“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which the women have achieved.”- B R Ambedkar
“If all men are born free, how is that all women are born slaves?”- Mary Astell
“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.”- Fredrick Douglas
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can alone cast a stone across waters to create many ripples.”-Mother Teresa
“A nation’s strength ultimately lies in what it can do on its own ,and not in what it can do with the help of others.”-Indira Gandhi
“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against the black domination. I have cherished the ideal of democracy and a free society in which all people live in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal that I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be ,it is abnn ideal for which I am prepared to die.”-Nelson Mandela
“India is a cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most constructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.”-Mark Twain
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”-Abraham Lincoln
“Justice implies something which is not only right to do and wrong to do, but which some individual person can claim from us as their moral right.”-John Stuart Mill
“The Ganga to me is a symbol of India’s memorable past which has been flowing in the present and continues to flow towards the ocean of future. ”-Jawaharlal Nehru
“…I step down the ghats, bathe in the Ganga, walk up to the Masjid for namaz, and then head straight to the Balaji temple for riyaz… ”-Bismillah Khan on living in Benaras
Paradise Lost referring to mythical concept, what is a myth? A symbol, elaborated in the form of a story. Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth which perhaps cannot be expressed in rational words and best presented in a story – Coomaraswamy. To say that something is a myth – in this way – profound/theological sense, which is beyond just the actual facts of history, it could of happened. Almost precious possession .. sacred, exemplary, significant. May be based on a historical event, may be based on entirely fictional imaginings, but is either case, it carries an other-that-literal meaning that is open to interpretation. Myth becomes part of a collective unconscious, it’s not just a legend – need not embody any kind of truth, rather it’s a myth – which is true.
Adam and Eve – in the Garden of Eden – Paradise – Masculine God – ‘it’s all yours, to cherish, to nurture, to grow, to develop, and only one thing I ask, is you to not eat the fruit from the middle tree – the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil’ and now Satan who wants to get back at God – any by attacking these Humans whom God loves so much – to lead them away from Virtue – who then attacks Eve – and convinces her, on why must God not want them to eat of the tree, for he had eaten it and noting happened, so if you eat you may become like me – god – she lures Adam into the plan – God realises this catastrophe and casts them out of the paradise, now doomed to death, struggling to ear their food, and all the natural thing became much more arduous, laboured. Our transition from moving from the animal state to the human – part of it is understanding right v/s wrong, death, seriousness of life; therefore every race of humanity have moved through this stage – as part of growing up we began to realise the cause and effect – the pain. That recognition a a part of growing up, it becomes part of the way we think, we are conditioned, we are reenacted it psychologically as we grow into an adult. And after the realization, we still act on the negatives, then that is punishable.
In today’s world, it is very easy to confuse Insurance with Investment. One might feel that he/she is investing in their future and decreasing their future financial burden because he/she purchased an insurance policy. Let’s take a look at the definition of insurance and investment.
Insurance refers to a contract or policy in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses. It protects the insured against risk of losses or damage.
Investment, on the other hand, refers to an asset or item acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation. For example, real estate, mutual funds, shares etc.
With the increase in types of insurance policies and persuasive insurance sales representatives, people tend to think of insurance as investments. However, Insurance merely provides protection in the event of loss, which may or may not arise. In case of no loss or damage, sum total of all the insurance premium paid is profit for the insurance company.
On the other hand, the main purpose of an investment is to generate income by providing returns (dividends and interest) and/or capital gains (value appreciation; increase in price). Insurance does not provide any substantial returns. It merely provides reimbursement in the event of loss/damage and therefore, it is not an investment.
Do you need Insurance?If yes, what kind?
Insurance planning is essential to protect against different kinds of risks and to be financially prepared in case of loss or damage to life or property. However, it should not be used a means to invest.
There are different types of insurance which can be broadly classified into Personal, Property and Liability. There are three types of insurance that you must have to protect against risk, not as an investment: Health insurance, Term life insurance and Automobile insurance.
Health insurance is a must to ensure that in case of an accident or injury, hospital and medical bills don’t eat away your savings.
Term life insurance ensures that in case of death of the earning member of the family, the family has enough to survive for a substantial period of time. Term life insurance has a fixed period and hence, has a very low monthly premium with a decent coverage. However, if the policy expires and the insured is still alive, the insured does not get any amount back. So, this policy should only be taken by the earning member at the right life stage in case he/she does not own enough assets to leave behind for his/her family.
Automobile Insurance (third party) is mandated by the Government of India on the purchase of a vehicle and hence, every vehicle owner should have one.
Other types of insurances sold and bought in the name of ‘investment’ like Endowment plans, Money back policy and the new policy called Unit-linked insurance plans(ULIP) which allows you to invest in the stock market should be avoided at all costs.
It is much more profitable to invest in the market through mutual funds or investor’s Demat account than to do the same through insurance companies. The rate of return in the market is much higher and it doesn’t cost as much as Insurance.
For example, if you buy Money Back insurance plan with a policy term of 20 years with ₹10,00,000 assured cover, the monthly premium calculated on LIC premium calculator comes out to be around ₹6300-6500 per month.
As calculated above, the total premium paid is ₹11,27,282 and the total amount received is ₹18,20,000. The total profit/return (approx.) is only ₹6,90,000 in 20 years. The return on investment (Return/Total Amount paid x 100) is only 61%.
