January 2016

2016

IGNITING MINDS WELCOME

` 125/-

Volume.01 | Issue.03 | January 2016

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HOW THINKING AFFECTS LOW SELF-ESTEEM

BETTER LETTER BETTER LIFE

RNI No: TELENG/2015/65077

HOW TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT

THE TOP 10 SCIENCE STORIES OF 2015

e g a w e n The

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“Inspired by a great soul Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM”

Monthly Educational Magazine

All the powers in the universe are already ours.

It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

Editor Nagasri Nampally +91 8885053541

Co-Editor Annapurna Upadhyayula CEO Vamshikrishna Parlapally +91 9160777888

Design Team Sarath Chandra Y V +91 9989636399 Dharmendher.B +91 9700104157

Advisors Priya Iyengar Dr Y. Naveen kumar

Greetings Readers!

Change is the only constant, said “Heraclitus”, a Greek philosopher.

Yes, we do believe that change is the only constant and nothing stays still. Our start happened a month ago, and we are slowly acclimatizing to the change that is for good, and to stay.

It has been humbling the way we have been appreciated by all of you. This is what fuelled a series of improvements and changes we have adopted this month. Without the critical acclaim and positivity of the comments that poured in, we wouldn't have advanced and are constantly on the go.

We have new stuff lined up for you this month, to end the year on a productive note. We as a team are more than delighted to let you all know that we are just a tap away, be it on your smart phones or a PC. Just click install "IGNITING MINDS" application on Android and tickle your IQ by soaking in the information available on our “facebook/ignitingmindsmagazine” page on Facebook!

Hope we enrich your experience this time too and we promise to never let you down.Keep us posted about how this month’s edition affected you and help us grow.

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With hopes of long lasting experiences, Team - Igniting minds

Printed, Published & Owned by Nampally Nagasri Printed at Bandla Print Solutions, Plot .No. A - 22/1, Road No. 14, I.P, Nacharam, Hyderabad - 500076

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

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WHAT’S INSIDE

Cover Story

Drones

The Rise of the Predator Empire: Tracing the History of U.S. Drones A Lightning ....

Life Skills

How thinking affects low self esteem when you have low self esteem, you tend to question your ability most of the time.....

Handwriting

Better Letter Better Life

So, do take care of every letter and its structure. Many atimes we observe....

Parenting Extra curricular activity classes for children: Healthy or Unhealthy?

A good number of us watch our children run from one tuition class to another.....

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Success Story

The mountain man Dashrath manjhi Dashrath Manjhi, popularly known as the "Mountain Man" is a legend who proved that....

Awards National Bravery Award The National Bravery Awards are a set of awards given annually to about 24 Indian children....

Science

The Top 10 Science stories of 2015 It probably comes as no surprise that the New Horizons mission to Pluto takes the top spot in Science....

Health & 20 Nutritions Importance of Vitamin & Mineral in your Regular diet Communication 22 Skills Improve your high-schooler’s Communication skills Career 28 Awareness What is architecture?

History World War II

32

World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war.....

Mathematics 32 Double Magic Triangle

Caste

Computer Programming 40 Google go language

Caste is closely connected with the Hindu philosophy and religion, custom and tradition. It is believed to have....

This edition let’s try to focus on various types of data......

Sociology

Pride of India Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as Narendra Nath Datta,.......

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

Country (Japan) 46 Sports (Archery)50 Current Affairs 52 Brain Gym 56 5

Sunday

Events Calendar * world Leprosy Day

Monday

31

03

*Bus Day (Bengaluru),

Tuesday

04

Wednesday

05

* World Day For War Orphans

Thursday

06

* International Kite Festival - Ahmedabad

Friday

07

Saturday

01

*Science Fiction Day

02

6

17

*Death Anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri

* Idaho Human Rights Day 18

*National Youth Day (Birth Day of Swami Vivekanand)

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13

* Static Electricity Day

09

24

* India Tourism Day

25

26

19

* Day of Acceptance

27

20

* World Hug Day

*Makar Sankranti

14

* Girl Child Day – India

* Popcorn Day

* Skeptics Day

* Earth's Rotation Day

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* Kid Inventors’ Day

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* Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti

* Global Family Day, * World Day of Peace.

* World Hindi Day

* Drinking Straw Day

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21

* Celebration Of Life Day

* Indian Army Day

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22

* International Hot and Spicy Food Day 16

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* Handwriting Day

* Indian Republic day *International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

*Lala Lajpat Rai Jayanti

* Puzzle Day

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* Martyrs’ Day – India

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Birthday Calendar * Major Somnath Sharma (PVC was the first

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recipient 1923-1947)

* Savitribai Phule 03 (Poet 1831-1897)

04

* Binayak Sen (Activist 1950)

* Mamata Banerjee (Chief Minister of West Bengal – 1955) 05

* Kapil Dev (Cricketr 1959), * A. R. Rahman (Composer 1967)

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* Hrithik Roshan (Film actor 1974)

*Kailash Satyarthi (Activist 1954)

*Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

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* Rakesh Sharma (Space traveler 1949)

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06

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* Javed Akhtar (Poet 1945)

* J.Om Prakash (Film producer 1927)

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* Mahadev * Joseph Louis Govind Ranade Lagrange (Mathemati18 (Author 1842-1901) 25 cians 1738-1836)

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* D. S. Satyaranjan (Pastor 1939)

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* Shivlal Yadav (Cricket Bowler 1957)

* Krishnam Raju (Film actor 1940)

* Amar Singh (Indian Politician 1956) 27

* M. R. S. Rao (Scientist)

*Lala Lajpat Rai (Politician 18651928)

* Vikram Pandit (Executive 1957),

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* B. Saroja Devi (Actress -1938)

* Harris Jayaraj * Satyendra Nath Bose (Film composer 1975) (Physicist -1894) 08 01

02

*S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan (Mathematician)

* Har Gobind Khorana

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* Kaifi Azmi (Poet 1919-2002),

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21

28

* Mayawati - 1956

* Satyen Bose (Film 22Director 1916-1993)

* Veturi Sundara Rama Murthy 29 (Writer 1936-2010)

* Subhash Mukhopadhyay 16 (Physician 1931-1981)

* Subhas Chandra 23 Bose (Indian elected

(Minister of Information and

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official 1897-1945),

* Prakash Javadekar

30

Broadcasting 1951)

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Cover Story

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ver since evolution, we have learnt to invent things,to help us move from place to place. Starting from the wheel, now our dreams to fly too have been changed to reality. The gradient from past, present and into the future is getting thinner by the moment.

May be, making us realize that the present is only the moment we live to the fullest. Many such things we identified as "futuristic "once, have become present and may be more sophisticated than we have ever imagined!

Among many such futures that flew back in time, to meet us well ahead of our thought,are known as drones. Next time, you happen to see an unmanned thinglingeringin air, do not mistake it for a "UFO”. For your surprise, it is used for good too.

Mankind has always invented & reinvented things for various necessities. The need for transport by air was obvious at a point. Be it for transporting goods or people.Hence,the evolution of ‘Drones’, the new age UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).

What is a Drone?

A drone, in a technological context, is an unmanned aircraft.

Essentially, a drone is a flying robot. The aircraft may be remotely controlled, or can fly autonomously, through software-controlled flight plans, in their embedded systems working in conjunction with GPS. UAVs have most often been associated with the military, but they are also used for search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and firefighting, among the other things.

History of Drones Drone is 'a remote-less controlled piloted aircraft or missile'. Going by this perspective, drones came into first use after World War II when unmanned jets, such as the Ryan Firebee, started field operation.

Since this event, the military found a new way to

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take aerial combat forward. But the story of military drones or unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) is probably as long as the history of aircrafts. Military leaders always dreamed of reaching their enemies from distance, especially when there was a real opportunity of avoiding human casualties.

As might been expected, the US military sector led in these types of engagements and was the first to apply the idea of aerial military surveillance. Apparently, other countriesare also reaching new milestones in the UCAV domain.

If thought in a very broad perspective, by the principal of unmanned aerialflights, even before the Wright brothers taught, the fledgling aviation world, the secrets of controlled flight, attempts of unmanned combat vehicles existed .An interesting example for this theory is balloons, which were used with various results by the Austrian army in an attack on Venice in 1849 and the Japanese forces in the Fu-go bombings in 1945.

! y r a t i l i m e h t n i s Drone Drones in the Military The United States military alone maintains three different classifications, one each for the Air Force, Army, and Marines. Part of the confusion in drone terminology is, overlapping and competing definitions. The Air Force files drones fewer than five different tiers; the Army and the Marines file drones fewer than three tiers, and none of those tiers perfectly overlap.So, to keep it simple and interesting, we have a collection of the most commonly used or iconic drones:

RQ-11 Raven The RQ-11 Raven, weighing 4 pounds,is launched with a throw, and is piloted with a hand-held unit that resembles a video-game controller. The Raven isn't the most iconic military drone, but it is probably the most used. It is mainly useful for seeing around corners and sending footage of rooftops back to troops moving through a city. It also looks like an awkward model airplane, and it breaks apart like LEGOs when it lands.

RQ-7 Shadow The RQ-7 Shadow is approximately man-sized, and can fly almost 80 miles away from its commander while providing near-instant video to give a good picture of the battlefield.

MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper The MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are the most iconic drones, and odds are if there's a news story about a drone, it's going to have a picture of one of these. These guys can be armed so that makes them largely, though by no means exclusively, the preferred tool for what we call drone strikes.

Rq-4 Global Hawk The Rq-4 Global Hawk is the leviathan of the drone fleet. As mentioned above, it weighs more than 32,000 pounds, has a 130-foot wingspan, and can fly for more than a day. It can reach up to 60,000 feet, and from high elevation it can take high-resolution images of the land below, as well as detect and track moving targets.

Aeryon Scout It's a small quad rotor that NATO allies supplied to the Libyan rebels in the recent campaign to overthrow Gaddafi. The scout weighs less than 3 pounds and can fly for about 25 minutes, making it.

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Drones for the Civilian In the growing understanding of use of drones in the military, many seem to forget that one of the founding fathers of the idea of remotely controlled vehicles was the genial civil inventor - Nicola Tesla. In fact, Tesla was the first to patent a remote control for unmanned vehicles, becoming one of the foundational principles for many of today's UAV technologies.

When speak about UAVs dedicated for civil use, it is important to distinctly identify the difference between the large, civil vehicles and regular UAVs of similar size, as those used in the military and the comparitively much smaller systemsavailable for civilian purpose - including increasingly popular quad copters.

Nikola Tesla

Gone are the times when drones were restricted to paparazzi and film shoots. With the latest rage, it has gone all the way to different avenues and has arrived as one of the most preferred gadgets around. We have here a list of few of these fun toys for gown ups that top the charts these days!

