ONLINE EDUCATION

Online education is a form of education where students use their home computers through the internet. For many nontraditional students, among them all those who want to continue working full time or raising families, online graduations and courses have become popular in the past decade. Often online graduation and course programmes, some of which are conducted using digital technologies, are provided via the online learning portal of the host university.

It’s not easier studying online! Online institutions must meet with the same quality requirements as brick-and-mortar institutions. With the advancement of online learning technologies, virtual institutions have enhanced automated processes to deter fraud and/or plagiarism.

Many online institutions will partner with universities on campus to develop and deliver online programs. This enables an online service, while providing validated course studies through the brick-and-mortar institution, to benefit from the advanced expertise and technology that an online provider provides.

What Are The Advantages Of Online Learning?

What Are The Advantages Of Online Learning?

1. Efficiency

2. Accessibility Of Time And Place

3. Affordability

4. Improved Student Attendance 

Disadvantages :

1. Inability To Focus On Screens.

2. Technology Issues 

3. Sense Of Isolation 

4. Manage Screen Time

Humans. Are we?

 Humans. What are humans; Made by god that we believe even if it feels like mythological but still we believe in it. It is scientifically proven we are ancestors of a Monkey which is very much square and fair but that doesn’t mean we still need to think like them. World is changing rapidly and so we are. Technology, our environment and our lifestyle totally. 

But one thing that have never changed and that is the way we think. Our mentality still very much of BC’s or i can say same as a Monkey or worse than a monkey. You may think, what I’m talking about or may have got my point. We humans now a days think like an Orthodox wearing fancy cloths which only differs us from an un talk able animal. We, humans degrades another human to look superior mentally and physically which is very low standard act. We constantly torment a person to the limit that leads to harmful outcome. Depression, mental torture or most dreadfully Suicide which is very common in teenage now a days. We takes things lightly when it comes to commenting about others. Easily judging, spreading non existence deeds. It is said you will know the pain they go through when you place yourself on their place. But do we? Instead we revolt about it. so are we really humans? 

Humans are describe as understanding, lovable, sharing, caring, brave, smart etc but are we? The action we carry in our daily life doesn’t similar with the description at all.  Daily there are updates regarding action towards abused victims non stop not only in India but world wide. Forget about same flash and blood, we have been such sick mental people that we doesn’t even feel remorseful towards the un talk-able animals torturing them. 

Humans have forgotten their inner self. Humans become hunger for fame, money and lust for which they are ready to cross such in-human boundaries of nature. Humans are believer of gods, creation of gods but did god really created humans for such deed to occur. Only because of humans, our nature is revolting against us. Nature has reached its limit. All cause by humans only.One day whole world will end, only because of HUMANS.

We must think twice no ten times at least before commenting about someone, before taking a step. Think about the outcome of your small act. It can save a life. It can provide a reason for someone’s living. It can give a reason someone’s action. We learn from each other. If one can change; others will change at time. Before judging someone always think placing yourself on their place and if you can’t place then you don’t judge them. No one has right to take decision for someone else. God has provide each similar part of body to all human beings in-order to think, function according your own-self. Instead of listening or telling others, behave yourself and let behave others.

Challenges Faced by the LGBT Community in US

Since the time of Stonewall Uprising in 1969, the fight for gay rights in the popular United States started when the gay partners fought back against the police when he tried to arrest them in New York. That night was the first struggle and the begging against the gay movement. In 2015 the Supreme Court decided to legalize gay marriage countrywide. But the struggle is continuing till date. The LGBT Americans are usually discriminated by the society when it comes to the house job, child rising and even in the prison. The clash for getting equality is till date find by the people of LGBT Community. Lots of people are treated inhumanly just because of their preference. The problems they are still facing are in US are:

  1. Violence- In 2015, it was found that maximum crimes are committed because of sexual problems and others were committed due to gender discrimination.
  2. Child raising- In only few states parenting of the gay couples are permitted. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Vermont are the states that approve parenting by the gay partner. On the other hand five states denied the parenting of same sex partners.
  3. Gay Conversion Therapy- Majority of states allows kids to go to “gay conversion therapy”. It is a harmful practice that American Psychological Association has convicted. But we also have eight states that refuse this practice for the people of the minor age group.
  4. Work Discrimination- Gays and transgender are fired in most states when there true identity is out publicly. This projects the thought process of people that in today’s generation we have developed so much and people have successful enhanced their skills as well as knowledge but the reality is quite upsetting that in this contemporary world where we talk of equality and modernism, people are losing their jobs if they are found as gay or transgender. And this is the reason these people believe in hiding their true identity in order to save their earning.
Other than this they also faced problems like:
  1. Housing Discrimination – LGBT people are often neglected in our society either it comes to their earning or staying a normal decent life. The people of this community are often humiliated and mistreated by the society. This is the bitter reality of America that the gay and transgender people faced. In a report of 2013 it was found that people with same sex experience disapproving behavior when it comes to housing. In 28 states housing inequality is legal.
  2. Unequal Healthcare – This is a common problem faced by people of this community. LGBT people have health issue due to mental health issues as well as abuse they faced by the society. Sometimes transgender face discrimination from health insurance too. It was found that in 37 states the one who are transgender are discriminated when there true identity is revealed.
  3. Criminal Justice – The area where they are discriminated the most is prison and usually faced abuse by the prisoners.
  4. Acceptance – There are some major issues that cannot be resolved and when it comes to transgender equality this problem is quite major. The LGBT Americans face discrimination at a large amount they are not acceptable by the society. 40% Americans of the LGBT Community faced extreme stress as they are rejected by the society.

