Why you should drink orange juice

Drinking a glass of orange juice a day can keep your skin glowing and keep cold away. Orange juice is known to contain a high percentage ofVitamin C, which is helpful in boosting the immune system. 

So, you will be less likely to catch various illnesses, such as cold or flu. Also, medical studies show that orange juice may help lower both cholesterol and blood pressure levels. 

What's your squeeze? 

Don't mix sugar with orange juice. Always remember that you do not need to drink a whole lot of orange juice in order to get these healthy benefits. In fact, since orange juice is fairly high in calories, avoid drinking too much of the stuff. If you are drinking canned orange juice, then be sure to check the sugar content on the label when choosing orange juice if you really want to get the highest amount of health benefits from your orange juice and, ultimately, prevent weight gain (since high sugar levels can cause it). 

Pulp fiction 

It is often said that orange juice containing pulp tends to be healthier for the body, but it is an issue that is often debated. If you have a stomach condition, remember that orange juice is very acidic and for that reason, it may cause a stomach upset. Due to its acidity, orange juice can also cause tooth damage , if left uncared for.

Blend cooking oils to stay away from heart diseases

Avoid reheating oil; use combination of oils and read food labels to ensure that transfats do not creep into your diet

While plans maybe afoot to welcome the New Year with health conscious resolutions, one vital culinary component that is linked to non-communicable diseases is often neglected – cooking oils. While the debate on the healthiest oil continues through various studies and reports, most of them clearly frown upon sticking to one type of oil for cooking. The reiterated thumb rule is to use a combination of cooking oils to derive the maximum benefits from fatty acids contained in these oils. “Use a combination of two or three types of oil regularly or rotate types of oil for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” says M.V.Alli, assistant professor, department of nutrition and dietetics, Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College.

RISK OF HEART DISEASE

The choice of cooking oil is important as the risk of heart disease is linked to the usage of oil, says N.Senthilkumar, interventional cardiologist, Kauvery Hospitals. Cooking oils containing saturated fats can elevate bad cholesterol or LDL cholesterol levels which block arteries and increases risk of heart disease, insulin resistance, and obesity.

Cooking oils are of various types: saturated like ghee and coconut oil, and unsaturated oils are further classified into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oil apart from transfats.

Transfats are found in hydrogenated oils or vanaspati or vegetable shortening which are present in pastry products, pizzas, burgers. In his book, ‘how to protect your heart’ Dr. Senthilkumar recommends avoiding transfats, minimal use of saturated fats, and striking a balance between monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which are present in mustard oil, groundnut oil, olive, gingelly, sunflower, safflower and canola, to name a few. “We do not recommend the use of saturated oils like coconut oil or ghee, particularly for persons with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obese people,” says Dr. Alli.

Reheating oil

At a health meet in the city this year, cancer specialist, V.Shanta, chairperson, Adyar Cancer Institute, said reusing of oil was a cause for worry as reheating oil has been linked with cancer. The practice is prevalent due to rise in prices of essential commodities like oil and cap on subsidised gas cylinders. Reheating oil multiple times is the primary reason why doctors and dieticians frown upon eating out in restaurants and buying deep-fried snacks at roadside eateries.

Apart from refraining from reheating oil used for deep frying, baking, boiling, using non-stick pans are options recommended to achieve optimum oil usage. Read food labels to ensure that transfats do not creep into your diet, Dr. Senthilkumar suggests.

Standards of higher education in the country should be improved: Pranab

Hon'ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee delivers convocation address at SRM University

The standards of higher education in the country should be improved, President Pranab Mukherjee said here on Friday.

Delivering the convocation address at SRM University in Kattangulathur , Mr. Mukherjee said the country had universities such as Nalanda and Takshashila which had established themselves as international centres of educational excellence where students from all over the world came and studied. In contrast, many Indian students were now going abroad for higher studies.

Private sector’s role

Mr. Mukherjee said: “We need universities to provide quality education that meet international benchmarks. We must change the reality of our universities not figuring in the list of top universities of the world. Indian universities should aim at becoming top educational institutions in the world with global standards of research, teaching and learning. With unlimited demands and limited resources, it is important that the private sector also contributes its best to the provision of higher education in India. The private sector has played a key role in higher education in other countries across the world. Many top universities including Harvard, Yale and Stanford are the result of efforts of private sector. There is no reason why Indian private sector cannot achieve similar results.”

Value-based education

A huge responsibility lay with the educational institutions, said K. Rosiah, Tamil Nadu Governor. Mr. Rosiah said: “We need value-based education which synthesises the moral fabric of the individual and generates a culture of peace in society and makes one’s life in harmony with all existence. It should prepare the youth to face the challenges and responsibilities of the future.”

Honorary degree of Doctor of Science was conferred on V.K. Saraswat, Director-General, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and P.R. Goyal, eminent physician.

GATE-2013 to get tougher

The increasing interest in higher education among the technical graduates in the country is a direct reflection of the growing number of aspirants for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). The aspirants have grown from a mere 1.8 lakh in 2008 to 7.7 lakh in 2012.

The GATE-2013 will see more numbers and certainly be tougher for two reasons. Due to sluggish recruitment in the IT industry more students are likely to appear while on other hand Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are recruiting in large numbers and GATE qualification is mandatory for most of those jobs.

Moreover, nearly 90 per cent of the applicants take the test unlike the Civil Services where about 50 per cent of applicants actually appear.

The GATE-2013 to be conducted by the IIT Bombay will also see several changes. Out of 21 papers in GATE 15 papers will be conducted in online mode this year. Last year only six papers were online while the previous year only four papers were in the online mode. However, this may not be a concern as GATE aspirants are used to online test like AIEEE or BITSAT.

