The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, inaugurated an Eklavya Model Residential School at Kuliana, district Mayurbhanj, Odisha today (November 20, 2023).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that during her childhood there was no school near her home; therefore, she had to go away from home for study. She said that many children were deprived of education at that time due to non-availability of a nearby school which is not the case today. She expressed confidence that with the opening of the Eklavya Model Residential School, local children will now have more opportunity for education.
The President said that education is the key to economic and social well-being. She advised parents to educate their children.
Addressing the children, the President said that she also comes from a humble background like them. She got the opportunity to serve the citizens, because of her education. She said that education can make them successful. Being an educated person, they can contribute to the progress of the country and society along with their own development.
The President said that the Government of India has started multi-pronged schemes through various ministries to provide railways, national highways, education, health and other such basic amenities in tribal dominated areas. She was happy to note that more than 700 Eklavya Model Residential Schools are being established across the country for education of tribal children. She said that in these schools more than 3.5 lakh tribal students across India will be able to get quality education and be able to contribute to the development of society and nation.
However, obtaining and documenting consent can be a complex process, with certain challenges like potential subjects not being literate in the language of the study or the need to deceive to obtain valid data.
The federal regulations provide flexibility for cases with minimal risk of harm, allowing waivers or alterations to the requirements for consent and documentation processes.
The Process
Informed consent is a process that begins with recruitment and screening and continues throughout the subject’s involvement in the research. It involves providing specific information about the study in an understandable way, answering questions to ensure understanding, giving subjects time to consider their decision, and obtaining voluntary agreement to enter the study (subjects may withdraw or decline to answer at any time).
Popular Questions
Question 1: A therapist at a free university clinic treats elementary school children with behavior problems who are referred by a social service agency. She is also a doctoral candidate who proposes using data she has and will collect about the children for a case-based research project. Which of the following statements about parental permission is correct?
Answer: The parents of the children might feel pressure to give permission to the therapist to use their children’s data so that she will continue to provide services to their children. [Quizzma]
In this case, the researcher must make sure to provide additional information about the research to balance out any potential benefit of participation against any risks or harms. The parent should also be informed that there is an option for their child not to participate in the study, and all reasonable efforts should be made to ensure that the parent’s permission is voluntary.
Question 2: A criterion for waiving informed consent is that, when appropriate, subjects are provided additional pertinent information after the study. In which of the following studies would it not be appropriate to provide subjects with information about missing elements of consent?
Answer: A study in which subjects were assigned to study activities based on an undesirable or unflattering physical characteristic as assessed by members of the research team.
In this case, providing additional information after the study would potentially cause greater harm than good and is likely inappropriate. The research team should ensure that subjects are fully informed of all elements of the consent process prior to the study.
Question 3: A researcher leaves a research file in her car while she attends a concert, and her car is stolen. The file contains charts of aggregated numerical data from a research study with human subjects but no other documents. The consent form said that no identifying information would be retained, and the researcher adhered to that component. Which of the following statements best characterizes what occurred?
Answer: There was neither a violation of privacy nor a breach of confidentiality.
In this case, since no identifying information was retained and all data was stored in an aggregated form, there is likely no violation of privacy or breach of confidentiality. However, the researcher should still take appropriate steps to investigate the theft and file a police report if necessary.
Question 4: When a focus group deals with a potentially sensitive topic, which of the following statements about providing confidentiality to focus group participants is correct?
Answer: The researcher cannot control what participants repeat about others outside the group.
In this case, the researcher should make clear to participants that confidentiality is expected and enforced within the focus group.
The researcher should also do their best to ensure that all information shared remains confidential by setting ground rules for discussion and by limiting access to the recordings or transcripts of the group discussion. However, it is ultimately up to each participant to keep any shared information confidential outside of the focus group setting.
Overall, informed consent is an important process in research involving human subjects and must be adhered to carefully. It involves providing relevant information about the study clearly and accurately, answering questions as needed, giving sufficient time for consideration of participation, and obtaining voluntary agreement from participants.
