Current Affairs Essays

The status enjoyed by its general masses in general and the citizens, shape the structure of a society, in particular. A citizen is, in contradistinction to the nationals, the one who enjoys all the political rights apart from other forms of rights namely civil and legal rights guaranteed by state so the status of citizens of a country is to be analyzed. Not only from the socio-economic aspect of the country but also from the political structure of the state and the nature of political rights guaranteed to the citizens by the state. For instance, the status of citizens under an authoritarian regime can't be treated at par with the status of citizens of state having democratic set-up, though they are economically well off In modern context, the status of citizens of a state is determined by many factors. One of the major determinants of it is the economic prosperity of the country. Here the concept of economic development comes into picture, as it is the measuring road of economic prosperity of a country. Economic development, in contradiction with economic growth, takes into consideration the quality of life in towns of economic prosperity enjoyed by the citizens within the boundary of a state. Different writers adopted different techniques for measuring the economic development of a country. Some of them takes into consideration the real per capita income of the citizens of the country whereas some others takes into consideration the indices like average life span of the citizens, literacy rate, percentage of employed citizens, sex rate, birth mortality rate, contribution of women section in the economic growth etc. Some western thinkers like Keynes, Everett. Rogers, Smith, Andre Gender Frank interrupted the concept of economic development from the western societal perspective in which the developing countries are compared with the 'blue print' of western developed economy. But Indian economists like Arbind Singal spun that the contemporary theoretical approaches to development are; (a)    pluralistic recognizing of many path ways to development and (b)    less western in their cultural assumptions. Most of the indicators of economic development mentioned above are generally accepted as major determinants or measuring rods of a country's economic development. Again there is still a confusion, as the reliability of these techniques can't give a true picture of the states, of citizens, of a country like India where variation of coming capacity of poor income group and higher income group is huge in nature. The social stratification in India is highly diversified, there are millions of people who spend their life in streets whereas there are again thousands who carries the amount earned by 100 persons, in one day only. The social inequality raises its ugly had without being checked in Indian society. Another major determinant of status of the citizens of a state is the social values hold by the guard masses of the country. A society, which holds two contradictory social values by the members of the society, is often in the stage of developing society. Consequently, the more...

The issue of brand failures has caught the fancy of both corporate sector as well as academia. In this whole debate of the diminishing value of branding, it is the FMCG industry that has hogged the maximum 'share of noise'. Hence, we shall be focusing on this sector in this essay. Sneaking a glimpse of the performance of some FMCG companies, Anchor toothpaste grew at the rate of21.4% and Haldiram grew at a whopping 26% in 2002. So, there have been impressive performances by some of the brands in these troubled times. To say that the whole exercise of branding has been rendered futile in the Indian market is not correct. We can, at the maximum, say that the ongoing brand war has churned the market shares, but it still remains a war of branding (the key word is branding). At the same time, a purist would hardly reckon these 'new kids on the block' as brands and would relegate them to the category of clones or generics. But let us not rush into things. Let us start by asking the question - what went wrong with the established brands? The whole debate about the utility/futility of branding was sparked off when many established brands lost their market shares to new brands that were priced aggressively. Marketers asked whether the power of brands to generate higher premium and brand loyalty had diminished. To provide answers to these questions, we made a framework called Consumer Migration Framework. In the framework, while a value-seeking consumer buys products targeted at his segment, the frugal and the aspirational consumers tend to buy products targeted at segments below and above their income groups respectively. However, a value-seeking buyer can also migrate up or down if he finds that there is no brand that provides the value proposition that he is demanding. Looking at the product offerings of the Indian FMCG industry before the silent revolution happened, it was not that the products did not exist for different income groups. However, the middle- tier products were not quite successfully branded. This led to the brand-product-brand paradox where larger brands existed at the extremes and lesser brands (products) occupied the middle position. A plausible reason why this happened was the conspicuous absence to a very large extent of bigger FMCG players in the middle section, probably due to the fear of the cannibalisation of their high-end, more profitable brands. As a result of this paradox, the customers belonging to the middle- income groups (value seeking customers as well) migrated to both ends, as the projected value of these products did not quite match their expectations. Subsequently, the bigger brands at the extremes started treating these value-seekers belonging to the middle tier as their target customers without considering the fact that they were buying out of compulsion rather than choice. This also presented a tremendous opportunity for any company that could successfully create brands in the middle-tier. Not only would the value-seeking customers belonging to this tier come more...

