Wear Your Attitude

Wear Your Attitude

We may not be responsible for how others read us. But appearances do matter.

You may have heard about the person who appeared for an interview via video conference suitably attired, in a smart jacket and tie that looked perfect on screen. It’s a good thing he wasn’t asked to stand — because he was wearing shorts!

I’m told that interviewers sometimes ask candidates to get up and fetch something just so they can check that they are dressed (what’s considered) right, from top to toe!

May be this is just the stuff of modern recruitment legend, but it points to something important. Dressing carefully for an interview says something about how we regard the job, and how seriously we take the interaction itself.

We dress in certain ways for specific occasions, and, over time, develop a sense of what is appropriate or suitable for different contexts — work, play, partying, cultural events, and so on. These days, of course, there is much more flexibility in attire and a greater acceptance of diverse clothing styles; but within the corporate and business world there are still norms of attire that one might be expected to follow.

Still, I certainly don’t subscribe fully to the idea that “clothes make the person.” Clothing is only one of the many norms and expectations that govern social life, and only one of several things that people use to make judgments — often wrongly — about who we are and how (and what) we think.

Impressions

There are hundreds of other signals we send out — intentionally and unintentionally — that work to build that impression. Sociologists and psychologists have studied what is called “the presentation of the self” in everyday life, and I am not about to go into a detailed academic discussion on that here. I’m also not advocating that we get into full-fledged impression management.

But it may be useful for us to pause and think about how we might be coming across to others and the consequences (for ourselves) of creating a certain impression, because sometimes the attitudes we wear (beyond the clothes) can have subtle effects on our immediate environment — group of friends, study group, class.

This becomes clearer when you think about how you are affected by others in your peer group — those who come late, those who constantly interrupt, shift in their chairs, fall asleep or fidget with their phones, who chatter with each other or share personal jokes while the class is in session… you get the picture. Now, to be fair, none of these may be done with an intent to communicate a lack of interest in the class or to suggest disrespect.

But too often, that is how these behaviors are read, not only by the rest of the peer group, but also by the instructor or facilitator. At minimum, these behaviors are minor and temporary distractions for all those concerned. But when repeated over time, they can have one of two effects: we get used to them and write them off as chronic and unimportant, or two, they can spread like a meme to the rest of the group and even demotivate the teacher and, by extension, everyone else.

However much we may subscribe to the idea that outward appearances are not important, we can’t get away from the fact that we do operate on the basis of those appearances.

So, there’s something to be said for the visible attitude one should wear to class, or to work. Being on time, sitting up straight (or at least not lounging), visibly paying attention to others when they are speaking, putting your cellphone away or face down, having a notebook and pen handy… these are the some of the ways in which an attitude of interest is displayed. And believe me, an attitude of interest can be infectious.

For sure, we can’t be completely responsible for how others read us. But we do know how we read others, and a simple exercise in reflection can give us clues about how our “performed” attitudes might affect other people.

The author teaches at the University of Hyderabad and edits Teacher Plus.

usha.bpgll@gmail.com

Usha Raman 

Thanks to : THE HINDU – 02.04.2017

When you need help?

When you need help?

A myriad options are now available to deal with depression

Do you feel so stressed about your exam results that you can’t focus in class? So upset about a bad breakup that you don’t feel like getting out of bed? If something is bothering you that is impacting your ability to carry out everyday activities, you might need to visit a mental health professional.

Today, most major hospitals and several academic institutes have psychologists or psychiatrists. These professionals are trained to help you manage a myriad of problems — anxiety, depression, even the nameless feeling of dread that is caught in your chest.

Here are some things you should know before meeting a mental health professional.

Your problems are real and they matter. Being unable to overcome negative thoughts does not make you weak. Recognising that you need help and going out to get it takes a lot of courage.

Seeking help is not a big deal. You meet someone, explain what is troubling you and they listen and help you find a solution. Sometimes, the troubles, like a skin problem, can take time to go away, so you might have to meet with the professional on a regular basis until it resolves.

No one is judging you. The idea of meeting a professional can be scary or even embarrassing. This is a complete stranger with whom you will be sharing intimate details of your life, some of which you might have never admitted out loud before. It’s important to remember that this is their job. They meet people like you every day and are not going to judge you. They are interested in helping you feel better and will keep your conversation confidential.

Make sure you are comfortable. If, at the end of the first couple of meetings, you don’t feel comfortable with the therapist, there is nothing wrong with going to meet another one instead. It is the same as meeting other doctors for second opinion if you are not satisfied with the first.

