Parents, are you listening?

A recent news item in Indian Express shook me and made me write this post. Any person in flesh and blood would find this news item horrifying.

It is about a 9th standard student attacking an 8th standard school mate with an air pistol in a Delhi school. My first reaction was - has the gun culture, which we have heard so far only in Western countries seeped into our schools too?

The callousness of parents is responsible for this. A case has been registered under the Juvenile Act. Now what would happen, the child gets a label for life and he would be ridden with guilt.

But has he understood the full repercussions of this? I doubt, as he is still a kid. Getting exposed to so much violence at young age through various electronic mediums has removed the sensitivity from the younger generation.

I am not going to delve into this particular case as such. I am speaking again about the importance of instilling Moral values which I had written in my earlier post. When a child has an access to a weapon, who is to be blamed?

Is it not the parents? When such 'TOYS' are in the house, is it not the parents’ duty to keep it out of reach or to be with the children when such things are used. We blame so many things on the exposure children get through television and cinema. Is it not the parents’ duty to instill values in children about peace and not to bully or harm others?

Mental maturity in children comes through the exposure the child gets from his environment, be it his house, people related to him, his peers or his school. This in turn influences him/her a lot and helps in moulding the individual.

Like Intelligent quotient, Emotional quotient tells how a person is able to handle various situations. Most of the children these days are highly emotional and they get frustrated and vent their anger easily on others. There is only one remedy for this. Spend quality time with children. Costly gifts are not substitute for this.


No child can be labelled as bad. It is the environment that maketh a man. We need to school the mind of the child, guide him well so that they learn to respect others' sentiment, prevent themselves from hurting others and ruining their own lives.

In the above case reported in IE it is a great relief that the victim escaped with minor injuries, but if some thing untoward had happened, imagine the havoc it would have caused to both the families.

Parents, are you listening? Love, Love and love your children because only you can do it but don't be so blind that they get spoilt and become a problem for themselves and to the society.

Energy drinks lead to diabetes?

Students appearing for exams should have one more thing to worry about other than their studies if they resort to energy drinks for late night revisions. Concentrated carbohydrate ­beverages popularly referred to as “Energy Drinks” have been found to be contributing to the high rate of diabetes. Reason? Because they have high calories that increase one's risk of becoming a diabetic. 

Energy drinks can be carbonated or noncarbonated, and contain caloric sweeteners such as sucrose or high fructose corn syrup. Earlier consumption of soft drinks has been linked with obesity and now these so called energy boosting sugary drinks pose a threat of diabetes too. According to a recent study, individuals in the highest quartile of intake who typically consume 1-2 servings of such sugar-sweetened beverages per day had a 26% higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes than those in the lowest quartile who consumed less than 1 serving per month.

Dr. Rajeev Chawla, Senior Diabetologist, North Delhi Diabetes Center says, “Often students whose exams are round the corner resort to carbohydrate rich energy drinks so that they can study more than 15-18 hours without a dip in their concentration. Also Sports people engaged in high levels of physical activity tend to consume high amounts of flavored or sports drinks in order to refill their energy quotient. They may or may not follow a healthy diet. If they don’t follow, and thus take low intake of fruits and vegetables which are natural source of strength for our body, they are bound to depend more on these drinks. Thus, eventually they become addict of the chemicals in these drinks which pump them up.”

Energy or Sports drinks have been successfully marketed as beverages consistent with a healthy lifestyle, which has set them apart from sodas. However, they have minimal fruit juice and contain unnecessary calories. They contain certain ingredients that are not present in other types of soft drinks like vitamins, amino acids, special chemicals, and minerals and they give consumers an impression that these products are healthy. However truth is not what is projected.

“High levels of consumption of these beverages have the potential to increase weight gain. Drinking just one can of soda or other sugary beverages a day could lead to more than a 10-pound weight gain in a year which eventually can lead to obesity or diabetes. Besides increasing their risk of type-2 diabetes, people who drink one sugary beverage a day increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 20 percent.” says Dr. Chawla. Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a collection of risk factors that indicate a progression not only towards type-2 diabetes, but also towards heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and liver disease.

In contrast to the perceptions parents carry, youngsters should have no more than one glass of fruit juice, even 100 percent fruit juice, a day, because of the high calories.

It is now a mind game-Preparing for IAS

The introduction of General Studies Paper II, or the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), in the preliminary examination is a game changer in the way one is expected to prepare for the Civil Services Examination conduced by the Union Public Service Commission.

Prior to this, the pattern of, and the preparation for, the preliminary examination was a reasonably straightforward proposition.

