Hybrid MOOCS in Alliance University ..

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are the rage of the modern developed world to ensure lifelong learning and understanding of advanced concepts. Being taught by reputed Professors from reputed organisations across the world, MOOCs are being used both by students and employed professionals across the world to understand advanced and very modern concepts of knowledge to ensure lifelong learning. 

Being especially keen to ensure deployment of global standards of excellence and quality practices in Alliance University, around 2014-15, the Operations stream from AU first offered a hybrid course , integrating two MOOCs from  www.coursera.org with the core subject of Operations Strategy for MBA third semester students of Jan batch which I was engaging. One MOOC was offered before the midsem exams, MOOC on Competitive Strategy by Ludwig Maxmillens University, Germany and one after the midsem exams, Advanced Competitive Strategy, offered by the same University, (both were taught by Prof. Tobias Kretschmer). It was a success ! The exposure to the students was world class !! This was an augmentation for the students to classroom sessions and knowledge.

The hybrid learning experiment was continued in 2015-2016 for two more subjects.

We wish to share the learnings from this academic experiment with the faculty community of Alliance University. Prof. Sukanya Kundu from Operations stream of ASB has been going through many modern and latest MOOCs as a superior knowledge gathering and augmentation tool to help improve teaching and research effectiveness. As we know some more faculty from AU use MOOCs to augment their knowledge to ensure high quality academic delivery to students. This forum will help share our learnings and experience.

The Open Forum session this week looks at this knowledge sharing with the academic community of AU to help faculty across streams and Colleges to improve their teaching effectiveness and offer the best high quality learning experience to the students. Faculty members will be sharing from their personal experience. 

Date : 30 August 2018

Time : 3.30 - 4.30 PM

Venue : LHN 101

Topic of Discussion : Improving teaching effectiveness through MOOCs - live case study 

We shall be sharing a copies of a couple of draft papers from this experiment with the participants at the meeting. 

We request all teaching faculty looking to innovative ways to improve their learning effectiveness across the different schools of AU, across different streams of knowledge to participate in the discussion and help us to further the frontiers of knowledge.

Click here for a doc related to this ..

Click here for another doc on this topic  ..

Click here for the presentation ..

george..

Tiffany Brar and Jyotirgamaya Foundation ..

How a visually challenged girl with her courage and determination helped many other visually challenged people break the bondage of blindness and walk to self-respect and freedom .. 

Real grit and determination ..

Click here for an interesting video on Tiffany ..

Click here for another video ..

Tiffany Brar, born in Chennai in 1989, now 29 years of age, in 2012 established Jyotirgamaya Foundation. An alumnus of Women's  college, Trivandrum in 2009 graduating from there in English literature, she resides in Trivandrum .. 

Her awards and accolades..

- In 2012, she received the *Kerala State Award for Social Worker*.

- In 2015, she received the *Women of the Year Award* from Hope Trust.

- In 2016, she received the *For the Sake of Honour Award*, Rotary International's highest award.

- In 2016, she received the Prestigious *Saarthak Naari Women Achievers Award*

- In 2017, she received the *Bold and Beautiful Award* from Doordarshan.

- In 2017, she received the *Sarojini Trilok Nath-National Best Role Model Award* from National Association for the Blind

- In 2017, she received the *Age of Unknown Award* by TEDx vazthacaud

- In 2017, she received the *National award for being a 'Best role model' * from the President of India

- In 2018, she received the *Women of the Year Award* from Job Day Foundation

- In 2018, she received the *Make A Difference Award* from Rotary International

- In 2018, she received the *Women of Vision Kerala vanitha Rathna Award*

- In 2018, she received the *Phoenix Award* from Padmasree Mammooty

- In 2018, she received the *Vocational Excellence Award* from Rotary International

- In 2018, she received the *Real Hero Award* by ZEE Tv from Vivek Oberoi ,Omung Kumar and Huma Qureshi

Let's salute this brave young woman ..

George..

Have a meaningful life .. (from the Internet

Here is a buffet spread for a meaningful life style - choice is yours.

Starters: (pick any 2)

1. Get up early (you can accomplish 20% more during 5 am to 8 am)

2. Exercise at least for 30 minutes  daily (you have no choice on this)

3. Meditate /pray/ visualize positive things/do yoga for 30 minutes every day.

Main course (pick any 4)

1) Invest in best clothes you can afford-along with good shoes (It has been proved, that better dressed people appeal 15 % more-all things being equal)

2) Outsource everything, which is not your core competence. 

3) Reduce your mobile time by 30 % (Mobile phones are the biggest time waster)

4)At least take one bold decision, which you were always scared to take. (No one wants to die with regrets - do you?)