Another change brought in for the exam includes exemption of application fee for female candidates to attract more number of girl students. The fee will be Rs. 1,200 for general and OBC candidates and Rs. 600 for SC, ST and Physically Challenged boys.

Till last year GATE score calculation used method of average and standard deviation of marks scored by all students. In the new formula to be applicable from this year, the average and standard deviation terms do not refer to the entire population, but to specific ability levels (qualification marks and top 0.1% of students). The score will be valid for two years.

The three-hour exam with 65 questions (30 one-mark questions and 35 two-mark questions) summing up to 100 marks will have questions from core subjects, engineering maths and general aptitude. “Questions from the core engineering subjects far outweigh the other two areas with 70 per cent weightage. But, General Aptitude and engineering maths with 15 marks each, play a vital role in maximising the score,” says Prudhvi Reddy, Course Director of GATE at TIME institute.

Mr. Reddy feels good performance in aptitude and Maths ensure the minimum qualification marks. “Offline mode will have only multiple choice questions. But, online mode exams will also have numerical answer type questions accounting for 15 marks.” Questions are likely to test the applicants’ grip on basic concepts and the ability to apply them in problems. The GATE notification issued gives an overview of the areas where applicants will be tested. These can be broadly categorised in to four types - recall, comprehension, application and Analysis and Synthesis. “Most of the recall based questions will be in the one mark category. Thorough knowledge of fundamentals and extensive practice are the only two factors that can bring success here,” Mr. Reddy says. The GATE trainers advice that candidates should plan their preparation strategically. Attempting previous papers and analysing the weightage given for various topics are crucial elements.

However, aspirants will face tough competition for six papers - CSE, ECE, EEE, ME, PI and IN that account for 90 per cent of the applicants. All these will be in the offline mode on second Sunday of February 2013.

On 09-11-2012, I got Doctorate in Management(Ph.D.)from Hon'ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, His Excellancy Dr. K Rosaiah.

New qualifying criteria dashes hopes of many NET aspirants

Candidates who failed may seek legal recourse

The high hopes with which a majority of candidates appeared for the UGC’s National Eligibility Test in June after a change in the question paper pattern have come crashing after the publication of results earlier this week.

For the first time, NET was conducted in objective mode for all three papers in two sessions. Till then, the third paper in descriptive format was not favoured by many. However, the relief over replacement of the descriptive format with multiple-choice questions has turned out to be short-lived.

The adoption of new qualifying criteria by the UGC has denied thousands of candidates an opportunity for lectureship in universities and colleges.

The candidates blame the UGC for coming out with a last minute specification that an aggregate of 65 per cent in three papers was necessary for qualification for general category candidates. The qualifying minimum was fixed at 60 and 55 per cent for OBC and SC/ST/visually challenged/physically challenged categories.

While the NET notification stated that the scores of only those candidates who score the minimum specified marks would be considered for the preparation of result, the UGC’s new criteria for qualification required candidates in general, OBC, and SC/ST/VC/PC categories to post minimum scores (out of 350 — 100 marks each for first and second paper, and 150 marks for third paper) of 227.5, 210, and 192.5 respectively.

So far, corresponding scores of 155, 138 and 130 were accepted as passing minimum for the three categories of candidates. The NET notification stated: “Only such candidates who obtain the minimum required marks in each paper separately, as mentioned above, will be considered for final preparation of result. However, the final qualifying criteria for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Eligibility for Lectureship shall be decided by UGC before declaration of result.”

The candidates are shocked. “The result has caused depression. My efforts have gone in vain,” lamented Gajendran, an Assistant Professor, who felt confident about clearing NET this year, after many attempts over a decade.

His overall score of 188 did not measure up to UGC’s new criteria. Had the UGC struck to the pattern of passing minimum it had been following so far, the pass percentage would have increased manifold, said Vijayalakshmi, a professor in a private college.

While NET/SET is the minimum eligibility for recruitment and appointment of assistant professors in universities/ colleges/ institutions, candidates with Ph.D. in accordance with UGC Regulations 2009, are exempted from clearing this examination.

But, with Ph.D. turning out to be costly and time-consuming, candidates usually devote their attention to clearing NET first before pursuing Ph.D. Hence, their disappointment is only natural, according to S. Iyyampillai, Professor of Economics in Bharathidasan University, Tiruchi, who has vast experience in training candidates for NET/SET

Candidates across the country who have not passed the NET due to the “last minute” changes in the eligibility norms have planned to get their acts together for legal recourse, Ms. Vijayalakshmi said.

No Indian institute in world’s top 200 universities

America's Massachusetts Institute of Technology grabbed the top slot from UK's Cambridge University in a list of QS world university rankings for 2011-2012.

There was little reason for India to smile when the prestigious QS World University Rankings were announced recently. No Indian institute figured in the world’s top 200 universities of the list of 700 that were ranked under the scheme.

For the first time, America's prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology grabbed the top slot from UK's Cambridge University in a list of world university rankings for 2011-2012. However, four of the six top slots in a global university “league table” by QS World University Rankings were occupied by the UK universities.

With MIT leading the list, Cambridge University slipped to the second spot and Harvard still down to the third rank.

University College, London (UCL), Oxford and Imperial took the fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively. The seventh place was awarded to Yale University, followed by University of Chicago, Princeton University and the tenth position to California Institute of Technology.

The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 700 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004.

