Category: Education

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits.

Mr. Paper’s Advice To Writers!

“Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.”

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bonjour! Today’s article deals with Mr. Paper who wishes to address the writers! A fictional concept of Mr. Paper is covered who shares his grievances with you all!

Hello writers! I know you must have smartly deciphered till now that I am a piece of paper speaking to you. Through this article, I wish to convey my emotions. So, let me begin.

“I Really Appreciate Each And Every Writer.”

I may not be able to say this to you, but yes, every writer is precious to me. The hard work and special efforts that you put in in order to make your book a success aren’t unnoticed because I am the one who actually notices! 😉

“Let Alone Writers, I Love It When Any Person Whatsoever Chooses To Scribble Almost Anything On Me.”

Yes! Anyone who writes is someone who preserves my rights 😉 When you write, you provide me my most important right which is to never be a blank sheet! Thank you for taking some efforts to inscribe something on me because that keeps me alive.

“I Hate It When Writers Waste Paper By Throwing Most Of The Half Empty Sheets In The Trash.”

Some writers tend to create their rooms a mess by writing a short paragraph which maybe later doesn’t seem appropriate to them, which makes them curl the paper into a ball and then bury it into the trash. Please stop killing us!

“How I Wish Writers Would Make More Use Of Paper Than Their Laptops!”

Writers today, in this digital era, no longer make use of paper which makes me feel overwhelmingly sad because I feel ignored and left out. Please spend some time with me as well!

“Please Don’t Resort To Dog Earring When Reading Books!”

This is a gentle request to all the readers as well as writers to not practice dog earring because that stretches my body, leaving me in pain. Please use bookmarks for the same!

“Please Don’t Tear A Page Unnecessarily.”

This is my earnest request to all of the humans out there to not tear or lacerate us without any reason. By doing this, you plot our demise unintentionally which is not something you want to do, right?

“Please Don’t Curse Us When You Are Unable To Come Up With Content.”

Some writers tend to curse the page for not receiving relevant ideas. I totally understand that writing can be a stressful task at times but then blaming a blank sheet of paper isn’t fair, right? So, please don’t curse and manhandle us because we didn’t hurt you a pinch!

Lastly, I would like to wish each and every writer by giving them my best regards. We await the time when you would get a sheet out and begin engraving something on us. We may seem inanimate to you, but we aren’t. We can feel the essence of your hard work as you prepare your manuscript and try getting it published. We value and respect you! Writing is a fun task and requires some love while we (papers) love you back! So, wait no more! Publish your book and make the utmost use of us (papers).

“Happy Writing”

Thank You For Reading!

Marketing Mix

In every business it is important to have an efficient marketing plan or strategy to promote their product, to engage more customers or to understand consumer behaviour, to upgrade their pricing strategy. For this in 1960s, an academic and marketer E. Jerome McCarthy proposed the idea of ‘marketing mix’.

Marketing mix is basically a mixture of 4Ps to enhance business model with Price, Product, Place and Promotion. These 4Ps can be used as marketing tools by any business for achieving their market goals and targets.

Components of Marketing Mix

  1. Product

Product means anything which is for sale any physical product or any service rendered to customer.  Product should the meet expectations and demand of customers in the market.Some of the marketing decision which every seller should think of  such as branding, packaging, product range, product design, packaging and labelling, guarantees and warranties.

2. Place

In marketing mix, place refers that where seller choose to sell his product whether it is warehouse, street market, online platforms, supermarkets, etc. It depends upon the nature of the product i.e. if product is perishable, shops are preferable to sell that product and if product is non-perishable both shops and online platforms are suitable.Marketing decisions related to place includes: market coverage, inventory, transportation, location, distributors, warehousing and franchising.

3. Price

Price is the main aspect for the business and customer. Each and every customer gets affected from price of the product which consumer is selling. Price reflects the cost or value of the product. Seller should set the price as per the demand of customer and the actual cost of the product. Accurate price can change the customer’s preference form one product to another. Other important aspect of pricing is what price has been set by your competitors? This can help any business in setting their pricing strategy. Pricing strategy can make profits for the business or can cause loss to the business if it is not accurate.Price market decisions includes: payment method (card or cash), credit payment, pricing strategy, allowances for distributors and discounts for customers.

