Internet : A Boom dominating the lives

When we talk of internet we talk of technology growing manifolds. Internet basically is a network connecting computers across the world. The creation of the World Wide Web (1989) and web browsers (early 1990s) gave people easy ways of getting access to the world of internet. Over the past fifteen years, millions of different websites have been set up which are giving people the chance to shop, do business, play, learn, chat online, gain information etc. Considering so many benefits the cost is highly affordable for everyone .Internet has made world a small place. People can spend hours and hours on internet without getting bored as it has every possible mode of entertainment and knowledge available. In offices internet is indispensable part of lives.  Internet has given people a new world of innovative technology.

The arrival of the Internet has vastly changed the way in which people search and access information. News travels more quickly than ever, and current affairs can be discussed all over the world instantaneously via forums, blogs, and social networks. Search engines like Google and Wikipedia have now become ubiquitous starting points for researching anything from minor queries to academic reports. Social websites like twitter, Facebook, Skype, and Flick give a different platform of communication to world.

Some believe the Internet is dominating the lives of its users. Well, technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. We can go on and on while speaking about the benefit it has given us  but there are certain shortfalls worth considering. For students internet is slowly closing the way to outdoor activities as games available on net are more preferred by them. We are not able adequate time to our families as by the usage of net we get the liberty to bring work back home. Talking about the reach of social networking sites many people try to misuse the facility. These are just some reasons of internet taking over our most of the time.  Internet is proving to be an addictive source of entertainment which has slowly started taking over our lives.

It’s highly important that we understand the essence of this technology. Its purpose is to ease our work not to be our sole aim. We must try to restrict our time on internet usage. Sharing personal information on net should be avoided for security reasons. Just by taking some steps we can prove this technology to be a”big boom”. 

New Year Resolutions: Do we really follow them??

New Year resolutions are the promises we make for self improvement to be followed in the New Year. Making resolutions is easy but following them is way tougher. It is a proven fact that 80% of people who make resolutions never end up following. New Year resolutions are made with a motive of self improvement but understanding the essence and living up to promises becomes tough for everyone. Some common resolutions made by people include:

• Work on physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise regularly, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stop biting nails, get rid of old bad habits
• Think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life
• Work on  financial stability: get out of debt, save money, make small investments  to secure future
• Less partying and more time to family
• Improve at career front: perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business
• Work on  improving grades, get a better school, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talent
• Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games
• Take out time for holidays
• Delete account from social websites for individual reasons
• Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization (NGO)
• Be more open and try to get along better with people, improve social skills, enhance social intelligence
• Make new friends
• Spend quality time with family members
• Settle down, get engaged/get married, have kids
• Try foreign foods, discovering new cultures  
• Pray more, be closer to God, be more spiritual etc..

All these are just few examples of some resolutions that we make on New Year. Everyone has his/her own reason to make resolutions. Although everyone is fully motivated in the beginning of the New Year but as the time speeds up the resolutions go for a toss and everyone gets busy with their routine life. To live up to these promises one must be strong willed and focused towards the goals. There are many ways to remind ourselves of the resolutions that we make, we can put reminders in our cell phones, we can make a list and paste it on the wall so that we can see it every day, we can tell our close people about our resolutions so that they can watch over and remind us whenever needed etc.  So there are many ways to stick to our resolutions but given the fact that our will is strong and we genuinely want to fulfill our promises.

Right of children: Free and quality education till Class XII

In India we often talk about the rights of people in a democratic nation but do we genuinely understand and know our rights?? Education lays the foundation of a developed nation but does the Government make sure that this power reaches to masses. With poverty and population on rise poor parents can’t afford good schooling for their kids. Government must take initiatives to provide schooling till 12 for free so that the basic eligibility for employment can be met easily. Government not only should provide the free schooling but also make sure the quality of education provided in government schools must match the requisite standards. The quality of education provided by the government system remains in question. Government schools suffer from shortages of teachers, infrastructural gaps and several habitations. There are also frequent allegations of government schools being riddled with absenteeism and mismanagement and appointments based on political convenience. 

Although government took some steps by laying down “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act” or Right to Education Act (RTE) but our concern is to provide quality education till 12 for free which still holds its way to process. Moreover, the technology used and environment created in private schools is way more effective than the simple and routine methods used in government schools. The knowledge imparted in government schools should be made more effective and quality checks must be established to keep the system updated. Government surely tries to make efforts but the question is how sincere are these efforts. Just by laying down some policies Government can’t sit back and expect the change. Government must make sure all the policies related to Education are firmly implemented. After implementation timely steps must be taken to enhance the quality and provide the children with better education.

