Science is becoming more interactive through the use of technology and inquiry-based learning helping the public to better understand the scientific phenomenon. NAYS photo competition is an opportunity to showcase science. Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person or persons engaging in any scientific activity which may occur in a classroom, laboratory, botanical garden, zoo, or elsewhere.

The requisites for the competition are as follows:

• Photo must be taken by the contestant him/herself
• Send a brief description about the photo in MS world format
• Strength must be greater than 5 megapixels
• Photo must be in .jpeg format
• Photo should not be edited in any way
• Plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will lead to disqualification
• Send photo to ep.nays@gmail.com along with your brief CV.

Incentives: First three Position Holders will be awarded with Shields and Certificates. The winning Photo will be published in NAYS e-newsletter.

If you have any questions/queries regarding the contest e.mail at ep.nays@gmail.com

Note: We put no barriers of age, qualification or institution to participate in these competitions.

Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain.
Charlie Chaplin

Celebrated for the first time on 10^th January 1998, world laughter day aimed to promote peace and love in the world. It was announced by founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.

But as seen for today, apart from trying to develop a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter the world laughter day becomes the key to relieve from the psychiatric disorders. Where ever there is a smile, there is a little success. As we can comprehend, psychiatric patient is most greedy for affection and love. They can only be spread through laughter and smiles.

Many different projects are organized every year on the day. Some of them are, 1000 red noses, decorate a smiley, giggle boxes, and funny literacy etc.

All the religions also have a great reward for smiling to fellow people. Islam has called smiling, an un-ending charity.

Every day must be a laughter day, for spreading smiles, and happiness on the faces around. Because as rightly said by Charlie Chaplin

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) Pakistan through its Community Education and Awareness Program (CEAP) in collaboration with Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) wishes you a happy and successful life with full of laughter’s. There are so many people who are in pain and sufferings all around us, we should stand for them, they need our love and care. Love and care does not cost much but it is more effective than expansive drugs. Give love and care to others, you will definitely get in return.

Article By: Ammarah Fayyaz

Poster By: Umair Ahmed Khan

World Braille Day commemorates the birth of Louis Braille. A brilliant and optimistic man who invented Braille coding .He was born on 4 January 1809 in France, Louis Braille revolutionised the lives of people who are blind, deaf blind and vision impaired, with his invention of a simple system of six raised dots. Back in 1829 he published his method of writing words, music, and song by means of dots, for use by the blind and arranged by them. Braille literacy is a key to social and economic opportunity.

Actually Louis Braille was from a poor family and his father worked as the village saddler.. He was just four years old when he injured his eyes in his father workplace and his future seemed uncertain and dark. However Louis Braille became one of the most famous Frenchmen ever have lived. Despite his difficult start in life, Louis was an intelligent boy and excelled at the local school. Noticing his potential, the local landowner offered to arrange a scholarship for Louis at one of the first schools for the blind. Reluctant to send Louis away from home but worried about his future, his parents agreed. Aged ten, Louis left for Paris to attend the Royal Institution for Blind Youth .Being so far away from his family was difficult for Louis but he always retained his thirst for knowledge. The boys were taught to read using a system called ‘raised type’ where letters were created by pressing shaped copper wire onto a page. Louis learnt quickly but found the system frustrating and slow. It was impossible for people with sight loss to write anything for themselves using raised type and it could take months to read even little stuff. Charles Barbier, a captain in Napoleon’s army, visited the school to demonstrate his ‘night writing’. This was a tactile system designed for soldiers to send and receive messages at night without speaking. It used raised dots and dashes rather than actual letters. Louis quickly realised how useful this system could be, but thought it was too complicated. Over the next few years he worked hard to develop his own version of the code, using just six dots to represent the standard alphabet. By 1824, aged just 15 years old, Louis had found 63 ways to use a six-dot cell in an area no larger than a fingertip.

He spent his life teaching the system to as many people as possible, first as a fellow student at the school and then later when he became a teacher there. He translated many books into Braille and was much liked and respected by his students. Spending so much of his life in such poor and damp conditions probably contributed to Louis Braille contracting tuberculosis in his twenties. He battled with the illness for the rest of this life. Despite encountering much resistance to Braille he never stopped believing in his system. He died on 6 January 1852, just two days after his 43rd birthday, unaware that his invention would one day be used all over the world. In 1952, Louis Braille’s accomplishments were finally recognised by the French government and his body was exhumed and reburied in the Pantheon in Paris, with other French national heroes. Now he is celebrated as a hero for all blind and partially sighted people .Just because of his determination and positive approach now blind people can also get education, can take part in different academic activities as well as latest technological events. Just because of him talented blind people can nullify an uncertain gap of darkness between them and normal people. In short, he gave the gift of independence and the joy of reading to thousands of people around the world.