However, if the same amount is invested in SIP of any instrument with a return rate of just 6% for the same time period (20 years), the returns (calculated on Groww SIP calculator) are much higher.
₹6000 rupees invested monthly in any instrument with a return rate of only 6% for 20 years gives a return of ₹13,46,000 making the total value of the investment ₹27,86,000. The ROI (Return/Total Amount paid x 100) in this scenario is 93%.
Conclusion
Although Insurance is an essential part of Financial Planning to protect against different kinds of risks which varies from person to person, it should not be mixed with Investment. For greater returns and growth, investors should directly invest in the market or in any other instrument which suits their risk appetite and capacity.
Human development refers to the process of widening people’s choices, freedom and opportunities as well as raising the level of their well being. Human development focusses on the enlargement of all human choices whether economic, social, cultural or political. Economic growth or development alone cannot guarantee human development. This is because these two terms pertain to economic advancement which is usually expressed in monetary terms. Accumulation of wealth does not necessarily mean the fulfilment of several kinds of human choices. For instance, a society does not have to be rich to afford democracy or equality. It is the how we use the wealth and not the wealth itself that is decisive in attaining human development. The real wealth of a society is its people and development of those people can transform that society. In recent times, an alternative to GNP as a measure of economic development has lead to computation of the Human Development Index. This measure has been enlarged and many related indices like gender development index, gender inequality index, human poverty index, etc. have been developed as well. Human development is necessary for several reasons. Human development leads to higher productivity. A healthy and skilled labour is a very important productive asset for any economy. Improvement in education not only enhances skills but also helps in lowering family sizes. Education makes people aware of the benefits of smaller families. Human development also leads to a better physical and social environment. Population growth effects the environment. Deforestation, desertification etc decline with a decline in poverty. Reduced poverty also contributes to a healthy civil society, increased democracy and greater social stability. Human development embraces the entire society and not just the economy. The political, cultural and social factors are given much importance as the economic factors. Some of the important components of human development are equity, empowerment, sustainability and productivity. People must enjoy equitable access to opportunities. They must be empowered so that they are in a position to exercise choices of their own free will. The development should be sustainable i.e. needs of future generations should also be under consideration. Productivity is an essential part of human development as therefore should always be a priority. In the recent years, economists have shifted their concern from economic growth to human development. This has lead to the creation of Human Development Index (HDI). HDI is a measure of human development done on the basis of three dimensions: long and healthy life, access to education and decent standard of living. Long and healthy life can be measured through life expectancy while literacy rate shows access to knowledge. For measuring standard of living, GNP is often used. Since human development is so closely linked to economic growth, it is important that planning in economic growth should coincide with human development. It means that equal emphasis should be laid on production and distribution objectives. Human beings should be declared the ultimate objective of economic planning. There are enormous difficulties in doing so but it is worthwhile.
You must have heard about the word addiction. According to its etymology , the root of the word addict comes from the Latin word addictus which means “to devote, sacrifice, sell out, betray or abandon.”
Tess Callahan , a recovered drug addict defined addiction as , “ Addiction is just a way of trying to get at something else. Something bigger. Call it transcendence if you want, but it’s a rat in a maze. We all want the same thing. We all have this hole. The thing you want offers relief, but it’s a trap.”
Addiction is a trap , a disorder. One can refer to addiction as , Substance use disorder (SUD) . Drugs , alcohol , smoking and many others are some common types of addiction .
It’s nerve racking to think something so pernicious is something so common for the world we live in .
What is a drug addiction ?
WHO defines drug addiction as _”, a state of periodic or chronic intoxication detrimental to the individual and to society produced by the repeated consumption of drugs , natural or synthetic …”
Drug abuse , drug addiction ,drug trafficking have been the tragedies of the 20tj century and have been passed on with no less vigour to the 21st century .
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
26th June ,has been celebrated as the United Nation International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking since 1989 .
The International conference in Vienna during 17-26 June ,1987 on Drug abuse and Illicit Trafficking, two important texts , Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Outline of Future Activities in Drug Abuse Control & Declaration of the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking were adopted and 26th June was declared as United Nation International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in 1989.
Every year , The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) releases a World Drug Report . The report provides data and facts about the intensity of drug problems around the world. The data is completely key statistics and factual data obtained through official sources. UNODC also provides practical solutions to get to grips with these problems and abiding to be committed to attaining a vision of good health .
The World Drug Report provides a global overview of the supply and demand of drugs (such as opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances ) , as well as their evil effects on health .
World Drug Report — 2021 , focuses not only on drug addiction potential effects but also on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, assisting Member States in addressing challenges that may arise in the near future.
The 2021 report , consisting of five separate booklets, providing an in-depth analysis of the global drug markets and giving a comprehensive picture of the measurable effects and potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the world drug problem. Covid -19 has already made the heedless public aware about the importance of health on a global level.
World Drug Day is a day to spread awareness , put the kibosh on use of drugs , to research and share life saving facts , help people recover , to do their part by taking a firm stance against misinformation , while being staunch supporter against drug abuse and illicit trafficking and sharing only the real help facts on drugs and save lives.