Drooling over Drones?

here are a few awsome drones that are now available for you to buy!

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 The most popular drone on the consumer market made a huge splash at last year's CES and found a spot on our 50 Best Gadgets of 2012 list for several reasons. Now carrying a 1500mAh high-density battery under the hood, expect up to 50 percent more power and flight time: 18-20 minutes to be exact. Fly high.

DJI Phantom GPS Drone This GPS-enabled quad copter comes stacked with an array of high-tech features including a handheld radio frequency control unit that supports a 300-meter range, Autopilot Mode, and an automatic landing option when the battery gets low. What sets the PHANTOM apart from other popular drones like the Parrot is its built-in camera mount, which supports a number of action cameras like the GoProHERO. The cool thing is you don't have to worry about losing the device, as it's been programmed to return to its last flown location.

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H-King Darkwing Designed specifically for first-person viewing (FPV), the lightweight Darkwing offers massive payload capability for mounting accessories (radios, cameras, etc.) thanks to its lengthy 1,727mm wingspan. The machine bears a canopy for large storage space and its built-in wings simplify the assembling process.

SkybotixCoaX Autonomous UAV Micro Helicopter Those in the research and education sectors with five grand to splurge should take Skybotix’s offering into account.

Assembled to fly right out of the box, the CoaX comes laced with premium sensors and processors that are spearheaded by the device’s high-performing GumstixOvero module. Besides supporting two Wi-Fi modules delivering up to 37Mbps, it also comes stacked with two cameras that produce 640x480 resolution and 15fps.

Lehmann LA100 GoPro Drone Another unmanned aerial vehicle targeted towards GoPro owners, the control-less LA100 can hit the skies on its own for up to 5 minutes, while capturing images and videos at a near 330ft. Constructed from foam and carbon fiber, the flying machine makes for one of the more transportable drones with a 1kg G-factor and 1m wingspan. Plus, it’s made to sustain the most harsh climate conditions ranging from 25°C to +60°C.

Micro Drone With four rotors and an automatic gyro control, couch potatoes can fly this miniature drone safely throughout the house avoiding all family members, pets, and valuables. It’s able to perform sharp turns and even 360-degree flips in mid-air. The compact remote flaunts a digital panel with customizable layout for both right- and left-handed users. That's a pretty dynamic piece of hardware for a tick over a Benjamin.

Turbo Ace X830-D Drone RTF Unlike the majority of drones out there, the Turbo Ace X830D comes fully assembled and programmed.

A high payload capacity allows for the mounting of heavier video cameras and lenses. The motors have been re-engineered to sustain heavier crashes and deliver better balance. And best of all: The machine supports the “industry’s longest flight time” at 23-30 minutes, hence the heavy price tag.

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4-Channel Predator/Reaper-Style UAV Plane Inspired by the real RQ-1 Predator, a UAV described by the U.S. Air Force as a "medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle system," this replica features 20 minutes of flight time per charge and carries a wingspan of over five feet. Packaging includes a PPM-FM 4 channel proportional R/C system, Brushless Motor, 8X6 Two-Paddles Propeller, and Lipo Battery.

Walkera QR Infra X Smart Drone The world’s first drone with a CAS (Crash Avoidance System) comes equipped with 10 collision sensors that prevent the machine from crashing into people, objects, and walls. Placing a hand near it while in the air will send the Walkera Infra X flying in the opposite direction. Its two Ultrasonic Altitude Sensors allow it to climb up stairs and adjust height for each step. Plus it’s small enough to fit in your palm.

STORM Drone FF Flying Platform Sporting four “well-balanced” rotors and a mount in the middle, the STORM lets you strap on a GoPro camera to record aerial footage for up to seven minutes, without compromising stability and video quality.

It’s capable of doing so with the assistance of a high-speed motor and 9” x 4.7” rotors which help fight off strong winds. When the wind's not blowing, the STORM can stay put for up to 10 seconds, while red and white LED lights help users spot it when the sun goes down.

Our pick to look out to! The Lily Camera Drone!

This is what http://www.cnet.com had to say about this cute pie!

Lily is a flying camera for people who are more concerned with getting the perfect shot than piloting a quad copter.

Shaped like a giant M&M with propellers, you can pull the Lily Camera

from a backpack -- it measure 3 inches high (8cm) and roughly 10 inches square (26cm) and weighs just 2.8 pounds (1.3kg) -- and toss it in the air and its motors will kick in automatically as the drone takes flight. The body is completely sealed, too, so along with flying it in the rain or snow, you can actually toss it into water.

Once Lily is locked onto you, the flying camera can be set to hold its position, hover in place and simply rotate to keep you in frame or you can have it circle around you instead. Lily can also be set to perform a fly out for perfect dronies or just have it have it follow your every move. A mobile app lets you program other flights paths as well as changing camera settings and editing and sharing your clips and photos.

Out in front is a built-in camera that uses the same 12-megapixel Sony sensors found in the GoPro Hero3and Ion Air Pro 3 action cams.Plus, the tracker has a builtin mike that's synced with the camera, allowing you to capture audio from the ground.

era m a c a e v a yh h w d e r e d ? n s y o t e s e Ever wo h t fitted to 12

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ace y b t o h s s e l pictur u f i t u e b nswer.. e a s e e h h t t t u e l e d v l i pple g a we wou h C s o m A er photograph IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

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Life Skills

W

en you have low self-esteem, you tend to question your ability most of the time.

Most people around seem to be doing better than you, and you don’t see enough competence in yourself.

The toughest part is that, you tend to go on for several years in life, believing that you are not good enough. You feel inhibited in some situations. For some of you, this inhibition spills over several situations in life, making life seem like a never ending struggle.

However, there is one truth about self-esteem that you need to consciously recognize-

Your self-esteem is ‘who you think you are’. It is not ‘who you are’.

HOW

THINKING

AFFECTS

LOW SELF-

ESTEEM

Don’t you know of people who are logically doing well for themselves? For example – have a likeable job, and are reasonably well settled in life, but still suffer from poor self-esteem?

And then, don’t you also know of people who come across as being confident and comfortable humans?

You have probably met both kinds of people not once but several times! This is indication enough that your self esteem is your belief about yourself; it’s not necessarily who you truly are.

At times, beliefs and thoughts are far from accurate. This is because they are affected by memories, experiences and your expectations out of yourself and others. Many a time, there are errors in the way the mind thinks. For now, let’s address these errors as ‘biases’.

Those of us who think poorly of ourselves are more prone to certain biases of thought.

These biases are not necessarily intentional or deliberate errors. In fact, most of the time you wouldn’t be aware that a bias is at play while you think! At the same time, it is very important to be aware of these biases; since they are an important reason why you continue to think poorly of yourself.

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2 Biases of Thought that Eorsen low self Esteem 1. Seeing Communication As Negative When It Is Actually Neutral An employee prepares a work assignment with a lot of effort. When it’s finally ready, he shows it to his boss. His boss goes though the assignment, nods and directs him to the next task on hand.

A person with low self-esteem would think – ‘Oh, he barely nodded. He didn’t say anything more. He probably didn’t like it.’

Well, here is a bias at play. The boss nodding at the assignment was not a negative sign. It was a neutral sign. In other words, it is not enough to conclude that he ‘disliked’ or disapproved of the assignment. Pointing out errors in important areas is a stronger indication that the assignment was not made well enough. The boss’ response was a neutral one – neither positive nor negative.

Let me give you another example. A person is making portions out of her food when her fork accidentally slips, and her food spills. Her neighbor helps in cleaning up and the group continues to eat.

A person with low self-esteem would think – “oh, see they’re not saying anything but I’m sure they’re wondering about how I couldn’t manage such a small thing!!”

Can you see how a bias is at play? Nobody in the group reacted to the fork slipping. Probably, it was the most normal occurrence for them. However, the mind ‘reads more’ into it and concludes that they are internally sneering. Once again, communication is interpreted as more negative than it actually is.

wrong. As a result, your selfesteem suffers. If you feel underconfident, it is very important for you to be aware of this particular bias, since you might think this way a lot of times.

Now that you are aware of what these biases are, start out by observing your thoughts. Lots of resources are available to help you be more aware of and observe your thoughts. When you observe yourself making any of these biases, pause and take notice. Be aware that it is a bias, or a natural error in thought… and not reality.

You are much more than what you think you are. Spread your wings little by little. Even if you falter, you will learn and grow.

Malini Krishnan Inner Space

2. Seeing Success Or Failure At Small Tasks As Indicating Your Overall Ability I’m using the restaurant example to explain this one. In the example, one bias was to do with what the others might think. The other bias is to do with the person’s own conclusion that she is not able to manage. Dropping one fork and some food in no way indicates her capacity as a person. Yet, she might consider herself to be ‘stupid’ and ‘silly’ because she ‘couldn’t manage even this’.

In psychological terminology, we call this ‘magnification’.

One instance is magnified to mean a lot more than it can possibly mean. You might end up criticizing yourself for little things that go wrong as though something major has gone

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Handwriting

Better Letter Better Life "Each letter of an alphabet is a steadfast loyal soldier in a great army of words, sentences, paragraphs and stories. One letter falls, and the entire language falters". - Vera Nazarian.

S

o, do take care of every letter and its structure. Many a times we observe people getting confusion between n and h, n and u, r and s, c and e, u and v, and u etc., which may result now as how; rat as sat, run as a sun and mostly into meaningless communication!

Be alert. Letters contribute all the wisdom and soul to the words.

Most of the traditional style of training used to be in the alphabetical order. When an enthusiast learn the lettering in the order, there is nothing like rhythm.

And all the secret of beauty, irrespective of any skill lies in 'RHYTHM'. Hence let us practice or make our young generation practice in a little different style to write impressive hand.

"Birds of same feathers flock together.' Similarly letters with identical strokes make a letter idea for practice. Let us classify all the lower case letters into meaningful groups.(As 95% this king of practice would certainly contribute for letter and impressive presentation.

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Group No.1 Instead of practicing from the letter 'a', it is always suggested to start from 'c'. Because the similar 'c' is observed in many other letters.

Remember to repeat the letter in uniform size, shape and slant.

Whenever a particular letter is repeated in any position of the word, make sure that you are able to write it identically the way you have already written. Now, practice there five letters which are developed from 'c', without distortingits shape.

Group No.2 Practice there five letters with the uniform "Ending stroke".

Group No.3 Repeat the depth, the shape of the lower stroke similarly among the following four letters.

Group No.4 Write these 4 letters with the uniform ending stroke.

Group No.5 There are the only two letters observed with the similar ‘Bowl’ shaped ending strokes.

Group No.6 This is one group where in you do not find any commonality among the letters. All the remaining letters can be practiced as a last group.