Apart from this there are lots of problems faced by the people of LGBT Community although it is legalized in many places by they are still seen with humiliated eyes and are usually discriminated. America has developed a lot when it comes to the people of this community but the struggle is continued and faced by them. So, lets us end this discrimination system and expect their true identity happily.

International MUN recruiting interns?

Gear up and apply now

Yes! You heard it right, international Model United Nations is offering an Official Campus Ambassador Internship at IMUN.

What is IMUN?

International MUN is recognized by the United Nations & has hosted MUN conferences in 5 different countries in the last 3 years i.e in Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, China & Malaysia.

About IMUN internship?

5 weeks work from home internship with official internship certificate, letter of recommendation and many more. 5 weeks internship program that enables you to learn organisation management, International diplomacy and everything related to the world of United Nations. In this internship period every intern have to promote IMUN and IMUN Conferences through your social media accounts, through your friends.

This internship is a way to understand global issues, interacting with other culture and people.

Great performers receive best of IMUN certificate recognized by United Nations, letter of recommendation, appreciation, incentives, an opportunity to join IMUN team in different countries all sponsored and etc

What will you learn from this internship?

The main question comes in our mind is what new things we will learn from this internship.

Being an intern at IMUN you will learn leadership skills, social media marketing, digital marketing, communication skills, public speaking skills, networking and many more. Interns will also get an certificate after completing the internship, the international certificate from United Nations based on their performance. It will also prepare you for your career and help you to get a good job.

How can I apply?

You can apply through this link given below https://www.instagram.com/p/CGE5diCDSdT/?utm_medium=share_sheet

For more details you can check their official Instagram account @International_MUN

https://instagram.com/imunintern?utm_medium=copy_link

So hurry up, grab this golden opportunity and apply today…

Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle or so called The Devil’s Triangle is one of the phenomenal people who are on work to reveal its mystery. Many writers described it in many ways some like it covers an area of about 500,00 square miles of ocean off the southeastern tip of Florida or it’s the vertices of Miami, San Juan, Peurto Rico, and Bermuda or it’s a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean.


But why people are so obsessed with this area, as the Bermuda triangle is where many ships and airplanes have disappeared without any trace. Been a real phenomenon, many theories have been crafted to solve its mystery

  • Paranormal Explanations
    Some claim that it maybe the leftover technology from the lost continent of Atlantis, they say Atlantis story, there is a formation of submerged rock know as Bimini road off to the island of Bimini in The Bahamas, which include in the Triangle.
  • Gulf stream is one of the reasons for those losses, its surface current driven by thermohaline circulation that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic, it can carry objects, it has a maximum surface velocity of 6.6 fts/s, a small plane making water landing or a boat having trouble can be flushed out by the current.
  • Some claim it for natural reasons, unusual magnetic anomalies may exist in the area, as compass have magnetic variations with the magnetic poles. Compass north and True north are except for some places
  • Some claim it may be for human stubbornness, many ships and aircraft were lost.
  • Maybe it’s for violent weather, like hurricanes which are powerful storms that form in tropical water and resulted in many loss of lives and caused damage of crores of property.


Incidents that made it in the talk :


· USS Cyclops(AC-4), the collier Cyclops carrying a full load of manganese ore and crew of 309 after departing the island of Barbados, went missing without a trace after one engine went out of action, somewhere after 4 march,1918.


· A five-mastered schooner built-in 1919, was abandoned on 31 January 1921 at Diamond shoals, North Caroline, FBI had many outcomes for it abandoned but not relevant.


· Flight 19, a training flight of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on 5 December 1945, over the Atlantic, the flight was scheduled to take them due east from Fort Lauderdale and then back over to complete the exercise, the flight never returned to base, they claimed it my be navigation error leading to the aircraft lead to out of fuel.