4. Promotion

Promotion means to tell or convey about the product to customers through advertising, marketing and sales promotion. It can be through offline mode such as T.V. magazines, newspapers, radio etc. and online mode like websites, ads on social media, etc. It depends upon the seller of the product which way or method he chooses to communicate about his product to customers and according to response from his customers, he should continue with that particular promotion method.Marketing decisions for promotion involves: advertising, sales promotion, public relation, direct marketing, what and how to communicate to customers.

In 1980s Booms and Bitner proposed a model of marketing mix which consist of 7Ps, generally he added 3 more Ps to marketing mix i.e. Process, People and Physical Evidence which is beneficial for Service Marketing.

5. Process

Process describes the chain of delivering the goods or services to the customer. Process examination involves the evaluation of each and every step like procedure of distribution, payment system and relationships with customer. Evaluating, modifying and improving different steps of process will help business to maintain their efforts and to check that methods are new and as per recent trend. Process related marketing decisions involves: blueprint service, process design, checking system failures, monitoring service performance, allocation of resources required.

6. People

In marketing mix, ‘people’ refer to those who all are involved in the process of delivering of goods; managing the process; handle customer relationship, etc. Employees, staff, workers or labour all are included in ‘people’, basically all those who are a part of business. For any business it is necessary to employ right people to manage all the business related process. Marketing decisions related to people includes: staff recruitment and training, attending customers, handling complaints and failures, handling social interactions.

7. Physical Evidence

 Physical evidence means evidence of the product which has been purchased by the customer. It can be receipt, brochures, tracking information, invoices, etc. It is beneficial for both customer and seller to have a record or any document of transaction. It also relates to validation of the product, authenticity of the product check by the customer through their websites, logo etc. Here, marketing decisions includes: interior design like furniture and scheme, facilities like equipment access, brochures, stationery, surrounding conditions, and signage.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix

https://blog.hurree.co/blog/marketing-mix-7ps

Organic Manure

Organic manure usage in agriculture is becoming more and more famous day by day. Organic manure, as the name suggests are the natural nutrients from sources like Human and animal excreta, decomposing vegetable wastes and leftovers of agricultural practices. Plants extract the nutrients from the soil for their growth and organic manure helps in restoring that nutrients by undergoing decomposition easily and getting mixed with the soil perfectly. By restoring the nutrients, manure increases the fertility of the soil. Regular usage of organic manure maintains the level of soil organic matter.

sources of organic manure
  • Cattle wastes like cow dung and urine, slurry from biogas plant, Human wastes like sewage, sludge can be used in organic manure preparation.
  • Dry leaves, stubble, sugarcane trash, crop residue and some other agricultural wastes can be used.
  • oil cakes, vegetable processing wastes wheat straw and bran are agriculture industry byproducts and these are also sources of organic manure.
  • Slaughterhouse wastes like blood and bone meal are also can be the sources.
methods of preparing manure at your home

POT COMPOSTING CAN BE DONE: Pot composting can be done using wastes from kitchen. Take a container and add some pebbles and soil at the bottom. Take dry wastes like paper and dry leaves and add them. Collect all the wet wastes from kitchen. They may include food leftovers, fruit peels etc. Put them in the container after the dry waste. You can make 3-4 layers like this. Sprinkle water to keep them moist. Keep this arrangement away from rain. Keep on mixing the layer everyday. And keep it moist. After 30-45 days compost will be ready.

THE VERMICOMPOSTIING: Verm compost is the droppings of the earthworm after they consume the organic waste. Take container or you can make a separate large concrete tubs if you want to produce in large quantity. Put first layer of soil and pebble. On that add the organic wastes that are collected. Put handful of worms in the tub. Water is sprayed to them on daily basis to keep everything moist. Earthworms will produce the droppings which can be used as the manure.

USING BOKASHI METHOD: In this method, collect some kitchen waste in an airtight drum and add some Bokashi powder. Bokashi powder is inoculated with microbes which help in decomposition, made of bran based material. After 15 days fungus growth will be seen indicating fermentation has happened. Put this fermented waste in a trench and wait for 3 weeks. Black compost which can be used as manure will be ready.

benifits of using organic manure

Organic manure provides all the nutrients to the soil and maintains its fertility. They also improve soils physical properties like texture and structure and also improve aeration. organic manure increases the water holding capacity of the soil and helps in retaining rain water. Soil pH is also maintained. Organic manure usage increases the microbe population in the soil resulting in increased biological activity. Carbon nitrogen ratio will be well maintained.