Exercise: Practice all the lower case letters, group wise for few

days and you will be able to maintain rhythm among the letters that possess commonality. And when these letters contribute to the words, finally handwriting looks impressive and reader reads with ease and pleasure.

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

By Y.Mallikarjuna Rao, Director, National Handwriting Acadamy.

Parenting

Extra curricular activity classes for children: HealthyorUnhealthy?

Sadia Saeed Raval Inner Space

A

good number of us watch our children run from one class to another. Then they have school homework, tuition homework, school tests and tuition tests to take care of. Moreover, children today also go to a number of extracurricular or activity classes. They sure learn how to multitask early on! Parents are divided in their opinion of this trend. While some of us feel it is the order of the day, some others think it disturbs the natural experience of ‘childhood’.

I wanted to share with you some questions which if you ask yourselves may help to you gain more clarity as to whether a particular extra class is healthy or unhealthy for the child’s development.

Will this Extra Curricular Activity Class Help My Child in an Area of Weakness?

Any extra curricular class that helps the child develop in an area of his weakness would be healthy. This in fact is a prime reason we enroll our children into tuitions/coaching classes. Every time you enroll your child into a new class, ask yourself if it would help him/her substantially in an area of his/her weakness. If you think classes he already attends are doing him good and the new class you are considering won’t add enough, it would probably be a good idea to drop it.

A nested question here would be, “how important is it for the child to improve in this area of weakness?” For most school going

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children, academic weaknesses are by and large the most alarming. Close on its heels are behavioral or emotional weaknesses. Other weaknesses such as those in sports or music may not be as important.

What will this Extra-Curricular Activity Class do for My Child’s Self Esteem?

Any extra class is a good bet only if it will help to raise your child’s self esteem. If you and your child think the class will help him feel better and more secure about himself, it would probably be a good option to enroll for it.

For eg.,. If your child does well otherwise, but is below average at oratory skills, whether he must go

to a relevant class would depend on how he feels about his oratory skills. While for one child, a slight deficit in such skill would mean nothing, another child could be anxious and under confident due to it and may wish to improve. It would be a better idea to enroll the latter child to an extra class for communication skills.

Will this Extra Curricular Activity Class leverage on My Child’s Strengths?

Every child, like every human, is above average or superior at one thing, be it academics, sports, dance, music or art. At times, strengths may be subtler. For eg., your child may have wonderful comic timing and may have you and his friends in splits with his jokes. Or he may be a whiz with gadgets and appliances and may repair mobile phones and air conditioners sooner than you’ve deciphered what is wrong.

Sometimes, children have wonderful memory or rich vocabulary.

Ensure that whatever activity class or extra class your child is enrolled into focuses on leveraging upon his strengths. Not all strengths can be directly tapped in classes. In such instances, look for other ways to build on them. Maybe you could get more machines like toys for the mechanics whiz, more scrabble and novels for the ‘vocab champ’ and so on. Encourage the “have me in splits!” child to probably pen down his spontaneous jokes, weaving a situation around each. Set your minds free. Think beyond classes about what you could provide to your child that will help him develop further what he is already good at.

Does this Extra Curricular Activity Class leave My Child with Enough Free Time?

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy…so does all work and all play structured. Extra classes, even if they are effective, still constitute a structured environment, with some rules to be followed. Children

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

today frantically need “nothing time.” Many of us must have realized that leisure time is fast reducing for a child today. We need to prevent it from becoming extinct and encourage it! True spontaneous leisure doesn’t require just time, it also requires the child to feel free inside, in his mind. So a half an hour or one hour break in between two classes is hardly a space that would encourage true leisure. It cannot match the anticipation of a free evening after finishing twenty sums of math homework.

Maintain a balance between skill building and leisure time.

Encourage your children to enjoy their childhood!

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Health & Nutritions

IMPORTANCE

VITAMIN & MINERAL IN YOUR REGULAR

OF

DIET

O

ur daily diet plays a vital role in maintaining our health and common well-being. It should consist of a good supply of vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals have specific responsibilities and contribute to keep us healthy and active.

Why do children need Vitamins and Minerals?

It is a known for a fact that children need ample of vitamins and minerals in their day to day life. Now, the question that arises is what makes the intake of these vitamins and minerals for children of such vital importance? There are a number of vitamins and minerals that perform different functions. Every function executed by these vitamins and minerals, helps the body grow stronger and also healthier. A balanced growth of mind and body can be achieved with the help of these vitamins and minerals.

Few essential Vitamins and Minerals that you should be taking: There are a good number of vitamins that every child should be consuming every day in one form or the other for a healthier mind and body. Amongst the long list of nutrients, a few that are a must and cannot be missed out on, under any circumstance, are mentioned below-

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Vitamin AAs far as Vitamins are concerned, Vitamin A plays a vital role in the effective growth and development of a child and should be included in one’s daily diet. There are a number of aspects that Vitamin A pays special consideration to. Some of these aspects include- tissue and one strengthening, tissue tear repair, bone repair, maintaining the health of vision, producing healthy skin, and increase the all over immunity responses.

Vitamin BA healthy supply of vitamin B extends the body with enough strength to help with increasing metabolism, better blood circulation system, increase the all over energy production, and increase the functionality of the nervous system.

Vitamin CVitamin C plays a great role in promoting the growth of connecting tissues and also in making them stronger. It also contributes in producing healthier and stronger muscles and making your skin looksupple and healthy.

Vitamin DWe all know how important calcium is to our body. Vitamin D helps to absorb the same calcium in our teeth, bones and help in their formation and growth.

Iron can be found in huge quantities in all kinds of red meat, pork, turkey, spinach, prunes and all kinds of beans.

Vitamin and Mineral deficiency: A deficiency in the above mentioned vitamins and minerals could lead to a number of unwanted physical conditions in children. Some of these includeinferior eyesight, bad skin and hair health, weaker bones and teeth, less production of blood and its circulation in the body, etc.

IronIron is of optimum importance to build healthy red blood cells and also strong muscles.

Foods rich in these vitamin and minerals:

Vitamin A Foods rich in Vitamin A, include- Milk, root vegetables like yams, carrots, cheese, eggs, squash, etc.

Vitamin B Some of the best sources of Vitamin B includes, cheese, milk, nuts, beans, meat, eggs, fish, chicken, and soybeans.

Mukta Agrawal Senior Nutritionist ‘‘INLIFE Healthcare”

Vitamin C You can find the best source of Vitamin C by consuming wide variety of citrus fruits like orange,, tomatoes, kiwi, strawberries, and also a lot of green vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli.

Vitamin D Consuming regular doses of dairy products and natural fish oil teamed with a good supply of sunlight, maintains a good level of vitamin D in children.

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Communication Skills

IMPROVE YOUR HIGH-SCHOOLER’S COMMUNICATION SKILLS

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ommunication skills are important for teens.

Teachers, college admissions staff and employers expect high school students to communicate effectively. If your child is having trouble, these strategies can help.

Make time to keep talking to your child.

Between school, sports, service projects, jobs and other activities, it may be difficult to find time to talk. And once your teen drives? You can probably say goodbye to those opportunities to chat while you rode or walked together.

But it’s still important to keep conversations going. Talking with you is good practice for the interactions your teen has with people outside your family.

So choose a time that regularly works for the two of you: Schedule weekly walk-and-talks or family dinners (with no TV), for example.

teens reluctant to participate in these conversations. Talking with you about current events—especially complex ones—can help your teen sort out her thoughts on a particular subject. This can make it easier for her to voice an opinion.

Use these challenging conversation prompts from The Family Dinner Project to get started.

something, repeat back part of what was said. Then follow up with a related question: “Next week’s quiz sounds hard. How will you study?” Then talk about your day and have your teen ask you something related. Over time, this can feel more natural and less forced.

Parenting Coach has tips on how to help teens improve how they interact with adults.

Enforce good listening skills.

Use social media as conversation prep.

Now more than ever, your child is expected to pay full attention when someone else is talking. Teachers, guidance counselors and coworkers want to make sure that what they say is understood. Encourage your teen to politely ask questions when she hasn’t quite heard or comprehended someone. And while your child is talking to you, try to give your full attention.

Demonstrate what good listening looks

child follows can provide conversation fuel for the next time they meet: “Hey, how was that skiing trip?” Likewise, if your child doesn’t tend to initiate conversations, her use of social media can make it easier for friends to approach her in person.

Role-play conversations.

Tackle touchy topics.

Model how to find conversational common ground.

Even if your teen doesn’t read the newspaper, news events will be broadcast on TV and radio. They may also come up on social media and in discussions in and out of the classroom.

Language difficulties can make some

Young adults may find themselves expected to make small talk with adults.

That can feel daunting for a child with communication issues. Finding commonality with a speaker takes practice.

After your child finishes telling you

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Does your child use social media, such as Twitter or Instagram? The Tweets and photos posted by people your

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A teen who can anticipate social situations will feel more confident walking into them. Whether it’s a college fair or theprom, help your child practice what to say to other people, and when, during the event. Show your teen how to adjust both the tone and the topics of conversation for adults or for other teens. Take turns “playing” each person so your child can think through different scenarios and responses.

Success Story

D

ashrath Manjhi, popularly known as the "Mountain Man" is a legend who proved that nothing is impossible to achieve. His life gives a moral lesson that a small man, who has no money and no power, can challenge a mighty mountain.

Manjhi's firm determination to carve the huge mountain gives out a strong message that every hurdle can be crossed, if one has kept a firm eye on his goal. His 22 years of hard work became a success, as villagers now use the road constructed by him.

1956: Tale of Pure & Unconditional Love begins 1956, Manjhi, a native of Gahlaur village near Gaya district in Bihar, was married off in his childhood. As a grown-up man, when he returned to his village after working in Dhanbad coal mines for seven years, he fell head-overheels in love with a village girl, Falguni Devi.

To his surprise, that girl turned out to be his childhood bride. But her father denied to send Falguni Devi with Dashrath, as he was jobless. But Dashrath was firm to bring Falguni back into his life and both elope. They started living as husband and wife. Falguni gave birth to a baby boy. In 1960, she again became pregnant.

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About Gahlour village Gahlaur is a remote and backward village, where caste system prevails.

People belonging to backward castes are ill treated by the village's mukhiya (leader), who is corrupt till deep neck. The powerful people of the village consider women as a mere object.

'Development' word seems to be an alien term for them. Dalits are not even allowed to look into the eyes of village mukhiya. If they dare, they are brutally beaten.

Poor villagers have to traverse through a narrow and treacherous pass to cross a huge mountain, located between Attari and Wazirgunj blocks in Gaya district, for their daily needs and for transport connectivity.

A tragedy changed his life One day, Falguni, who was heavily pregnant, was taking lunch for her husband to the fields, for which she needed to climb the mountain in the scorching heat.