Though Braille is thought to be the main way blind people read and write. Braille characters are small rectangular blocks called cells that contain tiny palpable bumps called raised dots. The number and arrangement of these dots distinguish one character from another. Since the various Braille alphabets originated as transcription codes of printed writing systems, the mappings vary from language to language. Braille education remains important for developing reading skills among blind and visually impaired children as Braille literacy correlates with higher employment rates.

Individuals who are deaf-blind can achieve goals with support systems, which might include large print, Braille education system, interpreters, adaptive equipment, and orientation and mobility training. Our responsibility is our attitude. NAYS and PSF are trying to take a step to aware normal individuals about Braille and for students who are deaf-blind and cognitively disabled to achieve valued life outcomes.

Reference:

http://www.calendarlabs.com

www.ncbi.ie › News

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille

http://www.wou.edu/education/sped/wrocc/training_conference99_DB_community.htm

Article By: Rabia Ahmed

Poster: Muhammad Adeel Ansari

Life on Earth is driven by energy. Autotrophs take it from solar radiation and heterotrophs take it from autotrophs. Energy captured slowly by photosynthesis is stored up, and as denser reservoirs of energy have come into being over the course of Earth’s history, heterotrophs that could use more energy evolved to exploit them, Homo sapiens is such a heterotroph; indeed, the ability to use energy extrasomatically (outside the body) enables human beings to use far more energy than any other heterotroph that has ever evolved. The control of fire and the exploitation of fossil fuels have made it possible for Homo sapiens to release, in a short time, vast amounts ofenergy that accumulated long before the species appeared, but these sources are depleting very quickly.

So World Energy Conservation Day is celebrated on 14th December globally to highlight the importance of energy consumption and its use in our day-to-day life, its scarcity and its impact on sustainability of global eco systems. It focuses our concentration on significant issues facing the future of mankind with respect to energy. This Day serves to spell a sense of urgency on the issues involved.

It is a day for building up awareness regarding

Ø  Need for energy conservation,

Ø  Energy efficiency

Ø  Frugality in energy use.

Energy use is a major source of global warming, which has the potential of making the earth uninhabitable. As we all aware of the threatening fact that reserves of all conventional forms of energy are fast depleting. Every day the human population across the world uses energy for leading a civilized life. These resources are critical input of human development which comprises providing adequate food, shelter, clothing, water, sanitation, medication, schooling, transportation, industrial applications, access to information, etc. In short, energy affects all facets of activities related to everyday and modern life. Per capita energy consumption is often considered an important indicator of development. As people and nation’s progress, consumption of energy will increase.

Conventional sources of energy:

The most important and popularly known sources of energy are

Ø  Coal,

Ø  Petroleum

Ø  Products

Ø  Nuclear energy

These resources of commercial energy are available only in limited quantities. At current reserve to production ratio, oil is expected to last around 45 years, gas around 65 years, coal around 200 years. (Source: BP Statistical Review of world Energy, 2010). The above timelines demonstrate the need for urgent world action for funding research and development of alternate energy sources, which are affordable, available in adequate quantity and perennial in nature. The need for energy conservation and economical use of energy arises basically because of its features of universal usage, fast depleting resource and impact on climate change.

Need of Energy management:

“It means saving energy in businesses, public-sector/government organizations, and homes. Much of the importance of energy saving stems from the global need to saveenergy but, if you’re a homeowner looking to save energy, don’t be put off by the fact that this article focuses more on non-residential buildings. Most of the principles that apply to businesses and other organizations are also applicable to homes. We must serve us by energy saving at homes.

Ø  Save Energy in the Home by Air Drying Your Laundry

Ø  Run your heating for just one hour less every day

Ø  Keep the air flow vents on your electric heaters clear of obstructions

Ø  Turn down your thermostat by one degree and you could save up to £65 a year

Ø  When buying new appliances, be sure to purchase energy-efficient ENERGYSTAR labeled models.

Ø  Use compact fluorescent lamps. You can lower your lighting bill by converting to energy-efficient low-wattage compact fluorescent lighting and fixtures.

As exhaustion of fossil fuels, which supply three quarters of this energy, is not far off, and no other energy source is abundant and cheap enough to take their place. Human beings like to believe they are in control of their destiny, but when the history of life on Earth is seen in perspective, the evolution of Homo sapiens is merely a transient episode that acts to redress the planet’s energy balance.

Some false hopes about alternate energy resources:

Today’s second-most-important source of energy, after fossil fuels, is biomass conversion. But all the world’s wood fires, all the grain alcohol added to gasoline, and all the agricultural wastes burned as fuel only provide 15% of the world’s energy. And biomass conversion has little growth potential, since it competes for fertile land with food crops and timber.

