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'Guidance
for children ok, but don't hurt their
ego'
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Parents
should give more importance to the views
of their children and direct them properly
as facilitators, said Dr M K C Nair, Director
of Child Development Centre, Thiruvananthapuram,
at Cherai, near here, on Monday. He was
presenting the main paper at the seminar
on 'Adolescence Friendly Health Services,'
organised by the Paravur Chapter of Indian
Medical Association (IMA) and the National
Chapter of Academy of Medical Specialities.
The younger generation wants to be loved
and cared. Guidance should be given to
them without hurting their ego, said Dr
Nair. Adolescence is a crucial period,
marking the transition from a dependent
child to an independent adult. ``Now,
children are acquiring more knowledge
about world affairs through the media
and the Internet. 'Family life education'
is a more preferable term than 'sex education'
to avoid undue anxiety among the parents,
Dr Nair said. The seminar was inaugurated
by former IMA national vice-president
Dr K E Poulose. IMA vice-chairman Dr Shaji
K Thomas presided over the function. Doctors
M E Sugathan, M Muraleedharan, K A Sreevilasan,
A K Shaji, Prasannakumar, M K Karunakaran
and M K Venkiteswaran spoke. Doctors Marthandan,
Newton Louis, Ambujam, V J Paul and Philip
John presented papers at the seminar.
About 150 doctors from various parts of
the state attended the seminar. The doctors,
who participated in the seminar, would
spread the message of the seminar in their
localities through local bodies, educational
institutions, media and other organisations.
Courtesy:
www.newindpress.com, February 27, 2007
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'Love
moulded kids' mindset more than laws
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A
workshop on 'Child Rights and Gender Issues'
was conducted by the World Vision of India
and Visakha Forum For Child Rights at
the Centre for Women Studies, Andhra University
on Monday. B Devi Prasad, nodal officer,
Child Line, Department of social work,
stated that child rights and their protection
from abuse has become a priority the world
over. Children, he said, constituted 24
percent of the country's population and
that laws pertaining to children's rights
and welfare covered the entire gamut of
health, nutrition, standards of living,
parental care and protection from exploitation.
Besides the laws and statute, children
need to be loved and brought up in a friendly
atmosphere by the parents and teachers
whose influence will have its bearing
on their minds, Prasad opined. U Vindhya,
convener, Centre for Women Studies opined
that women are still being subjected to
gender bias as they are confined to kitchens
alone. She insisted on the equality of
gender and spoke against discrimination.
Courtesy:
www.newindpress.com, February 27, 2007
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India
to be a top nation guiding the world:
Livingstone
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India
will be one of the top three nations guiding
the world in the next two decades, Mayor
of London, Ken Livingstone has said. "If
you step forward in 20 years time, three
people who guide the world will be Presidents
of the US and China and the Prime Minister
of India," Livingstone said while speaking
at a function at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
UK, here last night. He said India would
be an economic giant, nobody could afford
to ignore. "As we move towards globalization,
the thoughts and beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi
and in particular his non-violent 'Satyagraha'
become more relevant today. The incredible
achievements of Gandhi through peaceful
demonstrations 60 years ago is still relevant,"
he said. Livingstone said he would lead
a large delegation, including leading
businessmen and film personalities, to
India in the first week of November during
which he will visit Mumbai and Delhi and,
among other things, open London Mayor's
offices there. Hailing the decision of
Tatas to takeover Anglo-Dutch steel company
Corus, the Mayor said such a thing could
never have been visualized a few years
ago. He said he was happy that Tatas would
give a new life to Corus after so many
years of decline.
www.zeenews.com,
February 27, 2007
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Kalam
moots establishment of societal grid
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President
A P J Abdul Kalam on Sunday favoured for
establishing the "societal grid" for bringing
the connectivity for the country's one
billion people towards building the knowledge
society. Development of technologies and
their convergence have significant influence
on the society in terms of knowledge,
health care, governance and economic development,
he said in his address to the 6th annual
convocation of the Visvesvaraya Technological
University (VTU) here. "Establishing the
grids viz., knowledge grid, healthcare
grid, e-governance grid and the PURA (providing
urban amenities in rural areas) grid --
will be known as societal grid," he said.
