My Science School

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant school closure have affected students in a number of ways. Having been confined to their homes for over a year with no social interaction, reduced physical activity and attending online classes, many students have reported several health issues, from eye strain due to prolonged screen time to anxiety and depression. Keeping these in mind, the CBSE recently launched "CBSE Dost for life", a counselling app to improve the psycho-social well-being of students during the pandemic.

The CBSE began its annual counselling programme through this app on May 10. Earlier, the board was offering counselling to students through a toll-free number.

For older children

The counselling app has been designed to help students of Classes IX to XII of CBSE affiliated schools to deal with depression, anxiety, and more. The CBSE conducts live counselling sessions free of cost for students through the app. The app also provides expert advice, suggestive course guide, tips on mental well-being and information on COVID-19 protocols. The app also addresses issues such as Internet addiction disorder, exam anxiety, and specific learning disability.

Thrice a week

These sessions are held thrice a week - on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by trained counsellors/principals. There are over 80 volunteers, most of whom are from India and the rest from the U.S., UAE, Nepal, Kuwait, and Japan.

The sessions can be accessed by students and parents of CBSE-affiliated schools around the world. They can choose any of the two slots - 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. or 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. - and connect through a chatbox.

Downloadable

The mobile app can be downloaded from Google Playstore on any Android phone. It is reported that the board will extend the facility to other phone users in due course of time.

Picture Credit : Google

Have you ever created a picture collage for your friends or family member’s birthday? If yes, you know how it works - you take different photos of the person including some amusing ones from their childhood or with different sets of people-and paste them on a single piece of paper. The result is astounding– you have managed to capture the memorable moments of a person’s life on a sheet of paper.

Did you know that filmmakers to use this technique to tell long stories over a short span of time? Enter the world of montages, one of the most crucial tools of a film maker.

What is a montage?

Like a picture collage, a montage is a series of moving or still images that are edited together to create a scene. It is an artistic technique used in filmmaking to communicate a large amount of information in just a few seconds. It is done using various techniques such as juxtaposition of shots, quick cuts and voice overs.

The word “montage” has been derived from the French language. It is a term used to describe the connection of individual pieces into a cohesive whole.

Montages can create some of the most memorable scenes in a film. Here are some reasons why and how montages are used:

Time lapse

Unlike a book, films don’t have the luxury of time. They need to tell stories quick. This means condensing the plot, back stories of characters and character development into just a couple of hours. So how do filmmakers manage to do all that in such a short span of time? Well, the speed up time, literally!

Remember the opening sequence of Pixar’s heart-wrenching film “Up”? The entire love story – from their first meeting to their marriage and old-age – of the two main characters is brilliantly summed up in the sequence. Sequences created this can condense weeks, months, or even years into less than a minute on screen.

Training montage

Often the transformation of a character can be the most important part of a film. Sports films use something called ‘training montages’ to show a character preparing for a major event in the story. Sylvester Stallone‘s training montages from the “Rocky” films are classic examples. Scenes of Rocky exercising and climbing a flight of stairs capture his long stretches of training in just few seconds. You can find similar training montages in films such as “Chak De” and “Dangal”.

Combining multiple storylines

Montage can be used to drive home the central theme or plot point of the film through just one scene. It is done by combining different scenes of featuring multiple events or places into one using musical score or a narrative voice-over in the background. This increases the intensity of the film and also builds up pace. Shots are arranged next to each other.

For example, the famous scene in “The Godfather”, which shows the shots of assassinations of different mafia leaders with the baptism of Michael Corleone’s nephew. It conveys that Michael is the new don. If the scenes were separate, it would not have been this impactful.

Picture Credit : Google

The Government of India recently launched a mobile app called MANAS to promote mental health. What is special about the app?

What does it stand for?

The name MANAS stands for Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System. The app, which is meant to act as a guide, has been developed to promote the mental well-being of people across different age groups in the country. In other words, its objective is to build a happier, healthier community.

A comprehensive, secure, national digital well-being platform, the pilot version of the app was launched by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, K. Vijay Raghavan. Endorsed as a national programme, the app was initiated by the Office of the PSA, and jointly executed by NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) Bengaluru, AFMC (Armed Forces Medical College), Pune, and C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), Bengaluru.

The MANAS app integrates the health and wellness efforts of various ministers, national bodies, and research centres. It is based on life skills and psychological processes, and delivers age-appropriate methods to promote positive outlook. It has gamified interfaces to enhance user engagement, supports teleconsultation, and will also be tracking the health of users.

The current version of the app focuses on promoting positive mental health in people aged between 15 and 35, although the ultimate aim is to cover all age groups. The app is not available for public use as yet. According to some reports, field trials will be carried out in the next few months to validate the app.

What is mental health?

If you’ve been wondering what mental health is, the WHO defines it as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. Our mental health influences how we think, feel, and act, how we handle stress, and how we relate to others. It is important at every stage of our life.

Impact of the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in people’s lives. There have been reports of people experiencing increased levels of stress, anxiety, fear, frustration, and depression, owing to loss of income, increased isolation, uncertainty, etc. With the country reeling under a second wave of coronavirus, people are once again forced not to step out of their homes except for essentials, to wear masks, and maintain social distancing. With the closure of schools and colleges, students have largely been confined to their homes. While online classes try to ensure continuity of education, not all can afford it due to a variety of reasons. The prolonged stay at home can mean different impacts and challenges for different sections of people. In these trying, uncertain times, it is hoped that the introduction of the MANAS app will go a long way in helping people and promoting mental well-being.

