Toxicology and its effects

Toxicology deals with the science of poisons. Chemicals/substances which are toxic in nature are present in the environment and find their way to the organisms through food chain, contact or respiration. The lower doses of these chemicals get accumulated in the body tissues and impair the growth/function while their higher doses are lethal. The human environment gets affected through these chemicals when they become part of the food chain. Soil-water-plant-animal activities are resulting in environmental degradation in form of deforestation, erosion, silting up of reservoirs, wastelands, air, soil and water pollution and desertification. Changing land uses, faulty irrigation systems, excessive use of chemicals in agriculture are causing the problems of soil and water pollution, toxic residues in food items and resource degradation. This in turn affects land productivity and human health.

Technological development and economic growth have brought about a rapid increase in the production of a variety of chemicals including pesticides for use in agriculture, industry and public health. This has brought countless benefits to our society in a way to improve our living standards, food production and sanitation. These man-made chemicals while on one hand are beneficial, also cause hazards to men and environment. With increasing stress on industrial and agricultural expansion programmes, in both developed and developing countries, the environmental risks of these chemicals on animal and plant life are also increasing at threatening rate as more than 1000 new molecules are introduced into the environment every year. The emergence of these chemicals and their environmental consequences have lead to the evolution of new branch of science, generally known as environmental toxicology which include the hazardous effects that these toxins have on humans, other animals and plants.

The toxicological studies on these chemicals in different laboratories of the world have established the hazardous potential of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and teratogencity of some of the commonly used chemicals in agriculture and industry. A few of them have also been found to cause injury to immune system causing immuno-toxicological problems leading to depleting competence of the living organisms to mount resistance to viral, bacterial and fungal infections, In fact, immunotoxicological processes may be a basis of well documented toxic and allergic hypersensitivities as well as a myriad of disease entities of unknown etiology including autoimmune disorders and malignancy.

The Challenge

Lester Brown of World Watch Institute in 1997 cautioned that all the basic indicators of food security, grain production per person, carry over stock of grain, area of croplands signal a tightening situation during 1990’s Growth in food production is slowing with the grown in demand, driven by population growth and the rising affluence continues to be strong. The population growth is a big challenge. Stabilizing climate means reducing carbon emissions and hence fossil fuel burning. Improving energy efficiency is equally important. Securing future food supplies will affect every facet of human existence from land use policy to water use policy. Environmental concerns will have over riding priority if a healthy human life is the goal. He further states that environmental disruption could disrupt the economic progress.

Human Life Style and Environment

Modern life style with sufficient food, comfort, luxury, leisure and changed cultural habits also introduces in the environment thousands of chemicals, machinery and equipment’s. The polluted surroundings are the bonus. In addition to disastrous effect on environment, the environmental pollutants may have direct effect on human health which may be again acute in the long term. The long term effect cannot be known immediately, it is expressed only after long time of the exposure and this is of great human concern. Long term health effect lead to induction of genetic damage and/or cancer caused by environmental pollutants associated with some of our modern life style. Here mutagenic and carcinogenic efficiencies of indoor pollutants like cigarette smoke (both main stream and side stream), smoke released during burning of mosquito repellents and radiations emitted from our housing materials and consumer goods are noteworthy.

Today, cancer has become the biggest “killer” after heart disease. It is well established that alteration in gene(s) of a normal cell i.e. mutation, is responsible for initiation of cancer thus cancer is genetical in origin and starts from somatic mutation. This is ample evidence that mutations in human somatic calls are indicators of cancer.

Short Wives & Tall Husbands Are Scientifically The Best

You know how you see couples with huge height differences? Like, if the woman is a 4 ft 11 inches and the man is a good 6 feet tall, towering over her? Turns out, they’re more likely to have a successful and happy relationship than most. 

Short Wives & Tall Husbands Are Scientifically The Best Couple ComboBorlem

You see, the key lies in the difference of heights. And now, there’s even science to back that up. According to a recent study, the couples with biggest height differences have the best relationships and make perfect marriages. And that’s not all. The study further divulges specific details that prove that shorter wives and taller husbands actually make for the most ideal of relationships and are stronger as a couple than most others. Also, taller men as it would turn out, seem to have a more sexually satisfied appetite than most other men. And when you really do put two and two together, you’d come to realize that in a lot of ways, these dynamics and facts have been right about romantic relationships, with or without the quantification of a scientific study. 

