Series: Diary entry of Intern - Entry 2

We all have done something proud in our lives atleast once. Be it the smallest thing, but we all

have. Same is the case with me, so, i am sharing my story with y'all. So, there was one day

when i was roaming around in the market and saw alot of poor children and poor people

begging. I don't see them there in the market generally, but that day there were alot of them.

They were all wearing ragged clothes, begging for the smallest of things. I felt very saddened

looking at this state of theirs. They were hungry begging for food because they couldn't buy

any. Most of the people ignored them simply. But i just felt to do something little from my side

for them. It was a full fledged market and it was very crowded couldn't see much of food

available. So, i went to the other side saw alot of fruit sellers, i bought some fruits and

distributed them to those needy ones. It felt inexplicably heartwarming and a beautiful feeling

to help them, to see that smile on their faces it really was an amazingly different feeling. And

that day i felt proud for doing my little bit for them, and bringing smile on their faces.

Preksha Dubey

Social Media Marketing Intern

Youth Empowerment Foundation 

Date of entry - 26th October 2022

Series: Diary entry of Intern - Entry 1

 

Feeding the hungry

We were then in 11th class and just have started to went outside home alone apart from my

parents. I along with my friends were coming back from our tution just talking and pulling each

other's leg when two small kids followed us asking us for money. They said, "Didi paise dedo.

Bahot bhookh lagi hai." I was about to give money to them when one of my friends stopped me

saying that most of them misuse this money doing activities like smoking, drinking and the kind

so your money is not going anywhere in something good you are just contributing in his

destruction. Listening to him I stopped at a while and thought as he was absolutely right. Then I

thought for a while and took those kids to a near shop where I make them buy some biscuits

and bread which might quench their hunger for that time being . I didn't had that much of money

as we were also young at that time so we all contributed in buying them stuff. After this I saw

their smiling faces and they thanked us. Their words "Thankyou didi thankyou bhaiya" just made

us feel so good and pleased. That day was very heart-soothing and made us feel proud in

ourselves with a feeling of content.

Anushka

Social Media Marketing Intern

Youth Empowerment Foundation

Date of Entry - 18th October 2022

SELF HELP GROUPS

 Ladies-driven self-improvement gatherings (SHGs) are progressively being used as stages for conveying advancement exercises by financing offices and administrative bodies. Notwithstanding, there is presently minimal comprehension with regards to whether SHGs are viable or fair stages for conveying wellbeing or livelihoods intercessions. Social capital is estimated as a near advantage while using SHGs as improvement stages, but the particular instruments presently can’t seem to be investigated.

Self-improvement Gatherings – What are SHGs?

Self-improvement Gatherings (SHGs) are casual relationships of individuals who meet up to track down ways of working in their everyday environments. They are for the most part self-administered and peer-controlled. Individuals of comparative financial and social foundations partner by and large with the assistance of any NGO or government office and attempt to determine their issues, and work on their everyday environments.

Development Stages of Self-Help Groups in India

Numerous self-improvement gatherings are framed with the help of Self-help to advance organizations.

Each Self-help bunch ordinarily goes through 3 phases of development expressed underneath:

• Arrangement of gathering

• Financing or Formation of Capital

• Improvement of expected abilities to help pay age for the gathering.

The different kinds of Self-help advancing organizations are expressed beneath:

• Non-administrative offices 

• Government

• Destitution of the board program

• State and business banks

Elements of Self-Help Groups:

They attempt to construct the useful limit of poor and underestimated segments of society in the space of business and pay-producing exercises. They offer insurance-free advances to areas of individuals that for the most part find it hard to get credits from banks. They likewise resolve clashes using common conversations and aggregate administration. They are a significant wellspring of microfinance administrations for poor people.

Benefits of Self-Help Groups:

• Monetary Inclusion – SHGs boost banks to loan to poor and underestimated areas of society in light of the affirmation of profits.

• Voice to minimized – SHGs have given a voice to the in any case underrepresented and voiceless segments of society.

• Social Integrity – SHGs assist with destroying numerous social ills like settlement, liquor addiction, early marriage, and so on.

• Orientation Equality – By enabling ladies SHGs to assist with directing the country towards genuine orientation balance.

• Pressure Groups – SHGs go about as tension gatherings through which strain can be mounted on the public authority to follow up on significant issues.

