Marine Biology

The ocean’s beauty, mystery, and variety of life, are the main attractions for people to study marine biology. Marine biology is the more general science of biology applied to the sea. Most of the disciplined in biology are represented in marine biology. Marine biology has many branches, viewpoints, and approaches. It is also closely related to oceanography, the scientific study of the oceans. Geological oceanographers study the sea floor, chemical oceanographers study ocean chemistry, and physical oceanographers study waves, tides, currents, and other physical aspects of the sea.

Life on earth is believed to be originated in the sea, therefore the study of marine life teaches us much about all life on earth, not just in the sea. Marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet. Marine organisms produce much of the oxygen we breathe and help regulate the earth’s climate. Thus, to make full and wise use of the sea’s living resources, to solve any kind of problems marine organisms may create, and to predict the effects of human activities on the life of the sea, we must learn all we can about marine life. In addition, marine organisms provide clues to the earth’s past, the history of life, and even our own bodies that we must learn to understand. This is the challenge, the adventure, of marine biology.

From the first time people saw the ocean, they started to learn about marine life. Archaeologists have found ancient harpoons and simple fishbooks of bone or shell. While they gathered food, people learned through experience which things were good to eat and which were bat-tasting or harmful. Knowledge of the ocean and its organisms expanded as people gained skills in seamanship and navigation.

The Phoenicians were the first accomplished Western navigators and by 2000 B.C. they were sailing around the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Black Sea, eastern Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean. Ancient Greeks had considerable knowledge of nearshore organisms in the Mediterranean region. They even used an electric ray (Torpedo) to deliver the first electrical simulation therapy. During the 4th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle described many forms of marine life. He even recognized, among other things, that gills are the breathing apparatus of fish. Therefore, Aristotle is considered by many the first marine biologist. During the 9th and 10th centuries the Vikings continued the exploration of the northern Atlantic Ocean and they discovered Vinland, what we now call North America. Furthermore, Arab traders and people in the Far East also continued to explore and learn about the sea.

During the Renaissance, a lot of voyages of exploration began by the Europeans. Christopher Columbus rediscovered the “New World” in 1492. In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan embarked on the first expedition to sail around the globe. Fairly accurate maps, especially of places outside Europe, began to appear for the first time. The explorers were soon interested and curious about the ocean they sailed and the things that lived in it. James Cook, an English sea captain, was one of the first to make scientific observations along the way and to include a full-time naturalist among his crew. Furthermore, Cook was the first to make use of a chronometer” that enable him to prepare reliable charts.

By the nineteenth century it was common vessels to take a naturalist along to collect and study the life forms that were encountered. Perhaps the most famous of these shipboard naturalists was the Englishman, Charles Darwin. He sailed around the world on HMS Beagle for five years, horribly seasick most of the time. The Beagle’s primary mission was to map coastlines, but Darwin used the opportunity to make detailed observations of all aspects of the natural world. This set off a train of though that led him, years later, to propose the theory of evolution by natural selection”. Darwin made many other contributions to marine biology. He explained, for example, the formation of the distinctive rings of coral reef called atolls.

“I felt the full breadth and depth of the ocean around the sphere of the Earth, back billions of years to the beginning of life, across all the passing lives and deaths, the endless waves of swimming joy and quiet losses of exquisite creatures with fins and fronds, tentacles and wings, colorful and transparent, tiny and huge, coming and going. There is nothing the ocean has not seen.”

-Sally Andrew

Personal Habits: Over-Apologizing

How would it feel when a person you know apologizes for something which isn’t their fault? If someone dashed into him, he would apologize saying, “ I am sorry, I didn’t see you coming my way.” There is a limit for everything and after a while it feels weird to hear them say sorry for so many things.

There are so many factors that lead you to apologize for things. It could be how you have been raised or it’s something you have seen your family do, maybe it’s how you see the world. Apologizing is good for finding peace in conflicts or relationships. You say sorry for the mistake you have made so you don’t repeat it again. It reassures a person that you genuinely didn’t expect the outcome that has come and you want to amend your mistake.

You should not apologize for something you have not done or you have done for something that needed help. When you dash into someone, you apologize because you should have seen him coming, but you shouldn’t apologize for someone who dashed into you when you have been standing quietly.

A lot of people apologize for the reason of avoiding conflict or because they feel that they made the other person feel bad. It usually is either of them. Sometimes, it’s guilt that drives them. Guilty for joking/pranking, guilty for ignoring them, guilty for not asking them or the feeling of guilt for putting themselves first.

Reasons why you feel like apologizing:

You were taught to put others first: When you were a kid, you saw someone fall down. You rush to their aid and lift them up with your itty-bitty strength, and they thank you for helping them. You are praised by your family and the incident’s talked about at various family gatherings. It gives you the feeling of responsibility and makes you feel that you have to put others first and it should be your priority over anything. Fast forward to now, your friends ask for your help on their project, and you rush. You complete their project but yours gets delayed. Your sir calls you out in front of the class saying that you delay your work because of your laziness and your friend doesn’t stand up. Neither do they tell the sir after nor give you credit. You don’t say anything because your friend was first even if you were called out. You apologize to sir because you couldn’t finish it and not for helping your friend before yourself.