Theme 2021 :-
This year, the theme of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is ‘Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives”
Information sharing makes a profound impact on individuals’ lives. It ensures that an individual receives the right information at the right time. . Facts about health risks posed by drug abuse and solutions to tackle the problem will help us move towards a society free of drug abuse.It’s like an imperative guard which promotes welfare .
The theme of the 2021 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking aims at restraining misinformation and promoting sharing real facts on drugs and their evil effects on health and solutions to tackle the world drug problem.
Causes of Addiction :-
Dr Lawrence Kolb, the first medical director of the Public Health Service Narcotic Hospital in Lexington shared THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADDICTION according to him ” addicts are thrill seekers; they are modest people who use drugs to overcome feelings of inferiority. Drugs allowed them to feel “grandiose” in life. They use their DRUG to escape their problems and feel like they can deal with any problem that they are subjected to. Each drug seeking episode is another opportunity to outsmart anyone, feel the thrill of the hunt and come back alive to feel the ‘high’ again.”
According to his research , for an individual to become an addict, factors like, biological, social, cultural and environmental factors have a big contribution. “Peer pressure” is a common cause for any addict to begin their journey of addiction.
According to Ram Ahuja , a known sociologist , causes of drug abuse can be classified as follows :- • Psychological Causes • Physiological Causes. • Social Causes • Miscellaneous Causes.
Some special causes include :-
• Using drugs for ” kicks “or “thrill “. • Peer Group Influence . • Feeling of Alienation and lack of motivation • To Escape from the Pressure and Conflicts of Life .
Recovery from drug addiction :-
James Lee Curtis on addiction recovery said , “Recovery is an acceptance that your life is in shambles, and you have to change it.”
An addiction to drugs isn’t a character flaw or a sign of weakness, but it’s a trap like Johann Hari said , ” Addiction is an adaptation. It’s not you–it’s the cage you live in.”
To recover from drug addiction takes much more willpower than it actually seems. Abusing illegal drugs can create changes in the brain, causing powerful cravings and a compulsion to use it over and over again and being sober feels like an untouchable goal .
But , ” If you chased your recovery like you chased your high, you would never relapse again.” – By Unknown with words of encouragement for those in drug addiction recovery
No matter how hopeless the situation seems or how many times any individual fails . With the right treatment and support, change is always possible.
Control of Drug Abuse :-
There are many ways to control drug addiction :-
Educational Approach :-
As 2021 , theme of UN international Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is ” ‘Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives”, It’s important to have education about the evil effects of drug consumption .
Cannabis, heroin, opium , marijuana, morphine , cocaine , codeine and many such drugs are recorded to be the most commonly used . There has also been evidence of an increasing prevalence of methamphetamine as well. There are different types of drugs which are consumed and get addicted by the public with zero awareness about its harmful effects . Methamphetamine Addiction, Cannabis Addiction, alcoholism etc are different types of addiction. It is important to have information from credible sources and restrain others from spreading misinformation.
Behaviour therapy :–
Therapy and counseling may be done with an individual, a family or a group can be as helpful as medical treatment . Therapists suggest strategies to individuals to cope with drug craving , help in medication during relapse , can suggest alternative activities which help in preventing drug abuse etc.
There are basic three types of behavioural therapy :-
1: Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which seeks to help patients to recognize, avoid and cope with situations in which they are most likely to relapse . 2: Multidimensional family therapy, which is designed to support the recovery of the patient by improving family functioning.
3:Motivational interviewing, which is designed to increase patient motivation to change behavior and enter treatment.
Community Approach ( Institutions & Self Help groups ) :-
Many communities , such as Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous help people with their addiction .A 12-step recovery support group, like Narcotics Anonymous (NA), is one the best help for an addict.
The community supports a vision that addiction is a chronic disorder with a danger of relapse.
Institution like , NIDA, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is one of the institutes under the National Institutes of Health , and is responsible for funding more research on drug abuse and addiction than any other agency in the world. Many NIDA-funded studies focus on achieving a deep and essential understanding of substance abuse of drugs . NIDA seeks to educate the public and keep them updated on their new findings and how these findings may indicate the need for changes in legislation, medical care, or prevention efforts.
Treatment Centers :-
Treatment centres offer help for people who have an addiction problem. A rehabilitation centre would offer individual, group or family therapy sessions. Such centers focus on understanding the nature of addiction, finding solutions and helping individuals to be drug-free and preventing relapse.
Such treatment center perform “Detoxification”
The goal of detoxification, also called “detox” or withdrawal therapy, is to enable you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible .
These treatment centers provide medication like methadone and buprenorphine that can be used to treat addiction to prescription opiates, and behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to prescription stimulants, benzodiazepines, and other drugs.
Self -help :-
Overcoming an addiction and staying drug-free require a persistent effort. But as Vince Lombard said , ” Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”
Committing to sobriety is a big one step towards controlling addiction . Recovery requires time, motivation, and support, but by making a commitment to change, you can overcome your addiction and regain control of your life.
Kurt Cobain on the futility of substance abuse ( drug abuse ) says ,
“Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem.”
Every year on 26th June , one can help others to regain their self esteem and overcome addiction which seems impossible.
Many people struggle with addiction, the first step toward recovery is the toughest .
” One of the hardest things was learning that I was worth recovery.” – Demi Lovato. One can help addicts restructure their life and replace destructive habits and behaviour with healthy ones ,let them know their worth and help them lead a positive and healthy life.
