-1997), used the oscillations of an electrical circuit synchronized to the vibrations of caesium atoms, the first caesium was kept in a tunable microwave cavity and the clock relied on the fact that were 9,192,631,770 transitions between two hyperfine ground state energy levels every second. This number defined the second, as opposed to the old definition of there being 86,400 seconds in one day. A good atomic clock was accurate to one part in 1,014, and therefore would take about 3 million years to lose or gain a second.

Why atomic clocks is used in GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) consists of 24 satellites orbiting the earth. A GPS receiver uses the position of four of these satellites to locate itself. One to correct the time on the receiver, and three to locate its position. A signal is sent to the receiver from the first satellite that contains the satellites location and the signal’s time of departure. The receiver then multiplies the signal’s travel time by the speed of light to calculate its distance from the satellite. With one satellite the receiver knows that it’s located o a sphere around that satellite with a radius equal to the calculated distance. So, it does the same calculation with a second satellite. The intersection of these two spheres narrows the location to the circumference of a circle. Then with a third satellite, the receiver can reduce the location to a single point. Since signals are travelling at the speed of light, being off by even a millisecond means an error off about a million feet, or 300 kilometers. But with atomic accuracy, the receiver can locate itself to about 3 feet. Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites fly in medium earth orbit (MEO- Medium Earth Orbit) at an altitude of approximately 20,200 kilometers from ground.

The NIST-F1 is one of the most accurate time standards based on microwave atomic clocks. The most accurate atomic clocks lose about a second over 138 million years.

PHARMACOVIGILANCE: NEW INSIGHT IN PHARMA FIELD

Pharmacovigilance support safe and effective use of drugs.the safety concern of drugs now becoming priority of area.In developing countries drug safety is more focused area. Here is detailed information about role of pharmacist in pharmacovigilance.

According to WHO ” pharmacovigilance is the science and activities relating to detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effect and any other drug related problem.” Let’s see how pharmacovigilance work? And also the role of pharmacist in pharmacovigilance. It contains various steps such as adverse event Reporting, individual Case Safety Report, medical coding, aggregate reporting, signal detection and risk management.

  1. Adverse case management- It is the first step where Adverse event is reported in various platforms such as hospital, regulatory agencies, review of manufacturing company. After reporting validation of event is done by using 4 parameters that are – patient, product, report, adverse event.
  2. Individual Case Safety Report- When the event is validate then individual safety report is created.here special/ separate report of adverse event is made by detail study of patient and product.
  3. Medical coding- The ICS report come to medical coding to create medical report. The translation of medical report into short code used in healthcare industry is called as medical coding.
  4. Aggregate reporting- It is the process of compilation and submission of aggregate report to regulatory agencies over the period of the product life cycle.there are various types of aggregate report such as DSUR, PSUR etc.
  5. Signal detection- the process of actively searching for and identifying safety Signal from wide variety data source. It done in two ways – qualitative and quantitative.
  6. Risk management- Drug undertaken to promote safe use of medicine and safeguard health of patient. Risk: Benefit ratio is calculated and depending upon that drug given in market or withdraw from market.

In each step of pharmacovigilance there requires good knowledge of drug use , it’s formulation and detailed analysis of Adverse event. The pharmacist know drug in all way so he/she has better understanding ability of adverse event than any other healthcare professionals. There are various drugs developed regularly and they also has some side effects. To avoid that effect and giving better life to patient is most important. pharmacovigilance is essential field for drug safety. That’s why it is new insight in pharma field.

3 Simple Inventions that changed the world

Catseyes – Road Reflectors

When you are driving at night, you see reflective objects on road. These objects reflect the light and guide people to drive safely. It may seem so simple, but the idea of this invention came in an interesting way. One night in 1933 when the road mender Percy Shaw was driving home in Yorkshire, he saw the light of his car headlamps reflected in the eyes of a cat beside the road. This gave Shaw the inspiration that by replicating this effect he could produce a practical way of helping drivers navigate poorly lit roads. Shaw’s challenge was to create a device bright enough to illuminate roads at night, robust enough to cope with cars constantly driving across it, and that also required minimum maintenance. Shaw came up with a small device that could be inserted into the road as a marker. It consisted of fur glass beads placed in two pairs facing in opposite directions, embedded in a flexible rubber dome. When vehicles drove over the dome, the rubber contracted and the glass beads dropped safely beneath the road surface. The device was even self-cleaning. The cast-iron base collected rainwater and whenever the top of the dome was depressed, the rubber would wash the water across the glass beads to cleanse away any grime, just as the eye is cleaned by tears. The patent for the catseye was registered in 1934. And in 2001 the product was voted the greatest design of the twentieth century, ahead even of Concorde.

