May 29 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

One in five in India is obese: Study

Kounteya Sinha

London TNN





One in five men and women in India is overweight and obese. Five out of every 100 boys and girls in the country below the age of 20, too, are overweight and obese, according to the most comprehensive global study to date on obesity rates. The study will be made public on Thursday.The data confirms that worldwide there has been a startling increase in rates of obesity and overweight in both adults (28% increase) and children (up by 47%) in the past 33 years, with the number of overweight and obese people rising from 857 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, to be published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’, said over 50% of
the 671 million obese individuals in the world live in 10 countries -the US, China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Germany , Pakistan and Indonesia. The US accounted for 13% of obese people in 2013, with China and India jointly accounting for 15%.Around 62% of the world’s obese individuals live in developing countries. In highincome countries, some of the highest increases in adult obesity prevalence have been in the US (roughly a third of the adult population is obese), Australia (28% of men and 30% of women are obese) and the UK (around a quarter of the adult population is obese).
In the developed world, men have higher rates of obesity than women, while the opposite is true in developing countries.
The greatest gain in obesity occurred between 1992 and 2002, mainly among people aged between 20 and 40.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in child
hood has increased remarkably in developed countries, from 17% in 1980 to 24% in 2013 in boys and from 16% to 23% in girls. Similarly, in developing countries, rates have risen from roughly 8% to 13% in both boys and girls over the three decades.Led by Professor Emmanuela Gakidou from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in the US, a team of international researchers performed a comprehensive search of the available data from surveys, reports and the scientific literature to track these trends in the prevalence ofobesity (BMI of 30kg/m² or higher) in 188 countries in all 21 regions of the world from 1980 to 2013.

May 29 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Internet to work faster on Moon than on Earth

Kounteya Sinha

London will soon TNN





The internet speed on the moon will soon be faster than that on earth. Scientists have found a way to get broadband speed of just under 20 megabits per second (mbps) on the Moon.A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory working with Nasa recently demonstrated the data communication technology which makes it possible to receive large amounts of data and stream video and audio from the moon to earth and vice versa.
A download speed of 19.44mbps was achieved through a laser-powered communication uplink through RF signals, along with an upload speed of 622mbps ­ that is 4,800 times faster than the previous record.
This download speed is more than six times faster than the download speed achieved by the best radio system ever flown to the moon, and the Nasa's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) laser space terminal is half the weight and uses 25% less power than the radio system.
LLCD also demonstrated a data upload speed of 20 mbps on a laser beam transmitted from a ground station in New Mexico to the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer spacecraft in orbit; this speed is 5000 times faster than the upload speed of the best radio system flown to the moon.
“This will be the first time that we present both the implementation overview and how well it actually worked,“ said Mark Stevens of MIT Lincoln Laboratory . “The on-orbit performance was excellent and close to what we'd predicted, giving us confidence that we have a good understanding of the underlying physics,“ he added.

May 29 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

What Irani is looking at: IITs in every state, review of DU's FYUP

Akshaya Mukul

New Delhi: TNN





HRD minister Smriti Irani has given a list of 60 priority areas to her officials and asked them to work in that direction. The list is a mix of progressive initiatives, the Sangh Parivar’s ideas on education and the Gujarat model on teachers’ training. During her meeting with senior officials, she asked each of them to come up with big ticket ideas.Irani wants her ministry to give an assessment of Delhi University’s four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), look into the possibility of setting up IITs in all states as well as Yale-Pan IIT network and map the best education practices in the country. At the same time she wants ministry to see how Vedic studies can be given prominence. “How can we involve traditional vedic education? What about education for life in
stead of degrees?” she asked senior ministry officials.Also, instead of directly changing NCERT school textbooks, the ministry officials have been asked to compile complaints about “textbooks and curriculum” from parents. A minis
try official said, “National Curriculum Framework is changed every ten years. It is due now. First the NCF will be reviewed. Textbooks will be changed on the lines of new NCF.“ Irani wants ministry to take up teaching of mathematics and science in madarsas and ensure adequate steps to stop sexual abuse in schools.Among the priority areas, Irani wants a national association of parents so that their voice is heard in all aspects of education.
“Parents are the most important stakeholders but their voice is never heard.
It is a good initiative,” said one official.
The new minister also wants to evaluate the contribution of alumni network in the growth of an institution. She also wanted reforms in legal education but since the subject is handled by law ministry it is unlikely that HRD ministry will be able to do anything. “We can build a synergy,” a source said.
Irani has made it clear to officials that all ministry notes and papers should be precise with sub-heads like background, current status, challenges, stakeholders and possible solution.