Truth: By putting others first, you don’t gain much but you do lose out on time that you could have used for yourself. If you had taken time to complete yours along with theirs, the work would have been completed quickly and efficiently with time to go over errors.

You were taught to help others without seeing what you need: You always gave your grandpa medicine on time, you helped your mother in cooking, you would take the newspaper to your dad along with his morning tea/coffee, and you were always told to help people. Today, you help someone, no matter how much stress/workload you have. They ask for anything and you help them out. Sometimes, it’s just a text to their crush on how to ask out and you help them, despite the deadline of your project. So you apologize when you can’t help them because you are placing yourself first.

Truth: You need to see what help you need first so you can complete the necessary task at hand. The text can be sent anytime but your deadline can only be given once. You need to help others but you need to see if it is something that actually needs help.

Scolded when you placed more importance on yourself: A lot of children are told to share and to not be selfish. If you have 2 chocolates, give it to your friend because you are a “good boy/girl”. After growing up, whenever you need new shoes or your family needs a new appliance, you choose the second option because it feels like a need but yours feels selfish.

*Appliance is used twice and placed for “Future Use”*

Truth: Sometimes, being selfish is good. You need new shoes and your home has enough appliances. By getting new shoes, you will stop getting the foot ache that you have been facing for the past 2 months. If you get new shoes, then you can work with more focus and more energy.

Avoiding Conflict: In most cases, when you were a kid, your tantrums would cause your parents to scold you and you would face punishment, or your friends would distance you because you get angry frequently. The last one pushes a child to socializing issues and causes anxiety on how others perceive them for every single action they take. So, they apologize whenever someone raises their voice a little bit, no matter what the conversation is about. They want to avoid the conflict because they don’t want to face what happened earlier and become outcasted.

Truth: You will face conflicts in future, either in relationships or friendships, you need to understand why you should apologize and for what you should stand your ground. Conflicts are what brings people closer to understand the other person better by learning their needs. If you never have a fight, how will you know what the other person actually feels?

Harmed someone in childhood: When a kid unknowingly harms someone, they get scared and cannot move because they don’t know what to do. Their mind goes blank and they freeze because this feeling is new to their system and it’s hard to know what to do next. The kid is then scolded and constantly lectured over and over again to the point the kid feels anxious to touch a person. When they grow, the anxiety grows with them and it constantly pricks them. What if the casual punch hit harder than it should? What should I do if I dash into someone a little too hard? Should I give them a handshake or fist bump? What if I punch them too hard? Let’s go with the handshake so I don’t hit them too hard.

Truth: It’s okay to give a fist bump or handshake or high-five to a person whom you know. You just need to relax your mind. If you want to touch the person but are scared of the force you put into it, then show a sign of initiation. For a handshake, raise your hand out in the form of a handshake, and wait for them to accept it. By showing initiation, you let the other person engage and guide you through the conversation.

Saying sorry is well and good but exceeding it drains you of your self-confidence. You are a person at the end of the day and you need to stop saying sorry for that. You are existing which means that you will make mistakes and you will learn, but saying sorry for things that don’t require an apology then it will just drain you. It’s not going to get fixed overnight because you have taken years to build this habit. It will be fixed if you work on it every time you notice it happening.

Thank you for reading this article. It is something I have faced and I have learnt how to overcome it. Leave a comment on how has overaplogizing affected your life and how have you overcome it or trying to overcome it.

The Doctrine Of Karma

The origin of the word ‘karma’ maybe traced back to the Sanskrit root ‘kru’ meaning activity. The ‘karma’ is essential for the attainment of moksha. The basic philosophy of karma relates to the performer of karma, the circumstances under which action is done, the results or reaction of karma and inspirations lasing to karma. The references about karma theory are found in our Upanishads.

The doctrine of Karma is so deeply rooted in Hindu social setup that it is considered the ethical background of Hindu social organization. Every action of human beings enetes some results which affects and influences the course of his future life. This is known as karmaphal. The philosophy of karma establishes a close relationship between karma and soul on one hand and soul and re- birth on the other. As long as the accumulated effect, the good deeds and the bad deeds of a person, does not lead to purification and the karmas of a person are not up to the expectation of Dharma, the soul will continue to take pain and rebirth. The good deeds of the man will get him moksha or nirvana whereas his bad deeds will not enable him to attain moksha.

The doctrine of Karma is based on the following beliefs and assumptions:

Definite Result: Every action has some reactions in one way or the other. Every good action will be rewarded and the bad action will never go unpunished.
Indestructibility: The results of karma can never be destructed. The present life is the result of punishments and rewards of the past life. No one can destroy the effects of action because these are immortal.
Necessity of Rebirth: Man cannot free himself from the consequences of his actions. Such consequences of his karma do not leave him even after his death. It is his past deeds that necessitates him to take birth again and again.
Belief in immortality of self: The doctrine believes that the soul is immortal. The body may decay and turn the soul into ashes, but the soul survives. As destined to face the consequences of his deeds, the self or jiva enters a new body, after the death of the previous one.
Determination of general condition of life: The difference with respect to prosperity and poverty, success and failure, happiness and grief and various amenities of people in the present life are believed to be the results of their good or bad performances in the past.
Supremacy of Karma: The doctrine considers man as the maker of is own destiny. Theory of Karmaphal believes that every karma (action) has its own results (phal). Thus, there is no action which goes without its results.
Karma Vipak: Karma is unlimited. It always moves in circular path. Therefore, it is continuous and never ending. It survives not only after death but even after the death of this universe.