Evaluate options

Be aware of your options. Psychiatrists, who are medical doctors with a specialisation in psychiatry, can prescribe medication. Psychologists cannot do this, but use counselling techniques called “talk therapies”, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The two professionals routinely work together. So if you visit a psychiatrist and are uncomfortable with taking medication, discuss the possibility of counselling instead. Similarly, if you visit a psychologist and feel you would like to explore medicative options, let them know.

Both methods have their pros and cons. Counselling is not an overnight solution and can take time to show its effect, but is a good option for people who do not want or require medication. Medication is a good option if you feel you are in dire straits, and is most effective when combined with counselling rather than as a standalone treatment. If you are prescribed medication, be sure to ask about the dosage and the side effects.

Have a support system in place: This could be anyone who you feel you can trust and confide in. Take them along as moral support for your first visit to the psychiatrist or psychologist. If you feel hesitant to talk to your parents, go with a friend until you feel more ready to open up. However, if you are prescribed medication, it is important to tell your parents about this as it becomes part of your medical history.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Krithvi Shyam------- 

The author is a psychologist and management consultant. 

Email: krithvis@gmail.com

Thanks to : THE HINDU - 05.03.2017

Expand your horizons

Expand your horizons

Learning on the fly is increasingly gaining popularity

“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit,” said NASA astronaut Frank Borman. Gone are the days when youngsters were forced to apply themselves only to blackboard-and-chalk teaching techniques. In a technologically-advanced era where Skype classes and smartphone-notes rule the roost, the concepts of education and learning have undergone a sea-change — show and tell — travelling to destinations related to the curriculum to see and learn, have become popular trends in education.

It is perhaps after identifying this trait that Thomas Cook decided to collaborate with schools and colleges and cash in on the opportunity to popularise experiential learning or education through travel.

Experiential

Abraham Alapatt, President and group head, Thomas Cook, elaborates on what made him and his team delve into planning and curating such tours: “We examined institutions in terms of what constituted an international model — apart from their syllabus — and realised it was the spotlight on practical training,” he explains. “While the emphasis in traditional schools was theoretical information, international curriculum, especially the American school system, focussed on non-classroom, practical development which often meant it was about real-life projects and experiences. There was a clear demand from these schools for a partner that could effectively create such trips for them and that’s why we decided to explore education tours,” adds Mr. Alapatt.

And the response has been enthusiastic. In the last two years, more than 1,000 students have travelled to the USA, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, the U.K, China and have benefitted by participating in programmes of NASA, visiting Harvard and MIT, doing a certification workshop in Chinese paintings, nitrogen workshops, attending Kung-fu workshops in a Shaolin temple, visiting the Volkswagon factory to witness how production management happens, going on a war trail of WW II to understand the role of Indian soldiers, visiting the U.N headquarters, architectural tours to Putrajeya, to name a few. “The clientele varies from IITs and IIMs to top schools across the country. This is not just a big-metro school phenomenon but often, a tier-2 and tier-3 phenomenon where students are hungry for such exposure,” explains Mr. Alapatt.

While students naturally respond with verve to such tours as they break the monotony of classroom teaching, teachers are duty-bound and time-bound to complete the syllabus. Thus, the question inevitably arises on how the teaching fraternity reacts to such forms of learning. Mr. Alapatt is quick to add, “Some teachers have been niggling in their enthusiasm until they went on a trip, while others have been passionate at this prospect and have driven the agenda within their schools. Teachers have realised that learning is more about personality development and not merely about learning by rote.”

For teachers too

Sheelan Misra, Head of Dept of Management Studies, New Horizon College of Engineering, Bengaluru, admits that the college has been organising such tours for their MBA and engineering students for four years now. “We want to expose students to foreign universities, help them get a feel of how a foreign economy operates, and a country’s business functions. In the last few years, they have travelled to Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and more. These tours help students widen their horizons and compete in a highly global world,” he adds.

Dr. Avinash, from School of Management Studies, Varanasi, believes that such trips help teachers too. “Our university has MoUs with universities in the U.S, South America and Europe. One of the key highlights is that they involve both student and faculty exchange,” he explains while stating that because of the faculty exchange, teachers have an opportunity to observe foreign teaching practices and tweak their pedagogy. He also points out how most foreign universities have various industries associated with them. “Traditional methods of teaching are no longer in use and it is through such travel jaunts that adequate, hands-on learning take place,” adds Dr. Avinash.

Vikram Bajaj, vice chairperson, RNB University, believes that such tours are instrumental to learning. He explained how students visited Dubai’s Port Khalifa and interacted with the officials to understand the port operations. “The trips were planned by students after collaborating with travel agents,” he explains.

