Digital technologies in Mangalore University

Establishment of Digital technologies in Mangalore University, Konaje

Mon,5 November: Mangalore University has a fully interactive web portal, CCTV enabled and wifi driven campus.

Cartoon by Dan Rosandich

Mangalore University established in 1980 due to the increase in demand for a local university.The university has 25 PG departments, 208 affiliated colleges/institutions that include 2 constituent, 4 law, 18 education and 5 autonomous colleges.It is the first college in country to set up bachelor's degree programmes in Hotel Management & Tourism, Fashion Design, Apparel/Garment Design, Leather Design & Technology, and Human Resource Development and post-graduate programmes in Computer Software and Yogic Sciences.

Website: https://mangaloreuniversity.ac.in/

Their website was set up in the year 2016 by Ventures Pvt Ltd. Q Ventures Pvt Ltd is a company launched in early 2016. The website has following features including:”

• Comprehensive Sub Portals for each & every Dept. of Mangalore University
• An Online  Student admissions & Grievance management system
• A compact Stakeholder Management CRM with a University intranet & email facility
• A Video conferencing facility for the University top management   
• Colorful & brilliant touch screen Information Kiosks  spread across the University
• Bright & brilliant Digital Display Signage across the University”- Q Ventures Pvt LTD.

Each department has sub portals with elaborate information on respective department, its mission and faculty. Students admission can be done online.Fees can be paid online.

Evaluation is also done online which has been developed by company known as ATRIS.Exam results can be checked online.

Video conferencing facility has been setup which enables professors to communicate with registrars or council of higher education or anybody. Projectors are set up. There are kiosks in corridors which provide information regarding courses, admission etc.

Mangalore University has fully equipped laboratory for it's students. Labs such as CARER - Centre for advanced research in Environmental radioactivity and Microtron Center are also equipped with computers. They also have 2 computer labs which have connection to the internet. Even the library is well equipped with computers for browsing catalogues.

CARER

The whole campus is surveillanced by CCTV cameras for security of the students. Students can connect to WiFi provided by the university for better connectivity. WiFi has firewall enabled which prevents connection to malicious and adult sites. If done so it will alert the IT department and the person trying connect to such sites would be disavailed from WiFi service. Mangalore University also has one ATM in their campus.

Orientation Programmes are held for students of all streams on digital technology for about a period of two weeks. This ensures that they are digitally aware of the technologies available to them. Dr. B.H Shekar, head of Computer Science department said ,

“ In future we are planning to start courses on Cyber security. Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with IBM are planning to bring out courses on developing digital skills. Students should be aware of pros and cons of digital technology, So it necessary that they develop their skills in it. They should have basic knowledge on prevention of cyber theft, identity theft and privacy.”

To plant or not to ?

Plant saplings a fix for removal of trees?

“Tree makes one million matchsticks. But one matchstick can burn one million trees.”  This is how humans are, they borrow multiple things from nature and out of greed burn everything else along the way. Recently I read about this fabulous idea, felling of trees can be compromised by planting saplings. This thought made me think if it was actually possible?

Generally, a seed to sprout and then grow into a fully functioning tree takes around1-2 years. This category is excluding the fruit-bearing ones. We are considering the most important feature of all ‘Oxygen’ production. Trees also stabilize soil, provide shelter to various creatures, give us fruits and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen etc. According to me the conversion of carbon dioxide into oxygen is the most important feature of the tree without which existence of all living creatures which intake oxygen would not thrive. Deforestation kills livelihood of communities living in forests where forest is their everything. It has been providing them with shelter and nourishment. Sometimes I presume in this digital era if trees offered wifi instead of oxygen there would be less deforestation?

How can planting sapling be a fix to deforestation? I strongly believe this idea is false. When deforestation takes place humans do not take into account which tree they are shedding from nature and when they decide to plant saplings it will be selective. This method leads to an artificial plantation which completely destroys natural vegetation present in that area. Even if they manage to reciprocate it would still be a poor substitute.    