Usage of organic manure is economically beneficial also. The production can be extended as a small scale business and it requires less investment. Hence it will be a very profitable business.

Stone baby

In UK ,a five month old, baby is turning into a stone due to some unusual diesease. Lexi Robin born on 31 January is ‘turning to a stone’ due some extremely rare genetic diesease .Her X-ray in April shows that she has bunion on her feet and double -jointed thumb.This condition is known as Fibrodysplasia ossificans progresiva (FOB) which turns muscle into bones.Its perceived that such conditions generally turns a body into stone.

The art of cooking

A culinary art is the art of cooking. Cooking is the process of preparing food and meals that will be eaten or the food served to other people.

The word “culinary” is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking or kitchens. People who are working in the culinary arts are known as culinarians. A person working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook. The skillfully preparation of food and meals that are as pleasing to the palate as to the eye is the responsibility of the Culinary artist. Culinary artists require a lot of knowledge about the science of food they prepare and a good understanding of how diets and nutrition affect people in the preparation of their meals. Culinary artists work in restaurants, hospitals and other institutions where kitchen conditions vary depending on the type of business.

The culinary art is comprised of many categories. Some of which are tools, methods, combination of spices and ingredients that adds flavor to the food. It normally needs the right measurements, proper selection and accurate combination of ingredients involved to reach desired result.

The diversity of the culinary arts around the world mirrors many considerations such as Economic, Aesthetic, Nutritional, Religious and Cultural.

The dawn of fire, and the culinary arts, if not always, is associated with fire. The heat generated by fire is required to change the food’s texture, flavor, nutritional contents and even its appearance. Heating is important in the culinary arts because it disinfects the food and makes it softer. The food danger zone is between 4 to 60 degrees Celsius. Within these temperatures, the bacteria found in the found or even those that were transferred to the food can grow at a very alarming rate. Under ideal conditions bacteria can double their population every twenty minutes. Although at a glance, these foods may not appear harmful, when ingested they can be. Many people have the misconception that bacteria will die when we freeze our food or refrigerate them, but this actually does not rid the food of bacteria, merely it slows down their expansion.

One of the most famous departments in the culinary arts is probably baking. Baking is the art of cooking food using an oven in culinary arts. Through applying dry heat evenly through the oven and onto the food which then cooks the food. It is used in producing pastry based desserts such as tarts, pies and cakes. The ovens dry heat causes the starch to gelatinize, and the results to the browning or charring of the outside of the food. Some uneducated in the culinary arts might think that the charred part or the brown part is not as tasty as it sounds, but this part is actually what gives taste and flavor to the baked good, partly sealing the moisture of the food. The browning apparent in the baked good is caused by the sugar caramelizing and the chemical reaction that happens between the reduction of sugar and the amino acid (Mail-lard reaction). Moisture in the baked goody, on the other hand, is not really completely kept in time as the goody is being baked it will become drier and drier.

reference-https://www.paranetinfo.com/learn-the-importance-of-cooking-food/

Classical Economics

Classical economics relates to the school of thought of economics that originated in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The classical economists believed in the existence of full employment in the economy. It is believed that ‘The Wealth of Nations’ by Adam Smith published in 1776 marked the beginning of classical economics. J.B. Say, Alfred Marshall, A.C. Pigou are some of the famous classical economists.
This school of economics focused on the theory called the ‘invisible hand‘ being the highlight at the beginning stages of domestic and international supply and demand. They assumed the economy to be laissez faire capitalist. It was a closed economy with no foreign trade. Labour was a homogenous and wages were flexible. It assumed the economy to be in the long run.


https://cleartax.in/g/terms/classical-economics


The Classical school of thought is based on the Law of Markets given by J.B. Say. According to that law “supply creates it’s own demand“. Therefore there can never be the problem of overproduction or unemployment in the economy as whatever is produced is consumed. Unemployment may occur only in the short run and in the long run, economy tends towards full employment.
The Classical economists also believed in wage price flexibility. This concept was given by A.C. Pigou. It was basically the formulation of Say’s Law in terms of labour market. According to this, whenever there is unemployment in the economy, a general cut in money wages will restore full employment condition. Unemployment is a consequence of the rigid wage structure.
They also believed in the existence of equilibrium in the goods market. It is achieved when savings is equal to investment. This equality is usually brought by the mechanism of interest rate. Similarly, the money market is in equilibrium when the demand for money is equal to the supply of money. This concept was explained in the Quantity Theory of Money.

