Aug 26 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Universe's earliest stars were monstrous: Study

TOKYO IANS





Little is known about the universe’s earliest stars but if we believe astronomers, they might have been hundreds of times more massive than the sun. Researchers have found evidence of the existence of the “monster stars” long thought to have populated the early universe.With hundreds of times the mass of the sun, such stars would have been the first to fuse primordial hydrogen and helium into heavier elements, leaving behind a chemical signature that the researchers have now found in an ancient, second generation star.
Simulations have long predicted that some of this first batch of stars were enormous.
“With masses of more than 100 times that of the sun, they would have lived and died in the cosmic blink of an eye, a few million years,” said Wako Aoki from the National Astrono mical Observatory of Japan in Tokyo.
As they exploded in supernovae, they created the first heavy elements from which later galaxies and stars evolved. Using a technique called stellar archaeology, Aoki and his colleagues found the first hint of such a star, preserved in the chemical makeup of its ‘ancient daughter’.
The chemistry of this relic – a star called SDSS J0018-0939 – suggests that it may have formed from a cloud of gas seeded with material created in the explosion of a single, very massive star.
“It seems Aoki has finally found an old relic that shows intriguing evidence that there really was such a monstrous star in the distant past,” added Naoki Yoshida, an astrophysicist at the University of Tokyo who was not involved in the study.
The results were published in the journal Science.

Aug 26 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Honeybees originated in Asia, not Africa says study

LONDON PTI





Honeybees appear to have originated from Asia around 3,00,000 years ago and not from Africa as previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers carried out the first global analysis of genome variation in honeybees. Their findings show a surprisingly high level of genetic diversity, and indicate that the species most probably originated from Asia, and not from Africa as believed.The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is of crucial importance for humanity. One third of our food is dependent on the pollination of fruits, nuts and vegetables by bees and other insects. Extensive losses of honeybee colonies in recent years are a major cause for concern. Honeybees face threats from disease, climate change, and management practices, researchers said.
To combat these threats it is important to understand the evolutionary history of honeybees and how they are adapted to different environments across the world, they said.
“In contrast to other domestic species, management of honeybees seems to have increased levels of genetic variation by mixing bees from different parts of the world. The findings may also indicate that high levels of inbreeding are not a major cause of global colony losses,“ said Matthew Webster from Uppsala University.
Another unexpected result was that bees seem to be derived from an ancient lineage of cavity-nesting bees that arrived from Asia around 3,00,000 years ago and rapidly spread across Europe and Africa. This stands in contrast to previous research that suggests thy originated from Africa.
“The evolution ary tree we con structed from ge nome sequences does not support an origin in Africa, this gives us new insight into how honey bees spread and became adapted to habitats across the world,“ said Webster.
Hidden in the patterns of genome variation are signals that indicate large cyclical fluctuations in population size that mirror historical patterns of glaciation. This indicates that climate change has strongly impacted honeybee populations historically.
They also identified specific mutations in genes important in adaptation to climate and pathogens.
The study was published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Coaching centres come under Supreme Court scanner

Coaching centres for professional courses, which have mushroomed across the country and are notorious for harassing students over fees and issuing misleading advertisements about their achievements that create false hope and even lead to suicides amongst students, have come under the scanner of the Supreme Court. 

Shockingly, the Human Resource Development Ministry, in an affidavit filed in the apex court in connection with a PIL on the issue, has admitted to suicides by students enrolled at coaching centres. However, it washed its hands of the matter, saying it is the responsibility of states to act against errant institutes. "Human Resource Development Ministry is only responsible for coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education and research, scientific and technical institutions.

There have been instances of suicides committed by students, including of premier educational institutions like IITs and NITs and the reasons as per fact finding and inquiry committees have been depression, peer pressure and emotional. Concerned state's law and order authority has to take action against the coaching centre," said the affidavit filed by Gopal Krishna, a senior HRD ministry official.

He said the report of a central task force had recommended a counselling centre in each institute but most centres have not implemented this measure. The alarming situation, which raises serious questions about the manner of functioning of a large number of coaching centres that have mushroomed across the country, was brought to the notice of the apex court through the PIL filed by the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students' wing of the CPI-M.

"Because of the hype created by the aggressive advertising by the coaching institutes, a situation has arisen where when a child realizes that he can't make it to the attempted medical or engineering course, the guilt of spending his/her father's hard-earned money on coaching classes is leading him/her to commit suicide," the PIL said. Quoting a report by credit rating agency Crisil, the PIL said the private coaching business is currently worth Rs.40,000 crore a year and is expected to grow to more than Rs.80,000 crore.
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Realising the gravity of the situation, the CBSE informed the apex court that it recently issued a circular which stated: "Premises of CBSE schools should not be used for commercial activity. No coaching classes or parallel classes should be run in a school that consumes and affects regular time table of school and that deviates focus of students from regular course of study."

The SFI's lawyers, Deepak Prakash and Subhash Chandran, argued that the coaching centres not only caused a financial burden on students by insisting on payment of the entire course fee in advance but also created psychological problems and increased stress levels. "These coaching institutions offer false hopes to students and parents, promising bright results even though the candidate may not even have an aptitude for engineering or medicine," the PIL said.