Unfortunately, Falguni's foot slipped and she fell down from the mountain, while hungry Dashrath was waiting for the food. Then someone from the village alerted Dashrath that his wife has fallen down from the mountain.

Dashrath runs into panic and took her blood-splattered wife to the nearest hospital that was 70 kms away, where she was declared brought dead, but she gave birth to a baby girl.

1960: A tale of revenge begins The heart-broken Manjhi, who loved his wife more than anything else in the world, began cursing the huge mountain and vowed to bring it down to break its ego.

In the memory of his beloved wife, determined Manjhi took a hammer and a chisel and embarked on a tough and almost impossible mission. He decided to carve out a path, so that no other person suffers like her wife.

Villagers and even his father ridiculed him for challenging a huge mountain. But Manjhi was adamant on his firm decision.

A local journalist caught his attention and approached him why he was hell-bent on cutting the mountain.

Years passed on, during which Gahlour was hit by a massive drought and villagers evacuated the village. Dashrath's father taunted him that what he had achieved in last so many years? He tried to convince Dashrath to accompany them to a city, where he could earn bread for his two children.

But, Dashrath decided to continue on his herculean task. With no water and no food, Dashrath was forced to drink dirty water and eat leaves.

1975: Emergency 24

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In 1975, the country plunged into darkness due to emergency declared by the Indira Gandhi-led government. She went to Bihar to address a rally, where Dashrath also reached. The stage where Indira was addressing a crowded rally came crashing down.

Swiftly, Manjhi, along with other villagers, bore the burden of the fallen stage, so that Indira could continue her speech.

When the rally got over, Manjhi, somehow, managed to get a picture clicked with Indira Gandhi.

The greedy mukhiya thought that now Dashrath is little known in front of the PM, so, like a chameleon, he lured Dashrath that if he gives his thumb print, then, they would be able to get funds from the government for the construction of road from the mountain side.

But, he cheated poor Dashrath and he decided to complaint against him to the PM.

shortening the 55 kms distance into 15 kms.

Dashrath walked from Bihar to Delhi

Finally, in 1982, Manjhi's 22 years of toil and labour brought a new morning, when the government roped-in to make the road by carving the mountain.

Dashrath had not even Rs 20 to buy a train ticket to Delhi and the TT threw him out of the moving train. But no amount of of negativity could stop him from reaching his destination. So, he treaded on a difficult path of reaching the national capital, by foot!

Delhi disappoints Dashrath Delhi was mired by protests during emergency. When Dashrath finally reached Delhi, along with his photograph with Indira Gandhi, a police rudely turned him away, who not only mocked him, but also tore the photograph and lathicharged him at Rajpath.

Humiliated Dashrath returns back to tame the mountain With all of his hopes shattered, Dashrath who had grew very older, by then, felt that he has failed and his efforts have not yielded any positive results.

A ray of hope arose when few villagers join Dashrath in his uphill task of carving out a path. But, some local officials who threatened Dashrath and villagers not to be present around the mountain too marred that. They even got him arrested.

But, the journalist appeared to be a messiah for him and lodged a protest in front of a police station, to release Dashrath.

Manjhi's efforts yield positive results Dashrath, single-handedly carved out a 360-feet-long, 30-feet-high and 30-feet-wide passage through the mountain. He made the difference into the lives of villagers by

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In 2006, his name was proposed for Padma Shri Award in social service sector.

2007: Poor man's 'Shah Jahan' leaves the world silently On Aug 17, 2007, Manjhi passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), due to gall bladder cancer, at the age of 73. Bihar government had accorded state funeral to him.

Before dying, Manjhi had given his thumb impression on an agreement and gave away "exclusive rights" to make a biopic on his life.

Manjhi was born in 1934 in a poor labourer's family in Gahlour village near Gaya in Bihar.

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Awards

T

he National Bravery Awards are a set of awards given annually to about 24 Indian children for "meritorious acts of bravery against all odds." Government of India and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) gives the awards. The award was instituted in 1957.

Details of the award The National Bravery Awards consist of five categories, which are listed below.

■ The Bharat Award, since 1987 ■ ■ ■ ■

The Sanjay Chopra Award, since 1978 The Geeta Chopra Award, since 1978 The Bapu Gaidhani Award,since 1988 General National Bravery Awards,

NATIONAL BRAVERY AWARD The awards are given to children who were between the ages of six to eighteen when they committed their acts of bravery. The award includes a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. The Bharat Award winner gets a gold medal, while the rest get a silver medal. Each child is also given financial assistance to complete his or her schooling, as a part of ICCW’s sponsorship program, under the Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme. In 2009, the Government of India announced it was reserving some seats in medical, engineering, and polytechnic colleges for the winners of the awards.

History On 2 October 1957, India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was watching a performance at Delhi's Ramlila ground, at the Red Fort.

During the performance, a short

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circuit caused a fire to break out in a shamiana (decorated tent).

Harish Chandra, a 14-year-old scout, promptly took out his knife and ripped open the burning tent, saving the lives of hundreds of trapped people. This incident inspired Nehru to ask the authorities to establish an award to honour brave children from all over the country. The first official National Bravery Awards were presented to Harish Chandra and one other child on 4 Febru-

retariats of the president and the vice-president, the Central Social Welfare Board, the Indian Police, All India Radio, Doordarshan, the National BalBhavan, SOS Children's Villages of India.

Ceremony

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, presented the National Awards for Bravery, 2014 to 24 children. ary 1958, by Prime Minister Nehru, and the ICCW (Indian Council for Child Welfare) has continued the tradition ever since.

The awards are usually announced on 14 November, Children's Day, or in January the following year, and later presented by the prime minister on the eve of the Republic Day, and prior to this the President hosts a reception in their honor, where the children meet the media. On 26 January, the awardees take part in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath, New Delhi.

The Sanjay Chopra Award and the Geeta Chopra Award were established in 1978, in memory of two Chopra children who lost their lives while confronting their kidnappers. The Sanjay and Geeta awards are given to a boy and a girl for acts of bravery. The Bharat Award was established in 1987, and the Bapu Gaidhani Award was established in 1988.

In 2001, Scholastic published a commemorative book featuring the winners of the 1999 National Bravery Awards. The book was entitled Brave Hearts.

Selection process Each year, the ICCW receives applications for the National Bravery Award. These applications come from official agencies such as local and district governments, school authorities, and councils for child welfare. The applications must be received by 30 September to be eligible for selection.

A committee constituted by the ICCW selects awardees. This committee consists of representatives from leading government and non-government organizations, such as the sec-

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e r u t c e t i h ArcWhat is architecture?

Career Awareness

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ankind has evolved from living in open nature , as apes , to current day civilized human being. This has taken centuries of evolution both physically and intellectually. These centuries saw man inventing a lot of things out of pure raw crude form of nature.

Among many such refinement is the "shelter". Starting from shelter under the trees and rocks, cutting through rocks and into the caves .

Breaking down boulders of hard stone to inventing steel and concrete, the search of better and more comforting shelters has been constant through ages and seems like the pursuit for better buildings will never stop.

Today, to build a building such a house or an office the following disciplines fuse together : ► Architecture ► Engineering ► Construction In the months to come, we shall focus on what careers in these three disciplines would mean.

On an outlined inspection of what architecture is, one would find formal definitions such as : ■ The profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, andother artificial constructions and environments, usually with someregard to aesthetic effect. Architecture often includes design orselection of furnishings and decorations, supervision of constructionwork, and the examination, restoration, or remodeling of existing buildings.

■ The art or science of building; specifically : the art or practice of designing and building structures and especially habitable ones.

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■ Architecture (Latin architectura, from the Greek ρχιτέκτων arkhitekton "architect", from ρχι- "chief" and τέκτων "builder") is both the process and the product of planning, designing, andconstructing buildings and other physical structures.

Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements. and many more on a detailed inspection on the ideas that define architecture. They comprehensively give an idea of what is dealt as architecture.

One would also find a more poetic approach of what it is. Such as these said by eminent architects : ■ Architecture is an expression of values. – Norman Foster ■ Architecture is the constant fight between man and nature, the fight to overwhelm nature, to possess it. The first act of architecture

is to put a stone on the ground. That act transforms a condition of nature into a condition of culture; it’s a holy act. – Mario Botta ■ The life of a designer is one of fight: fight against the ugliness. – Massimo Vignelli Both these perspectives and many more collectively articulate what architecture is.

The former perspective of architecture is more technical, defined and to be understood. The later is more humane , organic and to be felt. The mere existence of these two strong perspective of the profession is what gives it a peculiar character.

As to put in more simple terms, architecture could be said to be the bridge between the art & science of a building. Therefore an architect is one who makes this bridge possible.

Parts of Architecture:

Architecture , as a practicing discipline can be considered to have many components . These are

General Architecture.

This pertains to design and detailing of components of the building , in general. Such as the shape of the building, position of the building in the site ,walls, position and control of structural elements such as footings ,columns & beams ,position and sizes of doors, windows, etc.

Landscape Architecture.

This pertains to the design and detailing of elements outside the building such as pathways, parks, benches, streets, trees and plants, water bodies, etc.

Interior Architecture.

This pertains to the design and detailing of elements inside the building such as furniture, ceiling, lights, interior decors , etc.

How is Architecture Different from Engineering?

Architecture

Engineering

Build public or private structures.

Focus on the aesthetic principles of design. In school, you will take more artrelated classes and fewer engineering- and science-related courses.

Build public or private structures, with a focus on public structures.

Also build hydroelectric dams, canals, roadways, or other structures with useful functions in society.

Focus on science and engineering. In college, you will take fewer art-related classes and learn a lot more engineering and physics than you would if you majored in architecture. This major is usually considered more “difficult.”

Acquire the relevant certifications in the field of civil engineering.

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Architecture in India Education and Practice The Council of Architecture is charged with the responsibility to regulate the education and practice of profession throughout India besides maintaining the register of architects. For this purpose, the Government of India has framed Rules and Council of Architecture has framed Regulations as provided for in the Architects Act, with the approval of Government of India

w o n k d l u o h s Things you ! u o y n i t c e t i to see an arch

Understand the profession.

■ Architecture involves more than an aptitude for drawing or basic carpentry. Architects are involved in each phase of the process of creating a new structure, from conceiving the idea for the structure's design to communicating the plans to clients to overseeing the construction process and ensuring the final structure is satisfactory. Architects have the following talents and skills: ■ They are creative. Architects come up with original ideas for creating well-designed structures that complement their surroundings and suit their functional purpose. Every seemingly simple structure we encounter was dreamed up by an architect aiming for the sweet spot of beauty and functionality.

■ They are science-minded. Architecture is both an art and a science. In addition to designing buildings with elegance and beauty in mind, architects must understand how the different components of a building work together to create a sturdy, safe environment. An understanding of math and physics is essential.