Catseye – Road Reflectors

Fountain pen

The invention of the modern fountain pen is really more a story of perfection than invention. In 1883, more than fifty years after the fountain pen was first invented, a New York insurance broker, Lewis waterman, was set to sign an important contract and decided to honor the occasion by using the standard ink-filled pen of the day. However, fountain pens were notoriously unreliable, especially in their capacity to regulate their ink low, so that it could not be signed, waterman decided to do something about it. Within a year Lewis waterman had designed the world’s first practical, usable, and virtually leak proof fountain pen. To regulate the flow of ink he successfully applied the principle of capillary action, with the inclusion of a tiny air hole in the nib of the along with grooves in the feeder mechanism to control the flow of ink from his new leak proof reservoir to the rib.

As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, the chief instrument-marker to the king of France, M.Bion, crafted fountain pens with nibs, five of which survive to this day. The first steel pen point was manufactured in 1828, thought to be invented by Petrache Poenaru, and in the 1830s the invented James Perry had several unsuccessful attempts at designing nibs that employed the principle of capillary action. But it was Lewis waterman who overcome every obstacle and crafted a successful pen. It was so successful that by 1901, two years after waterman’s death, more than 350,000 pens of his design were sold worldwide.

Safety pin

When it comes to simple engineering, we can’t avoid safety pin. This useful object is found in households across the globe, it even gained status as a fashion accessory, with the movement in 1970s. Walter Hunt was a New York mechanic who, in 1849, sat wondering how to pay off a $15 loan. He spent around three hours twisting a length of wire in his fingers before he created the answers to his problems, the humble safety pin. Pins were by no means a new idea, having existed for centuries before Walter’s twist on the design. However, his creation was unique as it provided a solution to the potential problem of pricking oneself with the old style variety. His pin has a clip at the top which locks the pin and keeps us safe from not pricking. At the bottom it has a spring like structure made by bending the same pin to maintain the tension of the pin. Hunts design was patented in April 1849, and he sold the rights to his creditor, clearing a $385 profit. Unfortunately hunt had no idea how popular his invention was set to become. Even after 150 years, we are using this safety pin which works on a very simple engineering.  He also designed America’s first sewing machine with an eye pointed needle. But fearing the loss of jobs his creation may cause, he did not patent the idea. It was left to a fellow American, Elias Howe, to claim the credit for this invention some twenty years later.

“A man who could invent a safety pin . .  . was truly a mechanical genius . . .” – New York Times

A Silent Voice – A Review

‘A Silent Voice’ (‘Koe no Katachi’ in Japanese which literally translates to ‘The Shape of Voice’) is a 2016 Japanese animation film (‘Anime’) directed by Naoko Yamada. This film is based on the manga (Japanese comics) of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima and received widespread acclaim upon its release. I have always enjoyed Disney and Pixar animation films (Big Hero 6 and Coco being some of my favorites) and when a close friend of mine suggested this movie, I realized that I have never seen a Japanese animation film before. Somehow it just never came up on my radar. Curiosity got the best of me when the film also somehow came up in my Netflix recommendations. And that is how I watched one of the most poignant and touching animation films.