Upgrading the effectiveness of government plans – SHGs help carry out and work on the productivity of government plans. They likewise assist with decreasing debasement through friendly reviews

Way Forward for Effective Self-Help Groups:

The Government ought to establish a strong climate for the development and improvement of the SHG development. It ought to assume the part of a facilitator and advertiser. SHG Movement ought to be extended to Credit Deficient Areas of the Country – like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and States of the North-East. The monetary foundation ought to be extended (counting that of NABARD) by taking on broad IT-empowered correspondence and limiting building estimates in these States. Expansion of Self-Help Groups to Urban/Peri-Urban Areas – endeavors ought to be made to increment pay age capacities of the metropolitan poor as there has been a fast ascent in urbanization and many individuals remain monetarily rejected.

Written By:-

Sakshi Saini

Content Writer 

Social Journal

What is Web3 ?

 Web3 is the latest web technology or third generation web technology.

Have you ever wondered how the internet started working and in what form? If not, Then let me tell you the internet was not the same as it is today. The Web has evolved a lot over the period of time. The change has been divided in 3 stages or generations:

1. Web 1.0 - It is the first and basic form of web technology which consists more of static content. It can be considered as read only-web and we cannot write or rewrite it. 

2. Web 2.0 - It is the current stage of web technology. It is more user friendly and interactive. The procedure to create content is easy and doesn’t require development skills.

3. Web3.0 -  It is the future of web technology which would be running on decentralized blockchains and crypto’s economic norms.

What exactly is web3?

There is no exact answer to this question for now. According to the research, it is basically a decentralized blockchain network which would be free from any external control. Everyone will be set at an equal footing and there will be no intermediary or regulating body. Facebook won’t be able to delete your posts and the government won’t be able to censor your content. It will enable you to control your data. There will be no single database to store the information of users and there will be less chances of breach of privacy and you will never be asked about special permissions to enable some app or feature as of now. Basically, Web3 is going to transform how we use the internet and services.

SCOPE OF WEB3 IN INDIA

 India has its own silicon valley situated in Bengaluru and it consists of a large number of engineers and work professionals. This environment creates India, a great option for investment in web3 start-ups. PolygonLEAP 2021 accelerator, launched by web3 unicorn and others has supported 31 start-ups out of more than 270 presented, Eighteen of those start-ups hail from India. India is a fast growing economy and it has potential to grow in every sector of the economy. To ensure the maximum growth, it is necessary to keep a check on policies and regulate them in a beneficial manner. In India web3 could have been beneficial if the environment had been conducive for the development. India has brought crypto trading into its taxation policy but didn’t recognize the legal status of the cryptocurrency. Scope of web3 has been undermined by the lawmakers. Some of the start-ups have also started moving out of the country, we need to keep in mind that we don’t want our young minds to go out of this place and let another human capital flight to happen. According to research by US India strategic partnership forum and digital currency exchange crossTower, India can add up to $1.1 trillion to its economy in a decade with right policies and regulation. India needs to understand the future technologies and take lessons from what happened to the Indian economy before the 1990s. It had to open up its economy in the end to handle the stifling financial crisis then. Web3 is the future and it cannot wait. Policymakers should take examples from the economies of US, UK and other European countries and make India conducive to growth of Web3 by bringing crypto currencies into the legal realm and providing them with other proper regulatory frameworks.  

Web3 is still a developing concept and we need to learn more about it. How it works and on what it depends?

 Web3 brings the best out of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 in form of decentralized network chain of web 1.0 and interaction of web 2.0. Web3 is AI driven, decentralized, transparent and works on crypto based economic norms. Web3 has quickly become one the essential skills engaging with the future technology. If you are a beginner, you can find relevant material on Binance academy or Crypto Zombies. There are courses available online for learning Web3 on coursera, questbook and Web3 university. These platforms will help you out with learning the fundamentals like blockchain, Ethereum, NFTs, digital assets and smart contracts etc. once you are familiar with basics of the technology then, you can go for making your own app with Cloudflare. One of the most growing and great sources to work with Web3 technologies is ETHGlobal.

