Category: Education

the influencer epidemic

If you told someone back in 2010 that Youtube, a website where one can do nothing but watch cat videos, and Instagram, a newly launched social media app nobody had heard about,  could be someone’s source of income, they definitely wouldn’t have believed it. Fast forward to 2020, there is no shortage of so called “influencers” who make more money within a month, than most  people will ever make at their day jobs (sad, but true). Anyone who has a platform and an audience who’ll listen to them can be deemed as an influencer, and it is a much sought after career nowadays.It is no surprise that the present day youth is gravitating towards creative and flexible digital occupations. They get to do what they love and not have their lives dictated by anyone, and the rising relevance of social media has made it possible. It is even common for people to drop out of school or quit their jobs to pursue social media.

However there is nothing inherently wrong with having a platform to express your views and talk about your life, no matter how peculiar it sounds. If used correctly, a large platform can make a huge difference. It can be used to educate the people about what’s right and what’s wrong, as well as to throw light to important issues at hand.  The problem arises when these platforms are used in the wrong way. With a massive outlet and huge audience comes the  great responsibility of recognising your influence and using it the proper way to educate the masses about the right thing, no matter how difficult it may be. Sadly, many choose to go the easy way than the right way. Recently, I have seen a massive surge in clothing hauls on Youtube. Not only do these videos provide free advertising to fast fashion brands, but also  promote reckless spending habits on stuff one doesn’t even need. Similarly, content creators whose audiences are predominantly young kids, end up ingraining harmful ideas like disrespectfulness, and sometimes even racism and misogyny in them, which is extremely damaging.

 The recent Black Lives Matter movement has shown us that many of these influencers don’t actually care about issues at hand, they just see them as an opportunity to display themselves as woke to the audiences.  I can think of  hundreds of people who posted one black square on their profiles in solidarity with black lives matter, and then went back to their regular posting schedules, instead of maybe talking more about it and raising awareness about why the movement is necessary. Many of them even showed up at protests just to get their photos taken, showing that this grave and important issue at hand was nothing more than a trend for them.

Every rose has its thorn. If someone wants to be an influencer for the fame and the money, they have to deal with the hard parts of the job. Having a huge platform is a privilege, one very few have. They should recognise their privilege, and use it in a way which is best for this world, best for humanity.

Source: https://medium.com/@mnfst/why-do-people-want-to-be-influencers-bf1c6b42b36f

RACISM

Differentiation of human beings on the basis of physical appearance is what racism is about. It gives birth to prejudice and discrimination against people because of their skin color. Racism ignites the feeling of hatred in the heart of every being against these people.

Nobody chooses a certain color of their skin to be born with. An individual’s skin pigmentation is the result of genetics. Different races amongst people lead to their superiority and inferiority in the society accordingly. Abuse, harassment, name-calling, exclusion from groups and preventing people from enjoying dignity and equality are acts arising out of racism.

Racism is found everywhere- around you and me in some or the other form. In our neighborhoods, shops, workplace, schools, public transport etc. These days racism is also seen online in the form of offensive comments, hateful videos and memes.

SYSTEMATIC RACISM

System and institutions tend to render advantage to white people and cause widespread harm and disadvantage in terms of opportunities to people referred to as black. Systematic racism has its roots into the laws and institutions which were created on the foundation of white supremacy. Color based oppression of people based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy and giving privilege to people who are identified as white is “white supremacy”. Systematic racism is also initiated in inter personal conversations and behavior that include bullying and offensive language.

RACISM – A PROBLEM

Racism causes harm to the ones against whom it is practiced. It hurts individuals, communities and our society at large. It has profound effects on the mental health and welfare of the people on whom it is inflected. This includes feelings of sadness, anger. anxiety and even depression. Diminishing quality of life and people attempting suicide are another consequences of racism.

Racism is confined to effecting individuals but also has the potential of affecting the whole society. It leads to the creation of a society with lack of trust and respect amongst the people. It also challenges fairness and equality.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Black lives matter was founded in 2013. It is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. The recent Black Lives Matter protests arose on June 6, when half a million people turned out in nearly 550 places across the United States.

This victory for Black Lives Matter demonstrates the effectiveness of the organization to fight for justice and create societal change. Black lives matter is working to improve the lives of African Americans in America. It has been able to initiate a unified voice against the racial inequality.