May 28 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

NEIGHBOURING NATION'S TASTE FOR KENYAN TEA HITS INDIAN EXPORTS India, Pak may need a Chai Pe Charcha

SUTANUKA GHOSAL

KOLKATA





Price is the key factor for Pakistan not buying first flush teas from India

Even as the bonhomie between Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif continues, Indian tea faces stiff competition from Kenya in Pakistan. The neighbouring nation is buying more tea from Kenya in the current season and going by this trend it will be difficult for India to achieve 50 million kg of tea exports to Pakistan by 2015.Price is the key factor for Pakistan for not buying first flush teas from India.
This year, Kenyan production has been on the higher side and the African nation has offloaded tea in the Pakistan market at a much cheaper price. AN Singh, chairman, Indian Tea Association, said that Kenya has sold teas to Pakistan at a price of $2 per kg. “In some cases, Kenya has offloaded tea at the sub $2 level. On the contrary, our tea is at a higher price. There is a price differential and Pakistan cannot afford to buy tea at a higher price.“
Pakistan generally buys south Indian teas, which are comparatively cheaper than the Assam and Dooars teas. “The first flush teas from South India were fetching ` . 160 ­ `. 165 per kg two months back. So Pakistan preferred Kenyan tea as prices were lower compared to Indian tea. Now prices of South Indian tea have dropped to ` . 130 ­ `. 135 per kg. Pakistan buyers are slowly picking up some teas from India now,“ said Gopal Poddar, director of tea broking firm Limtex Group.
But as things stand today, Pakistan is unlikely to buy teas from Assam and Dooars, which are priced higher. “From July, second flush teas will come to the market. If the production is good then prices will fall in the Indian market. Let us see whether Pakistan buys teas from India at that level or not,“ said Singh.
Tea industry veterans feel that in 201415, Indian tea exports to Pakistan will not be more than 15-16 million kg. “If trade relations improve between India and Pakistan following the talks between Modi and Sharif, then chances are there that tea exports from India may increase. Otherwise at best India's exports to Pakistan will be around 30 million kg by 2015,“ Singh added. India's total exports in FY 2014 has been around 218.12 million kg.
Exports to Bangladesh, the other neighbouring nation of India, is also set to take a hit as the nation has increased import duty on tea from 5% to 15%. In FY14, India's exports had increased to 10.61 million kg from 2.98 million kg in FY13.
Even Iran is not showing much interest in Indian orthodox teas this year. The ITA chairman said: “Last year Iran was hungry for Indian first flush teas. But this year that trend is missing. However, still enquiries are coming from the Iranian market. We are hoping that exports of orthodox teas to Iran will improve from July onwards.“

May 28 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

MGNREGA may be Linked to Development

NEW DELHI OUR BUREAU





The rural job guarantee scheme, MGNREGA, is likely to undergo changes with the new rural development minister, Gopinathrao Munde, planning to link it to development of villages.“I like this scheme. This scheme is best for villages. Basically, people get employment,” said Munde, who took charge of the ministry on Tuesday.
He, however, said there are “problems”
in its implementation. “Proper management is a problem; proper disbursement of money is a problem. I think the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee) money should go to the development of villages and people should get employment.“The senior BJP leader also said that his priority would be proper implementation of the recently enacted Land Acquisition law and Narendra Modi's key electoral plank -that every household will be provided sanitation and drinking wa ter. MGNREGA is widely seen as a plank on which the UPA government returned to power in 2009.
The scheme entitles millions of rural workers enrolled under it to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household.
Implementation of the scheme, which has an annual allocation of over .
`30,000 crore, has been hit due to delays and issues with release of funds.
There are also issues related to authenticity of beneficiaries enrolled under it

May 28 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

6% of GDP to be Spent on Education: Irani

NEW DELHI OUR BUREAU





Taking charge as minister for human resource development, Smriti Irani, the youngest member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, promised to increase public spending on education and review all legislations related to higher education reform that had lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.In keeping with the tone set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Irani stressed that consensus would be the by-word in policy formulation.
“On behalf of the ministry, we have undertaken a study of all the pending Bills in Parliament... all pros and cons of those legislation, and I will only say this instead of mak ing any specific statements right now, we are having ministerial meetings within our department to see what are the initiatives we need to undertake,“ Irani told reporters on Tuesday.
The minister said she was honoured to serve as HRD minister, a post once held by senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi. “For me, it is not a position of authority but a position of service,“ Irani said. In an effort to assuage concerns over the BJP's approach to the education sector,and conscious of controversial decisions made by the previous NDA government on issues such as curriculum revision, Irani said, “Every decisionthat we reach upon is a decision which comes across through consensus, every per son, every thought process, every stakeholder shall be consulted.“In line with BJP'spoll promise, Irani said the government would increase spending on education to 6% of GDP, a promise that successive governments have failed to keep.