‘A Silent Voice’ is a romance drama film that tells the story of the friendship between Shoya Ishida and Shoko Nishimiya, two high-schoolers who used to be classmates in elementary school. We see the whole film from Ishida’s perspective. The actual story begins when Nishimiya, a deaf girl, transfers to Ishida’s elementary school where she gets horribly bullied by him. Ishida gets into trouble for it and ends up becoming an outcast in his own school while Nishimiya changes schools. Years later, in high school, Ishida has lost all his friends and has a bad reputation in school. But he has learned from his mistakes and never wants to hurt Nishimiya or anyone ever again. He has learned sign language which he was unwilling to learn before and is able to start a sweet friendship with Nishimiya. He wants her to be happy so he tries to bring her old friends and classmates back together. In the 2 hours 30 minute movie, we see how their friendship helps them with their issues which majorly arose from bullying. The film shows how bullying affects both the victim and the bully as we see both the characters suffering from loneliness and self-loathing. Nishimiya, as sweet and kind as she is, still suffers the after-effects of the bullying she faced. She believes that she is the reason why Ishida lost all of his friends. Ishida has realized his mistake but has now become an outcast.

One of the most striking points of the film is how grounded and natural all of the characters and their arcs are, particularly the main protagonists’. At the beginning of the film, one feels so much dislike towards Ishida when we see him tearing Nishimiya’s hearing aids from her ears, throwing them out the window, and blowing sand in her face. But all of that hatred slowly melts away seeing him trying his best later. He becomes quiet and careful even as nobody in school actually cares about him. He is scared of looking at his classmates directly and hates feeling judged by them. The animation depicts his fear with blue crosses over his classmates’ faces. He is filled with self-hatred, even considering suicide at one point, and struggles to apologize to Nishimiya.

Friendship is also an important topic in this film. We see all kinds of friendships. Ishida gains a loyal friend in Nagatsuka, a bullied boy who also helps him find Nishimiya. Some of her classmates talk sweetly to Nishimiya while making fun of her behind her back, even refusing to learn sign language. Ishida’s friends find it easy to place all the blame on him even though they also took part in the bullying. Some of them change for the better, while others don’t.

There is something about this film that makes it so much more humane and emotional than other animations I have seen. The animation style by Futoshi Nishiya is so different from the usual, yet so welcome. The film has beautiful and detailed sceneries of the roads, lakes and the buildings of the town. The film also tackles a lot of relevant social issues like bullying, suicidal and self-deprecating thoughts, social anxiety, and the struggles of people with disabilities. It is interesting how an animation film can be this realistic in terms of its story because these are definitely some of the issues teenagers of this age face. It may appear to be a simple story of high-school romance at first but the film tackles so many complex and deep matters. It is also pretty impressive to me how an animation film is able to move its viewers so much emotionally while also making it entertaining and not boring.

In conclusion, A Silent Voice is a very heart-touching and sweet film. It is insightful and enjoyable for a wide range of age groups. I would definitely recommend it to all animation lovers. In fact, it would be a good starting point for people who have never seen Japanese animation films before.

Curious To Know What Helps You Steer Your Way Into a Smooth Drive? Let’s Find Out.


We have often noticed people say “my wheels are finally turning” when anybody makes a progress in life. Have we ever thought why? Even in the literal sense, life would come to a standstill if the wheels stop turning. All the modes of transport be it cars or trains or ships, will be rendered useless without the existence of wheels. The discovery of wheels have allowed the mankind to conquer distance. But what is it that allows us to flawlessly navigate our way to the destination? It is the steering system. Thanks to the implementation of fine engineering which has allowed a slightest touch to the steering wheel make a car run or change direction smoothly.

Photo by Peter Fazekas on Pexels.com

The steering system converts the rotation of the steering wheel into the swivelling movement of the road wheels. Better the steering system of a car, more precise is its response. The steering system provides an interface between the human world and the machinery. It is important to have a well functional steering system to handle a car and the panicked last minute swerves effortlessly.
Mentioned below in a nutshell is the necessary information one requires to have about a steering system-

The steering system:-
Steering system is used to establish command on the direction of a vehicle’s motion. It allows the driver to guide its response while it is on the road so that it may give the passengers a smooth route forward . All modes of transport, except the railways, are navigated with the help of steering system.

Components of the steering system:-

Steering wheel, gear, linkage, drop arm, ball joints, drag link, stub axle, column knuckle, power steering fluid reservoir, power steering pump, fluid cooler, king arm, left tie rod, etc.
How does a steering system work?
Before we discuss the working of a steering system, it is important to know the most commonly used steering systems, namely-
• Rack and Pinion Steering System
• Recirculating Ball Steering System
And lastly, we have the Power Steering System which acts as a support to the aforementioned systems.
We shall now discuss their function in detail.