Government teachers play a vital role in free education system. It’s their duty to make sure the kids get the best possible education that they deserve. Teachers must understand the need to uplift our system and bring education to a global platform. Government teachers must bring in notice the areas of improvement. Together we can bring a revolutionary change in our education system. Education is every Childs right and no child should be left without its power.

Awareness programmes must be continued to spread awareness about the importance of Education. If everything falls at place we will surely reach the top of the ladder. Quality education should be the motto of our Government rather than just concentrating on filling quantity. Corrective measures can bring in the great change and we hope to have a brighter future.

Growing dissatisfaction at workplace

Nowadays the dissatisfaction among the employees is showing a significant rise. There is less space for creativity and great way for followers. Employee motivation and appreciation is based on revenue generation. Employers cannot forget the fact that the success of an organization depends on how productive its employees are but with the given level of dissatisfaction employees have started feeling highly demotivated and disinterested in work. Employees with low job satisfaction can negatively affect a company because they possess negative attitude. This dissatisfaction can directly hamper the productivity of a company. An employee can feel dissatisfied because of many reasons but it’s important for managers to know what lacks and where. Understanding the needs of employees, giving them space for creativity, appreciating their efforts and acknowledging their hard work is highly important to retain an employee’s interest in an organization.

Some Reasons for Job Dissatisfaction

• Not compensated well
• Limited Career Growth
• Lack of Interest
• Poor Management
• Lack of motivation
• Non acknowledgment of hard work
• Lack of recognition
• Unhealthy environment
• Excessive burden to meet targets
• No space for creativity

Managers should understand the reasons behind employee’s unhappiness at work. Communicating well with the employees can help a lot in understanding their needs from the organization. Timely appraisals and growth can boost the employee morale to a great extent. Having 5 days working and giving weekends off can help in enhancing employee interest as well as increasing their productivity. Having a stress environment is important to create a cohesive culture. Conducting weekly group meetings can help in sharing ideas and it can even prove to be a good way in knowing the employees better. It’s highly important to appreciate different views and opinions because it will help in making the employees feel important. Every employee has certain expectations and organization must work towards fulfilling their needs.

A satisfied employee will always try to give his/her best to the organization. If their interests are met well there would be no need to overlook. An organization must win the trust and respect of its employees. A good organization will always be filled with satisfied employees. Employees will never feel burdened if the organization succeeds in creating a healthy and competitive environment. Organizational goals must meet with individual goals for sustained success. An employee is equally responsible for creating a bridge so it’s highly important for an employee also to try and approach the organization in case of any discomfort. A rapporting and harmonious relation with the management will lead to a successful organization.

Team Work: United we stand, divided we fall

Napoleon Hill once correctly said “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” A team can be referred to as a group of people with different skills and different tasks, who work together on a common goal. For success in an organization it’s important to think from teams prospective rather than walking alone and thinking about individual performance. Every employee is dependent on his fellow employees to work together and contribute efficiently to the organization. No employee can work alone; he has to take the help of his colleagues to accomplish the tasks efficiently. It has been observed that the outcome comes out to be far better when employees work in a team rather than individually as every individual can contribute in his best possible way. In organizations, individuals having a similar interest and specializations which come together on a common platform and form a team.

Teamwork is "work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole". Team work lays a strong foundation of an enterprise. If the employees maintain a cohesive environment where in goals of a team are directed towards a common aim the organization is bound to be successful. A team manager must understand the strengths and weaknesses of his/her team correctly. A team leader must delegate the authority to motivate employee morale. Tasks are accomplished at a faster pace when it is done by a team rather than an individual. An individual will definitely take more time to perform if he/she is single handedly responsible for everything. When employees work together, they start helping each other and responsibilities are shared and thus it reduces the work load and work pressure. Every team member is assigned one or the other responsibility according to his specialization, level of interest and thus the output is much more efficient and faster. Work never suffers or takes a backseat in a team.  

Benefits of team work

Teamwork in the workplace offers the company and staff the ability to become more familiar with each other and learn how to work together. There are several ways in which teamwork is important and vital to the success of the company and to the development of each employee. Understanding those important elements will assist in developing company policies geared toward encouraging team growth in the workplace.