5) Train your brain to think creatively every day. Try to do different things to exercise your brain muscles- play some sport,  go to new restaurants, visit zoo, listen to different music, watch kids playing, spend time with senior citizens. 

6) try to help the elderly, weak, marginalised or dispossessed in society in any way possible and pray for them 

Desserts (pick all)

1. Take atleast 2 vacations in a year.

2. Devote atleast one day a week for family n friends. 

3. Learn a new hobby.

4.  Smile at all possible times. 

5.  Watch one movie in a cinema hall/ play in auditorium every month (it is therapy for the soul)

6.  Read at least 12 books in a year. ( 1 every month )

7.  Start picking n completing things undone. Discard unwanted & unused stuff from your house and your mind.

8.  Get in touch with one old friend whom you have not spoken for years.

9. Laugh often.

Have an Awesome Life!!

Important documents on Disaster Management ..

The recent natural calamity of massive floods in Kerala of great magnitude caused by a mix of human induced and natural factors has caught the attention of people the world over. Understanding the causes of the floods to mitigate its negative impact and prevent recurrence of similar events in future is the only step forward. 

The exact timing of such stochastic events of great magnitude has always baffled scientists and researchers world over for centuries. One of the topmost ecologists of India and former Professor of environmental sciences at IISc Bangalore Prof. Madhav Gadgil (PhD, Harvard) had prepared a report on the man made degradation of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats in Kerala and submitted to Government of Kerala in 2011. This sensitive report was outright rejected by the Kerala society due to their poor awareness of the possibility of destructive events of such enormous magnitude.

This massive degradation when combined with the destructive impact of overflowing massive water reservoirs used to generate electricity has a multiplier destructive impact on the environment and human settlements.

Here are a couple of docs of use for general reading and discussion to help get a good grasp of the event  and the regulations governing recovery and rehabilitation by the Government of India and NIMHANS Bangalore .. 

National Disaster Recovery Management plan (click here for pdf) has 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PNXP8_gHc102jkRJWBLnF57keNadmzK4

Psychosocial care in disaster management (click here for pdf) 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FDKwWBXJWeJBJTqGq3DRKvabz-NQQhhE

Rainfall and floods in Kerala ..

This is the doc from IMD on Kerala rainfall . (click here - doc A)

My blog on Prof. Gadgil's writing ..(click here - doc B)

There are lot of comments coming out whether the Kerala govt could have done something earlier to prevent this disaster. A postmortem .. 

The learned Prof. Madhav Gadgil

Of all these analysis and learned reports, I feel Prof. Madhav Gadgil's report (doc B) and the watered down Kasturirangan report (under the pressure of the politicians and religious heads across Kerala) is the most important.

The Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh in February 2010 had a meeting in Kotagiri TN  with the representatives of the Save the Western Ghats which consisted of environmental experts from the Southern and Western states and wanted to asses the damages and recommend preventive measures which could prevent the degradation of the Western Ghats. Acordingly after the meeting Jairam Ramesh constituted the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel under Prof. Madhav Gadgil to assess the ecology and biodiversity of the Western Ghats which extends 1500 kms from Kerala right upto Gujarat and recommend measures to conserve, protect and rejuvenate the Western Ghats.

Findings of the Gadgil Committee report : 

The boundaries of the Western Ghats for the purposes of ecological management was defined. The total area in this boundary came to 1,29,037 square km, running about 1.490 km north to south, with a maximum width of 210 km in Tamil Nadu and minimum of 48 km in Maharashtra. It proposed that this entire area be designated as ecologically sensitive area (ESA). 

Within this area, smaller regions were to be identified as ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ) I, II or III based on their existing condition and nature of threat. It proposed to divide the area into about 2,200 grids, each approximately 9 km × 9 km, of which 75 per cent would fall under ESZ I or II or under already existing protected areas such as wildlife sanctuaries or natural parks.

It recommended:

• Ban on cultivation of genetically modified plants in the entire area
• Plastic bags to be phased out in three years
• No new special economic zones or hill stations to be allowed
• Ban on conversion of public lands to private lands, and on diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes in ESZ I and II
• No new mining licences in ESZ I and II area
• No new dams in ESZ I
• No new thermal power plants or large scale wind power projects in ESZ I
• No new polluting industries in ESZ I and ESZ II areas
• No new railway lines or major roads in ESZ I and II areas
• Strict regulation of tourism
• Cumulative impact assessment for all new projects like dams, mines, tourism, housing
• Phase-out of all chemical pesticides within five to eight years in ESZ I and ESZ II

The committee proposed a Western Ghats Ecology Authority to regulate these activities in the area.

