BY: VAIBHAVI MENON

Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be used to find a spouse for a young person. Arranged marriages have historically been prominent in many cultures. The practice remains common in many regions, notably South Asia, though in many other parts of the world, the practice has declined substantially during the 19th and 20th centuries. Forced marriages, practiced in some families, are condemned by the United Nations, and is not an arranged marriage. The specific sub-category of forced child marriage is especially condemned. In other cultures people mostly choose their own partner.

Arranged marriages were very common throughout the world until the 18th century. Typically, marriages were arranged by parents, grandparents or other relatives. Some historical exceptions are known, such as courtship and betrothal rituals during the Renaissance period of Italy and Gandharva Vivah in the Vedic period of India. In China, arranged marriages sometimes called blind marriages were the norm before the mid-20th century. A marriage was a negotiation and decision between parents and other older members of two families. The boy and girl were typically told to get married, without a right to demur, even if they had never met each other until the wedding day. Arranged marriages were the norm in Russia before the early 20th century, most of which were endogamous. Until the first half of the 20th century, arranged marriages were common in migrant families in the United States. They were sometimes called “picture-bride marriages” among Japanese-American immigrants because the bride and groom knew each other only through the exchange of photographs before the day of their marriage. These marriages among immigrants were typically arranged by parents, or relatives from the country of their origin. As immigrants settled in and melded into a new culture, arranged marriages shifted first to quasi-arranged marriages where parents or friends made introductions and the couple met before the marriage; over time, the marriages among the descendants of these immigrants shifted to autonomous marriages driven by individual’s choice, dating and courtship preferences, along with an increase in interracial marriages. Similar historical dynamics are claimed in other parts of the world. Arranged marriages have declined in prosperous countries with social mobility and increasing individualism; nevertheless, arranged marriages are still seen in countries of Europe and North America, among royal families, aristocrats and minority religious groups such as in placement marriage among Fundamentalist Mormon groups of the United States. In most other parts of the world, arranged marriages continue to varying degrees and increasingly in quasi-arranged form, along with autonomous marriages.

A woman who refuses to go through with an arranged marriage, tries to leave an arranged marriage via divorce or is suspected of any kind of immoral behaviour, may be considered to have dishonored her entire family. This being the case, her male relatives may be ridiculed or harassed and any of her siblings may find it impossible to enter into a marriage. In these cases, killing the woman is a way for the family to enforce the institution of arranged marriages. Unlike cases of domestic violence, honor killings are often done publicly for all to see and there are frequently family members involved in the act.

– There are two ways that byte addresses can be assigned across words.

→ computer store data in Memory 

→Formating at the byte level of the data which is called endianness which refer to ordering of bytes.

→The name big-endian is used when lower byte addresses are used for the more Significant bytes (Left most)

→The little-endian is used for the opposite ordering where lower byte address are used for the less significant bytes (Right most)

Endianness refers to the way bytes are ordered when a data item with a site bigger than 1 Byte is placed in memory / transferred over a communication interface.

Two type of endianness:-

1. Little endian- The bytes are ordered with the LSB placed at the low and address. 
2. Big endian- The bytes are ordered with the MSB placed at the lowest address.

BY: VAIBHAVI MENON

Individuals that fall into this generation known as “millennials” are particularly interesting to look into the effects of increased media presence, because they are the generation that is constantly surrounded with updated technology. These individuals are the group of people that are regularly online, taking full advantage of these resources; it has become not just a part of their life but their life in its entirety. Everything this generation does is centered on the Internet, whereas someone from an older generation grew up in a different kind of life, so the effects aren’t nearly as drastic or as meaningful. Millenials are the ones that have grown up with the presence of mass digital media in their lives and were the ones constantly subjected to the consequences of this presence while also adapting to new and improved technologies every day.

