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Day: April 21, 2020

Why Study Theories: A Sociological Perspective

We already discussed why we need to study the subject sociology. You have not yet looked at it here is the link: https://adamasuniversity.ac.in/job-prospects-of-sociology-as-a-discipline/

  • A very important part of studying sociology is to study its theories. Usually most of the students find it difficult and unimpressive to study the theory part which is a must do. In this write-up I will explain why we need to study the theories and its implications in our everyday life.

 

  • In our everyday life, in minor and major social, cultural economic changes and developments, we all use sociological theories, but in such an implicit way that we are hardly aware of it.

 

  • Sociological theories usually deal with the structure and function of configuration (big and/ or small) constructed by human beings.

 

  • It talks about fundamental social change and development.

 

  • The theories have practical consequences An explicit example can make it easy to understand the importance of studying sociological theories, be it classical or modern.

 

  • One of the important examples in the present-day context is, of course, the digital divide. The locus of digital divide prominently exists between the concept of democracy and market-oriented economics.

 

  • The metamorphosis, again, depends upon the confluence of its very existence and its typologies. The typologies of digital divide may vary at local, regional, national and/ or international levels; among inhabitants, countries and regions. Each of its specificity has its own exclusive and/ or inclusive background, phenomena (varying from socio-economic and cultural traits and influencing region), evolution trends and specific exclusive and/or all-inclusive

 

  • The dominant and all-pervasive concepts of the divide of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ are in focus.

 

  • Countries are now trying to reduce this divide. In doing so, the concept of ‘digital inclusion’ is now very much in the policies. It is indubitable that democratization of internet is a necessity with almost all the sectors being dependent now on digital platform. In that manner the post-modern divide may be ‘information rich’ and ‘information poor’ (Dragulanescu 2002). Thus, the post-modern concept of ‘information poverty’ (Dragulanescu 2002) is in boom!!!… These are influencing the domain of politics, macro-economic stabilization and potential growth in overall development of a country.

 

  • We also can not deny the role of internet as an efficient tool for communication (in major sectors in this pandemic crisis) where free expression of ideas is encouraged. In that way, on one hand where there are hope and optimism on the other hand there is confusion too where information and security are not monitored rigidly (as priority was in government, military, industry and research). In this manner smart phone, PC, laptop etc. have been a mode of what we may call ‘democratization of communication’.

 

  • The digital divide is not only restricted to ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ but it has now become East-West digital divide in terms of macro-economic stabilization.

 

  • But we have to remember that democratization of communication depends on the development of computing industries, telecommunication infrastructures, professional who are educated and skilled and last but not the least information users. The inimical factors important in this digital divide are internet connection referring to wireless, satellite, cable, modem etc. that are very much dependent on regional divisions (the rural-urban divide). Also, the disparities include terrain, demography, population density, market factors etc.

 

  • These factors are leading towards information poverty making a clear distinction of two class of people (not strictly determined by Marxian concept economic factor only), that is, information rich and information poor. Thus, Non-Marxist conflict theorists and post-modern theorists are playing an important role here in the way that, with the help of their theoretical explanations we can have a working idea of present social change both in its structure and function.

 

  • The concept of interaction is also taking a new shape in the sphere of social distancing. The importance of sociological theories is felt much in this context while popular idea of everyday banal interaction, communication, behaviour etc. are changing and a skilled sociological insight could be able to locate this shift, enhancing the applicability of Foucauldian concept of knowledge and power in this post-modern Thus sociological theories play an important role in understanding society at large.

 

  • Democratization of communication through reducing the digital divide accelerates the conditions of right to education, health and religion in this present-days socio-cultural condition where social distancing is a must do. But the lacuna lies in the fact of ‘not to be so digitally democratized’ where a huge population is not connected to the internet. Who can ever think that this so-called non-essential ‘use’ would be ‘so essential’ that it can pose a threat to our fundamental rights!!!…

 

  • Data are showing that women and old population are more vulnerable to this threat.

 

  • Remote work, telemedicine, broadband mapping are few of those sectors that can be considered in this regard. Again, the point of discussion comes to the root cause of accessibility of digital platforms. And this situation gets worse when we go to villages from mega cities and/ or smart cities.

In this manner the ‘information poor’ or the ‘digital have-nots’ are pushed towards the edge with a constant threat of leaving out of the race! So, it is the time to fathom the intensity of the digital divide and work more on it. We and our children are enjoying meetings and classes via Google Hangout, Zoom etc.. Are we forgetting to think about our counterparts in rural India? Don’t you think there should be a balance in digital (eco)system?

