Jun 11 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

SECOND OPINION - What a waste

Jug Suraiya





India's undiscovered youthful talent goes abegging in foreign lands

In a piazza, in the historic centre of Rome, a man in the saffron robes of a yogi held a four-foot high pole on which another saffron-clad yogi sat with perfect balance. It was an amazing act, worthy of any circus. Here it was being performed for the small change passers-by might chose to throw into the box in front of the two yogis.All over Rome, there were young men from the Indian subcontinent earning a precarious livelihood by being streetside performers, or selling tacky souvenirs. Most were illegal immigrants, keeping a wary eye out for the police.
Almost anywhere you go in the world you will find young Indian men, on the fringe of the underworld, economic refugees in an alien land so remote in every sense from their home. To survive they must learn foreign languages, keep out of reach of the long arm of the law, and hone a variety of skills to earn whatever they can, however they can.
Financial desperation compels them to leave home and family to seek whatever scant and chancy fortune they might find in a distant and inhospitable clime. Unlike the contract workers who go to the Gulf, and earn enough to send remittances home, these gypsy-like vagabonds who swarm all over Europe and Southeast Asia have no regular jobs or source of income; they live on the edge, with no scope for savings.
We talk about the `brain drain' which depletes India of educated profes sionals like doctors and computer buffs who go to live abroad to better their prospects.
This represents a huge loss for the country in terms of trained human resources. Few, if any, compute the loss to the country repre sented by the unrecorded, and often illegal, flight of unskilled emigrants ­ sometimes referred to as `kabutars', or pigeons ­ who are forced by brute economic necessity to flee to foreign shores, more often than not with the untrustworthy help of unscrupulous touts and racketeers who exploit and fleece them before abandoning them to their hazardous fate.
The ability to survive against the odds, often in a hostile environment, is proof of the innate aptitudes, the `street smarts', that these self-willed exiles must possess. Properly harnessed, the talents that so many of them display could be put to use for the benefit of their home country .
The elections have witnessed an induction of more than 150 million firsttime voters. The greatest challenge that the new government faces is to devise ways and means to put to productive use this collective energy which could transform the country , economically and socially .
The solution lies not in the creation of yet more sarkari jobs and adding to an already bloated bureaucracy . The answer lies in out-of-the-box thinking: micro-financing grassroots entrepreneurs, encouraging self-employment through vocational training, creating sources of productive livelihood instead of creating unproductive government jobs.
Unless this is done, millions of India's `kabutars' will continue to fly out of the country to far-off lands, to perform tricks and sell trinkets and live on the uncertain kindness of foreign strangers, living evidence of India's begging bowl.
secondopinion@timesgroup.com http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/

Jun 11 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

What Women Want





Before next Parliament session, Modi must solidify support for women's reservation Bill

Like the Nirbhaya tragedy two years ago, the Badaun rape-murders have galvanised national outrage. In both cases statements by politicians, reiterating instead of rejecting traditional misogyny, have been sadly out of sync with public sentiment. But change is on the horizon. Giving voice to the new government’s priorities, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday spelled out a commitment to 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. Rolling out the women’s reservation Bill will send a very powerful, consequential signal of women’s empowerment.In the 2014 election campaign the issue of women’s welfare rose to ground-breaking prominence, in part because female voters outnumbered male counterparts in many states. Unfortunately increase in female turnout isn’t matched by increase in female candidates. Leaders across the political spectrum – including Brinda Karat, Jayanthi Natarajan and Sushma Swaraj – have emphasised that entrenched patriarchy rules the roost even in ticket distribution.
When UPA tried to pass the women’s reservation Bill, intransigent parties like SP carried much more weight. But the legislative landscape has shifted. Not only is the NDA government stronger, on this issue it can count on Sonia Gandhi’s support. Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee would be sympathetic, as would the Left. So the odds of passing this longmothballed legislation have never been as strong as now. This is a chance that must not be missed.
We are not votaries of reservations across the board. For example, rather than caste quotas for education and jobs, it’s better to have universalisation of school education of a decent standard, along with expansion of higher education with scholarships for poor students. But the women’s reservation Bill is a special case, for two reasons. One, the appalling extent of misogyny in the country that ensures, for example, that sex ratios get skewed or that rape of women and girls in Badaun is a routine affair without check from authorities. This wouldn’t be possible if a lot of politicians were women. Two, it’s an issue of political representation rather than merit. One isn’t talking about recruiting aircraft pilots or surgeons, so there can’t be any question of lowering of standards if one abandons merit-based criteria – commonsensical qualities rather than technical skills are pertinent. On the heels of an election campaign where many political parties said they were committed to women’s empowerment, it’s now incumbent on them to walk the talk and pass the Bill.