The Fall of Classical Economics:

During the time of The Great Depression i.e. 1929-1930’s, the classical theory failed to be applicable. It failed to solve the problem of depression that plagued for about 43 months. Keynes criticized the classical theory on several grounds.
First and foremost was the classical assumption of full employment equilibrium. Keynes considered it as unrealistic and argued that the situation in the capitalist economy is underemployment and full employment is a special case. He refuted Say’s law of market and stated that it was demand that created supply. He was also against the idea of laissez faire. He believed that self adjustment was not possible in a capitalist system and this was responsible for the Great Depression. He advocated state intervention within the economy through monetary and fiscal measures.
The wage price flexibility was also heavily criticised. In the modern world, where workers have trade unions, any cuts in wages will lead to strikes and industrial unrest. Keynes also stressed that equality between savings and investment was not brought by rate of interest but instead by the level of income and marginal efficiency of capital.
Lastly, the long run analysis of Classical economy was refuted on the grounds of inapplicability. Since it operated in the long run, it is incapable of solving present day economic problems.

https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/economics/keynes-criticisms-against-classical-theory/24859

YOGA AND LIFESTYLE

In a first for East India, Visva Bharati varsity commences PG diploma course in yoga studies - Education Today News

Indeed , it is an astonishing fact that a yogic tradition , which is more than five thousand years old , has recently become a popular way of life . Presently , people consider that yoga is a significant means to achieve a healthy as well as a positive lifestyle . In fact , the power of yoga lies in its simplicity , flexibility and diversity . As a matter of fact , yoga helps in improving our flexibility , lowers our stress level and increases our confidence and finally contributes to a healthier lifestyle on the whole . There are various lifestyle diseases like obesity , diabetes , asthma , hypertension , back pain , migraine and depression which can be prevented and treated up to some extent with the help of certain yogic exercises .

Asanas As Preventive Measures

52,455 BEST Yoga Poses Male IMAGES, STOCK PHOTOS & VECTORS | Adobe Stock

According to Patanjali , asana means , “sthiram sukham aasanam “ i.e,. ” that position which is comfortable and steady ” . In Brahamanopanishad , “ To sit in a comfortable position or posture for everlasting period is called asana “. Asana is that state of body in which the body may be positioned easily . As a matter of fact , the ability to sit comfortably for an extended period of time in any position is called asana . In asanas , body is kept in various positions in such a way that the activities of organs and glands of body become more effective and eventually the health of mind and body is improved .

In fact , asana is a means through which physical and mental development is achieved . Prevention of diseases and delay in ageing are the desired effects that can be achieved through yogic exercises .

There are different types of asanas which include meditative asanas , relaxative asanas and corrective asanas . Regular practice of the above- mentioned asanas significantly affects various systems or organs of our body . Asanas can be used as preventive measures because they provide the following physiological benefits , which ultimately help us in avoiding various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes , obesity and cardiovascular diseases .

What is the present status of online journalism in India?

Digital journalism is different from traditional journalism. It is recognized to as being a form of journalism content being posted on the internet. It is in text, audio, video, it does not have any print attribute. It is undeniably much faster than traditional journalism which happens to be the most important reason for its rapid growth presently.

A cup of tea in the morning with the newspaper is the conventional to start mornings in India. But, since the past few years the romance of newspaper may soon be a nostalgic memory. The rapid growth of in mobile internet has coincided with the growth of online journalism as well. Today, there are nearly 500 Million users of the internet. With low-cost devices and better 3G/4G network being offered to the citizens the traditional journalism is slowly giving way to digital journalism.

Mobile applications like Inshorts, TOI (the times of India) mobile app, Quint, Jio News are producing internet content at a very fast pace. They give real time news in no time, which contributes in setting it apart from traditional journalism. Considering that we all have a busy life and don’t necessarily have the time to read a newspaper on a daily basis brevity plays a vital role in our lives today. A print journalist produces an in-depth article, whereas the news content is consumed on a five-inch mobile screen now a days. It is an interactive medium where the reaction and the response of the audience is also quick. Digital journalism is more of analysis than reporting.

There are many loopholes that comes with this as well, often online journalists are in a hurry to publish the news which sometimes overtakes the need to get it right. Anyone can change anything on an online media platform, which leads to less accountability. While the newspapers have the that luxury of time to verify before putting it out.