“Although it has been known that women prefer tall men in mating for evolutionary reasons, no study has investigated whether a taller husband makes his wife happier. A greater height difference in a couple was positively related to the wife’s happiness,” explains Dr Sohn in the Journal Of Personality and Individual Differences. The study further goes on to reveal that husbands play a rather significant role in building and making a relationship last and stand the test of time. Women with taller husbands generally tend to be happier in their relationships than most others. 

This isn’t to say that most other relationships aren’t built to last. A scientific study and a general obvious dynamic do not determine the elasticity of a relationship. It has a lot more to do with two people and the kind of connection they share with each other. And if the love and the connection are deeply intertwined, I highly doubt a difference in height can really influence one’s relationships much. So, couples who don’t have much of a height difference between the two spouses, don’t feel disheartened. Your relationship is based on a lot more than just height differences and scientific studies.

The Toil Which Screams For Justice

Source: Times Of India

A Bharat bandh has been called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on 27th of September from 6 am to 4 pm. The prime reason behind the protests is pressurizing the government in repealing the three farmer laws passed in the September (monsoon session of the Parliament) of last year.
The ruling Congress in Punjab however, has shown its support to the cause of the Farmer’s Union. The national highways, link roads and railway tracks have been blocked and vehicular movement has been prohibited within the bandh’s time frame in Punjab.
In Noida, Barricades were broken by the protestors who reached the Noida Authority Office in sector-6. The farmers were protesting over their demands and the compensation for their lands which was acquired by the Noida Authority.
In Punjab, farmers have protested in 350 places and in Haryana 25 places have been blocked in the Jind district itself.
The protests led to the vehicular disruption in Jharkhand where the supporters blocked the highways.
Similar demonstrations have been witnessed in Jammu demanding the laws to be repealed. The protest was led by CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami who sat on a dharma and took out a rally. Thereby, blocking the road.
Chaos was witnessed in many parts. In Jalandhar for example, Army vehicles were stopped by the protestors and said that the jawans should support them in their protest. In Bengaluru, on the other hand, a protestor ran his car over the DCP(Deputy Commisioner of Police)and was arrested.
However, states like Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra remained unaffected
The BKU leader Rajesh Tikait spoke about how Yogi Adityanath had promised in the manifesto to increase the price of the of sugarcane to Rs 375-450 but ended up being increased by mere Rs 25 and therefore asked for the accountability of the losses faced. However, he also mentioned the Bandh to be successful and the main reason for the protest to talk with the government which is not happening.




Let’s Rewind



What were the farm laws of 2020?

•The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020
•The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance
• Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020


Why were they resented?

The provisions of the new farm law intends to help the marginalized farmers who lack the means to bargain or invest in technology for their farms.
The provision of the act of Agri Market is one of the key reasons for the current protests. It mentions that the farmers can sell their produce to whoever they want, outside than the APMC mandi but however it may lead the commission agents to be deprived of their mandi fees. Better prices were also promised through cost cutting on transportation and competition.

The law on contract farming seeks to help the marginal farmers by the provision which states that the farmers can enter into contract with agri business firms on pre agreed prices of their produce. This will shift the market unpredictability from the farmer to the sponsor.

Why are the farmers resenting the laws?

Firstly, they fear that the companies may change the terms of the agreement and they will have to suffer loses for the crops. The primary fear is the dismantling of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system.
Secondly, the farmers fear that selling the produce to WHOEVER they want might not provide them with an assured price. The disbanding of the mandi system and the losses of the arthiyas(commission agent who provides farmers with loans) is indeed a fact to be feared of.

What are the farmers demanding?

The farmers are demanding the withdrawal of the three laws which is putting a question on the further existence of the MSP system. The farmer unions are also ready to accept if the MSP is legally assured to stay prevalent.


What is the root of the protest?

It is the system of Minimum Support Price which is prevalent in India. MSP is the minimum price provided by the government to the farmers on buying on their produce. The MSP is decided by the the state-run Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which consists of 23 commodities which it procures.
The Food Corporation of India on the other hand largely procures only wheat and paddy which it sells to the poor at a subsidized price.

About that author- Sylvia Plath

If the moon smiled, she would remember you. You leave the same impression of something beautiful but annihilating.

This quote is from one of my favorite Sylvia Plath poems “The Rival”. 

