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Day: April 17, 2020

Mental Health and Lockdown

COVID 19 শরীরের পক্ষে কতটা ক্ষতিকারক, তা এতদিনে সবাই জেনে গেছেন। কিন্তু লকডাউন উঠে গেলে দেশ পরবর্তী যে বিপদের মুখে পড়বে, তা হল দীর্ঘ গৃহবন্দী জীবনে জন্মানো একগুচ্ছ মানসিক অসুস্থতা। এমনিতেই মনের অসুখ নিয়ে যথেষ্ট সচেতনতা আমাদের দেশে নেই। থেরাপিস্ট, সাইকোলজিস্ট এবং সাইকায়াট্রিস্ট – তিনজনকেই ‘পাগলের ডাক্তার’ মনে করা হয়। কর্মক্ষেত্রে ডিপ্রেশনের কথা জানাজানি হয়ে গেলে কর্তৃপক্ষ সুনজরে দেখবেন না, এমন ভয়ও পান অনেকে। ফলে করোনার মতোই, মাথার ভেতর বেড়ে চলা অন্ধকার লুকিয়ে রাখেন অনেক মানুষ।

* গৃহবন্দী থাকতে থাকতে অনেকেরই claustrophobic লক্ষণ দেখা দেয়। চার দেয়ালের বাইরে যাওয়ার জন্য মন উতলা হয়ে ওঠে, দম আটকে আসে, শারীরিক অসুস্থতা দেখা দেয়।

* যাঁরা অন্তর্মুখী স্বভাবের, বাড়িতে অনেক মানুষের সঙ্গে আটকে পড়লে তাঁদের প্রবল অস্বস্তি হয়, যা সামাজিক সৌজন্যের কারণে প্রকাশ করা যায় না। যাঁরা ঠিক উল্টো স্বভাবের ও মিশুকে, তাঁরা বিপদে পড়েন যদি বাড়িতে সামান্য কয়েকজন সদস্য থাকেন। যথেষ্ট সামাজিক মেলামেশার সুযোগ না থাকায় তাঁরা ক্রমশ বিরক্ত হতে থাকেন। ফলে বদমেজাজ, খিটখিটে স্বভাব, অল্পেই রেগে যাওয়া ইত্যাদি ঘটতে থাকে। অল্পবয়সীদের ক্ষেত্রে এই সমস্যা আরও বেশি।

* যাঁদের ঘর থেকে কাজ করতে হচ্ছে, বিশেষত মহিলা, তাঁরা যদি কাজের সহায়ক পরিবেশ না পান, মানসিক চাপ অসম্ভব বেড়ে যায়। কাজে বাধা পড়ার দুশ্চিন্তা, কাজকর্ম সারার আগে-পরে নিয়মিত সাংসারিক কাজ, অফিস টাইমের বাইরে কাজ এলে পরিবারের অসন্তোষের মুখে পড়া – যে কাউকে anxiety দেওয়ার পক্ষে যথেষ্ট। বাড়িতে সাহায্যকারী পরিচারক বা পরিচারিকা না আসার ফলে এই সমস্যা এক বিরাট স্ট্রেসের জন্ম দিচ্ছে নিরন্তর।

* যাঁদের বাড়িতে অশান্তির পরিবেশ আগে থেকেই বিরাজমান, তাঁদের কাছে এই লকডাউন নরকের সমতুল্য। অপছন্দের মানুষের সঙ্গে বিরক্তিকর পরিবেশে দিনের পর দিন কাটানো মানসিক অস্বাস্থ্যের আঁতুড়ঘর।

* ফোনের প্রতি আমাদের নির্ভরতা এই সময়ে আরও বাড়ছে। হয়তো লকডাউন ওঠার পরেও এই অভ্যেস স্থায়ী হয়ে যাবে। সময় কাটানোর জন্য অন্য মানুষের চেয়ে স্মার্টফোনভিত্তিক বিনোদনে সবাই অভ্যস্ত হয়ে যাবেন।

* দীর্ঘ বিচ্ছিন্নতায় কাটাতে কাটাতে অনেকেই তাঁদের কষ্টার্জিত সোশ্যাল স্কিল এবং কমিউনিকেশন স্কিল হারিয়ে ফেলবেন।