Hydropower furnishes about 5.5% of the energy currently consumed. Its potential may be as much as five times greater but this is not sufficient to take over from fossil fuels, and huge dams would submerge rich agricultural soils.

The production of electricity from nuclear fission has been increasing, but nuclear sources still supply only about 5.2% of the world’s total energy needs. Public confidence in all types of reactors is low, and the cost of their construction is high. These social constraints make it unlikely that fission’s contribution to the world’s energy needs will grow fifteen-fold in the next few years.

While no single energy source is ready to take the place of fossil fuels, their diminishing availability may be offset by a regimen of conservation and a combination of alternativeenergy sources. This will not solve the problem, however. As long as population continues to grow, conservation is futile; at the present rate of growth (1.6% per year), even a 25% reduction in resource use would be obliterated in just over eighteen years. And the use of any combination of resources that permits continued population growth can only postpone the day of reckoning.

World Energy Conservation Day is a big opportunity to help in taking following initiatives: Being a civilized nation, we should focus on attention of decision makers (Government and Private sector) in directing resources towards energy generation through non-conventional sources on a larger scale. NAYS and PSF has tried to contribute this observance day by writing article and making posters to increase and share awareness in common people and especially youngster. We should also need   to play our share to bring more and more awareness among the people. As we all know non conventional sources of energy such as wind, hydel (large, mini and micro), biomass, biogas, biodiesel, geothermal, tidal, solar, nuclear fusion have the potential for being the future sources of carbon neutral energy. Barring hydel and wind, the cost for all the other forms of energy generation is still quite high. So we Government and Industrial sector must focus their attention towards these sources.

For Further study:

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/interactives/Energy_in_everyday_life.asp

http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/savingstips/

http://www.energyconservationworld.com/

http://www.centartesla.com/en/2012-02-14-World-Day-of-Energy-conservation.htm

On the Dictionary the word “Human Rights” means “a privilege “. We are talking about something more basic.

-Human Rights are those rights which are inherited of the people; these rights include rightsof religion, caste, language, culture, color, residence or any other status.

Every people on this planet have a right of equality, peace and Justice.

Universal Human Rights are granted by law and the governance, and so it is also their duty to provide equality to all the people of the State / Nation / Country etc.

Many people know something about their rights. Generally they know they have the right to food and a safe place to stay. They know they have a right to be paid for the work they do. But there are many other rights.

When human rights are not well known by people, abuses such as discrimination, intolerance, injustice, oppression and slavery can arise.

Human Rights Day

- The Human Rights day is each yeah held on 10th of December. This Human Rights daywas first time introduced and held by United Nations General Assembly held on 1948.

From that day onwards each year Human Rights day is held on 10th of December to encourage those people which have lack of Human rights. This day is not for celebration but it’s for the Youth and others to aware them about human rights.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main United Nations rights official, and her Office play a major role in coordinating efforts for Human Rights Day

Major Human Rights Issues / Problems

There are various problems related to Human Rights for which the Human Rights Authority of a country is facing. Most of the Human Rights issues occur towards Women. It means that the person who has the most lack of Human Rights is Women. Let’s discuss the Issues / Problems related to Human Rights all over the World. There are more than 30 to 40 issues about Human Rights. We are going to be discussing the Major and the most important issue of Human Rights.

Women:The very first and the most Prominent and important issue related to HumanRights are Women. In few Regions / Caste /Culture, Women are considered to be disgrace to the family. This issue is still clearly observed. Women Rights issues include Violence against women by their Husbands / Partner etc.

Children: The second issue clearly observed all over the world is Children. This issue also is the desire of Male Child, and so violence against women starts if she does not give birth to a male child. Because Male child are considered to be Pride to the Family and female child are considered to be disgrace to the family.

Punishment: Punishment is also the issue of Human Rights. Most of the teachers give severe punishment to their Students which sometimes results in severe injuries and sometimes also the parents are included in this category. The Parents also give their child severe punishments which can cause injuries. And sometimes “Death” may occur.

Bullying: Bullying of the children towards other is also an issue of Human Rights. Bullying now a days have become more severe and is increasing day by day. Bullying may cause suicides or result in severe injuries or death and it is necessary to recognize bullying as a serious human rights infringement.

Torture: Torture is a common activity to the persons especially in the prisons towards prisoners. The prisoners are forcedly tortured to accept their sin. At the end of May 2002 more than 20 people died during torture in Brazil.

Discrimination: People discriminate others on the basis of Language, Caste, Culture, Color, Environment etc. People consider themselves superior and discriminate others whichresults in demotivation.