ANTI RACISM

In order to oppose racism some beliefs, actions, policies and movements are adopted, this is known as anti racism. It aims at creating a society where people are not discriminated on the basis of their race. Movements against racism : civil rights movement and anti-apartheid movement.

ANTI RACIST ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS

Aktion Courage (Germany)

Anti-Nazi League (United Kingdom)

Les Indivisibles (France)

SOS Racisme (France)

Rock Against Racism (United Kingdom)

Aktion Kinder des Holocaust (Switzerland)

Anti-Fascist Action (United Kingdom)

Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (United Kingdom)

Anti-Racism and Hate (United States)

By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) (United States)

Anti-Racist Action (North America)

One People’s Project (United States)

Roots of Resistance (Canada)

WAYS TO TACKLE RACISM

  • Walk away
  • Tell someone about what is happening with you.
  • Inform the police
  • Stay safe online
  • Find someone for help
  • Ignore
  • Keep a record
  • Take action
  • Initiate anti-racism movement  

law related to mental health in india

INTRODUCTION

In the current time of COVID-19 pandemic, mental health is an issue that has hugely and drastically affected the individuals all over the world. People are facing stress, anxiety and depression because of the disruption in their daily routine.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL ILLNESS

Now “Mental Health” and “Mental Illness” are two different psychological terms but often used as they represent the same meaning, but they do not stand for the same thing. Mental health is about mental wellness-we all have mental health whereas Mental illness is when someone is diagnosed with mental disorder.

DEFINITION

According to WHO, “Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities can cope with normal stress of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

In other words mental health refers to cognitive, behavioral and emotional well being. It defines about how an individual think, feel and behave.

MENTAL HEALTH AND LAWS IN INDIA

Mental health workforce in India (per 100,000 of population) includes psychiatrists (0.3), nurses (0.12), psychologists (0.07) and social workers is very low. For laws related to mental health the Mental Health Care Bill 2013 was introduced to Rajya Sabha in August 2013 and after 134 official amendments, was passed in August 2016. Properly implemented, mental health legislation plays a significant role in protecting the rights to mentally ill, ensuring access to care and promoting social justice foe the mentally ill, their families and carers.

Mental Health Care Act 2017 was passed on 7 April 2017 and came into forces from 7 July 2018. It states that mental illness is determined “in accordance with nationally and internationally accepted medical standards (including the latest edition of the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organisation) as maybe notified by the Central Government.” This Act superseded the previously existing Mental Health Act, 1987 that was passed on 22 May 1987.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, I would like to say that mental illness is a serious problem but on an individual level, we can help our friends, family and near ones by talking to them and initiating to help them to open up about their situations and let us help them to understand the root cause which can lead them to better solutions.

Mining in space! And it’s not science fiction

Its 2020! Environmental damage is one of the biggest concerns the world has today. Melting glaciers, dying rivers, depleting ozone, species getting extinct, disappearing forests and a whole list of other events exploiting nature, it’s all here, with consequences clearly visible on the future of humanity.

World’s consumption is going to keep rising in the years to come and with the given deteriorating condition of natural resources which even if improves in the next coming decade (though hard to say that yet!),it will still be difficult to provide suitably for the increasing population.

So, will reducing the consumption help?

The arena of per person consumption is becoming wider and wider, which besides food and water covers fuel and electricity. Development around the world is going to be more digital based hence being more dependent on metals.

In short there is no sign of consumption getting reduced in any near future. One way is to go towards sustainable development by shifting towards consumption habits with less carbon footprint. Could space mining be the other way of saving the planet?

We have heard of asteroids, the space debris orbiting the sun. Our inner solar system is flooded with these objects also called minor planets. The good part is that they are a gold mine for various resources.

A single platinum rich asteroid contains more platinum than has been mined in the history of humanity and platinum group metals are used in almost every other good we use today.Worth trillions of dollars of diamonds and gold is believed to be floating in these objects there in space.

In fact gold first came from the meteor shower millions of years after the earth was formed.

No wonder why asteroid mining is set to become a billion-dollar industry and why companies are eager to explore this idea.

As fascinating as it seems it is no less practical when comes to implementation. There is a class of Near Earth Asteroids (NEA’S) which are easy to reach and extract and transport resources. Most of the NEA’s are even nearer than the moon.

But it is a whole process in itself to determine which asteroid to mine based on what mineral it might contain. Infrared telescopes and spectrometers are the light bouncing techniques which are used to detect the composition of an asteroid. Once this is done then comes the extraction part.

