Any scoop of news which is even slightly baffling would definitely grab the eye ball. I am sure most of you have heard of this phrase, “a little bit of controversy always helps”. It is said to be one of the easiest ways to gain publicity and get you or your particular niche/genre/group/product or service recognized.

When it comes to controversies and mass media, I cannot think of an instance other than the so-called “Reality Shows”! I have always loathed reality shows for their lack of imagination. All I could see are some people locked up in a house together without any form of communication with the outside world…yet the world over, people are watching them. Or talented children losing their innocence and those precious years of childhood only for some fame and recognition which I feel they would anyway get when they grow older. And then we have people who I guess are so unaccepted by the society that they need to advertise themselves on television with the producers organizing a “Swayamvar” for them to get married. Well, there are no happily everafters in this world and so, only to see them breaking up sooner or later which again creates more news.

On the other hand, it is easier to imagine Kiran Bedi in Aap ki Kachehri. Atleast, we get to see some of the realities which happen in everyday life rather than the plastic world. However, imagine a similar concept with Rakhi Sawant advising on general issues! And my answer is “couldn’t NDTV find a better judge?” Or rather, our very own Ms. Sawant is definitely the Queen Bee when it comes to controversies. So, the channel would sure be tuned in!

Similarly, we have actors or celebrity couples performing in Dance Competitions or people from the masses singing their way to glory. Amongst all these, one would definitely find a good dose of spices and condiments. Right from arguments to cat fights to the much-hyped judges…everything seems to be done for those TRPs!

Wait…there is more! We also have those going back to their previous lives through some hypnotic techniques claiming to be finding out their deepest secrets. Or there are people ready to be all truthful just for some money. Well, money is definitely something important but what use would it be if it is at the cost of our loved ones?

Well, I guess enough of examples. But then it is important to realize as of why these shows are an instant hit with the audience? After all, there is some reason that made me write a piece on it despite having an aversion towards them. The reason behind the success of these shows has been that they are different from the usual. We all like watching something new and exciting which is very different from the usual definition of entertainment. And so, the media moghuls have started saying, “Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega!”

On the other hand, for the celebrities (who are usually the actors from television) participating, they are better recognized with their actual names for a change. And more popularity for sure! However, when it comes to common people taking part in these shows, it is their talent which is recognized. It is definitely a platform for those who would want to make it big. Although, concrete examples are yet to come out!

But the more important fact is to what extent one is ready to go in order to be recognized? Agreed that it does bring in a good amount of publicity for those involved! Also, this definitely leads to the best form of publicity which is done through the word of mouth. At the same time, those involved in controversies are a source for gossip throughout. Above all, controversy does sell!

Before writing this piece of article, let me give my verdict first… No one should take it personally here! This is one of the most discussed topics amongst gossip mongers, but the discussion is done in a suppressed manner, knowing the kind of nature held by this article!

Now let me tell you the final outcome of this discussion! Sleeping with your boss can actually enhance your career, and if you are a woman, the chances further hike up! Wait a minute… Again I am telling you that these are not my personal views, but the same has been confirmed by a recent research.

Forget about this research for a while. I will come on the statistics later but isn’t it a fact that there is one or the other person in any office (Tell me if I am wrong) who won’t mind sleeping with her boss or at least have thought about this idea just to enhance her career. She might be someone who is NOT well educated or is sure that she will NOT get a better paying job than this one! So, she finds ways to stay in the job! And what best than having an affair with your boss! Not all think the same, but this world is not short of “opportunists” people!

But again, the girl should not be blamed solely for this! Isn’t it that the boss somewhere is “opportunist” too? But at the end of the day, it is business – business of give and take. Once gives and another one takes! And sometimes, one has to pay a heavy price for it… But that is world for you!

As far as the statistics are concerned, the report shows that 37 per cent of the office workers have confirmed that they have shared bed with their bosses just to enhance their career. No matter how practical or career-minded a woman is, it has been believed that she needs a “sponsor” at some point or the other to climb the steps of her career ladder at one stage or another.

Even the ones who are working at “Director” level, don’t mind having a fling in the office, the report has confirmed the same.