■ They are good communicators. Architects must effectively share their vision for a structure with the client who will be constructing it. They are excellent at giving presentations, describing their ideas clearly and ensuring client satisfaction.

Decide what type of architect you want to be.

■ Some architects work for firms and see projects through from conception to completion. Others use their talents and skills in different parts of the industry.

■ Landscape architects have a background in plant sciences as well as architecture, and focus on how spaces outside buildings play a complementary role.

■ Some architects focus only on design, making sure the plans for a building follow building codes and meet the expectations of the client.

■ Construction firms often hire architects as project managers who oversee the construction of structures.

■ Architects may focus on certain types of buildings, such as high-security facilities, hospitals, or schools. They may also work on restoration of old buildings.

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u o y o d w o h So t? c e t i h c r a n a become Under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972 the Council of Architecture is required to prescribe the Minimum Standards of Architectural Education for imparting 5-year undergraduate degree course in Architecture (i.e. Bachelor of Architecture degree course) and also monitor the compliance of the same by the approved Architectural Institutions all over the country for award of recognized qualifications under the Act. The Council oversees the maintenance of the standards periodically by way of conducting inspections through Committees of Experts. The Council is required to keep the Central Government informed of the standards being maintained by the institutions and is empowered to make recommendations to the Government of India with regard to recognition and de-recognition of a qualification.

NATA National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) is conducted by the Council of Architecture (COA) for admission to first year of 5 year B.Arch Degree course at all recognized institutions all over the country.The test measures drawing and observation skills, sense of proportion, aesthetic sensitivity and critical thinking ability. This is a complete and comprehensive assesement of candidates for undergraduate education in architecture.

Admission to all architecture colleges(including government, government-aided, private unaided, university department,deemed universities) in India is done on the basis of NATA score.

NATA 2016 Eligibility:-

Any person having passed SSC (Std X) or equivalent examination and above can appear for NATA. However, only candidates who have qualified an aptitude test in Architecture and have secured 50% marks in 10+2 or equivalent examination with Mathematics as one of the subjects, shall be eligible for admission to B.Arch.

Course. No direct lateral admission is allowed at any year/stage of B.Arch. course based on any qualification.

NATA score shall be valid for a period of two years from the year in which one appeared.

NATA Preparation

There are no shortcuts to success. One has to strive a lot in order to achieve success in NATA exam. Aspirants who will be appearing for NATA must realize that it is high time they start preparing for the exam. Joining a good coaching class will surely get you a good result but, if you are not interested in it, then you can refer to some books of architecture and those specially designed for architectural entrance like the ones illustrated below: ■ Architecture Entrance Book by P. K. Mishra ■ NATA Examination ( Verbal / Non- Verbal / Reasoning ) by R.S. Agarwal ■ NATA Entrance Examination by Arihant Book Besides this, make a proper list that distinguishes famous national buildings and international buildings. The reason behind this; there is a probability that you might asked to spot the structures. You should also solve previous year’s NATA papers to have fair idea about the types of questions asked in the exam.

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Read more . next month.

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History

World War II (1939-1945)

W

orld War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war. It took place between 1939 to 1945. Most of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The war was fought as a "total war", meaning all resources a country had were used in the war, even those that didn't belong to the army, such as factories. It involved more countries, cost more money, and killed more people than any other war in human history. Between 50 and 70 million people died. See the fact file below for more information and facts about World War II. World War 2 is the biggest mass war known to man. It is an event that will be remembered in human history forever. So many people were killed and so many countries were involved.

This page contains some of the key facts about WW2. How many people died? Which nations were involved? Why did it start. The fact file below covers these and more interesting facts from the Second World War that shaped modern history and the democracy based society we live in today.

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How Many People Died in World War 2?

It is estimated that over 50-70 million people died during the conflicts of WW2. The official numbers can never be confirmed because of the staggering number of deaths. To put that number in perspective, the current population of the entire United Kingdom is approximately 64.1 million people.

The death toll in World War 2 is equivalent to every single person in the United Kingdom losing his or her lives.

World War 2 Facts and Information ■ World War II was a military conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 and involved nearly all the nations of the world.

■ The Treaty of Versailles and the German people’s resentment toward the League of Nations caused World War II. The Treaty of Versailles was created in 1919 to ensure peace in Europe following World War I. The treaty said that land was to be taken away from Germany. It also stated that Germany would pay for damages caused by the war, and that Germany could only have a small army with no air force, submarines or tanks.

■ Adolph Hitler was able to convince the German people to give him the power to improve conditions in Germany and restore the country’s strength and dignity. He vowed to tear up the Treaty of Versailles.

■ Hitler began invading Austria and Czechoslovakia.

■ Germany made treaties with Italy and Japan.

■ The war covered territories in Europe, the Pacific, the Atlantic, SouthEast Asia, China, Middle East, the Mediterranean and Africa.

■ On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Island. The United States entered the war.

■ The number of U.S. soldiers who served in World War II was 16,112,566, and the number wounded was 671,846 ■ The Allies dropped 3.4 million tons of bombs, averaging of about 27,700 tons of bombs each month. .

■ Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

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Science

H

ere's the complete list of this year's top 10 science stories:

1. Pluto unveiled as a world like no other Mountains of water ice tower thousands of meters over fields of frozen nitrogen and methane. Glaciers etched with channels hint at heat bubbling up from below. A patchwork of new and old terrains — some laid down in the last 10 million years, some as old as the planet itself — blanket the ground. And what appear to be two ice volcanoes punch through the terrain.

The alien landscapes of Pluto and its moons dazzled scientists and nonscientists alike this year. More than eight decades after its discovery, Pluto became much more than a nondescript point of light. It’s a dynamic, complex world unlike any other orbiting the sun.

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WORLD LIKE NO OTHER Long out of reach, Pluto came into focus in 2015 with the New Horizons mission.

CLIMATE CALAMITIES As ice shelves on the Southern Antarctic Peninsula weaken, glaciers flow faster into the sea. Recent climate research shows major, unprecedented shifts in the global environment.

2.Global warming continues apace A supposed pause in global warming that has been fodder for climate change doubters never really existed, researchers reported in 2015.

The fuss began when studies showed that decades of warming appeared to have leveled off in 1998. From that year through 2012, Earth’s yearly average surface temperature increased at one-third to one-half the average rate from 1951 through 2012. This warming “hiatus,” as it came to be known, had climate scientists scratching their heads and climate doubters gloating.

3.Microbe discoveries spur rethink of treetop of life Microbes discovered in Arctic mud could be the closest relatives yet found to the single-celled ancestor that swallowed a bacterium and made life so complicated. Biologists have proposed that this swallowing event, perhaps 1.8 billion years ago, led to complex cells with membrane-wrapped organelles, the hallmark of all eukaryotes from amoebas to zebras.

Researchers discovered the new phylum of microbes, dubbed Lokiarchaeota, by screening DNA from sediment. Though no one has identified an actual cell yet, the new phylum appears to mingle genes similar to those in modern eukaryotes and genes from archaea, the sister group to bacteria. Analyses suggest the cells have dynamic structures that could have engulfed bacteria long ago. (Biologists have proposed representing that merger as a ring of life, rather than a tree.)

What happened next in the tale is clearer but still a puzzle.

LIFE STORIES DNA samples of microbes discovered near hydrothermal vents like this one in the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge may be the closest kin yet known to complex life.

4.Epigenome makes its debut

EPIGENOME DEBUT Chemical modifications to DNA and histones can influence how genes are turned on and off during development and in health and disease. In 2015, scientists cataloged where these marks and others are made in human DNA.

In a landmark event more than a decade ago, geneticists unveiled the human genetic instruction book. This year, the book was turned into a movie adaptation in 3-D: Researchers cataloged how chemical modifications fold, compress and unwind the static DNA over time and how those modifications control when genes are on or off.

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5.Best evidence yet for water on Mars There’s water on Mars. Yes, again.

In the most highly publicized Mars discovery of the year, NASA announced that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft had spotted hydrated salt minerals on the Red Planet. The salty streaks appear in the same places as dark, hillside marks that lengthen and shrink with the Martian seasons. Brine probably oozes from the steep slopes, scientists concluded.

Water on Mars has been reported many times in the past, with each discovery adding fresh nuance to scientists’ picture of the planet. The brine finding is the most detailed evidence yet that water flows on the planet’s surface today. And liquid water — no matter the saltiness — has exciting implications for whether life could exist on Mars.

SALT STORY Seasonal water flows might have created dark streaks on Mars’ slopes, as seen in this computer-generated view of Hale Crater.

6.Cancer genetics grows up Personalized genomics has been heralded as the next big weapon in the war on cancer.

But researchers analyzing various tissue types this year, looking for mutations linked to the disease, have found that not all genetic alterations should be targeted equally.

INDIVIDUALITY Genetic analyses of tumors (melanoma cells shown) offer great promise for improving diagnoses and treatment, but new studies show that not all mutations can be treated equally.

Genetic profiles of tumors offer unprecedented opportunities for both cancer diagnostics and for doctors planning treatment. Bowel cancer tumors with mutations in the KRAS gene, for example, respond poorly to the drug cetuximab; the skin cancer drug vemurafenib works only if melanomas have a particular mutation in the BRAF gene.

7.Native Americans are Kennewick kin Kennewick Man, whose 8,500-year-old skeleton sparked a controversy when it was found in Washington State, was a relative of present-day Native Americans. Since the discovery of the skeleton in 1996, Native American tribes have claimed Kennewick Man as their own and requested the bones be handed over for a ceremonial burial. Some scientists argued, though, based on the shape of his skull, that he was more closely related to native Polynesians or a native Japanese group called the Ainu.

NATIVE RELATIVE This year, scientists analyzed the genetics of Kennewick Man, nearly two decades after the skeleton's discovery. The skull is similar to that of Polynesians, but DNA suggests a link to Native Americans.

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8.Gaps in brain nets might store memories Nets that stretch across nerve cells in the brain may store long-term memories, scientists proposed this year. The new idea attempts to explain a great mystery — why some memories last a lifetime even though the molecules thought to store them are routinely destroyed and recreated.

A HOLEY HYPOTHESIS Scientists are giving new attention to the holes in nets (green in the three images above) that envelop nerve cells in the mouse brain.

9.New algorithm quickly spots identical networks The fraternity of problems that confound computers has lost a prominent member. Computer scientist Laszlo Babai presented a new algorithm this year that efficiently tackles the graph isomorphism problem.

It’s a type of problem that computers struggle to solve, even though a solution provided in advance is easily verified. Assuming it is confirmed, says Stanford theoretical computer scientist Ryan Williams, this is the biggest advance in the field in more than a decade.