  • Thus, theories make implicit contexts explicit. This is just one example. You can find numerous if you study theories.

 

  • The knowledge of sociological theories make one-self to have that insight with the help of which the person reflects on apparently common ideas (that are not so common) from different angles and thinks critically. Sociological theory makes us think in this manner. After studying sociological theories you may be drawn to the critical subjects that never attracted your attention. You may start observing things that you never noticed before and/ or neglected as ‘just banal’. Studying sociological theories makes you a different kind of person with different observation power. If you have not yet started thinking, start now. Let us begin our journey of critical thinking. Till then stay safe.

COVID – Economy – Business – Part 1: The Fundamentals

COVID and/ or Corona is all around us. All of us are discussing this. Many times with fear – how we will protect ourselves and our near and dear ones from this. But many times it is also about what the future foretells?

How is this going to change us when it all ends? How will society change? What will be the economic impact? What will be the effect on various industry segments, how we work, how we travel, how we get entertained, how we connect?

These questions are being increasingly deliberated, but it will take a while to come to some answers. And for most we will not have an answer, we will discover through the journey.

But first the basics. What is Corona, what is COVID-19 (and all such terms), where it came from and how, and where is it headed?

Corona – where did the name from?

If we will look at the definition of Corona, it essentially means a crown (we are familiar with the coronation, when someone becomes a king or queen and the crown is put on the person’s head).

Corona – something suggesting a crown, such as

  • a usually colored circle often seen around and close to a luminous body (such as the sun or moon) caused by diffraction produced by suspended droplets or occasionally particles of dust
  • the tenuous outermost part of the atmosphere of a star (such as the sun)
  • a circle of light made by the apparent convergence of the streamers of the aurora borealis

Coronation – the act or occasion of crowning

Ref: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

If you look at the photograph above which is a typical crown, it has this pointed, you know pointed structures which are ball-shaped at the top. And Coronavirus (left top) is it looks under the microscope, the similarity can’t be missed.

And the other definition of Corona is on the bottom left – it is the outer edge of something glowing, like a star. And here too, the similarity of the virus is un-missable.

 

31st December 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in Wuhan City reported a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown causes, with a common link to Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a wholesale fish and live animal market. The market was closed down on 1st January 2020.

9th January 2020, the China CDC reported that a novel coronavirus (later named SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19) has been detected.

10th January 2020, the first novel coronavirus genome sequence was made publicly available.

20th January 2020, there were reports of confirmed cases from three countries outside China.

23rd January 2020, Wuhan City was locked down.

30th January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this first outbreak of novel coronavirus a ‘public health emergency of international concern’.

11th March 2020, the Director General of the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic

India began thermal screening of passengers arriving from China on 21 January.

The first case of the in India was reported on 30 January 2020, originating from China.

Notes:

SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

CoV-2: Coronavirus 2
COVID: Coronavirus Disease

Source: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus/event-background-2019

COVID – The sequence of the Events

The sequence has been controversial, with many questioning it in multiple dimensions. The source, Wuhan becomes all the more contentious because of Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is at Biosafety Level 4, the highest level. There are speculations from many credible sources that the virus may have originated from the lab. However, we sure need to wait on this.

COVID – India’s response

Another key area to focus on is the strategies that had been adopted by various countries to control the spread. India created the first task force on COVID-19 on 7th of January, it circulated the preliminary guidelines to all the state governments on 18th January. India gave notice for thermal screening and various airports and 21st January for China returned individuals. India had been the pioneer in many ways – in terms of restricting foreign travels and probably the most stringent lockdown.

Pandemics – a long history

Incidentally, around 18 years back we had a similar attack from another virus of the same family – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). However, the impact of that was significantly lower than the present. (The scientific name of the virus is CoV-2, Coronavirus 2. However, in general, it is known as COVID-19, Coronavirus 2019).

The crisis was declared a pandemic on 30th January 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is a critical development, and probably this is the point where we should get a little into the various terms – epidemic, pandemic, etc.

Epidemic: A disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region.

Pandemic: An epidemic that’s spread over multiple countries or continents.

Epidemic vs. Pandemic: An epidemic in multiple countries

Endemic: Something that belongs to a particular people or country.

Outbreak: A greater-than-anticipated increase in the number of endemic cases.

The declaration of COVID as a Pandemic is critical to the fight, as this aligns the world with a common goal, common plan, and in many ways common resources. It also helps countries to make decisions which in normal times can well be contested – like travel restrictions.

Pandemics – dooms over the centuries

But while we today are extremely perturbed with COVID, the pandemic has a long history. And some of them had been much more devastating, at least in terms of deaths than COVID had been so far.