Why People Don't Acknowledge You

How important is it that you get recognition from others?   

More often than not, people don’t—or won’t—acknowledge you for your contributions and accomplishments. Which may seem a little strange since almost all of us harbor hopes for such recognition—one reason, perhaps, that the expression “fishing for compliments” is so well-known. But though it might seem intuitive that people would be more than willing to give what they’d greatly appreciate getting themselves, this typically isn’t the case.
Assuming that you’re like the majority of us, wishing (maybe even yearning) to be explicitly recognized for what you do relates to the fact that validation from others just feels good. Reaching all the way back to childhood and your need for your parents’ reassurance and approval, being acknowledged by others helps you feel more accepted and secure. And, consequently, more comfortable inside yourself. More important still, such recognition assists you in perceiving yourself as desirable, valuable, and esteemable. In a word, special.

In one way or another, virtually everybody dreams of standing out, being admired, acclaimed—even, well, applauded. To be viewed, and to view ourselves, as merely “average” or “adequate” really doesn’t do very much for us—or rather, our ego. And this may be all the more so because we live in a meritorious, American-Idol-type society that refuses to celebrate or lavish praise on individuals unless they’re judged exceptional. This circumstance explains why we may experience a certain envy when we hear drums banging for someone else. Secretly, we long to hear a drum roll beating for us.

Granted, there may be an element inherent in our nature—grandiosity, no doubt—that makes us wish to be thought highly of. For when complimented, we’re likely to glow internally. Approbation from others whose authority we respect serves to verify our sense of inner worth. And such external approval is especially important for those still plagued by self-doubt. Unfortunately, master manipulators can take advantage of this almost universal susceptibility to compliments by guilefully employing them to seduce us into emptying out our wallets. As long as we’re tricked into trusting their ingratiating kudos, we’re liable to be taken in by them. For to feel favorably recognized wonderfully addresses one of our heart’s (okay, ego’s) deepest desires.

But, and probably much more often than not, the recognition that we hope for simply isn’t going to happen. So when someone fails to acknowledge you when you think what you’ve done deserves acknowledgment, it’s wise not to take this to heart. For various reasons, it’s crucial that when you’ve executed something well, demonstrated skill or talent, behaved generously or selflessly, you learn how to congratulate yourself. That way you can avoid the let-down, the frustration, discouragement, or disgruntlement—and maybe even the anger and indignation—that otherwise will likely accompany your disappointment. Think of it. It always makes sense not to have to depend on others’ reactions in order to regard yourself positively. Ideally, your goal should be to feel unconditionally good about who you are independent of any external “favorability meter”—and also free of whether you’re presently embarked on some course of self-improvement. (And in this respect, you might want to look at my post “The Path to Unconditional Self-Acceptance”.)
What I’d like to suggest here is that by better grasping the underlying causes of why so many people might resist offering you the acknowledgment you wish for, their denial should be a lot easier to take. So consider the descriptions below that explain why many people (including—just possibly—yourself?!) can be so stingy with compliments:

• If they were “recognition-deprived” in growing up (by parents far more likely to criticize than to commend them), praising another might feel uneasy or unsettling (and for reasons that, consciously, they can only dimly perceive). Bestowing on someone else the acknowledgment they never received themselves might open the lid on long-suppressed psychic pain, making them experience afresh never-healed emotional wounds.

• If they’re competitive—because they need constantly to prove themselves—then explicitly paying tribute to another’s achievements might make them feel as though they’re admitting inferiority, ineptitude, or defeat—a confession of failure their fragile ego might lack the strength to tolerate. Even beyond that, some individuals can only feel good about themselves by putting others down, in which case the only compliments they're capable of are backhanded ones.

• If they think that another’s accomplishments and contributions (particularly their children’s) are no more than what ought to be expected from them, they may not regard such acts as even worthy of acknowledgment.

• If they believe (or had drilled into them by praise-withholding parents) that lauding another for their achievements might go to the recipient’s head—that is, lead them to become conceited, cocky, or egotistical—then they may intentionally withhold recognition (and regardless of how much the situation might warrant it).