The QS rankings were originally published in collaboration with Times Higher Education from 2004 to 2009 as the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. In 2010, Times Higher Education and QS ended their collaboration. QS assumed sole publication of the existing methodology, while Times Higher Education created a new ranking methodology with Thomson Reuters, published as Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

 

The QS rankings rate the world's top 400 universities, evaluating each institution's strengths in research, teaching, the employability of its graduates and international outlook. While India is yet to secure a place in the top 200, other Asian countries such as China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan sit comfortably among the top 100 of the rankings table, led by University of Hong Kong (22) and University of Tokyo (25).

“If we are serious about staying on top, the government must concentrate investment where it will have the most impact — in our world-class research-intensive universities,” director general of the Russell Group of research-based universities Dr. Wendy Piatt said.

In 2010, the Indian Institute of Delhi was ranked 202 in the list but it has fallen to 218th this time. Similarly, IIT-Bombay (was 187, now 225); IIT-Madras (was 262, now 281); IIT-Kanpur ( 249, 306); IIT-Kharagpur (311, 341); IIT-Roorkee (428, 438) and IIT-Guwahati (501, 563). The other universities have followed suit – University of Delhi (was 371, now 398); University of Mumbai (493, 578); University of Calcutta (506, 649) and University of Pune (578, 661).

India has scored very badly on quality research and fall in all the universities’ academic reputation. The employer reputation of IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Guwahati and universities of Mumbai, Calcutta and Pune has slid backwards too. For the academic and employer ratings, inputs from as many as 33,000 academics and 16,785 employers from more than 130 countries were taken by QS, the largest surveys of their kind ever conducted.

Well begun is half done

If getting into engineering colleges is a dream come true for many, tackling the challenges of the first year is another thing altogether.

The results of the first year (second semester) engineering examinations were declared recently and they show a disturbing trend. The pass percentage dips considerably at the end of the first year: Whether it is Tamil Nadu or Mumbai or Nagpur, the trend remains that the performance in the first year is far below the pass percentages obtained in the final year. These are the same students who go on to do well in later years, so what are the reasons for this poor performance in the beginning, when they ought to be carried away by the force of their preparation and enthusiasm?

It seems like a natural conclusion that after three years or so of being pushed to excel — in their board exams, the JEE, AIEEE and other exams — the students tend to relax once they enter the college of their choice.

Says Siddharth Dash, who is now in his second year at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, “I know many students who used to study for 10 to 15 hours during their 12th.” In the first year this drops to about two hours a day and in the second year increases to about 5-6 hours.

Though the spread of subjects in the first year is fairly continuous from the school curriculum, the method of teaching is different. “We teach more to get the concepts across and we are less exam- oriented, which is what they have been used to at school and in the coaching classes. So they need to become more independent and it takes them a while to understand,” says P. K. Thiruvikraman, Associate Professor BITS Pilani, Hyderabad. He goes on to say that language might be a problem too, with reading habits on a low due to shortage of time and English classes receiving less attention. “Most teachers and parents want to emphasise on Math, Physics, etc.”

Seniors lend a hand

Would they benefit from counselling? Siddharth does not feel the need for this. He feels that the nature of their doubts are such that friendly seniors can help them out. This is also the case with Adarsh A Tadimari who is now in his first year of B.Tech at IIT Madras. He says that his seniors really do pitch in and help out. Even in doing assignments, they are eager to lend the juniors their laptops and help clear doubts on how to prepare for the exams, etc.

Pradymna Kodali, II year, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, feels that his peers may benefit by counselling, but that is because many of them do not understand what they want to do and have chosen their streams based on their grades and not based on what they are interested in. He also feels that homesickness is a major reason why performance in the first year dips.

Perhaps some students also feel that the first year only consists of common core courses like math and physics and hence take it easy, whereas the second year seems more important because it has subjects of their specialisation. This is being short-sighted because basic math and science is something that they will come back to when they practise their craft. The first year therefore requires more attention and those who manage their first year well are likely to do well in the long run.

Use Humour to Increase Productivity

Research has proved that fun and humour at the workplace is essential to balance the mind, body, and spirit. From a company’s perspective, an employee’s wellbeing plays an important role in his performance, quality, and productivity, which in turn affects business success and profits. Factors such as a good working environment and employee engagement are crucial to improve employees’ wellbeing. When an employee’s wellbeing reduces, so does his or her performance.

By adding humour in your workplace, you are making people happier and happier people produce more work and are loyal to their companies.

They are motivated to work and grow to be innovative in their thinking. Importantly, it releases tension and manages disturbing negative emotions.

Laughter creates a positive energy that is contagious and everyone bounces back with enthusiasm. While doing mundane, repetitive jobs, having some boredom-breaking activities leads to greater tolerance levels. Even the most challenging work can be fun and less stressful. Besides, humour reduces job stress and burnout, lowers blood pressure levels, and releases the feel-good hormones known as endorphins that work as natural pain killers.

The communication channels open up between co-workers and soon they find themselves solving problems together, celebrating together, and assuming combined responsibility for the organisation’s success. There is a strong culture of trust and collaboration with enhanced task performance and decrease in turnover. All these are significant features required in the operation of a strong and successful company.

The following are some ideas that you as a human resources representative or a manager can use or customise your own:

1. Ask employees to volunteer and form a social committee group to organise fun activities appropriate for your company. It could be as simple as sending Su-do-ku puzzles, joke of the day, or an engaging event like bringing in board games and having a competition.

2. Organise a bake sale (treats made by employees) and the proceeds could go to a charity institute.

3. Add up the fun factor by having a ‘lunch and learn’ programme with a personal focus every month where employees have an opportunity to learn something new. For example, ergonomics, nutrition, healthy cooking, time management, and so on. If your budget allows, provide food. Otherwise, employees can organise a potluck or carry their own lunch.