If you read Sylvia Plath you would find that her poetry wasn’t about the beauty that surrounded her, the fruity aroma of the garden flowers or blistering sun shining on her face or the wind sweeping her way. No, it was about none of that. Her poetry style was confessional.

LIFE

Sylvia Plath was born on october 27 of 1932 in Boston Massachusetts. She was a poet and a novelist who shaped American literature to a great extent. Plath published her first poem at the age of 8 in an American newspaper under the children’s section.From then on Plath went on to write  and publish multiple poems in different magazines and newspapers. At the age of 8 Plath also faced a great deal of personal loss, her father passed away due to untreated diabetes. Her father was also a subject for a lot of her poems that she wrote in her later years.

Plath was a good student, she excelled in academics and attended the Smith’s College in Massachusetts. Plath also suffered from depression, which she elaborates in her poems. She underwent electrocution therapy for her depression. We are talking about the year 1950, when mental illness was not a socially acceptable concept. No points for guessing that the electrocution therapy did not work in fact it made matters worse for plath. In 1953, at the age of 21, the feeling of which she describes in one of her works as “blissfully succumbed to the whirling blackness that I honestly believed was eternal oblivion.” plath made her first suicide attempt by taking her mother’s sleeping pills. After this incident she remained in psychiatric care for months. 

Career 

In 1960, Sylvia Plath released a collection of her poems, entitled the colossus and other poems.. In this collection she talks about death, suicide, her father, and her depressive periods and thoughts.

Sylvia Plath’s poetry wasn’t particularly happy and that is because it was confessional or even autobiographical in a sense and Plath herself was deeply depressed. Here is an excerpt from one of her poems called Lady Lazarus;

“Dying is an art,

like everything else. 

I do it exceptionally well. 

I do it so it feels like hell. 

I do it so it feels real. 

I guess you could say I’ve a call”.

If it wasn’t clear until now, then these lines give us an idea of the intensity of torment that her own mind was subjecting her to.

Marriage and the aftermath

Plath married Ted Hughes, a poet and writer in 1956. They had 2 children together. The two later separated in 1962. The couple did not have a great relationship, some controversy and rumors surrounded Hughes even after Plath’s death.

During the last few years of her life Plath published exceptional work, some of the best work ever written. This vey period of Plath’s life is the one that shaped literature and inspired the future confessional poets. Plath poured her heart out on the pages during these years. She published a novel “the bell jar” in 1963 which did exceptionally well. But her career was cut short when at the age of 30, in 1962 after what is described as “a burst of creativity” she took her own life. Her posthumously published collection of poems “Ariel” also attracted a lot of readers and to this day transcends her.

BOOK REVIEW ;BLACK BEAUTY BY ANNA SEWELL

Anna Sewell’s is best known for her children’s novel “Black Beauty” Earlier Sewell thought to write this book as a horse manual then she found out to put in a didactive way.It is in the form of a horse’s autobiography.The novel is written in the first person narrative of the titular horse Black Beauty.There were lot of other animal characters in this novel which helps to understand the problems faced by horses.Anna Sewell used the technique of anthropomorphism in this novle to persuade children and adult readers alike to think in the shoe of horse.Anna Sewell in her own life had a horse, which made her mobile during her weak days. She fell down at the age of fourteen then she became a cripple.She was more aware about taking care of horses.

Anna Sewell portrays the life of cab drivers in England during that time. After the publication of this novel cab owner’s license related issues are solved and also the copy of this book is sold among cab drivers.This book can be considered as a horse manual.Now a days exploitations against animals are increasing, in this scenario this book is relevant to teach the young generation to take care about animals. Sewell narrates the stories of horses , whose life are exploited by humans for their selfish needs.Humans cut the ear and tail of some animals and they do not think about the consequences that effect the animals.If animal’s tails are cut off they could not prevent themselves from small insects.Animals have a natural nobility and they only act violently based on how we treat them.

Some horse owners would not show mercy towards this dumb animals , in some part Black Beauty wishes to communicate his own problem with the cab owners.Humans also scientifically mix the breed of the animals which cause them harm.Black Beauty’s best friend is Ginger.Ginger is a short tempered horse and she has been treated very cruel by former owners.Here Sewell draws readers attention towards the problems faced by horses under different owners.Black Beauty meets a horse which is a special breed maade by human without height ,so that horse laments about it’s own existence.This novel persuades readers to take caare of their pet animals and also all creatures in gneral.This narrative helps us to understand how animals view humans, although the horses in this novel do not converse with humans.