Dr K Kasturirangan, courtesy Alchetron

When the recommendations of the Gadgil commitee was neglected by the government (to their own detriment ), it constituted another committee called the Western Ghats Expert Promotion Group under Dr K Kasturirangan (ISRO) in August 2012 which submitted its report in April 2013.

The Kasturirangan report broadened the definition of Western Ghats and included a total of 1,64,280 square km in it. 

• Classified WG as comprising cultural landscape and natural landscape. 
• Nearly 60% of the Western Ghats was cultural landscape, where human settlements, agriculture and plantations existed. 
• The remaining was natural landscape, of which the “biologically rich” area was only 37% or about 60,000 sq km. 
• It was only this part that the committee said needed to be classified as ecologically sensitive area (ESA)

Its main recommendations for ESA

• Ban on mining, quarrying and sand mining
• No new thermal power projects, but hydro power projects allowed with restrictions
• Ban on new polluting industries
• Building and construction projects up to 20,000 sq m was to be allowed but townships were to be banned
• Forest diversion could be allowed with extra safeguards

In 2016, the Environment Ministry released the draft notification demarcating 56,285 sqkm of the Western Ghats as ESA from 59,940 sqkm as recommended by the KasturiRangan committee,,  ie, there has been further erosion from the KasturiRangan report too.

This is the latest status of the 3 environment committee report on the Western Ghats. While the first Gadgil committee report was very tough and insisted on strict measures for the preserrvation of the Western ghats ecological system in its pristine beauty and purity, the other two reports have been looking at widening the area under Western Ghats with a simultaneous dilution of the recommendations to preserve its purity and sanctity. 

All to the detriment not only of the people of Kerala but for the whole western coast of India. 

george.. (with inputs from Indian Express 22 Aug 2018)

Critical questions to assess the green building status ..

Some basic aspects of green buildings ..

As part of an assignment that I have given my students to assess the green building certification requirements and to record their observations on the same, I have prepared these set of questions.

A ‘green’ building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.

There are a number of features which can make a building ‘green’. These include:

• Efficient use of energy, water and other resources
• Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy
• Pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of re-use and recycling
• Good indoor environmental air quality
• Use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical and sustainable
• Consideration of the environment in design, construction and operation
• Consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction and operation
• A design that enables adaptation to a changing environment - World Green Building Council 

How can we make our buildings green ? (click here ..)

A good set of questions to ask as part of the assignment ..

1. Intent - Why have you gone for Green Building certification ?
2. Initial preparations - What were the steps you took at the time of building the structure ?
3. RM procurement - From where were raw materials procured ? Locally available ?
4. Ventilation design for better air quality - How is the ventilation design of the building ?
5. Optimal lighting system making use of natural lighting - What are the lighting systems used in the building ?
6. Have you made use of natural lighting by giving enough windows, glass panels ?
7. Green coverage - What percentage of your total area is built-up , ie. what is the greenery coverage ?
8. Sewage water treatment plant - How is sewage water treated ?
9. Collecting rain water - Is there rainwater harvesting in the building ?
10. Electrc transportation  - Do you use any electric vehicles for transportation on the campus ?
11. Advanced green technology augmentation  - Do you use any smart / AI system / IoT equipments to control usage of energy ?
12. Air quality - What steps are taken to improve the interior air quality and environment in the rooms ?
13. Solar energy / other renewable sources - have solar panels been deployed for electrical energy ?
14. Energy use - are equipments having Energy Star ratings ?
15. Painting - are walls painted with light colours enabling maximum reflection and less absorption ?

Here is a link to a set of green homes in Bangalore ..

Here is a list of Green Corporate offices in Bangalore  ..

Link to Public Affairs Centre Jigani, Bangalore - India;s first Carbon neutral campus ..

George..

Thanksgiving as fishermen depart from water logged Kerala villages

Melancholy reigns - The local are really grateful ..

Near Chengannur, locals line the streets and salute the fishermen heroes as they pack their boats and leave. Salute to them! ❤

The locals have mixed feelings - of gratefulness, melancholy and sadness of separation of their loved ones from them, of deep grief and sadness .. The fishermen folk in all humility and feeling of sadness are in turn grateful to the public of Chengannur for giving them a chance to serve them and be of use to society.  

Really heart touching - no words to say how thankful they are  ..

The real heroes of the mission and the real patriots - the fishermen living in the coastal villages . Their selfless service helped save thousands of lives and rescue almost half of the million displaced people who are still in the camps .. The thanksgiving should not end here, this is just the beginning .. 

It is now the bounden duty of mainstream Kerala society to include these oft neglected sections of society in all our decisions on health, education, employment and infrastructure spending, they are more than our countrymen, they are our own dear beloved brethren and siblings !! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

George .. (pic courtesy Internet..)