The doctrine is karma is viewed as an important part of Hindu social setup. The doctrine inspires the good actions of the people in form of rewards in this as well as the afterlife. It also gives inspiration to man to attain a moral life and preaches self control.

Impact of Social Media on Youth.

Social media is an plateform which is build that facilitates the users to create content and sharing of information, ideas, interests and different contents ,through virtual communities and networks technology.

Over the last two decades, social media has gained tremendous growth and fame. Despite the fact that almost everyone in the world is connected to at least one social media platform, youth and teens are the ones who who are using social media and are becoming so socially hampered that they even interfere their lives with social media. According to researchers, they have found that these different social media plateforms have a profound impact on the lives of our youth in society in terms of morality, behavior, and even education.

The use of social media has both negative and positive impacts on our youth today. The positive effects of social media on young people today is keeping up to date with what’s happening around the world and being able to network and stay connected with classmates and friends without physical meetings. For example, people in one city can connect and interact with friends in other cities and neighborhoods, bridging the gap between them. In addition, social media platforms allow young people to create pages and groups based on their profession, beliefs, and other aspects of life, creating more connections and more opportunities in their respective fields. This could even create more employment opportunities for unemployed youth.

According to a BBC News report, social media sites appear to continue to connect and inform more people, but it’s also causing social isolation among youths as it reduces the number of face-to-face interactions between young people, as they usually spend most of their time on these online social platforms. Analysis of many studies by various scientists has shown that social isolation can have a variety of effects on youth’s physical, emotional, mental and psychological estate which can create different problems in them. This, in turn, can lead to depression, anxiety, and many other problems. Also, using short forms and abbreviations can lead to misspellings and misuse of words and tenses. This has a direct impact on the student’s language skills and tends to adversely affect the student as it leads to poor language performance.

Also, young teens under the age of 18 can be exposed to online content that may not be appropriate for their age. Social media often introduce these teens to pornographic content which may be shared on online social groups and this may mislead them . The morals of these teenagers are also manipulated because they are granted access to immoral literature and video. This can harm their phycology of seeing things differently in life.

The social media can be used effectively by youth as long hours on social media can be devoted to productive activities that enable people to grow, earn a living, and be educated, such as using online tutorials and online research materials.
Social media may harm ones creativity and also can reduces the productivity of teens by chatting for long periods on social media sites . This may cause young people to not be independent, and rely on the help from others . Social media also provides a great platform for cyber theft and bullying. This increases the chances of personal information theft and incidents. This poses a lot of risk to young people as their personal information can be stolen because they are stored in places they do not know or where security is unknown or suspicious.

At last, social media opens a communication channel for young people and has many benefits. This includes the development of oneself and opening to wide range of social networks that promote opportunities and cultural abilities. However, it is very important that youth should use different social platforms carefully to avoid being victimized by cybercriminals and using it in limit so that it may not harm their mental and phycology abilities.

SOME INTRESTING FACTS ABOUT KAILASH MANASAROVAR

Mount Kailash is located near Lake Manasarover and Lake Rakshastal, near the Indus River, the headwaters of Asia’s longest river. Sutlej; Brahmaputra; Karnali also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of the Ganges) in India. Mount Kailash is considered to sacred in four religions. Receipts; Buddhism; and Jainism.

SOME INTRESTING FACTS ABOUT KAILASH MANASAROVAR

• Stairway to Heaven: Mount Kailash in Tibet is considered a “stairway to heaven”. According to Hindu mythology, it is the residence of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Climbing this sacred mountain peak is forbidden, as other religions also considered it sacred.
•Sacred to different religions: Mount Kailash is sacred to four religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, Bonn, and Sikhism.
Kailash Strange Structure:The strange pyramid shape of Kailash Manasarovar led to the theory that it was an artificial mountain. According to Russian researchers, Kailash is not a mountain because it is too perfect and symmetrical to be considered a natural event. According to scientists, it’s an artificial vacuum pyramid surrounded by hundreds of small pyramids.
• Kailash cannot be conquered :Kailash, just 6,656 meters above sea level, is not the highest mountain in the world, but it is still unconquerable. There were several trekker trying to climb Mount Kaikash, but none reached the summit. It is believed that climbing this sacred summit will protect the gods.
• Unexpected death of a climber: There are certain points in time when subsequent visits are prohibited. Siberian mountaineers visited once before this point and quickly aged decades earlier. Surprisingly, they died a year later at an old age. Divinity Dwelling: Mt. Kailash is a physical embodiment of Mt. Meru and is believed to have the technical expertise of the superhuman being of God.
Earth’s Energy Center: This sacred mountain is considered the center of the universe. It is considered the axis of the universe, the center of the world, and the pillars of the world. It is the place where the earth and the sky meet.
• Accelerating Aging Near Mt.Kailash: Scientists believed that the aging process would accelerate here. People who spend nearly 12 hours here have been shown to grow their hair and nails. This is equivalent to two weeks in normal life.
• Kailash satellite view: The satellite view of Kailash shows that the shadow of Kailash represents the smile of Lord Shiva.
• Kailash Mystery: You can see the Hindu symbol OM (ॐ) from the southern ridge of Kailash. The formation of a huge ice valley and horizontal rocks from the top of the mountain make up this symbol. Headwaters of the Great Rivers: There are four great rivers in Asia that spring from Kailash Manasarobar. Lake Mansarobar are the sources of the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra and Karnali rivers, which form the main left tributaries of the Ganges.
• Lakes of Good and Evil: The Kailas Himalayan region has two lakes, Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal. There are many myths surrounding these two lakes. They also show both the good and the bad of humanity.
• Birthplace of Sir Ganesha: Gauri Kund is located near Lake Manasarovar, which is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ganesha. This is the place where the goddess Parvati surrounded Sir Ganesha with bubbles while taking a bath.
Mount Kailash is said to be non-flying area, you cannot fly over Mt. Kailash by helicopter or any other means.