Animal have a supernatural instinct to detect any danger.The protagonist in this novel Black Beauty is also able to sense such supernatural effects. One day Beauty was going with his owner and showed relectunce to go through a bridge and the fact was that the bridge was damaged.In this way Black Beauty helped his owner’s life from danger.To conclude Sewell also mocks the follies of humans.Some cab owners are portrayed as drunkards,also cruel men who do not clean the horse’s stable properly and do not properly feed the horses.Various problems of horses are portrayed in a ficticious way.Sewell is successful in depicting the story of horses from their point of view.

Cause of Erectile Disfunction In Men

The worst kinds of problems that I face in life aren’t usually the ones that I may have anticipated coming my way, but ones that creep up on me from behind and catch me off guard. Whether it is my boss walking in on me as I binge on dog videos, or an illness knocking at my door without so much as a warning signal, one can never be prepared enough.

And the same goes for men too, who probably don’t see things going south until it’s already too late. And one of those things in men is also being greeted by the early signs of developing erectile dysfunction – the psychological disorder that makes it awfully difficult to get an erection during intercourse.

Now, the thing with ED is that it isn’t a problem that arises because of lack of arousal, but because of a lot of other causes, some of which you don’t even realize are contributing to your lack of drive. These are the things you are doing every day that are ultimately and silently leading you in the grips of erectile dysfunction, making it hard for you (pun intended) to perform in bed. 

Questionable Lifestyle Choices 

With the pandemic upon us and routine having been thrown out of the window, we’ve all been pushed into a rather laidback and inactive lifestyle, one that has more effect on us than we can measure. 

Eating unhealthy with little to no exercise is driving men to become obese which in turn is a driving factor for high blood pressure and cholesterol issues, both of which are prime in leading to ED. So in case your lack of fitness has come up in the recent conversations around health, chances are nothing else will…

Smoking

Contrary to popular belief where smoking only leads to diseases like cancer or TB, the dangerous stress buster is also one such reason that you might be facing issues in your hardware. The use of excessive tobacco has an adverse effect on health, especially since it decreases blood flow in the body, including the vessels in a man’s penis. 

New Medication

It is always good advice to keep an eye out on your performance after getting prescribed a new medication. Chances are, if it does not suit you, the side effects may start having an impact on your sex life and could be a major and concerning reason for ED.

Bad Mental Health

Erectile dysfunction is essentially a psychological disorder one that starts in the head before it starts having a physical impact. If you feel you are overwhelmed with emotions and struggling with mental health issues like anxiety, depression and the likes of it, they could be playing with your subconscious, making it hard for you (or technically, not) to perform well in the bedroom.

It is therefore important to take care of your mental health to refrain from it being a hurdle to your erection.

Alcohol

By this, I don’t mean having the occasional drink or two with friends is the reason why your soldier is down, but that excessive indulgence in alcohol has proven to tamper with equipment. Drinking heavy is said to have a temporary impact on getting an erection, one that can and perhaps, should be avoided for any awkwardness during the act.

ARE YOU A UPSC ASPIRANT ?

Chasing your dreams is one of the most important goals in your life.”You become what you think in your life” if you realize your true potential, you can achieve anything in your life.If you are a UPSC aspirant keep focusing on your studies and be aware about the current affairs.Reading newspaper is one of the most important habit that you have to develop for preparing for UPSC exam.Newspapers like ; HINDU would be better for reading and you can also choose another News papers . There were lot of magazines which would help to understand the current affairs and general knowledge, one such magazine is Yojana.Developing a reading habit help you to memorize things. Smart work is considered as important rather than hard work.

How much time you spend for studying is not important ,you have to utilize your time qualitatively.Buying so many books and rushing through it few days before the exam is not preferable that is why you have to make a time table for reading the books.Before You go to sleep make sure that it is a productive day.Push yourself if you feel like demotivated.Do remember if you become an IAS officer or IPS officer there will be lot of challenges come before you so you have to solve that problems,so try to act bravely.UPSC do not test your IQ level rather they focus more on our common sense.You have to develop your method of preparation or you fail to develop your own study method you can go for a coaching class.Before you choose a coaching class be aware about the ability of teachers and can ask for the opinions of students.