But metals are not the only reason for their mining. Asteroids hold abundant amount of water which when broken down into oxygen and hydrogen could be used as air to breathe and fuel for rockets on journey back home.

It may seem too unreal for now, not likely to happen anytime soon but this thing is gaining momentum fast. Companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries have started to make this plan sound like a completely achievable goal.

Asteroids- the low hanging fruits of space, as they are now being called, maybe are just waiting to be cultivated. A step like this could change the whole economics of earth with scarcity not much of an issue anymore!

The space might start to look more like a busy trade route and the diamond on your finger probably would have journeyed all the way from the stars. With this idea becoming reality, we could at least say goodbye to all mining exploitation on earth.

 

Survival

Coronavirus survivor I have been through so many disastrous condition in this for 2-3 weeks a hell of ups-downs, loneliness, frightened and anixety of what will happen next.

Will I be alive or dead the next second. In the hospital I got to see so much of hustle-bustle and none of my family member can visit and take care of me. I was breathless and want some fresh air. And want to meet all and say sorry for my ignorant behaviour.

It’s not just the nurses and doctors. It’s the people who are driving the ambulances. It’s the paramedic crews. It’s the woman at the desk doing the admin work. It’s the man coming in cleaning up after a dead body. It’s the porter taking it down to the morgue. The police staff taking serious actions.

Every single person is playing their part. I have written to the ambulance service and the hospital to thank them for their incredible care and dedication.

I touched death and I’m very lucky to be alive. What I’m now looking forward to is appreciating nature. I realised material things don’t matter. When I get outside I want to breathe the air, look at birds and enjoy the natural beauty of the world.

I’ve been given a second chance, A new life.

The despicable face of fast fashion

In the present times, everything is fast paced, and what might be trendy one day, is kicked  to the curb the other. The most common example of this is fashion, specifically fast-fashion. Fast-fashion is used to describe cheap, trendy clothing, which makes the journey from the runway, to your closet and then to the garbage dump, in the blink of an eye. These include brands like, H&M, Forever 21, ASOS, ZARA etc. They  pump out new designs regularly to stay relevant amongst the younger generations, and you cannot escape it. Chances are, the clothes you’re wearing right now are from fast-fashion brands.

Now why is this problematic? By putting out new clothes every month or so, and using extremely clever marketing tactics, they’ve convinced the average consumer that their clothes are “outdated” and they need to keep purchasing from them to stay in trend, thereby maximising their profits every single time. But that isn’t even the worst part. To quench their never ending thirst for money, these brands utilise sweatshops for production of their clothing. A sweatshop is a factory where workers are severely underpaid, and the working conditions are inhumane, ranging from excruciatingly long working hours, to unsafe and unhygienic work environments. Sweatshops are usually placed in third world countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia etc. where worker’s rights are minimal, where rich brands can get quick, inexpensive labour at the cost of actual human lives.  

Since these clothes are mass produced and cheaply made, it is not surprising to know that they go bad after a couple of washes, and are no longer wearable. Each year, the average consumer throws away about 32 kilograms of clothing, adding to the already over filled landfills . It is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than international flights and maritime ships combined. It also takes thousands of gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt and a pair of jeans, as they are made from a water intensive material-cotton. Further, textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water, leading to the fashion industry being responsible for 20% of the worlds water pollution.

As more and more people get aware of their malpractices, fast fashion brands resort to greenwashing, which is basically presenting a company as more eco friendly than it really is. They make false promises about making their products with organic cotton and recycled polyester. However, they fail to provide sufficient and definitive information, and refuse to specify how much of a garment is made with recycled material. Brands like LuLuLemon and H&M have been recently accused of greenwashing, yet their sales remain high.

It is saddening to see how many people are unaware of these evils, and those who are aware simply turn a blind eye to such issues. How can we prevent this? Our strongest weapon in this war against fast fashion is education. Educate yourself and those around you. Watch documentaries, read books and articles, and convince others around you to quit buying from such brands. Try reducing the number of shopping trips you take in a year. Another thing which can help is mending your old clothes, and wearing them at least 30-40 times to make the most out of them. Remember, every little step counts. Gone are the days when we were blind consumers. Now, the time has come for serious reforms.

Sources: https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/the-fashion-industry-emits-more-carbon-than-international-flights-and-maritime-shipping-combined-here-are-the-biggest-ways-it-impacts-the-planet-/articleshow/71640863.cms

https://www.greenamerica.org/blog/factory-exploitation-and-fast-fashion-machine

NEW EDUCATION POLICY-2020 IN INDIA.