” It’s pointless giving advice to people who will not listen. It only reduces the value of your words. “
– Author: Farahad Zama

How to avoid self doubt?

Self doubt may be outlined as a state of uncertainty concerning the reality of something. It may well be concerning our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, opinions, decisions, self views or any “truth”. We tend to hold in our minds. We have a sense that we are not stable. However, researchers suggests that self doubt involves questioning on our own self competence. There are many adverse psychological effects of self doubt’s which calls for an immediate measure to counter it. Some of the ways in which one can avoid self doubt are:

Practice Self Compassion: If self doubt is holding you back from taking a leap with your career or in another side of your life, it helps you to recollect that we all are humans. We tend to create mistakes along our path, and it’s ok to do so. Therefore, when we doubt our skills, it’s actually because we don’t wish to form any area for mistakes. However mistakes are the medium for us to learn and grow. We will mitigate self doubt and fear of failure by being kind to ourselves, no matter the result.
Take A Break And Get A Boost Of Optimism: Sometimes the longer we feel stuck in a scenario or feelings, the more stiff it becomes for us to come back out. Just take a flash to relax and shift your focus to something completely different. By doing so, it will enable us to filter out mind and look at things from a n and fresh perspective. If you would need an boost, try create an inventory of things you are grateful for. This will naturally shift your thoughts in a more positive direction.
Try Not To Compare Yourself To Others: They say that comparison is the thief of joy. This saying rings true in many ways. If you are experiencing self-doubt as result of your afraid that you won’t accomplish something at constant level as somebody else, then it is often a paralyzing feeling. Everyone’s journey and concepts of success are different. What we can manage and control and target is our own path and where we want to take it, regardless of where other people are at or what they have done.
Spend Time With Supportive People: The friends and members of the family in our lives who believe in us and everything that we are capable will always be on our side. When you are feeling self doubt, surround yourself with these individuals. They will inform and remind you how talented and resilient you are during times you are not feeling that way about yourself.
Remember You Are The Harshest Critic: Would you doubt a friend who took on a new job or the for the manner they parent their kids the similar manner that you doubt yourself? The solution is probably no. We are going to continuously be the harshest critique for ourselves. It’s a pleasure reminder to treat ourselves with a similar kindness and compassion that we have got for others, rather than being therefore vital on ourselves.
Keep A Journal: Journaling is often not therapeutic exercise to follow. Writing down your thoughts of self doubt or experiences with Imposter Syndrome onto paper can be an honest unharness. You will even understand once you see your issues written down that they may not be as prejudicial as you thought they were. This could facilitate to gradually overcome self-doubt.
Raise Your Self-Awareness: Self awareness is one of the foremost powerful personal development tools in your arsenal. Make use of it by understanding the foundation of your cause for your self doubt. What specific things trigger bouts of self doubt? If it is lack of ability or skill in a section, resolve to try and do something concerning it.
Stop Asking For Validation: Seeking others input and recommendation is useful. However, if you are within the habit of endlessly asking others what they think before making decisions on vital matters, you may be weakening your faith in yourself. For example, if you are functioning on a presentation, setting up an internet site or undertaking a new project, and you continue to change what you have created based on the feedback you receive, you might end up losing your voice and the end product becomes diluted version of you. Take some advice, but at some point make a decision what feels right to you.
Look To The Past And Awash Yourself In The Memories: Be real with yourself and raise yourself this necessary question : How many times after I doubted myself or feared something would happen? Did that negative thing inherit reality when I still took action? The answer on behalf of me and possibly for you too isn’t very often at all. Self doubts are most often simply monsters in your head that your mind could use to keep you from creating changes and to keep you within the comfort zone. If you look to your past experiences and see how well things have gone persistently despite those self doubts, then it become easier to let go to of them or ignore them, to reduce fear of failure and to focus. on probably positive outcome and to take action.
Talk To Someone About It: When you keep your thoughts on the inside, they’ll become distorted, exaggerated, and not very much in line with reality or reasonable expectations. This is abundantly true once it involves thoughts and feelings of self doubt. So allow them to vent out and saying them loud can often help you to hear how exaggerated these thoughts have become. So let them out into the light. Talk to someone close to you like a good friend about yourself doubts. And by talking regarding those doubts with someone that is supportive you’ll get a modification and change in perspective.