We all have a role model in our life, pursuing the path of your role models or their studying strategies would help you to a great extend.Keeping a single minded devotion is needed for achieving your goals.UPSC aspirants can watch the interviews of people who cleared UPSC exam.By watching interviews you will get an idea about UPSC interview and help to score good marks.Personality test is something that will measure your true personality so you have answer the questions honestly.Try to cover all the topics wisely.Do not beat around the bush while answering the paragraph questions.Examiners only want points so you have to be careful in writing your answers and make sure to stick to the question’s intended answer.Group work sometimes help you in studies , making a students circle and discussing current affairs helps to scoring in general knowledge studies.

Continuous practice will lead you to success.How much effort you put to achieve something decides your future.People who comes from different strata of society have cleared if you check the history of UPSC exam.They are united in one aim UPSC. Nothing is impossible and we all have equal opportunities for achieving anything.If you have to materialize your dream the one thing that you have to do is to do smart work.Our mind sends a natural vibration to universe and the universe will help you to achieve the wish, if it can put in this ficticious way.To conclude keep the fire in you and achieve great heights.

Bishan Singh Bedi’s 75th birthday is gift for family, friends: ‘We got him back’

Seven months after that surgery, Bedi, slightly frail, cuts a cake shaped like a cricket ball, his son Angad and daughter Neha stand on either side; Anju, behind him, leans over to plant a kiss on his cheek. Each one is aware that this picture-perfect frame is a very special gift they have got.

On Friday, a day before his 75th birthday, at the launch of a book on him (The Sardar of Spin), sits Indian cricket legend Bishan Singh Bedi, in a wheelchair, ringed by doting fans and former team-mates.

Watching him, mindful that he doesn’t let his mask slip, is wife Anju, as she recalls that grim day this February when she had to take the most important decision of her life — and perhaps

Three days after his heart surgery, Bedi had a stroke because of a brain clot. A risky surgery was needed and she was asked for her consent.

“Bishan was lying in the Operation Theatre. Something which he always says sort of enveloped me. He would tell the boys, ‘The game is never over until the last ball is bowled’. That’s when I instantly made the decision and I said, ‘Go ahead with the surgery’. Everybody thought it was the end of the road but I said to myself, ‘Surely your game is not over’,” says Anju with a smile whose warmth touches everyone present.

Digital marketing

 By: Astha Raghav. 

Digital marketing, also called online marketing, is the promotion of brands to connect with potential customers using the internet and other forms of digital communication. This includes not only email, social media, and web-based advertising, but also text and multimedia messages as a marketing channel.

Essentially, if a marketing campaign involves digital communication, it’s digital marketing.

Inbound marketing versus digital marketing

Digital marketing and inbound marketing are easily confused, and for good reason. Digital marketing uses many of the same tools as inbound marketing—email and online content, to name a few. Both exist to capture the attention of prospects through the buyer’s journey and turn them into customers. But the 2 approaches take different views of the relationship between the tool and the goal.

Digital marketing considers how each individual tool can convert prospects. A brand’s digital marketing strategy may use multiple platforms or focus all of its efforts on 1 platform.

Inbound marketing is a holistic concept. It considers the goal first, then looks at the available tools to determine which will effectively reach target customers, and then at which stage of the sales funnel that should happen.

The most important thing to remember about digital marketing and inbound marketing is that as a marketing professional, you don’t have to choose between the 2. In fact, they work best together. Inbound marketing provides structure and purpose for effective digital marketing to digital marketing efforts, making sure that each digital marketing channel works toward a goal.

B2B versus B2C digital marketing

Digital marketing works for B2B as well as B2C companies, but best practices differ significantly between the 2.

  • B2B clients tend to have longer decision-making processes, and thus longer sales funnels. Relationship-building strategies work better for these clients, whereas B2C customers tend to respond better to short-term offers and messages.
  • B2B transactions are usually based on logic and evidence, which is what skilled B2B digital marketers present. B2C content is more likely to be emotionally-based, focusing on making the customer feel good about a purchase.
  • B2B decisions tend to need more than 1 person’s input. The marketing materials that best drive these decisions tend to be shareable and downloadable. B2C customers, on the other hand, favor one-on-one connections with a brand.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. A B2C company with a high-ticket product, such as a car or computer, might offer more informative and serious content. Your strategy always needs to be geared toward your own customer base, whether you’re B2B or B2C.