4. In meetings, set aside some time for fun.

5. Encourage employees to create a bulletin board where fun quotes, fun facts, and so on are posted.

However, here is a word of warning. Defining what is acceptable as fun and humour and what is not acceptable is essential. For instance, indulging in crude or violent jokes or pranks is a strict no-no at any workplace.

Humour does not mean that all employees should have the ability to tell jokes or fire off clever remarks. It simply means that employees should not take themselves too seriously while keeping a positive attitude.

The workplace need not be a carnival. It should be courteous, happy and a positive place to work. It is important that we honour work ethics and not be distracted from work. We need to continue being professional and competent while embracing humour and laughter with gusto. This is not difficult to achieve. It requires trust and commitment from management along with the right attitude among employees.

It’s all about de-stressing and having fun while being productive. When the atmosphere is relaxing, fun and humour happens naturally.

To sum it up in the words of John Ruskin, art critic of the Victorian era, “In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it.

They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success in it.”

Respect at the Workplace

Respect at the workplace is something that is perceived and experienced rather than something that can be clearly explained in words. This includes the way people in an organisation behave with each other showing politeness and mutual respect, discuss official as well as personal issues at the workplace, cooperate with each other, and follow office policies in spirit and not just letter. The way they resolve workplace issues makes people feel how respectful a workplace is and makes them feel good to be there.

Respecting others’ self-respect is integral to a respectful workplace. Each employee in an organisation has a task to accomplish and each may have a different view of how things are done. In case of conflict in approaches to doing things, the right way is not to condemn the employees but talking to them and finding reasonable solutions. If that doesn’t work, then the next best course is to find a different work space for them.

A proper workplace culture helps promote respect in organisations. The following guidelines can be useful in this regard.

Realise that people come with different ideas and mindsets and accept them

Clearly define the roles of individuals, complete with their rights, duties and boundaries of their authority

Make them realise they are accountable for all their deeds

Promote values and behaviour that are generally acceptable without appearing to be imposing something on them

Build office atmosphere in such a way that employees discuss differences and acknowledge alternative views

Communicate all important things to staff formally by holding meetings and sending emails

To know whether you are working in a respectful workplace, check the indicators shown below. If these indicators are applicable, congratulations, you live in a respectful workplace. If these indicators are not applicable, you have now in your hands the know-how to turn your workplace into a respectful workplace.

Credit is given to employees when good work is accomplished.

Employees assume responsibility for their behaviour rather than making excuses or blaming others.

Employees are committed to keeping each other informed and trust each other to pass along information appropriately.

Employees collaborate on important issues asking each other’s opinions and expertise.

Employees talk in terms of ‘we’ instead of creating ‘us and them’ distinctions.

Employees focus on the main issue or mission and don’t get distracted by differences.

Employees respect organisational structures and roles and don’t use them as weapons.

Employees value each other’s background and experience rather than discrediting each other’s competence.

Employees openly discuss concerns, criticisms, and conflicts in a respectful manner.

Employees speak positively about their work, the organisation, and the future rather than expressing cynicism.

Women’s realm — studies and research

The Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi, develops, promotes and disseminates knowledge about women’s roles in society and economic trends which affect their lives.

Pliloting a trend: A woman drives a metro train in Bangalore.

Those who are interested in carrying out serious research on women’s issues can gainfully utilise the rich infrastructure and enlightened and committed faculty in the unique Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi.

The centre was established in 1980. The initiative had come from a group involved in the preparation of the first comprehensive government report on the “Status of women in India.”

Later on, the members of the group were associated with the Women’s Studies Programme of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). The Advisory Committee on Women’s Studies of the council recommended the need for an autonomous institute to build on the knowledge already generated, but with a wider mandate and resources to expand its activities in research and action. This was taken up by the Women’s Bureau of the Union Ministry of Social Welfare. This in brief is the genesis of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, 25, Bhai Vir Singh Marg, New Delhi – 110 001; Website: www.cwds.org. The centre is supported by the ICSSR.

Develops, promotes and disseminates knowledge about women’s roles in society and economic trends which affect women’s lives and status.

Organises and assists training programmes in the field; collaborates with institutions engaged in allied activities, especially in areas where under-privileged women are involved.

In a nutshell, the centre is a catalyst in assisting women in realising their full potential and exercising their active influence on society and its transformation. It discourages any action that marginalises women’s role in, or contribution to, society. Women’s special needs such as maternity protection, child care, literacy education and expanding employment opportunities are being focussed.

The mainstay of the centre since its inception has been research. “Women’s studies” is not a simple entity of one dimension, but it involves facing the rigours and challenges in a broad interdisciplinary field of scholarship. Research has to be responsive to contemporary problems and new questions demanding investigation.

The centre makes regular studies and goal-oriented research on a wide range of topics that are intimately connected with women’s problems, and steps to empower them to be strong participants in nation-building. Even issues that may look unimportant in the first look may have immense impact on the roles of women in society. Let us take some of the topics that are/were studied at the centre to get a clear picture of the opportunities that await future students and researchers at the centre.

The special issues concerning women’s healthcare, such as coverage, type of service-providers, nature of service provided, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, sustainability and equity, were identified. The role of the private sector in healthcare is on the rise in our country. A judicious mix of the private and the public sectors can meet the requirements of low-income groups among women effectively. Studies based on PPP (public private partnerships) were held, analysing different health areas affecting women’s life.