Name Time period Type / Pre-human host Death toll
Antonine Plague 165-180 Believed to be either smallpox or measles 5M
Japanese smallpox epidemic 735-737 Variola major virus 1M
Plague of Justinian 541-542 Yersinia pestis bacteria / Rats, fleas 30-50M
Black Death 1347-1351 Yersinia pestis bacteria / Rats, fleas 200M
New World Smallpox Outbreak 1520 – onwards Variola major virus 56M
Great Plague of London 1665 Yersinia pestis bacteria / Rats, fleas 1,00,000
Italian plague 1629-1631 Yersinia pestis bacteria / Rats, fleas 1M
Cholera Pandemics 1-6 1817-1923 V. cholera bacteria 1M+
Third Plague 1885 Yersinia pestis bacteria / Rats, fleas 12M (China and India)
Yellow Fever The late 1800s Virus / Mosquitoes 100,000-150,000 (U.S.)
Russian Flu 1889-1890 Believed to be H2N2 (avian origin) 1M
Spanish Flu 1918-1919 H1N1 virus / Pigs 40-50M
Asian Flu 1957-1958 H2N2 virus 1.1M
Hong Kong Flu 1968-1970 H3N2 virus 1M
HIV/AIDS 1981-present Virus / Chimpanzees 25-35M
Swine Flu 2009-2010 H1N1 virus / Pigs 2,00,000
SARS 2002-2003 Coronavirus / Bats, Civets 770
Ebola 2014-2016 Ebolavirus / Wild animals 11,000
MERS 2015-Present Coronavirus / Bats, camels 850
COVID-19 2019-Present Coronavirus – Unknown (possibly pangolins) 160,717 (12AM IST 10th April 2020)

The Spanish Flu which happened approximately a hundred years back lost 40 to 50 million people. And estimates show around 500 million got affected, about one-third of the population at that time.

Historically, pandemics have happened because of bacteria or viruses. And in all the cases, there had been a pre-human host, from whom it had jumped to the humans. And here we need to pause and look at a few things, especially in the coronavirus.

COVID – how does it affects us?

A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. And it needs a host, the living organization which activates the virus, helps it to reproduce and transmitted. When infected, the host cell is forced to rapidly-produce thousands of identical copies of the original virus.

There are millions of viruses (though only 5,000 types have been studied in detail), and they are all around us. Many of them are carried by other animals, and even by us but with no symptoms. But once in a while, one virus will mutate in an animal host (the pre-human host), and “jump” to humans. The coronavirus is one such, and it is deadly too (especially since it affects the pulmonary system).

As of today, there is no clarity on the pre-human host of COVID. The image above, which shows Pangolin as the pre-human host is speculative. The same is the theory that it has jumped to humans when someone consumed animal meant purchased at the Wuhan market. There is even a theory now made public by Luc Montagnier, who won Nobel Prize for discovering AIDS virus, claimed that it may be a misadventure at the Wuhan Lab while trying to develop a vaccine for AIDS. However, what is the truth? We need to wait to know about it.

As we saw before, any virus, which mutates and finds a host in humans may not be having manifestations, and even ones that affect us may not be deadly (as with common cold). However, for the virus which affects us, the impact is seen in two dimensions – how badly it affects us, and how quickly it spreads.

COVID – how does it spread?

The contagious nature of the virus is defined by the metric R0 or R naught. This is how many people, on average, will be infected by one infected person.

The R0 for COVID is 2.5, whereas that for measles is 16. So clearly measles is much more contagious, but COVID is much more deadly – with a significantly higher percentage of patients who need intensive care, as well as face fatalities.

Add to this the fact that there is no known cure and no vaccine. So if unchecked, this will progress geometrically – with possible doubling every few days if unchecked. Add to this the fact that 86 percent of the infected people are asymptomatic, that is no symptoms at all. So there is the possibility of infected people, who don’t know that they are carriers, may unknowingly transmit the virus.

COVID – how does it transmit?

The transmissions typically happen by personal contacts, through touch or when an infected person sneezes in proximity (and globule carrying the virus reaches the potential victims).

The graph above is the global trend on 19th April 2020 – 10 PM IST. It is geometric in progression.

So how we ensure that people avoid social contacts, and flatten the curve (so that there are not too many infected people, who will put tremendous stress on the entire system, especially the healthcare.

Given that humans by nature are social, the methods followed by most of the governments are lockdown – where people are being forced to maintain distance over some time, with expectations that it will become am habit in the times to come.

COVID – what lies ahead?

