Universality of Marriage

The debate is on the definition of the term marriage. There is barrier because of unimaginative variation in the institution of human marriage.
Earlier definition is given by Westermarck, Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown and Murdock.

Westermarck: Marriage is a relation of one or more men with one or more women which is recognized by custom or law and which involves certain rights and duties. This definition defies many ethnic situations such as male-male marriages,female-female marriages and sham marriages among kwukiutl Negroes. These cannot fit into this definition of marriage.Hence fails universal applicability.

Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown :It is a union of a man and woman in which they are  the jural father and mother of the children born to the woman. But in Trukese in Micronesia, marriage is not necessary to get legitimate offspring.

Murdock: Marriage involves residential cohabitation,economic cooperation and formation of nuclear family.Marriage is therefore a social transaction that establishes a nuclear family.But in Nayars of Kerela, there is no residential cohabitation. Among Kibbutz communities in Israel there is no economic cooperation between mating pairs.

Modern Definition: K.Gough studied Nayars of Kerela and opined that any institution of marriage must fulfill two conditions
1.Social acceptability of relationship
2. Legitimacy of children

In western societies these requirements are taken care by transaction of marriage and registration of birth.

Research undertaken by Stephen Levy, Mogey and others proved that it is very difficult to arrive at definition of marriage because there are many societies where the sexual rights,economic responsibilities and the socialization of children are not derived from the relation resulting from marriage but are part of rights and responsibilities of social groups

The institution of marriage is universal,only the definition is not.

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Imparting sex education in schools in India.

 Sex education means imparting basic knowledge to school children at
secondary and senior secondary levels about the human body, the functioning of its
various organs including reproductive organs of both the sexes and about the associated
diseases. The twin objectives of sex education are:-

i. To increase awareness which will reduce the unreasonable curiosity and to fill in
  the gap left by reluctant parents to answer the queries by children.
ii. It will also help to create insight and prevent inappropriate perversions to which
   children are prone to be exposed.
The WHO report claims that early sex education delays the start of sexual activity, reduces
sexual activity among young people and encourages those already sexually active to have
safer sex. With the spread of HIV infection and other sex-related infections, it is
considered necessary to impart sex education. The government of India is in favour of the
States and UTs imparting sex education to fight the spread of HIV infection.
But a section of the parents is opposed to imparting sex education on the ground that it is a
reflection of decadent western morality and may lead to an increase in sexual activity
among children. They argue that sex education and contraceptions are not the panacea to
all sex related ills in the society. The state governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat have banned sex education in schools on the ground that the modules used to
impart sex education were too explicit and some pictures were too graphic.
Should it be banned?
What is being objected to in general is the way in which sex education is imparted. The
course and curriculum should be more scientific and designed in line with India‟s culture
and social fabric with emphasis on health. It should also be modeled to inculcate moral,
religious and cultural values among children. The emphasis should not be merely on safe
sex. Further sex education should start from home and not left to schools to impart. As
Gandhiji remarked, providing information about how organs function is one thing and to
encourage using them even inadvertently is another. What is to be objected is the latter.

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Safety measures incorporated in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

As a part of the endeavour to constantly improve the safety aspects of

nuclear reactors and also from the past experiences such as the Fukushima nuclear

accident in Japan, many safety measures have been incorporated in the Kudankulam

Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP). These include:-

i. The VVER type reactor of KKNPP has been certified by the IAEA as one of the

  safest nuclear reactors in the world having many inbuilt safety measures. It is a

 third generation plus reactor unlike first generation reactors of Fukushima.

ii. The site falls under Zone III of seismic zones and is unlikely to experience a severe

   earthquake.

iii. The site is sheltered by Sri Lanka from any possible tsunami waves posing safety

    threats to KKNPP site.

iv. The emergency standby equipments such as diesel generators, cooling plants have

   been housed at a height of 9 to 13 metres above the Mean Sea Level (MSL)

  whereas the tsunami waves are likely to reach not more than 5 metres above MSL

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Rehabilitation Robotics and its practical applications:

• Rehabilitation robotics is a field of research dedicated to understanding and augmenting rehabilitation through the application of robotic devices. Rehabilitation robotics includes development of robotic therapies, and the use of robots as therapy aids instead of solely as assistive devices.
• Rehabilitation using robotics is generally well tolerated by patients, and has been found to be an effective adjunct to therapy in individuals suffering from motor impairments, especially due to stroke.
• Current robotic devices include exoskeletons for aiding limb or hand movement such as the Tibion Bionic Leg, the Myomo Neuro-robotic System and the Berkeley Bionics eLegs; enhanced treadmills such as Hocoma's Lokomat; and robotic arms to retrain motor movement of the limb such as the MIT-MANUS(An MIT robot for physical therapy of the arm and wrists).
• Often robotic technologies attempt to leverage the principles of neuroplasticity (The brain's natural ability to form new connections in order to compensate for injury or changes in one's environment) by improving quality of movement, and increasing the intensity and repetition of the task.
• Rehabilitation robotics can also be applied to individuals with cerebral palsy, or those recovering from orthopaedic surgery
• Rehabilitation robotics may also include virtual reality technology.