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Melting of Glaciers – A topic which should not be avoided.

Glaciers are persistent chunks of dense ice that are constantly moving under their own weight. Glaciers are formed where snow accumulation exceeds its erosion over the years, and often centuries.

Rising global temperatures have undoubtedly been the cause of glacier melting throughout history. Due to the rate at which climate change is occurring today, it can become extinct at record rates.

Some of the other reasons:
Carbon dioxide gases Emissions: Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by human activities such as industry, transportation, deforestation, and burning fossil fuels warm the earth and melt glaciers. Glacier savings can be achieved if CO2 emissions can be reduced by 45% over the next decade before reaching zero by 2050.
Ocean warming: The ocean absorbs 90% of the earth’s heat. This fact mainly affects the melting of sea glaciers near the poles and on the coast of Alaska (USA) and other heavy snow covered areas.

The main consequences of melting glaciers are:
Sea Level Rising- Sea level is rising and covers most of the continental region. This means that which means within years most of the areas can be a complete flooded regions.
Less freshwater – No glaciers also mean less water for population consumption, less hydropower capacity, and less water available for irrigation.
Climate change-The balance between cyclone and anticyclone structure and meteorological patterns is deteriorating.
Food Chain Imbalances-The habitats of some marine and terrestrial species are changing and they may harms to them in maintaining their natural circulation and habitat.

Temperature imbalances, extensive processes of deforestation, and rainfall can be other reasons for global warming that lead to glacier melting.
Glaciologists believe that despite the massive ice loss, there is still time to save the glacier from the predicted disappearance. It can done through to curb climate change and save glaciers from getting extinct. Scientists believe that controlling climate change can prevent glaciers from melting and disappearing.

“The earth has a skin and that skin has diseases; one of its diseases is called man.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

Communalism in India: Threat to National Integration

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National Integration is a process by which divisive people and culture are synthesized into a unified whole, along with higher levels of cooperation, mutual understanding, shared values, common identity and above all national consciousness. In the process of national integration, people of a nation develop the sense of we feeling and are unified. The broader objective of national integration has been the attainment of ideological goals such as secularism and democracy. But these are some negative forces lurking within the society which pose as a rising threat to the national integration of India in the form of communalism, regionalism, linguism, etc.

India represents a divirse religions and cultures. Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, etc have flourished here. Whereas the Hindus constitute the major segment of India’s population, the Muslims constitute the largest minority. But the irony is that the adjustment between the Hindus and Muslims has been a failure several times, resulting in violent outbursts and communal riots. The inhuman behavior seen in the communal riots during the period of Independence of India, has no parallel instances in the entire history of the world. In fact, communalism is not a new phenomenon and has tended to exist since the times of the Muslim rule in the medieval period.

Communalism is described as a tool to mobilize people for or against, by raising an appeal on communal lines. Asghar Ali Engineer, Moin Shakir and Abdul Ahmed try to explain communalism as an ideological tool for propagation of economic and political interests. According, to them it I an instrument in the hands of the hands upper class to concentrate power by dividing people.

Communalism as an ideology may be perceived as:

A total commitment to a set of beliefs,
Far from rationality,
Commiting of self to the community alone,
Unwillingness to accept other belief patterns and faiths,
Closing of self and being highly emotional to it, to the extent of crossing the bounds of law at times.
It mostly rests on prejudices,
It causes rivalry and violence among masses,
It effects are disastrous,
It strikes at the roots of secularism and national integration.

There are many factors that lead to the emergence of communalism in the society. Some of these factors include provocation of enemy countries, negative effect of mass media, geographical causes, weak economic status of minorities, historical causes, organized and militant fundamentalist organization, orthodoxy and obscurantism and failure of government policies.

There stands an urgent need of eradication of communalism in our society. Some policies that can be undertaken in this regard include abolition of communal parties in our country, healthy public opinion, inter- religious marriages, declaration of national festivals, etc. These are few measures that may help in curbing communalism from causing any threat to the National integration of our country.

India’s last village Mana.

Mana Village is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, at an altitude of 3200 m , on the banks of the Saraswati River, about 5 km from the famous Hindu pilgrimage site Badrinath. This beautiful place is located 26 km from the border between India and Tibet and is the last village of India.
According to the 2011 census, the village was home to about 558 households and with population of about 1214 people . Most of the population here belong to Marchhas and Jads or Bhotias. During the winter, the area is covered with snow, so the entire population moves to lower altitudes. Many cafes here tell people that their store is the last cafe on the Indian border. Most of the people here speaks Garhwali Or Hindi languages.
If you visit this place, you will notice that the shopkeepers in the area sell their products under the title “Last Village”, such as “The Last Tea and Coffee Corner in India”.

Religious importance of mana village:

The village of Mana is of great religious importance to Hindus as it is associated with the Mahabharata era. Pandavas, the five mythical figures of the epic Mahabharata, is believed to have passed through the village of Mana on his final journey to heaven. There is also a stone bridge called “Bheempul” near the Saraswati River. It is believed to have been created by Bheem, one of the Pandava’s .

How do you get to Mana village?
You can reach Mana village easily as it is easily accessible from Rishikesh / Haridwar/Dehradun and situated just 5 km from Badrinath Temple. The nearest train station is located in Haridwar, about 275 km away, and you can reach the village by bus / taxi from outside this station. Mana is just 315 km from Dehradun and there is a regular bus in front of the train station.