The existence of the smartphone has completely altered how this group of individuals interacts and participates in society, because they are the ones who stay constant with the progressions in technology and getting the new “iPhone” every time it is released. “The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health. These changes have affected young people in every corner of the nation and in every type of household. The trends appear among teens poor and rich; of every ethnic background; in cities, suburbs, and small towns. Where there are cell towers, there are teens living their lives on their smartphone.” (Twenge). This age group is subjected to a life filled with mass media and technology every day, which results in different circumstances and different lives in comparison to older generations. There is a fundamental difference in how this generation and older generations process, analyze and understand information while they function in society. Comparing those who weren’t raised on the power of a smartphone and in the age of media constantly in your face to those who were, the contrast becomes quite clear.

Media messages can have a negative or unhealthy influence on teenage behavior and attitudes in certain areas, including body image, health and citizenship. Body image :- Your child’s body image is influenced by social media, other media and advertising. If teenagers see unrealistic ‘thin’ or ‘muscly’ body types often enough in the media they follow, it can have an impact on their body image and dieting behavior. This is especially true when there’s no-one to disagree with messages like ‘thin is beautiful’. Health and lifestyle :- Social media and other media can influence the decisions that teenagers make about their health and lifestyle. For example, media messages and content can make it look ‘normal’, cool or grown-up to eat junk food, smoke, drink alcohol and take other drugs. Citizenship:-To be responsible citizens, teenagers need reliable and good-quality information. But social media and other media are sometimes used in negative ways during elections and at other times. For example, ‘fake news’ might influence teenagers to believe false information about a politician, public figure or celebrity. Or sometimes online forums promote biased or hateful attitudes towards groups of people.

One of the shaktipeethas (places of worship where the body parts of the goddess Sati fell), is the Chintpurni Temple located about 50 miles [80 km] from Dharamsala. The supreme deity is Goddess Chintpurni, who is said to remove troubles, and is represented by the pindi (circular goddess). Legend has it that when Lord Vishnu cut the body of Maa Sati in 51 parts to end King Shiva’s dance of the destruction of the earth, the pieces were scattered in different parts of India. Considered one of the most important of the 51 shaktipeethas, it is believed that the head of the goddess Shakti fell to Chintpurni.

The Chintpurni Devi Temple is visited by devotees from all over India, who come to pray at the Lotus feet of Mata Chhinnamastika Devi. Puranic traditions say that Chinnamnamastika Devi is protected by Rudra Mahadev or Lord Shiva on all four sides. At the same distance from Chintpurni stands four Shiva temples, Muchkund Mahadev in the north, Shiva Bari in the south, Kaleshwar Mahadev in the east and Narayna Mahadev in the west. The temple remains open between 4 a.m. and 11 p.m.

BY: VAIBHAVI MENON

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically, result in a rapid onset of fear and are present for more than six months. Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, which are often found in agoraphobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.

Phobias can be divided into specific phobias, social phobia, and agoraphobia. Specific phobias include those to certain animals, natural environment situations, blood or injury, and specific situations. The most common are fear of spiders, fear of snakes, and fear of heights. Specific phobias may be caused by a negative experience with the object or situation in early childhood. Social phobia is when a person fears a situation due to worries about others judging them. Agoraphobia is a fear of a situation due to a difficulty or inability to escape. It is recommended that specific phobias be treated with exposure therapy, in which the person is introduced to the situation or object in question until the fear resolves. Medications are not useful for specific phobias. Social phobia and agoraphobia are often treated with some combination of counselling and medication. Medications used include antidepressants, benzodiazepines, or beta-blockers. Specific phobias affect about 6–8% of people in the Western world and 2–4% of people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in a given year. Social phobia affects about 7% of people in the United States and 0.5–2.5% of people in the rest of the world. Agoraphobia affects about 1.7% of people. Women are affected by phobias about twice as often as men. Typically, the onset of a phobia is around the ages of 10–17, and rates are lower with increasing age. Those with phobias are at a higher risk of suicide. There are various methods used to treat phobias. These methods include systematic desensitization, progressive relaxation, virtual reality, modeling, medication and hypnotherapy. The good news is that over the past several decades, psychologists and other researchers have developed some effective behavioral and pharmacological treatments for phobia, as well as technological interventions.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be beneficial by allowing the person to challenge dysfunctional thoughts or beliefs by being mindful of their own feelings, with the aim that the person will realize that his or her fear is irrational. CBT may be conducted in a group setting. Gradual desensitization treatment and CBT are often successful, provided the person is willing to endure some discomfort. In one clinical trial, 90% of people were observed to no longer have a phobic reaction after successful CBT treatment. There is evidence that supports that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is effective in treating some phobias. Its effectiveness in treating complex or trauma-related phobias has not been empirically established yet. Mainly used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, EMDR has been demonstrated as effective in easing phobia symptoms following a specific trauma, such as a fear of dogs following a dog bite