In order to ensure that informed consent is obtained appropriately, researchers must be familiar with the principles of informed consent and their legal obligations.
Question 5: A general requirement for informed consent is that no informed consent may include any exculpatory language. Exculpatory language is that which waives or appears to waive any of the subject’s legal rights or releases or appears to release those conducting the research from liability for negligence. Which of the following statements in a consent form is an example of exculpatory language?
Answer: Participation in the research is voluntary, but if you choose to participate, you waive the right to legal redress for any research-related injuries.
This statement is an example of exculpatory language as it releases those conducting the research from any liability for negligence. Informed consent forms should not contain any exculpatory language and must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board. In addition, informed consent forms should clearly state that participation in research activities is voluntary, without coercion or undue influence. It is important to ensure that all potential risks and safeguards associated with the study are outlined clearly in the informed consent form before a participant agrees to participate in a research study.
The CITI Informed Consent SBE provides useful guidance on informed consent processes in research. Questions like these can help researchers understand their obligations regarding informed consent and ensure that they carry out their research ethically and humanely. Ultimately, informed consent helps protect the rights of participants while allowing for meaningful science that responds to real-world challenges.
In conclusion, CITI offers a comprehensive FAQ section on informed consent which can help researchers understand their legal obligations when obtaining informed consent from participants in a research study. The FAQs provide detailed answers to common questions about informed consent that researchers should consider when designing their research.
Familiarity with the principles of informed consent and understanding one’s legal obligations is critical to ensuring that research is conducted ethically and responsibly. By following best practices, researchers can ensure a responsible research process while protecting the rights of participants.
The Ukrainian IT sector needs strong support and assistance, especially after the full-scale invasion of Russia. With this in mind, many companies, organizations, and entrepreneurs, in particular international ones, gathered their forces to create powerful supportive IT communities. AI HOUSE is one of those initiatives that has actively operated since the war started. Sergey Tokarev, the co-founder of the tech company ROOSH, comments on the forthcoming event for IT specialists in Ukraine.
AI HOUSE initiative is launching a five-day camp for IT specialists in Ukraine. The organizer prepared a fruitful time for different specialists to improve their products and generate innovative ideas to put into practice. The camp is to be held offline in Lviv from 11 to 15 September.
According to Sergey Tokarev, the candidate selection is going to be pretty tough. The camp invites engineers, researchers, marketing specialists, project managers, and enthusiasts in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. People who want to build their careers in this area also have an opportunity to participate. But only 35 candidates are eligible to join the camp. The key criteria in candidate selection are their ideas and experiences.
“AI HOUSE Camp 2023 is an important initiative to achieve our mission to promote creating new AI product companies and developing artificial intelligence in Ukraine. We want to combine AI and ML enthusiasts from all over the country with experienced mentors to create new Generative AI solutions and implement ideas that will shape the future,” says the AI HOUSE team.
AI HOUSE Camp 2023: What to expect?
The project’s objective is to help specialists and startups generate innovative ideas and level up their skills in the IT area. The participants have time to apply for it till 28 August 2023.
The selected candidates will receive a range of tasks to do. Together, they will group seven teams, and each team will have to develop a particular idea with the mentor’s assistance. The best teams with the best technological solutions will be rewarded. The reward involves being considered by the tech company ROOSH for further investment and scaling.
Sergey Tokarevnotes that special guests will evaluate every work created by each team. Among them are CTO and co-founder of Reface Oles Petriv, Investment Analyst at Roosh Ventures Anna Melnychuk, Head of Research at SQUAD Oleksandr Zarechkovy, and co-founder and Head of R&D of ZibraAI startup Vlad Zavadsky.
Does the initiative offer a fixed prize?
The AI HOUSE Camp 2023 organizer does not offer any fixed prize for participating. They encourage candidates to donate 1000 hryvnia or more, as they cover the rest of the expenses. Sergey Tokarev mentions that all proceeds are going to be transferred to Reaktivna Poshta. It is a charitable organization that has been operating since 2014. It has provided gunners with spare parts, equipment, and other necessary materials.