• Better Problems solving
• Accomplishment of tasks faster
• Increases Healthy competition
• Develops and Improves Employee Relations
• Desired output as team aimed at single goal
• Increases coordination and mutual understanding
• Creates a cohesive environment
• Work Efficiency
• Increased Accountability
• Learning Opportunities

Cooperating together on various tasks reduces workloads for all employees by enabling them to share responsibilities or ideas. While sharing ideas or responsibilities, every employee should have a role that suits his specialization .A team leader should try to get the best out of each member according to their specialization. Team work is an important part of a working culture. Good team works enhance effective and efficient achievement of an organization's work. The most important thing about team work is that it enables individuals in the team to focus on one main objective. So, every organization should work towards promoting team work for a sustained success.

Autism: Applied Behavior Analysis is bringing hope!

We might have heard of neurological disorders but Autism is rare of a kind. It  is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication and by restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behavior. The symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. It has long been presumed that there is a common cause at the genetic, cognitive, and neural levels for autism's characteristic triad of symptoms.

Autistic individuals display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior.

• Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, head rolling, or body rocking.
• Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
• Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
• Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual.
• Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.
• Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging
• Awkward mannerisms, body language and distinct speech style

Understanding Autism Better

Proper care and correct training at the early age can bring the child out of the shell. Parents play a major role in raising autistic kids. It’s highly important that parents try and understand their feelings correctly and support them in their choices and difficulties. There are trained teachers to handle kids affected by autism. Little bit of fine tuning in the right way, can help special kids perform well even in their academics. Autism kids find it difficult to communicate, or at times express their feelings. They lack social interaction and fail to understand a relationship and any set of rules laid that has to be followed. Such kids, may not be able to follow non-verbal communication ie; facial expressions, sign language etc. They can't be imaginative. Most of their acts will be copied and repetitive. They love objects than people. They may lack grip over an object. Autism kids can feel comfortable with familiar people but not with crowd. Some small steps might make help in handling and understanding such kids:

• Anything you to such kids should be in a simple and sequential order. It has to be really specific and to the point rather than long and detailed.
• Use very simple language while giving instructions and try to keep sentences short and tone should be soft.
• Avoid sarcasm completely because autistic kids take literal meanings of what you say. Give appreciation and keep boosting their morale.
• Any usage of idioms will leave the students perplexed. If they look at you wonderstruck, it clearly shows that they didn't get what you said.
• Giving many choices, will leave the students confused again. Just give few choices and they will be able to decide their activity. Don't ask "what do you want to do?" Instead, give them choices.
• After you give an instruction, asking them what they understood will help you to know their level of understanding.
• Try and set daily routine for such kids for better results.
• Visual displays, photos will prove to be effective.

Applied Behavior Analysis

Applied Behavior Analysis is a new friendly teaching methodology initiated towards correct nurturing of autistic kids. Parents of autistic kids must get aware of these classes and take out time on regular basis to attend classes. ABA as it’s called is known globally for shaping behavior and developing functional skills among autistic children in a scientific and measurable way. In their classes they try to demonstrate to parents how to deal with behavior and how to develop good behavior among children with autism. Autism is showing a significant rise everywhere and modern interventions like Applied Behavior Analysis can be a great ray of hope. Parents have globally accepted this method as a useful way to understand their kids better. In our country (India) government must take steps to increase its reach in remote areas as children in rural areas also deserve to be treated correctly with such advanced methods.

Stress Management: Some Effective ways to manage stress

In today’s world stress has become indispensable part of our lives. Stress due to academic pressure, stress due to fast corporate lives, stress due to bad relationships, some routine household stress etc…Stress can be due to any possible reason. Stress can drain and ruin your life. It’s highly important to work towards living a better and stress free life. Though it may not sound easy but we must try and analyze the reasons for our stress and look for correct ways to deal with it.

To beat the stress levels one must learn to say “NO”. We must know our limits and refuse to accept added responsibilities when it’s not possible for us to carry them well. Try and avoid people who stress you out or else limit the time you spend with them. Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s irritates you switch on the music and take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online. If there are some issues in your life which you feel sensitive about try avoiding conversations related to them. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities and daily routine tasks. Make a list of the work that must be finished and the work that can be lined up. Time management is extremely important to avoid last minute hassles. Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. Come up with your views and concerns keeping them inside will just make things regretful.

Try not being stiff instead try and compromise where it is possible. Adjust your standards. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others,

and learn to be okay with “good enough.”Try and think positive because a positive approach can solve many problems. Learn to forget and forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people can make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on. Set aside relaxation time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. Take out time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries. Talk to your good friends and keep making new friends. Spend time with positive people who enhance your life. A strong support system will buffer you from the negative effects of stress. Do something you enjoy doing every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike. Maintain a healthy lifestyle exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, reduce caffeine and sugar intake, be relaxed and sleep better and avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs .Just by taking some small steps and having a positive approach we can easily beat stress and live a stress free life.