By Gavish Chaudhary

Content Writer

Social Journal

Dress code - Importance in workspace, schools and colleges

 Dress code refers to the rules laid down orally or in writing in relation to clothing of a particular group of people, students or workers. Dress code has been a tradition starting from our school, colleges to our workspace too. Even if we try to trace the history of dress code from our ancient history, we may find that everybody had a different dress code according to their work and they were recognised through it. Dressing sense has a social significance and is not just a hoax related to physical appearance. Every occasion can be associated with a specific dress code. It has been an important part of life. Nowadays, we have a dress code which may or may not be compulsory for everything like school, college, workspace, gym, specific games, weddings, festivals, parties and clubs. Dress code is also a hotly debated topic these days for students and work professionals. It is argued that wearing a dress of your own choice will increase the efficiency and bring out better but at the same time it is also said that wearing different outfits to school or college or workspace can bring discrimination into play for example a guy wearing expensive clothes will most probably try to find a familiar person which would give rise to factions. There are two sides to every story so it’s our duty to choose what’s best. 

Pros of dress code

Dress code promotes equality among students and work professionals. It brings a sense of belongingness and keeps them united. Dress code helps to promote gender equality and keeps students and workforce away from peer pressure. Professionalism demands a formal dress code though it varies from industry to industry for example where customer or client interaction is maximum or happens routinely a formal dress code is preferred any day over casuals. Formal attire shows decency and professionalism which helps in growth of business. It also encourages professional behaviour among the staff. Employees don’t have to shift their focus from work to describe each other’s outfits which in turn increases efficiency. Seriousness and professional behaviour are also promoted with a specific dress code and that dress code carries with itself some dignity and respect which each worker or employee will try to protect. It also ensures proper safety of employees by making protective gears mandatory. In case of school and colleges. It also promotes discipline at schools and colleges by avoiding any kind of discrimination that’s possible among students due to their different way of dressing. Students can focus properly on their basic aim instead of focusing on their dresses. It also helps in reducing violence. It will cost less for students to wear a uniform instead of clothes of their choice.

Cons of dress code

Dress codes may restrict a student’s or worker’s right to freedom of expression. Everyone doesn’t fit in some commonly adapted dress code. It may also kill the vibe of diversity while bringing a sense of appropriateness. Gender based uniforms may also increase discrimination instead of decreasing it by uniform dressing code. Students may find other not so desirable ways to express them in the form of tattooing or piercings. In the case of working individuals, the same dress code could be boring for them and may decrease their creativity and efficiency. Professionals at top positions may not be comfortable while dressing up like children. Workers may not actually be a part of inclusion which can be called as the ultimate aim of dress code.

Conclusively, it can be inferred that dress code is not a problem at school or workplace or colleges, instead they become necessary when our society is getting more and more arranged. There are certain specified norms for every small task that we do in our daily life so why shouldn’t it be for our regular life including school, college and workspace. Every dress shows some uniqueness and gives a spirit of common brotherhood and boosts the confidence of an individual. It also minimises class elitism. Dress code is necessary but we need some amendments too like we need to focus upon gender neutral uniforms and making a lenient structure for dress code.

By Gavish Chaudhary

Content Writer

Social Journal

INFORMATION OVERLOADED

   

According to certain studies conducted, when people are overwhelmed by too much information it leads to certain adverse effects. During COVID-19, a survey was conducted in Seoul, South Korea among 627 residents. The study showed that the cognitive capacity and the frequency of online news use and interpersonal communication were significant predictors of information overload.

Data is everywhere. It is hidden in something as small as a human protein and as large as Earth’s atmosphere. Since the beginning of the internet, data has been growing exponentially. People are pumping out an unbelievable amount of data into the web everyday which is nearly 2.5 quintillion bytes.

Information Overloaded

Information Overloaded is a state when one is presented with too much information which causes difficulty to a person for taking decisions due to the presence of excess information or it is the kind of stress you feel when you consume more information than you can “digest”.

History

The term ‘information overloaded’ was coined by a professor of political science named Bertram Gross but it was popularised by an American writer Alvin Toffler. 

This concept was there around since 3rd or 4th century BCE. Throughout history there have been complaints about information overload particularly during the Renaissance and the industrial revolution periods.

Causes

Nowadays an enormous amount of irrelevant data is reaching among the people and make them confused. This is one of the main problems faced by the present society and so, the topic is more overlooked. Some main causes of information overload are:

• Lack of clarity in the information. As due to the large bombardment of the information the people find it difficult to reach at a final understanding as they got a lot of information but unable to understand but mere a random data.

• As there is a lot of sources to get information and each source have different meaning and it makes people confusing. Multiple sources of information are a cause of information overload.