The above statement may appear intriguing to some, but that’s what we need to do, at least in 2021. Even today, majority of the world population is not aware about the distinction between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’.
Gender is something that is most often thrown and forced upon us according to the sex we received at birth. We are told to act, dress and behave in a certain way. In more simple words, ‘sex’ is what nature has given us at birth, for example, ‘female’ and ‘gender’ is something that we identify ourselves with as we grow up, for example, ‘woman’.
In this way, we can say that gender is a social construct, that is, gender is a human made concept while sex is a naturally grown system we have on our respective bodies since our birth.
It is also important to note that gender is variant and we would be doing injustice to the gender minorities like agender, non- binary and gender fluid people if we overlook them.
Moreover, we should also keep in mind that, lack of awareness regarding the difference between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ is one of the main reasons of patriarchy. As mentioned above, since our birth we are expected to behave in a certain way. For example, when a male child is born, we expect them to be tough and physically strong and compare them with wild tigers and lions while when a female child is born we expect them to be soft and pleasant like an angel.
Another example could be, male toddlers are gifted guns and cars whereas female toddlers are gifted doll houses and ‘kitchen sets’, because from the beginning only we have this sexist notion ingrained in us that the male child will grow up and ‘earn’ the bread while the female child will ‘bake’ the bread.
‘Sex’ and ‘gender’ are most often used interchangeably and this also contributes to patriarchy, in fact it shows how patriarchy is deeply ingrained in us. Some of us indulge in patriarchy without even knowing it.
Patriarchy may favour males but it is beneficial to no genders in the world. In global context, gender expressions like ‘feminine’ stereotypically means one needs to be loving and caring and ‘masculine’ stereotypically means one needs to be daring and challenging. Now here comes the problem- for example- a male who has ‘loving’ and ‘caring’ characteristics and identifies himself as a ‘man’ suffers due to these socially constructed ideas of being ‘masculine’. Similarly, a female who has ‘daring’ and ‘challenging’ characteristics and identifies herself as a ‘woman’ has to suffer due to the culturally made concepts of being ‘feminine’.
Another interesting thing is to note that if a man identifying male has some stereotypically feminine characteristics like caring, being soft and submissive, they are trolled and if a woman identifying female has some stereotypically masculine characteristics like daring, being loud and dominant, they are praised. This proves that the patriarchal world we live in hates femininity and just loves masculinity.
If a man celebrates his masculinity, he is praised but if a woman celebrates her femininity, then she becomes inauspicious for the society. It is important for us to note that femininity and masculinity is subjective and depends on person to person.
The social issue is a problem that influences by many citizens within a society.
Social issue be a group of common problem in present society and one that many people struggle to solve. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues. Some issues have both social and economic aspects, such as immigration. There are also issues that don’t fall into either category, such as wars.
The definition of a social problem has both an objective component and a subjective component. The objective component involves empirical evidence of the negative consequences of a social condition or behavior, while the subjective component involves the perception that the condition or behavior is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed.
social issues influence society
Slow social change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social order. Social problems weaken a society’s stability but do not reflect fundamental faults in how the society is structured. Solutions to social problems should take the form of gradual social reform rather than sudden and far-reaching change.
COVID-19 from 2020 is the hell of the year for all of us . the world facing many issues in this pandemic situation . many of people lose thire dear and nears ones and many of finacial supports many of the people become homeless, they don’t have proper food to continue thire lifes
In every conntry thire many of issues facing in society , in this pandemic the people facing issues are:
Suicide Prevention
With so many people forced into lockdown and isolation over the last year, many people have suffered from poor mental health. In Victoria alone, there has been a 40% spike in calls to various mental health hotlines as a consequence of COVID-19, and it is now more important than it ever has been to pay attention to the struggles of millions of people around the world
Family Violence
Another victim of the pandemic are families who are in dangerous situations due to loss of work, lockdowns and being isolated from the public. Record rates of family violence were recorded in 2020, and cases have increased dramatically, resulting in many support services struggling to help those in need
The Rise In Homelessness
Over the last year, the number of people who have been forced into homelessness has surged as short-term coronavirus and housing protections have phased down. Due to loss of income, many families have had to bear the burden of being kicked out of housing due to an inability to pay rent.
Our Ecological Crisis
Poverty and pandemic aside, another issue we are facing is the ecological crisis due to the collapse of ecosystems and troubling disappearance of biodiversity. Although the slowdown in economic activity due to COVID-19 created a very brief reduction in global carbon emissions, it is impossible to ignore the mounting effects of unchecked human activity over the last decade or so
Speeding Up The Vaccine Rollout
Last but certainly by no means the least, 2021 will see the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out in most countries around the world. Although more than 360 million vaccine doses have been administered, there is a troubling gap between vaccination programmes in various countries, with many yet to report even a single dose.
Common of Social Issues
Poverty and Homelessness. Poverty and homelessness are worldwide problems. …
Climate Change. A warmer, changing climate is a threat to the entire world. …
Overpopulation. …
Immigration Stresses. …
Civil Rights and Racial Discrimination. …
Gender Inequality. …
Health Care Availability. …
Childhood Obesity.
Poverty and Homelessness
Poverty and homelessness are worldwide problems. According to Habitat for Humanity, one-quarter of the world’s population lives in conditions that harm their health and safety. Many do not have shelter, a basic human need for survival.