But all office affairs are NOT always beneficial! How would you know that the boss would pay his part after sleeping with you! Think!!!

Written by : Aakanksha Gulati

With the recent reports on racial attacks on Indian students which had taken the nation aback, there was a significant decrease in the number of students going to Australia to pursue their higher education. According to a recent report from CNBC – TV18, when compared to the previous year, there has been a drop by about forty percent in the number of student visa applications from India.

With the above figures in place, the Department of Immigration in Australia is taking steps in order to assure the Indian students (the young students who are prospective candidates for studying in Australia) that the nation is safe.

According to Peter N Varghese, the Australian High Commissioner, several measures are being taken to ease the issue. As of now, the authorities are working on making the policies pertaining to immigration, a bit more relaxed. This is being done by conducting seminars across the world. Also, a special immigration policy is also being introduced for the students from India. More so, other factors that are catering to this problem are the global economy which is unstable along with the fluctuations in currency.

Apart from the measures being taken by the government, there are many institutions which are providing sponsorship in order to attract to students from India. This is because these students are the ones who cater to the higher education and lead to significant contribution to the economy of the nation. The High Commission has mentioned that it is sure of the increased number of visa applications from Indian students in the near future.

Google can be considered as the Father of Innovations. With yet another feather in its hat, Gmail is much more accessible for voice and video chatting. So now, it is much easier to keep in touch with family and friends with the help of a computer microphone and speakers. However, till now, it was a pre-requisite to both the people chatting or communicating to be logged into Gmail at that point of time. Obviously, it is not possible for the people to sit online the whole day for leisure talking. So, Google has an alternative in the form of our regular phones!

So, it’s even easier now with Gmail enabling a user to make a call on a regular phone. As of now, calls made to US and Canada would be completely free of cost for this year. However, calls made to other nations would be charged at a very price. As of now, calls made to France, China, UK, Germany as well amongst other nations would cost as less as $0.02 a minute.

In order to make this feature work, all that needs to be done is to click on the Call phone option on top of the chat list and then the user can dial a phone number. Otherwise, the user can also enter the name of the contact to whom he wants to talk to. This feature is almost similar to how a phone number is dialed in a regular phone.

The professionals at Google have been working on this feature internally. They have found that this has been quite utile in many different circumstances. These situations include dialing a quick number to the restaurant to place an order. Other aspects include when a person in an area where the reception is bad.

Incase a user has a Google Voice Phone Number, an outbound caller ID would be shown for all the calls which have been made from Gmail. With this, one can also receive calls from this number in Gmail itself.

As of now, this feature is only to those users who are based in the United States for the coming few days. However, the user would have to install the plug-ins for the voice and video service, if this has not been done previously.

This application is still on the verge of being developed for a broader usage for the purpose of school and businesses. For now, lucky if you are a resident of the United States! For the users residing in the rest of the world, stay tuned!

According to Corporate America, the biggest brands in technology would not have made it to their current position without the much needed skilled migrants from overseas. Big brands such Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Google to name a few, could not have made it to the top spot otherwise.

According to a report which has been made for the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the American Council of International Personnel (ACIP), a strong defense is seen especially towards India. Such terms have been mentioned 43 times followed by China and Chinese with nine references.

When it comes to the ACIP, their objective is to cater to the relevant resources as well as the support which is required for the development of placement, mobility as well as the training of the highly academically qualified professionals throughout the world.

This report has come about when many measures have been taken recently to curb immigration. All the major high tech firms see it as the role of the highly qualified immigrants for their success. Many examples have been cited with reference to immigrants in the report. The H1-B program has been the key to all these developments which took place in the realm of technology. For instance, Orkut which was created by Orkut Buyukkokten is from Turkey. He received his PhD from Stanford University and later on joined Google as a software engineer.

A research by William Kerr from the Harvard Business School and William F. Lincoln from the University of Michigan has also been referred to in the report. This research projects a connection between the increased patent filings and the H-1B admissions. This has been found for both the companies as well as the cities.