Cause for concern

• According to a report published in The Lancet Psychiatry last year, there were 197.3 million people (14.3% of the population) with mental disorders in India in 2017.
• Depression and anxiety disorder were found to be top mental illnesses.
• Also 28% of global suicides take place in India.

Picture Credit : Google

If you sent a PDF on your computer/phone today, thank Chuck Geschke. Charles “Chuck” Geschke, co-founder of Adobe Inc., who helped develop Portable Document Format technology or PDFs, died in April 2021, aged 81. The company’s most influential creation was the PDF, which remains a vital way of sending and printing documents from almost any machine on the internet. His launch of Adobe Systems with John Warnock introduced Adobe Acrobat, InDesign, Photoshop and other products used the world over. Today, Adobe is one of the world’s largest software companies. Though he helped build one of the world’s richest companies, Geschke did not consider himself a businessman, rather, he saw himself as an engineer. “Engineers dream of building something that millions of people will use; that’s their ultimate goal. I don’t think many engineers are motivated by money. They’re motivated by having an impact.”

Charles Geschke, who studied Latin and liberal arts as an undergraduate and once considered the priesthood, discovered computer programming more or less by accident in the 1960s.

That led to a job at Xerox Corp.’s research arm in Silicon Valley, where he bonded with a colleague, John Warnock. They worked on software that eventually would translate words and images on a computer screen into printed documents.

His success brought some unwelcome attention. In May 1992, while arriving at an Adobe parking lot in his Mercedes sports coupe, Dr. Geschke faced a young man pointing a gun at him. Two kidnappers blindfolded the 6-foot-2 executive with duct tape and kept him tied up in a rented house for several days before Federal Bureau of Investigation agents rescued him.

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Researchers from the University of Konstanz and the University of Jena looked at photos posted by nine of the most-followed bird accounts on Instagram and analyzed 27,621 pictures that had been posted. The frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) – native to Australia and parts of Southeast Asia – was found to be the most Instagrammable bird. It’s not that the frogmouth appears in more Instagram photos than any other avian; it appeared in only 65 of them. However, it garnered far more likes than it should have – and more likes than any other bird species – based on the number of users who likely saw those photos. Prior research shows that colorful birds receive many likes, but birds that have some degree of relatability factor with birds usually comes down to the eyes – the eyes of the frogmouth are front-facing as are human eyes, and the plumage on its face gives the bird an angry expression, an emotion most humans can relate to.

To judge a bird's Instagrammability, the researchers calculated the expected number of likes each photo should get based on the time the photo was posted and the audience size of the account. Photos that got more likes than expected got a positive score, while photos that got fewer likes got a negative score.

A few aesthetic factors seemed to consistently bump photos higher in the rankings. For example, the researchers wrote, birds with blue and yellow plumage consistently scored higher than birds with yellow and green feathers. Unsurprisingly, the team also found that birds tended to perform better the more unique or unusual they looked.

Picture Credit : Google

OTT streaming platforms and digital news providers operating in the country have now been brought under the jurisdiction of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. This means their content will be regulated by the I & B Ministry. But what are OTT platforms?

What does OTT stand for?

The acronym OTT stands for “Over the Top” service. OTT platforms are audio and video steaming services. They provide content on request over the Internet. Which means content of one’s choice can be watched by the individual consumer anytime anywhere, without the need for cable or DTH services. In order to view the content, the consumer needs a device (such as mobile, tablet, or laptop) that supports OTT and an internet connection. One major advantage with OTT is consumers pay for specific platforms they want access to. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, ALTBalaji, Zee5, VOOT, Jio Cinema, and Sony LIV are some of the OTT platforms available.

How do they work?

A relatively new form of entertainment, OTT platforms are classified as digital media, OTT platforms started out as content-hosting platforms but soon ventured into production, making films, serials, and documentaries. They buy the rights to the movies they wish to release or stream from the producers, or even produce them in collaboration with production houses. While most OTT platforms provide some content for free, they charge a monthly subscription for premium content. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many filmmakers turned to major OTT platforms to release their films instead of waiting for theaters to reopen. For instance, Jyotika’s “Ponmagal Vandhal” was the first Tamil film to release on an OTT platform, Amazon Prime Video, in May 2020 after theaters were shut due to the pandemic.

What are the new rules?

So far, OTT platforms have remained largely unregulated, providing diverse, versatile content to viewers. The Government tightened its grip on these streaming platforms following growing complaints of alleged objectionable content in some of the shows streamed. The new rules mandate these video streaming platforms to classify content into five age-specific categories, set up a grievance redressal mechanism, and appoint an officer to address grievances. The three-tier grievance resolution system begins with self-regulation by the content platform and ends at a government-appointed panel headed by a ministry official. The government-appointed committee will look at complaints that remain unresolved at the self-regulating level.

Quick Facts

• There are over 40 OTT service providers in India.
• India is currently the world’s fastest growing OTT market, and is all set to emerge as the world’s sixth-largest by 2024.
• Over 22 million viewers in the country watched subscription-based video-on-demand content in 2020. This figure is projected to touch 57 million by 2022.
• nexGTv was the first OTT mobile app to live-stream IPL cricket matches during the 2013 season.

 

Picture Credit : Google