These four connectivities will certainly
bring seamless access and information
flow among the various domains leading
to maximisation of GDP and productivity,
Kalam said while emphasising the need
for societal grid. Elaborating the essence
of various grids mooted by him, Kalam
said the knowledge grid would facilitate
inter connecting universities with socio-economic
institutions, industries and R&D Organisations.
Health care grid provides for inter-connecting
health care institutions of government,
corporate and super speciality hospitals,
research institutions, educational institutions
and ultimately, pharma R&D Institution.
E-governance grid ensures inter-connecting
the Central and State Governments and
district and block level offices for government
to government and government to citizen
connectivity. The PURA grid will help
connect the PURA nodal centres with village
knowledge centres and domain service providers,
Kalam said. "All the four connectivities
required for the societal transformation.
With this transformation, India is poised
for creating the world knowledge platform
for promoting synergy amongst partner
nations," he said. He said during his
visit to Singapore, Philippines and Republic
of Korea, he had put forward the concept
of "world knowledge platform", as this
will integrate the core competencies of
the partner countries to develop knowledge
products. "This platform will enable joint
design, development, cost effective production
and marketing of the knowledge products
in various domains based on the core competence
of partner nations to international market,"
he suggested. Kalam had a word of praise
for the strides achieved by the VTU, which
is one of the major user of Edusat network
for conducting distance education programmes
using satellites. The university is named
after Sir M Visveswaraya, a visionary
who had contributed significantly to the
building of modern India, he said.
Courtesy:
www.newindpress.com, February 26, 2007
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'Education
must inculcate human values'
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"It
is a challenge for today's education system
to inculcate human values among students,"
said former Chief Justice of Karnataka
V S Malimath. He said the purpose of education
was not limited, but teach how to practise
values in life. Justice Maliamth was addressing
the UGC-sponsored State-level workshop
on 'Human rights and human values in higher
education,' organised by Government First
Grade College on Wednesday. The two-day
workshop will have more sessions on 'Role
of teachers in safeguarding human rights',
'Education and human values', 'Teachers
as custodians and propagators of human
values', and 'Human values and duties'.
Senior Director, Dooradarshan Kendra,
Dr Mahesh Joshi was present.
Courtesy:
www.newindpress.com, February 22, 2007
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by
K.H. Prabhu
Its
non-literary and non-religious utility
cannot be overestimated. IT IS painful
to learn that Sanskrit departments are
closed in some reputed universities in
Europe and people in the west are losing
interest in Indology ("Indology must change
with the times," Open Page, January 7).
It is not only in the west but in its
birthplace also Sanskrit is in danger
of extinction. A few years ago there was
a proposal to close down a hundred years
old Sanskrit college in Bangalore. The
decision was postponed because of a `mercy
petition' by the teachers. In degree colleges
and in postgraduate classes, the student
strength is dwindling and causing anxiety
among the teachers. Some State governments
think that maintaining Sanskrit colleges
is a waste of money. Our classical language
does not play the same role in India as
Greek and Latin do in European countries.
Whenever we read great speeches of British
parliamentarians we hear Demosthenes and
Cicero speaking most forcefully through
them. Every book written in English on
a serious topic contains Latin expressions
in their original form.
Indifference
By
and large Indians have been indifferent
to Sanskrit. The manuscripts of Kautilya's
Arthasastra and Bhasa's plays were discovered
only in the 20th century. Kalidasa's Sakuntala
was translated into modern Indian languages
many years after it was made available
in major languages of Europe. In degree
colleges there is only superficial study
of Sanskrit, imitation of Indology. We
rarely come across original works by Sanskrit
teachers. Compared with their western
counterparts they pale into insignificance.
The latter would have studied European
classical languages before they began
to learn Sanskrit. This is the reason
why no Indian professor of Sanskrit has
equalled Max Muller, Goldstucker and Monier-Williams.
The condition in Sanskrit colleges is
still worse. Students know nothing outside
prescribed texts, which too they learn
by rote. Many Sanskrit colleges do not
have computers. Students do not read newspapers.
They are deluded into believing that whatever
is described in mythology is a reality.
Superstition is perpetuated in classrooms.
Sanskrit is being crushed under the juggernaut
of globalisation. Sanskritists must make
it relevant to the present day society.
The study of Sanskrit is still useful
for the students of BAMS. In many colleges
there is Sanskrit as an optional language
in PUC class. Passages from Charaka and
Shushruta can be included in the text
so that those who intend to join Ayurvedic
colleges can have acquaintance with Sanskrit
as used in the texts on medical science.