Besides standard tour packages depending on the class, syllabus and so on, Thomas Cook offers tailor-made packages based on the syllabus that is being taught and the kind of skills teachers want to inculcate in their students. “Depending on what they want, we offer history, culture, language tours and more, after curating them to suit the specific requirements of each institution,” says Mr. Alapatt.

Madhuvanti S. Krishnan 

Thanks to : THE HINDU - 05.03.2017

Your future is in the present

Your future is in the present

Every situation is a learning experience in the journey of life.

This week’s sharing is inspired by a comic strip, which captures the way we think, with a powerful set of images. The strip shows a man digging huge pits around his house, beginning when the sun rises and toiling till the sun sets. The narrative goes on to show a neighbour across the fence asking the man if he has found his pot of gold. He replies in the negative and goes back into the house. We are told that the same story has been repeating itself for decades. The last strip is of the man sleeping, and under his bed, is an image of a chipped pot filled to the brim with gold coins! What better visual metaphor to show us how we might be missing the treasure right within our reach, while under the illusion that opportunities lie elsewhere.

All of us, in some manner, have been in or are currently in similar situations. Many years ago, I had the privilege of interacting with Sonia (name changed), a high school student who was going through a difficult period. Having had to move to a new school coupled with not getting the course of her choice, was making her rebel and challenge the authority of the school in many ways. She was so caught up in what she felt she had lost outside that it had blinded her from seeing all the potential in her current environment. With the help of her teachers and classmates, Sonia learnt to use the resources in school to complete her study with a grade that secured her a place in the course of her choice. She also found that wonderful network of friends who helped her through her journey.

One of the most inspiring stories of someone who found strength in his adversity is Nelson Mandela. For almost three decades, his life was spent in prison and many of those periods involved solitary confinement. What he found within those prison walls was the ability to tap into the rich reservoir of inner strength that gave him true strength, dignity and reliance to steer South Africa towards freedom from Apartheid. Instead of allowing himself to descend into bitterness and hate, Mandela used the confinement to find the treasures within him, a journey that would help him in his role as a peacemaker.

Challenging situation

The ability to see the gifts that are presented to us in any situation we are in, is definitely empowering. If you are currently in a job or course of study that you do not like, then use it as an opportunity to completely accept the situation. When we stop fighting against it, then we are able to see clearly the course of action we need to take. Else we will be always taking the next course of action feeling that everything will be better out there, and find ourselves repeating the same pattern. The situations that we are not comfortable with are a perfect opportunity for us to honestly look within ourselves and assess our own strengths and challenges.

The land of opportunity is wherever you are, at present. Every situation is a learning lesson in the curriculum of your life. The treasure you are searching for is perhaps closer than you can perceive! As a wise man once said, the grass is always greener on the other side, but watch out, it maybe fake!

Enjoy your journey!

If this story speaks to you, do share your thoughts at: lifeplus590@gmail.com

Anuradha Shyam, UPDATED: FEBRUARY 05, 2017 

Thanks to : THE HINDU

In a league of his own

In a league of his own

Winner of the Infosys Prize 2016 and one of the youngest Ph.D holders in the world, Akshay Venkatesh talks about the Queen of mathematics — number theory.

Professor Akshay Venkatesh was born in Delhi and brought up in Perth. He was 12 when he won medals in International Olympiads in mathematics and physics. He entered the University of Western Australia at 13 and graduated with honours at 16 as the best graduating student. At 17, he started his doctoral work and received his Ph.D. at 21. He is currently teaching at Stanford. Excerpts from an interview.

When did you decide that you wanted to be a mathematician?

I have been interested in mathematics for as long as I can remember. There are plenty of subjects that use a lot of maths. In university,

I enrolled in a course that included physics and electrical engineering. I decided that I wanted to be a professional mathematician towards the end of my undergraduation.

How did you feel being one of the youngest Ph.D holders in the world?

I wasn’t sure while going into my Ph.D. that I would be able to find a job as a mathematician. One thing that I liked about doing it at a young age is that I felt I had time to give it a go and then do something else if it didn’t work out. As it turned out, things worked out for me which was comforting.

Your interest area — Number theory — is called the “Queen of Mathematics”. Please elaborate on your research.

A typical question is whether one can solve such-and-such an equation, with all the unknowns being whole numbers. These questions are easy to state and often impossible to solve.

The most interesting ones are connected to many other parts of mathematics, and that’s what makes them fun — you end up using geometry, calculus, and symmetry — everything in the book.

How do you make maths interesting to students?

A lot of mathematics is taught after being stripped out of its original context. Many mathematical ideas were motivated by problems or ideas that arose in other sciences. I have always found that learning about this broader context makes the maths much more appealing and relevant.