This is an interesting study of motivation, compulsions and women’s experiences of domestic migration.The primary focus has been on labour migration rather than demographic movements. Changes in personal and work lives and identification of the new possibilities and tension generated by migration were analysed.

There is significant impact on family relations, economic structures and a broad range of citizenship rights. There is a paradox of a high rate of female migration along with a falling rate of female work participation.The field surveys conducted in 17 States showed an inexplicable jump in the rates of marriage migration. This deserves a detailed study and exploration. Higher education, gender and discrimination:

Study on the relationships between higher education, gender and discrimination is made with some comparison between the conditions in India and China.

Though there are several initiatives in this area, questions of gender are often forgotten. Women’s participation in higher education is sometimes shaped by the interlocking markets of labour, education, and marriage. factors such as class, region, caste and community also become significant in shaping women’s higher education.

The study demonstrates how the multidimensional nature of care-giving and its quantitative or qualitative time and labour demands are not recognised.

The findings suggest a stratified familialism in care practices owing to the differences in time available to family members for care. (Familialism is an ideology that promotes the ‘nuclear family.’)

Care becomes reduced when mothers in poor families go for paid work. Crèches and pre-schools may be beyond their reach. However, women from the elite and upper middle classes can break out from the gendered moulds.

Official denial of the time and skill requirements of care, along with the non-recognition of women’s multi-layered work, adds to women’s burden.

This issue has to be addressed to liberate women and ensure justice to them.

Some of the other areas explored are:

Adverse child sex ratio in North-West India.

Globalisation and women’s work.

Multiple vulnerabilities and marginal identities: exploring violence in the everyday lives of women with disabilities.

Gender and democratic governance.

Study on women migrants of Tamil origin in France.

Women in Indian engineering: An analysis of graduate degree level education.

Gender, status, and migration of Malayali nurses.

From oppression to assertion: Women and Panchayats in India.

Winning with English

Not much is being done in colleges and universities to improve the English communication skills of students. A recent survey comes as a wake-up call.

“I can’t able to tell you.” This might just be one instance of a grammatically wrong sentence that often is a part of everyday conversations but it is just the tip of the iceberg as far as communication in business rooms is concerned.

According to the survey by employability measurement company Aspiring Minds, the English learning level among engineering graduates is very poor in India. The survey which analysed the English skills of over 55,000 aspiring engineers in 250 different engineering colleges, said “around 36 per cent of engineering graduates would be unable to read official reports and transcripts and derive information out of them, even when the information is explicitly stated.”

“The worse of it often comes out in mails — the most important medium of communication in corporate offices,” says R. Rajaram, HR head of an IT major. He explains, “They write incomplete sentences; their punctuation is non-existent and grammar very poor. This is why most companies have readymade templates with sentences, and employees just have to choose what they have to say.”

While Tamil Nadu has an excellent recruitment record with the State supplying the largest number of engineers, surveys on employability have cast the State in a poor light. A few months ago, Aspiring Minds also came out with a survey that said Tamil Nadu figured the lowest on the employability index. “This is mainly because they are not able to converse in English. Most of them are not confident of themselves,” the study concluded.

“Companies take communication very seriously and there are frequent training sessions for them. But all of that is focussed on their speaking skills. There is little done to improve their vocabulary or grammar,” says a senior HR Official.

One reason for the problem is the limited use of English in colleges though the language is the medium of instruction. “More than 70 per cent of the class is from rural areas and they understand nothing when taught in English. Once students get the concept and learn to communicate it in Tamil, English will definitely follow,” says G. Sathyamurthy, mechanical engineering professor, Anna University, explaining why the language is not used much in classrooms.

Colleges need to do their bit to inculcate an interest in the language among students but it must not just be for the sake of ensuring placements, says R. Prabha, who trains students on communication skills. “Every one thinks business English is sufficient to get a job and sustain it. But that way, one does not get a hang of conversational English, which is very important as you climb up the ladder. “As a result, students will be able to explain technical points but are at a loss when it comes to interacting and conversing comfortably with others,” she adds.

For instance, R. Gnanam, who studied computer science at Anna University and graduated last year, is yet to find a job. “I have an 8.7 CGPA but I get rejected by every company. English is a must to get into companies,” he points out. Those like R. Jayaprakash, who works as a senior software engineer, add that one cannot take it easy even after entering a company. “We are expected to constantly brush up our communication abilities. We need to network, and present demonstrations, send regular mails and make sure people understand what we are saying and vice-versa.”

There is dire lack of awareness of the issue. For instance, most bulletin boards are insensitive to the topic and common mistakes in conversation are at best a source of humour. “Companies want the best communicators who can work in tandem with clients and there is no other way to that without knowing to speak English,” says Jayaprakash.

With maths in Plus 2 must, demand for MCA goes down in Tamil Nadu

Only 6,109 applied for the 12,500 seats

That a change in a single eligibility criterion can lead to many not being able to take up a postgraduate degree was evident from the number who had applied for the Tamil Nadu MCA Counselling 2012.

Only 6,109 had applied for the counselling under the single window system for admission to MCA degree courses offered in Government, Government-aided, and self-financing engineering and arts and science colleges of Tamil Nadu for the academic year 2012-13, which began here at the Government College of Technology (GCT), on Monday.

And, this number looks less because there are nearly 12,500 government quota seats up for grabs.

While there were over 9,000 aspirants who attended the counselling in 2010-11, the number rose to 11,014 in 2011-12. But in sharp contrast, this year has witnessed only half that number opting for counselling. This decline is being attributed to the new All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) guideline that lays down that only a candidate who has studied mathematics in Plus-Two is eligible to apply for MCA. This is irrespective of him/her studying mathematics in graduation.