Even other students would be convinced
of the non-literary and non-religious
utility of this language. There are writings
in this language on flora and fauna. Our
failure to do research in the field of
botany of ancient India has made us lose
some of our valuable plants to western
countries. They were quick to discover
the utility of many valuable plants and
acquire patent rights. Sanskrit texts
must be compiled scientifically. We do
not have websites and e-books pertaining
to the contribution of ancient India to
various branches of knowledge. The phonetic
relation with written character is a unique
feature of Sanskrit. This could be used
to develop software for computer. There
is a full chapter on Sutras in The Decline
of the West and Oswald Spengler has considered
it a significant stage in the development
of human thought. Sanskritists have not
worked in this area. Reducing a large
text to a few aphorisms is an intellectual
achievement. This method could be used
in information technology. Bill Gates
in his The Road Ahead has made a mention
of a story about a Hindu king from which
he got his idea of multiplication method.
Someone in England invented encryption
of signature for e-mail with the help
of Vatsayana's Kamasutra. Women sending
messages to their paramours in code language
has been found useful in information technology.
Let us hope that Sanskrit will be saved
by scholars by modernising the study.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, February 18, 2007
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Adventurer
to open first Antarctic education base
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Adventurer
Robert Swan sets sail on a polar expedition
next week to launch what he says is the
world`s first online education center
in Antarctica that will offer children
a real-time glimpse of life on the ice.
Swan, who was the first person to walk
unassisted to both the North and South
poles, hopes to use the small centre,
built on a Russian base on King George
Island, to teach children about climate
change and what they can do to protect
the planet. "The last great exploration
on earth is to survive on it," Swan, 50,
told news agencies in an interview in
London before he departed on the trip.
"We have got to find the heroines and
heroes of that exploration." The unmanned
base, measuring 40 feet by 10 feet, is
built from recyclable material and runs
on wind and solar power. Fitted with a
camera on the roof, it will beam live
images of its surroundings to a Web site
that also offers educational material
for teachers to use in class. "It is the
most fantastically cool door-opener for
kids to feel inspired," said Swan, who
himself fell in love with Antarctica after
seeing a film about it when he was 11.
He believes actual images of the snow-capped
terrain coupled with messages about how
climate change is affecting Antarctica
will encourage children to take a more
active interest.
Courtesy:
www.zeenews.com, February 16, 2007
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Breastfed
babies may become better adults
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Breastfed
babies are likely to become better adults
than their bottle-fed peers, according
to a new British study. Breast milk is
the primary source of nutrition for newborns
before they are able to eat solid food
and digest a wider variety of food. It
is already known as the perfect source
of nutrition for infants. Now the study
by Richard Martin and other researchers
at the University of Bristol in England
found that babies who are breastfed are
more likely to move up the social ladder
as better educated and more upwardly mobile
adults than bottle-fed babies, reported
the online edition of health magazine
WebMD. The study that began in 1937 tracked
1,414 British children into late adulthood.
It showed that breastfed infants were
more likely to complete secondary school,
with 27 percent of breastfed versus 20
percent of bottle-fed graduating. Breastfed
babies were also more likely to move up
in social class, based on occupation.
Fifty-eight percent of breastfed infants
moved up, compared with 50 percent of
bottle-fed ones, the study shows. Fifty
percent of bottle-fed infants stayed in
the same social class or went downward,
while only 42 percent of the breast-fed
infants stayed the same or moved down.
The longer a child was breastfed, the
more likely he or she was to be upwardly
mobile, said the study published online
ahead of print in the journal Archives
of Disease in Childhood. Other studies
have shown that breastfed infants enjoy
a host of health-related benefits, including
lower risk of infections and protection
against chronic diseases and psychiatric
disorders.
Courtesy:
www.earthtimes.org, February 14, 2007
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150
Tihar inmates to appear for IGNOU exams
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Examination
fever has gripped inmates in the high-security
Tihar Jail here as they prepare to appear
in various examinations conducted by the
Indira Gandhi National Open University
(IGNOU) in March. 'This March, 150 prisoners
that include 138 male prisoners and 12
female prisoners, will take up the examinations
for graduation, post-graduation and professional
courses at IGNOU's study campus in Tihar,'
said Sunil Kumar Gupta, Tihar's public
relations and law officer. According to
Gupta, at present there are 450 inmates
enrolled in IGNOU for different courses.