The basic logic for clearing it was be very good with your optional subject (300 marks) and reasonably good in general studies (150 marks).

Then any serious aspirant will have a definite advantage over the relatively underprepared aspirant.

However, with the introduction of a separate paper on aptitude, the focus of preparation needs to undergo a significant change.

Two sections

The examination now consists of two sections: general studies Paper 1 of 200 marks, which is the conventional paper with a mix of subjects and issues; and Paper 2 of 200 marks, also known as the CSAT, mainly consisting of aptitude tests under the following seven sections (question categories):

Comprehension

Interpersonal skills including communication skills

Logical reasoning and analytical ability

Decision making and problem solving

General mental ability

Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, and so on) and data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, and so on), both class 10 level.

English language comprehension skills (class 10 level).

Basic difference

However, before you embark on your preparation process for the various areas of Paper II, you need to understand the fundamental difference between preparing for an aptitude test (like the paper II) and preparing for a conventional knowledge-based examination (like paper I and a host of university examinations you may have taken).

In the conventional examination, you do not have to do much mental processing whether you have the knowledge of the question being asked or you do not. You just have to “take out” the answer from your mind by accessing it.

Focus

Hence, preparation processes for knowledge-based examinations require you to focus on acquiring knowledge (perhaps by rote learning) and creating opinions and “information stores” about anything and everything under the sun.

However, solving a question in an aptitude examination is drastically different: The key issues in solving a question on aptitude are the abilities to:

React correctly to the information provided (be it in a question on numeracy, comprehension, data interpretation or reasoning).

Know the correct steps to follow or correct thinking to follow in order to arrive at an answer to the question asked.

Execute those steps correctly.

Best processes

So what are the point one is trying to make here? Focus on developing the best processes for each and every question type.

To put it in short, the process of preparation for an aptitude examination consists of improving your mind's ability to react to the kinds of situations thrown at you by various question types; improving your mind's ability to design a series of steps to get to the actual answer; and have the belief to execute those steps under immense pressure situations, which you are likely to encounter in an examination.

Obviously then, good quality preparation for the CSAT starts and ends with identifying the various question types that are asked under each of the areas of the examination's portion and understanding the most efficient thinking and the best processes for solving the same.

Develop beliefs

Do not just develop your abilities to solve a particular question type — also develop your beliefs about your abilities to solve the question type.

An aptitude examimation such as the CSAT is not just a test of your skills — more importantly, it is a test of your beliefs.

Vast gap

There is a vast gap between knowing how to do something and knowing that you know how to do something.

In aptitude tests, your belief about your ability to solve a question is the most critical thing that will help you face the examination.

Unfortunately, very few aspirants focus on this all important issue while preparing for their examinations.

Hence, focusing on belief strengthening — with every question category in every area that you can identify — can actually take you a long way in crossing the selection barrier.

Remember: the target belief has to be “Give me five more questions on this topic; I will be able to solve them in less than the allotted time.”

The above statement applies to the questions pertaining to the topics of Paper II: basic numeracy, comprehension, logical and analytical reasoning, interpersonal and communication skills, decision-making, general mental ability, and English language.

Don't lose your cool

Stress raises adrenaline levels which boost cytokine levels which, in turn, inflame blood vessels. This makes it easy for cholesterol to clog arteries. You fall ill; gain weight; get depressed. You are perennially stressed. And the circle is complete.

But there are ways to break that cycle. Read, absorb, and imbibe some of these pointers.

Don't sweat over the small stuff; manage it. When you feel overwhelmed, use all that negative energy in a positive way. Sit down and make lists and accomplish tasks, moving from small ones to large ones. Tie up the loose ends, rather than have them pile up to become one monster mountain.

Learn to recognise what triggers your stress attacks and then, effectively counter the provocateurs. Learn to let go of stuff you cannot control, manage or change. Control, manage and change what you can.

Learn to accept stress as something inevitable but something that you can cope easily with. It's about a Zen frame of mind. Acquire a certain amount of inner calm and that becomes a potent weapon with which to defeat stress.

If aromatherapy oils or fragrance candles work for you, use them freely. Cinnamon, clove, basil, eucalyptus and rose help relax both the body and the mind.

Fifteen minutes of meditation in a quiet environment can help control stress levels. If you aren't into meditation, settle down and unspool a montage of healing, peaceful thoughts in your mind.

Like all other tenets of healthy living, combating stress requires healthy eating. Don't binge on fatty/fried/sweet foods. But don't stress over the occasional binge, either. Indulge in some of your favourite foods, the feel-good feeling you get is all for the good. Eat dessert. Eat mint, smell cinnamon.