With so many seats under the government quota available, there were only very few making use of these seats, because they were not able to meet the criterion. There were 8,841 seats in engineering colleges, and as many as 3,576 seats in arts and science colleges, with a total of 12,417 seats.

It was the second rank holder with 56.00 who received the first allotment letter. This year too there were no surprises with the toppers choosing to pursue their course at PSG College of Technology.

M. Vishnu Narayanan from Tiruchi was the first to get provisional admission into PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. He received the allotment letter from V. Lakshmi Prabha, Principal of GCT, and Secretary of Tamil Nadu MBA/MCA Admissions 2012. Sixth rank holder from Coimbatore, J. Vicky, with a TANCET score of 53.75 got the second allotment letter for admission into PSG College of Technology. Seventh rank holder H. Manish Kumar for Chennai with a TANCET score of 52.75, received the third allotment letter for admission into SSN College of Technology, Chennai.

R. Krishnaswami, Regional Manager, State Bank of India, Coimbatore, gave away prizes to the first three toppers who received the allotment letters.

On Sunday, a separate counselling was held for the physically challenged where only eight candidates attended. Here too, though there were more than 200 seats allotted under the three per cent disability quota, there were just eight orthopaedically challenged candidates who appeared.

The seats that did not get filled under the disability quota would be added to the general category.

The general counselling for MCA would go on till July 30 including Sundays. It would start at 8 a.m. each day and would be held in five batches.

SET results a worry for academicians

What could be the reason for the low pass percentage of State Eligibility Test? Academicians, and candidates who took the test, share their views. 

In a bid to improve the quality of teachers in colleges and universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it mandatory that they clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) / State Eligibility Test (SET), or complete a Ph.D. A pass in NET/SET will also make them eligible to draw UGC payscales in colleges and universities.

But the recently published results of the SET in Tamil Nadu looks like the quest to improve the quality will deal a heavy blow to the quantity. With only 1,396 out of 41,164 candidates passing the August 2011 SET examination, there is a serious worry among senior academics about the implication of this on the demand and supply of teachers in colleges and universities.

While there is universal disappointment about the poor results, it has also raised various concerns like improving the number of passes, assessing study material available for the examination, modifying preparation pattern of candidates, and increasing the frequency of conduct of SET.

With a pass percentage of 3.39, which in fact is an improvement over the last examinations, the need for qualified teachers still remains to be fulfilled.

From the 1,396 who passed, as many as 673 candidates cleared the Tamil paper, 213 cleared the English paper and 194 the management paper. Other passes were from bio-technology, economics, physical education, journalism and mass communication.

No candidate from the chemical sciences, geography, Hindi, library and information sciences, mathematical sciences, and physical sciences, cleared the test. For many who have not cleared the SET even after two or three attempts, the only other alternative is to apply for a four-year doctorate.

Feedback from candidates who have passed and failed the test, and academics who have set the test question paper and also evaluated the answer sheets, go to prove that the reason for so many failures is not because the question paper is tough, but because of poor preparation by the candidates.

R. Sivakumar, assistant professor of Public Administration, Thiruvalluvar Government Arts College, Rasipuram, who cleared the test, says, with good preparation anyone can clear the SET.

“Most of the SET syllabus is covered in the PG course. Also, for faculty who are handling the subject on an everyday basis, it is much easier,” he adds. A faculty member who has failed the test says she is not able to assess her performance because the test results do not reveal the marks. SET marks could be published to enable the candidate know where they had to improve in the next attempt.

A senior professor who has been involved in setting SET question papers and also in valuation, says many teachers/candidates fail because the UGC mode of assessment is not like that of a university.

Paper-I for 100 marks examines the candidates on logical reasoning, while Paper-II for 100 marks consists of 50 multiple-choice questions on the subject, and Paper-III for 200 marks is of descriptive pattern based on the subject again. “One cannot say the questions are difficult. They are consciously set keeping a certain standard in mind. If a candidate fails in the first paper, his second paper is not even taken up for correction,” the professor says.

Carrying the same point forward, P. Kanagaraj, associate professor of political science, Government Arts College, Coimbatore, who also coaches candidates for the UPSC Civil Services examinations, says in many cases, highly meritorious students stop with UG degree once they get a lucrative job.

“Mostly, those who do not score very high marks in UG go for PG with teaching in mind. For such candidates to clear the SET, the quality of higher education should be improved, even from the UG level. Focus should be on the subject knowledge,” he says.

And, according to him, a doctorate being considered an alternative to the SET is illogical. “A doctorate is not an ideal qualification for teaching. It focuses only on a minuscule portion of the subject matter. Though SET too is not a right yardstick, it at least deals with the subject matter on a major scale,” he adds.

Echoing the sentiments of many, Vice-Chancellor of University of Madras G. Thiruvasagam says the eligibility test fails to ensure that there is supply when there is demand and also raise the bar in terms of quality.

He believes that a period of training after the SET can only ensure that a college will get a qualified teacher. Candidates have to be trained in psychology, teaching methodology, pedagogy, use of technology and effective delivery, to make them efficient.

There is also a felt need that the test be conducted at frequent intervals to maintain that balance between quality and quantity of qualified teachers.

Getting Confident At Work-Place

Getting confident at workplace requires some personality traits. If you closely analyze successful and confident people at workplace, you will find some particular qualities. Let us understand few of those qualities one by one and also understand their impact on your confidence:

1. Highly successful and confident people are always result oriented. Your boss does not count how many work you started, but he does count how many work you actually completed. Completing your work is a matter of habit; you can start the same right from today.