Woman in India has totally changed her image now. She is no more just a housewife now. She is working in every field now. She is a doctor, engineer, pilot, astronaut and what not. Few years back, it was almost impossible to think of such a big change in the image of Indian women. Earlier women were treated no more than a doormat. There were so many restrictions that she had to keep her desires and ambitions inside her heart only. She was not even allowed to study and so the illiteracy rate of women was much higher than the men. She didn't have any identity of herself. She was called just a daughter, wife, sister and mother of so and so. Moreover, there were so many social evils like Dowry that hampered the growth of women as an individual. For several years, a woman was in this sorry condition only. Then as the time changed the women also tried to fight for their identity. Now a time has come that Indian woman is walking along with the man. Both are treated on similar parameters. Today's woman is literate and rational. She knows where she is leading. She is not just career-oriented but fully aware of her family responsibilities also. Indian women have strived hard to gain their individuality. Even now they have to survive in the male-dominating world. But with the weapon of education she is all set to make her mark. Today Indian woman is found in every job be it an ordinary office assistance or a sophisticated director of a Multinational Company. There are so many career options available to her. She can choose any of those according to her eligibility and efficiency. She is no less than a man now. We are aware of many exemplary Indian women who made marks in their careers like Indira Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Mahadevi Verma, Kalpana Chawla etc. These ladies have proved that a woman can achieve success in any career or any field if she is having full determination towards her goal. These days Indian women have become much more conscious about their careers. They slog hard to reach their aims. Indian women have proved that they are successful in every field

Sex is one of the most heated issues in our society today. Obviously sex has always been here, but in the past people were at least a little more discreet and respectful, and it was much more common for sex to be honoured in marriages only. Now, sex education is taught to junior high school students, teachers are giving out condoms, and sex is so far from being sacred that it's sad. How did it go from sex representing a bond of love between man and wife, to multiple sex partners, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancies that are usually unwanted? Who or what is to blame for the obvious decline in our values? Before fingers are pointed, take a look at a few problems we are having today. There is a lack of communication between parents and children, the media is infested with sex, broadcasting it on television and theatres, and even on radios to audiences of all ages, and the thought of any principles being displayed in anyone's daily life seems ancient. Everyday new commercials are aired desperately encouraging parents to discuss with their children what is going on in their lives. Most teens faced with the overwhelming decision of sex are unaware of all the consequences it can bring. Perhaps the teachers skim over the 'ugly part' of sex, which usually includes the physical diseases and pregnancies, but parents need to re- emphasize these problems and warn their children of the emotional pain that can come with having sex before total commitment, love and trust in the relationship. Some parents would argue that they do know what is going on in their kid's lives and that they can learn for themselves about sex. I disagree. Too many times parents assume that their children are doing well without their help, and never even ask about how things are going. Sex is openly discussed just about everywhere, except for the one place it needs to be — in the home. A parent should be the first place a child can come to just to talk about anything in their lives. Another reason sex is so popular these days is because it is publicized everywhere, I see it on television and theatres, hear it in the music, and eventually end up excited about the idea just like everyone else. There is nothing wrong about being excited, but sex is shamelessly overrated, and as it is, it's sending out confusing messages to children who should not even have to deal with such decisions so early in life. Our society portrays sex carelessly, implying that because it is everywhere, it's acceptable and then they expect everyone to think for him or herself. That's impossible when some of these kids are young, and still depend on their parents for lunch, money and rides to school. Another good myth is that if it feels good then it's okay to go ahead and have sex. The truth is usually it does feel good, but that doesn't more...