When you feel your stress level peaking, drop what you are doing and go for a walk. Walking is a major stress buster. Go for a long ramble or a short, brisk stroll, whatever works best for you.

Exercise regularly, even 10 minutes a day will help. The rush you get from a workout helps deal with most everyday stress.

Find out the time your body is most alert and work to the maximum then. If you regularly fall victim to the afternoon slump, if you are an owl who doesn't function too well till late in the morning, don't fight your timeline, just go with it.

Never underestimate the powers of a sympathetic ear. Alongside a sympathetic pet, a sympathetic friend is an invaluable stress buster. Surround yourself with friends… the noise, laughter and talk serve as stress-repellers.

Give yourself some me-time. Dress up. Go for a facial. Look good = feel good.

Take it easy. That really has been, is, and will be the best policy.

If you must lose your cool, time yourself and call a halt after a while. Letting off steam, in small doses, is good. Don't go on and on, though…that is upping your stress level.

Make a list of pros and cons after every adversity you face. Read the list, absorb and learn. Know what to do the next time. After which, destroy that piece of paper. You are done with it.

When your boss points out things you did wrong, agree with calm sincerity. The first few times you will be faking it, the acceptance and the calm demeanour. After a while, you really will take criticism the best way.

Turn off the cell phone. Take time off from the computer. Switch off the TV and read a book instead.

Indulge yourself. Play a slow song. Sleep more/less.

Stop worrying. Stop doing stuff you don't need to do. The world will not stop or fall to pieces if you shrug.

Do one thing at a time… with your full focus on it. The rush from a job well done can never be underestimated.

‘Drink enough water to prevent kidney stones'

The capital and other Telangana districts including Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Medak and Ranga Reddy districts have high incidence of kidney stone cases compared to other parts. In fact, among doctors, the region has earned the sobriquet ‘stone belt' due to high incidence of kidney stone cases.

Physicians argue that this unique pattern is due to the typical tropical climatic conditions prevalent in the region. And despite high incidence, awareness levels on treatment and preventive steps are less among public. “Public have to take simple measures to easily manage and avoid such a condition. Spreading awareness is important,” feels associate professor, Nephrology Department, NIMS, Dr. R. Ram.

Kidney stones are formed when urine contains too much of substances like calcium and oxalates. These substances combine to form crystals in kidneys. The small crystals, over a period of time, will form kidney stones, leading to complications like blocking the flow of urine from kidneys.

The common symptoms of kidney stones include sudden severe pain in the groin and abdomen area, change in the urine colour and even blood in urine. “Kidney stone patients should have strict control of diet. Public will have to make sure that they take adequate amount of water daily,” Dr. Ram Suggests.

Roughly, per day, physicians suggest, public should take more than one litre of water to keep the body hydrated and kidney stones at bay. Doctors also assert that food items, having high concentration of oxalates, must be avoided because they mix with calcium to form crystals.

Foods like spinach, cabbage and tomato are rich in oxalates and they should be avoided by patients. General public should make sure that the urine colour is always white, advises senior Nephrologist, Dr. Pradeeep Deshpande.

On most occasions, small kidney stones will pass through urine. “Stones of less than one cm usually pass through urine.

For bigger size stones, simple procedures like shock waves to break the stones are employed and for even bigger stones, endoscopy is performed.

The bottom line is public should drink water adequately,” suggests Dr. Ram.

Exam season thoughts

Come November, engineering campuses get into the examination mode. This happens every half year and there is nothing novel about it.

However, a casual approach to the examinations has got many students into trouble in the past and will do the same this time as well. Though the university examination scores are no more green cards to a bright future, it will definitely act as a visa in many situations.

A single number that will portray your academic orientation to the outside world is going to be your aggregate percentage. Nowadays, this number is playing its role much before the final examination. During this placement season, where the companies profiled the seventh semester students, they had the scores of only up to the fifth semester to shortlist the candidates. The shortlisted students became eligible to take part in the recruitment process, which essentially consisted of an aptitude test followed by personal interviews or at times, group discussions before the interviews.

If we track the recruiters and their selection procedure over the past five years, we can see that the vast majority of them had the academic cut-off set in the range of 60 per cent to 70 per cent. The future job aspirants, especially the third semester and fifth semester students, should look at how their seniors were shortlisted by the companies. If you have any dream company where you wish to work, understand their eligibility requirements and ensure that you meet those prerequisites.