• If they’re in denial about their own unmet need for acknowledgment, it might not even occur to them that positively recognizing another—and for that person’s efforts, as well as accomplishments—might be in order. For example, commending a friend, when appropriate, is a responsibility (in fact, almost a “requirement”) in a close relationship; yet they’re unable to do so.

• If they have a strong sense of entitlement (because, say, their parents actually prompted them to believe the privileges they received were actually “rights”), then whatever recognition they receive from others will be expected, or taken for granted. And so any sense of obligation to respond in kind won’t be part of their (narcissistic) behavioral repertoire. They actually won’t even consider expressing appreciation, thanks, or gratitude when someone acts generously or kindly toward them.

All of which is to say that your not being acknowledged likely says much more about the other person than it does about you—or your worthiness. So in such situations you’ll be far better off once you learn to be content simply through becoming more adept at self-acknowledgment.

Jun 10 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Rats show regret, once thought to be uniquely human

MM





New research from the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota reveals that rats show regret, a cognitive behaviour once thought to be uniquely and fundamentally human. Research findings were recently published in Nature Neuroscience.To measure the cognitive behaviour of regret, David Redish, a professor at the University of Minnesota and Adam Steiner, a student who led the study, started from the definitions of regret identified in the past.
“Regret is the recognition that you made a mistake, that if you had done something else, you would have been better off,” said Redish.
“The difficult part of this study was separating
regret from disappointment, which is when things aren’t as good as you would have hoped.The key to distinguishing between the two was letting the rats choose what to do.” Redish and Steiner developed a new task that asked rats how long they were willing to wait for certain foods. “It’s like waiting in line at a restaurant,” said Redish. “If the line is too long at the Chinese restaurant, then you give up and go to the Indian restaurant across the street.” In this task, which they named “Restaurant Row,” the rat is presented with a series of food options but has limited time at each “restaurant.” Research findings show rats were willing to wait longer for certain flavours, implying they
had individual preferences. Because they could measure the rats’ individual preferences, Steiner and Redish could measure good deals and bad deals. Sometimes, the rats skipped a good deal and found themselves facing a bad deal.“In humans, a part of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex is active during regret. We found in rats that recognised they had made a mistake, indicators in the orbitofrontal cortex represented the missed opportunity. Interestingly, the rat’s orbitofrontal cortex represented what the rat should have done, not the missed reward. This makes sense because you don’t regret the thing you didn’t get, you regret the thing you didn’t do,” said Redish.

Jun 10 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Artificial intelligence passes the Turing Test

MM





A historic milestone in artificial intelligence set by Alan Turing ­ the father of modern computer science ­ has been achieved for the first time more than 60 years after it was created

The 65 year-old iconic Turing Test was passed for the very first time by supercomputer Eugene Goostman during Turing Test 2014 held at the renowned Royal Society in London at an event organised by the University of Reading.Eugene, a computer programme that simulates a 13-year-old boy, was developed in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The development team includes Eugene’s creator Vladimir Veselov, who was born in Russia and now lives in the United States, and Ukrainian born Eugene Demchenko who now lives in Russia.
The Turing Test is based on 20th century mathematician and code-breaker Turing’s 1950 famous question and answer game, ‘Can Machines Think?’. The experiment investigates whether people can detect if they are talking to machines or humans. The event is particularly poignant as it took place on the 60th anniversary of Turing’s death, nearly six months after he was given a posthumous royal pardon.
If a computer is mistaken for a human more than 30 per cent of the time during a series of five minute keyboard conversations it passes the test. No computer has ever achieved this, until now. Eugene managed to convince 33 per cent of the human judges that it was human.
This historic event was organised by the University’s School of Systems Engineering in partnership with RoboLaw, an EU-funded organisation examining the regulation of emerging robotic technologies.
“Some will claim that the Test has already been passed. The words Turing Test have been applied to similar competitions around the world. However this event involved the most simultaneous comparison tests than ever before, was independently verified and, crucially, the conversations were unrestricted. A true Turing Test does not set the questions or topics prior to the conversations. We are therefore proud to declare that Alan Turing’s Test was passed for the first time,” said Professor Kevin Warwick, a Visiting Professor at the University of Reading.
“Of course the Test has implications for society today. Having a computer that can trick a human into thinking that someone, or even
something, is a person we trust is a wake-up call to cybercrime. The Turing Test is a vital tool for combating that threat. It is important to understand more fully how online, real-time communication of this type can influence an individual human in such a way that they are fooled into believing something is true... when in fact it is not.” Eugene was one of five supercomputers battling it for the Turing Test 2014 Prize.“I want to congratulate everyone who worked on Eugene Goostman. Our whole team is very excited with this result. It’s a remarkable achievement for us and we hope it boosts interest in artificial intelligence and chatbots,” said Vladimir Veselov, on winning the competition and achieving this historic milestone.
“Eugene was ‘born’ in 2001. Our main idea was that he can claim that he knows anything, but his age also makes it perfectly reasonable that
he doesn’t know everything. We spent a lot of time developing a character with a believable personality. This year we improved the ‘dialog controller’ which makes the conversation far more human-like when compared to programs that just answer questions. Going forward we plan to make Eugene smarter and continue working on improving what we refer to as ‘conversation logic’.” Turing, who played a major role in breaking the “Enigma” code used by Nazi Germany, is often hailed as a genius who laid the groundwork for modern computing. But he ended his life in sadness, committing suicide in 1954 at the age of 41, two years after being convicted of the then crime of homosexuality.He was awarded a posthumous pardon by Queen Elizabeth II in December 2013 following along campaign by supporters.