SAME GRAPH, DIFFERENT SHAPE These two graphs might look different, but each circle on the first graph corresponds to one on the second, connecting to the same other circles. Mathematicians call the graphs “isomorphic.” This year, computer scientist Laszlo Babai presented an algorithm that could overcome computers' longstanding difficulty in comparing such graphs.

10.Ebola vaccines on the way

SCOURGE Following the Ebola outbreak that ravaged West Africa until early 2015, killing more than 11,000 people, scientists are closing in on developing vaccines to protect against ebolavirus.

The race to develop Ebola vaccines closed in on the finish line this year, as scientists tested two candidates that could ultimately be stockpiled for future outbreaks.

Both vaccines target a protein made by Zaire ebolavirus, the virus that raged through West Africa in 2014 and early 2015, killing more than 11,000 people. The epidemic now appears under control across West Africa, with only a few cases in Liberia.

One vaccine relies on a live, replicating virus to stimulate an immune response in patients. In August, researchers testing it reported results from the largest Ebola vaccine trial to date to show evidence of protection: a study of 7,651 Guinean adults. None of the people vaccinated immediately after a close contact was diagnosed with Ebola became infected with the virus.

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37

Mathematics

DOUBLE MAGIC TRIANGLE 1. Write the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 , 9 in the CIRCLES.

Note that 5 + 1 + 6 + 8 = 20 5 + 4 + 9 + 2 = 20 2 + 7 + 3 + 8 = 20 and

52 +12 + 62+82 = 126 52 + 42 + 92 + 22 = 126 22 +72 + 32 + 82 = 126

2. Howmany Triangles can be found in this figure.

Hint : 24 Triangles - verify it.

Hint : 24 Triangles - verify it.

Multiplication with 11: Suppose that we need (32 x 11). Write 3+2 = 5 in the middle of 3 and 2. So, its value is 352 = 32 x 11 similarly, for (42 x 11), we write 4+2 = 6 in the middle of 4 and 2. So, its product value is 462 = 42 x 11 incase of (68 x 11), 6+8 = 14, Put 4 in the middle and then add 1 to 6.

Sol. 748 = 68 x 11.

■ Find 97 x 98.

97 - 3 98 - 2 ____________ → 9506 _____________

■ Find 91 x 99.

■ Find 97 x 93.

■ Find 97 x 95.

■ Find 104 x 105.

■ Find 103 x 108.

■ Find 103 x 109.

■ Find 108 + 104.

97 - 3 95 - 5 ____________ → 9215 _____________

103 +3 109 +9 _________________ → __________________ (11+27) = 11227

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91 -9 99 - 1 ____________ → 9009 _____________ 104 +4 105 +5 ____________ → 10920 _____________

108 +8 104 +4 ____________ → (104+8)/(8_____________ x 4) = 11232

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97 - 3 93 - 7 ____________ → 9021 _____________ 103 +3 108 +8 ____________ → 11124 _____________

3.The values of Squares of numbers from 50 to 59.

• 16 x 99 (16-1) / 99-15 = 1584

(51)2 =

25 + 1 = 26/01 = 2601

• 62 x 99 = (62-1) / 99-61 = 6138

(54)2 =

25 + 4/16

2916

(57)2 =

25 + 7/49

3249

• 482 x 999 = (482 -1) / (999 - 481) = 481 518.

(59)2 =

25 + 9/81

3481

• 675 x 999 = 674 325.

SQUARE OFANYTWO DIGIT NUMBER.

• Similarly, find the values of 836 x 999, 732 x 999 and 982 x 999.

487 x 999 = (487-1) / (999-486) = 486513

■ Find (43)2.

Hint: (ab)2 = a2/ 2ab / b2 ■ (43)2 = 42 / 2 (4) (3) / 32 = 16 / 24 / 9. (2 carry over and add to 16) = 16 + 2 / 4 / 9 = 1849 ■ (56)2 = 52 / 2 (5) (6) / 62 = 25 / 60 / 36 = 25 + 6 / 36 = 3136.

How many squares can be formed from the Chess Board

■ (62)2 = 62 / 2 (6) (2) / (2)2 = 36 / 24 / 4

= 36 + 2 / 4 / 4 = 3844.

Squares of numbers between 11 to 19.

■ Find (13)2.

(13)2 = (13 +3) / 32 = 169.

• Find (14)2.

(14)2 = (14 + 4) / (4)2 = 18/16 = 18+1 / 6 = 196.

(1 carry and add to 18) • Find (16)2.

(16)2 = (16+6) / (6)2 = 22 / 36 = (22+3) / 6 = 256.

Solution : The No. of Squares in the Chess Board are 12 + 22 + 32 +42 + 52 + 62 + 72 + 82 = 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25 + 36 + 49 + 64 = 204

Multiplication with 9 2 x 9 = (2-1) / (9-1) = 18 3 x 9 = (3-1) / (9-2) = 27 4 x 9 = (4-1) / (9-3) = 36 6 x 9 = (6-1) / (9-5) = 54 8 x 9 = (8-1) / (9-7) = 72 9 x 9 = (9-1) / (9-8) = 81

By Adluru Narasimha Murthy M.Sc.M.Phil.

Multiplication with 99 and 999 16 x 99 = (16-1) / (99-15) = 1584 27 x 99 = (27-1) / (99 - 26) = 2673 487 x 999 = (487-1) / (999-486) = 486513

Multiplication by 9, 99, 999 ... etc..

• 2 x 9 = (2 -1) / 9-1 = 1/8 = 18 • 8 x 9 = (8-1) / 9-7 = 7/2 = 72

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39

Computer Programming

Welcome Back !

This edition we will learn about Various typs of Data

H

ope you have tried our last articles and practiced them; in this edition let’s try to focus on various types of data that we can manage during our program execution.

Have you ever imagined multiplying Jack by Jill, it’s no meaning but if you multiply 120 by 4 it makes sense. During programming we may need to manipulate values in order to get accurate results based on the program logic, to achieve this every programming language comes with a supporting set of data types this means data is collection of information where type is the type of information we would like to manipulate.

Go language supports Numbers (0 to 9), Alphabets ( a to z / A to Z) and of course special characters (@#$ … etc.) these alphabets and special characters can together called as characters ( if individual ) or a string ( if more than one character used to form a word), we can also treat it as alphanumeric as a string can contain numbers too for example : “Android 5.1”.

When using data in program one must store it in a memory location and name it for better usage and good results for example you want to calculate total marks by giving marks in different subjects, see below statement

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fmt.Println(91+90+99); // here total will get displayed directly but you cannot use the result to get other manipulation like generating average etc., to avoid this confusion we should store marks in memory by giving them a name this is called as using variables. Variable is the name provided to the memory location where you can store a value. Lets write above statements again eng=91; sci=90; math=99 total=eng+math+sci; avg=total/3; As the values stored are numbers we can apply calculations on variables to get results. Lets write a program to demonstrate displaying a name which will be stored in a variable.

Example : // program starts here package main import "fmt" func main() { var name string name=”Igniting Minds”

fmt.Println(" Hello ",name)

} // program Ends here In above example look at statement “var name string” it says compiler that you are going to declare a variable with the name “name” to store string, in next line “name = “Igniting Minds”” this says you want to store “Igniting Minds” in the declared memory location “name”, while displaying result we used “fmt.Println(“ Hello ,”+name)” and it displayed “Hello, Igniting Minds”, observe that system printed value stored at the memory location created with “name”. Remember you must enclose string in double quotes ex: below statement is called assigning a string to a string variable

Rajesh Thiruvaskur Senior Architect at Centrica Informatics

name=”Igniting Minds” try above example by replacing string with your name, you can try this example at https://golang.org/ , when you visit the link you can find Try Go box, where you can type your own example by removing given example in the box at that link.

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41

Sociology

e t s a C

Introduction

Caste is closely connected with the Hindu philosophy and religion, custom and tradition. It is believed to have had a divine origin and sanction.The Varna system prevalent during the Vedic period was mainly based on division of labour and occupation. The caste system owns its origin to the Varna system. There are more than 2800 castes and sub-castes in India.The caste stratification of the Indian society had its origin in the chaturvarna system( Chatur means Four) . According to chaturvarna systemthe Hindu society was divided into four main varnas: ■ Brahmins ( a priest and scholar) ■ Kashtriyas (ruler and soldier) ■ Vaishyas (merchant) ■ Shudras (peasant, labourer and servant) The first three castes are ‘twice-born’ or ‘dwija’ since the men from these castes are entitled to wear the sacred thread at the Vedic rite of upanayana, which the Shudras were not allowed to wear the sacred thread.

Origin of the word Caste The term Caste was derived from the Spanish word “Casta” meaning breed or race. It means people of the same caste belonged to the same race. The word caste also signifies race or kind. The Sanskrit word for caste is varna which means colour.

The term, caste was used by the British who ruled India until 1947.

Caste sysytem in India In Indiaonly a small percentage of population, comprising the educated elites, numerically insignificant people, desire that caste system should be abolished. But for a vast majority of the Indian population, especially the Hindus envisaging in a social system, for them survival without a caste is impossible. Caste is an integral part to them as they identify themselves with it, and they feel their very existance lies within it.

Main Features of the Caste System ■ Ascribed status: Based on birth. Once born in a caste he/she has to remain in the sameCaste. Status, position prestige is fixed according to his/her caste. The castes are divided into sub-caste.

■ Endogamy & Exogamy: These are restriction on marriage. Exogamy and endogamy refer to marriage to someone from outside or inside one's immediate social group respectively.Exogamy is the marrying outside of a specific cultural group. The opposite of exogamy is endogamy, a marriage within a social group.Restriction on marriage is

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the essence of the caste system.

■ Social Hierarchy: Brahmin is high status and position whereas asudra have the inferior position & prestige.

■ Economic disparity: The higher caste people are generally economically better off & the lower caste people work harder & generally poor.

■ Those belonged to lower castes are not allowed to participate in religious ceremonies. Only the upper castes are allowed to particiapte in religious activities.

Functions of the caste system ■ The caste system provides social security to the individual.

■ Caste plays a crucial role in the process of socialisation by teaching individuals the culture and traditions, values and norms of their society.

■ Caste protects the individuals from exploitation.

■ In the caste system the political power is given to Kshatriyas and no other caste is allowed to compete with Kshatriyas to have political power ■ The caste system guides the individual in his day-to-day activities as well. Each caste has its own behaviour patterns to be followed by all its members in all important matters like dress, diet, speech, ceremonial observances, and rituals at birth, marriage and death etc.

Disfunctions of the caste system Caste system is responsible for:

Role of Caste Panchayat Each caste had its own panchayat where the grievances of its caste members were heard. The elder members of that caste head these caste panchayats generally and they had the power to excommunicate a member from his or her caste if they did not accept caste restrictions. Caste restrictions operate in marriage, commensality or inter-dining and general social intercourse, as well.