May 28 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

DU keeps sports, ECA quota at 5%

Manash Pratim Gohain

New Delhi: TNN





Varsity Issues 2014-15 Guidelines For Two-Step Admissions, Sets Up Grievance Committee

Delhi University has issued guidelines for admission of students to the four-year undergraduate programme in sports category. Five percent seats are reserved in all colleges for those seeking admission in the combined category of sports and extracurricular activities (ECA) on supernumerary basis.According to the guidelines, these are two-step admissions--in the super cate gory and trial category .
Those who have participated in international sporting events fall in the super category and are eligible for direct admission. The rest need to take fitness tests to be followed by sports trials. There will be three tests--strength, endurance and speed.
Aspirants must apply in individual colleges. Colleges are being asked to notify their requirement of players of different sports in their prospectus.
“Admission will be based on sports trials which will have a maximum of 50 marks and sports certificates, also having a maximum of 50 marks. A minimum of 18 marks must be scored by the candidate in sports trials,“ joint dean of students' welfare Malay Neerav said.
Each college will have a sports admission committee in which the principal will be the chairperson and the teacher in charge of physical education the convener. The committee will also have a physical education teacher as member, one expert nominated by the college from the confidential list given by the DU sports council, one facul ty member nominated by the sport council, one regular bona fide sports student representative, one DU sports council representative and one vice-chancellor's nominee as observer.
Before the sports trials, candidates, other than those from the super category , need to qualify in a fitness trial. A candidate needs to qualify in two of them, except those from the field of archery , shooting and chess who need to qualify in one test. “A student needs to get the fitness certificate only once from any of the colleges,“ Neerav said. Only those who have achieved distinction in sports during the last three years in a competition recognized by Association of Indian Universities and Indian Olympic Association are eligible for the quota.
Lists of the finally selected candidates containing trial marks, certificate marks and other details as well as the course allotted are to be submitted along with a copy of qualifying Class XII marks to DU sport council at the earliest so that these may be displayed at the university website for seven days in order to ensure that grievances, if any , are taken cognizance of. A grievance committee for sports admission has also been constituted by the VC with the secretary, DU sports council, as its convener.

Economic Development and Cultural Change 

Vol. 62, No 3, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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1. 

   Caste Dominance and Economic Performance in Rural India(pp. 423-457)  

   Vegard Iversen / Adriaan Kalwij / Arjan Verschoor / Amaresh Dubey

   DOI: 10.1086/675388

   Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675388
2. 

   The Impact of Malaria Control on Infant Mortality in Kenya(pp. 459-487)  

   Vikram Pathania

   DOI: 10.1086/675382

   Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675382
3. 

   Do the More Educated Know More about Health? Evidence from Schooling and HIV Knowledge in Zimbabwe(pp. 489-517)  

   Jorge M. Agüero / Prashant Bharadwaj

   DOI: 10.1086/675398

   Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675398
4. 

   Long-Term Health Effects of Malaria Exposure around Birth: Evidence from Colonial Taiwan(pp. 519-536)  

   Simon Chang / Belton Fleisher / Seonghoon Kim / Shi-yung Liu

   DOI: 10.1086/675434

   Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675434
5. 

   Magnet Classes and Educational Performance: Evidence from China(pp. 537-566)  

   Mingming Ma / Xinzheng Shi

   DOI: 10.1086/675387

   Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675387
6. 

   Quantifying Some of the Impacts of Economics Blogs(pp. 567-597)  

   David McKenzie / Berk Özler

   DOI: 10.1086/675383

   Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675383

May 26 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Ideas that change life





Bhimavarappu Mouli Aravind lost his eyesight at a young age but he found a way to pursue legal studies at National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata

My father is a compounder and mother, a homemaker. My younger brother is in class XII.
After an accident in class III, I slowly lost my eyesight but this has not stopped me from living my dream. I attended a schoo in my hometown Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. I had difficulty reading the blackboard and it was especially tough in the maths class. As my vision slowly worsened, I would sit on the first bench and jot down notes. I could not even see the diagrams in the textbooks properly. It majorly affected my life. In exams, the paper used to be printed in small font.After my class X, I went to Hyderabad -Sai Junior College for the Visually Challenged -for my intermediate course, that is class XI. It took me some time to adjust to campus life. When I was in class XII, my life changed as I met IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education) representatives who coach Common Law Admission Test aspirants free. IDIA, a pan-India organisation, conducted an entrance test in which I topped. I always thought lawyers are good for nothing. They simply sit under a tree and charge Rs 300-500 per case. But my opinion changed when Shamnad Basheer of IDIA talked to me about the significance of law and a lawyer's role in moulding society. I decid ed to pursue law at NUJS.
It was a very different life for me; I am from a society where we are not allowed to talk to girls. But I saw people speaking to each other freely and in English. I took sometime but I soon made friends who helped in my academics.
I had an opportunity to represent the university at the national level for a conference in Delhi. IDIA paid for my expenses and finally, my dream of visiting Delhi came true and I also enjoyed the conference.
I wish to become an IAS officer and help my community and other visuallychallenged people.

May 26 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Q & A `UNPLUG' LEARNING





JORGE CAUZ, president, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, transformed the 246-year-old company from a publisher primarily of printed reference works into a developer of digital education products. Cauz talks to Malini Sen

You have taken Britannica beyond its traditional base in reference into broader educational markets, such as curriculum, e-learning and language instruction. Could you share your journey with us?
The story of our journey can be explained in two different ways.
One is what is relevant for the Encyclopaedia Britannica brand -a brand that was created in 1768. Back then the mission of the company was to bring expert knowledge to as many people as possible. Obviously, back then, it took the shape of our print set. To bring expert knowledge to as many people as possible, one would have to be independent of the print medium, and be fully digital so that we can expand.The other part of the journey is our digital technologies that have allowed us to create new channels where Britannica can provide more meaningful prod ucts and add value. We are active participants in the learning process, and are going beyond the general reference and trying to educate students in more basic skills -English language, mathematical or science. So, we have created a different product line within the Britannica name.
Why did you feel the need to move from printed reference material to digital educational resources?
Print has limited space and to keep in tune with the times we needed to move beyond simply reference material. We needed to enter the educational resources market offering solutions at every level.
Technology has revolutionised every part of our lives, we needed to harness the potential of technology and move into e-resources globally where there are no limits, no boundaries.
The move from printed encyclopaedia to digital education resources has to do with the fact that educational resources are compliant with the Britannica brand where the main vision and mission of the company is to help our users and readers to improve the understanding of the universe in which we live.
We are becoming more of an everyday provider of informa tion and learning resources in classrooms. Before, we used to have only editors at Britannica.
Today, we have learning specialists, teachers, curriculum specialists and instructional designers that are building with us and helping us build new learning solutions for the market, where adaptability, interactivity and personalised learning are important.
How has the role of the teacher changed with the advent of technology?
The role of the teacher is more to coach than instruct.
Teachers and students can both modify and transform the e-content to suit their needs. The learning material is not that rigid any longer.
The role of the teacher has changed significantly and will continue to change over the coming years. In the past, the teacher was the person responsible for delivering instructions.
In the future, we will have more sophisticated digital teaching solutions, in addition.
Could you elaborate on the strategy for India and the role Britannica is playing?
Our strategy for India is quite robust. India was one of my first assignments at Britannica. We are keen to provide learning solutions. India is an important market and a place where we can actually create content.
Since 2009, Britannica Learning has been designing and developing curricular learning solutions in India, consisting of textbooks, interactive student and teacher resources, and providing teacher training to achieve desired learning outcomes and promote higher order thinking skills in the preK-10 segment for English, maths, science, social studies, general knowledge and IT.
Britannica Digital Learning is leveraging its extensive, mediarich global digital repositories, which are level and topic referenced, to enable enquiry-based and exploratory learning within the classroom and at home. The interactive content and games bring fun to learning. We also ensure that the resources are contextualised to be relevant to the Indian market.
How do you propose to `unplug' the library and take it to the classroom and homes?
The library has already been unplugged. A library is everywhere and is becoming a portable entity that is readily accessible to each one of us.
Before, knowledge was limited, but today it is readily available to us through a simple click of a mouse or a touch of a screen.
We have to distinguish between knowledge and other information. The library has not been unplugged by anyone; it now coexists in the classroom today in the digital devices students bring in the classroom as well as those that are available at home. I think the library now is omnipresent. One of the things we are noticing today is that the traditional library building is transforming itself into many other things, such as a community centre, and technology centre, into a place where knowledge sharing takes place. The new form of library is becoming an important part of knowledge and learning environment as these are the places where professionals are concentrated and there is guidance with important tips as to where a person needs to go to find reliable and trustworthy information.
What is your vision for the company in the next five years?
My vision for the company in the next five years is to continue to grow beyond 15% a year and our digital solutions in the K-12 market. We need to improve and continue creating new learning solutions. The main focus of our company today is to be a premier player in the K-12 learning space and for that we have been creating new digital solutions and a full line of curriculum products. And the other part is the traditional goal of Britannica -that of satisfying the knowledge needs of the intellectually curious person that we call the casual learner. We are proactively asking users and experts to participate with us in the creation of new content. So, the focus is twofold -the casual learner market as well as the K12 learning space.