The report also has a special section known as the “Hyperbole about Indian Company Use of H1-B Visas”. This part caters to the H1-B visas granted to the Indian professionals who come and work in the United States.

In a hearing by the High Court, it was forced for the Commonwealth to fight for the legality of immigration detention. This has come about in reference to a hearing for an application regarding the overturning of a decision taken by the Federal Government.

This decision involved the rejection of applications submitted by two men of Sri Lankan origin. These men came to Christmas Island in October last year. They claimed that if they are deported back to Sri Lanka, they would be persecuted. It is also being said that these men are supposed to be the supporters of the Tamil Tigers movement which is a paramilitary and banned in many countries.

These men wanted Chris Evans, the Immigration Minister for Australia to step in and look into their case. However, the Minister refused as he felt it was none of his duty to intervene.

Justice Maree Crennan, questioned Stephen Gageler, SC, the Solicitor-General about the conditions on which these asylum seekers have been detained. These questions were asked during the proceedings. According to Mr. Gageler, this has been mentioned very clearly in the Migration Act.

The above is just one aspect of the growing number of asylum seekers and illegal migration that is hitting Australia lately. With this, suspected members of terrorist organizations is another threat which nations are facing across the world. Comprehensive work and approach is needed in order to come about with a solution to this problem.

Non – renewable sources are depleting at a very high rate which is a threat to the survival of the human race. In a world which survives on technology which is highly driven by oil and other forms of petroleum, along with the constant rise in population, some answers have to be sought in order to survive and prosper with the changing environment. In today’s world where resources are being consumed very rapidly, this is a remarkable breath of fresh air.

We all know about the ill-effects that come about with plastics. At the same time, many of us do not know about the higher energy value that is possessed by this material when compared to other forms of waste. In another marvelous breakthrough, Blest which is a Japanese company has come about with a machine which is capable of converting various types of plastic into oil.

It is a common fact that burning plastic with flame yields carbon dioxide. But instead of using flame, this newly developed machine uses an electric heater which is temperature controlled. This heater is used to transform plastic into crude gas. This gas could be used as a source for power for household appliances which are run by gas. Such appliances include generators, boilers as well as stoves and so on.

This crude gas if further refined can be used to pump into a motorcycle or even a car. The new machine is rather small but highly efficient. It has the capacity of produce almost one liter of oil which can either be kerosene, gasoline or diesel. This one liter can be formed from each kilogram of plastic. All that the machine requires is electricity of 1 kilowatt as power to run the machine for the necessary conversion to take place.

As of now, this machine is able to process plastic such as polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene. However, it cannot work with class 1 plastic which is used for PET bottles. Despite that, this machine is the beginning of an answer to a very serious issue being faced by our world.

About sixty machines have already been deployed at various farms, small factories as well as fisheries in different parts of Japan. A few of these machines have also been installed overseas. It has to be noted here that this machine is not only confined to plastic. Any form of relevant trash or waste material could be used to generate oil. This oil could then be used as power for tour busses as well as boats. Apart from these, this could also be used for kitchen stoves in restaurants.

Today, we are at such a juncture where conserving the non-renewable sources of energy and utilizing the renewable forms is of utmost importance. Otherwise, the human race would cease to exist the way we know it!

It is said that some aspects or things in this world never change. This phrase was just proved to me when I went back to my college today. It’s been four years since I finished my Bachelor’s degree from a college which is known to be highly academically oriented. Our student days are the most cherished because this is the time when we make friends for life. So, whenever we step back and rewind, we expect happy memories. But then life is not the way it seems to be…

After four years, I went back to my college only to meet an administrative staff which is cold and distant. It was the same then but as a student it was expected. However, fours years later when I am a working professional, my outlook has obviously changed. But then, no surprises here, it is India and it is very common to be received like that especially in a government educational institution. Just like any other ex-student who wanted her mark sheet copies to be attested, I asked the concerned people for the same.

As always, part of the job was done instantly, which included paying money for the transcripts and collecting a receipt. But when it came to stamping my mark sheets, apparently it is too time consuming to stamp five copies of degree and mark sheets. More so, when it came to leaving the concerned documents after verification for the work to be done and being collected later, it seems some aspects are simply not possible.