The most sought after courses are graduation,
post-graduation, bachelor of computer
applications (BCA) and bachelor of business
administration (BBA). Talking about the
criteria for enrolment, he said: 'There
are no criteria as such for these inmates.
Anyone interested can get himself or herself
enrolled and the prison authorities will
bear the expenses. 'IGNOU has set up a
study campus inside the prison where these
prisoners study from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
They conduct tests twice a year, one in
October and the other in March,' Gupta
said. The education programme in Tihar,
home to over 14,000 inmates against its
capacity of 6,250, was the brainchild
of former inspector-general (prisons)
Kiran Bedi, who started it in 1994. So
far, 3,000 inmates have benefited from
the programme in one of Asia's biggest
prisons.
Courtesy:
www.earthtimes.org, February 12, 2007
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Set
up world knowledge forum: President Kalam
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President
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Thursday called
upon India and the European Union to identify
and implement 25 research projects that
would take the benefits of scientific
development to the grassroots levels.
"Indian economy is in ascent phase. There
is considerable growth in the manufacturing
and service sectors. Still our major population,
who are living in the rural sector, have
not realised the benefits of the economic
growth. Nearly, 200 million people have
to be lifted by upgrading their quality
of life in both rural and urban areas,"
he said. Addressing an interactive meeting
of science icons and the student community,
as part of the first-ever India-EU science
ministerial conference here, he emphasised
the need for evolving a world knowledge
forum to bring together the core competences
of different countries. The President
also called upon universities to work
towards increasing the output of higher
education from the existing 11 per cent
to 20 per cent by 2015, 30 per cent by
2020 and 50 per cent by 2040. Mr. Kalam
also wanted them to create two cadres
of personnel - a global cadre of skilled
youth with specific knowledge of special
skills and a global cadre of skilled youth
with adequate education. "No Indian youth
should be without either a world-class
higher education or without world-class
skill sets." Earlier, on Wednesday, scientific
collaboration between India and the E.U.
reached a new milestone with the holding
of the E.U.-India Ministerial roundtable
on Science. The meeting was co-chaired
by the German Federal Minister for Education
and Research, Annette Schavan, representing
the German presidency of the E.U., the
European Commissioner for Science and
Research Janez Potocnik and Union Minister
for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal.
Addressing mediapersons, the three leaders
stressed the need to build a wide and
strong linkage between the E.U. and India
in science and technology with increased
scope for movement of manpower and resources
in both directions. Mr. Sibal said the
meeting decided in principle to foster
joint programmes in strategically important
research fields of mutual interests such
as advanced materials, nanoscience, and
nanobiology. Replying to a question, Ms.
Schavan and Dr. Potocnik agreed that there
were certain problems with regards to
trade and other issues between India and
the E.U. but expressed confidence that
there would be no such hitch with regard
to the progress of S and T cooperation.
India also a signed an expression of interest
for participation in the establishment
of the Facility for Anti-Proton and Ion
Reactor, which is being set up by the
E.U. to help find answers to some of the
questions dogging the global scientific
community relating to the evolution of
the universe.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, February 9, 2007
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Over
100 fossilised eggs of dinosaur found
in MP
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In
a remarkable feat, three amateur explorers
have stumbled upon more than 100 fossilised
eggs of dinosaurs in Madhya Pradesh. The
eggs, belonging to the Cretaceous Era
(approximately 144 to 65 million years
ago), have been discovered in Kukshi-Bagh
area of Dhar district, some 150 kms south-west
of Indore. The rare find is a significant
step in the study of pre-historic life
in the Narmada Valley. "All the eggs were
discovered from a single nesting site
in a start to end exploration for 18 hours
at the site in Kukshi-Bagh area, 40 kms
from Manavar. As many as 6-8 eggs were
found per nests," an excited Vishal Verma
of the Mangal Panchayatan Parishad, a
group of amateur explorers, told Hindustan
Times from near the site.
Stupendous
discovery:
"The
eggs are from upper cretaceous era when
the dinosaurs were yet to be extinct.