2. Confident people have good communication skills. Communication is all about knowing nuances of communication and playing with words and voice through practice. If you can take little pain, you can start developing communication right away.

3. They are good in planning and time management. With practice you can develop these traits by and by. One of the best ways is find techniques on time management and planning on youtube.com and other sites and start applying those;

4. They are 100% focused on whatever they do. Now getting focused is just habit and practice. “Doing one thing at one time” is one of the best practices of time management also.

5. Success and confident people never hesitate. Just keep in mind through hesitation you will get nothing; if you leave hesitation you are creating 100% chances of getting things you really want.

6. They learn everyday to contribute better and have better market value. If you have a burning desire to learn and contribute, you can start learning new things and advance your existing knowledge right away.

6. Successful and confident people are highly disciplined. Observe yourself how many times you make calls, check mails, interact with others and roam around while completing a work.

7. Successful and confident people are proactive; they tend to do work without instruction and before deadline. You can do so by taking little pain and risk and this is one of the best ways to feel confident.

8. They are highly energetic and maintain their energy level. Having energy level is all about taking good diet, proper rest and work out; anyone can have this with little practice. 

Life skills training: infusing confidence in students

Growing concern over psychological problems faced by the students and the divide between school atmosphere and social issues has led to the introduction of life skills training in schools.

Educational reforms that focussed on holistic development of children by connecting knowledge to life outside schools was one of the key issues mentioned in the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2005).

The need for life skills training was also pointed out by the Committee on School Health (Renuka Ray Committee, 1960).

World Health Organisation (WHO) defines life skills as ‘the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life'. WHO's Mental Health Programme supports life skills education in schools across the world.

Components

Problem solving, critical thinking, effective communication skills, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, building self-awareness, empathy, and coping with stress and emotions are the 10 basic skills focussed in the programme.

According to WHO, the three components of the programme are critical thinking /decision-making skills, interpersonal /communication skills, and self-management skills.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) had adopted the life skills training module from 2003-04. According to CBSE, life skills, school health and wellbeing are valuable indicators of progressive schooling across the globe.

Objective

The objective of the programme which focussed on children in the age group of 10-18 was to empower students by helping them to develop a sense of self-confidence, eco-sensitivity and right approach towards life.

According to P. Elango Jayaprabhu, district coordinator of the programme and lecturer at District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Thirumoorthy Nagar, resource persons from the institute conducted training for one teacher and two students from each school, who would then organise the sessions in their schools. According to Elango, problem solving and creative thinking helped students address daily-life issues.

Students and teachers from over 560 Government and Government-aided schools in Coimbatore and Tirupur were trained under the programme, he said.

S. Ponkeerthana, Standrad IX, and N. Mohanapriya, Standard XI, students of Corporation Higher Secondary School, Ramakrishnapuram, said that the training provided them an opportunity to discuss many issues they faced without any hesitation. The training sessions helped to dispel a lot of misconceptions, especially on topics like HIV/AIDS, they said.

According to D. Prabhakaran, Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sulur, weekly two sessions on life skills were conducted for students of all classes.

Parents did not show much interest in the programme because it did not fetch the students any marks. This attitude should change and children should learn many of these basic values at their home.

Parents should play a more proactive role in moulding the character of children, he said.

But, lukewarm response from many schools had raised concerns about the effectiveness of the programme.

Many matriculation schools did not show much interest in the programme, Mr. Elango said.

Many CBSE schools said that they did not dedicate separate class hours for life skills education but instead integrated the life skills training into other co-curricular activities.

Preparations on for Board examinations

The Directorate of Government Examinations is busy gearing up for the upcoming Board examinations. A detailed plan has been chalked out for the conduct of the class XII examinations, to be held between March 8 and 30.

The revenue district of Chennai, for administrative purposes, has been divided into three educational districts – south Chennai, with 32 examination centres, east Chennai with 25 centres and north Chennai with 44 centres. A total of 50,293 students in Chennai will take the State Board higher secondary examination, according to a press release from the Directorate.

A meeting in connection with the conduct of the examinations was held at the Collectorate on Wednesday. As many as six flying squads will be headed by the Chief Educational Officer. Each of the educational districts in the city will have four flying squads. Nearly 2,800 school heads will be involved in different capacities such as chief examiner, department officers, flying squad members and invigilators.

Severe action will be initiated against students indulging in malpractices, the press release said. In case students are caught copying, they will be barred from taking the examination for the next two years. Students caught for misconduct could be barred permanently from taking the examination or police action could be initiated. In case of malpractices involving an examination centre, disciplinary action would be initiated against the head of the centre. In case of a private school, the school's recognition would be cancelled and arrangements would be made for students to take the examination at another centre. Cellular phones will not be permitted in the examination hall.

Parents have also been asked to take good care of the students giving them healthy food and ensure that they reach the centre on time and safely on all days.

Research papers will be available in public domain

2012-13 was declared the year of science by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year, and there is a lot of effort being made all over the country to not only intensify the quantity and quality of research but also ensure greater access for all. For instance, IIT-Madras plans to make available its research papers in all disciplines online, in the public domain. The institute already provides e-learning through online web and video courses in engineering, science and humanities streams through NPTEL.

The attempt now is to convince faculty members to upload their research papers into the institution's repository, says Mangala Sunder Krishnan, Web Coordinator (NPTEL). The move will not only benefit students and faculty members but will also help the circle of knowledge to be complete, he says.