Since the effects of the media increased over people, the aim of the media has gone into an alteration. The morals of the media changed and a huge conflict became into existence between the morals in past and now. As all over the world in Turkey, ethics of the media changed after the media bosses have caught it. Media must be objective, impartial and balanced, but because of the media bosses, it changed its ethics. The first purpose of media must be objectivity, but media is rarely objective while reporting or researching for information. Media's objectivity is filtered and censored by the media owners, advertisers, newsmakers, news shapers, and the pressure groups. All of the affect media while its doing its job. Media's job is to inform. Because of the filters of media, it usually uses for propaganda, having profit and power. Many people think media is the most powerful means for propaganda. The bosses, who have newspapers and television channels, use them for their propaganda. Moreover, this propaganda works very well because they have power over the people and having amounts of profit owing to media. Media is mass communication, a connection all over the world that informs, entertains and influences people. It is powerful because most people talk about what they see on the news. Therefore, we can easily say, media primarily control people's opinion and beliefs. Due to this, media must do its job impartially. In addition to this, the basic criteria of the media would be always say truth. On the other hand, the anxiety of rating and getting power entails media taking sides. It would seem that the media is using for propaganda and laissez-faire, besides both of them obtains to control the people, and control means power. This control over the people does not look down on because this control orientates the people as the media barons wishes. Media must obtain the balance between the truth and the knowledge. In recent times, if people start casting opinions by following one media source, they would be deficient in the other side of the truth. Different reporters have different opinions. Besides, same knowledge could be different in two different news sources. So, if the media cannot balanced the truth and knowledge, every people would have different thought about same think, and most of these thought would be same with the reporters who informed the knowledge. As a conclusion, world is controlled for the most part by the media. People's opinions shaped with what they heard, or what they read. Media has an important part in society. Because of this, purpose of media must be objectivity, impartiality, and balanced between truth and knowledge.  

Dolly was a sheep that was the first living clone in its time, not a country music star from Tennessee. This was a magnificent feat but what did it mean? To some it meant a world of possibility, to others it meant havoc. Who is right? Who is wrong? These questions are unanswerable which results in a never-ending controversy. This controversy over the benefits and dangers of genetic engineering in humans, animals and plants will live on forever. There are many benefits of genetic engineering. At the fore front of these benefits is preventing and curing illnesses. Imagine beating chronic, fatal diseases before they strike. Think of the lives, money, suffering and effort that could be saved if doctors could identify individuals that are genetically stricken with heart disease, cancer and many other diseases. Take cancer for example. Scientists are working on a way to alter the processes of the body's own immune system so that white T-Cells will attack cancerous tumours. The T- Cells will be biologically altered and engineered to perform a specific function unlike current T- Cells who don't have a specific antagonist to fight against. If research is funded well enough so that it can continue, society will see an incurable disease such as cancer disappear like a rabbit in a hat. Other diseases that are known to be passed on genetically can also be cured using gene therapy. A gene therapist could go into the embryo and find the mutated gene that causes heart disease or high cholesterol and replace or extract the defective gene. This conception of prenatal gene therapy is derived from the idea that a doctor would be able to test an unborn baby for defects. Many people argue that the prenatal testing can be harmful due to social and medical implications. These implications include malpractice and increased stress on the mother of the baby. Clearly, much controversy exists over prenatal gene therapy. Medically, there are many barriers to break, but agriculturally there are few. Many of the foods we eat today are biologically produced. Apples and oranges are biotechnologically altered so that they are bigger and better. Bio-technicians are also producing micro-organisms that prey on crop ruining bacteria and the like. There have even been experiments with farm animals that result in bountiful production of pork, beef and poultry therefore boosting the economy as a result of more agricultural profits. In 1987 a gene therapist began altering the hormones of pigs. The geneticist implanted a human growth hormone into the pig, which in turn increased the amount of lean pork, the weight of the pig, and unfortunately the size of the pig's heart. Although the pigs had giant enlarged hearts, the breeding of the pigs continues. This is not to say that the agricultural industry is booming with the recent production of' super livestock and crops'. Inversely, many people disagree with either some forms of genetherapy or all of gene therapy. Gene therapy is very risky and may cause more harm more...