The leading partner of the event is ROOSH. The Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Ukrainian Catholic University and one of the largest R&D centers in Ukraine SQUAD are among other partners.
In games
and sports like cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, basketball, etc,
one team will win by defeating another, so win and defeat are parts of games
and sports. On November 19, 2023, in the final, the Indian team was defeated by
the Australian team. Since the Indian cricket team won the Asia Cup and in this
World Cup, they were undefeated till the final match, so Indians with great
hope, desired that the team would win. Anyway, Australia played much
better than India if fielding, bowling, and batting were considered. But the
interesting point is that many Indians like me later on could know that
Australian cricketer Glenn James Maxwell’s wife is of Indian Origin (that is
Beti/daughter of India). That way, Glenn James Maxwell is the son-in-law
of India. His wife is Vini Raman, born in Melbourne,
Australia, on March 3, 1993. It is pertinent t to mention that the marriage was
on March 18, 2022 (as per Christian rituals in Australia )
and March 27, 2022 (as per Tamil rituals in Chennai)mil
rituals). Both wore Indian attire for the event, with Maxwell donning a
Sherwani. By quoting the website sportskeeda.com/cricket/glenn-maxwell-wife-vini-raman,it is
noteworthy to mention that “Vini Raman is a Melbourne-based
pharmacist who was born and brought up in the city. She is one of the two
daughters born to a South Indian Hindu household. Raman is quite active on her
social media platform and likes to give a sneak peek into her life, which
involves her beau, Glenn Maxwell. She rose to fame after Glenn Maxwell attended
the Australian Cricket Awards in 2019 hand-in-hand with his lady love. Her
favourite pastimes include swimming, travelling, and watching matches live from
the stadium”. Although Maxwell is a well-known personality among
cricket enthusiasts, his wife’s life is still not a popular name among Indians.
So, a few lines are presented here about her as he is of Indian origin
(source: crickettimes.com/2023/09). Her parents migrated from India to
Melbourne, and she has roots in South India. She is active on social
media, with over 1.9 lakh followers, and often shares a sneak peek into her
life. Vini and Maxwell were blessed with a male child named Logan Maverick
Maxwell on September 11, 2023. So,
Maxwell is the son-in-law of India and their marriage was performed in addition
to Australia in Chennai as per Tamil rituals.
Although
India has lost the ODI this time hope next time our team will win
with super performance in bowling, fielding, and batting.
The Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) will host the tenth edition of the Annual PhD Workshop in a hybrid format (virtually and in-person) from 8 to 10 January 2024.
With a strong interdisciplinary focus, as well as an emphasis on the relationship between research and practice, IIHS nurtures research and innovation focused on the challenges and opportunities of India’s urban transition. IIHS has built a substantive on-ground presence of direct policy and programmatic engagement across India, across middle and senior administrative levels, and in multiple urban contexts in the Global South. This makes for a globally unique opportunity for scholars intending to research the Urban where it matters – at the intersection of theory and practice. IIHS’ Post-Doctoral programme and the proposed doctoral programme emphasise the institute’s wider connections into domestic and international policy, and to overlapping communities of practice. IIHS is also building an integrated programme of quality campus-based education and research, training and lifelong learning for working professionals, distance and blended learning, as well as an array of practice and advisory services.
About the PhD Workshop
The PhD Workshop is a unique educational intervention on interdisciplinary urban research designed to provide a dedicated space for PhD candidates to expand on their work. They do this by interacting with eminent urban scholars and practitioners from IIHS and leading universities, and research institutions across the world including Yale, MIT, IIT-Madras, TISS, among others.
Initiated in 2013, the PhD Workshop has had close to 200 participants from leading global and domestic institutions including University of Oxford, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, NUS, JNU, TISS, IIT-Bombay etc., across a wide range of disciplines such as Architecture, Planning, Sociology, Urban Health, Economics, Public Policy, Climate Change, Anthropology, Engineering, Governance and Law. The Workshop provides participants with an opportunity to explore emerging areas of urban research especially in India and other parts of the global South and give them the opportunity to theorise from both research and practice.