So here we are – there is the deadly virus called Corona which has spread globally with no signs of slowing down. It has no treatment, and no vaccine (which is understandable given it is NOVEL or new) However it is deadly, highly contagious, and affects the pulmonary system – which is one of the most vulnerable, as well painful experiences if affected.

Add to this the dispute on the origin of the virus, the supposed non-cooperation of China, and the confused handling of the situation across many countries.

We are now in the middle of the ravages which the virus is inflicting. As it slows down (hopefully shortly), we need to look at other areas – society, economy, industry and other facets. We will revisit the same in the coming days – as a continuation of these discussions.

Postscript

Well, it will not be out of place to have a small note on HxNx, a term made familiar by H1N1 – the terms associated with Swine Flu (swine influenza) and bird flu (avian influenza).

What does H & N mean? They stand for Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase respectively – proteins on influenza (also called flu) surface which helps invade the host’s cells.

There are 16 varieties of H and 9 of N, and the combinations of them make 144 varieties of influenzas – from H1N1 to H16N9.

All of them are around – but vary in severity, categorized as A-B-C. The Cs and Bs are the ones we can live with, but the category As – like the H1N1 is deadly.

References:

Global Data

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

https://www.bing.com/covid

India Data

https://www.mygov.in/covid-19

Apps

https://www.mygov.in/aarogya-setu-app/

Background

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_how_we_must_respond_to_the_coronavirus_pandemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyFT8qXcOrM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3jiM2FNR8

Readings
https://www.covid101.in/

https://padlet.com/prakashbagri/btqqopgsibb75hjf?utm_campaign=transactional&utm_content=peek_image&utm_medium=email&utm_source=started_a_padlet
Highly recommended

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-out-of-many-one-36b886af37e9

Also check

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/05/07/180808276/whats-in-a-flu-name-hs-and-ns-tell-a-tale

Related Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oXIGnHUp-0

Impact of lockdown on street animals

Student contributor: Ms. Kasturi Dan (BSc 1ST year Student, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).

From the mouth of a street dog:

“Hello everyone”, I am Kalu, or Lalu or whatever name you may use to call me, I always respond to you anyway. Now you must be wondering who is this Kalu or Lalu. I am the street dog you cross every day while going to work, school, etc. We are born on the road, spend our entire life there, and eventually die there. We survive on whatever little we get.

In the morning, I just sit right in front of the corner tea-stall where many people gather and sometimes a few kind ones throw me some biscuits and that becomes my breakfast. Well, sometimes I receive none but I never complain, I still sit there every day. Getting lunch is usually easier. I just have to wait outside the roadside hotels and food stalls where so many people eat regularly and most of them keep plenty of food on their plates. Dinner might not be that plenty but it is still enough. Usually, apart from small fights with my fellow mates for food or sudden acts of cruelty like throwing of stones at us without any provocation by some silly kids and sometimes even adults, we street dogs don’t have much problem in surviving, but that was until a few days back when suddenly almost all shops closed, streets have become so empty. It feels weird. What has become to this busy city? Where has everyone gone? And the very few who still come out are wearing a strange thing covering their nose and mouth and they seem so frightened. There are no tea stalls, roadside food stalls or hotels open for me to get food, and even if I at all find some stalls open and people in them, they just chase me away if I go near them. Nobody gives me biscuits anymore. I don’t remember the last time I ate a proper meal. I am becoming weak day by day. I completed one year just yesterday and received a cruel birthday present from a very kind man who used to give me biscuits almost every day. When I saw him, I ran to him with such great expectations that I will finally get something to eat but instead of food, he suddenly picked up a brick and threw it at me. Ouch! It hurt. I don’t have much breath left in me to even scream or shout but I was shocked at his behavior. Why did he hurt me? What did I do wrong? I was just happy to see him. We just want some love, is that our fault? I don’t know what is going on but can guess that people are themselves afraid, too afraid to act sensibly. But don’t hurt us, don’t misunderstand us. We have not brought or are responsible for whatever it is you are afraid of. Then why are you being cruel to us? This is our world too. We have as much right to live like you. So please let us live too. Please…

Scientific Facts regarding the transmission of SARS-COV-2 form animal to Human and vice versa:

Although very rare it was reported previously that some of the coronavirus (Severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS) among large coronavirus families which infect animal can also infect human beings. COVID-19 causing virus SARS-COV-2 spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, and talking.

Domesticated animals and birds like dogs, pig chicken cannot be infected by SARS-COV-2. It was tested on beagle dogs. Five three months old dogs were inoculated and kept along with two other uninoculated dogs. According to the swab test report among the virus inoculated five beagle dogs two were seroconverted but the other three and the two uninoculated dogs were all reported seronegative for SARS-COV-2. Moreover, when a similar kind of test was performed on pigs, chickens, and ducks none of them showed the presence of viral RNA in the swab test. These studies show that these animals might have very low or zero susceptibility to the novel coronavirus.