Rack and Pinion Steering System:-
As much as it is preferred for cars, one does not opt for its implementation in heavy vehicles. It gets its name from the usage of the rack, the linear gear, and pinion, the circular gear in its functioning. A picture is given below to help the readers have a clear idea.

FUNCTIONING:- Rotating the steering wheel rotates the shaft which in turn rotates the pinion which makes the rack move linearly thus moving the tie rod. This rod then makes the wheel turn with the help of the steering arm. The pinion amplifies the amount of turning one gets from the rotation applied on the steering wheel thus making it difficult to handle. A small pinion is thus desirable for proper controlling of the car.

Recirculating Ball Steering System:-
Mostly found in old cars and heavy vehicles, the worm gear and the sector gear are the most important components of this system. An image of the system is given below to help the readers have a proper understanding-

FUNCTIONING:- Rotation of the steering wheel rotates the shaft but the gear is prevented from moving up and down which thus makes the block and the worm gear rotate. The moving block moves the sector gear which finally moves the pitman arm. This allows the thread of the worm gear to be filled with ball bearings which are infamous for reducing friction and thus ensure smooth functioning.

Power Steering System:-
This system comes is also called power assisted steering. It gives additional hydraulic or electric energy to the car and helps one overcome the troubles faced while parking. It makes manoeuvring effortless and easy. It gives the car a higher gear steering which means rotating the rim of the steering wheel to a small extent will cause a greater turning in the road wheels. This enhances the response of the steering system thus making it precise. This ensures proper control over the car which helps avoid accidents and allows one to move safely in roads packed with traffic.

Conclusion:-
Mankind has never failed to reach insurmountable success with its inventions. The steering system is one of those discoveries that helped mankind progress by leaps and bounds. I hope this article has successfully conveyed to the readers the working of this marvellous invention, thus allowing them to be well versed with the existence and working of the steering system.

THE GREAT GATSBY- Book Review

Title– The Great Gatsby ; Written by– F. Scott Fitzgerald ; Genre– Tragedy ; Publisher– F.P Classics ; Pages– 200

It starts off on a philosophical note. We are immediately introduced to the somewhat important character of the novel, if not the main, Nick Carraway. He explains how his wise father taught him “in his vulnerable years”, that whenever he is in a position to judge someone, he should remember not everyone gets the same opportunity as he does. This helped him to be “inclined to reserve judgements”. He is necessarily not the protagonist but it’s his opinion we usually are made to look through at various situations. Apart from its miraculous storyline, there are many side elements, opinions of people and how discriminatory they are to our present generation’s views. There are many beautiful metaphors too, one of my favourite being that of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. Set in the summer of 1920s in New York, Nick starts off by moving towards the East egg (east side) from the West egg, to learn bond business. He later came back to West Egg which he claimed to be the less fashionable of the two”.

“The history of summer really begins on the evening I drove over there (East Egg) to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans” Nick meets Daisy, his second cousin and her rather arrogant husband Tom. Nick also happened to meet Jordan Baker whose role is very uncertified but she did has small roles with Nick throughout the novel. He acknowledged the luxuriously adapted East Egg but also realises the messed up life of the Buchanans. He had a heart-to-heart talk with Daisy and she complains about Nick not being there in her marriage. He explains how he was then still serving time at the War. Daisy is a very sophisticated and polite character who would treat one like fragile, dry flower when instead it was her who was entirely broken from inside, or that’s what it appeared. When she told Nick how Tom wasn’t even there during the birth of their first child, t is seen how helpless she was. Nick describes Daisy in some of the most beautiful possible ways, one of my favourite line is “For a moment, the sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face… Each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children having pleasant street at dusk”. She explains to Nick how she wished her daughter would be a fool as according to her, “That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”. I happened to form an variable opinion of Daisy because although what she meant was simply that the world is cruel to girls, (at least at that period of time) she could have said something more encouraging towards her own child. Daisy, in my opinion was helpless in many situations throughout the story but her decisions are just not understandable and could have been better. It appeared that she lived with Tom only because of his wealth.