এই সমস্যাগুলির দিকে আমাদের এখন থেকেই মনোযোগী হওয়া প্রয়োজন। Work from home করা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের একজন মহিলা ফ্যাকাল্টি, যে কিনা পূর্ণসময় একা থাকছে, তার তরফে কিছু মতামত রইল।

* বাড়িতে যতক্ষণ থাকবেন, খোলা জানালা বা বারান্দার পাশে থাকুন। আকাশ দেখুন। সামান্য শরীরচর্চা করুন ছাদে বা বারান্দায়।

* বাড়িতে থাকা প্রত্যেকটি সদস্যের comfort zone বোঝার চেষ্টা করুন। যে আত্মমগ্ন, তাকে অকারণ হইচইয়ের মধ্যে ফেলবেন না। যে বাইরে যেতে না পেরে মুষড়ে পড়ছে, তার সঙ্গে সময় কাটান। বাড়ির কমবয়সীটি ফোনে বা ভিডিও কলে বন্ধুর সঙ্গে কথা বলছে দেখলে বকাবকি করবেন না। এটা এখন তার প্রয়োজন, বিলাসিতা নয়। প্রয়োজনে বাড়ির সবাই বসে স্থির করে নিন, কে কীভাবে সময় কাটাতে চায়। কথা বলুন নিজের অসুবিধা নিয়ে।

* যে মানুষটিকে অফিসের কাজ করতে হচ্ছে, তার ঘরের কাজের ভার নিন। তাকে একটা শান্ত, নির্ঝঞ্ঝাট পরিবেশ দিন। যে কাজ আপনি বা অন্য কেউ করতে পারে, তার জন্য তাকে বারবার ডাকবেন না। এমন একটা ঘর বা ডেস্ক তাকে দিন যেখানে বাকিদের যাওয়া বারণ করে দেওয়া হবে। ঘুম থেকে উঠে তাকে প্রস্তুত হওয়ার সময় দিন। অফিসের কাজের পর কিছুটা বিশ্রাম নিতে দিন। চা বানানো, রান্না, বাসন মাজা, ঘর সাফ, এগুলো ভাগ করে নিন। মনে রাখবেন, সে পরিশ্রম করছে যাতে বাকিরা ভাল থাকে। তার দক্ষতার প্রশংসা করুন। তার সমস্যা হলে গুরুত্ব দিয়ে সমাধান করুন।

* যদি বাড়িতে toxic environment থাকে, সচেতনভাবে নিজেকে ব্যস্ত রাখুন। কোনও কথা কাটাকাটি, তর্ক, ঝগড়ায় থাকবেন না। অপছন্দের মানুষটির মুখোমুখি হবেন না। নিজেকে কাজ দিন এবং মন ঘুরিয়ে নিন। এই পরিস্থিতি একদিন কেটে যাবে যদি সামান্য বোঝাপড়া করে নেন – এই ভাবনা নিয়ে খুশিমনে কাটানোর চেষ্টা করুন।

* ফোন এখন সত্যিই জরুরি। কিন্তু অকারণ ফেসবুক স্ক্রল না করে বাড়ির লোকজনকেও কিছুটা সময় দিন। একসঙ্গে সিনেমা দেখুন। কোনও ভাল ভিডিও বা আর্টিকল পেলে পড়ে শোনান। যে ছেলেটি বা মেয়েটি অনলাইন পড়াশোনা করছে তার পাশে বসে আপনিও কয়েকটা ক্লাস করুন। ফোন ব্যবহার করতে হচ্ছেই যখন, আত্মীয়বন্ধুদের খবর নিন। ভার্চুয়াল পৃথিবীতে ঘুরতে ঘুরতে কিছু বাস্তব চরিত্রের সামনেও আসুন। তাতে মনের ভারসাম্য বজায় থাকে।

* অনেক অনেক কথা বলুন। পরিবারের সঙ্গে, সহকর্মীর সঙ্গে, ছাত্রছাত্রীর সঙ্গে। নিজেকে মানসিকভাবে অন্তত বিচ্ছিন্ন ভাববেন না। আয়নার সামনে দাঁড়িয়ে নিজের প্রেজেন্টেশন অভ্যাস করুন, অনলাইন লেকচারের মহড়া দিন। ফাঁকা সময়ে কাজের বিষয়ে ভিডিও বানান। টেড টক শুনুন। গুরুত্বপূর্ণ পরিস্থিতি নিয়ে বাড়ির সবার সঙ্গে আলোচনা বা বিতর্কের আয়োজন করুন। যত বেশি কথা বলবেন, তত আপনার চর্চা বাড়বে।