· G-AHNP Star tiger, a flight from the Azores to Bermuda, got disappeared on January 30, 1948, then G-AGRE Star Ariel a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica, got disappeared on 17 January 1949. Both planes were operating at very limits of range and a slight fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island.


· Douglas DC-3, an aircraft on December 28, 1948, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami with 32 onboard. No trace of the aircraft or people was ever found.


· Connemara IV, a yacht was found unmoored in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually said in stories that the crew vanished while the yacht survived at sea during three hurricanes.


· KC- 135 Stratotankers, a pair of aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic 300 miles west of Bermuda, some writers said that two aircraft did collide there were two distinct crash sites, separated by 160 miles of water whereas Air force investigation report revealed that the second crash site was examined by a search and rescue ship found to be seaweed and wood tangled in an old buoy.


· After gaining fame as the first person to sail solo around the globe, Joshua Slocum disappeared in 1909 from Marta’s Vineyard to South America, it was uncleared but many sources attributed his death to the Bermuda Triangle.

After all those probabilities, still, no one has come to a logical and approved conclusion of the incidents and the concept of the Bermuda Triangle, people keep on researching for proper outcomes.

SOCIAL NEWS TODAY

SOCIAL NEWS TODY 22/07/2021

‘Endurer’ imparts wisdom on deep-rooted social coding

Thursday, 22 July 2021

Author Kapil Raj’s new book ‘Endurer’, A Rape Story, endorses an awareness campaign #SheisnotaVictim #SheisanEndurer and has traveled across States and cities, following sessions  and discussions.  Kapil Raj shares about his book “Our behavior towards victims is still based out of deep-rooted social coding. Even the sufferer forces self to blame…

Over 95 lakh vaccine doses administered in Capital till now

Thursday, 22 July 2021 New Delhi

Over 95 lakh Covid vaccine doses were administered in the national Capital till Wednesday, according to a bulletin issued here.

The bulletin said Delhi had less than a day’s stock of vaccine doses left on Wednesday morning after administering over 71,000 doses on Tuesday.

SDMC issued 20k death certificates in April-June

Thursday, 22 July 2021  New Delhi

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) issued over 20,000 death certificates between April and June when the city was reeling under the second wave of Covid-19, municipal officials said.

According to data provided by the SDMC, it issued 3,351 death certificates in April, 10,209 in May and 6,832 in June.

Officials attributed the increase in death registrations to the second wave of Covid-19 and clearing of backlog of data.

“As compared to April, the number of death certificates is about 204% higher in May because of the Covid-19 second wave. While the figure in June is about 103% higher than that of April.

“The maximum number of deaths occurred either in May or in the last leg of April during the Covid second wave. So kin of most of the deceased who applied for death certificates got the documents in May and June,” a senior SDMC official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

Civic officials clarified that these death registrations also include normal deaths and they do not necessarily reflect the total death count due to Covid in that particular month.

Some civic officials also said that other than the Covid-19 second wave, there was backlog of data due to technical issues and it was cleared in May and June, leading to a rise in the numbers of death registrations.

In April-May, Delhi was hit by a brutal second wave of the pandemic, which claimed a number of lives every day, and oxygen supply shortage was reported at various hospitals.

62 cases, four deaths reported in last 24 hours

Thursday, 22 July 2021  NEW DELHI

As many as 62 coronavirus cases were reported in the national Capital while four more patients succumbed to the disease on Wednesday.

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi Government, the positivity rate stands at 0.09 per cent while sixty-one patients recovered from the infection in the past 24 hours.

International Model United Nations Conferences

Way towards success

IMUN conferences a way towards success. A platform where your voice matters. Before IMUN conference we have to know about IMUN first.

What is International MUN?

International MUN is recognized by the United Nations & has hosted MUN conferences in 5 different countries in the last 3 years i.e in Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, China & Malaysia. 

About IMUN conferences.

IMUN conferences is a platform where students (or anyone) are tasked to solve global issues like women empowerment, gender equality through research drafting, lobbying and debate to pass a suitable ‘resolution’.
This conferences are held on sat-sun every week. After completing the whole registration process you will get a mail, in that mail they will give you the meeting link and the topics for the conference. You have to select one topic and have to research about that respective topic.
e.g. I completed my whole registration process, got a mail and selected a topic. Suppose my topic is women empowerment, so I have to research about that topic like what are the issues and how can we solve those issues?. So on a day of online conference I will represent india (if I get india) and the women empowerment in India. I have to discuss the problems and respective solutions about the topic with other members. If you don’t wants to talk it’s okay, you just have to interact with the members.

What is an International Model United Nations (IMUN) conference and Why should someone participate in it ?