There are several clear indicators of the fact that Indian women continue to be discriminated against: the sex ratio  is skewed against them; maternal mortality is the second- highest in the world; more than 40 percent of women are illiterate; and crimes against women are on -the rise. Yet, the women's movement, which gathered strength after the 1970s, has led to progressive legislation and positive change, spurred on by the participation of women in local self- government. It is a paradox of modern India that women wield power and hold positions at the topmost levels, yet large sections of women are among the most underprivileged. Some women from the upper classes head political parties and command large followings, yet women's representation in the Parliament and state legislatures has not been more than 10 percent. The roots of discrimination against women lie in the religious and cultural practices of India. The beginning of changes started with the reform movements in the nineteenth century which addressed practices like sati, child marriage, life of the widows, etc. The status of women in the contemporary context is reflected in the state of their health, education, employment and life in society The Indian women's movement started with addressing the problems that women faced, like violence, property rights, legal status, political participation, and the rights of minority women. Today, Indian women have won several victories against an oppressive way of life and are poised to raise pertinent questions that will make their lives more emancipating. Women played a major role in the struggle for freedom from colonial rule. In 1917, the first women's delegation met the Secretary of State to demand women's political rights. The Indian National Congress supported the demand. In 1949 independent India gave them their due by enshrining in the Constitution the right of equality for women. Indian women have participated in large numbers ill people's movements including those for land rights, environment, anti-price rise and anti-liquor agitations. The clearest indicator of discrimination against Indian women is the skewed sex ratio. There were only 927 females per 1000 males in India (the world average is 990 women per 1000 men), according to the 1991 Census. Provisional figures for Census 2001 indicate that the trend has been slightly arrested, with the sex ratio at 933 females per 1000 males, with Kerela at 1058 females. Poverty, early marriage, malnutrition and lack of health care during pregnancy are the major reasons for both maternal and infant mortality. In rural India almost 60 percent of girls are married before they are 18. Nearly 60 percent of married girls bear children before they are 19. Almost one third of all babies are born with low birth weight. Poverty and lack of awareness also hinder mothers from giving adequate care for their children. For instance, although diarrhoea is the second largest killer of babies, only 43 percent of mothers know about ORS and only 26 percent report ever having used it. Similarly, only one-third of children are fed complementary more...

In a world of light-speed data transmission, any individual with little training and expertise can make a fortune from the Internet. Many companies, like E-bay or Amazon.com, thrive from business done only through Internet transactions. As computer technology progresses, data transmission becomes faster, and as high level encryption becomes available for public use, the amount of internet consumers also grows. Technology advances also allow employees to work from home faster and safer. A manager's first challenge is to create a presence on the web. With a phone line, computer, and Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) authoring tools, a business can advertise or do business over the Internet. HTML authoring tools can be "freeware, like Sausage Software's Hot Dog, or advanced and expensive utilities like Microsoft Front Page. Any computer user familiar with a word processor can effectively use these applications with minimal training. Putting the HTML and graphic files on an Internet service provider's (ISP) servers is sufficient for relatively low traffic sites. Some online businesses, like Amazon.com, handle hundreds of thousands of people, or hits, everyday. They require specialized hardware and cabling to control the vast amount of traffic on their site per day. A manager's second challenge is to make the business's web site visible on the Internet. The first step in this process would be registering a domain name. Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique number attached to it called an IP address. To simplify finding specific computers on the 'Net, the numbers were substituted with alias called domain names. The names come in two levels, before and after the dot. Network Solutions Inc. is the official registrar of domain names. Individuals in the past have registered company names, like Coca-Cola, to themselves and then sold the domain license to the company for thousands of dollars. There are currently more than four million domain names registered with Network Solutions. Domain name registration is not required but makes your site much easier to find. Another way to make your site visible is to register certain keywords with the most popular search engines like Yahoo! And Alta Vista. Keywords are a small number of words that describe your site and business. These are the words web surfers will most likely type in to find your page. Advertising on other's sites is also an effective method of promoting our site. The manager's third and most difficult task will be to make the web site useful, easy to use, and quick to load. An example of a great web site is the book sales site run by Amazon.com. The site doesn't contain any complex graphics and loads quickly. If the webmaster can hold his breath while the page is loading, it is considered a quickly loading page. The order and search system is easy and quick to use. The user can easily find and interpret any relevant data. In contrast, Microsoft's corporate site is a terrible example of what a company's web site should look like. The page more...