Having received various awards and fellowships, how do you feel being the recipient of Infosys Prize 2016?

It is a pleasure to be recognised by the Infosys Science Foundation. I am familiar with the work of several previous winners of Infosys Prize and it is an honour to join the league.

Supraja Prasad  

Thanks to : The Hindu, - 29.01.2017

Sound of silence

Positive peer group activity can help create spaces of harmony to bring out one’s true potential.

Recently, it was a privilege to be part an event that demonstrated the power of positive peer pressure and silence. Every adult who attended the event, whether as a parent or teacher, expressed surprise at the outcome. It was a hall filled with 120 students (between 11 and 15 years of age), armed with books and blankets, reading in complete silence. We have heard ourselves echo the thoughts that this generation is a distracted one, lack attention and are restless. The event shed some light on how that belief is perhaps just a symptom of the way we create systems that distract.

The event was called a Read-a-thon, and the idea behind this was to read 100 minutes in complete silence, as a community, for a selected charity. The event was beautifully organised in a way that students read in two blocks of 45 minutes each and another block of 20 minutes.

After every session, they were given five minutes for a snack and restroom break. Initially, I met this idea with much scepticism. How was it even possible to convince a group of students to read in silence? What transpired was like hearing the most exquisite symphony of silence. After the first ten minutes of excitement at the event, and the initial restlessness, students dropped into a natural rhythm. They were completely immersed in their books and expressed surprise that the first session had finished fast. In fact, the adults who participated in the event found it difficult to read and said they were tempted to keep checking their phone for WhatsApp messages.

In my limited perspective, I feel that it worked because it gave students an individual choice (they brought their favourite book) while working as a community. At a community level, it was bringing students to do something together not in a spirit of competition, but for donating to charity. Third, and most importantly, we all have the capacity to tap that silence within us so that we can give complete attention to what we are doing at the moment. The positive peer group activity zeroed in on bringing out that potential in ourselves and the students. It also made one reflect the various ways in which we create systems to increase distractions.

Do we ever allow our students to go deeply into something they find interesting? Look at the way we set up the timetable. We expect our students to switch attention from one subject to another with a speed and anxiety that never allows them to explore anything in-depth. If gadgets are causing distractions at home or the workplace, we need to take some responsibility. We brought the gadgets into the environment and we too are modelling behaviours of inappropriate gadget usage. In many ways, children are just a reflection of our own patterns!

In our homes, schools and workplaces, how do we incorporate this silence, attention and joy in being with what is? Perhaps, if we not only see, but experience that power of silence ourselves, we can work towards creating spaces of harmony and true joy. Enjoy your own journey!

If this article spoke to you, do write into: lifeplus590@gmail.com. If any of your schools or workplaces have experienced something similar, do share your stories.

Anuradha Shyam

Thanks to : The Hindu, 22.01.2017

New Era of Nano Technology - Dr. A.B.J. Abdul Kalam

New Era of Nano Technology

Biotechnology has seen tremendous changes through Information Technology.  In the field of Medicine, Science and Physics Nano-Technology has brought in a new era.

The science of Nano-Technology has initiated great expectations to achieve something immense, with minute complications.  This new technology has shown a way to men to lead a life without diseases. The modern biotechnology has uncovered techniques to conduct innumerable researches.

Both Chemistry and Physics hold a significant place in Atomic researches.  Likewise, researches in the field of science, particularly in Biotechnology have progressed in the venture of adhering Nano atoms together.  There are new  discoveries in the Department of Genetics, at the International Biomedical Science and Technological Center at Chennai

To prevent neurological and heart problems of the foetus,  the center at Chennai has discovered a new technological device to insert genetic products into the womb of the mother.  Importance and preference must be given to researches that would prevent diseases that  attack men.

The New National Research Center has to offer recommendations for  researches    in the fields like Plants and Agriculture, Science, Medicine and related diseases, Biomolecular medicine, and Environmental Biotechnology. They have to go for an MoU with both National and International Organizations to undertake researches. Nano-Technology techniques are used in the treatment of Parkinson�s disease.

The National Brain Research Center should form a Committee of Research Experts in Science and conduct cooperative activities with Penn State University in America.  India produces 12% cotton of the World Market.  However, the Agriculturists of India do not cultivate more cotton.  Researchers of Plant Gene have a plan to find a long lasting cotton variety.  Because of this, the economical status of the Agriculturists will raise.  The Environmental Biotechnologists have expressed concern about the Methane gas emitted at the Global level. To use it constructively, researches are essential.

My Best Wishes to all of you.

Dr. A.B.J.Abdul Kalam 

Thanks to Thinamalar (Kalvimalar)