International MUN online conference is a 2-day model UN conference where participants from around the world present solutions to global issues. They can choose topics of their choices in every conference. In a 2-day conference, they research about the topics, debate, network with other participants from different countries etc.

Participants also get study materials, free MUN training sessions, experts QnA and position paper submissions. At the end of the conference, all participants receive participation certificates recognised by the Australian embassy and the United Nations. The best participants receive two certificates, one is participation certificate and another is award certificate.

What are the benefits of attending IMUN conferences?

Participating in IMUN conferences helps students to develop leadership skills, communication skills, public speaking, writing, research and many more. You will get a international certificate of participation by United Nation which will help you to get a good job. Interesting with foreign students, discussing and solving global issues with them what would be more interesting than this!!

How can I register?
You can register through the link attached below

https://www.internationalmun.org/RegistrationForm.php?mark=YN4558

So hurry up and register today..

“Why Do Birds Sing?”

Why do Birds Sing? You might assume that birds sing because they are happy. While birds might be happy, they sing in order to communicate. One reason they sing is to stake a claim on territory.Birds sing to warn other birds to stay off their property.For example, a Robin might stake a claim on a piece of land provides enough worms for the Robin to feed its family. A bird maintains singing perches around the outside edges of its territory. The perches are high in the trees, so other birds can see and hear it. Birds also sing to find a mate. The length and complexity of the mating song gives information about the fitness of the bird. Healthy birds can sing longer, more complicated songs. Birds call to one another in shorter vocalizations in order to warn of danger and to locate one another. Birds sing instinctively. Young birds learn to perfect their songs by listening to adult birds and interacting with other birds. Birds in a local area might learn variations in the basic song which help them recognize other members of their group

Why is Ladakh so important?

Ladakh, also known as “the Land of Passes‟ (La-passes, dakh-land) is administered by India as a union territory.

Quick facts about Physical geography of Ladakh

  • Bordering regions: It is bordered by the Chinese Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, both the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north.
  • River system: The Indus River and its major tributaries, the Shyok-Nubra, Chang Chenmo, Hanle, Zanskar, and Suru-dras rivers, drain the region. Glacio-fluvial processes aided by freeze- thaw weathering have formed the high altitude landscape of Ladakh.
  • Climate: Ladakh has an extremely harsh environment and one of the highest and driest inhabited places on earth. Ladakh’s climate is referred to as a “cold desert” climate due to its combined features of arctic and desert climates.
  • Vegetation: The entire area is nearly devoid of vegetation with the exception of valley floors and irrigated areas, due to the following factors:
  • Temperature and altitude: These include wide diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in temperature, from -40°C in winter to +35°C in summer, and extremely low precipitation, with an annual 10 cm to 30 cm primarily from snow. Due to high altitude and low humidity, the radiation level is amongst the highest in the world.
  • Soil type: In Ladakh soils range from gravely and sandy loams on the alluvial fans to sandy and silt clay loams on the flood plains of Indus. Ladakh’s soil is described as skeletal, calcareous with an alkaline reaction. By and large, soil is coarse and sandy, having varying quantities of pebbles. The soils are characterized by low organic matter content and poor water retention capacity.

Strategic importance of Ladakh

The importance of Ladakh to both India and China is rooted in complicated historical processes that led to the territory becoming union territory in 2019 (earlier it was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir), and China’s interest in it post the occupation of Tibet in 1950.

  • Rich in natural resources: Ladakh is situated within the upper reaches of the Indus watershed, which in total supports about 120 million people in India (in the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan) and about 93 million in the Pakistan province of the Punjab (literally, “Land of the Five Rivers”). Careful management of water resources within Ladakh is therefore vitally important, not only for the livelihoods of Ladakhis and the ecosystems of Ladakh, but for the health of the whole river system.
  • Solar radiation: It is one of the most abundant natural resources in Ladakh, with annual solar radiation exceeding averages for other areas of India with high insulation.
  • Geothermal potential: surveys have identified a geothermal resource at depths suitable for exploration and development. This resource could be developed to provide grid connected power to small settlements and army bases sited on the national highway.
  • Tourism industry: Popularly known as the Lama Land or little Tibet, Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging between about 9,000 feet and 25,170 feet. From trekking and mountaineering to Buddhist tours of various monasteries, Ladakh has it all.
  • Provides connectivity: The passes of Ladakh region connect some of the politically and economically significant zones of the world like Central Asia, South Asia, China and the Middle East.
  • Market access: The south Asian countries can reach Central Asian markets through this region. Countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are rich in uranium, cotton, oil and gas resources.
  • Energy security: In future, the oil and gas pipeline from Iran to China can pass through this mountainous corridor. India’s energy needs can also be met by constructing a pipeline from Central Asia via this region.
  • Geopolitical Significance: The land of Ladakh enjoys the significance of being located at the ancient Silk Route which passes through these regions and played a very vital role in the development of culture, religion, philosophy, trade and commerce in the past.
  • Geostrategic location: The presence of resources is what makes India, China and Pakistan struggle over Ladakh, in order to gain control over resources in this region. Pakistan and China are in conflict with India over Siachen and Aksai chin in this region. Ladakh’s geostrategic significance has increased in the backdrop of these conflicts.