The central government is all set for enforcing a new education policy from this year by proposing sweeping changes in school and higher education. This New Education Policy was implemented on Wednesday i.e on 29/07/2020 by Union Minister Sri. Ramesh Nishank Pokriyal.This is a massive policy that starts sweeping changes in schools and colleges. Let’s take a look at this policy and its implements.

For what purpose do NEP(National Education Policy) serves?

A NEP is a cyclopedic shell to guide the development of education in the country. The need for a policy was first felt in 1964 when Congress MP Siddheshwar Prasad criticized the then government for lacking a vision and philosophy for education. The same year, a 17-member Education Commission, headed by then UGC Chairperson D S Kothari, was constituted to draft a national and coordinated policy on education. Based on the suggestions of this Commission, Parliament passed the first education policy in 1968.

A new NEP usually comes over every few decades. India has had three to date. The first came in 1968 and the second in 1986, under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively; the NEP of 1986 was revamped in 1992 when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. The third is the NEP released Wednesday under the Prime Ministership of Narendra Modi.

union ministers in the press meet during the NEP launch on Wednesday.

What are the Key Policies and Implementations?

The NEP proposes sweeping changes including opening up of Indian higher education to foreign universities, dismantling of the UGC, and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the introduction of a four-year multidisciplinary undergraduate program with multiple exit options, and discontinuation of the M Phil program.
In school education, the policy focuses on overhauling the curriculum, “easier” Board exams, a reduction in the syllabus to retain “core essentials” and thrust on “experiential learning and critical thinking”.
In a revelatory shift from the 1986 policy, which pushed for a 10+2 structure of school education, the new NEP pitches for a “5+3+3+4” design corresponding to the age groups 3-8 years (foundational stage), 8-11 (preparatory), 11-14 (middle), and 14-18 (secondary). This brings early childhood education (also known as pre-school education for children of ages 3 to 5) under the ambit of formal schooling. The mid-day meal program will be extended to pre-school children. The NEP says students until Class 5 should be taught in their mother tongue or regional language.

The policy also proposes phasing out of all institutions offering single streams and that all universities and colleges must aim to become multidisciplinary by 2040.

How do these reforms will be implemented?

The NEP only provides a broad direction and is not mandatory to follow. Since education is a concurrent subject (both the Centre and the state governments can make laws on it), the reforms proposed can only be implemented collaboratively by the Centre and the states. This will not happen immediately. The incumbent government has set a target of 2040 to implement the entire policy. Sufficient funding is also crucial; the 1968 NEP was disabled by a shortage of funds.
The government plans to set up subject-wise committees with members from relevant ministries at both the central and state levels to develop implementation plans for each aspect of the NEP. The plans will list out actions to be taken by multiple bodies, including the HRD Ministry, state Education Departments, school Boards, NCERT, Central Advisory Board of Education, and National Testing Agency, among others. Planning will be followed by a yearly joint review of progress against targets set.

Impact on Mother Tongue by English Medium Based schools?

Such emphasis is not new: Most government schools in the country are doing this already. As for private schools, it’s unlikely that they will be asked to change their medium of instruction.A Senior official has clarified that Such emphasis is not new: Most government schools in the country are doing this already. As for private schools, it’s unlikely that they will be asked to change their medium of instruction.

What about the people with Nomadic jobs?

The NEP doesn’t say anything specifically on children of parents with transferable jobs, but acknowledges children living in multilingual families: “Teachers will be encouraged to use a bilingual approach, including bilingual teaching-learning materials, with those students whose home language may be different from the medium of instruction.”

What about the University educations?

The NEP proposes sweeping changes including opening up of Indian higher education to foreign universities, dismantling of the UGC and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), introduction of a four-year multidisciplinary undergraduate programme with multiple exit options, and discontinuation of the M Phil programme.

Under the four-year programme proposed in the new NEP, students can exit after one year with a certificate, after two years with a diploma, and after three years with a bachelor’s degree.

verdict:-

Indian government is looking forward to implement this as early as possible.

WHAT IS NEOWISE COMET AND THE BEST WAY TO SEE IT !