May 26 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

TOPPERTALK `No formula for success'





Nidhi Shah speaks to commerce student Aditi Toshniwal who scored 98.33% in her ISC exam without coaching

When Aditi Toshniwal's teacher called her up with the news of her results, the family jumped with joy. The commerce student scored 98.33% (best of four subjects) in her class XII Indian School Certificate (ISC) exam -without any extra tuition and coaching.She hit the bull's eye with the perfect score in accounts and scored 99 in economics, 99 in commerce, 96 in maths and 95 in English.
“There is no formula for success, you have to derive it your way,“ says the Hyderabad-based teenager who had no plan to make it to the topper's list. Her only mantra was `one milestone at a time.' “When I started preparing for my board exams, I just wanted to understand my subjects in a better way. I didn't set any percentage targets for myself. My only goal was to pay attention to classroom teaching and revise my subjects regularly,“ says Aditi, who attended a school affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.
“I was confident about my accounts score as I practised sufficiently throughout the year. Practical subjects are my favourite. I think theoretical subjects start like a cakewalk, but get tougher at the end of the syllabus.
However, no subject remains alien if we give it proper time,“ she adds.
Aditi topped in her previous school, too, where she completed class X. Her basic routine would include around two hours of extra study daily.
“Quality studies are more important than the quantity. A month before the exam, my study hours grew a little longer but I never locked my self in a room just to study. I believe we, as students, need holistic growth,“ she says.
Her mother Anjali could not agree more. “Apart from studies, Aditi actively took part in dramatics and extra curricular activities.“
A native of Maharashtra living in Hyderabad for the past seven years, she gives the credit of her academic performance to her chemical engineer father and homemaker mother. “Due to my father's transferable job (in a pharmaceutical company), we shifted many places, but my parents never allowed my studies to get disturbed.
They supported my choices. It has always been a study-friendly environment at my home,“ she adds.
Her decision to opt for the commerce stream aligned with her parent's choice. “I was clear that I want to get into the corporate world and I like number-crunching, so commerce was the perfect choice,“ explains Aditi, who plans to apply to Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), Delhi University, and take the Common Proficiency Test of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. She concludes by giving advice to her peers, “There is no need to panic if you cover a small portion of your syllabus every day.“ > For more tips on various exams and entrance tests, visit http://www.educationtimes.com

May 26 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

`Walk-on-ceiling' shoes are here

Washington: AGENCIES





A British inventor has developed X-Men-style magnetic shoes that let users walk upside down.To create the shoes inspired by X-Men’s Magneto, Colin Furze drilled holes in an old pair and fitted the sole of each shoe with an electromagnet.
When the magnets proved to be too weak, he headed to the local scrap yard, located an abandoned microwave, and removed the transformer, CNET reported. Once the transformer was freed from its microwave, Furze sawed it up to get at the magnetic coil it contained, ran some current through it, and found that the coil could hold his 80kg frame.
Next, he created custommade plates attached to the magnets with straps that wrap
ped around his shoes. Then came switches for each shoe that could cut the current and allow him to move one foot in the front of the other.In a hilarious video, he demonstrates, unsuccessfully, his
attempts at learning to walk without crashing to the floor.
“The shoes will hold me with 12 volts of power, but it can really hurt your back,“ Furze said.
“My wife was a bit surprised when she saw me hanging upside down from the ceiling.“Magneto, the primary villain of the X-Men comic and movie series, can use his powers to manipulate electromagnetic fields and move objects around with his mind.
Furze has also created reallife Wolverine claws with 30cm stainless steel blades. The blades both deploy and retract automatically at the touch of a button held in the hand.
Some of Furze's earlier inventions include a turbojet engine and unique “vacuum shoes“.