Disputes in Ladakh

  • Pakistan and China border dispute: Ladakh became a contested territory between the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan. In the early 1960’s a substantial area of eastern Ladakh was annexed by China.
  • Due to increasing tensions between India and Pakistan, the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, and their occupation of the Aksai Chin region in 1962, Ladakh has become one of India’s most important strategic zones.
  • Strategic location and border disputes with Pakistan and China have assured a firm foothold for army presence since the past 50 years
  • The origins of this contention date back to the British Raj which failed to demarcate the border between its colony and China definitively.
  • Recently, Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
  • The Galwan Valley area comes under Sub Sector North (SSN), which lies just to the east of the Siachen glacier and is the only point that provides direct access to Aksai Chin from India.
  • All these border disputes are because India continues to maintain the McMahon Line as the legal border, while China has never accepted the border, stating that Tibet was never independent. Hence when China annexed Tibet these border clashed gained momentum.

Conclusion

Ladakh is an integral part of INDIA and has the potential to act as a vessel to feed India its required energy resources. For this peace in Ladakh is a condition. For peace, equal unbiased development is mandatory.

Therefore, India’s policymakers, while drafting their policies for Ladakh, should consider its geographic location, fragile environment, resource potentials and its people’s aspirations. In such a strategic location, it is crucial to keep all these aspects in harmony to take advantage of it to its fullest.

IMAGES IN T.S ELIOT’S THE WASTELAND

The first four parts of The Wasteland are made up of sets of what may be called images. Eliot speaks through many voices and characters in the course of the poem; all of them see what is around them as a wasteland. The reader gets a variety of insights into the state of consciousness which the poem is portraying. Part I deals with memories, II and III deals and focuses on points outside it. Part IV to some extent is a proper part of ‘The Wasteland’ presents an ambiguous image of death, Part V brings the poem to a kind of climax ‘The Wasteland’ to a single sentence it might be – the wasteland consciousness life is a dream- like nasty, arid lacking in all order and long.

Most of the images in Eliot are drawn from myth, religion and nature and are centered around the basic theme of death and rebirth. Thus, spring stands for rebirth and winter for death, drought for spiritual dryness and rain for spiritual fertility, growth and rejuvenation, the rock under the sun may typify spiritual and disintegration, while water and fish may stand for growth. Here in the ‘wasteland’ the drowned Phoenician sailor stands for the fertility God thrown into the waters as a ritual.

Broadly speaking there are two groups of images in T.S Eliot’s poetry- simple images such as similes, metaphors, symbols, and pictures. There are numerous examples for simple images in Wasteland. These might be called as pictures. There are- pictures of the hyacinth girl, Marie of Germany. There is Madame Sosostris, the clairvoyant, the crowd crossing London bridge on winter morning (a picture of desolation) and a bar in the pub. There is the Thames and Mr. Eugaries; the typist and her sordid clerk and finally in the last section the mistier pictures of crowds in anger and revolution and the mysterious third person who can only be seen as you walk long.

The songs of the birds are also significant. The poem describes them phonetically. The Jug Jug of the Nightingale, Drip drop Drip drop song of the hermit thrust and the coco rico coco rico of the cock have special symbolic meaning. All of these are arresting images.

The title of the poem itself brings an image before our eyes, of a desert, of a land once fertile becoming barren. This image keeps recurring throughout the poem. In the very second line “Lilacs out of the dead land” we have the reference to the dead land. The image is further extended to dead trees under the burning seen and dry stones over which no water tickles. Towards the end the betrayal and trail of Jesus are referred to the track up the barren mountain is described. Near the chapel perilous there are empty cisterns and exhausted wells. The song of the dry bones are these dryness and barrenness and the lack of water stand for spiritual state of modern world.

Reference to death and decay in the poem occur frequently example: The Burial Corpse, the drowned phlebas. At the chapel perilous, a cock crows from the roof as lightening flashes thunder rolls and damp winds. These are hints that death may be a beginning to new life and that drought is not final .

Thus, in ‘The Wasteland’ the poet primarily relies on images lined together around a fundamental theme Eliot is not a mere symbolist or imagist, because his poems are more than a mere string of disconnected images. He elicits emotion without directly expressing it, by evoking some situation which by itself arouses emotion.

