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 Previous Week Topic |
| December 09 |
 The magical world of physics More... |
14-12-2009 |
A crucial subject among the sciences, physics has evolved over the years, stretching its applications to numerous areas. And keeping pace with the evolving science, higher education institutions are constantly upgrading. Nonetheless, experts underscore the need to inculcate scientific temper in students at an early stage to kindle the spirit of research. Physics, according to the French researcher Nicole Ostrowsky, is alive and constantly changing. “You need physics for a wide spectrum. The research of human genome cannot do without physics. The subject plays a huge part cutting across disciplines,” she said. She felt that India was well-placed in the field of physics and Indian physicists were strong theoreticians. “Physics has applications from astronomy to biotechnology and computer science. There are many highly visible now such as management, banking and marketing and students should understand that pursuing physics is definitely not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job,” she said. Aptitude According to experts, studying physics requires the following attributes — a logical and numerate mind, the ability to solve problems, communication skills developed through report writing and presentations, computing and practical skills, teamwork and flexibility. But how do students perceive physics nowadays? Quite a few students are really interested in studying physics. They can fit into any system and gain good employment whether in computer industry, semi-conductor industry and national research laboratories. Approximately, about 40 to 50 per cent of students go for further studies after completing M.Sc, 20 to 25 per cent opt for Information Technology field, some go as college teachers and five to 10 per cent go abroad for higher studies. Varied fields Physics has applications in many fields such as lasers, global positioning system, medical imaging and computers, he said, while Ms. Ostrowsky observed that it extended its applications to biology, biophysics, geophysics, geology, astrophysics and sustainable development. The experts laid stress on enabling young students to understand the subject better while in school. The French physics researcher, following an interaction and demonstration of experiments with a group of school students , said, “Teachers play a huge role in encouraging students. Students should be given an opportunity to have hands-on experiments in schools. Experiments will help the student understand better and schools should involve students in taking up simple science experiments,” she insisted. Through this, students will be interested in knowing more, she said, adding, “There is no use in learning science by-heart.” It is the responsibility of teachers to create interest and see that the subject is exciting for students. |
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| On top of the world More... |
07-12-2009 |
| After an emphatic innings victory over Sri Lanka |
NUMERO UNO: A jubilant Indian team after its win over Sri Lanka in the third Test at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. India’s 2-0 series victory took it to the number one spot in the ICC Test Rankings for the first time. — MUMBAI: India reached the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings, for the first time, with an emphatic innings and 24-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium here on Sunday. The host achieved its objective after only 7.4 overs of play on the final day. Resuming at 274 for six, Sri Lanka was dismissed for 309 in its second innings. Third with 119 points at the beginning of the series, India now has 124 points. It overtook South Africa, which stays on 122 points. Australia is third with 116, while Sri Lanka, which began the series at No. 2, drops to fourth place with 115. Virender Sehwag, who made 293 in the first innings here, was named Man of the Match and Player of the Series. Sachin Tendulkar invited the support staff to the arena to acknowledge their contribution as a goodly crowd cheered on. Australia and South Africa are the only other teams to have been ranked No. 1. Captain M.S. Dhoni said: “It is a complete team effort.” Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara acknowledged: “We were out-batted and out-bowled. India was the better side in the series.” |
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| Christmas More... |
21-12-2009 |
The festival of Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and conveys his message of love, tolerance and brotherhood. It's a celebration of humanity and mankind. Though Christmas is a primary festival of the Christian calendar but still it has a special significance in everyone's life. It is celebrated as a universal festival through out the nation. The first mention of 25th December as the birth date of Jesus occurred in 336 A.D. in an early Roman calendar. That day onwards this date is celebrated as the birth date of Jesus. In India this festival has a special significance since India is known for its unity in diversity worldwide. The celebration of Christmas shows that even people from different religion takes part in Christmas celebration just as the Indian Christians do. And because of European influence on the country for so long the religion has spread across the country. The doctrines and philosophies of Christianity converted people of many sects to Christianity and today, there is a large Christian community thriving in India that has adopted the Christians festivals as a part of Indian culture as well. However, many of the rituals of these Christian festivals have been modified to suit the climatic conditions of the land.