Types of digital marketing

There are as many specializations within digital marketing as there are ways of interacting using digital media. Here are a few key examples.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is technically a marketing tool rather than a form of marketing in itself. The Balance defines it as “the art and science of making web pages attractive to search engines.”

The “art and science” part of SEO is what’s most important. SEO is a science because it requires you to research and weigh different contributing factors to achieve the highest possible ranking. Today, the most important elements to consider when optimizing a web page include:

  • Quality of content
  • Level of user engagement
  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Number and quality of inbound links

The strategic use of these factors makes SEO a science, but the unpredictability involved makes it an art.

In SEO, there’s no quantifiable rubric or consistent rule for ranking highly. Google changes its algorithm almost constantly, so it’s impossible to make exact predictions. What you can do is closely monitor your page’s performance and make adjustments accordingly.

Content marketing

SEO is a major factor in content marketing, a strategy based on the distribution of relevant and valuable content to a target audience.

As in any marketing strategy, the goal of content marketing is to attract leads that ultimately convert into customers. But it does so differently than traditional advertising. Instead of enticing prospects with potential value from a product or service, it offers value for free in the form of written material.

Content marketing matters, and there are plenty of stats to prove it:

  • 84% of consumers expect companies to produce entertaining and helpful content experiences
  • 62% of companies that have at least 5,000 employees produce content daily
  • 92% of marketers believe that their company values content as an important asset

As effective as content marketing is, it can be tricky. Content marketing writers need to be able to rank highly in search engine results while also engaging people who will read the material, share it, and interact further with the brand. When the content is relevant, it can establish strong relationships throughout the pipeline.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing means driving traffic and brand awareness by engaging people in discussion online. The most popular platforms for social media marketing are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with LinkedIn and YouTube not far behind.

Because social media marketing involves active audience participation, it has become a popular way of getting attention. It’s the most popular content medium for B2C marketers at 96%, and it’s gaining ground in the B2B sphere as well. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 61% of B2B content marketers increased their use of social media this year.

Social media marketing offers built-in engagement metrics, which are extremely useful in helping you to understand how well you’re reaching your audience. You get to decide which types of interactions mean the most to you, whether that means the number of shares, comments, or total clicks to your website.

Direct purchase may not even be a goal of your social media marketing strategy. Many brands use social media marketing to start dialogues with audiences rather than encourage them to spend money right away. This is especially common in brands that target older audiences or offer products and services not appropriate for impulse buys. It all depends on your company’s goals.

To learn more about how Mailchimp can help with your social media strategy, check out the comparison of our free social media management tools versus others.

Pay-per-click marketing

Pay-per-click, or PPC, is posting an ad on a platform and paying every time someone clicks on it.

How and when people see your ad is a bit more complicated. When a spot is available on a search engine results page, also known as a SERP, the engine fills the spot with what is essentially an instant auction. An algorithm prioritizes each available ad based on a number of factors, including:

  • Ad quality
  • Keyword relevance
  • Landing page quality
  • Bid amount

Each PPC campaign has 1 or more target actions that viewers are meant to complete after clicking an ad. These actions are known as conversions, and they can be transactional or non-transactional. Making a purchase is a conversion, but so is a newsletter signup or a call made to your home office.

Whatever you choose as your target conversions, you can track them via your chosen platform to see how your campaign is doing.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing lets someone make money by promoting another person’s business. You could be either the promoter or the business who works with the promoter, but the process is the same in either case.

It works using a revenue sharing model. If you’re the affiliate, you get a commission every time someone purchases the item that you promote. If you’re the merchant, you pay the affiliate for every sale they help you make.

Some affiliate marketers choose to review the products of just 1 company, perhaps on a blog or other third-party site. Others have relationships with multiple merchants.

Whether you want to be an affiliate or find one, the first step is to make a connection with the other party. You can use a platform designed to connect affiliates with retailers, or you can start or join a single-retailer program.

If you’re a retailer and you choose to work directly with affiliates, there are many things you can do to make your program appealing to potential promoters. You’ll need to provide those affiliates with the tools that they need to succeed. That includes incentives for great results as well as marketing support and pre-made materials.

Native advertising

Native advertising is marketing in disguise. Its goal is to blend in with its surrounding content so that it’s less blatantly obvious as advertising.

Native advertising was created in reaction to the cynicism of today’s consumers toward ads. Knowing that the creator of an ad pays to run it, many consumers will conclude that the ad is biased and consequently ignore it.

