Locating gender in the digital divide

In order to attempt to close the digital divide, we must recognize not only the economic factors but also address the social and cultural barriers that discourage women from meaningfully using the internet.

While conducting research on young women’s engagement with online spaces, I had a conversation with 16-year-old Jyoti about how she uses the internet and the websites she likes visiting. Jyoti, who lives in a single room apartment with her two parents and older brother, told me that every time she logs in to the internet, her brother looks over her shoulder to keep an eye on which website she is accessing. While it is acceptable for her to use online dictionaries for help with homework and occasionally access news websites, she is not allowed to use Facebook or other social media sites. Unlike her brother, she is also not allowed to have a mobile phone since her parents are worried that she might use the phone to chat with boys.

The ‘Digital in 2017’ report compiled by Hootsuite, social media management platform, and We Are Social, a social media agency, demonstrates that compared to the global internet penetration rate of 50%, only 35% of the Indian population uses the internet. This digital divide is largely understood in terms of lack of access to digital resources and the absence of digital literacy skills. However, the report also makes visible gender as a crucial factor that determines internet usage; the report demonstrates that when it comes to Facebook users, the percentage of male users outnumber female users in every age group. In India, of the total 191 million Facebook users in India, only 24% are female. In order to close the digital divide, we must therefore recognise not only the economic factors but also address the social and cultural barriers that discourage women from meaningfully using the internet.

My conversation with Jyoti is reminiscent of the many instances where women’s access to mobile and internet technology has been a cause for moral panic. Recently, a panchayat in Uttar Pradesh decided to impose a fine on women seen using mobile phones outside their homes, stating that mobile phones lead women to a “wrong path”. Such a fear of women using mobile phones must be understood in the broader context of patriarchal restrictions on women’s autonomy, mobility and self-expression.

Accessing online spaces allows women to forge friendships and relationships, and express sexual and romantic desires outside the surveillant gaze of their families and communities. As can be seen in Facebook pages such as Feminism in India and Dalit Women Fight , access to online spaces also enables women to form communities and voice their resistance to the many forms of gender and caste-based violence that they face in their everyday lives.

However, efforts by women to participate in online spaces and make their voices heard is often met with violence , leading women to withdraw from such spaces. Earlier this year, Gurmehar Kaur spoke about deleting her Facebook account after receiving rape threats in response to one of her posts. The incident exemplifies how the presence of women in online spaces and their participation in political debates is seen as a challenge to the status quo that limits women’s participation to the private sphere. Efforts towards addressing the gender gap in internet access and use must not only take into account issues of access but also work towards creating spaces where women can participate without fear of violence. Only then can the potential of the internet as a space for education, self-expression and mobilization be realised.

Sujatha Subramanian is with the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Ohio State University

Source: Hindustan Times, 29-05-2017

Developed states not adding to skill sets; face big gaps: ASSOCHAM Study

New Delhi: The most economically developed states are not adequately adding to skill sets , which may result in the severe shortages of skilled manpower in the coming years, with Maharashtra leading the table followed by Tamil Nadu, according to an ASSOCHAM-Thought Arbitrage Paper.

Other states which lack in creating skilled manpower include Haryana, Gujarat, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, said the paper.

By 2022, the biggest deficit in supply of skilled labour force is expected to be faced by Maharashtra, with the number pegged at 48.9 lakh persons, according to the paper. Tamil Nadu comes close second with shortage of 46.3 lakh.

“These two states together account for more than 70 per cent of the skills deficit in these seven states (mapped by the paper) with highest per capita NSDP and large skill gaps. Haryana and Gujarat are expected to face shortage of approximately 13 lakhs and 11 lakhs persons respectively by 2022. Kerala, Himachal Pradesh. and Punjab are likely to witness skills shortage of about five lakhs each by 2022,”, it said.

In terms of verticals, construction, building and real estate would have incremental human resource requirement of 31 million in the next five years, while retail sector would need about 17 million additional work force. Other sectors generating employment opportunities through skill up- gradation include beauty and wellness (10 million), transportation and logistics (12 million), furniture and furnishing (7.2 million) and handloom, handicrafts (6 million). Textiles and clothing would require additional 6.3 million people and tourism and hospitality 6.5 million.

“Our mapping of the skills shortages suggest that committing resources to training and skill upgradation would serve the twin purpose of employment creation as also helping the industries to grow in a cost effective manner,” said ASSOCHAM Secretary General Mr D S Rawat.

Source: Indiaeducationdiary, 28-05-2017

Stress-Busting Techniques Every Engineering Student Must Follow

Engineering is packed with potential stress situations. From gathering information of btechcourses, preparing the research papers on time, taking semester examinations to maintaining the attendance percentage, everything, just everything can make any student feel stressed. While stress and anxiety are unavoidable for students, it doesn’t have to demolish a student’s life or make a significant impact on their academic performance. There are many stress-busting techniques that can effectively take off the burden and help students excel and perform better at studies. Here are five stress-busting techniques that can help every engineering student have a lower-stress college life.