However, this report indicated that cats can be infected by SARS-COV-2. A study conducted by the Jianzhong Shi et al. showed five domestic cats were subjected to SARS-COV-2 in their nasal region. After a six days incubation period viral RNA, as well as infectious virus particles were detected in the upper respiratory tracts of all experimental models. They have also reported the cat to cat transmission is possible through droplets. But these cats are tested in laboratory conditions where this small batch of the animal was subjected to a very high dose of SARS-COV-2. This kind of high dose is not at all possible in a real life scenario. Moreover, there is no such report found which indicate that the infected cats can transmit the virus to a human. (These preliminary reports not gone through the peer-review process).

Reference:

1.  Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and different domestic animals to SARS-coronavirus-2. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.30.015347

2. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00984-8

From lab work to placements: How graduating students can deal with Covid-19 lockdown crisis

Students graduating from colleges and universities all over India are in a fix because of the Covid-19 lockdown as it is preventing them from completing lab work or make internship or job arrangements. Here are a few tips for them.

This is quite obvious that today the graduating students, whether passing out of UG or PG courses, are in a confused state of mind. They are ill placed to complete their education along with all lab-based practical work, and are unsure about final internships or placements.

Many who are already placed are not sure if the companies will honour the offers given the fact that the duration of lockdown and the contours of its graded nuanced and staggered withdrawal are not all known yet.

These are factors of the figures of infected persons in the country and the hotspots where the spread of the pandemic actually happens.

But confusion is no answer. Necessity is the mother of invention. And every crisis may have an opportunity hidden.

Strength of mind and evidence of intelligence can be seen in how one transforms this situation into an opportunity. I have five suggestions for my young friends.

1. Get into online learning quickly

First, get quickly onto online learning from google classes, webinars, zoom sessions, pdfs and URLs, links and ppts whichever your faculty members share or whatever you can lay your hands on through the internet.

For this, you surely need to have a smart-phone with internet, wifi connection at home and a laptop with camera.

Get onto Swayam and MOOCs courses, and note your learning from each source and your text books if prescribed separately topic wise as they appear in the syllabus. And along with way discuss with your peers and teachers.

2. Watch explainer videos and read manuals for practical work

Second, watch explainer videos and read manuals about each practical work you are supposed to do to at least know the technology, the process, the operations and the outcome of each practical work.

If there is offline physical face to face examination of your final semester, it is great, you can do quick practical practice based on this learning.
If there is only online exam, obviously the tests will focus on concepts and not in-studio practical.

3. Plan for a digital internship

Third, plan for digital internships with the support of your institute and its placement cell. If not being able to get support there, apply yourself to five organizations ideally in your city or nearby online for internships, paid or unpaid, which can engage you in digital research, survey, report writing, social media work, etc.

Such internships are very important now to engage yourself productively, get experience albeit from a distance, and certificate of completion of the same.

4. Keep appearing for online job interviews

Fourth, keep appearing for digital interviews from a distance whoever is ready to take of whichever organization, whether finalized by the placement cell of your organization or yourself. Do not be much choosy about the organization and location etc.

What you need now is a break into the industry in a bad economy year. Our experience at Adamas is that all the MBA candidates have been placed with an average of Rs.5.5 lacs per annum and none of the offers have been withdrawn.

More than 70% of the other students of various other schools have been placed in which a few withdrawal of offers have happened. So, there is no need to panic just now, unless the lockdown extends too long.

5. Study more and build your skills

Fifth, suppose there are no jobs coming your way, you need not still panic. This is just a few months or at best a year-long economic setback.

This is the right time to value-add to yourself, through an additional programme of learning or a higher degree, and surely the best time to do a few digital diplomas and programmes.

Personal value-addition in hard and soft skills, an additional degree, multiple internships and freelance projects are together the best way to make good the loss of a bad economic year and prepare yourself for the big leap when the situation alters.

Being depressed or even over-worried helps no one. Moving beyond the moment is important. Thinking beyond the moment is important. And knowing facts about the pandemic, its impact and way out is important.

Do not pay heed to rumours, do not spread any unfounded false content. Have faith in yourself. You are born to make a difference, and a unique one at that.

Bon voyage for a beautiful, eventful, joyful and productive life ahead, beyond COVID pandemic, when we and the world are better together.

– Article by Prof Samit Ray, Chancellor, Adamas University, Kolkata

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

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