Environment: Environment is also an issue of Human Rights. This issue is also related with Discrimination. People discriminate others on the basis of Environment, like the ones who are living in villages and other similar areas are not considered good by the people who are living in rich environment.

Poverty: Poverty is yet another issue of Human Rights. Poor people are considered useless and they are demotivated in every mode of life. This issue badly affects the children of both poor and wealthy and also creates agony and hatred.

-There are number of various problems related to Human Rights for which the Human RightsAuthority and other organizations are working side by side. National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) and Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) are also supporting this idea.

References:

https://www.humanrights.com

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/hr/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/

The International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution A/RES/40/212 on 17December 1985. Since then, governments, the UN system and civil society organizations have successfully joined volunteers around the world to celebrate theDay on 5 December.

International Volunteer Day is a chance for individual volunteers, communities and organizations to promote their contributions to development at the local, national and international levels.

A focus on partnership and development

Through the years, International Volunteer Day has been used strategically: many countries have focused on volunteers’ contributions to achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, a set of time-bound targets to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

Pakistan

In Pakistani society, Education can play an important role towards political stability,economic development and social progress. The under-developed education system of Pakistan has created many evils in the country. According to most of thesocial scientists and experts, poor role of education system is critical factor of political instability, economic upheavals and social disorganization. Nevertheless, vital role and significance of education system is largely neglected in Pakistan unveiling a plethora of problems and challenges.

Poverty

Widespread poverty remains Pakistan’s most persistent and urgent problem. Today, a quarter to one-third of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line, if poverty is defined narrowly  – for example whether they get enough to eat  or whether they have a minimum income to purchase goods to fulfill their basic needs. But using a 3 much broader definition of poverty of opportunity, nearly one-half of population suffers from serious human deprivations. Two out of three adults cannot read or write; nearly half of the population is denied access to such basic social services as primary healthcare and safe drinking water. In fact, Pakistan’s social indicators have lagged behind the social indicators of countries with far lower GDP growth and income levels. As a result, the vast majority of Pakistan’s population has not been able to participate in either the process or the outcome of growth.

Human deprivation in Pakistan

The sheer scale of human deprivation in Pakistan is mind boggling. To present a few facts,

• Today between one-third to about one-half of Pakistan’s population is in poverty.

• Over half the population is illiterate, one-third of school-age children is not in school, and huge sections of people are without basic facilities of health, sanitation and housing.

• All the indicators of human deprivation have a woman’s face: two-thirds of women are illiterate, a majority of out-of-school children are girls, maternal mortality rate is very high compared to other developing countries, and women often become victims of discriminatory customs and traditions.

China’s support for socio-economic development valuable

Pakistan acknowledged that the long history of Pak-China cooperation encompasses economy, trade, energy, defence, investment, people to people contacts, culture, education and other areas.

Resolutions

The General Assembly invited Governments to observe annually, on 5 December, an International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (resolution 40/212 of 17 December 1985) and urged them to take measures to heighten awareness of the important contribution of volunteer service, thereby stimulating more people in all walks of life to offer their services as volunteers, both at home and abroad.

Theme for 2012: Celebrate volunteering!

International Volunteer Day (IVD) offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to make visible their contributions – at local, national andinternational levels – to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

On International Volunteer Day (IVD) on 5 December 2012, we celebrate our commitment and hope for a better world. The main focus of IVD 2012 is awareness of and recognition for volunteers and volunteer organizations. The purpose is to recognise this commitment, to inform people about the impact of volunteering on peace and sustainable development, and to applaud volunteers for their dedication and impact.

UNV Online Volunteering Award 2012

The purpose of the award is to recognize online volunteers’ contributions towards achieving the MDGs, to showcase the many ways in which online volunteers can strengthen the capacities of organizations and to demonstrate the difference volunteers can make to peace and development projects by sharing their time, skills and expertise over the Internet.

“That is one of the solutions to changing the logic of land use and it doesn’t exist yet, and it is still going on in the negotiations,” he noted. “When we have that, and while we experiment with that, we need to focus on the fact that REDD+ should be seen as part of national green growth strategies, where food production, livelihoods, job creation and so on are seen as one whole.”

“You cannot offset fossil fuel emissions by trying to shove more carbon into forests,” he said. “Forests can’t take the pressure off fossil fuel emissions – scientifically, it doesn’t work.”

National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) and Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) are working for increasing the awareness among the people about importance of volunteer work. Many of problems in our country can be solved if we spare some time for volunteer work and community service and it will definitely lead to social and economic development in the country.

(Compiled by Fatima Sajid-Member CEAP Team)