Nick later also meets Tom’s mistress and the most disturbing was the fact that even Daisy knew about Myrtle (Tom’s mistress). He thought it to be very absurd when Tom brought him in a small get-together with his mistress but the fact that what Catherine, Myrtle’s sister thinks, thinks about Daisy, put Nick in an utter sense of confusion. Catherine believed that Tom and Daisy could not file a divorce as Daisy was catholic. Nick was stunned since he knew Daisy was certainly everything but catholic. He couldn’t make out why would Tom lie and make them believe so. It was then when Nick realises the messy life of the Buchanan couple. It wasn’t just the end. Even Myrtle had a husband, Wilson, who seemed to be completely unaware of the entire situation.

Nick further meets Jay Gatsby in proceeding chapter in one of the weekly parties that Gatsby organises at his place. He was in awe upon realising how rich Gatsby was even while living in the West Egg, which was the conservative and aristocratic out of the two. We also understand that Gatsby and Nick were acquaintances as both of them served the same division during War. Nick soon comes to know about Gatsby and Daisy’s past and the awkward situation between them. They used to be lovers and Gatsby promised to marry Daisy once he returned back from war. But it was in the meanwhile Daisy met Tom Buchanan and married him instead as he assured to offer her a luxurious and comfortable life. It was a long time ago but Gatsby didn’t seem to have moved on further in his life as he wanted Nick to bring Daisy to one of his party. We are made to ponder over the fact if Gatsby really loved Daisy and if Daisy loved him the same way back.

Nick, and so are we, as we are usually made to look through situations from Nick’s point of view, suspicious of Gatsby’s ravishingly luxurious lifestyle and what his occupation really was, although Nick has always refrained himself from forming judgements at first sight. I personally appreciate how Fitzgerald tried to be realistic in this fact and just did not just portray his character to be rich without any evident reason.

Another line that is really very popular from the book that I really want to mention “The officer (Gatsby is called so, as he was serving at War) looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since.”

Overall, I would give this book a 9/10, since there are very few factors that I believe were just not my liking but overall the storyline actually left me in awe. From Mr. Fitzgerald’s style of writing to each character’s unique role, everything played an important part in making this book so popular.

#thegreatgatsby #classicliterature #fscottfitzgerald

Some reliable websites to read more book review (spoiler free) of The Great Gatsby

https://rodneymbliss.com/2021/02/18/book-review-the-great-gatsby/

MAKE YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING FUN WITH THESE TOYS

Childhood is the only time when kids enjoy imagining the world beyond reality. Toys help them in providing this joy. Toys can also be used to promote experimental learning in interesting ways. They are useful in learning mathematics ,alphabets as well as science.
By 3 years of age, children start to understand that body, mind and emotions are their own. Now they can answer simple questions and speak in sentences of five to six words. This is the time when they actually start learning. Children are curious, and their job is to ask questions about the world around them. It is our responsibility to help them. BUT HOW?

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We can help our children by just giving few educational toys. there are plenty of fun ways to engage children while boosting their development. Some toys are designed specifically to build certain skills. These kind of toys are bright and colorful with shapes that allow your little to explore while having fun. The best toys for toddlers are also made from safe materials, these are safe for your child to play with . here are two types of toys which can help your child learning while having fun.

  1. Play with clay and its tools- clay dough has educational benefits for kids. Lets check how it is going to improve your child’s skills.we can molded into an endless number of forms. We all makes mistake while learning something new. sometimes these mistakes can discourage, especially if they are hard to erase .but when it comes to working with clay, your child can easily correct the mistakes.
    playing with clay improves motor skills. In one reaserch it found that having fine motor skill in pre-school is a strong predictor of a child’s later academic achievement in reading.
    It teaches creativity. Children can explore making different objects through clay modeling with even a small amount of clay.
    Clay can also e used as a tool for teaching different subjects to your child. For example- one can mould numbers and alphabet to get better at numeracy and literacy.
    Here are some activities you can try out with your chil.
    a) Can mould a cake-

b) Rain cloud sun-

c) Numbers and alphabets-

  1. Alphabet construction toys- The wooden construction toys are a great for introducing the letters of the alphabet, reading and writing in a fun way to a toddler or preschooler. Give your child a head start on learning their ABC’s and numbers.
    It is a great alternative to the handwriting and flashcards. Help child to solve problem on his own. It’s nice to have an old school kind of toy without something that needs to be charged or take batteries.