I believe that, after year 6, school should NOT be compulsory. By the time you have completed your primary education, you have learned the basic skills needed to get through life. High school is simply an extension of the basic skills learned in the primary school system, and is unneeded unless you pursue your education to a very high degree. It is not the government's decision whether or not you should have to attend high school. It should be the individual's choice, and forced on no one, because by the time you have completed your primary education, you are old enough to make this decision. In high school, there are more troublemakers who only disrupt the classes because they do not want to be there. These people disrupt the class and make it more difficult for those who are interested in the subject and want to learn. If school were optional, these students would not be in classes disrupting the class and ruining the chances of other students. Instead, they could be out in the workforce making money and beginning their careers earlier, giving them more experience in the workforce and making it easier for them to rise up to a position of responsibility. If school were optional, it would benefit both the students that want to learn and those that do not, and would rather be in the workforce. All people do not need the sort of education that is offered in the high school system,. After primary school, students have learned the basic skills required to work in an untrained profession and do not need the more advanced education that high school offers. Sons or daughters often carry on the family business, and after completing their primary education, any further, more advanced education is unnecessary, because they can learn all they need to know? about their future profession from their father/mother. I believe that secondary education should be the individual's choice. It is unfair to force all young people (sometimes unnecessarily) to attend school when it may be the student's choice to enter the workforce. Just because some students want to complete their secondary education doesn't mean that all students do, and it is unfair to presume so.

India has been chosen not merely for the size and diversity of its population and the richness of its culture, but also because almost all of the themes that have been taken up in the general debates about Western science can be found there. Indeed, it could be argued that India's struggle for independence was, to a greater extent than elsewhere, also a struggle for the resurrection of Indian civilisation. At the very least, it can be said that traditional techniques and non-Western beliefs and customs were mobilized in the political struggle more explicitly than elsewhere. Under the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi the peoples of the Indian subcontinent were encouraged to revive traditional technical practices and even managed to put aside, for a time, some of their religious antagonisms in order to achieve national independence. Gandhi, of course, was Western-trained and learned about Western philosophy and Western science while studying law in Britain. Perhaps most important for our purposes here is that Gandhi became acquainted with Western traditions of cultural criticism, associated with such names as Ruskin, Tolstoy, and Thoreau. The 'experiments with truth' that made up Gandhi's life were, in large measure, a conscious effort to combine these critical Western ideas with a very personal interpretation of Hindu belief. Gandhi embodied an alternative science and technology in his own person, but he was not particularly successful in writing about it or in institutionalising it. He has served, in post-independence India, as both a legend and personal model; and, as we shall see, his inspiration can be seen in a number of alternative activities in India today. Gandhi was not alone in his attempts to develop alternative approaches to science and technology in colonial India, although it was his vision that has perhaps been most influential. Today, with the renewed interest in cultural visions, one has to be aware that commitment to traditions, too, can objectify by drawing a line between a culture and those who live by that culture, by setting up some as the true interpreters of a culture and the others as falsifiers, and by trying to defend the core ofa culture from its periphery. Gandhi's critique of Western science was fundamental and comprehensive. He rejected Western science in terms of all three of our dimensions, recombining the romantic or poetic critique of secularisation with critiques of the institutionalised elitism and the 'technicist' orientation of Western science. It was the lack of morality, the lack of idealism of Western civilisation that Gandhi objected to; and Western science was, for him, a central part of that immoral value system. The double nature of Gandhi's critique is important in understanding the subsequent Indian discourse(s) on Western and non-Western science. Unlike the Marxist or positivist leaders of most other independence movements in non-Western societies, Gandhi sought to develop an alternative way of life in which traditional techniques and non-Western beliefs had a central place. His critique of Western civilisation was thus not merely a critique of its immorality, but also more...