আমাদের সমবেত উদ্দেশ্য, একটা স্বাস্থ্যোজ্জ্বল আগামী তৈরি করা। শরীরের পাশাপাশি একটা তরতাজা মন নিয়ে যেন আমরা সবাই কর্মক্ষেত্রে ফিরতে পারি, আমাদের ছাত্রছাত্রীরা যেন পূর্ণ উদ্যমে জীবনের মূল স্রোতে ফিরতে পারে।

Challenges In Higher Education Sector

Higher education allows one to pursue a career that interests and inspires them. Higher job satisfaction also comes from higher income, better employment benefits, and more advancement opportunities to the young generations.

The higher education system in the country is the building block of the community and society. All the policymakers and the money men of the country need to understand the issues breeding in the system and take all the possible measures to improve the standard of the Higher Education Sector.

Challenges In Higher Education Sector

In the education sector, there should be a major focus on the need for quality over quantity in the field of education. Like every other aspect around the globe, the education sector also holds its challenges. However, the challenges in educational institutes differ from each other, some way or another, but, there are some common ones, that everyone has to go through

Some of those challenges are:

  • Availability of quality academic and non-academic staff – It should be emphasized that not only a degree or a certificate in a particular field is important, but what is more important is the real-time trends and situations in the industry.

 

  • Ensuring a live and active connection with the industry – It is extremely important for any higher education institute to have active connections with industry so that they can impart practical knowledge to the students.

 

  • Keeping up with technological advancements – The industry is evolving faster than the higher education sector can grasp everything that is happening. Hence, this becomes a challenge for universities and colleges to keep track of all the technological advancements in the field.

 

  • Quality of student intake – The government policies and the expansion in the higher education sector have drastically improved a lot in the last few years which is a good thing, but their expansion is uncontrollable and since is hard to control this expansion, it has become a major challenge for a university to keep a strict quality check on the intake of the students.
    Lack of effective communication skills in students – Schools are not more focused on communication skill development, which makes it hard for higher education institutes to ensure that the students are ready for the pressure of the industry.

 

  • Lack of correlation between education systems – The schools are not making themselves ready for different levels of our education sector. This is the biggest challenge in the entire education system and that probably leads to more damage to the next generation. So, a gap between the coordination in the level of education is one of the biggest challenges.

 

  • Need for constant revision of material – Every statutory body is bound with their curriculum and that curriculum is not upgrading at an as fast pace as the industry’s moving. The schools are not getting themselves ready about when they are going to finish their program, they probably are far away from the industry needs. Students are equipped with bookish knowledge, which is probably, only, 20-30% of the requirement of the industry knowledge required.

Need For More Updated Faculty

That percentage of a teacher trying to keep themselves updated is only 5% of all teachers are interested to do that. However, the teachers are not directly to blame because they are so bonded with curriculum and syllabus, examination process, result publication, and all these things. The teachers probably don’t get much time to research happenings in the industry. This is another challenge.

If one looks at that, it is one of the burning areas for the higher education sector for an institute to sustain. If that gap is not going to be fulfilled, the higher education sector is going to be sustainable. This is a huge part but one could see and as a result of what happened now since the industries are not getting the right fit candidate from the institutes so they are not trusting the institute.

Role Of Government And Corporates In Strengthening The Industry

Everybody has to come together to ensure that the higher education sector is thriving. If the government can create some type of jurisdiction where the corporate can receive tax benefits or other perks if they invest their time and resources in the sector to bridge the gap between the higher education institutes and the industry, then the students will become a much-valued asset.

If the industry starts to come forward to accommodate the students for training or to accommodate the professors for training and all these things and automatically it is going to give a good result.

It should be emphasized that higher education institutes and corporations mutually benefit from each other. There are organizations that have a lot of philanthropic, there are industries who’re having a lot of philanthropic thoughts that are definitely coming forward. They are contributing to different projects, they are doing it. However, if we need this process to have a higher pace, the government has to step in.