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN VILLAGES,BUT AT WHAT COST?

Infrastructural development is on the rise. Cities and states are developing rapidly. Where once stood an under-constructed building or an open ground, now stands a grand mall or a fancy showroom. With all these developments going on, villages also want to get empowered and compete head-to-head with the cities in terms of infrastructure.
The very first step towards a good infrastructure is an easily accessible road. Since villages don’t have roads or the ones they have are not plain and smooth and full of puddles, smooth roads are being constructed nowadays.
For this, nearby jungles are being cleared to gather more space for the construction of a better connectivity-driven road.
A simple and subtle example that can be taken is of villages in Uttarakhand. It is a hilly area with narrow roads are jungles on both sides (this is the case in the villages and not in developed cities like Dehradun and Mussorie). Various animals reside in those forests. Along with deer, buffaloes, antelopes, and in some places bears, leopards too constitute a good fraction of the woods.
With the jungles being cleared at a rapid rate, the food cycle is being disturbed. This can be understood with a simple explanation. Forests are composed of trees, shrubs, and plants. The deer or the buffaloes in the area, being herbivores, survive on them. They thus, in turn, continue to reproduce offspring ensuring a continuous supply of food to the big cats. These cats eat, reproduce and die, making food for eagles, crows, and other meat-eating birds.
Therefore, a continuous supply of food, survival, and continuation of species is ensured within the forest premises and all live happily with no business with the outside world, where majorly the homo sapiens reside.
Since infrastructure is on the rise, jungles are being cleared and a lack of grass and trees is observed, deers and other herbivores are dying, blocking the supply of food to the big cats.
Some of these big cats are either dying or are wandering into human habitation in search of food. They often get into cattle houses or stables and consume the whole animal. There have been cases when people have seen leopards take away one full cow and they could not do anything but wait for him to leave. Such is the power of the mighty cat!
Upon human intervention, leopards do not hesitate to kill or injure the humans badly and mercilessly.
Not only this, another issue is deforestation. Since trees are being chopped down, the soil is left unattended giving rise to soil erosion. Since Uttarakhand consists of a good deal of forests and a lot is covered by them, the felling of trees is seen as a problem when heavy rains occur, resulting in landslides and loss of humans and animals alike.
Pollution is another issue related to the felling of trees. We know that trees convert carbon –dioxide to oxygen. Since trees are not there, pollution levels in villages, which once were tourist destinations or vacation spots for people are seeing low footfall and more pollution. This not only impacts humans but the economy and progress rate of the state too.
The fact that infrastructural development is important cannot and should not be ignored. But at what cost is this being done? How many people are left in the villages of the state? The statistics say it all.

Weekly positive rate falls below 5% across districts in Andhra Pradesh.

The Covid-19 weekly case positivity rate has finally dropped to below 5% in all districts of the state for the first time in months during the ongoing second wave. Even last week, when Andhra Pradesh’s average weekly positivity rate stood at 3.2%, East Godavari and West Godavari had crossed the 5% positivity rate threshold.

As per the latest weekly case positivity rate statistics between July 12 and 18, Kurnool has the lowest case positivity rate among all districts at 0.74%.

In all, Anantapur, Kurnool, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram have a less than 2% weekly case positivity rate. While the weekly positivity rate ranges between 3% and 5% in five districts, eight districts have a positivity rate less than 3%.

The case positivity rate is a key indicator to gauge the spread of the disease in the community at a certain point in time. The World Health Organisation (WHO), in an advisory released in May last year, stated that less than 5% samples testing positive for Covid-19, at least for two weeks, is an indicator that the disease is under control.

Corresponding with the lowering case positivity rate, the daily new infection numbers have now dropped to about the 2,000 to 3,000 range from the peak of 24,171 cases on May 16. But districts such as East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Chittoor still continue to contribute a major chunk of the daily infection numbers. This can be gauged from the fact that while the state’s cumulative case positivity rate stood at 8.22% as of July 18, it is as much as 12.43% in East Godavari, 9.88% in Chittoor and 8.59% in West Godavari.

Despite the fall in case positivity rate, the state health department is augmenting infrastructure at all hospitals in its preparation for the anticipated third wave. A special focus has been laid on improving infrastructure to treat paediatric Covid-19 cases based on the assumptions of several experts and reports that the third wave may hit children.

Harshad Mehta, the Raging Bull

Harshad Mehta was known as the ‘Big Bull’ of Dalal Street and the ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ of the Indian stock market. He manipulated stocks by illegally obtaining money from several banks using fake bank receipts. He created a cycle of fraud involving big banks like the State Bank of India (SBI) and the National Housing Bank (NHB).