TERI University introduces department of regional water studies -

TERI University in collaboration with Coca-Cola Foundation will launch the department of regional water studies. The department is to be name “Coca-Cola Department of Regional Water Studies”, It will examine water issues in an interdisciplinary framework, bringing cultural, educational and scientific factors as well as religious, ethical, social, political, legal institutional and economic dimensions towards a better and holistic approach in water management.

Arun Kansal, professor and head, Coca-Cola department of regional water studies, TERI, University stated that, apart from the academic value-addition, the department would help strengthen regional co operation around water resources by establishing networks of water management
The courses which will be offered are water quantity and resource assessment, water quality and treatment methods, water economics and financial management, water law, policy and governance and sustainability aspects.
After completion of the course students have the scope to serve in MNCs, NGOs, consultancies, grass root organizations and research institutes.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/05/teri-university-introduces-department-of-water-studies/#sthash.T0FOrrrm.dpuf

Nine Indian students win in Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2014 

In the world’s largest high school science research competition, i.e. the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, nine Indian students made their way out in the competition by winning awards. Abhishek Verma and Daksh Dua from Maharaja Agarsain Public School won the first award of $3.000 in the Animal Sciences category. The first position was awarded to Nathan Han of Boston with US$75,000 for developing a machine learning software tool to study mutations of a gene linked to breast cancer at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science and the Public.

The other Indian students who won awards are Kopal Gupta and Shreya Nandy of Amity International School, Debapratim Jana of South Point High School, Deeksha Hebbar from Vivekananda English Medium School, Jaya Sagar from Government Senior Secondary School, Manali, Animesh Tripathi from Sanskriti School and Amit Sahu from DAV Public School

This year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair featured more than 1,700 young scientists selected from 435 affiliate fairs in more than 70 countries, regions and territories. In addition to the top winners, more than 500 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including 17 “Best of Category” winners, who each received a US$5,000 prize. The Intel Foundation also awarded a US$1,000 grant to each winner’s school and to the affiliated fair they represent. Additionally, the Intel Foundation presented a select number of students with experiential awards, including the new 11-day trip to China to attend the country’s largest national science competition, speak with researchers at Intel’s lab in Shanghai, and visit the Panda Research Base in Chengdu.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/05/nine-indian-students-win-in-intel-international-science-and-engineering-fair-2014/#sthash.XIsaGeJS.dpuf

May 23 2014 : Mirror (Mumbai)

TOP TEN SPECIES OF 2014





An appealing carnivorous mammal, a 12-meter-tall tree that has been hiding in plain sight and a sea anemone that lives under an Antarctic glacier are among the species identified by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry's (ESF) International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) as the top 10 species discovered last year.An international committee of taxonomists and related experts selected the top 10 from among the approximately 18,000 new species named during the previous year and released the to coincide with the birthday, May 23, of Carolus Linnaeus, an 18th century Swedish botanist who is considered the father of modern taxonomy.
The annual list, established in 2008, calls attention to discoveries that are made even as species are going extinct faster than they are being identified.
Scientists believe 10 million species await discovery, five times the number that are already known to science. MM LEAF-TAILED GECKO Location: Australia It's not easy to spot this gecko, which has an extremely wide tail that is employed as part of its camouflage. Native to rain forests and rocky habitats, this gecko is a bit of a night owl. It is found on rocks and trees as it waits for prey. TINKERBELL FAIRYFLY Location: Costa Rica The tiny size and delicately fringed wings of the parasitoid wasp family Mymaridae led to their common name: fairyflies. Tinkerbella nana, named for Peter Pan's fairy sidekick, measures just 250 micrometers and is among the smallest insects. The new species was collected by sweeping vegetation in at LaSelva Biological Station in Costa Rica. KAWEESAK'S DRAGON TREE Location: Thailand Standing 12 meters tall, it's hard to believe the dragon tree went unnoticed this long.
Beautiful, soft, sword-shaped leaves with white edges and cream-colored flowers with bright orange filaments are the hallmarks of this impressive plant. The dragon tree is found in the limestone mountains of the Loei and Lop Buri Provinces in Thailand. ORANGE PENICILLIUM Location: Tunisia Distinguished by the bright orange colour it displays when produced in colonies.
It was isolated from soil in Tunisia. It also produces a sheet-like extra-cellular matrix that may function as protection from drought. DOMED LAND SNAIL Location: Croatia Living in complete darkness nearly 3,000 feet below the surface in the Lukina JamaTrojama caves of Croatia is the Domed Land Snail. This snail lacks eyes and it has no shell pigmentation giving it a ghost-like appearance. Even by snail standards, it moves slowly, creeping only a few millimeters a week. Researchers suspect these snails, measuring only 2mm in length, travel in water currents or hitchhike on cave animals, to travel longer distances. OLINGUITO » Location: Ecuador The appealing olinguito, resembling a cross between a slinky cat and a wide-eyed teddy bear, lives secretively in cloud forests of the Andes mountains in Colombia and Ecuador. It is an arboreal carnivore, that weighs in at about two kilo grams. It is the first new carnivorous mam mal described in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. Its apparent dependence on cloud forest habitat means deforestation is a threat. CLEAN MICROBES ROOM Location: USA Found in frequently sterilised rooms where spacecraft are assem bled, this resilient mi crobial species could potentially contaminate other planets that the spacecrafts visit. SKELETON SHRIMP Location: USA This tiny shrimp, the smallest in the genus, has an eerie, translucent appearance that makes it resemble a bony structure. The male's body measures just 3.3 millimeters; the female is even smaller at 2.1. AMOEBOID PROTIST Location: Mediterranean Sea This one-celled organism is four to five centimeters high, making it a giant in the world of single-celled creatures. It gathers pieces of silica spicules and uses them like so many Lego blocks to construct a shell. ANDRILL ANEMONE Location: Antarctica It's a species of sea anemone that lives under a glacier in Antarctica. The creature is tiny, less than 2.5cms long with most of its pale yellow bodies burrowed into the ice shelf and their roughly two dozen tentacles dangling into the frigid water below.