These eggs can be categorised in three
types of soropaud dinosaurs, which were
herbivorous. These animals used to come
from far away areas to lay eggs on the
sandy banks of the rivers in this area,
identified scientifically as Lameta bed,"
Verma said. The dinosaurs were 40-90 feet
in length, he added. Along with the fossilised
eggs, the team - comprising two other
members Rajesh Chouhan and Govind Verma
- also discovered footprints of the dinosaurs
through which they could also trace the
'track way' of the heavy animals now extinct.
Geological
Survey of India's former Director (Palaeontology)
Dr Arun Sonakia who was also at the site
of the find told this correspondent over
telephone, "It's a good job done by amateurs.
With this find, the scientists would be
able to know more about the spread of
the dinosaurs. It can also throw light
on the reasons of extinction." "Plus the
nesting sites and large number of fossilised
eggs would also throw light on the variety
of dinosaurs that existed in the cretaceous
era," Sonakia added. The Parishad had
earlier discovered fossilised bones of
the dinosaurs in the region.
Courtesy:
www.hindustantimes.com, February 5, 2007
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A
parade of Steam Engines
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The
"Fairy Queen" in all its glory, was followed
by the majestic "Shahenshah," the imposing
"Pavandoot," the spirited "Sher-e-Punjab"
and the grand "Rajhans." It was a visual
treat for onlookers as five heritage steam
engines rolled out of the Safdarjung railway
station here on Friday. An initiative
of the Northern Railway to create awareness
about heritage locomotive engines, the
"Parade of Steam Engines" event was presided
by Union Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad.
It included a presentation on landmark
events and turning points in the evolution
of the Northern Railway. Starting with
the historic opening by the East Indian
Railway of a through-line from Calcutta
to Delhi in August 1864, the narrative
drew attention to the various heritage-buildings
and bridges of Northern Railway. While
"Fairy Queen," built in 1855, is the world's
oldest locomotive in working condition,
"Pavandoot," an XE-3634 engine, was built
in 1930. The war-class locomotive AWE-22907
called "Rajhans" was built in 1943, while
the majestic WL-15005, called the "Sher-e-Punjab,"
was built in 1955. The bullet-nosed locomotive
WP-7200 called the "Shahenshah" was built
in 1947. In keeping with the thematic
objective of preserving the heritage of
the Railways, Northern Railway has organised
a series of events in February to spread
public awareness. A weekly steam run from
the Safdarjung railway station on all
Saturdays of January 2007, where the public
got an opportunity to travel in heritage
coaches drawn by the steam locomotive
WP-7200, was part of the initiative. Taking
note of the response to the heritage steam
engine run, Northern Railway will have
two more runs over this weekend. Mr. Lalu
Prasad announced a reward of Rs.10 lakh
to the staff associated with the event.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, February 3, 2007
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It's
reverse swing for homebound Gujaratis
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Last
year, 29-year-old computer engineer Aasit
Shah chucked a plush IT job in the Silicon
Valley and returned to India. Shah who
has worked for US companies such as Fetch
Technologies, Adobe Systems, eBay Inc
set up his own venture in Ahmedabad. Or
take the case of Dipam Patel. A masters
in computer engineering from Santa Clara
University, Patel headed for hometown
Ahmedabad after stints at Adaptec, Dell
Candera, Ario-Data in the span of 12 years
he stayed in the US. Call it reverse migration.
An increasing number of Gujaratis employed
in the IT/ITeS sector are returning home
to star new innings as entrepreneurs.
These IT professionals, most in their
late 20s want to make the most of the
IT infrastructure, resources and above
all 'the right time' for setting up their
ventures in offshore development model.
"The entrepreneurial spirit in me combined
with the desire to be with family and
participate in the growth of our country
forced me to come back here. I had enough
money and required experience to start
my own venture here." says Shah. Patel's
venture Lodestone Software Services started
with a team of 2-3 people in the Software
QA area about a year ago. "Today we are
about 12 people and executing projects
in Software QA, development and CAD areas
for US clients," says Patel. "We always
wanted to be back in Ahmedabad." Neha
Sheth, who studied in Stanford University
before serving as a director of engineering
at McAfee in the Silicon Valley was well
settled in the US with her husband Sharvil.
Now they run a software development company
called Phoenix Labs in Gujarat. "We came
back because it was good time for the
IT industry here. Next five years will
be exciting as well," she says. Neha also
wanted her children to learn about the
culture and get acquainted to the lifestyle.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, January 01, 2007
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