Plausible Solution For Bringing A Change In The Industry

There isn’t a problem in the world that doesn’t have a plausible solution that can be overcome. There can be several ways that the Higher Education Sector can deal with the challenges present in front of it. Such as:

  • Hiring faculty with industrial experience – The Government of India has passed a bill that requires all the faculty members of any college or higher education institution to have a Ph.D. However, this doesn’t solve the main challenge since practical experience is more important than theoretical knowledge.

 

  • More industry involvement – Students need to learn and understand the requirements of the employer. Therefore, institutes need to introduce both formal and informal session of industry meets for the students

 

  • Hiring people from the industry – People who have worked for 25-30 years in the industry can be more insightful about the trends and the functioning of the workplace. These people can coach students in developing key skills in communication and presentation.

The higher education sector develops the pillars of modern society, it produces a generation of people who have the chance and intellect to bring a change in the community. Therefore, it is important that the teaching methodology and curriculum is more practical oriented, then the industry will thrive.

This blog was first published by  Eduvoice.  Click here to read original article.

Quantum Computers: Reality or Myth? A New Name!

“Quantum Computers” – a word that was unheard to most of us even two decades ago has now stimulated the scientific community with a hope to provide breakthroughs in Science, Medicine and Machine Learning etc. From breaking encryption to revolutionizing artificial intelligence, quantum computers claim to outperform the traditional ones in terms of efficiency sometimes at an exponential scale. They are the strongest possible computational device offered to us by nature. Big shot companies like Google, IBM and Microsoft are spending billions and billions of dollars to create a reliable quantum computing facility. In October, 2019, Google claimed to have achieved “Quantum Supremacy” just by using an array of 54 qubits (out of which 53 were functional) to perform a series of operations which they claimed would have taken 10,000 years by the best supercomputer of the world!! Reportedly IBM objected to their claim saying it could take a few days only by a supercomputer. But who cares! Let the titans clash. Anyway, achieving quantum supremacy does not indicate that quantum computers are ready to perform right now. It’s a long way to go, but at least the road map is known to us.

Why Quantum Computers?

The computers that we use in our daily lives (like PCs, Laptops, Tablets, Smart-phones or even HPCs) are made up of chips, and those chips use bits as a fundamental unit to store and manipulate information. Bits are nothing but like tiny switches which can either be “ON” (representing a state) or “OFF” (another state), based on classical logic gate operations which manipulates the property “charge” of an electron and those operation rely on the very fundamental principle of classical physics that says at a given time, a physical system can stay in one and only one state. But universe doesn’t always work like that. Due to rapid progress in miniaturization, now chips are having typical dimensions around few square millimeters or even less and with millions of transistors in it. So, quantum effects are there and chip-makers tend to go to great lengths to suppress these effects. So, if we could rather manage ourselves to work with those effects then further miniaturization is possible providing a paradigm shift in computational performances. Not only is that, quantum computational algorithms are capable of handling ‘uncertainties’ and thus far better candidates to simulate biological and chemical complex systems.

How do they work?

In Quantum computers, qubits (  or ) are used instead of bits which are based on another property of electron named ‘spin’. According to Quantum mechanics, the state of a system can be a linear, coherent superposition of many different states, and thus capable to produce interference. Most magically, even two spatially separated states can be entangled to each other and therefore the operations on them have a non-local effect. Based on those properties qubits can be in many states (unlike “ON” and “OFF” for classical cases). For example, an n qubit system can be in 2n states while allowing entanglement between a n qubit state and m qubit states the number of possibilities enhances to 2m+n rather than 2n + 2m possibilities.

Analogous to the classical logic gate operations (like AND, OR and NOT), in quantum computation, the identity matrix and the Pauli matrices provide the 1 qubit logical operations.  For example, the bitflip gate X turns  to and vice-versa. The phaseflip gate Z puts a ‘-‘ sign in front of the qubit . Symbolically they are expressed as,  and  Similarly other operations are performed by sequential unitary operations.