Should we compromise development for conserving environment? Urban population ( nearly 32%) contributes over 60% to GDP and is said to reach 75% in the next few years. Even globally urban population has played significant roles in economic growth. Society has taken sustainable development into consideration but in a country like India which has a superabundant population. Therefore massive migration has surfaced over recent years. Here deteriorating quality of life and lack of basic infrastructure are the main problems so sustainable development has been sidelined. We can see this considering China as an example. China has topped to economic charts but at a huge environmental cost. India too has cities which are highly polluted but not as much as China. Various proposals must be brought forward so that environment is not compromised for economic growth.

As I mentioned earlier above about substitution of trees and planting sapling would not work out, Indian government under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has an act known as Compensatory afforestation(CA).” It refers to afforestation and regeneration activities carried out as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest purposes. Here "non-forest purpose" means the breaking up or clearing of any forest land or a portion thereof for-

the cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or medicinal plants;

any purpose other than reafforestation;

but does not include any work relating or ancillary to conservation, development, and management of forests and wildlife, namely, the establishment of check-posts, fire lines, wireless communications and construction of fencing, bridges, and culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines or other like purposes. “

This is mentioned in Indian Economics Service website. It states that anybody whether private or government body has to seek clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests before any conversions are to take place. The proposal has to include all the details such as details of specials present and to be planted, area map, cost of operation etc. If clearance is given, then compensation will be provided.

Firstly growing alternate saplings for trees being cut down is not a solution. Nature always finds a way just as pain heals with time but humans are not nature. We do not have control over the creation of nature. Therefore no matter how many precautions we take nature cannot be replicated. Natural flora cannot be substituted by these man grown plantations. Administrations do not carry out impact assessments of sites where CA is to take place. Usually, lands which are not suitable for growing trees is sanctioned. Justice delayed is justice denied. This is the reality in India and therefore funds for Compensatory afforestation is delayed. Late and poor utilization of funds has led to the failure of CA. Most people in India are not aware of CA is also one of the reasons for deforestation.

This January, Deputy Conservator of Forests granted permission for felling of 202 out of 502 trees in Padil, Mangaluru for construction of new DC Office. The current DC Office is to be shifted from Statebank to Padil including all administrations. Around 200 people submitted their opinion in a hearing. National Green Tribunal stated that no more trees shall be cut for further construction but trees which are already cut down cannot be grown back as removing them. Similar cases have taken place all over country. Not just for government buildings but even for private buildings and their development. In Delhi, more than 16,000 trees were to be cut down for redevelopment of the city. Supreme Court questioned Centre and city authorities on “How they were going to provide more space for displaced trees. How planting 10 saplings is equal to 1 fully grown tree ?”. Also, they added if two storey building was to be redeveloped into an eight-storey building was it possible to provide enough water and energy. They even took pollution into consederation.SC also asked Delhi Development Authority to place all its redevelopment schemes with them. More of such measures can only save trees. Planting a sapling can never be equal to a fully grown tree has been proved in the above case.

We can also join hands in the conservation of trees because felling of a tree and planting 10 saplings will not nullify its effect. Development in check with the environment is crucial. You can take steps to conserve natural resources such as paper in your college or school or office. Eco clubs can be started to raise awareness among the public.  Make saving trees your personal commitment because change comes from you. Planting saplings is also a good measure to regrow lost vegetation but it is wise to ask your grandparents or someone well versed in forest ecology to maintain balance in nature. To conclude the time for action is now. Already so much is lost! It’s never late to make the change happen.

                   

Sources :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/is-planting-saplings-a-solution-to-the-felling-of-trees/article24403077.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/tree-officer-grants-permission-to-fell-202-trees-at-padil/article22407865.ece

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-could-saplings-replace-grown-up-tree-delhi-high-court/articleshow/64856811.cms

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/04/save-forests-cut-some-trees-down-scientists-say

http://www.arthapedia.in/index.php?title=Compensatory_Afforestation

Pros & Cons; Growth of Digital Technology

Pros & Cons due to the growth of   Digital Technology !!