Harshad Shantilal Mehta was born on 29th July 1954, at Paneli Moti, Rajkot district in Gujarat. His early childhood was spent in Borivali, where his father was a textile businessman. He did his early study in Janta Public School, Bhilai. Mehta did not show any special promise in school and came to Mumbai after his schooling for higher studies and to find work. Mehta completed his B.Com in 1976 from Lala Lajpatrai College, Bombay and worked in a number of odd jobs for almost a decade. Mehta started his career as a sales person in New India Assurance Company Limited (NIACL). During this time, he decided to try his luck in the stock market and after a few days, resigned and joined a brokerage firm. In the early 1980s, he got hired for a clerical job at the brokerage firm Harjivandas Nemidas Securities where he worked a jobber for the broker Prasann Pranjivandas. By 1990, Harshad had risen to a position of prominence in the Indian securities industry, after years of success with his own company, Growmore. He believed that the general public is more attracted to organisations that have an English name rather than an Indian one.

A number of eminent people began to invest in his firm, and utilize his services. It was at this time that he began trading heavily in the shares of Associated Cement Company (ACC). The price of shares in the cement company eventually rose from ₹200 to ₹9,000 due to a mass buying from a group of brokers including Mehta. Just like this, whatever stocks he was interested in, skyrocketed. Everyone; super rich and middle-class people alike, invested wherever Harshad invested. He was on every magazine cover page at that time, most of them titled “Raging Bull”.

He had flashy lifestyle with a sea facing 15,000 square feet penthouse in Worli, with a mini golf course, swimming pool, and his fleet of cars including a Toyota Corolla, Lexus LS400, and Toyota Sera. It was truly a prosperous decade for Harshad. But this would all end soon.

In 1992, Mehta bribed bank employees to get fake bank receipts (BRs) issued. He used these BRs to get other banks to lend him money under the impression that they were lending against government securities. This amount was then put into the stock market to skyrocket share prices. Mehta then sold these shares at a significant profit and the principal amount was returned to the banks.

After the scam came to light, the tax department conducted a raid in Harshad’s house on February 28, 1992. Several documents and share certificates were seized. Soon after, he was imprisoned. He was convicted by both the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court and charged with 74 criminal offences. His legal battles dragged on until 2001, when he passed away in jail from a cardiac arrest, at the age of 47.

The Harshad Mehta scam triggered many changes in India’s financial regulatory system. The Securities Laws (Amendments) Act was passed in 1995, widening Sebi’s jurisdiction and allowing it to regulate depositories, FIIs, venture capital funds and credit-rating agencies. To secure investor interest, Sebi could also make it mandatory for companies issuing securities to make disclosures.

The Indian stock market has come a long way since the scam. Over the years, there have been other stock market scams that left regulatory bodies in pressure. But Mehta was the one who started it all. His actions continue to serve as a reminder to both investors and regulators to remain vigilant at all times.

Online classes and primary level students

Online classes and primary learners (4to9)

Abstract 

During the worldwide pandemic, nations opposed an emergency lockdown. There was a need to shift the education system from traditional to online methods. It was new for the learner to learn through the online medium. Primary level children (4 to 9) faced many problems accessing online platforms. 

Keywords: COVID-19, online learning, primary level learners, mental exhaustion.

Introduction

Covid- 19 is a communicable disease. For the safety of the people it was a sudden need of lockdown. All the sectors such as industrial, agricultural, mechanical and educational sectors were dismissed. But the show must be going on. The method working transformed. Companies started work from home for their employees. Hence the education system also shifted their method to online platforms. Primary, upper primary, secondary, senior secondary and higher education learners start their learning through the online medium. 

Primary level students are in the 4 to 9 years old age group. The children are really small in age. Their concentration power is really low compared to other level learners. But their minds are developing and they can learn and grab things easily.  Online classes became an exhaustion for them. Due to the pandemic they are not allowed to go outside and play. The online classes are really long. The children have to spend 4 to 5 hours on screen. The children start feeling dizzy and uninterested in studies. 

Children (4 to 9) enjoy their studies through some fun activities during traditional methods of teaching. They learn many things in groups. The social and playful environment is missing at home. The child does not feel well when they have to study online. They are not aware about the access of the technology. 

Some issues children face during online classes 

  • Environment of home- Environment of home is important during the online classes. Primary children must have a peaceful and joyful environment for learning. At home it is not possible. Children are not able to find the circumstances of learning. That leads to unnecessary chaos in the child ‘s mind.