Past, Present and Future…

This mind boggling concept was first coined by stalwarts like Yuri Mamin (1980), Richard Feynman (1981) and Paul Benioff. Later first designing of  quantum Turing machine in 1985 by David Deutsch opened the gateway for unimaginable possibilities. Worldwide many groups are working now towards the success of quantum computation.

Till date two technologies are officially reported for creating qubits. One is by trapping ions and another is by using miniature superconducting circuits. IBM uses the later one. Problem is for doing anything with the qubits, coherence must be preserved as they are extremely sensitive to environmental noise.

In the attached figure (source: https://www.ibm.com/quantum-computing) you can see the dilution refrigerator made by IBM with nearly 2000 components for creating a super cold ambience so that the coherence of the qubits are being maintained.

Figure: Dilution refrigerator made by IBM for maintaining coherence for qubits

Till date the highest no of qubits are created by Google as reported in 2019 (an array of 54 qubits).

The future is unknown but we are hopeful for the unending offerings that quantum computers provide. It’s not like that we are going to have a quantum chip in our PC or smart-phone, and there will be no iphone Q, but for research and business purpose the possibilities are huge. From modeling of highly complicated chemical reactions, predicting early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, to anticipating financial market, quantum algorithms claim to offer an unimaginable success. Cryptography can have an incredible makeover once quantum computation becomes successful. Rumors are there that various intelligence agencies over the world are stockpiling encrypted data with a hope that it can be decoded soon with the success of quantum computers. The only way to get saved from this is also within the realm of Quantum mechanics i.e., Quantum Encryption!! Think of a key that can’t be copied or hacked!! Quantum encrypted keys are exactly that.

It may sound a magical world, but it will happen in near future. Every breakthrough in science has passed through a dilemma and confusion. That’s the essence of Science. To unravel nature, to solve puzzle where the answer is embedded in it.

Such mysteries and possibilities make Physics as challenging and appealing as ever!!

The game changer “3D Printing technology” for Rapid Prototyping

A brief overview about FDM 3D Printers

Production sector has always been a cosmic area to explore and ever since the evolution of man-kind, people has been working on the conventional methods like casting, forging and different machining processes. Diversification of products stimulated technological invention and adaption of the same by the industries. This helped in gaining momentum in production hence reducing time as well as cost of production.

  • From the late 17th Century, the revolutionary Industry 1.0 starting setting its impact in changing the methods of production. Utilisation of power from steam and water became effective and the invention of Steam Engine by James Watt marked a substantial effect in the first industrial revolution.

 

  • Industry 2.0 referring to the period between 1870 and 1914 witnessed advancements in terms of technology and this can be marked as a crucial time when Industries saw a huge boom in terms of production rate. Major machineries were driven electrically hence decreasing the real time for production and human labour.

 

  • The late 20th century brought about digital revolution with Industry 3.0 and computer integration of machineries started taking control over the conventional ones.

 

  • Industry 4.0, the fourth aeon of modernisation in terms of technology incorporated Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) which led to synergistic integration of sophisticated software in heavy duty machineries.  AI, IOT, Big Data, Machine learning being the counterpart the emphasis was mainly on build Smart Manufacturing Systems equipped to self learn and control parameters.

 

  • 3D printers proved to be the game changer in this new era. 3D printing technology forms an integral part of the Rapid Prototyping technology which helped to examine products before it was sent off to the market, especially in case of mass production. Miniature prototypes of products were being made with the aid of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software.

3D Printing

In the wake of Industry 4.0, the concept of additive manufacturing revolutionized the conventional methods of material removal from the stock as in case of CNC machines, hence largely optimizing the requirement of raw material. Several variety of 3D printer including Stereo lithography (SLA) types 3D printers, Digital Light Processing (DLP) Fused deposition Modelling (FDM) Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Electronic Beam Melting (EBM), Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM), Binder Jetting (BJ) catered to the need of manufacturing desired products in terms of strength, surface finish, etc. The most important point to be noted is the elimination of chip formation in the whole process and as a whole 3D printing emerged as a “Green Technology”.