At the end, though it has a number of loopholes it continues to create an innovation in journalism and also is trying to overtake the position of traditional media. While a striking a balance between transparency, privacy, brevity, accountability, using the technology and data, is what will set apart a news organisation in the new age. 

Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s whole life journey is the inspiration
of all. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at
Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. His father was a boat owner can’t his
mother was a homemaker. He came from a financially poured
background and he used to distribute the newspaper to support his family.

Education:
He completed her schooling at Rameswaram Elementary School. In 1954 he graduated in physics from St. Joseph’s College Tiruchirappalli. In 1955 he joined the madras institute of technology and he started aerospace engineering.



Career:
Dr.kalam was to become a pilot but he was Ranked 9 well the IAF offered only 8 slots. He was a simple person who owned a few positions including a simple coat a lungi, and his beloved Veena and collection of books. He didn’t even have a television he was a kind-hearted man. His love for children is always evicted. APJ Abdul Kalam’s birthday on October 5 is celebrated as “World Students day”.
From 1963-1980 his career was spent in space research with the founding of India’s space program by Vikram Sarabhai under the Indian committee for space Research which became ISRO. The successful launch of the satellite launch vehicle(SLV-3) was the high point of the Kalam space tent propelled India into a select band of countries with rocket-launching capabilities. After this success, he was shifted to the Defense R& D or against PRDO to had a missile project and was meet the director of Defense Metallurgical Research Laboratory DMRL in Hyderabad in 1982 his effort gives both the guided missile development program leading to the launch of surface to surface missile named Prithvi surface-to-air missile named Trishul surface-to-air missile named Akash third-generation Anti-tank missile named NAG. The launch of the Prithvi missile on 25 February 1988 was a historical moment for our country. It was not a surface to surface missile but was a basic module for the coming future.
Later Kalam leads a pivotal role in the 1998 nuclear tests known as Pokhran -II this was surprising many because he did not come from a nuclear science. His sincere for making India self-relevant and defense space research gave him the title of “Missile man of India”

His Awards:
He was awarded a Padma Bhushan in 1981 Padma Vibhushan 1990, and then proudly declared the Bharat Ratna in the year 1997. From 1999 to 2001 he became the principal scientific advisor of India. In the year of 2002, Dr. Kalam was the President of India. As a president he proved himself. When am dead do not declare a holiday instead work a day extra this word Dr. Kalam profound words




His books:
Dr. Kalam was a writer and has been the author of many books Four of Dr. Kalam books “Wings of fire”, “India 2020”, “Me Journey”, “Ignited Mind” this book can be translated into many languages.



Death:
It was during his lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong on 27th July 2015 that it suddenly collapsed and declared death due to massive cardiac arrest. He’s journey started from Rameswaram and reached Rashtrapathi bawan. Today Dr. Kalam was not with us but he’s teaching to achieve new milestones in science, technologies, and all vital years in life.

INTERNSHIPS

The internship is the main source for a college student to improve and prove his/her knowledge.

Every college student has composed placements and off compose placements.

At the time of placements in a different company, we have to submit our Resume. That resume gives our real appearance to interview. If we have done any internships and any skill development that will help for our desired company placements.

Lets more about internships

Internships is the training and real-time project to the confidence of our skills for real-world understanding

 The internship is an opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees, as an intern, to work at a firm for a fixed period of time. Interns are usually likes undergraduates or students, and most internships period last between a month and three months. … An internship can be either paid or voluntary.

Which internships we have done?

Internships are based on your desired knowledge, department and day by day improved courses

Things to consider when choosing an internship

  • Which sector are you interested? …
  • What will be your responsibilities? …
  • What will you will get ? …
  • Where you have to do? …
  • What’s the environment like is it comfortable ? …
  • Will you get the opportunity to more network? …
  • What are the skills will you learn? …
  • What are your qualifications for ?

Let specific directions for your internships

There are some websites for internships that may have offline and online internships :

  • Linkedin
  • Glassdoor
  • Google
  • Internshala
  • Internship.com
  • Internmatch.com
  • Youturn
  • Idealist
  • Global Experience
  • Coolworks

Go for these websites you will find “updated(your name) version.0”

The Spanish Inquisition: A Turbulent Time

What was the Spanish Inquisition?