May 23 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

UGC asks DU not to appoint ad hoc teachers





New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday dealt a severe blow to ad hoc teachers employed in Delhi University colleges by asking colleges not to appoint them as their salary is not admissible as per UGC norms/guidelines.The letter sent by UGC has caused alarm in the teaching community as this policy will affect, as per DU Teachers’ Association’s estimate, over
5,000 ad hoc teachers. The association has demanded that the letter be withdrawn and a clarification issued.UGC directions state that posts of teachers on leave (presently filled by ad hoc teachers) be given to “contract or substitute teacher” who’ll be given “full salary except allowances, gratuity and increment.” On posts falling vacant due to retirement, resignation or death, UGC says, “guest/ part-time teacher may be appointed against the sanc
does not satisfy laid down norms. In any case, the number of such appointments should not exceed 10% of the total number of faculty positions in a college or University. The fixed emoluments paid to such contract teachers should not be less than the monthly gross salary of a regularly appointed assistant professor,” says a statement from DUTA.Media coordinator of Delhi University, Malay Neerav, said, “The executive council of
the university hasn’t accepted or introduced appointment of college teachers on contractual basis. As regards the issue of ad hoc appointments, the university will take up the matter with UGC to protect the interest of teachers.” A group of DUTA members met UGC officials on Thursday to “apprise them of discrepancy between the letter and UGC Regulations. DUTA’s executing committee will meet on May 23 to take stock of the situation.





May 23 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Avatar is no Superhero





Expansion of capability transforms the hero into superhero, says Devdutt Pattanaik