Another statistic that has gained importance owing to campus recruitments is the number of backlogs. It indicates the number of papers which a student has not cleared on a given date. Some companies do not consider students with standing backlogs; some allow one standing backlog, while some allow a maximum of two. There are companies that even look at the history of failures in the student's academic tenure.

Taking the aggregate up by even a percentage will be a herculean task if you are not on to it on a consistent basis. The four-year engineering course, as it is followed in our country, consists of roughly 45 theory papers, 10 labs, a couple of projects, and seminars. Total marks come close to 5,500 from the university examinations and around 3,000 from the internal evaluations.

Improving the final percentage score by even one basis point will warrant an addition of 85 marks to the total. And if you want to lift your aggregate by four or five percentage points, it is going to be a hard task and may not be possible in a semester.

One should understand that the recruiters do not rely on the academic scores alone. They have their own tested means of selecting the candidates — aptitude tests, group discussions, role plays, and interviews. Though many recruiters have lost faith in the university system, in the absence of other reliable and easily available parameters, they continue to use the university scores as the first-level screener.

A decent academic performance is important as it will fetch you an opportunity to prove your mettle to the recruiters and get you considered for the selection process of your coveted higher study option. An academic debacle can put a stone wall between you and your dreams and may prove irreparable. So tread with caution.

Current affairs holds the key in Civil Services Exams

Comprehensive study of topics plus being up-to-date with events of the day are crucial to cracking the Civil Services Main exam, say experts.

The Civil Services (Main) Examination 2011 is just a few weeks away. Over the years, there has been a rise in preparation awareness among civil service aspirants, but this coveted exam continues to throw a surprise element calling for newer strategies.

The question papers in recent years have clearly shown that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) seems to be determined to select those aspirants who are able to cover most of the topics in the syllabus with focus on current affairs.

The number of questions in the General Studies question papers has been doubled from 30 to 60, says P.S. Ravindran, director, Vajiram and Ravi Institute for IAS Examination, New Delhi. “As UPSC covers a large number of areas, General Studies preparation should be comprehensive,” he says. He stressed the need to score more than 320 marks in both the optional subjects as scoring in the General Studies has become more challenging.

A sizeable number of candidates in the previous mains examination were not able to score more than 270 out of 600 in the General Studies papers.

Many questions pertaining to current affairs of the month of October 2010 were unexpected and candidates found it tough to handle them in the previous mains.

Aspirants who were able to read at least two broadsheet newspapers such as The Hindu regularly were able to answer those questions. “Reading of two newspapers and Frontline is necessary. Questions based on less prominent news is also being asked,” says Mr. Ravindran.

Instead of reading several study materials, candidates are advised to select two source materials and concentrate on that with four rounds of quick revision.

A thorough preparation of topics covered in statistics and Indian Economy is crucial for a high score. The questions would cover Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.

Issues arising from the social and economic exclusion of large sections from the benefits of development, economic and trade issues such as foreign trade, foreign investment, economic and diplomacy issues relating to oil, gas and energy flows, the role and functions of IMF, World Bank and WTO which influence India's economic interaction with other countries and international institutions are important.

The candidates who score more than 300 in the General Studies papers are those with excellent understanding of the subjects at the secondary and higher secondary school level. They do not require any specialised study in any of the subjects for the General Studies. NCERT books of history, geography, polity, economy and statistics continue to be useful for revising the syllabus for the main examination.

IGNOU materials on optional subjects could be used for understanding the basic concepts for the General Studies and the optional subjects.

The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) this year had 14 questions on current affairs of May 2011. Over 70 questions in the CSAT were related to current affairs. This trend is likely to continue in the civil services main examination too.

“Many first-timers have cleared the prelims. So presentation of answers will be more important,” says Ganesa Subramanian, Director, Ganesh's IAS. Questions pertaining to the celebration of the 150 years of existence of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, diamond jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission of India, Union Budget, Constituent Assembly and Reserve Bank of India may be of significance, he says.

Current affairs based on newspaper reports from September 2010 to October 2011 are the key areas. The candidates should be able to think and formulate views based on their subject knowledge based primarily on NCERT material.

Last year, questions on news covered in the period between October 1 and 15 took candidates by surprise.

More surprises may be in store for them this year. UPSC is expected to continue testing the analytical mindset of candidates in this main exam too. Environment, ecology, biodiversity and climate change may be prominent areas.

Reading editorials of newspapers has been found helpful for Essay paper and for answering questions on polity and social issues. Economic Survey and publications such as Yojana may be useful. Lok Sabha channel debates may throw light on social issues. Weekly group discussions or joint study with other candidates would enrich the understanding of key areas.