This social issue also goes beyond the 25% of the population directly affected. Because of the lack of shelter for this vulnerable population, there is greater stress on government and social programs, including schools and healthcare systems.
Climate Change
A warmer, changing climate is a threat to the entire world. Climate change affects the entire world population, and the Union of Concerned Scientists calls this social issue “one of the most devastating problems humanity has ever faced.”
The 800 million people already living in extreme poverty will be impacted most severely. Around the world, people are already noticing warmer winters, more severe storms and rainfall events, and more frequent wildfires. These issues already put stress on governments and systems in many countries.
Overpopulation
As the population of the world grows, resources become scarcer. The United Nations reports that the current population of 7.7 billion people is expected to grow in coming decades, with a projection of 8.5 billion people by 2030.
The fastest growing areas of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, often face already scarce resources like land for farming. As the population becomes more than the country can sustain, people will need to move elsewhere to avoid starvation and homelessness.
Immigration Stresses
People move from one country to another, and in itself, this isn’t a social problem. However, immigration can place stress on government programs and social systems within a country, and it can be a divisive topic in a society. These immigration-related stresses affect many people.
Civil Rights and Racial Discrimination
Civil rights, or the rights of citizens in a country to have equal treatment socially and politically, is another one of the most significant social issues in America and around the world. More than 40 years after the Civil Rights Act passed, almost 60% of African Americans still live in segregated neighborhoods and 90% of African Americans report that racial discrimination is still a major problem.
Gender Inequality
A report from the Pew Research Center Fact Tank indicates that about 50% of Americans feel the country needs to do more to address the income gap between men and women. Women still lag behind men in wages and top leadership positions held, although they are now more likely to attain a college degree.
Worldwide, the situation is even more extreme. UNICEF reports that 12 million girls are married before they reach adulthood, and 98 million high school-aged girls do not attend school.
Health Care Availability
When people are sick or hurt, they need access to medical care to get better. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost one in 20 U.S. citizens do not obtain needed medical care because of the cost. Worldwide, 97 million people become impoverished by seeking needed medical care, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Governments around the world are working on this problem, as are nonprofit organizations.
Childhood Obesity
Some types of social problems are health-based, but they also have an impact on socio-economic issues. For instance, the CDC reports that 18.5% of U.S. children are considered obese, having a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile.
However, the childhood obesity epidemic doesn’t affect all children equally. Children in families where the parents have more education and higher incomes are far less likely to be obese than those in families with less education and lower incomes.
Poor Leadership
Many of the social problems in society are connected in subtle ways, but all social problems are connected to the leadership of countries, corporations, and other groups. An ongoing Gallup poll asks Americans to rate the most important problems and social issues facing the country. By far, the most significant issue was poor leadership; 28% of respondents list it as the number one problem.
Social Issues Teens facing
Advances in technology mean today’s teens are facing issues that no previous generation has ever seen. While some issues are not exactly new, electronic media has changed or amplified some of the struggles young people face.
Depression
According to The National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 3.2 million adolescents in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in 2017. That means about 13% of teenagers may experience depression before reaching adulthood.
Depressive disorders are treatable, but it’s important to seek professional help. If your teen seems withdrawn, experiences a change in his sleep patterns, or starts to perform badly in school, schedule an appointment with your teen’s physician or contact a mental health professional. Do not delay getting help for your teen if you notice these symptoms
Bullying
It’s also important to talk to your child about when and how to get help from an adult. Remind them that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but instead a show of courage. Talking about how someone has humiliated them is never an easy topic.
Sexual Activity
Of the 20 million new sexually transmitted diseases each year, more than half were among young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
Parents may not be aware that their children are sexually active, however. Talk to your teen about sex, even if you don’t think your child is engaging in sexual activity.
Drug an Alcohol use
Make sure you have regular conversations with your teen about the dangers of drugs. And don’t forget to mention the dangers of prescription drugs, too. Many teens do not recognize the dangers of taking a friend’s prescription or popping a few pills that are not prescribed to them.
Unfortunately, teens often underestimate how easy it is to develop an addiction. And they don’t understand the risks associated with overdosing. Be sure you are talking about these risks on a consistent basis.
Fixing Social Issues
Although many Americans feel their leaders are the biggest problem they face, governments, corporations, and communities are working to fix some of the top social issues. These are just a few of the actions they are taking:
Schools are implementing anti-bullying programs, which the PACER National Bullying Preventions Center says can decrease bullying by up to 25%.
Community efforts to help reduce childhood obesity include adding salad bars to school lunches, focusing on physical fitness, and adding obesity prevention initiatives to hospitals.
The U.S. enacted the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to begin addressing the challenges in health care availability, and it remains an important political issue.
The European Union is on track to meet its goals for reducing carbon emissions and helping mitigate the effects of climate change. Other countries are also working hard to make progress.
Zero Budget Natural Farming(ZBNF) is a chemical free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices. It marks a departure from the use of expensive chemical fertilizers , insecticides and pesticides.
Subash Palekar, known as the father of ZBNF introduced it in the mid 1990s to move away from the use of chemicals in farming as an alternative to Green Revolution method of use of fertilizers and intensive irrigation.
Need for ZBNF:
Rising cost of agricultural inputs leads to indebtedness and suicide among farmers.