Source | http://indiatoday.intoday.in

Aug 25 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

TOPPERTALK - `Hard work is the key'

As told to Sarah Zia





Sanjay Nawandhar, all-India rank one in the CA final exam, shares tips for success

I have been studying papers related to chartered accountancy for three years now. I secured the sixth position nationally in the institute's Common Proficiency Test and the second rank in the Integrated Professional Competence Course exam, which is at an intermediate level.The final exam is the toughest, with the difficulty level of questions scaling up at every stage.My study schedule included five to six hours of rigorous study every day.I have consistently followed this pattern for nearly three years now, while preparing for other exams. Unlike others who enrol for coaching classes at centres, I learnt from individual specialists of different papers. One needs to prepare eight modules for this exam and I prepared for seven of them under different private tutors. I felt confident about tackling the costing paper with self-study alone. I studied commerce at DAV School, Jaipur, following which I pursued a BCom at the University of Rajasthan while preparing for the chartered accountancy exam.
I followed a three-pronged strategy for preparation: I set clear, achievable targets, planned actions which helped me achieve them and then worked hard towards those goals. Hard work is the key to success, yet discipline is equally important. One has to discipline oneself against any distraction or wastage of time. To manage time better during the exam, I suggest that aspirants practise previous years' papers which will also help to familiarise them with their pattern.
Now that I have cleared the final stage, I am looking to work in the finance sector. Most people suggest that I start practising as a chartered accountant (CA) immediately, but I would first like to work in different roles for some time. It is a myth that people who clear this exam only work as CAs. While being a full-time CA is a well-paying career, one can go for other roles such as a finance controller, tax controller and account manager, among others.

Aug 25 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Leave IITs Alone





Instead of reforming higher education, UGC and HRD ministry are steadily assuming the role of Big Brother

oes the left hand of the NDA government know what its right hand is up to? Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the 16 Indian Institutes of Technology last week to teach bright minds the “science of thinking and the art of living”, challenging them to come up with new technologies in defence, healthcare and for common people in their day-to-day lives. Paradoxically, recent Big Brother-like moves by the education bureaucracy to force the IITs into following staid and unimaginative UGC course norms – which they never had to before – will end up damaging the very innovative spirit and creativity that Modi is appealing to at the IITs.New UGC guidelines after the fracas over the four-year undergraduate programme at Delhi University initially forced private universities to scrap some innovative programmes. Then the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, was constrained to tweak and rename a course. Finally, UGC mandarins decided to extend the deadening hand of state control over IITs too, asking them to follow UGC norms.
When two IIT directors protested that their institutes are governed by a separate Act of Parliament with no UGC jurisdiction – which is indeed the case – the HRD ministry reportedly advised them to list out non-conforming courses and review them jointly with UGC mandarins.
The PM must clamp down on all such efforts to interfere with IITs. They are a global calling card for India and remain a rare beacon of excellence in an otherwise bleak landscape of higher education precisely because they have had full autonomy to manage their affairs so far. A few bureaucrats sitting in Delhi – deciding on what can or can’t be taught across the country – may satisfy the controlling instincts of Big Brother but there can be nothing worse for education and creativity.
Instead of reforming higher education, UGC and the HRD ministry headed by Smriti Irani appear bent on a logic-defying fetish for control.
PM Modi announced recently that the Planning Commission would be wound up. A good way to look at UGC is as the Planning Commission of the educational sector. It ought to be wound up and an educational think tank, which can offer professional advice and ratings and perhaps disburse some funds as well without having coercive power over educational institutions, set up in its place.

MHRD Internship to begin soon

The Human Resource Development Ministry has introduced an internship scheme called MHRD Internship Scheme-2014 for Indian nationals pursuing graduation, post graduation and research studies from a recognised university or institute within India or abroad and will be given a chance to intern with different government departments in the domain of education.

Students are eligible to apply for these internships if they are pursuing an under-graduate, post-graduate degree or even if they are working in a research programme in education, social science, science, humanities, management, engineering, ICT and law from any recognised university or institution within India or abroad.

The government would start with the first batch of this internship from October 1 and only six students will be selected per batch.

As part of this internship programme, students will work closely with the HRD Ministry for two months wherein they will be paid a fixed stipend of Rs 10,000.

Government officials reveal that this internship is being provided to students so that they can be involved in formulating policies and also understand how various projects are implemented.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/08/mhrd-internship-to-begin-soon/#sthash.bdZUQl68.dpuf

Rajasthan Sets Up First Skill Development Centre

In a move to help the state’s unemployed youth with good job-oriented training programmes, the Rajasthan government has set up India’s first dedicated skill development centre in Udaipur. Set up under the ‘Livelihood Skill Project’, the one-of-its-kind centre is aimed at getting the state’s young poulation job ready and aid the development of the state. The Udaipur centre was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje and the state government is in plans to open 200 such centres in the 33 districts of Rajasthan. MoUs have also been inked with 40 agencies which will provide skilled training to the youth, Raje informed. - See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/08/rajasthan-sets-up-first-skill-development-centre-2/#sthash.TwYvzg03.dpuf