FDM works wonder to prototype designs:

The Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printers are one of the predominant types of 3D printers. With an ease to produce products layer by layer following bottom up model any CAD model can be realized into physical product. The filament, thermoplastic (usually PVA or ABS) is melt and extruded through a small nozzle which has mobility in three dimensions over a build platform usually of glass. A CAD file in .stl format is uploaded in the system which is read by the motherboard of the printer. Usually a micro controller serves the purpose to drive the process, by guiding a set of motors that moves the print head in three dimensions. The movement of the print head is according to the digital design file uploaded. Layers of deposited material can be achieved as low as 100 microns and this technology has been proved effective in producing fairly strong objects. Mastering the art of 3D printing can be as easy as to extract or create a .stl file and uploading the same in the setup. Few useful sources to create/extract files for 3D Printing can be easily accessed, viz.

  • Fusion360
  • Hackerspace
  • Thingiverse
  • TinkerCad.
  • Ultimaker

Further equipped with a 3D scanner the printing process can become more simple while creating prototypes of any object. Being one of the most promising technologies, 3D printers can effortlessly create any product that already exists as well as those that have never ever been made before.

The potential of the technology extents its horizon to every sphere of manufacturing from medical PPE kits to building homes. In fact the use of this technology can go as far as your imagination.

Transferring education from regular classroom to the online platform: Impact of coronavirus on education system

Students and educators all around the world are feeling the extraordinary ripple effect of the coronavirus as schools, colleges and universities shut down amid the public health emergency. Though the world has dealt with other pandemics in the past, COVID-19 has been spreading more rapidly. The virus is quite contagious and can pass between people before any symptoms appear. As part of the efforts made by the government to control the spread of the coronavirus, public places like schools, universities, and offices are closing down so that people can stay at home and prevent further spread of the virus. Closing schools and offices ensure that people can limit their interactions with each other and slow down the spread of the virus while the health care system copes with the pandemic. But this pandemic also opens a new gateway for the students to gain education as it completely reshapes the education system.

Online learning – Many schools and universities are opting to continue their normal classes on online platforms. Adamas University is one the first of the educational institution in India, introducing online platforms to take regular classes for the students. Now many Government educational institutions have also started using this online system. This includes the use of online tools such as emails, WhatsApp, group video lectures, which allowed the teachers and students to meet and conduct classes over the internet and also online sever systems to upload the study materials, which can be shared by both students and teachers.

 Online programs – In the middle of the pandemic, to avoid the interruption of normal education various online educational platforms have been advertising-free educational tools for the students who are stuck at home around the world.

Parental care – With young children at home, parents are needed to make a schedule for them. Even online they need to help the children to navigate school on the computer as they are not able to work unless arrangements are made for them.

At this point, we don’t know the extent to which COVID-19 will continue but our future is not entirely bleak. A wider role for online learning will open. As the emphasis is being put on online education more opportunities are arising and becoming available to students. This switch from traditional learning to online learning is making it more likely that they will engage with online classes in the future. Students may opt for taking a future degree online due to the benefits and affordable options available. Many online universities are making it possible for students to earn a degree from anywhere in the world and with varying schedules due to work or family obligations, no matter their economic status. COVID-19 has become a catalyst for educational institutions worldwide to search for innovative solutions in a relatively short period.

Schools will face difficulty if they don’t teach remotely as all of their students are missing out on months of curriculum. But in this situation, they also need to switch and must think of a few strategies so that the financially disadvantaged students will not feel left out and will get a proper education. To increase their chances of success, schools could opt for proper mentoring to these under-served students.  The schools need to find someone who has experienced the same challenges and can help students become more comfortable in this situation. Adamas University is already having a well-structured mentoring system through the professors, academic advisors, and management staff, which proved to be beneficial for the students in this testing time. Online learning might not reach everyone but it is not just a matter of lacking behind financially. If the students don’t know how to learn on their own if they don’t have the motivation or don’t know how to manage their time they won’t be able to learn in this environment.

There will be many important lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. A lesson to learn from this pandemic is to find ways to bridge the digital device which is becoming a matter of life and death.

Though it may be too early to say how students and teachers will cope with online learning the impact of coronavirus on education is an important consideration what we have to see so far is that online learning comes with many challenges, but the switch to technological platforms gives new opportunities to students and teachers to try different modes of education. We can think about the current situation as a crisis or as an opportunity to explore many more new possibilities. It is possible that once the COVID-19 pandemic settles down, we may see an increase in online learning for study aids as well as students embracing it for their higher degrees in the future.

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