Plan a Study Strategy

Having a well-planned study strategy will make any student feel less burdened. Break down projects into small parts and set targets to accomplish each part. This way, you will have enough time to concentrate on each part and get the project finished right on time. On the other hand, if the examinations are approaching close, making a proper study strategy by dedicating enough time to all the subjects would make the night before the exam less stressful.

Think Positive

Feasting the mind with positive outcomes would make a huge impact on performance and grades. Students should always remember that one simple negative thought would lead to another and before they realise it, there will be a chain of negative thoughts already in their mind. A better approach is to feel confident and motivated about examinations and studies and keeping the mind away from negative thoughts as much as possible. However, it’s okay to feel anxious at times.

Indulge in Fun & Entertainment Activities

Rewarding your body every day with a reward can be of a big help. Engineering students should make sure that they are indulging in some form of entertainment and fun activities once a day. Keeping the mind always on pressure would be of no help. Instead, it will start affecting your grades. From watching movies to hanging out with friends, you can do whatever that makes you feel happy and rejuvenated.

Exercise

While there are many benefits of exercising, stress management tops the list. No matter what the stress level is, an hour of rigorous workout can fight stress like anything else. We understand it’s hard to maintain an exercise routine with studies, but something as simple as a walk or run can refresh the brain and make it all ready for the intense study sessions. If there is an on-campus gymnasium, nothing is better than spending a few hours early in the morning to make the body and brain ready for the upcoming lectures.

Sleep Well

The human body needs adequate sleep to perform and function better on a daily basis. However, there are times when an all-nighter is the only option that seems functional to the students. Pulling an all-nighter once or twice a month is surely not a problem, but making it a habit is. Students need to understand the value of a good night’s sleep, especially if the exams are approaching close.

Fighting with stress is an art, and every student should excel in it. Stress can sabotage the efforts a student makes to score well and can affect other areas of life as well. Fortunately, several coping strategies can effectively keep one away from feeling overburdened or stressed. Five such strategies are listed above. So, if you are pursuing engineering or gathering information of b tech courses and plan to pursue in future, keep these stress management tips handy, to make those four crucial years of your life pass like a breeze. Many institutions like BML Munjal University offer their students with stress management sessions that help them perform better and score well.

Source: Indiaeducationdiary, 28-09-2017

Become a Witness

SUKSHMANANDA SWAMI





Detachment is not indifference or lack of love. In fact, it is real love because it is not related to appearance. Witness has no attachment and, hence, no detachment is needed. Ego has attachment, therefore, detachment has to be developed.If appearance was a permanent reality , we could not make changes. We make changes in our lives in order to gain new experiences. This is possible only because that particular part of life is not reality , it is appearance, and until we know what reality is, we will continue the game of changes to modify our experiences. This is the age of browsing. We browse quickly through a variety of experiences, including relationships.The browsing will continue till we reach reality . So, in one sense, by browsing, we are indirectly searching for reality .
Spirituality eliminates the disparity between appearance and reality . The answer, “I don't know why I love you, I just do,“ reveals the ridiculousness of the situation. If you do not know why you love, it simply means you are not conscious about your love. True love never generates problems but is always part of the solution; it is part of witness, not ego.
The ability to love the world is a post-transformation state. A single glimpse or a single darshan of God alone is insufficient to transform a person's whole life. The darshan should become the background music of our lives, or it will appear and disappear like everything else in life. Only when we see the difference between the eternally real and the ephemeral image will our problems disappear.