A native ad gets around this bias by offering information or entertainment before it gets to anything promotional, downplaying the “ad” aspect.

It’s important to always label your native ads clearly. Use words like “promoted” or “sponsored.” If those indicators are concealed, readers might end up spending significant time engaging with the content before they realize that it’s advertising.

When your consumers know exactly what they’re getting, they’ll feel better about your content and your brand. Native ads are meant to be less obtrusive than traditional ads, but they’re not meant to be deceptive.

Thank you!

I.M.F.

 

By: Astha Raghav. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that promotes global economic growth and financial stability, encourages international trade, and reduces poverty. Quotas of member countries are a key determinant of the voting power in IMF decisions. Votes comprise one vote per 100,000 special drawing right (SDR) of quota plus basic votes. SDRS are an international type of monetary reserve currency created by the IMF as a supplement to the existing money reserves of member countries.1

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The IMF’s mission is to promote global economic growth and financial stability, encourage international trade, and reduce poverty around the world.
  • The IMF was originally created in 1945 as part of the Bretton Woods agreement, which attempted to encourage international financial cooperation by introducing a system of convertible currencies at fixed exchange rates.
0 seconds of 0 sUnderstanding the International MonetaThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) is based in Washington, D.C. The organization is currently composed of 189 member countries, each of which has representation on the IMF’s executive board in proportion to its financial importance.Quotas are a key determinant of the voting power in IMF decisions. Votes comprise one vote per SDR100,000 of quota plus basic votes (same for all members).The IMF’s website describes its mission as “to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”

History of the IMF

The IMF was originally created in 1945 as part of the Bretton Woods Agreement, which attempted to encourage international financial cooperation by introducing a system of convertible currencies at fixed exchange rates. The dollar was redeemable for gold at $35 per ounce at the time.The IMF oversaw the system: for example, a country was free to readjust its exchange rate by up to 10% in either direction, but larger changes required the IMF’s permission.

The IMF also acted as a gatekeeper: Countries were not eligible for membership in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)—a World Bank forerunner that the Bretton Woods agreement created in order to fund the reconstruction of Europe after World War II—unless they were members of the IMF.

Since the Bretton Woods system collapsed in the 1970s, the IMF has promoted the system of floating exchange rates, meaning that market forces determine the value of currencies relative to one another. This system continues to be in place today.

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Children and Sports

 

By: Astha Raghav. 

Sports help children develop physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn teamwork, learn to play fair, and improve self-esteem. American sports culture has increasingly become a money-making business. The highly stressful, competitive, “win at all costs” attitude prevalent at colleges and with professional athletes affects the world of children’s sports and athletics, contributing to an unhealthy environment. It is important to remember that the attitudes and behavior taught to children in sports carry over to adult life. Parents should take an active role in helping their child develop good sportsmanship. To help your child get the most out of sports, you need to be actively involved. This includes:

  • providing emotional support and positive feedback
  • attending some games and talking about them afterward
  • having realistic expectations for your child
  • learning about the sport and supporting your child’s involvement
  • encouraging your child to talk with you about their experiences with the coach and other team members
  • teaching your child to handle disappointments about losing by praising their efforts to compete and improve athletic skills
  • modeling respectful spectator behavior

Although this involvement takes time and creates challenges for work schedules, it allows you to become more knowledgeable about the coaching, team values, behaviors, and attitudes. Your child’s behavior and attitude reflect a combination of the coaching and your discussions about good sportsmanship and fair play.

It is also important to talk about what your child observes in sports events. When bad sportsmanship occurs, discuss other ways the situation could be handled. While you might acknowledge that in the heat of competition it may be difficult to maintain control and respect for others, it is important to stress that disrespectful behavior is not acceptable. Remember, success is not the same thing as winning, and failure is not the same thing as losing.

If you are concerned about the behavior or attitude of your child’s coach, you may want to talk with the coach privately. As adults, you can talk together about what is most important for the child to learn. While you may not change a particular attitude or behavior of a coach, you can make it clear how you would like your child to be approached. If you find that the coach is not responsive, discuss the problem with the parents responsible for the school or league activities. If the problem continues, you may decide to withdraw your child.

As with most aspects of parenting, being actively involved and talking with your children about their life is very important. Being proud of accomplishments, sharing in wins and defeats, and talking to them about what has happened helps them develop skills and capacities for success in life. The lessons learned during children’s sports will shape values and behaviors for adult life.