Source: the sheet.ng

Days are numbered and it won't be long before 6 out of 10 jobs will be taken over by automated machines in the professional world. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is improving rapidly. But are we on the verge of singularity? Unlikely according to experts, but we have to admit that AI is definitely better than us at a whole raft of things from games to problem-solving. For example, the fastest time for solving a Rubick's cube by a human is 4.69s whereas AI took hardly 0.38s.

Source: ai-house.dk

Lending money was always done with money lenders and bankers. How could a computer code manage all these tasks? Even if it did what would happen to these bankers?

ATMs' are the prime example!

The number of ATMs' being robbed and being tampered which leaves our money at grave risks.

Added to this is the introduction of cryptocurrency!

Bitcoin is one form of cryptocurrency to know more about it watch this video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4g1XFU8Gto

Even cryptocurrency is not safe from being stolen. CNBC has reported that more than 1.1 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen.

Currently, due to booming growth in e-banking, there have been a lot of disadvantages. Out of 7 billion people on earth, only 3 billion people have access to the internet. And even if people have access to the internet what if their server breaks down during a transaction?

Some banks do offer a phone number for customer service! But we can never guarantee that our transaction will complete smoothly since there is no physical presence of the bank.

                                       

Source: tech.economictimes

It is always best when we have a conversation face to face. Another problem in going to digital banking is that if your account gets hacked it is very to difficult to get your money back. When we have a professional relationship with the banker, with every transaction you build a layer of trust.

So if you are financially tight you can always rely on that person!

Private sector banks could take as much as 60 percent of the market share over the next 10 years, Sukumar Rajah from Franklin Templeton. As public sector banks have huge bad loans.

Most private sector banks have opted for digital banking as it reduces employment cost etc. Digital banking calls for a complete change of mindset among bankers, but the clock has already begun ticking for them.

On one side when technology has harmed the banking sector, other spheres such as the education system has been benefited tremendously.

In ancient times India has seen the tradition of Gurukula education. Here pupils would stay in Guru’s house (Teacher) until they completed their education. It’s like a modern day residential school but well you know it would be situated somewhere in a remote area. Now since technology has evolved rapidly Gurkuala has ceased to exist.



In the present day, we have modern teachers who use digital technologies such as projectors and presentation to make classes much more interesting. If a teacher sticks to old tradition no one would refer him/her as ‘cool teacher’. Even the grading system is falling apart as grades do not define your character. A student scoring ‘A+’ in exams would probably not fare so well in real life. In the present day, a student has to have dynamic skills to survive in the ever-changing world. He/she has to be up-to-date with prevailing technologies which have been included in almost all education spheres.

Source: CanStockPhoto.com

With advances in technology cost of textbooks has reduced drastically since all the materials are found on the internet. I can consider my college itself, Nitte Institute of Communication where all of our reference materials are either found online or in the library. This also increases the portability of information. In the future number of teachers can also be reduced since it would decrease tuition fees.

Source: Liftarn

As technology has advanced, teaching and studying have become more enjoyable. 65% of people in the world learn faster through the visual method of learning. This means instead of memorizing students can actually get to know the topic better. If students understand their chapters well instead of memorizing them, they will apply it in their day to day life.

Lord Baden Powell founder of scouting movement has said that we have to take our own time in doing anything. This is one of his golden rules. Each student is unique and has his/her own strength and weakness. With the development of technology, students can study at the pace they prefer to. This enables them to do better in their life.

Before the introduction of internet i.e the late 80s, the only source of information available to students and teachers was through books or living bodies. Now the internet has connected everything to world wide web and information is just at our fingertips. This allowed teachers to access more resources and teach their students in a better manner. In other words, technology has developed rapidly over past years and has helped the education system evolve a lot. Education sphere has benefited tremendously. If students do not misuse these advantages they will surely be the benefactors.

Cartoon by Jeff Koterba

In the end, it all lies in the hands of the person holding the apparatus, whether he/she wants to make the best out of it.