Use of chemicals has a devastating impact on the environment and long term fertility of soil.
Features of ZBNF:
Application of Jeevamrutha which is a mixture of fresh desi cow dung, aged desi cow urine, jaggery , pulse flour , water and soil on farmland. It is a fermented microbial culture that adds nutrients to the soil and acts as a catalytic agent to promote activity of microorganisms and earthworms in the soil. The requirement is of only one cow that too of Indian breed.
Application of Bijamrutha to treat seeds to increase their chances of germination. It is a mixture of cow dung , cow urine, lime and water.
For pest management and insects, a concoction is prepared using neem leaves and pulp, tobacco and green chillies .
Limitations concerning ZBNF:
This method of farming is being debated. There is not much research going on about this .
Many farmers reverted to conventional methods of farming after seeing drops in ZBNF returns.
This pandemic has taught us many things, and right now in India as well as in World every other person is talking about vaccines, what are vaccines, how much time is require for development of vaccine including all trails , and how do they work ?
So, for now I would like to answer one of most frequently asked question HOW VACCINE WORKS ? well, for understanding the working of vaccine we must know what is vaccine ?
A vaccine is part of a germ that is exposed to your immune system in a safe way so that it can learn how to fight off that harmful pathogen and protect your body from it in the future. Basically it provides us immunity.
Well let’s see what exactly happens when you get vaccinated
When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds to the vaccine just like real germs.
i. The germs contained in the vaccine are identified as foreign.
ii. The vaccine produces and reacts with antibodies similar to real germs.
iii. Remembering how to destroy germs. If you come in contact with pathogenic germs at any time in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before it has a chance to make you sick. This is how you get immunity from vaccines
HOW VACCINE WORKS ?
A vaccine works by training the immune system to detect and protect against viruses or bacteria. To do this, certain molecules from the pathogen must enter the body to boost the immunesystem. These molecules are called antigens and are found in all viruses and bacteria. If a bacterium or virus reappears, the immune system immediately recognizes the antigen and attacks the disease well before the pathogen spreads.
Vaccines don’t just work on an individual level, they protect entire populations. Once enough people are immunized, opportunities for an outbreak of disease become so low even people who aren’t immunized benefit. Essentially, a bacteria or virus simply won’t have enough eligible hosts to establish a foothold and will eventually die out entirely. This phenomenon is called “herd immunity” or “community immunity,” and it has allowed once-devastating diseases to be eliminated entirely, without needing to vaccinate every individual.
So, for now I have only one request that is ”PLEASE GET VACCINATED”, it’s totally safe.
Note: I recently shared this only with the readers of my newsletter. I thought I’d post it here too.
Have you heard the reciprocity principle in social psychology?
It’s a social rule that says people give back what they receive, it was popularized by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence. Everyone has been in that type of situation.
When you feel obligated to invite that annoying colleague for your birthday, it’s because he/she invited you as well. And you feel like you have to return the favor, right?
Reciprocity is a common technique used by marketers. It’s about giving with the expectation that you get something back.
Altruism is different. Which is basically giving for the sake of giving. You don’t expect anything in return.
And then there’s reciprocal altruism (originally a term from evolutionary biology), which is what most thought leaders use. People have different terms for it.
It comes down to this: Give more than you ask.
I like that idea for three reasons.
Giving is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise and skills. That makes it easier for people to hire you or buy your products.
Giving is a way to stand out from the crowd.
Giving is a win-win situation.
The first point is straightforward. You don’t ask someone to sleep with you on the first date, right?
You also don’t get a promotion without adding value.
Or, you don’t just buy a book from any author. It’s only after you’ve read multiple articles or signed up for the newsletter before you consider purchasing the book.
Second, we live in a selfish economy. It’s always about me, me, me. People want to sell you all kinds of stuff you don’t need. And they pretend they are giving. But that’s not true.
They’ve read some marketing books and try to use ‘giving’ as a sales technique. We see through that because it’s not authentic. Now, it’s totally different when you give without expecting something in return. When you do that, you truly stand out from the crowd.
The third point is often overlooked (the win-win of giving). When I write articles, It’s not only about marketing or giving, it’s also a way to improve my skills.
It’s a true win-win situation. You get a free article with value. And I improve my thinking, analyzing, and writing skills.
That’s why Seth Godin, one of the most well-known marketing thinkers, recommends everyone to blog for that reason. I agree.
No matter what you do, there’s one thing you always want to keep in mind. I learned this from my mentor: Life is business.
So always remember why you do what you do. And never forget to ask.
Do you blog to get more freelancing clients?
Do you do free consulting because you want to get into a new market?
Do you work for free because you want to learn more?
There has to be a reason behind what you do. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.
That’s also a basic idea I learned from pragmatist philosophy.
Never forget that nothing in life will happen by itself.
You can’t assume people will always give back. After you give, give, give: Ask.
If you want a promotion: Ask.
If you want people to buy your book: Ask.
If you want someone to hire you: Ask.
When you do that, you get a great economy. People give and take. But not everyone does that.
Most people prefer to take, take, take. That means if you do give, you stand out.
Do you see? When you give more than you take, you will receive more eventually. It’s not about altruism, it’s not about changing the world. It’s about creating a win-win situation.