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Indoor and outdoor Games

 

By: Astha Raghav. 

Indoor games for kids don’t have to mean sedentary play. Many kids love to kick soccer balls and shoot hoops outside, but they can’t always do that if it’s dark, or if their playing area is covered with snow and ice, or the temperature is dangerously high. For those situations, the solution is to bring active outdoor games inside.

These simple—and fun—ways to turn the outdoor play into indoor games are a great way to motivate kids to play more actively inside, and to help them practice their sports skills even when weather or other challenges keep them indoors.

Get Indoor Game Gear

Using your child’s favorite sports as inspiration, invest in some simple toys and supplies that they can use to play indoors. Usually, that means equipment that’s smaller, lighter, and/or softer than what you use outdoors, such as:

Balloons, beach balls, fabric balls, Nerf balls, or bean bags to kick, roll, and throw

Mini basketball hoops, knee hockey goals, boxes, or baskets for targets

Indoor versions of horseshoes, darts, or bowling

Knee hockey sticks and knee pads

Hula hoops and jump ropes (if you have some room to use them; for jump ropes, you need a reasonably high ceiling)

Ping-pong table, or improvise with paddles, balls, and a portable net (or even a piece of painter’s tape stretched across a large table)

Practice Outdoor Sports Skills Indoors

Depending on what kind of space you have available indoors, kids may be able to practice some of the skills they need for their favorite sports, even in the off-season!

Soccer: Dribble a ball along the floor; juggle with feet (in a space free of breakables)

Tennis: Gently bounce a ball up or down with racquet held horizontally; or play ping-pong

Golf: Putt into a practice cup, or even just a plastic drinking cup turned on its side (secure to the ground with painter’s tape if needed). Or go all out and challenge kids to build their own mini-golf course with cardboard and other recyclables and household items.

Basketball: Dribble the ball (in a garage, carport, or basement)

Hockey: Shoot pucks or wooden training balls into an indoor net, or a wall reinforced with cardboard or plywood

Figure skating: Practice spins with a skate spinner (buy from Amazon)

Lacrosse: Practice tossing the ball using a CradleBaby (buy from Amazon).

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Effect of pollution on quality of life.

 By: Astha Raghav. 

Clean air is considered as one of the basic requirements for human being. Pollution-related diseases due to air pollution continue to rise at an alarming rate and affect people’s quality of life. Air pollution also adversely affects welfare inequality. Air pollution as a significant risk factor affects health and sense of subjective well-being (SWB). In this study, the effect of air pollution on subjective well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, and optimism) is investigated. Relationship between well-being and air quality is a fundamental issue to design public policies. Hence, the studies about the link are of grooving interest in the literature. The results show that air pollutants have an effect on subjective well-being. The link between life satisfaction and happiness is very strong. Optimism is also positively correlated with life satisfaction and happiness. Good air quality and optimism make people happier. Air quality is likely to have an effect on people’s sense of life satisfaction, happiness, and optimistic view. The results indicate that the PM 2.5 level is significantly and negatively related to on optimism. It is obvious that there is a very strong relationship between air quality and subjective wellbeing. Relationship between wellbeing and air quality is a fundamental issue to design public policies.

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Analyse the current economic conditions of India after lockdown.

 By: Astha Raghav. 

The current economic conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in India has been largely disruptive. India growth in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2020 went down to 3.1% according to the Ministry of Statistics.  The Chief Economic adviser to the Government of India said that this drop is mainly due to the corona virus pandemic effect on the Indian economy Notably India had also been witnessing a pre- pandemic slowdown, and according to the World Bank, the current pandemic has “magnified pre- existing risks India’s economic outlook “. Manufacturing and the urban economy had come to a grinding halt while the rural economy continued to move because of less strict lockdown. While the lockdown took a toll on the economy, the number of infection cases continues to climb with growth prospects for the current quarter collapsing.  The country’s lockdown began in late March and was subsequently extended several time. Stringent restrictions halted most economic activities and caused millions of people, many of them daily wage earners, to lose their jobs and revenue streams. To mitigate the economic fallout, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had announced a $266 billion support package containing both fiscal and monetary measures, said to becworth around 10% of India’s GDP. b
But economists have said the package will do little to stimulate growth, as it includes very little planned government spending and benefits of several measures are expected to only be seen in the medium term. While the impact on India GDP  for the current quarter will not be known for a few more months.
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