As professionals, we all aim to work towards a solution for any problem. But when it comes to a government institution, harassment is the only answer. All that these people are trained to do is make visitors wait because time is a resource for them. Apparently, colleges in Delhi (especially my college) seem to be forgetting that a college gains its reputation only because of its students.

On the other hand, we have our professors who introduce us to their current batch of students as one of the brightest of our times. We are set as an example which we obviously never thought when we were studying that we would secure such a position in the hearts of our professors. They are more than glad to help but then when it comes to the administrative part, even they fall back.

I know this write-up aims at some negative publicity but it is high time some sense of acknowledgement comes in from these people who think that they are the stalwarts of the college. They have to be reminded that they are the first ones who represent the college to an outsider who walks into the campus. As students, we were taught how important it is to be professional to succeed in this highly competitive world. But it seems to be the least important for those who are important where it matters.

Imagine someone saying the above in a corporate office to an outsider! The scene would be definitely somewhat different. Resisting a visitor like that would mean an insult which clearly is not a good show put up by an organization. Time is a resource for everyone and not a mere individual. It is high time that this fact is realized by those who are earning a fat sum of money only to ask people to come back later!

Canada welcomes thousands of immigrants every year. As far as the statistics from Citizenship and Immigration Canada is concerned, year 2008 saw the immigration of 250,000 applicants, which included 87,000 who chose Toronto as their immigration destination whereas 37,500 immigrated to the beautiful place Vancouver.

Canada has always welcomed people from all over the world with open hands. In addition, the country never leaves any stone unturned when it comes to providing assistance to these new comers and helping them settle down in life.

In another attempt to provide assistance to new Canadians, the federal government has come out with plenty of programs to offer assistance on vital aspects of life in the country. For instance, knowledge regarding aspects of banking and economic factors is provided by the Immigrant Settlement and Adaption program. It also provides valuable information on employment and education related queries which the new Canadians suffer on a regular basis.

In another instance, all the loan related queries are solved by the Immigration Loans Programs. Other documents linked with medical examination and travel related costs and papers required for the same are guided by the same body.

In addition, new comers would be granted financial help from the banks in Canada. For instance, necessary devices and products would be given to the new comers by the BMO Bank of Montreal under their newly implemented package.

For more information in immigrating to Canada, contact an Immigration and visa expert (www.abhinav.com).

On 14th August, I was in one of the multiplexes in Delhi when all of a sudden people stopped wherever they were. I too followed the rest having no clue what was going on around me. It took me a while to realize what was happening. No one cared about getting late or whether they would miss the beginning of a movie. It took me a while to notice that the National Anthem was being played. For a second, it seemed that the world has stopped functioning. And the people were paying their respects to it.

The question has crossed my mind many a times- “Does the Indian National Anthem hold the same value in the hearts of the people that it once did?” And my answer is a definite Yes! The above was just one of the many instances which have proved time and again, that the essence of patriotism continues to be same. Agreed that India is changing socially as well as globally but what stands constant is that the Indians are still true of their nation. However, the approach to project this patriotism has changed drastically. But then with times, change is constant which suits to the changing generation.

The views and opinions have definitely changed and with that, the way people perceive aspects around them. The outlook of today’s youth is definitely modernized (especially the urban youth). And so, there has been a transformation from the traditional Indian clothes to the western outfits. At the same time, the essence of the Indian traditions continues to exist with people celebrating all the festivals with zeal and enthusiasm as always. For instance, the festival of Rakshabandhan is here and so, the preparations are full-on!

On the other hand, a modern perspective in place does not stop the youth to go back to their parents and touch their feet. India has always been known for its strong family ties and for the strong institution of the family. And the tradition continues to exist, although with a twist!

At the same time, the youth is comparatively more secular and respects all traditions and religions which make the nation a better place to live. Also, be it any part of the world; Indians living abroad tend to keep the nation and its culture alive!

Above all, it is the recognition and the feeling of belongingness that binds the people to their home which is the nation here. And so, despite what seems to be the bigger picture, people in India carry the nation in their hearts!