The Spanish inquisition was a judicial institution that prevailed in Spain from 1478 to 1834. It was set up through the Catholic church to root out and punish any heresy (religious beliefs that differed from those prevailing at the time, in this instance Catholicism) being practiced in the country. In each region of Spain, tribunals comprising of Catholic officials were set up to perform the functions of the inquisition. This system was aimed at consolidating power and establishing control in the country, but today the reputation of the inquisition is that it was an extremely brutal and turbulent time in Spanish society.

What happened during this time?

The Spanish inquisition is a well-known historical event but for reasons that should not be praised. It marked a period of violence and intolerance. The people working for inquisitions were called inquisitors. They would arrive in a town, and announce their presence to all the townspeople. Any heretics present in the town would be given a chance to confess, and thereby receive punishment which ranged from whipping to pilgrimage and repentance. Any person who was accused of being a heretic was forced to admit to it, and in case they did not voluntarily confess, they would be subject to violent torture and even execution. More often than not, people were victims of false allegations of being a heretic, but there was no formal court procedure or trial and the mere suspicion of being a heretic was enough to enforce severe punishment. Once a person was accused, even if falsely, there was no escaping either torture, imprisonment, or death. So, many people would end up confessing early on, even if they weren’t actual heretics, to say themselves from any severe consequences later on. This shows how much fear and tyranny was present in society at that time.

This period also represented one of xenophobia and parochialism. When the inquisition began, Spain was a very diverse country, both ethically and religiously. Many different communities like the Jews, Muslims and Christians all lived in harmony in the same regions. The objective of the inquisition was to eradicate such people from Spain who did not identify with the Catholic church and its beliefs. For more than 350 years, people who were not Catholics were subject to torture and exile from Spain.

We can clearly draw a comparison here to Nazi Germany under Hitler’s dictatorship, where only white people of the Aryan race were allowed to live in the country while others were deported or killed in cold blood. In both cases the victims were subject to inhumane torture and suffering. Also, the Jewish people were the major victims in both situations. Under the inquisition, Spanish Jews were forced to either convert to Catholicism or leave Spain entirely. Even those who converted, called the ‘Conversos’ were not safe as they were constantly under suspicion of secretly practicing Judaism while using Catholicism as a disguise. Eventually focus shifted to Muslims converting to Christianity to save themselves, called the ‘Moriscos’. In 1609 they were all ordered to leave Spain entirely.

Any punishments to be given were done so in public for everyone to see, and they were called ‘acts of faith’. It was meant to show the public what it means to defy the Catholic church and their beliefs, and why they should not follow any other ideology. In the worst of cases, where there were unrepentant heretics, they would even burn them alive at the stake for all of the public to witness.

Conclusion

Eventually in 1834, the inquisition was put to an end and the Catholic church’s power diminished in Spain. However, we cannot disregard the damage that had been caused in the 350 odd years. Thousands of people were tortured, killed or exiled from their homes in Spain. They were stripped of their land and wealth, and left homeless and poor. Many religious minorities had to flee from Spain, leaving behind their home land and all that they knew, while those that remained faced discrimination and suffering at the hands of the inquisitors. Not only mainland Spain, but even the Spanish territories like those in America had their own smaller inquisitions that took their own tolls (Mexico, Peru). However, as time progressed, so did political thinking, and Spain realized its mistake in introducing such a violent system and removed it. Today, Spain is a tolerant and accepting country with diverse groups of people all living in harmony.

Supply Chain Challenges for Covid-19 Vaccine Delivery in India

1. Logistics and Management

As of today, there are 154 candidate vaccines in pre-clinical trials, 21 in Phase-1 trials (Small-scalesafety trials), 12 in Phase-2 trials (Expanded safety-trials) and 11 in the path of approval across the globe. Not to forget, Russia’s first registered vaccine against the virus – Sputnik V. Even India has over a dozen of companies working on the vaccines out of which Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR, is in its final stages and is highly anticipated. With so many possibilities, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors need to ensure continuity in vaccine development and delivery to meet the market demand. The following table talks about the potential vaccines being manufactured in India.

2. Availability and Affordability

Once the vaccine is launched, availability and affordability will be a key challenge. We must consider
the possibility of a private-public partnership to move this further, like in the case of polio vaccines.
There could be possible problems of irregular access to the vaccines, shortage in the supply, theft and
robbery, spike in pricing etc. which must be thought of beforehand. The vaccines must be suitably and
fairly priced for the lower income groups to be able to afford.