There is a fundamental dif ference between the words `superhero' and `avatar' and it is critical to understand this if one hopes to be a good leader.
Unfortunately, today, no thanks to videogames and Hollywood, the two words are used synonymously. The inability of those who understand Hinduism to explain the difference has further contributed to this miscommunication.In the beginning, in Europe, there were no superheroes. There were masked crusaders though, like Zorro and Scarlet Pimpernel, men who pretended to be ordinary but secretly displayed their extraordinary talents only to help the helpless. Hiding their talent was necessary so that they could mingle with ordinary folk, and unsuspecting villains. In other words, they were skilled and clever.
The extraordinary became the fantastic in an America spellbound by outer space, radioactivity and modern technology. There was Superman who came from outerspace and so had X-ray vision and superhuman strength.
There was Spiderman who was bitten by a mutant bug that enabled him to create spider webs. And there was Batman who used his wealth to create fantastic gadgets like the Batmobile. All of them hid their true capabilities and lived unremarkable lives as Clark Kent, Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne.
Both the European and the Amercian characters were like Greek heroes standing up against cruel authority (the supervillains) on behalf of ordinary folk.
But that is not an avatar. The word avatar is derived from another word `avatarana' ­ to come down. This word is commonly associated with Vishnu, the preserver of the cosmos. From his abode, Vaikuntha, Vishnu watches over the world. And from time to time he descends either as animal or human to set things right.
At face value, it seems exactly the same. So what is the difference?
Both help the helpless. But in the case of the superhero, the hero has to secretly unleash his extraordinariness to solve the problem. But in case of the avatar, Vishnu has to make himself less divine, more mortal, to solve the problem.
Expansion of capability transforms the hero into superhero. Compression of capability transforms Vishnu into avatar.
Vishnu `comes down' in not to save people from supervillains as many cartoon versions of Krishna seems to suggest; he `comes down' to uplift or do `uddhar'.
Ram may fight Ravana, but he does not seek to destroy Ravan; he seeks to enable Ravan to discover his divine potential, his ability to outgrow the animal instinct to grab and dominate.
In the superhero's story, the people around him stay the same. In the avatar's story, the people around him are hope fully transformed. In the superhero's story, the world becomes a bet ter place thanks to the superhero's intervention. In the avatar's story, the world remains as it was ­ hurtling to wards pralaya, the end of the world, which is unavoidable ­ but hopefully people are wiser and see the world dif ferently. The superhero's world is physical, tangible, measurable. The avatar's world is psychological, intangible, notmeasurable. Superheros save the world.
Avatar seeks to provoke wisdom about the nature of the world and humanity, knowing fully well he may not succeed.
At work, leaders often exhort their teams to become superheroes, solve problems that no one else can by discovering latent extraordinariness. That is the purpose of motivational speeches and pep talks and role models and success stories.
The burden of transformation rests with the followers. If the leader takes the burden of transformation upon himself, he then becomes the innovator, the saviour who tides over a crisis.
But to be avatar means working with people who are not as capable or skilled as you are, but who you know can be much better, within their parameters, if they try. It is about being able to go down to their level and helping them break free from their limitations. The trick is not to intimidate them or make them feel insecure for not being as smart as you are. It is about making them comfortable with who they are and creating an ecosystem where everyone feels they matter. This is not easy, for the temptation to be condescending is difficult to resist.
The superhero hides his extraordinariness so that those around him do not feel threatened. An avatar who is aware of his divine potential strives hard as fish, turtle, priest, king and cowherd to reveal the divine potential in those around him. The superhero seeks to solve the problems of the world. The avatar seeks to help people appreciate dharma, their human potential to cope with a world that resists all attempts to control it. The superhero gaze is on that elusive target. The avatar's gaze is on the happiness of the employee. The former does not include the latter; the latter includes the former. CD The word avatar is derived from another word `avatarana' ­ to come down. This word is commonly associated with Vishnu, the preserver of the cosmos An avatar who is aware of his divine potential strives hard as fish, turtle, priest, king and cowherd to reveal the divine potential in those around him le The superhero's world is physical, tangible, measurable. The avatar's world is psychological, e intangible, not-measurable

Table of Contents: International Social Work

May 2014; 57 (3)

Special issue: Educating for International Social Work: Issues and Considerations

Guest editors: Marion Brown and Helle Strauss

Editorial

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  • Marion Brown and
   
  • Helle Strauss

  Educating for internationalizing social work practices

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 197-200, doi:10.1177/0020872814521750
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Articles

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  • Mehmoona Moosa-Mitha

  Using citizenship theory to challenge nationalist assumptions in the construction of international social work education

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 201-208, doi:10.1177/0020872813519464
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  • Marjorie Johnstone and
   
  • Eunjung Lee

  Branded: International education and 21st-century Canadian immigration, education policy, and the welfare state

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 209-221, doi:10.1177/0020872813508572
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  • Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova and
   
  • Michael Rasell

  Integrating practice into Russian social work education: Institutional logics and curriculum regulation

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 222-234, doi:10.1177/0020872813519660
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  • Lynne M Healy and
   
  • Gidraph G Wairire

  Educating for the Global Agenda: Internationally relevant conceptual frameworks and knowledge for social work education

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 235-247, doi:10.1177/0020872813519463
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  • Catherine Allensworth Hawkins and
   
  • Karen Knox

  Educating for international social work: Human rights leadership

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 248-257, doi:10.1177/0020872813519462
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  • Lena Dominelli

  Internationalizing professional practices: The place of social work in the international arena

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 258-267, doi:10.1177/0020872814522671
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News and Views

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  News and Views...from ICSW: The Global Coalition for the Social Protection Floors: A new level of international cooperation

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 268-269, doi:10.1177/0020872814523702
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ISW Journal Prize

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  ISW Journal Prize

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 270, doi:10.1177/0020872814528441
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Abstracts

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  Abstracts (French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian)

  International Social Work May 2014 57: 271-280, doi:10.1177/0020872814529873
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