COVID-19 has challenged the physical health as well as the mental health of people. The children and the elderly are the ones most affected. The pandemic has brought a lot of changes in the lives of almost every individual. From working on your desk to working from the comfort of your, everything has flipped. Everybody’s life has been impacted by the sudden arrival of the pandemic. Working from home, which was initially feeling comfortable has now become bored and irritating. Even the students have lost interest in their online classes.
Earlier children had the access to playgrounds to play with their friends, which has now been limited to the boundaries of their homes because of the coronavirus, due to which the screen time of children has increased. Playing outdoors kept them physically fit and mentally healthy. The children are becoming irritated and moody being inside their home for such a long time. To keep up their mood, the children have to resort to mobiles and laptops; to play games, watch videos and shows. This has increased their screen time, which has further led to other issues.
Constantly using gadgets and glaring on the screen affects eyesight. Which can lead to blurry vision, and in severe cases can even lead to partial or complete blindness. The screen radiates blue light, which also hampers sleep.
Schools, universities, and colleges are places where the students not just study, but also interact with their peers and dwell together. They don’t just grow here intellectually but also culturally and morally through various activities taking place; contributing to their holistic development.
Be it, school-going children or college students, all have to be on their phones and laptops for their online classes because of the inability to resume on-campus learning due to COVID-19. Initially, online classes seemed interesting as it was a change in the conventional education process. But lately, students have become bored and have lost interest in their studies, as it has become a monotony now.
Students’ sleep cycle has been impacted a lot. The overuse of phones has impacted their quality of sleep and resulted in either too little sleep or too much sleep. The students from the underprivileged areas are unable to attend their classes properly due to bad network quality. This is stressing them out and taking a great toll on their mental health.
Students are overly stressed about whether they would be able to graduate on time or not as many institutions postponed their exams. This is a concern for the timely completion of their degrees, which decides their further step; be it getting into a university for their higher studies or getting into a job.
Stress and anxiety have become a problem in students, which is a reason for their distraction and reduced concentration level. Online classes are also causing social isolation, which is also triggering stress in the students. Lack of communication is causing them distress. Procrastination has become another issue among the students, which is resulting in lower grades.
The students are facing various issues. However, the educator’s and parent’s support can lower the negative impact due to the pandemic through proper communication and guidance.
Bioremediation is a process of clean up of waste from environment, basically it is a type of waste management technique which involves the use of organisms to remove or utilize the pollutants from a polluted area. Microorganisms like Bacteria and Fungi are the main role player when it comes to executing the process of Bioremediation. Bacteria are the most crucial microbes in this process as they break down the waste into nutrients and organic matter. Even though this is an efficient process of waste management but bioremediation cannot destroy 100% contaminants. Bacteria can easily digest contaminants like chlorinated pesticides or clean oil spills but microorganisms fail to destroy heavy metals like lead and cadmium. It’s great isn’t it.
Here arises a question why is it so important ?
It is important mainly because of two factors
1. It uses no harsh chemicals.
2. It can allow waste to be recycled.
Basically there are two main classes of bioremediation that are in-situ and ex-situ.
In-situ – In situ refers to when contaminated waste is treated right at its point of origin. For example, there may be soil that is contaminated. Rather than remove the soil from its point of origin, it is treated right where it is.
Ex-situ – Ex situ refers to treatment that occurs after the contaminated waste has been removed to a treatment area. To use soil as the example again, the soil may be removed and transported to an area where the bioremediation may be applied.
Bioremediation can be carried out by bacteria that is naturally present in the environment or adding nutrients, this process is called biostimulation.
Over the past decade, social media has managed to secure a special position in our hearts. Like every other evolutions in the world, the way we use social media platforms also evolves. With the quick growth of social media, trends change every second day and thus brands and individuals are in a hurry to adopt them fast!
Major Trends…
1) Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual and auditory.
How it is used in different ways in social media?
Now, during the pandemic times, it wasn’t easy for people to go out for shopping and try out the things they wanted to purchase. So Augmented Reality became an important feature in social media apps so that consumers can try out the business products from their respective homes.
Popular furniture company IKEA using AR.
MORE COMMON EXAMPLES OF AR IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, recently said Augmented Reality has slowly become the company’s “topmost priority” . We have already witnessed how social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram have become more AR oriented– all the face filters that we use on such social media apps are nothing but small facets of Augmented Reality.
Credit: The Verge
2)VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual reality (VR) refers to a computer- generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional environment using electronic devices, such as special goggles with a screen or gloves fitted with sensors. Users have a realistic feeling experience when it comes to Virtual Reality.
VIRTUAL REALITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA
A) VR CHAT VRChat is a free-to- play massively multiplayer online virtual reality social media platform. It allows players to interact with others as 3D character models. Users can interact via text chats and then play the games according to their needs.
Credits: Business Insider
B) FACEBBOOK SPACE It allows an integration with Facebook, which makes it easy to invite our friends and acquaintances to the VR world. Three people can actually interact using a VR device. This has however now been discontinued.
3)Shopping through Social Media
Many new brands and business firms deal with their consumers entirely though social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Both these social media platforms provide services like a complete e- commerce portal and also allows business firms to show their products on the platforms while attaching a link to the firm’s official website. Customers can view products, see prices and can directly order products from these social media platforms.