Mana attractions :

Neelkanth Peak: At an altitude of 6597 feet above sea level, Neelkanth Peak is one of the region’s main attractions. Also known as the “Queen of Garhwal”, this snow-capped peak rises beautifully above the Badrinath Temple and is a must-see for adventure and trekking lovers.

Tapt Kund: According to Hindu mythology, Tapt Kund is the Sanctuary of the Lord of Agni (Fire). This natural hot spring is thought to have medicinal properties, and it is said that soaking in Tapt Kund water will cure skin diseases.

Vasudhara: This is a scenic waterfall about 9km from Badrinath Temple. According to Legend it is the place where Pandavas stayed for some time during their exile.

Vyas Gufa: As the name implies, Ved Vyas, a famous scholar and author of the epic Mahabharata, lived in this cave while writing the four famous vedas. What makes this cave interesting is a small shrine dedicated to him, which is said to be over 5,000 years old.

Beehma Pul: One of Mana Village’s main attractions is Beehma Pul. Beehma is said to have built this Bheem Pul, a stone bridge to allow his wife Draupadi to cross the Saraswati River on a journey to heaven.

Racial composition of India

Race remains one of the most complex concepts in sociology. In popular usage, race maybe human race, car race, etc., but in this context it refers to any category or group of people who have similar physical traits. Race according to some is a group of people who maybe separated from other groups by repeating physical features like color of skin, hair, stricture of jaw, structure of eyes, etc.

Race, as a term, gained usage around 16th century and it began being referred to family, village and breed. It was in the 18th century period, especially during the enlightenment,i.e., age of reason, that the idea of race began to be restored more systematically. Ethnic groups in Indian society have a complex history of more than 5000 years. It is a history of series of migration, accommodation, assimilation, invasions and wars.

According to Dubey, it can stipulate about the original people of India on the basis of information provided by physical anthropology regarding the racial groups in the composition of India. The most authoritative and widely accepted classification is by Dr. B.S.Guha who identified six major racial types, namely:

The Negrito: People belonging to this racial group are characterized by black skin color, frizzly hair, thick lips, etc. The prevelance of a Negrito segment in the Indian population is a matter of controversy for the anthropologists and as such they are divided into two groups:
1. The protagonists, who believe in the existence of the Negritos in India.
2. The antagonists, who do not find any conclusive evidence of the existence of Negrito racial stock in Indian population.
The Proto- Austroloid: This racial stock consists of an ethnic group comprising of the Australians aborigines and other people of the Southern Asia and Pacific Islands. The aborigines are also considered the pre- Dravidian race and the Indian tribal population in general, is dominated by this racial element.
The Mongoloid: The Mongoloids, as a major racial stock, are native to Asia. This race entered India from the Western China through The Tibet, The Chinese, The Japanese, The Burmese, The Eskimos and also the American Indians are covered within this strain.
The Mediterranean: This racial stock may be related to the Caucasian physical type i.e., the white race. It is one of the dominant races in India.
The Western Brachycephals: It is believed that this racial group have entered India from the West. This race is divided into three sub- groups:
1. The Alpinoid
2. The Dinaric
3. The Armenoid
The Nordic: People belonging to this racial stock are characterized by tall stature, long head, light skin and hair and blue eyes. Tho physical stock has come to India from the North East Asia, South West Siberia through Central Asia and spread all over the Northern part of our country during the second millennium B.C.

Linguistic composition in India

At the time of Independence from the British rule in 1947, there were many princely states. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the then home minister, played a stellar role in amalgamating these states into the union of India. The Constitution of India was adopted on 20th November 1949 and came into effect on 26th January 1950, which defined Union of India, comprising of different states and union territories. In 1956, the states were recognized on linguistic basis.

Language is a system of mutually intelligible vocal symbol by which the member of a society communicates. It serves as a medium of communication and expression of and for the masses, thereby instilling in them a sense of belongingness and warmness. In a broader sense, language plays an essential ROK in constructing a sense of identity.

India is one such country which holds more than a billion population comprising of a vast communities having its own ethnocentric and distinctive profile of spoken and written languages. About 400 languages and 300 dialects spoken across 29 states and 7 Union Territories of India. According to 2011 linguistic survey, census at a reports there are a total of 121 languages and 270 mothertongues. There are 22 languages specified in the 8the constitution of India, of which Hindi is the predominant language spoken by about 43.63% of the population followed by Bengali (8.03%), Marathi (6.83%), Telugu (6.70%) and Tamil (5.70%).

The multilingual aspect of the country affects every aspect of its national life. At present the language problem has become so acute that it has posed a major threat to national integration. Most often linguistic tensions are being manifested in the borders which are bilingual.

Of course English is a great language, but the problem is that, no nation can grow great with the help of a foreign language, simply because a foreign language fails to represent the indigenous culture. In the past, India did not have the problem of languages, because Sanskrit and Prakrit served as link language. At present, although Hindi has been recognized as the official language of the Union, but his has promoted bitter hostilities, particularly in the South.