BY: VAIBHAVI MENON

The concept of toxic masculinity is used in academic and media discussions of masculinity to refer to certain cultural norms that are associated with harm to society and men themselves. Traditional stereotypes of men as socially dominant, along with related traits such as misogyny and homophobia, can be considered “toxic” due in part to their promotion of violence, including sexual assault and domestic violence. The socialization of boys in patriarchal societies often normalizes violence, such as in the saying “boys will be boys” about bullying and aggression. Self-reliance and emotional repression are correlated with increased psychological problems in men such as depression, increased stress, and substance use disorders. Toxic masculine traits are characteristic of the unspoken code of behavior among men in prisons, where they exist in part as a response to the harsh conditions of prison life.

Other traditionally masculine traits such as devotion to work, pride in excelling at sports, and providing for one’s family, are not considered to be “toxic”. The concept was originally used by authors associated with the mythopoetic men’s movement such as Shepherd Bliss to contrast stereotypical notions of masculinity with a “real” or “deep” masculinity that they say men have lost touch within modern society. Critics of the term argue that its meaning incorrectly implies that gender-related issues are caused by inherent male traits. The concept of toxic masculinity, or certain formulations of it, has been criticized by some conservatives as an undue condemnation of traditional masculinity, and by some feminists as an essentialist concept that ignores the role of choice and context in causing harmful behaviors and attitudes related to masculinity. toxic masculine norms are a feature of life for men in American prisons, where they are reflected in the behavior of both staff and inmates. The qualities of extreme self-reliance, domination of other men through violence, and avoiding the appearance of either femininity or weakness, comprise an unspoken code among prisoners. Suppressing vulnerable emotions is often adopted to successfully cope with the harsh conditions of prison life, defined by punishment, social isolation, and aggression. These factors likely play a role in suicide among male prisoners. Toxic masculinity can also take the form of bullying of boys by their peers and domestic violence directed toward boys at home. The often violent socialization of boys produces psychological trauma through the promotion of aggression and lack of interpersonal connection. Such trauma is often disregarded, such as in the saying “boys will be boys” about bullying. The promotion of idealized masculine roles emphasizing toughness, dominance, self-reliance, and the restriction of emotion can begin as early as infancy. Such norms are transmitted by parents, other male relatives, and members of the community. Media representations of masculinity on websites such as YouTube often promote similar stereotypical gender roles.

The concept of toxic masculinity has also been criticized from a feminist perspective. Andrea Waling and Michael Salter have argued that the concept of “toxic masculinity” in contradistinction to “healthy masculinity” emerged from a misunderstanding of Raewyn Connell’s 1987 work on hegemonic masculinity. To Waling, “toxic masculinity” is problematic because it presents men as victims of an unavoidable pathology, an essentialist approach that ignores the surrounding social and material context and the personal responsibility of men. Instructing men to practice “healthy masculinity” dismisses androgyny and adopting aspects of femininity as valid options for men, thereby perpetuating gender binaries and privileging masculinity over femininity.