3. Manufacture and Production outreach

India has an upper hand in this criterion, since it has been manufacturing and exporting a significant
amount of vaccines and medicines of different kinds, globally. However, on the arrival of a potential
vaccine, manufacture and production has to be given a clear priority and must be upscaled, in order to
be prepared for the challenges of shortages like in the case of N95 masks.

4. Education and Outreach

Although vaccines are primarily important, it is not vital that everyone must be vaccinated at one
time. People with good immunity, free of ailments and high resilience are not particularly required to
be vaccinated. Healthcare workers, Senior citizens, people with health problems like diabetes, asthma,
coronary diseases etc. must be given first priority over the healthy population of the country, which
can be vaccinated at a later stage, if necessary.

Wannacry Cyber Attack

What was the cyber attack?

The WannaCry ransomware attack was a worldwide cyber attack in May 2017 by the WannaCry ransomware. It propagated through EternalBlue, an exploit developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) for older Windows systems. WannaCry is a ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The worm is also known as WannaCrypt, Wana Decrypt0r 2.0, WanaCrypt0r 2.0, and Wanna Decryptor. It is considered a network worm because it also includes a transport mechanism to automatically spread itself. This transport code scans for vulnerable systems, then uses the EternalBlue exploit to gain access, and the Double Pulsar tool to install and execute a copy of itself. WannaCry versions 0, 1, and 2 were created using Microsoft Visual C++.

When did it happen?

The attack began on Friday, 12 May 2017, with evidence pointing to an initial infection in Asia at 07:44 UTC. Within a day the code was reported to have infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries. Officially the initial outbreak was from 12 May 2017 to 15 May 2017. Organizations that had not installed Microsoft’s security update from April 2017 were affected by the attack.

How did it happen?

The vulnerability WannaCry exploits lies in the Windows implementation of the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. The SMB protocol helps various nodes on a network communicate, and Microsoft’s implementation could be tricked by specially crafted packets into executing arbitrary code. It is believed that the U.S. National Security Agency discovered this vulnerability and, rather than reporting it to the infosec community, developed code to exploit it, called EternalBlue. This exploit was in turn stolen by a hacking group known as the Shadow Brokers, who released it obfuscated in a seemingly political Medium post on April 8, 2017. Microsoft itself had discovered the vulnerability a month prior and had released a patch, but many systems remained vulnerable, and WannaCry, which used EternalBlue to infect computers, began spreading rapidly on May 12. In the wake of the outbreak, Microsoft slammed the U.S. government for not having shared its knowledge of the vulnerability sooner.

Who did it?

The US and UK governments have said North Korea was responsible for the WannaCry malware attack affecting hospitals, businesses and banks across the world in May 2017. Ironically, it was allegedly developed as a cyber-attack exploit by the US National Security Agency. Although they were reported to have known of the tool’s vulnerabilities, the NSA didn’t bring it to Microsoft’s attention until the hacker group called Shadow Brokers leaked EternalBlue to an obscure website. Further analysis of the attack by companies such as Symantec revealed links to the Lazarus group who in turn have been linked to North Korea although the attack does not bear the hallmarks of a nation-state campaign.

Which security services were violated?

WannaCry spread using an exploit called EternalBlue, created by—and subsequently stolen from—the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). EternalBlue enabled attackers to discover vulnerable computers on the target network. WannaCry also leveraged an NSA backdoor called DoublePulsar to install WannaCry on the networkThe WannaCry ransomware attack hit around 230,000 computers globally .A third of NHS hospital trusts were affected by the attack. Terrifyingly ambulances were reportedly rerouted, leaving people in need of urgent care in need. It was estimated to cost the NHS a whopping £92 million after 19,000 appointments were canceled as a result of the attack. As the ransomware spread beyond Europe, computer systems in 150 countries were crippled. The WannaCry ransomware attack had a substantial financial impact worldwide. It is estimated this cybercrime caused $4 billion in losses across the globe.

Affected organizations

  • Andhra Pradesh Police, India
  • Automobile Dacia, Romania
  • Boeing Commercial Airplanes
  • Cambrian College, Canada
  • Hitachi
  • Honda
  • Instituto Nacional de Salud, Colombia
  • Portugal Telecom
  • Pulse FM
  • Renault
  • Russian Railways
  • University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
  • Vivo, Brazil

5-month-old baby girl in UK ‘turning to stone’

The effects of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a disease which causes damaged soft tissue to regrow as bone.