Christmas is the most important festival of Indian Christians. Christians in India decorate banana or mango trees instead of traditional pine tree. They also light small oil-burning lamps as Christmas decorations and fill their churches with red flowers. As a part of their celebration they give Christmas gifts to their family members and token of money to poor people as charity. People decorate their houses and churches with poinsettia flowers for the midnight mass. In South India, the Christians put small clay lamps on the rooftops and walls of their houses at Christmas, just as the Hindus do during their festival called Diwali. In Goa, all hotels are jampacked during Christmas period and one must plan well in advance if planning a stay in one of the Goa hotels. The local Indian customs and tradition and customs have a heavy impact on the Indian Christian. And this is visible in their decoration as many Indian Christians decorate their houses with mango leaves. Churches often have an Evening Service on Christmas and are fabulously decorated with poinsettias and candles. Caroling processions on streets and thoroughfares can also be seen. |
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| New Year Day Celebrations More... |
28-12-2009 |
New Year's Day marks the end of one year and beginning of the other. New Year is celebrated by all countries that measure yearly calendars. Most countries across the globe follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate their New Year's Day on January 1. In several countries January 1 is a holiday. Grand bashes, balls and parades are organized to welcome the New Year and bid adieu to the old. History of New Year's Day CelebrationsNew Year's Day is said to be the oldest and most universally celebrated holiday. The tradition of celebrating New Year's Day is said to have started by Romans circa 153 BC. Romans celebrated their New Year on March 1 according to old Roman Calendar. Even before the Romans, Mesopotamians are said to have celebrated new years at the time of the vernal equinox in mid-March around 2000 BC. After a series of changes in calendar, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar still in use today, and set January 1 as New Year's Day. New Year's Day EveCelebrations for New Year's Day begin on the eve of the New Year on December 31. Late night parties and bashes are organized to give farewell to the year gone by and welcome the New Year. Just as the clock strikes for midnight, people hug everyone around and wish each other a 'Happy New Year'. Cakes are cut and firecrackers are burst to give a celebratory welcome to the upcoming year. Exchanging Greetings on New Year's Day On the New Year's Day people wear bright new clothes and spring clean their houses. At several places people follow the tradition of 'first footing' and do not leave the house before someone comes in first. First footing person should ideally get some gifts and is accorded a warm welcome by the people. Later, people move out to exchange greetings and New Year gifts with their friends and dear ones. Popular New Year gifts include cake, flowers, chocolates, decorative and New Year Greeting cards. The idea behind exchanging gifts and greetings is to give warm wishes for a New Year and strengthen the bond of love shared with dear ones. New Year's Day ResolutionsThere is also a very strong tradition to make New Year Resolutions on January 1. This is done to give away old bad habits and adopt better ones. Some of the most popular New Year resolutions include weight reduction, quitting smoking, giving up junk food and being punctual. Though it has been noticed that many people fail to keep their resolutions a week after New Year's Day, the importance of making a fresh New Year's Day resolution every year is still the same. New Year's Day Outing Several countries observe a holiday on New Year's Day. And in some countries, especially those dominated by Christians have their Christmas holiday extended till New Year's Day. Hence, people have all the time and reasons to celebrate the occasion. A popular trend is to go out for vacations in tourist places. Those who are unable to go in far off places go out for picnics, campings, trekking, skiing etc. A huge rush is also observed in malls, theaters and restaurants as many people especially, youngsters celebrate the New Year's by moving out with their dear ones. Some countries organize New Year Day Parades and Sports, many people participate and witness these joyful events. Those who prefer a bit of sobriety organize New Year's Day parties in their homes and spend the first day of the year with their friends and dear ones. New Year's Day ReviewIn modern times, media, such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television make a review of the pas year. They give reports recollecting the events of the past and make predictions for the coming year. Various types of astronomical predictions for the coming year are also made which are lapped up by people too eager to peep into the coming year. |
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