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Various techniques, which are employed to derive energy from the waste material.

Combustion or Incineration

•  It is direct burning of wastes in the presence of excess air (oxygen) at high temperatures
  (about 800 C).
•  It results in conversion of 65%-80% of heat content of organic matter into hot air, steam and hot water.
•  
• The steam generated can be used in steam turbines to generate power.

Biomethanation or Anaerobic Bigestion

•  In this, the organic waste is segregated and fed into a biogas digester.
• The waste undergoes biodegradation under anaerobic conditions to produce methane rich biogas.
• The so produced biogas can be used for cooking, heating, generating electricity etc.
•  The sludge can be used as a manure depending on the composition of the input waste.

Pyrolysis / Gasification

•  It is chemical decomposition of organic matter through heat.
• The organic matter is heated in the absence or restricted supply of air till it breaks down into smaller molecules of gas (known collectively as syngas).
• Syngas so produced is known as producer gas which constitutes carbon monoxide (25%),hydrogen and hydrocarbons(15%), carbon dioxide and nitrogen(60%). 
• The producer gas is burnt in internal combustion (IC) generator sets or turbines to produce electricity.

Landfill Gas Recovery

• In this the waste slowly decomposes to produce “Landfill gas”.
•  This gas consists of high percentage of methane (approximately 50%) and has a high calorific value of about 4500kcal/cubic meter. 
• It can be used for heating cooking and generating power.

Plasma Arc

•  A relatively new technology for disposal of wastes, particularly, hazardous and radioactive wastes.
• Since it involves nearly complete destruction of waste while producing energy, it is less polluting.
•  It does not produce oxides of nitrogen and sulphur and makes toxic ash left in the process easier to handle.
• However, the technology is costly and has not been tried in India.

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Difference between Automation and Robotics.

1. Set operations and Sequence: Automation can only follow one set of operations, and it cannot be
changed once programmed. Robots are made to perform several jobs at once, and the sequence of
operations can be switched around to make the processes more efficient. The timing of the
operations also can be changed in robotics, if needed.
2. Outside stimuli: The automated machine will not react; even if there is an object blocking the
automation, it will continue doing the same operation. Robots are made to react so, if something
blocks or stops the robot, it will change operations to best fit the situation.
3. Artificial intelligence (AI ): Automated machines are unable to collect knowledge and can't be
programmed with any form of intelligence. Robots can be made with intelligence and they are able
to learn from mistakes; this allows the robot to fix problems, if it is exposed to them long enough.
4. Level of movement: The amount of movement and overall velocity of both a robot and automation
are generally very different. Automated machines are made for slow work and are typically
programmed with very simple movements. For example, an automated arm may be able to pick up a
chip, rotate and then place the chip somewhere else. A robot can work faster and is able to
accommodate complex movements.

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Schools of Art

1. Gandhara School of Art

• This new school of  Indian sculpture developed in the region, which extended from Punjab to the Afghanisthan borders, an important centre of Mahayana Bhuddism up to the 5th century.
• Due to the proximity of this region to the foreign influences like the Persian, Greek, Roman, this art represents a fusion of foreign and native elements.
• There are two stages in the development of tis school: The first in stone( and the second in stucco(from 4th century).
• Chief charecteristics of Gandhara sculpture are : (i)Most of the Gandharan icons portray episodes from the life of Bhuddha or scenes from Bhuddhist saints. The buddha images resembled the portrayal of God Apollo.(ii) Use of rich carving, elaborate ornamentation and complex symbolism.  (iii)Natural display of folds and turns of dresses and physical features like muscles, etc.  (iv) The images have a gentle,compassionate and graceful look. Therefore, more attention is given towards refinement and polishing
• However, the buddha images lack the spirituality of the  images of the Gupta period.
• Examples: Dharmarajika Stupa(Taxila),Hadda monastic cluster, Afghanistan.       

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