a) Easy assembly: As these toys are specially design for kids, Assembly is very easy.

b) Skill development: while assembling children can learn alphabet, and develop fine motor skills.

c) Complete set of alphabets : The Letter Construction set comes with all pieces, making it great for home use or school use that makes it great for home use.

AUTO INSURANCE AGENCIES IN TEXAS

• What is insurance and auto insurance?

Insurance, in simple words, is basically a financial cover or protection appertained to health, home, motor vehicle, etc. assured under an indenture by the insurance agency. As per which, the agency takes the charge to compensate the policyholder against a loss, harm, illness, death or damage caused due to an unsought mishap or a natural calamity.

Similarly, auto insurance is a monetary indemnity for an auto vehicle. Under this settlement, the auto insurance agency is at the helm to compensate against any loss or damage caused to the insured auto vehicle.

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• Auto Insurance Agencies in Texas

According to bankrates 2021, auto insurance in Texas values annually at an average of $1,823 for full coverage. Whereas, national average cost of full coverage insurance stops off at upto $1,674 per year.

Due to the vast insurance market drawing breath in the field, the rates of insurance are cheaper, hence, affordable. Below, we have curated a list that talks about the best three auto insurance agencies in Texas, have a look:

  1. State Farm:
    State Farm is the first largest insurance agency with more than 57,000 employees in The United States of America, which is owned by the State Farm Policyholders, in that way, the auto insurance agency is owned and enjoyed by the same people who pick up and procure its insurance policies. State Farm is a private insurance agency founded in 1922 by George J. Mecherle.
  2. GEICO:
    The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) is an American auto insurance company founded in 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is an auto insurance agency that is fully owned by Berkshire Hathaway. After State Farm, it is the second largest insurance agency in the nation with the wide strength of 40,000 employees.
  3. Allstate:
    The allstate corporation, an American insurance agency was founded in 1931. Being owned by Sears, since 1967, it is headquartered in Northfield Township, Illinois, near northbrook. Thomas J. Wilson is the chairman, president and CEO at Allstate. With more than 45,000 employees, the existence of the insurance agency is serving people from past 90 years.

Winding up here, hoping that the information provided above was serviceable and worthwhile.

Establishent of Bio-Gas Plants

 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been supporting installation of biogas plants in the country through the following schemes:

 

    1. Small size biogas plants (1-25 mbiogas per day) under New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme(NNBOMP)
    2. Medium size biogas plants (30-2500 mbiogas per day) under the Biogas based Power Generation (Off-Grid) and Thermal Energy Applications Programme (BPGTP); and
    3. Large size biogas plants (above 2500 mbiogas per day) biogas plants under Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agricultural Wastes/ Residues and Municipal Solid Waste (Waste to Energy Scheme).

 

These schemes were valid till 31.03.2021. Beyond 31.03.2021, the Bio-energy Programme of MNRE has been continued for the period of FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26 only to meet the already created liabilities and no new projects are to be sanctioned.

The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) which was being provided under the above schemes when they were being implemented was as follows:-

  1. Rs. 7500/- to Rs. 35,000/- per plant based on size of the plant in cubic meter under

NNBOMP; 

  1. Rs. 25,000 /- to Rs. 40,000 /- per kilowatt for power generation and Rs. 12,500 /- to Rs.

20,000/- per kilowatt equivalent for thermal applications under BPGTP; and 

  1. Rs 1.0 crore per 12000 mper day for biogas generation and Rs 4.0 Crore per 4800 Kg/day for Bio-CNG generation under Waste to Energy Scheme. 

Under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), Government of India is promoting the production of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as an alternative green transport fuel wherein Oil and Gas Marketing Companies (OGMCs) are procuring the produced CBG.