Comet Neowise has been entertaining space enthusiasts across the northern Hemisphere. Although its official name is C/2020 F3, the comet has been dubbed “Neowise” after the near earth object wide field infrared survey explorer space telescope that first noticed it earlier this year. The Neowise Comet was discovered on March 27th and it is closely passing earth, i.e, it’ll be only 200 times as far as the moon is from the earth. All the hype of this comet is because you can actually watch it with naked eye. The last time humans could see a comet with the naked eye, it was comet Hale- Bopp in 1997.

How can one see it with naked eyes?

Find the darkest possible swath of sky and make sure your eyes are adjusted so that you give yourself the best possible opportunity to see faint objects. You need 15 minutes or so to adjust your eyes, so that your pupils are adjusted, and they are used to seeing fainter thing. You can also use the app “comet neowise” developed by astrophysicist Hanno Rein of university of Toronto Scarborough to see exactly where it is, so that you know the direction which you need to look upon.

You can take a moment to look up and enjoy this beauty glazing through the space for about 20 minutes right after the sunset. A ll should witness this surreal experience before it disappears into the outer-space for next 6000 years.

Rakshabandhan in 2020: How it is going to be different…

“There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There’s no other love like the love from a brother.” –Astrid Alauda

Rakshabandhan is popular, traditionally Hindu, annual rite, or ceremony, which is central to a festival of the same name, celebrated in India, Nepal, and other parts of the Indian subcontinent, and among people around the world influenced by Hindu culture. The festival is a festival of love, care, and happiness. It symbolizes the existing love between brother and sister. On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.

Despite being a part of Hindu culture, due to its moral values, the festival is celebrated by other cultures as well. Among women and men who are not blood relatives, there is also a transformed tradition of voluntary kin relations, achieved through the tying of rakhi amulets, which have cut across caste and class lines, and Hindu and Muslim divisions. In some communities or contexts, other figures, such as a matriarch, or a person in authority, can be included in the ceremony in ritual acknowledgment of their benefaction.

Every year, this festival has been awaited by all of us. It gives a chance for the celebration of a selfless and beautiful relation. For some families, this is the occasion where sisters get a chance (out of their busy schedule) to finally visit their brother and celebrate their love. The occasion begins from the previous day itself, with sisters buying beautiful rakhis and sweets for their brothers and applying Mehendi on their hands. Next early morning, both sisters and brothers dress up in new clothes. The sister ties Rakhi on brother’s hand offers him sweet and sings love songs for him depicting brother-sister relation. The brother then gives her sister a gift and along with that a promise of “protection against any problem in her life.”

Every year, this is the time when families travel to each others’ houses to celebrate the festival. But this time, the festival falls amid these harsh times when the whole world is standing against a pandemic, COVID-19. Rakshabandhan is the first major festival of Hindus after the beginning of the pandemic. Therefore, it is a challenge for all of us to get along with the charm of the festival by taking all the precautions and by maintaining social distancing. This year, it is difficult for sisters to visit their brothers if they live in a different city or state. Each year, we can easily have a get-together and celebrate the festival. But, every year, we have our soldiers, policemen, doctors, workers who are away from their home, on their duty even during festivals for the service of their country. This time, we have got a very golden chance to serve our country and fight against the pandemic by staying at our homes. We can spread happiness and celebrate the festival with our police brothers, doctors, and nurses who are truly working as our safeguard for our protection. We can tie Rakhi out of respect to them, making them realize that they are true heroes and fulfilling the responsibilities of a brother. 

Apart from this, in this time of the internet, even though we are staying far, we are always connected through the internet. We are never apart. We can celebrate the festival over a video call. It will a new experience and it will be great fun. One more thing we need to remember that though some sisters are not able to go to their brother, due to pandemic, colleges and schools are closed. This brings young brothers and sisters together who usually don’t get holidays on Rakshabandhan when colleges run regularly. They must be together after a long time and enjoying the togetherness.

“As we grew up, my brothers acted like they didn’t care, but I always knew they looked out for me and were there!” – Catherine Pulsifer

Last day of Internship

So, finally, today is the last day of my internship. This is not related to any news, article or any kind of research, this is just a simple message and a little experience which I want to share. In this period of a month, I learnt a plethora of skills such as content writing, Blogging and more than that I enjoyed to being a publisher with eduindex. I haven’t traditionally good at writing but now I think I did my best even I can do more better. In today’s world, everyone should learn these skills and knowledge as well and we are blessed as we have such a good platform Internshala through that we can use this knowledge or skill even learns from them in such a convenient way. Hopefully, my little experience will be helpful to have the curiosity in young ones.