Caste system in modern India

■ low status of women ■ the suffering of the untouchables ■ caste based politics were political parties are using caste as their means to get vote ■ caste conflict, caste tension and caste rivalry are very common in the society ■ child marriage, prohibition of widow remarriage, sati system etc.

■ hinderance to progress

Concept of Purity and pollution Pollution means: Atouch of lower caste man would pollute or defile a man of higher caste. The lower caste people suffered from many socio-religious disabilities. The impure castes are made to live on the outskirts of the city and they are not allowed to draw water from the public wells. In earlier times entrance to temples and other places of religious importance were forbidden to them.

Caste based violence Caste system has been exploited against the Hindus, by the British, Christian Missionaries, Secular historians, Communists,etc. The leaders of independent India decided that India will be democratic, socialist and secular country. According to this policy there is a separation between religion and state.

Practicing untouchability or discriminating a person based on his caste is legally forbidden.

Along with this law the government allows positive discrimination of the depressed classes of India.

Inspite of strict laws instances of caste based violence are evident.

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The urban people in India are less strict about the caste system than the rural. Urbanization has destroyed the feeling of caste system as many people from various castes live together in the cities. Social life in cities which included number of recreational centers, where it is not possible to observe any taboo. Urbanization reduced the competition between the castes due to their widely distributed character and giving preference to their economic priorities.

Conclusion: Though caste norms in India may have once had a rationale, but these norms are outlived today.

Caste system is not stagnant and is undergoing changes under the impact of modernization. Caste system should undergo reforms in the social arena so that unjustified discrimination and abuse is eliminated.

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Pride of India

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA Life and Teachings

S

wami Vivekananda (January 12, 1863–July 4, 1902) was the chief disciple of the Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. At birth, he was called Narendranath Datta. He was the founder of Ramakrishna Mission. He introduced Hindu philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America. He broughtHinduism to the status of a major world religion during the end of the 19th century.

Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech beginning with "Sisters and Brothers of America". Through this he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.

Childhood Swami Vivekananda was born in Shimla Pally in Calcutta on 12 January 1863. He was named Narendranath Datta. His father Vishwanath Datta was an attorney of Calcutta High Court. His mother was Bhuvaneshwari Devi. Narendranath's thinking and personality were influenced by his parents—the father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious temperament. From his mother he learnt the power of self-control. Young Naren was an expert in meditation and could enter the state of samadhi very easily. He saw a light while falling asleep. Once he had a vision of Buddha during his meditation. During his childhood, he had a great fascination for wandering ascetics and monks. He was also an expert in games and naughty things. Even in his young age he showed remarkable leadership qualities.His childhood friend was kamal reddy.

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Speech at chicago

Youth

In his youth he visited the Brahmo Samaj and later he came in contact with Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna initiated him, and after his death Naren left his house. He took the monk-name of Swami Vivekananda and stayed at the Boranagar Monastfery with his monk-brothers. Later he set out for touring India. He wandered from place to place until he reached Trivandum and decided to attend the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. He delivered the great speech at Chicago and brought Hinduism to the status of a major religion.

Foundation of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda became very popular after delivering lectures at many places of America and England. He came back to India and founded the Ramakrishna Maths and Mission in 1897. He also founded the Advaita Ashrama in Mayavati, near Almora on March 19, 1899. The Ashrama was a branch of the Ramakrishna Math. He composed the famous arati song, Khandana Bhava Bandhana.

Works Vivekananda's wrote books on the four Yogas (Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga) are still seen as fundamental texts for anyone interested in the Hindu practice of Yoga.

His letters are of great literary and spiritual value.

He was also considered a very good singer and a poet. By the time of his death, He had composed many songs including his favorite song "Kali-The Mother". He used humor for his teachings and was also an excellent cook. His language is very free flowing. These all works were compiled to form a 10 volume set "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda".

Last Days `In 4,July 1902 he woke up in the early morning, Poster of Vivekananda from the Parliament of the World's went to the chapel at Belur Math and meditated Religions at Chicago, 1893 for three hours. He taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda, Sanskrit grammar and the philosophy of yoga to pupils, later discussing with colleagues a planned Vedic college in the Ramakrishna Math. At seven p.m. Vivekananda went to his room, asking not to be disturbed; he died at 9:10 p.m. while meditating.

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45

Country

JAPAN Prime Minister: Shinzo abe

Official name: Japan Form of Government: Parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy, Prime minister: Shinzo Abe Capital: Tokyo Population: 127,103,388 Official language: Japanese Money: Japanese yen Area: 145,883 square miles (377,835 square kilometers) Major mountain ranges: Japanese Alps Major rivers: Biwa, Inawashiro, Kasumigaura Major crops: Rice is by far the most important crop in Japan and planted on the best agricultural land. Other crops grown in Japan include soybeans, wheat, barley, and a large variety of fruit and vegetables

Geography An archipelago in the Pacific, Japan is separated from the east coast of Asia by the Sea of Japan. It is approximately the size of Montana. Japan's four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The Ryukyu chain to the southwest was U.S.-occupied from 1945 to 1972, when it reverted to Japanese control, and the Kurils to the northeast are Russian-occupied.

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History People first came to Japan about 30,000 years ago. At the time, the main islands were connected to Siberia and Korea by bridges of dry land, so people crossed on foot. The first society, called the Jomon culture, arose about 12,000 years ago. Around the same time, the Ainu people arrived by boat from Siberia.

The Jomon and Ainu survived for thousands of years, hunting, fishing, and gathering plants. In 300 B.C., the Yayoi people came to Honshu Island from Korea and China. They were skilled weavers, tool makers, and farmers who began cultivating rice in flooded paddy fields.

In 660 B.C., Japan's first emperor, Jimmu Tenno, came to power.

Emperors controlled Japan until the 12th century A.D., when military rulers, called shoguns, took control and ruled by might.

Europeans first arrived in Japan in 1543, bringing guns and Christianity.

In 1635, the ruling shogun closed Japan to foreigners and forbade Japanese to travel abroad. This isolation lasted more than 200 years. In 1868, the shoguns were overthrown and emperors returned. This was a time of great change and modernization for Japan.

Emperor Meiji

People & Culture The Japanese are famous for their willingness to work very hard.

Children are taught to show respect for others, especially parents and bosses. They learn to do what's best for their family or company and worry less about their own needs.

Japanese food is very different from food in Western countries. They feed on lots of rice, fish, and vegetables, but little meat. With little fat or dairy, this diet is very healthy, which helps Japanese people live, on average, longer than any other people in the world.

Nature The Japanese people have a deep affection for the beauty of the landscape. The ancient Shinto religion says natural features like mountains, waterfalls, and forests have their own spirits, like souls.

Most of Japan is covered by countryside. But with more than 100 million people living in such a small place, wildlife has suffered.

Pollution is now tightly controlled, but road building and other human activities have harmed natural habitats. About 136 species in Japan are listed as endangered.

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Best Places to Visit in Japan Koya-san Koya-san or Mount Koya is the most important site in Shingon Buddhism, a sect that has been practiced in Japan since 805 when it was introduced by Kobo Daishi.

It remains the headquarters for the sect and the small town that grew up around the temple. The site of Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum, this wooded Mount Koya is also the starting and ending place of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage. Tourists can get a taste of the monk’s life here as they are allowed to stay overnight in the temple.

Hiroshima Hiroshima, located on Honshu Island, is younger than many Japanese cities, less than 500 years old, but its fate was forever sealed in history on August 6, 1945, when it became the first city in the world to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. Thus, the city’s attractions center around peace: Peace Park, Peace Memorial and Peace Memorial Museum. The city also has attractions that invoke more pleasant thoughts, such as Hiroshima Castle and the sunken garden of Shukkein-en.

Kamakura Located on the coast less than an hour from Tokyo, Kamakura was once an important town, the seat of a military government that ruled Japan for a hundred years. Today, it’s a relaxed seaside resort sometimes called the Kyoto of eastern Japan because of its many temples and shrines. Its most famous sight is the Daibutsu, a huge bronze Buddha statue surrounded by trees, but the town’s ancient Zen temples are equally compelling.

Facts about Japan ■ The Japanese name for Japan is “Nihon” or “Nippon” which means “sun origin”.

■ Japan belongs to the continent of Asia. Japan is an island nation surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West.

■ Japan is made up of 6,852 islands.

■ The highest point in Japan in Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776m (12,388ft).

■ Ancient warriors of Japan were known as Samurai.

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Mount Fuji

Himeji Castle Considered the most impressive of extant feudal-era castles in Japan, Himeji Castle is located west of Kōbe, the capital of the Hyōgo Prefecture. The fortress is commonly called the White Heron Castle because the castle’s white-plastered towers resemble a snowy egret in flight. The castle has been featured in several films, including the James Bond adventure film “You Only Live Twice” and “The Last Samurai,” starring Tom Cruise.

Kamakura Located on the coast less than an hour from Tokyo, Kamakura was once an important town, the seat of a military government that ruled Japan for a hundred years. Today, it’s a relaxed seaside resort sometimes called the Kyoto of eastern Japan because of its many temples and shrines. Its most famous sight is the Daibutsu, a huge bronze Buddha statue surrounded by trees, but the town’s ancient Zen temples are equally compelling.

Government & Economy Japan is the only country in the world with a reigning emperor.

Emperors have no real power, but they are still revered as a symbol of the country's traditions and unity.

World War II devastated Japan's economy. But the Japanese people's hard work and clever innovation turned it around, making it the second largest economy in the world. Japan's high-tech industry makes some of the most popular electronic products in the world.

■ Japan sits along the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, so has many volcanoes and experiences many earthquakes. In 2011, an earthquake of

magnitude 9.0 hit Japan and created a tsunami which resulted in much devastation.

■ Almost three quarters of Japan's land is either forest or mountains and is difficult to be made into farms, industrial or residential areas.

■ Due to gases produced by power plants, Japan sometimes suffers from acid rain.

■ Japan is a world leader in robotics. Japanese engineers are known for producing a range of human-like robots such as ASIMO.

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Tokyo city

49

Sports

A

rchery – that is, the use of a stringed bow to propel arrows towards a target – is thought to go back thousands of years – possibly even as far as the stone age of 20,000 BC – with bows and arrows used by numerous peoples over the millennia as a means of hunting and warfare.

From the ancient Egyptians to the Shang dynasty of China (17661027 BC), Attila the Hun’s hordes to the great civilizations of the Assyrians, Persians and Pathians, archery were widely utilized.

The need to master archery – for huntsmen and soldiers alike – inevitably led to practicing the art, which in turn led to organized tournaments, the first recorded event of which took place in Finsbury in England in 1583 and included 3000 participants.