• Sometimes the user cannot read the information within his time limit. It is due to the large amount of information.

• There are no methodologies for quickly processing, comparing and evaluating information sources.

Effects

People have started finding themselves becoming more stressed from the distraction, pressure and interruptions that have entered their lives because of the relentless flow of information.

Poor decision-making is one of the biggest impacts of information overload, which has reduced the mental capacity. Researches shows that information overload has made people to work below their potential and lost their focus on work. As a result, less productivity, think superficially and generate fewer ideas and cause errors. Due to the poor mental health, it takes time to keep all the information. This not only happens in work but also in personal life also and starts to affect health. Dealing with a lot of stress than before cause increase in anxiety levels, high rate of irritation and depression level and may lead to death sometimes.

Preventions

The information should be kept simple so that it will be easy to interpret. It should be presented in an innovative way so that the user can understand easily. Use the information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. The provided information should be linked with similar ideas so that users can relate them.

Individuals can also avoid information overload by themselves.

• Ignore the extra information that they feel ignored or cannot consume.

• The information can be tackled by taking more time.

• Try to take key points from the bundle in information and work upon it rather be confused.

• Divide the work among others.

Information overload is a phenomenon which makes people confusing due to the bundle of data. In the coming generations this keeps on increasing. The prevention measures stated above can provide a relief for the users. The libraries, information professionals etc should come forward and provide certain measures for tackling the problem innovatively and effectively.

 By  Siddharth Krishnan

Content Writer

Social Journal

CHARITY FRAUD

 Giving money to others can give satisfaction to the donors. They may feel that many people are aided by their money and it is being spent for a good cause. On the other hand, there are many scams or frauds with the same. In such cases, one cannot claim that their money is reaching the right destination. For eg. In Hyderabad, a girl was scammed by a group of three people including a Nigerian on spiritual matters through social media and they took 6.52 lakhs for charity work in India, but were later caught by the police.

Charity Fraud

Charity fraud is an act of using fraudulent ways to ask people to donate money for charitable work, charitable trust, organizations, etc. Such people claim that they are part of an imaginary charitable trust asking people to donate to a non-existent charity. The money that is donated is generally used for other activities in favour of those people.

Signs of Charity scams

• Refusal to provide charity details: The people who commit such scams refuse to provide any relevant details such as any information about the organization, amount of money used, its headquarters, its tax-exempt number, etc.

• A pressurized ask: A lot of scammers make you donate through a pressurized asking so that they can claim the money more easily. But reputed organizations make you understand their trust and aims while also providing enough time to decide.

• Alternate payment methods: Providing money in cash, gift cards, or through any applications that they provide should be avoided as this will ensure that you won’t get that money back once paid.

• Registration on the accountable website: There are sites on which charity trusts can be registered to prove their accountability. As a genuine trust tries to protect its consumers by registering itself on the same, a fraudulent one would generally not be found registered on any such websites.

Types of Charity Fraud

Charity fraud can be divided into two types; internal and external

1. Internal:

These types of scams occur within organizations. The people working for the organization can fraudulently handle the money, steal it or perform any such related activities. The officials can abuse their power by manipulating the money and making false expenses. These kinds of activities lead to poor financial policies.

2. External:

Fraudulent activities that take place outside the organization can be included in external frauds. These include funding for false incidents and cyber-crimes such as sending emails, hacking, etc.

Steps to prevent Charity fraud

There are many ways in which people can prevent charity scams by themselves some of which are:

Donating to established, certified organizations which you trust the most or adore their work. Beware of scams where a fraud institution is introduced in the name of a reputed organization. At present charity, fraud is going on in the name of COVID. Money should be given only after proper research. Proper research about the organization is important before giving out your precious money. Every proper organization is registered under certain government-oriented corporations. Always try to donate through cheque or credit card as most scammers collect money in cash, gift card, etc. so as to prevent any proof. There can be requests for donations sent through mails or other platforms, avoid clicking on any links provided with such emails as they may lead to giving out your private information to the wrong hands.

 Conclusion

Charity monitoring organizations are there to eradicate the charity scams that are present in society. They provide information about these scams to the people and make them aware of the same.

A crucial role is played by charitable trusts in the social structure. Despite all these precautions the general public is mending to fall into such scams because of their generous nature and also the scammers trying to be more and more promising every day.

                                                                 By  Siddharth Krishnan

Content Writer

Social Journal