Development of one national language, that is, Sanskrit maybe keep the linguistic unrest under control as most of the languages owe their origin to the Sanskrit grammar and literature. States should be recognized as administrative unit rather than linguistic units. There should be ban on the political organizations which try to solidify linguism.

In conclusion, language is the most delicate part of the body of community. It should not ordinarily be disturbed in the process of national development or social regeneration.

Web 3.0 : Financial Service Industry

How will the evolution of the web have an effect on Financial Services? This is a question that puts many financial institutions in peril but is it really something that will put banks out of business?

What is Web 3.0?

Web 3.0 is a new evolution phase that is coming into reality. The web as we know, is evolving into something more secure with more opportunities and various features. A lot of people don’t understand Web 3.0 and are scared of it. This will be a massive change on how we see the internet and how we will use it. It is going to be a decentralized platform and it will be individualized wherein you can customize your internet browsing experience.

The Royal Bank of Canada is utilizing millions of data points to train its own AI, resulting in fewer client calls and faster application delivery. Meanwhile, BNY Mellon, the world’s largest cross-border payments service provider, improved its fraud prediction accuracy by 20%. By researching real-time market data within nanoseconds, AI and high-performance computing (HPC) are combining to provide better and faster trading intelligence.

What does this mean for Financial Services?

Web 3.0 is transforming the finance sphere slowly into a decentralized place. Basically, you don’t need a financial institution governing your transaction or authorizing them. The transaction will only be initiated by you and reaches the receiver, in a matter of moments, without any middlemen. Using cryptocurrency, you can make transactions over blockchain that eliminates that bank server from between. Cryptos are digital assets that let users transact directly without a payment service provider in the intermediary, which means that they enable new forms of capital. Although Bitcoin remains comparatively low now, it still may provide effective money governance by preserving and protecting the data or memory of what our money represents. Then there is the unparalleled manipulation of fiat money. We can observe how central banks have significantly extended their balance sheets since the GFC and the ongoing pandemic COVID-19.

DeFi

DeFi is short for decentralized finance where there are no middlemen between you and the receiver. The transaction will be on the blockchain where the transaction time is reduced from time of hours/days, to moments that you can count on your hands. With DeFi, you can perform all transactions and services that are offered by traditional banks, without the bank in between. Now, you might wait for your transaction to be passed through because your bank should allow it and then it has to pass through the bank’s server.

DeFi uses cryptocurrency as the main currency because they are programmed using blockchain technology. There is a huge difference between CeFi and DeFi.

Effect on Financial Services

Undoubtedly, Web 3.0 has opened its doors for infinite opportunities and many FinTechs are utilizing them while traditional institutions are being left behind. These organizations are investing in their technology and its improvement in this rapidly changing market. These FinTechs’ major part of investment is into AI which are being programmed to understand the different problems faced by people and able to give out the solutions in a matter of seconds. This dependance on AIs is being constantly improved which are learning from their own errors and giving better and more efficient solutions. A survey by NVIDIA , according to it, nearly 83% of finance service professionals say that AI is essential for the companies’ success. It is also said that AI can improve company growth by 20%.

Conclusion

Web 3.0 is bringing so many opportunities while improving the present technology and organizations that are utilizing it will not be taking rest anytime soon. This technology is just going to become better and better. Every single day that we see this technology step up just shows that we are not done with technology, it can be better and more efficient and these companies are proving that to use everyday. Web 3.0 is showing more freedom of speech and thoughts than the present restricted web 2.0, decentralization is going to put back the control back in the hand of the User.

“Where there is life, there is growth

Where there is age, there is evolution.”

~Charles Darwin

Thank you so much for reading this article. I have added information from different websites and I thank them for their view on this topic. Do leave comments on different aspects of Web 3.0 that you think will change us.

The links to pages that helped me understand Web 3.0 better:

Financialit.net: How web 3.0 is transforming the financial services industry?

https://www.finextra.com/the-long-read/231/how-ai-is-powering-the-future-of-financial-services

https://n26.com/en-eu/blog/what-is-defi#:~:text=How%20does%20DeFi%20work%3F,are%20secured%20through%20blockchain%20technology.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an phychological disorder that a person can face who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, war/combat, rape, or death, sexual violence or serious injury.

People with PTSD have intense and annoying thoughts and feelings associated with their experience that last long after the traumatic event is over. One may relive the event through flashbacks and nightmares. They may feel sad, afraid, or angry. And they may feel separated or alienated from others. People with PTSD can avoid situations and people that are reminiscent of traumatic events and have a strong negative reaction to mundane things such as loud noises and accidental contact.

According to reports in context to United States, about 3.6% of people about 5.2 million adults develop PTSD in time of last year , and an estimated 7.8 million Americans will develop Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men. This may be because their are high chances that women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, abuse and rape.

Symptoms:
• Intrusive thought: Intrusive thoughts such as repeated involuntary reminders. A miserable dream; or a flashback of a traumatic event. Flashbacks are so vivid that people feel like they are remembering or seeing the traumatic experience in front of them.
• Avoidance: Avoiding the memory of traumatic events may include avoiding people, places, activities, objects, and situations that can cause disastrous memory. People may try not to remember or think about traumatic events. They may resist talking about what happened and how it makes them feel.
• Mood changes and Behaviour : Negative thoughts and feelings that lead to persistent and distorted beliefs about oneself and others, such as not being able to remember important aspects of traumatic events. Distorted thoughts about the cause or effect of an event can lead to false accusations of yourself or others. Persistent fear, fear, anger, guilt, or shame. There is much less interest in the activities that I enjoyed before. Feeling alienated or alienated from others; or unable to experience positive emotions (lack of happiness or satisfaction).