The Workshop aims to shape the trajectory of a doctoral career and enable participants to engage with the imperatives of the changing form of disciplines, and meet the substantive academic demands of the doctoral process. The foundational ethos of the Workshop is an interdisciplinary approach to the Urban, guided by theories of and from the Global South with an emphasis on grounded understandings. The Workshop provides scholars with a space to critically examine urban related issues of their interest, and their own position within it. This self-reflexive criticality allows participants to approach their field of inquiry as actors within, rather than as mere viewers of urban phenomena. In addition to guiding students through their work, the Workshop deals with specific processes of earning a doctoral degree. The aim is to create a space of convivial co-learning that opens conversations not only on fields of inquiry, but also on experiences of students navigating the path to a doctoral degree.
Structure of the Workshop
This iteration of the PhD Workshop is open to participants from across a wide range of disciplines, with a common thread being an interest in urban research and practice. The Workshop is designed to provide a platform for in-depth exploration and for early and mid-to-late stage PhD students and fine-tune their work. The structure of the Workshop and the modules within it are designed to be relevant to students from different disciplines and at different stages of their doctoral career. The structure also allows for specific attention to the needs of individual scholars and enables peer to peer learning.
In addition to thematic relevant to particular disciplines, the Workshop will also have a Commons track, and two specialised tracks. The Commons track will primarily involve engagement with eminent urban scholars and practitioners as they explore the possibilities of new methods and pedagogies in and around the Urban. This track provides an opportunity to learn about and understand a range of methods and data sources that are unique to urban India, ethical practices in research as well as the nuances of publishing in academia. Two specialised tracks will focus on early career students who are in the process of finalising their questions (Track 1) and late career students working on finalising their dissertation (Track 2).
The PhD Workshop will be in a hybrid format this year from 8 to 10 January 2024. Interested candidates should send in their submissions by 27 November 2023.
Vacancy for Faculty Positions at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut
The National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut or NITC) is a premier technical institution in India located in Calicut, Kerala. It is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology in the country and was established in 1961 as the Regional Engineering College Calicut. It was later granted Institute of National Importance status and renamed as the National Institute of Technology Calicut in 2002.
Here are some key points about NIT Calicut:
Academic Programs: NIT Calicut offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs in various engineering, technology, and science disciplines. These programs include B.Tech, M.Tech, M.Sc, MBA, and Ph.D. degrees.
Campus: The campus is spread over a vast area and provides facilities like hostels, sports complexes, academic buildings, laboratories, and a library.
Research and Development: NIT Calicut is involved in cutting-edge research and development activities. The institute encourages faculty and students to engage in research projects and publish their findings in reputed journals.
Departments: The institute has various departments, including departments of Engineering, Sciences, and Humanities. Each department offers specialized courses and conducts research in its respective field.
Placements: NIT Calicut has a strong placement record, and its graduates are sought after by leading companies in the industry. The institute’s placement cell facilitates interactions between students and potential employers.
National Importance: Being an Institute of National Importance, NIT Calicut receives funding and support from the Government of India, allowing it to maintain high academic standards and infrastructure.
Cultural and Technical Festivals: The institute hosts various cultural and technical festivals, providing students with opportunities to showcase their talents and interact with peers from other institutions.
Notable Alumni: NIT Calicut has produced many successful professionals and entrepreneurs who have made significant contributions in various fields.
It’s important to note that specific details about academic programs, admission procedures, and other relevant information may change, so it is recommended to check the official website of NIT Calicut for the latest and most accurate details.
Positions:
Assistant Professor (Grade II)
Institution:
National Institute of Technology (NIT)
Department:
Architecture and Planning/Civil Engineering
Qualification:
✔️ Detailed educational qualifications, experience, and other criteria for selection shall be according to the recruitment rules for Faculty in NITs as per Schedule E of the first statutes of the NITs (amendment statutes 2017) issued vide Gazette of India dated 24th July 2017, and clarification issued by Ministry of Education dated 16th April 2019.