Archery was first included as an Olympic sport in 1900 for men and 1904 for women – one of the earliest sports for female

competitors – and then in 1908 and 1920, then dropping out for a few decades before being reintroduced in 1972, since when it has been a mainstay of the Games.

Object Of The Game Competitive archery – that is, archery that involves archers aiming arrows at a target – has various forms, but all have the same aim: to shoot your arrows as close to the centre of the target as possible. In the Olympics competitors aim at a target from a distance of 70 m, and rounds include a ranking round where the overall scores determine the athletes’ rankings priors to a head to head elimination format.

Players & Equipment While clearly only one archer holds a bow at once, both individual and team competitions are undertaken. Archers must, of course, have a bow, which is described by the World Archery Federation (WA) as “an instrument consisting of a handle (grip), riser (no shoot-through type) and two flexible limbs each ending in a tip with a string nock.”

The bowstring may have any number of strands as long as it fits the bow, and an adjustable arrow rest and a bow sight may also be used. There is little restriction over the types of arrows used, other than those that may cause undue damage to targets, though the maximum diameter of the arrow shaft should

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not exceed 9.3mm and the diameter of the tips should not exceed 9.4mm. The athletes’ arrows should all be marked with his or her name or initials on the shaft and all arrows used by a competitor in a particular round (or “end”) should be identical.

Finger protection (including tape or gloves) may be used, as are chest protectors, arm guards and other such accessories that offer no explicit advantage other than of a protective or comfort-enhancing nature.

The target itself varies in size –those used in Olympic archery events measure 122cm in diameter – but all contain 10 concentric rings which represent the different scoring sectors. The outermost two rings (called one ring and two ring) are white, three and four are black, five and six are blue, seven and eight are red and nine and ten – the innermost rings – are gold. Ten ring also has an inner ring (known as “inner 10” or “X ring”) which is sometimes used to decide ties.

Scoring Scoring in archery is very simple: you just add up the number of points based on where your arrows hit the target. The highest score for a single arrow is 10 for hitting the inner gold ring, while the least (for hitting the outer white ring) is one point. Arrows missing the target altogether do not score at all.

misfires, or if the target blows or falls over. Extra time would be given in such circumstances.

■ An arrow that rebounds or hangs from the target will still score based on the mark it makes on the target face. Arrows that stick – Robin Hood-style – in the nock of another shall score the same as the arrow in which they are embedded.

■ Athletes can be disqualified, have points deducted or be banned from competition for various breaches of rules, based on the severity of the offence.

■ If equipment is damaged, appeals can be made to the judge for such equipment to be replaced or fixed, and any time allowances will be at the judge’s discretion.

Winning The Game As mentioned it would depend on the specifics of the tournament in which the archer is competing, but in an archery competition the winner is either the person who has the highest cumulative total score after a set number of arrows, or the one who has successfully overcome all opponents faced in a knockout scenario.

In the event of a tied score the archer with the highest number of 10s (including inner 10s) is declared the victor. If that number is also equal the one with the greater number of inner 10s is the winner.

Alternatively – or subsequently – a shoot-off can be used to separate the competitors who have tied.

Rules of Archery ■ Archers must adhere to all official rules in terms of the equipment they use in the performance of their sport, with the main emphasis being on them using no equipment or accessories that would give an unfair advantage over an opponent.

■ The maximum time permitted to shoot an end of three arrows is two minutes, and four minutes for an end of six arrows.

■ Athletes may not raise the bow arm until the signal to start is given and penalties can be given – in the form of points forfeits – if the bow is drawn after the official practice has been closed.

■ An arrow cannot be re-shot under any circumstances. The arrow may be considered not to have been shot if it falls from the bow or

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51

Current Affairs China adopted Anti-Terrorism Bill, 2015; First counter-terrorism law in history

Besides proposing a slew of institutional measures to contain terrorism, the Anti-Terrorism Bill, 2015 defined terrorism for the first time in the country.

Union Government launched two Mobile Apps for Farmers

The Apps were developed to provide all relevant and timely information to farmers to create conducive environment for raising farm productivity & income to global levels.

Reliance Jio launched 4G telecom service

Pawan Kumar Agarwal appointed as CEO of FSSAI

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) or Reliance Jio on 27 December 2015 launched 4G telecom service. The service was launched at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navy Mumbai to mark the birth anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

Senior IAS officer Pawan Kumar Agarwal was on 22 December 2015 appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

However, at present, it is limited to 85000 employees and their families of the company, while the commercial services are expected to begin by April 2016.

UNSC extended sanctions against Taliban in Afghanistan

The UNAMA pledged to continue its three-track approach to engage with the Taliban on human rights, humanitarian access and political engagement.

SpaceX successfully launched and landed Falcon 9 rocket

American aerospace company SpaceX on 21 December 2015 achieved the historic feat of successfully launching and landing Falcon 9 rocket.

Philippines became first Asian country to approve world's first-ever dengue vaccine

Conservative People’s party won Spain election; but falls short of majority

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration approved the dengue vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by all four dengue types in individuals from 9 to 45 years old

PP which secured 123 seats in the lower house of Parliament has fallen short of absolute majority which can be achieved if any party wins minimum 176 seats in the

living in endemic areas.

350-member Parliament.

Union Government announced 4 new IT-based initiatives for citizen-cenUnion Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda on 25 December 2015 announced 4 new Information Technology-based initiatives to provide citizen-centric health services.

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Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach crowned Miss Universe 2015

Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was on 20 December 2015 crowned Miss Universe 2015 at the final of 64th edition of Miss Universe held in Las Vegas, the USA.

Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo crowned Miss World 2015

Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo on 19 December 2015 was crowned Miss World 2015 at the Beauty of Crown Theater in Sanya, China.

Radha Krishna Mathur appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of India

Maharashtra announced 10512 crore rupees aid for farmers hit by drought

ISRO’ PSLV-C29 successfully launched 6 Singapore satellites into space

The package was announced by state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the assembly in Nagpur during a discussion on the drought situation.

The satellites were launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C29 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.

Delhi became first state to implement Radhakrishnan panel recommendations on Road Safety Delhi Traffic Police is the first in the country to implement the directions of the apex court-appointed three-member committee chaired by Justice KS Radhakrishnan.

Union Government appointed L Narasimha Reddy to head Judicial Committee on OROP

Indian-origin writer J M Sali won 2015 South East Asian Write Award for Singapore

The Committee has been given a six-month deadline for submission of its recommendations. It may give interim reports to the Government on any of the matters related to its terms of reference.

Indian-origin Tamil writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali on 11 December 2015 was declared as the winner of the prestigious South East Asian Write Award for Singapore.

Wipro won 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for innovation in IoT

With this, Mathur became the eigth CIC of India. He will have tenure of about three years, till he attains the age of 65 years.

Global software giant Wipro on 11 December 2015 announced that it won the 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for developing a solution for the Internet of Things (IoT).

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

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Salman Rushdie honoured with Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement

Delhi Government announced vehicle rationing scheme to curb air pollution

ONGC joined World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 Initiative

American experimental performance artist Laurie Anderson presented the award to Rushdie at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York City.

In the first phase of the scheme, vehicles with odd and even number plates would be allowed to run on alternate days between 1 January

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited on 7 December 2015 joined Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 Initiative of the World Bank on the

and 15 January 2016 in the capital city.

sidelines of Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) of UNFCCC in Paris.

Andhra Pradesh became first state to join discom revival scheme UDAY

First India International Science Festival began at IIT-Delhi

UDAY envisages reducing the interest burden, cost of power, and aggregate technical and commercial losses.

The five day festival will explore ways to translate academic research into industrial applications benefiting the common man.

World’s first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, approved for use in Mexico

According to a WHO report published in late 2014, the vaccine had an average rate of effectiveness of about 60.8 percent in protecting against the four strains of dengue.

TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Merkel as 2015 ‘Person of the Year’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named as 2015 Person of the Year on 9 December 2015 by Time Magazine. The magazine cited her role in Europe’s crisis over migration and Greek debt.

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China's first electricity-powered aircraft RX1E approved for production

RX1E electric light-sport aircraft was developed by Shenyang Aerospace University and it will be China's first manned electric light aircraft.

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

Shiva Keshavan clinched silver at Asian Luge Championship

International Tennis Federation announced winners of 2015 World Champions

International Tennis Federation (ITF) on 22 December 2015 announced winners of 2015 World Champions.

The awards were conferred on the basis of players’ performance in the 2015 season. They will receive their awards at the 2016 ITF World Champions Dinner on 31 May 2015, in Paris, during Roland Garros.

Shiva Keshavan on 27 December 2015 grabbed a silver medal in the 18th edition of the Asian Luge Championship held in Nagano,

Andy Murray won 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award Andy Murray of the UK on 20

Japan.

December 2015 received the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in London. The Scottish tennis-player was presented the award by Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan.

Former Wicket-Keeper Syed Kirmani nominated for 2015 Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement

Apurvi Chandela, Chain Singh won Gold at 59th National Shooting Championship Rajasthan's Apurvi Chandela on 15 December 2015 won a Gold medal in the 10-metre Air Rifle event on the final day of the 59th National Shooting Championship in Delhi.

The award was instituted by the BCCI in 1994 to celebrate the birth centenary of Col. Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, the country’s first test captain.

India’s Thakur Anoop Singh won gold medal in World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships

Overall, India won 11 medals in the championships that saw participation from 47 nations.

India won four-match Test series against South Africa, 3-0 runs.

India on 7 December 2015 won the four-match Test series against South Africa 3-0. In the fourth and final match played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, India defeated South Africa by 337

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

Chasing a mammoth 481, the Proteas, despite their best efforts to block every delivery, failed in their attempt to save the Test.

The visitors lost their last five wickets within a span of seven runs.

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Brain Gym 1. Friends ! can you tell what is common in all these six persons?

2. Spokes

3. Scrabble

CLUE 1. A medium that disseminates moving pictures.

2. Decorate, as with ornaments.

3. Keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view.

4. Come into view indistinctly.

5. A large quantity of written matter.

6. A metric unit of weight.

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IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

57

December Brain Gym Answers 1. All are Noble prize winners in 2014.

2.

3. 1.TIER, 2.TIRE, 3.TRIG, 4.GET, 5.TIE, 6.RET, 7.TIG and 8.IT. 4. Pattern Number 5.

5. 1.Window is smaller. 2.Pitcher lid is missing. 3.Moustache of old man is black. 4.Plate has less golgappas. 5. Child is not smiling. 6.His leg is not showing. 7. Didi's nose is missing.

8.Stoll is missing.

5. Find Eight Differences in Both the Pictures.

4. Looking at the change of patterns, tell, what comes in Blank - Change to ‘Guess the next pattern...’

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IGNITING MINDS | | |Jan 2016

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