Treatment:
It is important to note that not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD, and not everyone who develops PTSD requires psychiatric treatment. For some people, the symptoms of PTSD disappear over time. Others are better with the help of their support system (family, friends,etc) . However, many people with PTSD need specialized medical treatment to help recover from psychological stress. It is important to remember that trauma which causes the PTSD can lead to serious distress. The sooner a person is treated, the more likely one can recover fast from PTSD.
Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals use several effective ( authorized and proven) methods to help people recover from PTSD. Both talk therapy and medical dosage provide effective evidence-based treatment for PTSD.

Stagflation: a serious economic issue

Photo by Reynaldo #brigworkz Brigantty on Pexels.com

Stagflation is a situation wherein there persists both inflation(consistent rise in the prices of all the goods and services available in a country) as well as stagnation(lack of any economic development). Since 1970, there have been paradoxical developments in most developed nations of the world. There has been a considerable fall in the level of production and employment on one hand, and rise in the general price level on the other. That is nothing but inflation and stagnation coexisting. Inflation and unemployment are mutually exclusive economic phenomena. There has always been an trade off between these two in an economy. Thus, when both of this coexist, it leads to the rise of a paradoxical situation called Stagflation.

The features on stagflation include:

Rise in general prices.
Rise in the wage rate.
Reduction in the level of demand for goods and services.
Reduction in the level of production.
Emergence of excess capacity.
Increase in involuntary unemployment (a situation wherein people are willing to work at the prevailing wage rate but do not get any work).

Causes of stagflation:

Increase in the supply of money.
Rise in wage rates under pressures from trade unions.
Consistent rise in agricultural prices, owing to the government policy.
Rise in administered prices.
Credit expansion by the banks.
Increase in saving and investment.
Reduced demand for labor resulting in unemployment.
Rise in prices of petroleum and coal.
Increase in industrial capacity.

Stagflation is certainly a more difficult proposition than inflation. In the words of Haberler, “The combination of unemployment and inflation is a very delicate matter, if we fight recession, we stimulate inflation and if we fight inflation, we stimulate recession.

Some measures to control stagflation:

Creation of bank credit and supply of money must be checked.
Excise duty and other indirect taxes need to be reduced to stimulate production.
Consumption level is to be very carefully encouraged.
Labour intensive enterprises are to be encouraged to stimulate employment.
Appropriate income policy needs to be pursued to strike against the problem of inflation.
Wage rate must be suitably regulated.

Stagflation not only causes economic unrest but also leads to social instability. There are many instances where the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. There seems a moral dispute within the people resulting in hoarding, black marketing ,etc. Thus, stagflation is an serious economic hindrance which needs to be kept in check.

Importance of Cybersecurity.

Cyber security is the protection of Internet-connected systems such as hardware, software, and data from cyber threats. This technique is used by individuals and businesses to protect against unauthorized access to data centers and other computerized systems.

Cyber security is important because it protects all categories of data from theft and damage. This includes sensitive data, intellectual property data, government and industry information data and systems information,personally identifiable information , protected health information and personal identified information . Without cybersecurity programs, organizations cannot protect themselves from data breaches campaigns and are attractive targets for cybercriminals.
Global connectivity and the use of cloud services such as Amazon Web Services to store sensitive and personal information increase both inherent and residual risks. Along with increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals, widespread misconfiguration of cloud services means an increased risk for businesses suffering from successful cyberattacks and data breaches. Executives can no longer rely solely on off-the-shelf cybersecurity solutions such as antivirus software and firewalls, cybercriminals are smarter, and their tactics are more resilient to traditional cyber defense. It is important to cover all areas of cybersecurity to remain fully protected.
Cyber threats can come from all levels of an organization. Organization should educate employees about common cyber threats such as social engineering fraud, phishing, ransomware attacks and other malware designed to steal intellectual property and personal information. Should include cybersecurity awareness training for.

Types of Cyber Threats :
Malware-This is a type of malicious software that can use arbitrary files or programs to harm computer users. This includes worms, viruses, Trojan horses, and spyware. Ransomware-This is another type of malware. This involves an attacker locking the victim’s computer system files and requesting payment to unlock them.
Social Engineering-This is an attack that relies on human interaction to trick users into breaking security procedures and gaining sensitive information that is normally protected.
Phishing-This is a form of social engineering that involves sending deceptive emails or text messages similar to those from trusted or known sources. Often in random attacks, the purpose of these messages is to steal sensitive information such as credit cards and login information.
Spear phishing – This is a type of phishing attack aimed at targeted users, organizations, or businesses.

Cyber security is very important today. Our society is more dependent on technology than ever before and in today’s digital time data breaches that could lead to the theft of personal information which are easily disclosed to social media accounts. Sensitive information such as social security numbers, credit card information, and bank account details are now stored in cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. In fact, whether you are an individual, a small business, or a large multinational company, in today’s time everyone rely on computer systems every day .

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