Lexi Robins, 5 month old from the UK is “turning to a stone”due to an extremely rare genetic condition Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) that turns muscles into bones.

Lexi Robins

Lexi Robins was born on January 31 and seemed like any other normal baby, except she didn’t move her thumb and had bigger toes.

Lexi was diagnosed with a life-limiting disease called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), which affects just one in two million.

Due to the disorder, Lexi’s condition may worsen rapidly if she suffers any minor trauma, as simple as falling over. She cannot receive injections, vaccinations and dental care and cannot give birth.

Post by Alexandera robins https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQnwqnTIUlV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading.

FOP is a severe, disabling disorder with no current cure or treatment. It is the only known medical condition where one organ system changes into another. Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is caused by a mutation of the gene ACVR1.

The FOP can lead to bone formation outside skeleton and restrict movement. It is believed to replace muscles and connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, with bone. Thus, it is generally perceived that the condition turns a body into stone.

People with this disease, which has no proven treatment, can be bedridden by the age of 20 and their life expectancy is around 40 years.

It has no current cure.

TACHYON A PARTICLE THAT HELPS US TO TIME TRAVEL…

Tachyon, hypothetical subatomic particle whose velocity always exceeds that of light. The existence of the tachyon, though not experimentally established, appears consistent with the theory of relativity, which was originally thought to apply only to particles traveling at or less than the speed of light. Just as an ordinary particle such as an electron can exist only at speeds less than that of light, so a tachyon could exist only at speeds above that of light, at which point its mass would be real and positive. Upon losing energy, a tachyon would accelerate; the faster it traveled, the less energy it would have.

The name ‘tachyon’ (from the Greek ‘tachys,’ meaning swift) was coined by the late Gerald Feinberg of Columbia University. Tachyons have never been found in experiments as real particles traveling through the vacuum, but we predict theoretically that tachyon-like objects exist as faster-than-light ‘quasiparticles’ moving through laser-like media. (That is, they exist as particle-like excitations, similar to other quasiparticles called phonons and polaritons that are found in solids. ‘Laser-like media’ is a technical term referring to those media that have inverted atomic populations, the conditions prevailing inside a laser.)

an experiment at Berkeley to detect tachyon-like quasiparticles. There are strong scientific reasons to believe that such quasiparticles really exist, because Maxwell’s equations, when coupled to inverted atomic media, lead inexorably to tachyon-like solutions.

“Quantum optical effects can produce a different kind of ‘faster than light’ effect (see “Faster than light?” by R. Y. Chiao, P. G. Kwiat, and A. M. Steinberg in Scientific American, August 1993). There are actually two different kinds of ‘faster-than-light’ effects that we have found in quantum optics experiments. (The tachyon-like quasiparticle in inverted media described above is yet a third kind of faster-than-light effect.)

“First, we have discovered that photons which tunnel through a quantum barrier can apparently travel faster than light (see “Measurement of the Single-Photon Tunneling Time” by A. M. Steinberg, P. G. Kwiat, and R. Y. Chiao, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 71, page 708; 1993). Because of the uncertainty principle, the photon has a small but very real chance of appearing suddenly on the far side of the barrier, through a quantum effect (the ‘tunnel effect’) which would seem impossible according to classical physics. The tunnel effect is so fast that it seems to occur faster than light.

“Second, we have found an effect related to the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen phenomenon, in which two distantly separated photons can apparently influence one anothers’ behaviors at two distantly separated detectors (see “High-Visibility Interference in a Bell-Inequality Experiment for Energy and Time,” by P. G. Kwiat, A. M. Steinberg, and R. Y. Chiao, Physical Review A, Vol. 47, page R2472; 1993). This effect was first predicted theoretically by Prof. J. D. Franson of Johns Hopkins University. We have found experimentally that twin photons emitted from a common source (a down-conversion crystal) behave in a correlated fashion when they arrive at two distant interferometers. This phenomenon can be described as a ‘faster-than-light influence’ of one photon upon its twin. Because of the intrinsic randomness of quantum phenomena, however, one cannot control whether a given photon tunnels or not, nor can one control whether a given photon is transmitted or not at the final beam splitter. Hence it is impossible to send true signals in faster-than-light communications.

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