She toiled and managed her time well

Multifaceted Raksha Edited School Newspaper, Took Part In Model United Nations

Unlike lakhs of others, it was no less than a VIP telephone call that delivered the news of her performance in CBSE's Class XII exams to Raksha Gopal on Sunday . As she was trying to log in and find out how she had done, a call came. At the other end was union human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar congratulating her for having topped the allIndia list.“I freaked out,“ recalled an elated Raksha later in the day .“The minister was very proud that someone from the humanities stream had left the others behind. When I told him I want to get a degree in political science, he welcomed me to the subject.“
She may have obtained 99.6%, but the 17-year-old chose to be modest, saying luck also played a part in her performance. But most others knew that she had toiled hard for her marks, including the maximums she got in English, political science and economics. Not surprisingly , her teachers at Noida's Amity International School weren't too surprised by her rank.
Monila Sarkar, Raksha's class teacher, said they had identified the girl for her capability early enough and included her in the school's `enrichment classes'. Another teacher, Debanjali Ganguly , the topper's economics teacher, testified to the teenager's enthusiasm for both academics and extra-curricular activities. “She submitted her assignments regularly and was always in school for the enrichment classes, even as she participated in the school's Model United Nations and edited the school newspaper,“ said Ganguly .
But Raksha is a not nerd with her nose in the books all the time.She is a keyboard player with a Grade V certificate from Trinity College, London. “The keyboard helps me deal with stress at ex am times too,“ said the young Noida resident. She is also learning French, and recently completed a superior course from Al liance Francaise in Delhi and hopes to study another language, perhaps Spanish.
Her parents are obviously proud of their second daughter.Gopal Pallipuram Srinivasan, her father and chief financial officer of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, beamed, “Raksha has always been a diligent girl.Her greatest strength is how she manages time so systematically.“ Their older daughter, Prerna, who also studied in the same school, is currently doing a biochemistry course in DU's Institute of Home Economics.
The 17-year-old is keen on a political science degree. So while admission into any college would be a cakewalk for her with her marks, she has her eyes on Delhi's Lady Shri Ram, Miranda House and Jesus & Mary College as these institutions offer political science as a subject. Raksha's practicality perhaps reflects the grounded upbringing she has had, exemplified by her mother, Ranjani Gopal, who quietly advised her daughter on her day of triumph: “Don't get carried away with the limelight. Stay focused on the future.“

Source: Times of India, 29-05-2017

Why do we need a World Turtle Day?

In an attempt to raise awareness on conservation of tortoise and turtles, and on illegal trafficking, May 23 is celebrated as World Turtle Day. We take a look at various threats faced by the reptiles in India and the initiatives taken to save the animal.

Smuggling

One of the greatest threats facing turtles and tortoises in India is smuggling to East Asian and Southeast Asian markets. Many freshwater turtles and tortoises are considered delicacies just across the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia.

This has led to the creation of massive smuggling rings on the east coast of India that send live turtles to those countries. Some of these turtles are also smuggled to be kept as pets. In 2016 alone, 30,000 live turtles were confiscated from smugglers by the Indian government. In addition to live specimens, thousands of sea turtle eggs are dug up and sold as delicacies in Southeast Asian countries.

West Bengal has become a focal point of the turtle smuggling trade as many of the turtles make their way to Kolkata before being shipped off. The Indian government has worked hard to prevent smuggling through screening of shipments, confiscation, and arresting smugglers, but turtle smuggling is still a lucrative business in India.

Other Threats

In addition to smuggling, turtles face a variety of man-made issues that threaten their existence. One major threat, as with all other animal species, is habitat destruction. The Ganges and other major rivers of India sustain turtle life. As these rivers become more and more polluted, the turtles are beginning to die off at greater rates. The hatchlings are born deformed; adults are dying from eating plastic; and the food sources are disappearing.

Sea turtles are also suffering as seas and beaches are becoming polluted. Discarded plastic, toxic to sea turtles, often gets ingested. Many sea turtle hatchlings get caught in trash on the beach and are eaten by predators. Large fishing trawlers also sometimes catch sea turtles, cut off their flippers to get them out of the net, and then leave them to die. These issues must be dealt with to ensure these magnificent animals continue to have a future.

Conservation

On a more positive note, there is also a lot of work done for the conservation of turtles in India. One well known and effective venture has focussed on the protection of Olive Ridley sea turtles on the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Sea turtles always return to the beach they were born on in order to lay their eggs. These eggs and hatchlings often come under threat from humans and predators like stray dogs. A major conservation effort has been "turtle walks". The “turtle walks” involve many local people who carefully dig up the nests along the beaches and take the eggs to a protected spot to make sure the eggs are not stolen or eaten.

When the eggs hatch, volunteers move the hatchlings to the sea so they are not killed crossing the beach. These turtle walks have proven effective as they get the local community involved and endear the sea turtles to the people of the area. Other conservation efforts include the creation of protected areas on the Ganges where endangered river turtles are kept secluded from the greater environment in order to protect them from smugglers and monitor their breeding. Many of the turtles confiscated from smugglers also often go into rehabilitation and then captive breeding programs to help create a stable captive population of the rare turtle species of India.

Source: The Hindu, 23-05-2017

What does public choice theory mean?

Public choice theory employs the tools of economics to explain real-world political behaviour. In particular, it seeks to examine politicians as individuals guided by their own selfish interests — rather than as benevolent promoters of the common good — to better design public policy. Nobel laureate James M. Buchanan, a co-founder of the theory with Gordon Tullock, defined it as “politics without romance”. Tullock applied the theory to electoral politics to often arrive at controversial conclusions — including why voting is a waste of time, and why voters have no incentive to make informed decisions.