Jun 09 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Mr Tata's Class act





It was in December last year that the prestigious Tata Hall, named after and funded by Ratan Tata, was inaugurated at Harvard Business School. The arc-shaped, seven-storey, glass and brick building includes residential space, classrooms, and common areas for Executive Education participants and has been designed by William Rawn Associates.But it was only last week that one had a virtual tour of the 100-crore project, thanks to Nisha Jamvwal, who was invited for lunch there and made copious notes of the architectural masterpiece that it is. The building reflects Mr Tata’s distinctive aesthetic sense —
minimalistic, detailed and elegant.Class rooms and conference halls overlook the river, while abstract Indian art adorn the walls. We are told the art is from Mr Tata’s personal collection, as he was closely involved in the planning of the centre of learning for world leaders. The other striking feature of the hall are the two long sculptural benches facing each other created by Matthias Pliessnig and the three open gardens flanking the hall.
“I think it should make every Indian proud, it did make my chest swell with pride because its an Indian landmark on the banks of the Charles River...” says Nisha. Indeed.

Jun 09 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

KICK-START LIFE

ANUPA BARIK |

TNN





From the bylanes of the city's red-light area to the mecca of soccer lovers, Old Trafford, this is the tale of a 16 year-old's near-impossible journey that finally ended in his dream coming true. Today, the teenager, Rajib Roy, is happy to spread the mantra of his life -try and try until you succeed -among his peers at Rahul Vidya Niketan, a school for sex workers' children at Baruipur on the fringes of Kolkata. Rajib is almost a messiah for these children as he shares with them his experiences from a six day football training under Manchester United and gives them a reason to live and dream.Being the son of a sex worker and living off the bare minimum essentials of life, Rajib went through a lot of struggle to reach the top of the ladder. Today, he boasts of being the first under-16 footballer in India to have a two-year contract with a FIFA-approved agent who will train and promote him globally.
Rajib now has a mission in life -to be a model for change in his society. His urge to incorporate his practice lessons from Manchester to the fields of Rabindra Kanan is slowly taking shape.
While his hard work and determination saw him reap rich dividends, it was his `godfather' Biswajit Mojumdar, for mer footballer and coach of Rajib's football academy, who led him ball academy, who led him through the rough journey.
Members of Rahul Vidya Niketan, a school set up by the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, and its founder, Samarjit Jana, believe that sport is one of the best ways to integrate these children into mainstream society.
Rajib's dream began materialising when he represented the school for the 2013 Airtel U-16 school football tournament which took place in seven cities in India. Though the team lost in the quarter-finals, Rajib was unani mously chosen by Airtel and the Indian Football Association (IFA) as one of the top 30 players of the tour nament. The list included Rajib's friend Arko along with 28 players from various parts of India. The sub sequent camp was held in Goa where ManU coaches scooped up the top 11 to travel to the city of the Red Devils for training. raining.
The UK experience and training have made Rajib an inspi ration and a real-life story that many in his area want to repliate. This right winger is sure to strike a goal at changing his underprivi leged community as he gets to coach and train the children of the area while reaching for the stars himself.