Credits: Cosmetics Business
4) News Culture on Social Media
This is one of the most popular trends we tend to see these days on social media. People spent most of their times in social media and therefore many mainstream media channels maintain good interaction with their audiences on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter via video stories, pictorial presentations and like.
Many new media houses are completely based on social media. People mostly get to know about recent happenings through social media. Twitter as compared to any other social media platform has distinctively been credited for instantaneous news.
Facebook page of ABP News
5) Hash-tag Culture
This is another form of social media trend that can be seen these days where interested groups make a hash-tag phrase (for example: #xyz) regarding their concerned matters. This has widely been witnessed on Twitter and Instagram where users make their interested topics “trendy” on social media. This is especially done on Twitter to bring anything to public notice.
Privatisation refers to the process by which the government transfers the productive activity from the public sector to the private sector. It is basically the transfer of ownership from the central government to the private sector. A vast majority of economies have been supporting privatisation and have launched massive privatisation programmes during the last two-three decades ago. The supporters believe that privatisation and disinvestment has many advantages. The first and foremost being improvement in efficiency and performance. Since private sector is profit oriented, the decision making is inclined more towards efficiency. Moreover, privatisation establishes a market for managers which improves the quality of management. Here fixing responsibility is much easier. Public enterprises cannot be held responsible for any lapse i their responsibilities but this is not the case with private sector. That is way the performance of private sector is better. Decision making is faster in private sector in comparison to public sector. Delayed decision making is often equivalent to making no decision at all. The problem of red tapism which is present in public sector is absent in the private sector. In the contemporary businesses environment, it has become important to take spot decisions without wasting time. Remedial measures are also taken early in private sector. Because private sector faces threats of takeover, liquidation, loss of assets etc., the likelihood of taking remedial measures in advance is very common which is not quite often observed in the public sector. The succession is well planned out in private sector. The public sector enterprises however, remain headless for long periods of time. This causes confusion and delayed decision making. Such a situation does not exist in private sector. Privatisation leads to better customer service. This is due to the fact that the survival of a private sector enterprise depends on customer satisfaction, since it is the satisfaction that insures repeated buying and profit generation. For creating sustained markets for themselves, the quality of services offered by private sectors for their customers are quite good. The critiques have however, criticised privatisation and disinvestment on the following grounds. There has been undervaluation of assets. The performance on disinvestment front has been dismal. The main reason for this is the fact that disinvestment was carried out in a hasty, unplanned and hesitant way. It was launched without a required condition of its take off. Adequate efforts were not made for the much needed linkage between public enterprise and capital market. Considerable under pricing of public enterprises shares results in considerable loss to the government. Critiques argue that privatisation leads to unemployment. Supporters call it marginal retrenchment of labour but still, the future employment scenario for labour is a cause of worry. Having low productivity jobs in public sector is a better alternative to unemployment as the later does not increase a nation’s income definitely does not increase welfare of workers. Privatisation of PSUs is more risky. Since private sector is more interested in profit generation, critiques argue they won’t worry much about local labours and the costs would be borne by customers.
Journaling is maintaining a diary or a journal where we express our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Journaling is like communicating with our thoughts. We often come across people that journal every day. Let us look at why they like maintaining these fancy books.
Clears the mind: A lot of the time our brain is preoccupied with thoughts and it can often come in the middle of our work. So writing down our thoughts and feelings on a piece of paper will help us acknowledge them and come up with a solution as well. When I would feel low I would write my thoughts and, it almost felt like I was venting problems to a friend. In the end, when I was done writing about any issue, I would honestly feel good. Journaling doesn’t make the problem go away but our mind feels more clear.
Something to look back at: Growing up I had written a few journals. I wouldn’t journal daily, but I would write if there was a special occasion or a family trip. Now when I read about those moments it feels like I am reliving them. It has so much detailed explanation of things that I wouldn’t have remembered otherwise. Reading old journals is always a great trip down memory lane. I always thank my younger self for writing those things down.
Makes us stronger: We often write down our hard times. So, when we look back and read those problems it makes us realise how caught up we were in them and we thought they was the worst thing happening to us. But, then we get over it, it makes us realise that problems come and go and we are strong enough to overcome anything.
If you are someone who wants to start journaling, you can start by getting yourself a diary, notebook of your choice. You can bring pens of different colours and some things to decorate it with. It’s up to you how you design your journal.
Here are a few things you can write about in your journal:
Daily goals: Goals keep us motivated, they ensure that we complete all our daily tasks. You can write your daily tasks in the morning then by the end of the day you can check if you completed them or not.
Ideas: You can write any creative ideas for your work. When I come up with a great idea for my article I like to note it down. So on days where I have nothing to write, I check my journal for reference.
Be creative: You can also have a bucket list section in your journal where you tick the things you have done. You can try new things in life and write about them. The new things don’t have to be as complicated as sky diving, even trying a new flavour of ice cream is included.
Problems: It is a great place to write about your problems. Below that you can also write the solution to it, where you write a few ideas on how you are planning to overcome the situation.
Grateful: Writing things we are grateful for every day is a positive start to the day. The things you are grateful for can be as easy as a roof above my head, or my family.
Once you start journaling you will notice a lot of positive changes in your life. You will also know more about yourself. It will also make you more productive because you will be giving yourself and your goals more time. Journaling is a safe space you need in your life.
Eduindex 
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