What IIT- Madras plans to do is follow an Open Access policy that would make the access of journals and scientific research public and many other educational organisations plan to follow suite. “Most research publications stay locked up in commercial journals and are inaccessible to many. Open Access is the best way to ensure that research produced in the developing world gets wider visibility,” says Francis Jayakanth, a library-trained scientific assistant based at the National Centre for Science Information, the information centre of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Mr. Jayakanth has been instrumental in creating an institutional repository ePrints@IISc that has over 32,000 publications by researchers.

Subbiah Arunachalam, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society explains: “A research produced by the Tuberculosis Research Centre in Chennai which would be of great relevance to researchers, say in a university in Maharashtra, may not be even noticed by the scientists there. Both groups receive funds from the same source - Government of India - and yet what one does is not easily accessible to the other. “Open Access would bridge that gap and make information available to everyone,” he says.

Open Access repositories would help authors place their papers in an interoperable institutional open access archive and anyone with an Internet connection can access it. Researchers say that in most reputed journals, it takes almost six months to get a paper published, and most insist that the paper is removed from the internal repository of the author's institution once it is published. “But 70 per cent of the publishers are now fine with the authors taking the pre-print of their paper uploaded in the repository. And since in open access, every thing is peer reviewed, the quality is never compromised,” says Mr. Jayakanth.

While institutions such as IIT- Madras subscribe to over 2,000 journals, many colleges under Anna University and University of Madras have access to just about 1,500 journals. “There is almost Rs.10 -12 lakh that the institution spends on journal subscriptions so unless there is funding, many self-financed colleges prefer not to subscribe to journals and go for a few mandatory ones prescribed by AICTE. Students and researchers have no way to acquaint themselves with recent updates,” says D. Krishnan, professor, Anna University.

Even if you go through consortiums, you have to spend Rs.20 lakh which many smaller R&D organisations cannot afford to, adds P. Ramamoorthy, librarian at Sameer- Centre for Electromagnetics, a government-funded research agency. “The restrictions imposed by many commercial publishers do not allow one to legally share the published output of his result with his colleague. Open access will relive authors of such hassles,” he says.

Befitting Body Language

"He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of every pore."-Sigmund Freud

BODY language is a largely unconscious, yet a revealing aspect of our true selves. It's not what we say but how we say something is important. Many a time we speak volumes without even uttering a word. Communication is a package deal of verbal, non-verbal and vocal cues. Through extensive communication research, it has been discovered that words account for a tiny seven percent of a message's impact. The rest comes from non-verbal cues, such as voice tone and facial expression. It's only when we interpret all the cues, that we get the whole message - or what you end up with is a partial communication.

Remember how we've been taught not to believe everything we hear? Only believe what you sense and see, such as body language and its associated meaning. If someone compliments you with a smirk on his face, are you going to feel flattered?

Body Language is also the most powerful method of validating your words. Even if you say the most meaningful sentence with a deadpan expression, nobody will believe you. Your expressions, body, gestures and vocal pitch must match your words. Body language is what gives meaning to words; it causes the message to reach the heart and brain.

There are instances when words fail us in our efforts to convey a message. Often, we don't reveal how we feel about people or what we actually mean when we say something. Sometimes a `no' means a `yes' or a `maybe' implies `no'. So, to make the meaning of our words clear, we use body language. We use body language all the time.

Since humans are social creatures, when two people come into contact, they begin exchanging non-verbal communication signals. Just the very presence of another person marks the beginning of communication. It's not possible to be not communicating when amongst people.

Also related to non-verbal communication is self-presentation - appearance. Would you dress up in your best to go to the local grocery for milk? On occasions like interviews, public performances and formal events, one may choose to manipulate impressions in order to impress upon others about one's desirable qualities in an effort to strengthen self-image.

Culture is a strong determinant of body language - of how we use and interpret it. It is wise to remember that meaning of certain gestures varies from culture to culture. Workplace culture has its own set of rules and interpretations. Out here you really need to be more specific and meaningful, so your gestures should match your words.

Nobody has the time or patience to find out what you really mean, why you are behaving in a certain way, or what your underlying issues may be. There's a lot to be said about people at the workplace from the way they sit or stand, shake hands, look and speak, move and use their body. You can read people by observing their facial expressions, vocal qualities, hand gestures, body movements, posture, etc.

They can be judged at the intuitive level by observing all of these movements. Body language is especially important in the corporate world as it can be used to influence decisions and turn the tide in your favour.

In order to send the right messages at work, be conscious of how you use your body:

Don't be stiff: Use the body - it ought to move. It speaks when words fail you. One who says the right words but doesn't use his body to send compatible signals comes across as insincere, impersonal and ineffective person.

Don't gesticulate too much: Be aware of how much you are using your body. Too much gesturing can be annoying, distracting and makes you appear hyperactive. Remember to use your body to score a point, not lose one.

Don't just tell, show: When you're making a presentation, attending an interview or holding a meeting, show them how good you are. Use gestures, expressions and, in fact, perform to hold your audience's attention.

Imbibe mannerisms: Imagine which mannerisms you like and adopt those that best suit you and your purpose. If you like a certain way, work on it. Don't adopt mannerisms that are incongruent and awkward with what you are as a person. Gestures are meant to be natural, not artificial. Or the whole purpose of using gestures gets lost as they are supposed to substantiate and give credibility to your words.

Dress appropriately: Our outer garb is also a reflection of how we want to appear and what statement we are trying to make. Clothes should enhance your purpose, not distract it. These are conscious forms of body language wherein we try to make an impact on a select audience.

It is fascinating to understand body language and use it to our advantage. Apart from making communication more effective and interesting, an understanding of body language will go a long way towards improving our ability to make out when a person is lying and sense where one's opponent's interests lay.