  • Anxiety of using technology- Introduction of technology without any preparation creates an anxiety among the students. They were not used to the technology. They have to learn the use of technology. Using phone, login in meetings, using tools of that particular application, submission of their works creates anxiety among the students. Yet the teachers try to make it simple but the introduction of technology to the students was at the wrong time. 
  • Low concentration- These age groups have low concentration  power. Primary level students can not focus over the thing for long. They start looking for fun and neglect their classes. The children find studies uninterested and watching cartoon or something else on their devices. They lost their interest in class.
  • Limited sources of learning -The teacher plans many activities to engage the students in school. But online they have limited sources such as showing ppt and videos. The child explores things by learning and doing. But in online methods, the child is dependent on the internet or webworld.
  • Long screen time- The timing of classes mostly 9 to12:30 for the primary level students. It means 3 hours 30 minutes per day. The child has to spend a minimum of that time on screen. They have to stick to the screen. Such a long time can  impact their eyes. Children usually feel strain on their eyes and headaches during the classes. Their Physical growth also impacted because of long screen time.
  • Less understanding- Topics are not clear to the students during the online class. They hardly understand the concept. They could be physically present on the screen but they start to ignore the thing when they don’t understand them. The teacher can modify their teaching method for the students to make the concept easy and joyful at traditional methods. But due to limited e- resources it is not possible on online methods for these particular age groups.
  • Exhausted during online classes – After the long session, the children start feeling tired, lazy and dizzy. Most of the children don’t want to study. They felt fatigue during and after the online classes. 

The children not only felt mentally tired, their physical activities were also affected. They become so tired that they don’t want to do anything else or participate in any game or activities. Not only this particular age group, all the age group learners face the same kind of problem and mental illness. There are no proper guidelines for the online classes from the government.

Classes became the source of mental exhaustion rather than providing knowledge. 

Conclusion

Online classes are needed for the current time. But there should be proper guidelines for all age groups according to their needs and interests. We have to make classes more interesting for the primary level so the children don’t suffer from any kind of anxiety and stress. Classes should be knowledge providers not mental tiredness. 

Faecal Microbiota Transplant.

Imagine you are suffering from a stomach upset every two days, or that you’re lactose intolerant and every time you drink milk or consume dairy products you have to run to the bathroom as soon as possible. This is just one of the many situations.

The human body contains trillions of bacterial cells, more than human cells in or on the external surface of the body. These organisms may be symbiotic, commensals and/or pathogens. Some organisms may be symbiotic which when opportunity provides turn into pathogens. Out of the trillion cells, intestinal organisms are more and diverse than any other group of organisms present in the body.

Faecal Microbiota Transplantation:

Faecal microbiota transplantation is the transplantation of stool through the upper gastrointestinal tract. The stool is taken from a healthy donor and transferred to a recipient whose suffering from a disease that is related to an unhealthy gut microbiome. 

FMT was first described in 1958. The first use of FMT in western medicine was published in 1958 by Ben Eiseman and colleagues, a team of surgeons from Colorado, who treated people with using faecal enemas, which resulted in a rapid return to health. FMT is delivered through an enteral route through an endoscope, a nasoenteric tube or via capsules.

The mechanism is due to the concept of establishing a new gut microbiota community to restore the normal gut flora. It is based on repopulating the microbiome flora. 

FMT is used to treat  Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), autoimmune disorders, allergic diseases and may also be used to treat metabolic disorders like obesity.

The faecal material is collected from the donor after screening. the donor collects their stools in a plastic bag. The stool is then diluted with saline and filtered through sterile gauze. The capsules can be made by dilution, blended and then pipetted in the capsule and then sealed by another capsule. Capsules can be used for up to 6 months and should be stored at -80 degree C.

Requirement for donor and recipient are:

Who is a recipient?

  • should have episodes of mild to moderate infection that has not responded to treatment with antibiotics
  • have episodes of severe infection, that needs admission
  • severe infection that did not respond to antibiotics within 2 days
  • Should not have any immunosuppressive disorders, cirrhosis of the liver or be on immunosuppressive drugs

Donor SHOULD NOT

  • have had any antibiotics in the last 3 months
  • be immunocompromised
  • have any tattooing or body piercing in the last 6 months
  • have a history of drug abuse
  • have a history of high-risk sexual behaviour
  • have a history of any incarceration
  • have travelled to endemic areas
  • have any other gastrointestinal disorder such as IBD

FMT can be transferred through the upper gastrointestinal tract. However, the delivery through this route results in an increased risk of vomiting etc. Hence, delivery by capsules seems a more reasonable choice. The capsule delivery reduces the procedure time, cost and risk of complications. 

Common side effects of this procedure include bloating and loose stools. FMT is considered a success if the recipient shows no signs of the earlier disease and doesn’t relapse for eight weeks. To ensure proper treatment, some patients require many sittings.