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24 Jun 2010 · comment
The International League of Conservation Photographers, a fellowship of the top professional conservation photographers working today, was recruited to nominate nature photographs that the member photographers considered to be ’the best,’ in whatever way they chose to define it, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day
Continue reading →06 Apr 2009 · comment
Can anything possibily change in the Indian education system. A comparison between a survey done in 1996 and another done in 2006 seems to suggest that nothing much has changed in our education system. Read this brilliant report from Frontline here.
Continue reading →18 Mar 2009 · comment
Here is some news for the academic minded parents and schools: “…brain activity and brain development are enhanced by physical exercise. It now appears that exercise can help kids learn at school.” Listen to the NPR story… According to study presented to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) “students benefit both physically and academically from time devoted during the school day to physical activity”. Read this story… Need more evidence? See this video by Stuart Brown at TED. His research shows that “play is not just joyful and energizing – it’s deeply involved with human development and intelligence”.
Continue reading →05 Mar 2009 · comment
A study in the US has found that “TV ratings don’t accurately reflect the aggressive content found in shows popular among children – even cartoons”. And what do you say to parents who take their 10-year-olds, 3-year-olds and even 9-month-olds to adult cinema? Not so long ago I left a late-night movie half-way because I found it disturbing/horrific… perhaps a little scary. But mothers with babies stuck to their bosoms stayed on…
Continue reading →12 Feb 2009 · comment
Professor Dan Fleisch set a new standard in after-sales service when he flew 600 miles on Christmas Day to hand-deliver his book to a buyer who had posted a comment on the Amazon web site that his copy of the book had missing pages. Read the Telegraph article
Continue reading →06 Feb 2009 · comment
Kids who are exposed to too much screen time (TV, Computers, video games, iPods) during their teen years are likely to display depression symptoms later. Science News article says: “Exposure to more television and other electronic media during the teenage years appears to be associated with developing depression symptoms in young adulthood, especially among men, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry…”
Continue reading →05 Oct 2008 · comment
Finally, someone has spoken out against the strident, unrelenting branding of all terrorism being Islamic, and all Muslims being terrorists. According to a news report in The Times of India, Sharad Pawar asks a very pertinent question: “Why are only Muslims on the media’s and society’s terror radar? Why not Hindu terrorists like the Bajrang Dal? Read the full story here. In the last few weeks, especially after the blasts in Delhi, I am deeply disturbed by the deeply etched biases in large groups representing the educated upper middle class in India. If one is to even raise the question of legal rights, there is almost an affronted response: what do you mean legal rights? “That terrorist (pronounced guilty even before being tried) gets free government legal aid.” Aah. Interesting. The same person, if he were to find himself on the receiving end of a tangled legal case, would not hesitate to hire the most expensive legal help money can buy. Why? You have free legal aid from the government, right?
Continue reading →08 Sep 2008 · comment
I find it hard to breathe when I think of the scale of the catastrophe in Bihar. More than 25 lakh people affected by the raging waters of the Kosi. As I browse through news reports out of Bihar, it is depressing and infuriating to see the depths of human behaviour in the looting, raping and pillaging of fleeing villagers. The very boatmen who are supposed to rescue people, are turning tormentors, in the worst way possible.
Continue reading →08 Aug 2008 · comment
If you were running a bar, would you refuse to serve an underage customer? Would you make systems to prevent the serving of alcohol to children? How about if you sold cigarettes in your store? What about adult content – either in your store or on your website? What if you were a social networking site? Would you do something to prevent the eight-year-olds from registering? I know all of these are not exact parallels, but the fundamental idea is the same. For instance, it bugs me no end that promos for late-night adult movies are shown during prime time TV, sometimes even during programming that is obviously aimed at children. At least to me, all of these are milder or harsher versions of the same ethical question! There is a difference between putting up some mandatory and hard-to-find signs, and actually preventing the underage customers from being served.
Continue reading →05 Aug 2008 · comment
It does not always feel like what you may have seen in the movies or on TV. Sometimes it can even feel like a bad case of indigestion. Interesting story in Guardian quoting a British Heart Foundation (BHF) survey that found that four out of 10 people get information about heart attacks from movies or TV and that can be “dangerously misleading and because of it, many of us ignore the real symptoms until it is too late.”
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